NYT: “The Genes of Craft Beer”
Very interesting article from The New York Times about yeast. Beer is said to pair better with food than wine. The complexity of flavors that beer yeast generates has a lot to do with that. Here’s a blurb from the article: “After thousands of years of unwitting domestication, brewing yeasts — the microorganisms that ferment a brewer’s tepid slop of grain, water and hops into beer — are as diverse as the beer they make. And now two research teams, from White Labs and a Belgian genetics laboratory, are mapping out their sprawling genealogy, creating the first genetic family tree for brewing yeasts and the beers they make. To understand why beer varies in taste, you need to know its yeasts. William Herkewitz The laboratories have sequenced the DNA of more than 240 strains of brewing yeasts from around the…
NYT: “Staten Island Gets a Craft Brewery of Its Own”
We’re so stoked about this! Flag Ship Brewing Co. in Staten Island is open, and the New York Times did a great piece on them. Here’s a blurb: As the craft-beer festival wore on and beer flowed, guests offered uninhibited opinions on Staten Island’s arrival in the community. Justin McNeil, a Staten Islander, paused at the Flagship table to sample the beer. “This is going to be the Brooklyn Brewery of Staten Island,” he said with the unassailable logic that can emerge after several hours at a craft-beer fest. “Besides our parks and the Wu-Tang Clan,” he added, “we don’t have anything.” Sam Forman, 24, saw irony in the brewery’s branding. “I’m not shocked Staten Island is the last to enter the craft beer market,” Mr. Forman said. “I’m from Manhattan. I carry all those prejudices.” “I think for them…
Other Half Brewing Company
We visited Other Half Brewery this week in Red Hook, Brooklyn. Matt and Sam were nice enough to show us around and let us sample a few of their beers. If you’re an IPA fan, do yourself a favor and get your hands on some Other Half brews. The All Green Everything Triple IPA and Green Diamonds Imperial IPA were absolutely delightful! They distribute their beer to over 150 bars in the New York City Area, including Birreria, who always have a few of their beers on tap. Also, keep and eye out for their Red Wine Barrel-Aged Imperial Stout coming very soon. Sam(pictured above) explained that their name came from the famous book How The Other Half Lives, by Jacob Riis. The name alludes to the gritty little guys that make up the other half of the brewing industry….