Interesting Beer Facts
- Drink your beer cold, to make your body burn a few extra calories, vs. drinking your beer at room temperature.
https://justinparrtech.com/JustinParr-Tech/why-you-should-drink-beer-cold/ - Buy and store import beer by the case, fully-enclosed in cardboard, to avoid skunky beer.
Skunky beer can result from being exposed to ultraviolet light. This is why beer bottles are often green or dark amber to prevent light from breaking down the hops. Domestic beer uses a special kind of hops that doesn’t break down as quickly, but many import beers use regular hops. If you buy a six pack of import beer (any color of glass), and it has been sitting on the shelf for a while, it might be skunky. Instead, buy an unopened case – it will taste much better.
http://blog.beeriety.com/2009/06/29/skunky-beer-how-it-happens-and-how-to-avoid-letting-it-happen/ - Most American beers are lagers.
Lager beer is brewed and stored cold.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lager
Originally, in Germany, lager beer was stored in caves during the winter, and “lager” is German for “stock” (or store).
https://www.google.com/search?num=30&newwindow=1&q=translate+”lager”+to+english&oq=translate+”lager”+to+english - It’s LEGAL to make beer or wine for your own consumption.
There is no federal restriction from brewing your own beer or wine, up to 24% ABV (Alcohol By Volume). There might be state or local laws where you live, so be sure to check first!
Conversely, it’s illegal to make or sell distilled spirits of any kind, in any volume, without a federal distiller’s license.
(update: 4/27/2014)
- Those stupid aluminum beer bottles are expensive, and don’t keep your beer cold! I don’t know who came up with the idea, but supposedly, it keeps your beer cold, longer. People tend to think of cold as something, when in reality, cold is a lack of heat energy (a lack of something).
Working for the aluminum bottles, they are usually 16oz rather than 12oz (standard can or bottle). This means that there is 33% more fluid to absorb (relatively) the same amount of heat. If a standard can or bottle absorbs one kilocalorie of heat energy, each ounce absorbs about 83 calories. Likewise, a 16oz aluminum bottle of beer only absorbs about 63 calories per ounce. Of course, more beer per vessel takes longer to drink, providing more time to absorb heat, so perhaps this is NOT an advantage!
Working against the aluminum bottles, aluminum is an excellent conductor of heat! Compared to a standard 12oz aluminum can, there is simply no advantage based on material, while glass is actually a much better insulator than aluminum. Since greater surface area means faster heat transfer, the aluminum bottle’s greater surface-area-to-volume ratio means that it will absorb heat faster (per volume) than an aluminum can. Although the aluminum and glass bottles have similar surface-area-to-volume ratios, the glass bottle is better-insulated, meaning it absorbs heat slower.
On a cost-basis, aluminum bottles will typically cost much more than glass or a standard can. Most aluminum bottles are 16oz compared to 12, but you are also paying for a big hunk of aluminum. Typically, the cost per fluid ounce is 20% more (or higher) than glass or can.
Aluminum bottles are convenient on beaches and other areas where glass is not allowed. If you end up having to purchase aluminum bottles, either use a foam coozie that covers the entire outside area of the bottle, or simply wrap it in duct tape. Your beer will stay cold much longer, compared to “naked” aluminum.