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Getting to Know: Malt

Mon, 11/28/2016 - 17:20 -- Cory

Beer is made of these core ingredients: barley/malt, hops, water, and yeast. In this blog post, I'll be writing about malt and some of what I've been reading in Robert Moser's Tasting Beer. First off, barley is the grain of choice for making beer, although other options exist. But regular old barley isn't in a good condition for releasing starches for making alcohol. Barley first needs to be malted.

Making Malt

First, barley is soaked in water for about 24 hours, or until it reaches 45% water content. The grain is pulled from the water and allowed to cool and dry. During this process, the grains will start to sprout. This growth and cracking of the shell is vital to getting what brewers want from the malted barley. The grain is then kilned to complete the drying process and to roast the grain to the desired darkness. It is possible to create two different malts of similar color but different flavors by varying the moisture content during kilning. If roasted dry, there will be a sharp, biscuit-like toastiness. If roasted moist, there is more of a toffee-like richness.

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Ale vs. Lager

Fri, 07/22/2016 - 18:43 -- Cory

What is the difference between beer, ale, and lager? Do they all or a couple of them mean the same thing? Here are some basics on what these three terms mean.

Beer

Beer is the top tier label here. Both ales and lagers are types of beer - a grain fermented beverage. The four key ingredients of beer are: water, barley (grain), hops, and yeast.

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This Day in Alabama Beer History

Wed, 06/01/2016 - 21:56 -- Cory

The day has arrived...breweries in the state of Alabama can now sell "beer-to-go" to their patrons. Before today, if you went to a brewery, you could buy beer in the taproom but you had to drink it there. No cans or bottles to go. No filling up growlers from the tap. Brewery tourists would have to leave the brewery and find that beer at a store to take home.

But not anymore...

Overnight, things changed. Some breweries such as Cahaba Brewing in Birmingham opened just past midnight for any patrons

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Rocket City Brewfest 2016!

Thu, 05/12/2016 - 15:13 -- Cory

The Eighth Rocket City Brewfest at the historic Huntsville Depot and Roundhouse in Huntsville, Alabama is this weekend, Friday and Saturday May 13th and 14th. Sessions run from 7-11pm on Friday and 4-8pm on Saturday. There will beers from local, regional, national, and international breweries available. Oh, and like ZiggyZoggy, it's not all beer. The cider and mead tent is getting even larger this year after two years of great interest. You can still get tickets via local retailers or Ticketmaster for $38 plus possible fees and buying at the gate will cost you $45, but designated drivers can get in for only $10.

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Gaining Beer Knowledge

Thu, 04/07/2016 - 22:31 -- Cory

ZiggyZoggy.com was born from a guy realizing that maybe craft beer tasted better than the "NASCAR beers" he had tried during college and every couple of years when other drink options weren't good. We came together to sample beers that we could find in the stores where we live in Alabama, Georgia, and Kentucky. We are people exploring the variety of beers that are available in the Southeastern US. Just some average guys wanting to speak straight on beers; no desire to speak down to the beginner craft beer drinkers.

ZiggyZoggy is a site for reviews which are to the point on what a person can expect when they try a beer. Sure, if there are things a person can appreciate about a beer as they acquire a taste for beer, that's fine. But, in the end, we want to help give people more confidence to try a different beer and enjoy it based on what they know about their taste and how the drinking experience is described on the site.

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ZiggyZoggy Blog Up

Wed, 03/09/2016 - 18:44 -- Cory

ZiggyZoggy.com was created as a Southeastern US-focused beer review website. Cory and Colin have been exploring craft beers as the laws in The South have loosened up the past few years and wanted a place to share opinions on the beers available in this region in the country. We really like to boast about our local breweries.