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NEXTnc: Your official guide to Brewfest - BREWFEST GUIDE |
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Written by NEXTnc staff reports
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Thursday, 21 June 2007 |
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Page 4 of 7
ENJOYING YOUR BEER
LOOKING
Color is determined by the grains the beer is made with, how long and at what temperature the wort is boiled. Dark toasted grains produce a dark color.
If the glass is free of residue, the head will last longer and will stick to the sides, creating an effect known as “lace.” Small, long-lasting bubbles indicate natural carbonation, whereas large, inconsistent bubbles signal injection of carbon dioxide.
Consider the clarity of the beer. Clarity was once the ultimate goal of a good beer.
Now, many of the smaller breweries ferment their beer in the bottle, so a yeast sediment settles on the bottom. If it’s poured carefully, very little of the yeast will reach the glass. However, yeast in the beer is not a tragedy. It’s rich in vitamin B hardly affects the beer’s flavor.
TASTING
The two general principles are (1) the tip of your tongue tastes the sweetness of the malt and (2) the back tastes the bitterness from the hops. With your first taste, you’ll experience the profile, or malt-hop balance. You’ll notice a decidedly hoppy flavor in some beers, while in others the malt sweetness. You’ll know your beer is less than perfect when it has a rotten, metallic, winey flavor caused by oxidation.
Bacteria can spoil the beer and produce a decidedly sour flavor. (Sour flavor is the goal of some brewing styles!)
SMELLING
Hold the glass to your nose. Here’s where you discover the beauties and the problems of the beer. The aroma is the effect of the brewers’ hopping. A smell similar to cardboard, rotten fruit, or metal signals oxidation of the beer. A skunky aroma comes from a beer having been light-struck, which can only happen when beer in green or clear bottles is exposed to sun or light.
————— Find your way around Brewfest —————with this downloadable map from NEXTnc and the DownTown Business Association. Just click on the map below. Come by the NEXTnc booth for some beer trivia and a chance to win free stuff. 
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|  | "Humankind cannot gain anything without first giving something in return. To obtain, something of equal value must be lost. That is Alchemy's first law of Equivalent Exchange. In those days, we really believed that to be the world's one, and only truth." | |
|  | We're not that bright, even though in our own little world, we're geniuses. We like 80s hair bands and one-hit wonders, but among us we have respectable tastes, too. Metallica, Iron Maiden, U2. Pursuit of all things trivial is a lifestyle, not just a game. We like some sports, love other sports, and can find something to say about anything. We watch TV and movies and we've read a book or two, even a few classics (Yes, Classic Comics count!)
We call it insight, you call it what you will. | |
|  | Felix Wong is an outdoor enthusiast living in Fort Collins. A mechanical engineer by day, he is especially passionate about bicycling, running, and backpacking. | |
|  | Hola Amigos! I'm Sandra. I like to believe that people are 70 percent good and 30 percent dumb. I'm stickin to that story. Reading this blog might make you want to be good, but probably just dumb. | |
|  | Donovan Henderson is editor of NEXTnc. | |
|  | Here at Nextnc we have some characters. Get a sneak peak behind the curtain and find out what amusing antics our staffers get themselves into on a weekly basis. | |
|  | What is up FoCo?
I am a recent college graduate of Minnesota State University Moorhead. After recieving my B.A. in English and Mass Communications this past August I moved down to Colorado.
I enjoy long walks on the beach, candlelight dinners, and heavy metal. My hobbies include reading and writing, music, movies, and getting drunk. Some of my favorite contemporary authors include Bret Easton Ellis, Chuck Palahniuk, and Kurt Vonnegut. My top movies are anything directed by Kubrick. I enjoy listening to anything that rocks.
Right now I am just trying to get to know Colorado and FoCo better. Mostly in order to find the best drink specials on each day that ends in Y. So if you know where I can get a cheap drunk on, let me know!
--Drew | |
|  | Life's little morsels of inspiration, observation and encouragement seen through the eyes of the Nextnc reporter.
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|  | Ms. Giles currently lives in Colorado where she stars in her own private reality show. She writes aphoristic accounts of her life, taken completely out of context, and embellished with characters and situations disguised to resemble something close to interesting. | |
|  | over and out | |
| | My name is Michelle Turley and I'm 28 years old. I live in Severance with my hubbie, Brandon. We have 2 dogs and a cat. We enjoy camping, four-wheeling, and just being in the mountains. I like to cook, clean (go figure), flea market, and play poker. I have so much to say about poker... | |
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