Beer Recipe: French Alliance “Myrtile” Lambic

“Myrtille” is French for Blueberry. It is popular in some so-called patriotic circles to make snarky comments about France and the French, We call them “Frogs” and complain about rescuing them from their foreign exploits like Vietnam when they hold us to high moral standards on our adventures. The fact, however, is that the United …

Basic Colonial Brewing #9 — Mashing and Decoction

The first major step in brewing beer is to extract the fermentable sugars and starches from the malt kernels.  This process is called mashing (from the German maisch: to mix).  The basic idea is to harness the enzymes already present in the grain in order to digest the complex inert starches into fermentable simple sugars.  …

Demanding Loyalty is a Sign of WEAK Leadership

All leadership is influence – nothing more, nothing less. ~John Maxwell This week, the GOP (henceforth to be known as the “Grossly Obsolete Party” rather than the Grand old Party) announced they were removing Liz Cheney because she was not loyal to their ideals (as if they had any).  This is weird because if you …

Party Loyalty is UNAMERICAN!

“Remaining silent and ignoring the lie emboldens the liar.  I will not participate in that. I will not sit back and watch in silence, while others lead our party down a path that abandons the rule of law and joins the former president’s crusade to undermine our democracy.” – Congresswoman Liz Cheney of Wyoming As …

Sugar Cones or Loaves and the Making of Rum

During Antiquity and the Middle Ages, sugar was rare and expensive commodity.  Beginning in the 15th century, however, sugar cane plantations developed in the West Indies, then South America, particularly in Brazil. Sugar was the top colonial commodity. It was at the root of the ‘triangular trade’, where European shipowners exchanged trinkets for African men, who were then sold as slaves …