Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Beer News: Moderate Beer Consumption may Reduce Women's Risk of Osteoperosis

Girls, yet another reason to enjoy your beer! Perhaps you should try Miller Lite which advertises as being "Triple Hops Brewed".

Beer Is a Rich Source of Silicon and May Help Prevent Osteoporosis

ScienceDaily (Feb. 9, 2010) — A new study suggests that beer is a significant source of dietary silicon, a key ingredient for increasing bone mineral density. Researchers from the Department of Food Science & Technology at the University of California, Davis studied commercial beer production to determine the relationship between beer production methods and the resulting silicon content, concluding that beer is a rich source of dietary silicon.

  Details of this study are available in the February issue of the Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture, published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of the Society of Chemical Industry.
"The factors in brewing that influence silicon levels in beer have not been extensively studied" said Charles Bamforth, lead author of the study. "We have examined a wide range of beer styles for their silicon content and have also studied the impact of raw materials and the brewing process on the quantities of silicon that enter wort and beer."

  Silicon is present in beer in the soluble form of orthosilicic acid (OSA), which yields 50% bioavailability, making beer a major contributor to silicon intake in the Western diet. According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), dietary silicon (Si), as soluble OSA, may be important for the growth and development of bone and connective tissue, and beer appears to be a major contributor to Si intake. Based on these findings, some studies suggest moderate beer consumption may help fight osteoporosis, a disease of the skeletal system characterized by low bone mass and deterioration of bone tissue.

  The researchers examined a variety of raw material samples and found little change in the silicon content of barley during the malting process. The majority of the silicon in barley is in the husk, which is not affected greatly during malting. The malts with the higher silicon contents are pale colored which have less heat stress during the malting process. The darker products, such as the chocolate, roasted barley and black malt, all have substantial roasting and much lower silicon contents than the other malts for reasons that are not yet known. The hop samples analyzed showed surprisingly high levels of silicon with as much as four times more silicon than is found in malt. However, hops are invariably used in a much smaller quantity than is grain. Highly hopped beers, however, would be expected to contain higher silicon levels.

  No silicon was picked up from silica hydrogel used to stabilize beer, even after a period of 24 hours and neither is there pick up from diatomaceous earth filter aid.

  The study also tested 100 commercial beers for silicon content and categorized the data according to beer style and source. The average silicon content of the beers sampled was 6.4 to 56.5 mg/L.
"Beers containing high levels of malted barley and hops are richest in silicon," concludes Dr. Bamforth. "Wheat contains less silicon than barley because it is the husk of the barley that is rich in this element. While most of the silicon remains in the husk during brewing, significant quantities of silicon nonetheless are extracted into wort and much of this survives into beer."

Saturday, October 16, 2010

Beer Review: Saugatuck Brewing ESB Amber


The Saugatuck Brewing Company is located on the shores of Lake Michigan in Saugatuck, Michigan. The label on this bottle is very cute and mid-west. What looks to be a close family is sitting together along a fence with signs that say “Saugatuck” and “I love Amber.” The tagline reads: A British style Extra Special Bitter with an even balance of malt and hops.
I got this bottle at my local Oade’s Big Ten in a mixed six-pack.

The first taste is very bitter hops. But, since it’s an Extra Special Bitter (ESB), that is expected. And true to its word, it’s a very balanced flavor. Yes it’s bitter, but the malt is definitely there and then there is a subtly sweet aftertaste. At the end of the day, this is quite a nice hops flavor, too. It’s not harsh, and it certainly isn’t too mellow; it’s like your best friend, just right.
The amber comes out in its rich color and the sweetness of the malt. And like a lot of other ambers, this ale is only lightly carbonated - not overly fizzy like many hop-centric beers can be.
I’m not usually a fan of hoppy beers, but SBC got this right – very right. Definitely worth a try, and worth your money.

-Sandy

Friday, October 15, 2010

Beer Brewery: America's first brewery co-op

Something for our fans in Texas:
The Black Star Co-op Pub and Brewery in Austin, TX is something quite unique.



"With a special focus on local producers, the basic mission and principles of the Black Star Co-op is to foster an environment in which member-owners, as well as the general public, may realize the principles of co-operative ownership, worker self-management, education and community action through the responsible enjoyment great beer and food.
As the first enterprise of this type, we seek to realize an alternative business model for brewpubs and to help expand the co-operative movement into new and innovative areas — both in Austin and around the world."

Friday, October 8, 2010

Beer News: Women in the Craft Beer Business

Head on over and check out one of the Craft Beer Muses from www.craftbeer.com .


http://www.craftbeer.com/pages/stories/craft-beer-muses/show?title=women-craft-beer-and-centerfolds

Here are a few of the highlights from the post:


Women in Brewing

Sebbie Buhler - Rogue Ales
Deb Carey - New Glarus Brewing Company
Meghan O'Leary Parisi - Cambridge Brewing Co.
Gwen Conley
- Flying Dog Brewery
Tonya Cornett - Bend Brewing Company
Teri Fahrendorf - Pink Boots Society
Kim Jordan - New Belgium Brewing Company
Jamie Martin
- Moosejaw
Penny Pink
- Portneuf Valley Brewing
Lauren Salazar - New Belgium Brewing Company
Carol Stoudt -Stoudt’s Brewing Company
Jen Tally - Squatters Pub Brewery
Leslie Henderson - Lazy Magnolia
and SO many more!

Women and Beer Statistics

  • In July 2010, Gallup poll stated the percentage of women who said they prefer beer over wine or liquor is 27%. That's up 6% from their 2009 poll.
  • In April 2010, Nielsen Beverage Company said growth drivers for craft beer include 25-34 year olds, females, household income under $45,000 and above $100,000.
  • Nielson also reminds us that the majority of purchases in supermarkets are made by, guess who... women. Huge opportunity for the small breweries to get that we are the ones often purchasing the beer!
  • An interesting statistic from 2006: A Morgan Stanley report stated 37% of weekly ‘craft beer’ drinkers are women whereas only 31% of weekly ‘beer’ drinkers are women.

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