Latest news with #GaryDzen
Boston Globe
17-06-2025
- Health
- Boston Globe
By brewing with 100 percent quinoa, Meli is ‘giving beer a wellness makeover'
'That beer in Peru didn't have the typical characteristics that I associated with beer,' says Oster. 'The flavor was crisp and light, with none of the malty or bitter aftertaste that I had come to expect of beer. I also loved the health halo of a beer made from quinoa — it caught my attention and drew me in, when I normally wouldn't have been interested in drinking a beer. Get Winter Soup Club A six-week series featuring soup recipes and cozy vibes, plus side dishes and toppings, to get us all through the winter. Enter Email Sign Up 'The only issue was that the beer in Peru contained barley, and I was reducing gluten from my diet.' Advertisement Oster set out to brew a 100 percent quinoa beer. 'The first challenge we encountered at homebrew-scale was what type of quinoa to use. Quinoa exists in red, black, and white varieties, and quinoa grown in one part of the world has completely different nutritional features than quinoa from other parts of the world. So, identifying a quinoa that both tasted good and efficiently produced an alcoholic beverage was a challenge,' says Oster. Advertisement It took more than 20 test batches to brew a beer that satisfied those requirements. And then another challenge arose: because quinoa is such a small grain, adapting a recipe to fit commercial brewing equipment wasn't straightforward. It took nearly 100 formulations, according to Oster, to get it right. Brew Theory Brewery in Lowell currently brews Meli. The beer is gluten-free, has zero sugar, and contains the proteins and essential vitamins and minerals such as iron and B6 typically found in quinoa. A can of Meli even contains about 7 percent of your daily potassium. One noticeable aspect of the beer is that it tastes a little spicy, the result of using an herbaceous grain rather than the typical barley. Meli is light and crisp, like Oster says, and should make an interesting pairing with all kinds of food. Oster is 'committed to winning in our own backyard,' meaning Massachusetts. Meli beer is available at select restaurants including Uni, Catalyst, Alma Nove, and Shy Bird, as well as at Trader Joe's and Whole Foods. Gary Dzen can be reached at
Boston Globe
01-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Boston Globe
NERAX, the longest-running cask beer festival in the United States, comes to Southie this week
Get Winter Soup Club A six-week series featuring soup recipes and cozy vibes, plus side dishes and toppings, to get us all through the winter. Enter Email Sign Up If you've never had real ale, two things you'll notice right away are that it's less carbonated than the mass-marketed stuff, and that it's usually served warmer. Advertisement The event takes place at the South Boston Lithuanian Club (368 West Broadway) April 2-5. To get the proper flavor experience, the beers are served at 'cellar temperature' of around 52 to 55 degrees. If you've ever told a bartender to reach down into his cooler for his coldest Budweiser, this will be a change. What you get from real ale though are beer flavors you might not otherwise. You may come to appreciate more fully the hue of the malt that's evident in your glass. Hops take on different qualities at different temperatures also. And because real ale is alive, a cask tapped one day might taste differently the next. Chopourian says it's worth it to keep the real ale tradition alive and well in the United States. Advertisement 'When real ale is brewed, cellared, and served properly it is a fuller sensory experience than keg, bottled, and canned beer,' says Chopourian. 'By reducing the carbonation level and serving the beer at cellar temperature, it allows the flavors and aromas of the beer to come to the forefront. Along with the fact that it tastes great, when a well executed real ale is consumed, there is an appreciation of the art and passion that goes into all phases of the process.' NERAX 2025 will feature 100 offerings of beer and cider over five session times, though not every beer or cider will be available for every session. The festival charges a $5 glass deposit and offers a cash bar for pours. Speaking from prior attendance, it's maybe the most unique beer drinking experience in the region today for true diehards. The event takes place at the South Boston Lithuanian Club (368 West Broadway) April 2-5. For detailed information on session times and policies, visit Gary Dzen can be reached at
Boston Globe
28-01-2025
- Sport
- Boston Globe
Bruins legend Ray Bourque teams up with Jack's Abby and Legal Sea Foods on a namesake beer
Bourque's Brew has been in the works for more than a year, and the 64-year-old spent a brew day with the Jack's Abby crew diving into the beer-making process. The former defenseman joins current Celtics guard Get Winter Soup Club [Coming Soon] A six-week series featuring soup recipes and cozy vibes, plus side dishes and toppings, to get us all through the winter. Enter Email Sign Up Bourque's Brew is available starting this week at all Massachusetts Legal Sea Foods locations. A dollar for every beer purchased will go to the Bourque Family Foundation. Advertisement A Lawson's Finest Liquids legend is back This week on social media, Vermont brewery Lawson's Finest Liquids began leaving 'They'd line up on the porch right here on Thursday mornings when I'd make deliveries out of the back of my Prius,' Advertisement Double Sunshine has been available at the Lawson's taproom in Waitsfield, Vt., for some time, but those Instagram previews led to an announcement that the beer will soon be hitting other accounts where Lawson's beers are available. Expect to see Lawson's Double Sunshine in a store near you in the next week or two, for a limited time. Gary Dzen can be reached at
