Culture, Society, & Health

The Beer Fox   |   Monday, May 14 2012
Green Gold :  The base of beer is the malt, while hops are revered, by the Germans, as “the soul of beer.”

She was like honey, attracting a bevy of buzzing men who seemed intrigued by the sparkle of her tiara. Maybe it was her traditional German costume and scepter, her satin green skirt swishing as she glided across the hall, or the décolletage of her dirndl bodice. Brunette locks framed her face in waves, while her full lips parted to display the pearlescent smile of a queen.

“Veronika? Veronika Springer?” men would ask as they drooled over her lovely figure.

This 2011-2012 Hallertauer Hop Queen was ingénue Veronika Springer, a 21-year-old who had grown up on a hop farm, representing the district of Freising in Germany. Working as a chemical laboratory technician at the extraction plant NATECO₂, Springer epitomizes the soul of the German Hop Growers Association, one which has endured for more than 125 years.

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Culture, Society, & Health

The Beer Fox   |   Monday, May 07 2012
Apples, avocados, and sweet potatoes :  Superfoods are magical, strengthening circulation to distribute vitamins and minerals in perfect balance throughout the body.

As the Beer Fox, I often describe beer as the personification of a Supermodel. Each style has its own appearance, with a brilliant, luminous body and head of cream lying thick and moussy on the surface. As you peer through the crystalline glass at this beauty, beads of sweat trickle down the surface.

This beauty needs a partner, one that can stand up as her personal trainer, fortified with antioxidants, monosaturated fats, and phytonutrients. Superfoods may seem simple, but they are heavyweights that can add gloss to the hair and color to the skin.

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Culture, Society, & Health

The Beer Fox   |   Monday, April 30 2012
Critical drinking :  As beer judges, one must be keenly aware of sensory perception, tuned-in to the nuances that make beer “World Class”

As I prepare myself for the task of judging at the 2012 World Beer Cup, a million random thoughts run through my head. I ask myself, “Have I practiced enough?” I see you rolling on the floor, laughing at my question. “How much beer is enough? I’ll help you!” you exclaim.

Being asked to judge at the World Beer Cup - or the Great American Beer Festival, for that matter - is a privilege and comes with challenges and great responsibility. If you merely want to do it for bragging rights, go ride a mechanical bull instead. As beer judges, one must be keenly aware of sensory perception, tuned-in to the nuances that make beer “World Class.” And don’t forget the endurance factor.

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Culture, Society, & Health

The Beer Fox   |   Monday, April 23 2012
Stress relief :  Immersing yourself in the world of beer takes on new meaning.

What is the most hedonistic spa treatment you can envision? It would need to be intense, forbidden, and intoxicating, with benefits to tingle the skin, titillate the senses and stimulate mental rest. At the climax, an all-encompassing release from the stresses of daily life would leave you totally relaxed. Luxurious, libertine, decadent.

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Culture, Society, & Health

The Beer Fox   |   Monday, April 16 2012
Who let the dogs out :  Classic beer dogs have been legends for a long time

When Judy Wicks moved into a small brownstone row house on Philadelphia’s Sansom Street, she had never heard of Madame Helena Petrovna Blavatsky; nor did she have any knowledge of the Theosophical Society in New York City, an organization born of Blavatsky’s universal ideals. Madame Blavatsky was a Russian of noble lineage who purportedly traveled thrice around the world. For a short time, she had lived in Philadelphia in the very house that Wicks occupied.

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Culture, Society, & Health

The Beer Fox   |   Monday, April 09 2012
Campaign for Real Ale :  Preserving culture and heritage while promoting laws that will benefit both the consumer and beer industry

Foxes are pretty adaptable when it comes to particle transporters, so jet lag was not a factor when this Beer Fox landed in London for the Great British Beer Festival that summer of 2006. As a guest of Beer Hunter Michael Jackson, it was cracking to attend the Judges Reception at the White Horse on Parson’s Green the evening of my arrival. My mind was reeling with big names from the international beer scene: Mark Dorber, world famous cellarman and proprietor of the White Horse in London and The Anchor in Suffolk, Theo Flissebaalje of PINT in Amsterdam, and Hiroyuki Fujiwara, Publisher of Beer & Pub Magazine in Tokyo, to name only a few.

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