brianyaeger
Brian Yaeger
brianyaeger
Brian Yaeger, author of Red, White, & Brew and Oregon Breweries, contributed to the Oxford Companion to Beer. He is both a Certified Cider Professional & Cicerone…and certifiably loves doughnuts.

GREAT piece, man. I dislike non-alc beers the way I (typically) hate “vegan meat”; It tries to be something it will just never be. Read more

The wife Unit is pregnant and missing her IPAs, we both tried the Lagunitas stuff, its not bad. One of the local restaurants has a mocktail using the Lagunitas and some grapefruit juice, it worked really well.  Read more

This basically describes me as well. Though I have found one non-alcoholic beer in particular that is actually really good: Surreal Brewing from Campbell, California. Their porter in particular is good. Read more

This intrigues me. The concept of empty calories that tastes kinda like beer but doesn’t intoxicate me holds no appeal. But something like an unsweetened tea with more interesting flavors sounds alright. Read more

Yeasts can grow so long as they have a food source, often starch. Now as for them saying there is no sugar or alcohol, that is simply not true. While they may not add sugar, glucose is produced from the biotransformation process and small amounts of alcohol are produced by the yeast. Now the amounts so so small they Read more

You know, I used to scoff at N-A beer (“beer without alcohol? what’s the damn point?!?”), but as I’ve gotten older and more importantly, more health-conscious, the prospect of tricking my mouth into drinking something that’s 0 calories gets more and more attractive. I’m a huge craft beer guy, so I don’t expect that Read more

Interesting... I didn’t know biotransformation could happen in the presence of yeast absent fermentation. Heck, can a yeast population even go through the growth phase without any sugars? That’s super interesting. Read more

You had me until “no sauce”. But then again I’m a KC native. Read more

I agree that Santa Maria BBQ is a whole experience, the meats over oak, garlic bread, beans, and salad (it’s typically been Cole Slaw in my experience). I’ve never seen mac n cheese or any sort of carb other than the beans and bread, no other carb is needed. Read more

Had no idea tri tip was a California thing, but I’ve been eating tritip my whole life. Never used red oak, tend to go with pecan wood if Im going to bother with something specific. Now I’ve gotta try the damn stuff. I've started barrel aging beer I’m really excited to break down the barrels for wood though. Read more

I always associated tri-tip with being tough, dry, and only edible with copious amounts of steak sauce. When I got out of my parents’ house and started moving around through other parts of California, I met so many people who were enthusiastic about tri-tip, and it was like, “OK, weird, but you do your thing.” Read more

Very nice. I want some now. And the comment about not finding much tri tip outside of California is true. I lived there for 2 years and it’s the only time I’ve ever seen or eaten tri tip steak. Read more

Can’t wait to see a Super Bowl ad attacking beers brewed with dates. Read more

That’s interesting in that I think in terms of culinary not cultural, and a form of endorsement. It would be prudent to air on the side of caution I suppose... I am Irish/Italian and try to be sensitive about such things but if someone wore a “Gnocchi Power” T shirt I would be delighted, not upset since it is the Read more

Doesn’t look too different from langos...which is delicious btw, so not a bad comparison, if true! Maybe this frybread is crunchier, though? The langos I’ve had have been quite soft and chewy inside. Read more

Delivering pizza in college I fell in love with audiobooks to pass the time when the FM radio got repetitive and before the good AM shit like Art Bell came on. I had read one or two Tony Hillerman books before, but they were even better as audiobooks as he read the majority of them and his hardscrabble voice suits the Read more

I don’t know if this a Utah thing, a Mormon thing, or a regional thing, but Anglo culture in Utah (at least) likes to slather this in honey butter and call it a scone for no apparent reason. I was in my teens before I knew what a real scone was.
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Because it consists of flour, some salt, and baking powder Read more

There’s a small shop that been there for probably 30 years about a half mile away from me that has one of my all-time favorite fry bread meals-loaded with meat, beans, cheese, ect., but I rarely eat there because it has about 2+ days worth of caloric intake. Love it, but I’d be well on my way to the ‘beetus if I ate Read more