The Beer Gourmand, An amateur's guide to beer. Common questions asked about beer FAQs

Frequently Asked Questions.
If you need another beer related question answered that you don't see in here, please feel free to use the contact form located here

Aren't you just like all the other beer review sites?
What is a beer finger? What is a finger? What does “finger high” mean?
Is beer healthy? Is beer good for you?
What is beer lacing?
What causes beer bubbles? Why is beer fizzy? What is carbonation in beer?
What is beer foam? What is beer head and what is the foam inside of the glass?
What exactly is beer?
What's the main difference in Lagers and Ales?
What is "Spontaneous Fermentation?"
Top fermented/bottom fermented. What is that?
What is wort?
What is Malted Barley?
What are hops and what do they do?
What is ice beer?
How long does beer last once I get it (buy it)?
What is a beer gourmand?
Why don't you use the traditional style of taste testing?
I hear Texas has beer-drive throughs...Is this true?

Q: Aren't you just like all the other beer review sites?
A: Yes and no.
No: What sets us apart from other websites is the fact we aren't overloaded with thousands and thousand of different beers. Most beers rated on this site are readily available for purchase at your local store. We are not too technical with our reviews either. We give you a review that's easy to understand without all the technical beer speak.
Yes: The beers reviewed on this site may also be found elsewhere on the Internet and our ratings are usually similar by comparison. That's about as close as we come to other sites.
Try this:
Next time you are at your favorite beer store load up our alphabetical listing page. We make it extremely easy for you to find the beer you are looking for.

Q: What is a beer finger? What is a finger? What does “finger high” mean?
A: It's a rudimentary way of measuring how tall the beer head is in your glass. Imagine pouring a beer into a glass and you notice the beer has a head. You would place your fingers in succession along the glass to measure the size of the head. It's nothing more than to give you, the reader, a visual aspect of how large the head is. A healthy beer head usually is a very appealing aspect to the overall enjoyment of the beer.
See Also: What is beer lacing?

Q: Is beer healthy? Is beer good for you?
A: While we will let your doctor decide if you should drink or not we will say that studies have shown (Studies done by college students...Drunk college students.) that drinking in moderation may provide some healthful benefits. Studies have shown that consuming beer in moderation can lower your risk of stroke (The bad kind of stroke.) and heart disease. Don't believe us? Check out AskMen's article. We love AskMen.

Q: What is beer lacing?
A: Lacing is the result of the head sticking to the side of the glass as the beer is consumed. Lacing is a desirable feature for many beer drinkers. Some say this tells you the beer is good but that depends on your personal taste. What beer lacing does tell you is how well formed your beer head was.

Q: What causes beer bubbles? Why is beer fizzy? What is carbonation in beer?
A: Beer bubbles, beer fizz or carbonation is caused by the action of yeast. When the yeast eat the sugars in beer they produce a by-product of carbon dioxide (CO2) and alcohol. Carbon dioxide is a gas that dissolves in the liquid and remains that way under pressure until you open the beer. You can further release the CO2 by pouring beer into a glass. When you do this the CO2 that is released during the pour into the glass from inside the beer carries some of the aroma with it. Some beer brewers actually enhance the natural carbonation causing their beer to be especially carbonated like a soda.

Q: What is beer foam? What is beer head and what is the foam inside of the glass?
A: Beer foam (the head) and foam around the glass as the beer is consumed (lacing) is due to the release of carbon dioxide. Several factors help produce a beer head, one of which is the yeast and the other is the type of grain used. Typically wheat beers produce the biggest and longest lasting heads. Also, the type of glass used and the method of pouring can help to enhance the head. Nucleation may play a roll as well. This is why it's important to thoroughly clean your glass and allow it to dry before use.
For further reading check out Wikipedia's article here (opens a new tab/window)

Q: What exactly is beer?
A: Beer is a fermented alcoholic drink made by fermenting cereal grains such as barley, wheat and oats. The yeast added in beer eat the sugars in these grains and then the yeast expels alcohol as a by-product (although a much desired by-product). After a period of time the yeast become saturated in alcohol and start to die off. When it reaches this point, the beer is then fermented. The main ingredients in beer are water, barley, hops and yeast. Check out the video below for more information.

Q: What's the main difference in Lagers and Ales?
A: Ales are top fermented and Lagers are bottom fermented.

Q: What is "Spontaneous Fermentation?"
A: Spontaneous fermentation is where brewmasters use wild yeast to ferment the beer. Wild yeast is all around us and floating in the air. The use of wild yeast in spontaneous fermentation can result in unpredictable fermentation, thus affecting taste and may be a safety issue. This type of brewing was common in ancient times before man knew how to cultivate yeast cultures. See video below for more information on a brewer using spontaneous fermentation. Notice how much more involved the process is.

Q: Top fermented/bottom fermented. What is that?
A: Simply put top fermenting yeast float to the top and bottom fermenting yeast sink towards the bottom. Top fermenting yeast like it much warmer. Around room temperature. This works the best for brewing if you are a home brewer. This produces ale style beers. Bottom fermenting yeasts are used to produce lager style brews. This type of yeast likes cooler temperatures. This yeast is used to brew styles such as Pilsners and Bocks.

Q: What is wort?
A: Wort is what all the ingredients that make the liquid in beer before yeast is added. After fermentation it can then technically be called "beer." Also, it can be called wort after yeast is added and before the start of fermentation but this is not always the case.

Q: What is Malted Barley?
A: Malted barley is cereal grain that has been alowed to slightly germanate. After which it can be dried and roasted. The way the barley is treated after malting varies greatly from brewer to brewer. This leads to wide varieties of taste and different style of brews. For an example, pale roasted malts, dark roasted malts.

Q: What are hops and what do they do?
A: Hops are a type of flower related to cannabis. Hops impart a bitter, spicy flavor in beer. Hops also help preserve beer. Brewers call hops, "the spice of beer."

Q: What is ice beer?
A: Ice beer involves lowering the temperature until ice starts to form then filtering it to get rid of the ice. With the reduction of water this makes ice beer more potent.

Q: How long does beer last once I get it?
A: Beer is a perishable item. Beer isn't meant to stay in storage for long periods of time. Beer can last longer when the bottles are dark tinted or canned but it should be consumed fairly quick. Unlike wine beer isn't safe to drink after a long period of time. This is due to the comparatively low alcohol content in beer. Simply put, there's not enough alcohol to preserve the other ingredients in the beer. I should note that this is for only normal beers. Beers with a higher ABV content will store longer under the right conditions. A beer with a 10% ABV will store longer.

Q: What is a beer gourmand?
A: A gourmand is someone who appreciates good food just in larger portions! A beer gourmand is someone who likes good beer but instead of sipping, and holding one's pinky finger in the air in a snobbish manner we'll drink a few at a time. Remember that a gourmand doesn't care who knows they like good food and/or drink.

Q: What does it take to be a beer gourmand?
A: The love of beer and a willingness to try new brews!

Q: Know of any good beer games?
A: Now why would want to play with your beer?

Q: Why don't you use the traditional style of taste testing?
Appearance, smell, taste and mouth feel?
A: I do, I just don't call it that. Remember that this site was developed with the amateur in mind. This isn't a professional beer drinker's site. I do however go one step further and give a rating on the history. The longer they've been in business the higher the rating. One should expect a superior product the longer a company has been around. However, this is not always the case. The history rating is of little importance when it comes to judging the actual beer. It's more of a "fun" type rating. Also too remember that you are no different than an expert! You are able to see and taste just like they do.

Q: I hear Texas has beer-drive throughs...Is this true?
A: Yes it is and Texas isn't the only place either. Check out a
Picture of a beer drive-thru located in Cleburne Texas