Spectre’s Sayings

India Pale Ales were invented for use by the British in the hot climate of India. It was discovered that adding large amounts of hops to beer kept it fresher longer in the extreme heat. British-style pale ales, on the contrary, have a wonderful balance between the hops and the malts. American-style pale ales are somewhere between the two extremes.

Boulevard Brewing Company’s Pale Ale seems to me to be an example of the American style of Pale Ales. It has a nice aroma and color, but the flavor seems to be a bit unbalanced in favor of the hops. Other than that little nit-pick, I have no complaints.

The NY Times has a column entitled Over There - and Gone Forever about the last of 2 million men that the U.S. sent to France in World War I. Check it out.

The Beer Philosopher is writing a series of articles which he is entitling, “Beer Fundamentals.” The first article, on the basics of beer classification is here and the second, on the basics of Ales as a beer style is here. They’re a good read, so check ‘em out.

Yesterday, the Papal Nuncio confirmed that Pope Benedict XVI will visit Washington and New York April 15-20.

On the morning of April 16, the pope’s birthday, he will be received at the White House, and in the afternoon, he will address the U.S. bishops. On April 18, he intends to address the United Nations, and he plans to visit Ground Zero in New York on the morning of April 20.

The final event of his trip will be a Mass at Yankee Stadium.