The Loss Column — Baltimore Sports Blog and Community

ed. note: this is the latest in an occasional series of columns by Ryan Boddy on something near and dear to the hearts of many sports fans — beer.

Summer being here, most brewers have entered reverse hibernation, estivation if you will. Most brew clubs don’t convene for “big brews” after May, and any beer that gets brewed tends to be of the lighter variety, in both color and richness.

Let’s face it; few people are interested in slugging down a robust porter in 95 degree heat with the humidity level hovering somewhere between steam bath and pressure cooker. We want beach beers, baseball beers, and back porch BBQ beers. We want beer that is refreshing, and that can be consumed in bulk without winding up passed out behind the push-mower.

Typically, this means light lagers like Pilseners, and American Light lagers. There are plenty of these beers commercially available, which is a good thing for the beginning or intermediate homebrewer because brewing them requires substantial refrigeration. Unless you live in Alaska or the Southern Hemisphere this time of the year, this entails modifying a refrigerator to include precise temperature control and the removal of racks to accommodate fermenters and kegs; obviously not something every brew dood is up for.

But there are other options besides lagers.

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editor’s note: this is the latest in a series of libations-related occasional columns by contributor Ryan Boddy

Despite temperatures near 90 degrees, autumn is at least officially here. As such, the thoughts of many a brew fan turn to seasonal additions to their normal schedule of beer crafting and drinking. Typically, this means pumpkin ales. Funny thing is, most of these ales don’t actually contain any pumpkin at all, and the ones that do are usually inferior to those that don’t.

The reason is simple. Most people associate pumpkin’s flavor with the pie that they scarf down after Thanksgiving dinner, while the actual fruit tastes more like a rather bland squash. It’s the flavor of the spices used to make that pie that people want in their ales. Perhaps pumpkin ales should more accurately be described as “pumpkin pie ales.”

Some brewers take to adding roasted pumpkin flesh to their mash tun, and then finish things off by adding a certain amount of nutmeg, clove, cinnamon, allspice, and mace at the same time they add hops. The difference is almost imperceptible if things go according to plan, and disastrous if they don’t (I’ve heard remarks about ales with pumpkin used in the mash that likened the flavor to that of a Matchbox car). The squash addition doesn’t up the ante for flavor or alcohol production, and is much more likely to create off-flavors than just the spice addition (not to mention a fog that can’t be exorcised from the finished product).

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(editor’s note: this is the latest installment of “So Yeah, Dood” — a semi-regular column devoted to something near and dear to many a sports fan’s heart: beer.)

One of the holy grails of the intermediate brewer is the achievement of brewing a beer that has good head retention. That is, the beer maintains an appropriate amount of foamy suds throughout the duration of the drink. Despite this, bartenders often spend inordinate amounts of time during their workday spilling off valuable foam into a drain, just to provide the drinker with what is supposedly more bang for the buck. What’s the point of having it at all if it takes up space in the glass that would otherwise be actual beer?

The short answer is that without it — despite getting more liquid — you aren’t getting everything you paid for. Head serves a purpose more important than looking good in advertising. Head acts as a diffuser for the aromas relatively locked and buried beneath the surface tension of the beer. Because we drink beers generally either ice-cold or at cellar temperatures (45-50 degrees), they don’t diffuse molecules into the air as readily as say, red wines or brandies that begin to smell intensely as they are warmed by the heat from our own hands conducted through the glass. That lack of diffusion leads inevitably to a reduction in flavor.

Beer’s aroma arises with the effervescence of the CO2 coming out of solution. You see it rising up from the bottom of the glass or bottle. Head prolongs and intensifies this diffusion, allowing more of the beer molecules to enter our noses. And yes, it looks good in advertising, and ultimately in a glass up close and personal.

Within the brewing process, factors ranging from how much alcohol the yeast produces and how much it settles out of solution, to the amount of unfermented sugars left in the beer all affect whether a beer will generate and retain head. How hoppy the beer is can also be a factor, as hops contain oils that can both help and hinder the process.

A well-poured beer in a clean glass should retain head for a while, leaving a lace pattern down the insides of the glass as the beer is consumed. Typically, with a pint glass, a good pour utilizes the standard “45-degrees-until-half-of-the-glass-is-full-and-then-straight-down-until-full” method. This ought to give the drinker about an inch or inch and a half of head that should slowly decrease until the beer is gone, allowing the drinker the chance to fully smell, taste, and hopefully enjoy the beer. (more…)

Editor’s note: this is the latest in an ongoing series about something near and dear to the hearts of many sports fans: beer. Read the rest in the “so yeah, dood” category on the right.

Most actual fermentation occurs in the first week to ten days after yeast is added to the wort. Depending on the style of beer, brewers tend to siphon, or rack, the resultant beer into a secondary fermenting vessel.

If a brewer wants to clear a beer following fermentation, he will usually transfer beer that has reached its expected final gravity from the primary fermenter to a secondary fermenter. Doing this, the brewer can siphon, or rack off of the spent yeast cake that has settled to the bottom of the primary fermenter. If he happens to make the same beer, he can use the spent yeast instead of re-pitching from a new starter, though usually brewers will only do this one time to avoid significant changes in the yeast strain.

Flavoring agents are usually added during secondary fermentation. For instance, if you want a raspberry flavored ale, you would pour raspberry purée into the empty secondary fermenter, and then rack the beer onto the fruit and let it soak up the raspberry essence for between ten dasy and two weeks.

By cooling the second fermenter, suspended particles of yeast, grain dust, flakes of coagulated proteins, and other bits will fall to the bottom of the new fermenter where they can be left behind when bottling or kegging. This process is called lagering, but doesn’t necessarily make the final product a lager. Lager in German literally means “to store.” True lager beers are often lagered at near freezing temperatures; often for lengthy periods of time in order to fully clear a beer of particles and stronger yeast-produced flavors.

Beer is not carbonated at this point in the process. While yeast produces carbon dioxide throughout fermentation, the gas is not allowed to pressurize. Brewers use airlocks to take advantage of the positive pressure created by the CO2 production of the yeast to keep unwanted oxygen, wild yeasts, bacteria, and other invaders out of the vulnerable, fermenting wort. Getting the fizz into beer can be done in a number of ways.

For bottling, a small amount of sugar is added to the beer, sometimes with the addition of a strain of yeast specifically developed for bottling. Once the bottle is sealed, the added sugar allows the yeast to produce enough CO2 to pressurize the bottle. When the bottles are cool, more of this CO2 will chemically dissolve into the beer, escaping when the bottle is uncapped. As the liquid warms up, you can see the gas coming out of solution as it rises up from the bottom of your glass. This process is called bottle conditioning. Cask or keg conditioned ales pretty much do the same thing. All of this usually takes about two weeks, which can be a long time to wait if you’ve already spent three weeks or more waiting to taste your beer. But like a lot of things, it can be worth it.

Force carbonating is a different story. This process involves forcibly pumping CO2 into the beer without the addition of sugars. After kegging the beer, brewers add as much gas as the keg will hold and then chill the beer. Once it’s cold, brewers shake the keg to force more gas in and return it to the cooler. Within a day or two — sometimes even hours if the beer is already cold enough — the beer is carbonated and ready to drink. Macrobrewers pasteurize and filter after primary fermentation so the beer contains no yeast but is full of dissolved CO2.

That’s how beer converts from crushed grains, leaves and water to wonderful elixir; proof, according to Benjamin Franklin, that God loves us and wants us to be happy.

(Editor’s note: this is the latest in an ongoing series relating to the process of making beer, something near and dear to the hearts of many sports fans. For earlier installments please browse the category archives.)

Immediately following the end of the boil, brewers turn their minds to fermentation, the part of the brewing process that requires the least actual work but the most patience. Despite the seeming simplicity of this phase, careful choices must be made.

Yeast performs most of the legwork of brewing. By “digesting” sugars suspended in the wort, yeast respirates carbon dioxide just like we do, but it also produces another waste product: Alcohol. Given, there are certain sugars that the yeast can’t digest, and these unconvertible sugars give beer sweetness and aid in head retention.

Wort is cooled to below 80 degrees. A specific gravity reading is taken using a hydrometer. This determines the relative density of the liquid, and allows brewers to determine both when the beer has stopped fermenting, and what the beer’s final alcohol content by volume (ABV) will be. After aerating or oxygenating the wort, we pitch yeast.

Most of the time brewers decide on a particular strain of yeast that they want to use in advance of even starting their brew. They consider whether they want to produce ale or lager. Using yeast that rests on top of the wort (top-fermenting), and converts sugar to alcohol most efficiently at temperatures in the upper 50s, an ale is produced. Exactly the opposite, bottom-fermenting, cold temperature yeast (below 50 degrees) produces a lager.

Ale yeasts produce abundant flavors just by converting sugars. They give off chemical aroma and flavor compounds that affect the final taste of the beer. The higher the temperature, the more and different chemical flavors the yeast will produce.

Lagers ferment cold and produce fewer esters but also produce a much clearer final product. Most store-bought canned beer is lager. Brewers must maintain strict temperature control when using lager yeasts to avoid producing off flavors.

Of course, there are many different strains of yeast in both categories. California Ale yeast has a high alcohol tolerance, so it is more likely to continue to ferment when living in high concentrations of its own waste product. There are about as many types of yeast as there are styles of beer. Ale yeasts specifically cultured for use in wheat beers produce fruity, clove and banana-like esters. They give hefeweizens their characteristic cloudiness and fruity, citric flavor. Hefeweizen literally means beer with yeast, as the yeast is not intentionally cleared from the beer.

Coming next, from flat to fizzy: conditioning beer.

Hard as it may be for Americans to see much of what’s happening at the FINA World Championships in Melbourne, Baltimore has vested interest in two major players at the event.

Towson resident Michael Phelps utterly crushed Aussie golden boy Ian Thorpe’s record in the 200 meter freestyle Tuesday, with a new time of 1:43.86. The old standard, 1:44.06, was widely touted as practically unbeatable. American backstroker Aaron Peirsol called it “probably the single most incredible record in the books.”

“I thought this 200 freestyle record by Ian would last for 10, maybe 20 years,” Dutch competitor Pieter van den Hoogenband said.

Wednesday night, Phelps broke his own month-old record in the 200 butterfly (1:52.09), more than a second faster than the old standard (1:53.71). Then Thursday he broke another world record in the 200 Individual Medley (one lap each of butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke and freestyle).

Meanwhile, fellow Baltimorean and North Baltimore Aquatics Club teammate Katie Hoff won the 200 I.M., setting a new FINA World Championship record of 2:10.13. As in track events, certain records in swimming are particularly difficult to break. The 200 Freestyle is one of the harder events to swim, akin to middle distance events in running like the 800 meters. It’s a long sprint that requires both discipline and raw physical power to swim well. Still, breaking 1.62 seconds off any personal best, much less the world reocrd in the 200 Fly, is beyond significant. Things like that just don’t happen. Butterfly is the most difficult stroke to master. Phelps’ breaking of these records is proof positive that he’s the best swimmer in the world at his events, especially when you consider how much time he broke the records by. And he’s only halfway through his program!

It’s good to see B-more on the aquatics map.

editor’s note: “So Yeah, Dood” is a regular column by contributor Ryan Boddy which deals with something near and dear to the hearts of many sports fans: beer. The goal is to provide insight into the process by which it is made, and the many ways we enjoy it. This piece is the second in a series.

At mash-out, wort is transferred to a vessel where it is brought to a boil. In this phase of the brewing process, flavoring and preservative agents are added at pre-determined intervals.

In a general sense, this step is easy. You bring the wort to a boil and you dump some herbs into it. Within that framework, however, brewers have some serious decisions to make. Choice of additive, length of boil, and times at which additions are made can all have wildly divergent effects on the final product. Subtle differences in this process can result in making a beer that fits a recipe style, or could cause an outcome more in line with a 40 oz. than your typical craft brewed beer.

There are hundreds of different hop varieties to choose from. The Noble Hops — Hallertauer, Tettananger, Spaltz, and Saaz — are the famous German and Czech varieties used to make Pilseners, Märzens, and Weissebiers. Goldings, Northern Brewer, and Fuggles typically go into British beers like Bass and Newcastle. American cultivated hops are typically fruity, floral flavor giants. Cascade, Chinook, and Crystal hops all impart flavors distinct to American craft-brewed beers.

Once a type of hop is chosen, there’s also what form to use the hops in. Plugs, pellets, whole leaf, dry or fresh, each form has an effect on the product. A fresh hop is very similar to the use of fresh herbs in cooking. They don’t keep well and lose flavor over time in the finished product, but used correctly impart a much more pungent, fresh aroma than dry. Dry hops behave like dried herbs, with a little bit going a lot farther than the fresh. Certain beers —like Lambics— even call for the use of oxidized, spoiled, cheesy smelling hops.

The wort is brought to a boil and the initial bittering hop addition is made. This essentially provides a preservative backbone for the beer. Hop oils naturally prevent beer spoilage to a certain degree, while allowing brewing yeasts to thrive. In the past, agents ranging from spruce tips to wormwood were used for the same purpose. Usually with a few minutes left in the total boil time, another, usually smaller addition will be made. This provides the majority of hop flavor to the beer while an addition made at knock-out —when the heat is removed from the kettle— provides the familiar hoppy aroma of finished beer.

Some American brewers have taken to drastically altering this traditional boil structure in attempts to break out of conventional styles. Dogfish Head Brewing in particular works in creating “extreme” beers. Their 60, 90, and 120 minute IPAs are continuously hopped, producing a much more pronounced aroma and flavor profile.

Other herbs can also be added to achieve different characters during the boil. Beers like Blue Moon and Hoegaarden use curaçao orange peel and coriander to achieve a more floral, citrus character. Seeds of paradise, liquorice root, and numerous other spices can be used as well.

The wort is held at a rolling boil for a pre-determined time. Usually, the boil is closely attended in order to prevent boilovers, and a timer is monitored to ensure hops are added at the correct intervals. The longer a wort is boiled, the more intense the flavors become. Think about steeping tea — the longer you leave the bag in, the stronger the flavor gets.

However, the boil doesn’t just allow for the addition of preservative and aroma/flavoring agents. The boil has a significant effect on the beer’s eventual clarification. Even without adding a clarifying agent like Irish Moss or isinglass during the aroma hop addition, the wort will go through what’s called a “hot break” in which proteins denature and coagulate at a certain temperature. Another break, “a cold break,” happens when the wort cools off, allowing the brewer to leave undesirable, nasty tasting particles behind before pitching yeast and fermenting.

Which we’ll get to next installment.

For years soccer enthusiasts have whined about the sport’s stateside unpopularity. They complain about a lack of real coverage and game broadcasts. But…they also have Fox Soccer channel and numerous leagues to follow with — conceivably — a game to watch almost every day. Water polo fans have no such luck. Outside of collegiate level (usually club team) events, watching water polo is something fans in the U.S. might get to do every other year if they’re lucky. Fortunately, this is one of those years.

The Federation Internationale de Natation (FINA), aquatic sports’ governing body, holds its World Championships in Melbourne, Australia beginning March 19th and running through April 1st. This begs the question, “Why should I care about water polo?”

Reason number 1: It’s tougher than any other team sport you’re likely to watch on television.

Water polo is played in no less than 10 feet of water, requiring players to swim or tread water for the duration of play. Players cannot touch the bottom or sides of the pool. In FINA competition, that’s 32 minutes of constant motion, save a short halftime. Even soccer players, notoriously fit by most standards, can’t claim that.

Prior to games, officials actually examine the finger and toenails of each player, with clippers at the ready to help avoid bloodshed. Players are regularly in contentious, close contact with each other. Hand checking is legal to the point where actually dunking a ball handling player under the water is merely an “ordinary foul,” that doesn’t result in a hockey-style power play. If the player doesn’t have the ball, dunking leads to a kickout.

In the sport’s early history, players essentially wrestled their way from one goal to the other with few fouls called. Even today, players routinely say “If it’s underwater it’s legal,” referring to kicking, holding, and wrapping up players beneath the obscured surface. Dirty play is common.

The most famous game in international history was played at the ’56 Olympics, also held in Melbourne. Hungary — reacting to the events of the Hungarian Revolution that ended with a large Soviet army crushing a small group of student demonstrators — beat the Soviets 4-0 after the game was halted with a minute left for fear of spectators joining in on the violence. This match is referred to as the Blood in the Water match, and the pool was rumored to have turned red from the violent play.

Reason number 2: Improvements in broadcast technology have made games easier to follow on TV; sometimes even easier than watching tank-side.

Back in the day, with only one or two cameras available, spectators usually got no more than a relatively wide shot from the side of the tank with little regard for the action that takes place in the water. Ball movement was captured but shots on goal weren’t very well represented.

Now, with multiple cameras, overhead shots, and impressive underwater capabilities, TV spectators actually see more than they could if they were actually there. While images don’t quite get you virtually in the tank, TV broadcasts get us better angles, more clear views of shots on goal, and ultimately a better understanding of the game being played. The sport utilizes a basketball-like offense in game play akin to hockey. It’s fast-paced and exciting, with little downtime.

Reason number 3: Unlike U.S. Soccer, the American teams are actually pretty damned good.

The women’s team won a bronze medal at the ‘04 Athens Olympics and the men’s team put in a strong showing as legitimate medal contenders despite fierce international competition. While Team U.S.A.’s soccer squad is improving, the idea that they could contend for a gold medal, much less the World Cup, is at this point in time ludicrous. U.S. Water Polo is significantly more legit.

It’s also important to note that Water Polo does happen in the Free State. The prep high schools all have teams, Hopkins has a Division III team, and Navy’s team is consistently good despite the power teams traditionally being located in California.

Reason number 4: It’s cooler than being an American soccer ponce.

Ever notice the way American hipster dudes always have a British Premier League affiliation? They support Arsenal, or Liverpool, or cliché of clichés, Chelsea. They’re annoying anglophiles in the utmost extreme, and don’t believe them when they tell you that they’ve loved Man U ever since they were kids. They started watching soccer after they read some interview with Morrissey.

Watching water polo would make you far more arcane and obscure. Plus, ear protectors are cooler than shin-guards, even if polo players do wear Speedos. Who’s at risk for losing an ear on a soccer field?

Reason number 5: It’s your only chance to see this level of competition until 2008.

The next time the sport is likely to be televised is at the Beijing Olympics. This means that matches will be on NBC at 4 AM, and only the ones featuring U.S. teams. Here’s hoping they make the championship game or you’re unlikely to even see that game.

So sure, Melbourne’s matches won’t likely be aired at a time convenient to us here in Baltimore — probably about midnight on ESPN2 — but that’s what Tivo is for. You can be in on the ground floor as a fan of one of the oldest team sports in Olympic competition and have bragging rights that your spectator sport of choice is more obscure than the next guy’s.

At least until some dude decides the next sport to watch amongst the hipster elite is curling.