BEER ME!

Hate beer? Let me change your mind. As a college student, your experience with beer is probably limited only to the Bud light and Natty lite you drink at tailgates and house parties. Your first sip may have been horrible, but you continued to drink it because of social pressure and there was nothing else that you can chug. Then after one too many, you may have thrown up and decided for yourself that you absolutely hate beer and will never have one again. Well, let me help you give it another chance except this time we’ll replace the crap beer you had in the past with the craft beer that is full of flavor and aromas from all over the world. Here are the items on the agenda:

• What's in my beer?

• Beer Types

• Places for craft beers

So get your bottle openers ready because we're about to pop some bottles!!

What's in my beer?

Water: Most beginner brewers use tap water, but sophisticated brewers use varying levels of hardness and alkalinity of water to get different flavors from malt.  

Malt (left) and Hops (right)
Photo Courtesy of www.drinkbritain.com

Hops: Like the taste bitterness of beer? Hops has a bittering agent called alpha acid that adds the bitter flavor into beer. It is also used as a preservative to store beer for long periods of time, which explains why most beer nowadays has hops added in.

Malt: This ingredient gives your beer color, body, sweetness, and roasted flavors.

Yeast: This is the ingredient that causes all the magic to happen. Yeasts are living organisms that eat the sugars released from boiled malt and produces alcohol and CO2.

Other ingredients that can be added are: fruits, spices, grains and even chocolate!

Handy dandy diagram
Photo courtesy of popsci.com

Beer Types

Beer comes from two varieties: lagers and ales. The biggest difference between lagers and ales is not the ingredients that are used to brew the beer, but in the method of fermenting it. Lagers use bottom fermenting yeast, which means yeast that ferments at the bottom of the barrel, and usually fermented cold. Ales uses top fermenting yeast which ferments at warm temperature. So the important thing to remember is yeast used and the temperature that the beer is fermented at.

I have listed below some of the most common, and my favorite, styles of beers along with a few examples so that you can try them out by going to your local Ralphs.

• Pilsner: These are light lagers, usually with a light to golden yellow hue. Pilsners are usually low in alcohol content and features a strong hoppy flavor that makes this beer slightly bitter. Sam Adams Noble Pils, Lagunitas Pils, Firestone Pivo Hoppy Pils
• Stouts: Stouts are usually the darkest beers. They are roasted and have hints of chocolate, caramel, licorice, molasses or coffee. Magic Hat Vanilla Stout, Guinness Stout
•  Pale Ale: Made by warm fermentation, pale malt and slight hoppy flavor. Magic Hat Not Quite Pale Ale, Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, Goose Ten Hills Pale Ale, Alchemy Pale Ale
• India Pale Ale: IPA’s were first created when British troops stationed in India wanted to drink beer from the motherland. Hops is added to the beer to prevent it from spoiling on the journey to India. It is very bitter and can range from light golden yellow to darker red amber. Firestone IPA, Lagunitas IPA, Sam Adams Rebel Grapefruit IPA

If you look closely, some of the examples have repeated brand names in different style categories. This is because I like to buy variety 12-packs with 4 different types so that I can try out many different types of beer all at once. You can even opt for the Ralphs Pick 6 option for $9.99 which gives you even more variety to choose from!

For all the ladies out there, I highly recommend getting something fruity with pear, grape fruit or blood orange. And yes, you might be thinking, “Well if I’m going to get something with fruit in it, why don’t I just get a cider?” Sadly, I have to say that ciders are not beers because ciders are fermenting using apple juice, while beers are fermented using malt and hops. Ciders do not have malt or hops and the only thing it has in common with beer is the magic – yeast.

Where can I get amazing craft beer?

Congratulations you’ve made it to the most exciting section! Where are the goods and how can you get some? As students from all over the world, you may not have easy transportation so I have handpicked three awesome breweries near USC that you can Uber to or you can visit your local Ralphs.

Angel City Brewery 216 S Alameda St, Los Angeles, CA 90012

Angel City Brewery
Photo Courtesy of angelcitybrewery.com

Located in the Arts District of Los Angeles, Angel City is a must visit place to learn more about breweries, go on their tours and taste their exclusive variety of Angel City beer on tap 7 days a week. It is one of my favorite breweries because it allows you to bring outside food. Food trucks are usually parked outside at nights and Wurstkuche is only a 4 minute walk away.

Barrel Down 525 W 7th St, Los Angeles, CA 90014

Barrel Down
Photo Courtesy of yeastsidebrewers.org 

Offering a variety of over 40 taps from local breweries and regional producers, Barrel Down is the place to go once you know your beers. Their experienced bartenders will teach you about their selections of beers, wines and cocktails to match with your fried chicken sandwich or juicy beef burgers. Best to come during happy hour when beers are only $5!

Beer Belly 532 S Western Ave Los Angeles, CA 90020

Beer Belly
Photo Courtesy of Jennica R from Yelp,com

Started a little less than 5 years ago in the heart of Koreatown, BeerBelly has grown to be a great place to not only drink craft beers but also eat delicious food. This gastropub is a favorite hangout spot among hipsters and prides itself on serving craft beer and crafty foods. Therefore if you love to pair a beer with your meals I can’t recommend this place enough! Definitely order their Death by Duck Fries and Beer Belly Grilled Cheese with egg.  

Now that you have learned a little bit more about beer, I hope I have changed your mind. Give these places a visit and try out their craft beers along with the delicious foods. If not, go grab a cold one at Ralphs for about $1.00 a beer. Cheers!

Works Cited

Flowers, J. (2013, July 26). An Introduction to the Confusing World of Beer Styles. Retrieved February 25, 2016, from http://learn.kegerator.com/beer-styles/

Geek, B. (2009, August). Cider is Not Beer. Retrieved February 25, 2016, from http://www.beeradvocate.com/mag/3786/cider-is-not-beer/

Harbison, M. (2013, January 25). BeerSci: What Is The Difference Between A Lager And An Ale? Retrieved February 25, 2016, from http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2013-01/beersci-what-difference-between-lager-and-ale

Kraus, E.C. What Goes Into Beer? | EC Kraus. (n.d.). Retrieved February 25, 2016, from http://www.eckraus.com/what-goes-into-beer