A Source is a Source, Of Course Of Course?
When “apple” doesn’t mean “green apple.”
Recently, two things happened in rapid succession that made me think “YES THANK YOU” and inspired this month’s newsletter topic. First, I saw this post from Em Sauter of Pints and Panels:
Second, I opened my inbox to see a Root Kitchens newsletter from thee Julia Skinner, Ph.D., with the subject line “Not all food preserving resources are good resources.”
YES THANK YOU WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT THIS.
I will let you read Julia’s thorough advice on evaluating sources yourself - please read it, because it’s filled with valuable information. Subscribe to all of her writing while you’re at it.
Lyz Lenz has also discussed the rise of AI-generated rewrites of actual books written by actual people. In one of her essays discussing the topic, she describes scrolling through Amazon and finding a biography. Of her. That no one consulted her about. And the book cover was almost identical to a book she did actually write, God Land: A Story of Faith, Loss, and Renewal in Middle America.
The account behind the original “Getting to Know Beer” post (which looks like it’s since been deleted), Cook’s Country, maintains that the post was written by a real person and not AI. If that is the case, big yikes, does anyone there do basic fact-checking? The account has over 700,000 followers and is part of the America’s Test Kitchen metaverse.
While sharing beer “facts” such as “wheat beers taste of clove, banana, and citrus,” is fairly innocuous, there is information out there that is dangerous. For example, Julia discusses how many AI-generated books on mushroom foraging are now for sale on Amazon. Several people have fallen ill due to the misidentification found in those books.
Like Julia also points out, humans can generate incorrect and even dangerous information and put it out into the world. While I haven’t seen any beer-related content that poses a clear and present danger to the public, I have seen plenty of incorrect information related to beer put out into the world and repeated.
A few:
No, American Lagers and American Light Lagers do not contain low levels of acetaldehyde.
The BJCP Guidelines have evolved their description of American Light Lagers and American Lagers from saying they have “perceptible levels of green apples due to acetaldehyde”1 to say they have a “light amount of yeast character (particularly a light apple fruitiness)”2 to saying that “a light amount of yeast character is not a fault.”3
I get how people can read the 2015 guidelines and conclude that “light apple fruitiness” means acetaldehyde. However, let’s explore that idea a little further. Ninety-five percent or so of the world’s beer consumption is macro lagers. Companies like Anheuser-Busch and MillerCoors brew and package so much on a daily basis that it is almost beyond comprehension. They’ve got their brewing process down, friends. Their products do not have detectable levels of acetaldehyde.
Also, the goal of macro lagers is, presumably, volume. They do that by making the flavor profile as neutral as possible. Additionally, the companies have sunk a ton of money into figuring out how to get people to drink more macro lagers. Acetaldehyde contributes to hangovers. A company interested in making their products as inoffensive as possible will take every necessary step to ensure there is no detectable acetaldehyde.
A light apple fruitiness is not the same as green apple. Rather, American lagers may have light levels of unripe apple fruitiness. This is also a good reminder that the words we use matter, and having specificity in flavor descriptions is no exception.
No, witches weren’t actually women brewers wearing tall hats at markets.
People want this to be true so badly, but it’s just not. There’s no evidence of this being true. It may make for a fun story, but it’s more a fairy tale than a historical fact.
No, caramel malts do not help with head retention, even if they’re called CaraFoam or CaraPils.
The science is still not settled on why caramel malts don’t help with head retention, but some research has shown that caramel malts act more like lipids in beer.
One thing that gets me really excited about the industry now is the new research newer companies are doing. As shown above, there is information out there that we’ve mostly just taken for granted or accepted as canon without really questioning it. One of the most lasting statements that I think about often is from Richard Preiss of Escarpment Labs: Most of what we think we know about beer is based on English translations of German brewing texts and some guy’s Ph.D. thesis from the 1970s.
We touched on a similar theme in the Bias on the Dais4 newsletter. As I went further in my beer studies, I started to realize that there is a small number of people who are given an assumption of skill that they do not appear to have. Now, when evaluating resources, I add the following to my screening process:
Is this person a knowledgeable beer writer or is he a guy who started writing about beer in the late 90s-early 2000s?
Is this person a reliable source for brewing information or is he a guy who was brewing in craft beer in 2007?
Is this person a good beer judge or is he a guy who owned a craft brewery in 2010?
Does this person’s credentials reflect their expertise or did they create the credentials they hold?
That’s not to say that being a guy writing about beer in 1999 or brewing craft beer in 2007 means they have no authority or knowledge. They definitely do. But I have run into plenty of men in the brewing industry who are happy to let people think they have a far greater skillset than they do. As Julia says in her newsletter, popularity does not mean expertise. Just because someone has an active social media account or is beer industry famous doesn’t mean they’re automatically right.
The Reason for the Season
In the United States, daylight saving time has ended, which means it’s getting darker earlier. Which also means it’s time for me to dig out the S.A.D. lamp I got as a Christmas gift.
Have you stepped outside in the fall and taken a deep breath of the crisp air? The smell of fallen leaves and the feeling of cold air going into your nostrils?
Have you wondered why you don’t have the same experience in the summer? It turns out the reason why we don’t have the same scent association with all of the seasons is heat and humidity.
Summer’s heat and humidity capture a lot of smells, more smells than the less humid, cooler fall weather does. Summer air creates a jumble of aromas, whereas fall air contains less volatile aromas.
Because the air contains less aromatic volatiles, we are better able to smell the scents of fall. The scents are largely decay occurring from the fungi and bacteria in the soil digesting the fallen leaves.
So tuck this away for a fun fact when you hear someone say how much they love the smell of fall.
And finally…
It is election time in the United States and somewhere around 70% of Americans are worried about it. Please remember that your local and state governments have a much bigger impact on your life than who the President is. Please also remember that “being the change” doesn’t stop at the voting booth - it starts at the voting booth.
Take care of yourself and check in on your community. When I am feeling particularly stressed out, I find that taking a few deep breaths or completing a short breathwork exercise on my meditation app, Aura, to be incredibly helpful. If you find yourself needing to calm your nervous system, try following this breathing exercise:
1999 BJCP Guide to Beer Styles
2015 BJCP Beer Style Guidelines
2021 BJCP Beer Style Guidelines
I sing “Bias on the Dais” to the tune of “Rock Me Amadeus” by Falco. You’re welcome.