Drink Matron

Month: September 2011

  • What is Oktoberfest Beer?

    When people refer to Oktoberfest beer, they are referring to one of two things. In the first case, they refer to any beer that is brewed within the city limits of Munich, Germany.  After the Club of Munich Brewers have decided to deem it as such, the beer is referred to from that point forward as an Oktoberfest Beer.  The important point of distinction here is that it is a beer that is authorized to be sold at Oktoberfest, the single largest beer festival in the world (serving over seven million liters of beer in roughly 16 days).

    The second reference is actually a misnomer for a beer style called Märzen.  Märzen is a bavarian lager that is commonly served at Oktoberfest (hence the confusion), but all Märzens are not Oktoberfest beers, nor are all Oktoberfest beers Märzens.  There is an interesting story behind Märzenbier.  Back in 1536, the Bavarian government outlawed beer brewing between 23 April and 29 September because there was an increased risk of starting the countryside on fire during the warm, dry summer months.  So brewers had to develop a beer style that they could make large quantities of that would keep through the summer.  They came up with Märzen and would work overtime in late March and April brewing as much of the stuff as they could, then barreling it and storing it in caves to keep it cool and out of the sun.  Whatever was left at the end of the summer was generally taken to Munich and served at Oktoberfest (or just drank as if the imbibers were at Oktoberfest).  It is usually amber in color and has an alcohol content of 5 to 6.2% with a mild hop profile.

  • Bourbon Heritage Month

    In order to celebrate Bourbon as America’s “Native Spirit,” in 2007 congress passed a unanimous vote calling for September to be Bourbon Heritage Month. Four years later, September is still bourbon’s month to shine, especially in its home state of Kentucky.

    In addition to the 20th Annual Kentucky Bourbon Festival, the Kentucky Bourbon Trail received new highway signs marking its significant landmarks this month, and bartenders are breaking out their very best (and tastiest) bourbon cocktails.

    So if you’re wondering what to drink (and how to drink it) this month, go with bourbon. Straight up, on the rocks, or mixed in a cocktail, it’s the best way to celebrate America’s “Native Spirit.”

  • How Sake is Made

    Most people regard sake in the same category as other spirits like whiskey, vodka, etc.  It is more akin to beer though.  Even though it is similar to beer, the process is much different and far more complex.

    Historically, people have made alcohol out of whatever was readily available, and in the case of the Japanese that was rice.  The modern process for brewing sake involves getting and cooking white rice.  This process is highly monitored and controlled so that the rice is perfectly cooked at the end of the process.

    The interesting thing about rice is that it doesn’t contain amylase enzymes, which are the enzymes found in the malted grains used in other spirits around the world, so there is a mold called koji mold that is laced into the rice that performs the same task as amylase.  After the rice has cultivated an appropriate amount of the mold it is mixed in stages into a vat with water and yeast.  By adding the entire batch in a staggered manner, it allows the yeast to work more efficiently, keeping up with the increase in volume of food.

    Once all the rice is added, the mixture (known as mash, or moromi to the Japanese) is left to sit for several weeks at which time the liquid is seperated from the solids, pasteurized, and left to mature.  At the end of this process you end up with a naturally fermented 40 proof beverage that is then diluted down to around 20 to 30 proof, bottled, and sold worldwide.

    The maturation process is a fairly new addition to the process of making sake.  Maturing the sake is what mellows the flavor, moving it away from the rough, harsh flavor that was so prevalent historically.  Thanks to the invention of pasteurization, sake has a longer shelf life and brewers can afford the time to mature the sake before shipping it.

    So that’s how you brew sake.  It may not seem that complicated, but there are a lot of subtleties that go into each step that make the process more difficult.  That being said, it’s possible to homebrew sake and it isn’t terribly difficult (more difficult than homebrewing beer, but less difficult than distilling spirits at home).