This Is My Blood: Kalamazoo Stout

Pam wanted me to include
Willow's pacifier for
posterity.

I'm struggling to get through this chapter of Tasting Beer, I'm not going to lie. I understand why the brewing of beer is important in learning how to taste beer, but man, it feels like I'm reading a science textbook sometimes. Ugh. We continue.

I learned about "balance" today. In considering what raw materials and what created malts and what temperatures and what processes are going to be used in the creation of beer, a brewer must try to find a balance. Even the hoppiest beer has some smooth malt; even the creamiest stout has some hop bitterness. This is an innate idea, but it's the specifics that overwhelm me.

For instance, Mosher just assumed that I'd know what "gravity" meant when it came to beer, so I had to do some extra research to find out that it referred to how much "stuff" (i.e. sugar) is in the malt. The higher the gravity, the denser the beer. Apparently, gravity is a simple equation when you know the potential yield of the malt, and the proficiency of the procedure you're using. (Color and hops are a bit more complicated, and apparently are figured out with the help of computers these days.)

This can all be boiled down to a simple ratio, for the most part. The ratio is bitterness units to gravity units. The higher the gravity, the sweeter and smoother it's going to be, whereas the higher the bitterness, the more bitter hops are present. They are opposite and competing units, see, and so to achieve "balance," you want it to be 1:1.

The beer that I split with Pam tonight, Bell's Kalamazoo Stout, had that "balance" for sure. It was a dark stout—it poured dark black, like, really dark. And there was no carbonation practically, creating a smooth experience that you would expect from a beer of such color. But there was a strong bitterness to it as well, creating a bite that is similar to one you'd experience drinking coffee (no coincidence that the beer tasted strongly of coffee and cocoa).

But as Mosher indicates, "balance" is kind of a misnomer. Getting that 1:1 ratio isn't really necessary to make a certifiably great beer. Sometimes you need a beer that's way more hoppy than it is smooth, and vice versa. Achieving true balance is completely besides the point. Knowing how to make a good beer is way more complicated than that. Obviously.

NOTES

BEER: Kalamazoo Stout

GENRE: American Stout

ABV: 6.0%

BREWED BY: Bell's Brewery

LOCATION: Kalamazoo, MI

PURCHASED AT: IGA, probably

PRICE (AT THAT LOCATION): I need to do a better job at keeping track of these things

PAIRED WITH: hardboiled eggs, sliced and placed on toast with mayo (eating fancy tonight!!!)

GRADE: 2.5 pukes out of 5

BEER COUNT: 41.5