All Life Is An Experiment – Start with your next beer!

Have you ever thought about a random topic and wondered how far back you have had connections with, or memories related to said item?

Dusting off the cobwebs in the back of my mind, I have memories regarding beer going back to about 10 years old.  No, I didn't drink it then. My father made an attempt at home brew.  My memory is of beer running on the laundry room floor after bottles, stacked in cases, seemed to have burst in sympathetic detonation.  That was the end of home brew in our house.

Later, in the early 1960’s when I was 16, I bussed tables in a regimental beer hall in Camp Drum, New York (now Fort Drum.)  My father, HQ S-3,  arranged for my under-age hiring. The building was a long, low clap-board affair dating to the Second World War.  The beer hall was only open in the summer months, catering to the reservists coming to train at the camp's extensive ranges.  There was row after row of tables, usually piled high with beer cans. I would sweep the beer cans, and plastic cups, many of which still contained beer, into a large, plastic bag lined, steel trash can.  When the bag was full, I would take it from the can and throw it over-hand into a huge dumpster that was taller than I, resulting in my being constantly showered with stale beer.

Two summers later, I worked as a truckers helper for a Falstaff distributor in Leavenworth, Kansas.  That job was pretty cushy. A goodly part of the workday was spent traveling to rural taverns and bars scattered over a wide area.  Falstaff is an old American beer that I doubt many people miss today.

As a college student, in El Paso, Texas, my friends and I would drink Carte Blanca and Dos Equis in Juarez, and have kegs of Bud or Coors at "beer busts" on the banks of the Rio Grande.  When we wanted something "classy" at our favorite pizza restaurant, the Village Inn, we would have a Lowenbraü. At that time, we also thought Lancers and Mateuse Rose were great wines, evidence our youthful tastes were very unsophisticated.

Al, Ft. Riley Kansas 1951

My father in law, Al, bought whatever was cheap at the package store on post. I shared many an Old Milwaukee or Meisterbrau with him until, in his 60's a meddling Veterans Administration physician convinced him that his daily beer was bad for him.

Beer, in my past seemed to have been just plain beer.  Lagers, ales, pilsners, 3.2 "near beer", wheat beers, or stouts, good or bad it was just "beer flavored" beer. 

Today, with the world getting smaller, we are blessed in having easy access to beers of all types, both foreign and  domestic. For this reason, my taste for "American lawn cutting beer," as I once heard a German braumeister describe it, has plummeted over the last 30 years. 

Today, there is an interesting trend in American beer that would have probably failed in the not too distant past. It seems there is a rush to see what flavors can be added to beer. We have  lemon, lime, apricot, pumpkin, peach, clamato, chocolate, raspberry, grapefruit, and green chile beer—just to name a few.

If I may draw a conclusion based on the stores I frequent, this is an almost wholly American phenomena.  I have tried all of those mentioned once.  I did not find any that were good enough to buy a second time.

Beer-based drinks have long existed in England and Germany. While there are a few seen in the US today, for example the Michelada and Red Beer (both of which are excellent if you make your own), one wonders if the trend here for fairly tasteless, pre-packaged flavored beers, is because people are too lazy to "roll their own". While a number of the beers produced are OK, there are several that are poor imitations of flavored sparkling water.  Thinking of big “B” now.

With the increasing popularity of "flavored" beers, I thought I would offer up some of my favorite beer-based recipes, or what the Germans call “biermischungen.”  Taking time to make your beverage is a sure way to increase your pleasure as you savor your efforts. Making your own also let's you titrate the mix to your own taste.

First, the Dog's Nose,  is simply a glass of ale with a dash of gin.  This drink dates to the early 1800’s. According to various texts, it was favored by British sailors and coachmen. This is also an easy drink to enjoy at your favorite watering hole.  I order a glass of ale with a shot of gin on the side and build it myself.

Shandygaff, another English potable is 1/2 ale or lager and 1/2 ginger beer or ginger ale.  A recipe from the 1880’s specifies “One pint of bitter beer, and a bottle of old fashioned ginger beer mixed together and only imbibed on the hottest summer days after rowing.” A nice, light summer cooler.  It dates as far back as the 1600’s.  Served in venues as dissimilar as inns and tea gardens, it was often paired with cheese and biscuit and considered a refreshing drink for walkers and bicyclists.

The Maulesel (Mule) is Germany's answer to the Dog's Nose. Like the others listed here, it is a quick recipe. Add about 1 oz gin and 1 oz. lemon juice (juice of 1/2 a lemon) to a beer glass and fill with beer. I have no idea how old this is, but it is great with bratwurst and sauerkraut.

A Berlinerweisse is a “biermichunge” that is definitely on the fruity side.  Add about 1 oz. raspberry syrup to a beer glass and fill with hefeweizen. I prefer Monin raspberry syrup.  If you use Steinhager instead of raspberry syrup, you have a Berlinerweisse mit Strippe (with stripper.)  If  beer with fruit overtones appeals to you, try a bit of any of the Monin syrups, but go lightly.  You will get some interesting results.  If you do not want to buy, or use, an expensive German hefewiesen, you can substitute Blue Moon with decent results.

The Radler (Bicyclist) seems to be a 1950’s or 60’s innovation.  One story says that  a group of bicyclists stopped at a gasthaus and the owner, not having enough beer, mixed it with lemonade.  The Radler is 50/50 mix of beer and lemonade. Best with a marzenbier or lager. I use San Pelligrino Limonata or Aranciata, as the lemonade, since they are not too sweet and lend a nice citrus tang.

Ralph Waldo Emerson said: “All life is an experiment.  The more experiments you make the better.”  In addition to buying some of the “flavored” concoctions coming from the brewers, try your own. You might be surprised.