Ale Street News Online

Greenwashing is sweeping over the country like so much green-dyed lager on Paddy’s Day, and everyone wants to feel good about the environment. Brewers from Alaska to Florida brewing truly "green" beer with organic ingredients.

America and Britain currently share the same low consumer confidence but beer has several double whammies. It’s being hit by the health lobby as alcohol joins tobacco as the reason for society’s ills.

Last night, over several plates of very good food and a few equally fine beers, I participated in a volunteer brainstorming session dedicated to finding direction for a fledgling, 1-year-old beer fest held at a Toronto attraction called Black Creek Pioneer Village.

Beer enthusiasts relish recalling their great romances with certain brews. I, for one, have had an enduring love for Bavarian wheat beer. I don’t care whether it’s light or dunkel, or named Franziskaner or Schneider. The same goes for Belgian whites and saisons. Dupont, Hennepin, Blanche de Chambly…they’re all dreamy.

When I first moved to Brooklyn years ago, I ventured out one day to explore my new neighborhood and stumbled upon a cool neighborhood bar. They had many beers on tap that I had never heard of, so I asked for a recommendation. "Try this, everyone loves it" was the reply.

ESB, which is an acronym for Extra Special Bitter, hasn’t become quite as well known as its 3-letter cousin IPA, but this style, first introduced by the Fuller’s brewery as a winter beer in 1971, has become the best known of the three styles of English Bitter. It has inspired many professional and amateur brewers to attempt to brew something akin to the original, often with great results.