Hop and Malt. Introduction to brewing.

The genesis of this article can be traced back to the uncorking of a bottle of Belgian ale—a rich, robust, and aromatic concoction, skillfully brewed with a trio of hop varieties. The effervescent sip of hop-laden ale stirred a cascade of memories, guiding my musings toward the sanctum of brewing. Herein lies the foundational essence of the brewing process.

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Sake

October 1st marks World Sake Day, a celebration of this revered Japanese libation. This introductory article endeavors to unveil the technological intricacies of sake production and shed light on the valuable information concealed within the sake bottle’s label.

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Dandelion Wine

“Dandelion wine. The words were summer on the tongue. The wine was summer caught and stoppered…. Hold summer in your hand, pour summer in a glass, a tiny glass of course, the smallest tingling sip for children; change the season in your veins by raising glass to lip and tilting summer in.”

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Apples in a glass

Summer past its peak; rather-ripe apples appeared on a market, so it’s time to talk about cider, about fresh sparkling apple cider. This beverage has been pleasing humankind for many centuries. Cider, technologically, is an apple wine. In fact, Germans, straightforwardly call their version of cider – Apfelwein. North Americans like to assign old European names to irrelevant things, and then give new names to objects which names were borrowed. Thus, in North America, unfiltered apple juice is called cider, and cider itself is called hard cider.

It’s hard to say when people started making cider. Evidently the drink provokes the invention if you live among apple gardens. However, “Geography,” written by the Greek historian and geographer Strabo (ending of BC – beginning of AC), and “Natural History,” written by the Roman author Pliny the Elder (beginning of AC), are considered the first evidence of cider production. Pliny reports about the production of

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