Thursday, January 3, 2008

For the Love of Lager

The Times Online has a series of articles that are well worth reading, about Lagers: perfect pints, tasting, beer sommelier's life, history and variety.

A few excerpts:

From "So Many Lagers..."
From slight variations in all these ingredients come all the different lagers available, a range that is growing continually in the UK as consumers become more aware of the possibilities of the style. There’s the gently flavoured, golden Pilsner with its slight sweetness, the equally golden German Helle, with its rich tang of malt, and the clean taste of Dortmund.
From "How to Sip..."
Then comes the drinking. Don’t guzzle it down, but don’t sip either. Instead, take a good mouthful and let it run gently over your tongue. You’ll taste the juicy sweetness of the malt, followed by the gentle, tangy bitterness of the hops and, depending on the lager, all kinds of tantalising hints, sometimes fruity, sometimes biscuity, but always interesting.
From "Spot the Perfect Pint"
It may seem simple, but the pour is vitally important. Getting it wrong can produce a messy pint that’s either so thick with foam it spills over the sides of the glass, leaving long, thirsty minutes before the liquid rises to drinkable level, or so thin and temporary that with one swig the liquid is exposed to the air and stays like that all the way down.
There's more, but you get the picture.