tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7315262155858800734.post7706565500934961846..comments2024-03-09T00:31:10.190-05:00Comments on Seen Through a Glass: Iron Hill Newtown: At Long LastLew Brysonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04084380741402026573noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7315262155858800734.post-33246662973310302622020-03-06T10:39:15.020-05:002020-03-06T10:39:15.020-05:00Oh, and heck, i actually commented on that story b...Oh, and heck, i actually commented on that story back in the day... thanks!<br /><br />I can get oiliness in its liquid form (I assume that was contributing to my dislike of bourbon in my college days decades back when my choices were basically Old Grand-Dad and Jack Daniel's), and bitterness make sense, but I just wonder if a bunch of us taste spice. In the mid-aughts, that was always a debate on the RateBeer/BeerAdvocate forums -- folks insisting rye in beer was spicy (and not caraway or dill) and other folks saying they were full of it. Well, I guess it's a reminder that we all don't taste the same things.Billhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03634642987617262810noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7315262155858800734.post-17809826460013664642020-03-02T10:54:26.608-05:002020-03-02T10:54:26.608-05:00First things first, Bill: here's Penderyn'...First things first, Bill: here's Penderyn's story. I miss that guy a lot. <br />https://lewbryson.blogspot.com/2007/12/hes-hero-to-me.html<br /><br />Next...there's an oiliness to rye, a kind of bitter thing. Is that it? I smell that in rye bread. It's so hard to describe a smell that's singular, but there IS a smell to rye that's not related to the yeast reaction. Lew Brysonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04084380741402026573noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7315262155858800734.post-89740139507729883772020-02-28T13:54:52.374-05:002020-02-28T13:54:52.374-05:00Congrats on the soon-to-arrive brewpub! And congra...Congrats on the soon-to-arrive brewpub! And congrats on the new book -- it is fantastic. The explanation of what oak adds from new and once-filled barrels to the flavor was super-helpful. I'll be returning to it over and over. <br /><br />A question: You had that sidebar on when rye is spicy and when it isn't and suggested as a test to prove rye isn't spicy would be to bake rye bread with no added spice. Is it possible that some folks (raises his hand) just perceive the rye grain as "spicy"? I bake bread weekly; often with rye flour. The first descriptor that comes to mind is "spicy." Rye bread to me reminds me of how my parents' spice cabinet smelled: it's not pepper, it's not paprika, it's not clove, but it is some generic spice-ish-ness. I wonder if this is in the same category of folks who taste soap in cilantro -- to some of us, rye is spicy, maybe. I have had rye whiskey with no spice (Koval is mostly mint and medicine, say), but as food and beer, I get spice.<br /><br />And I did not know (or forgot?) that Penderyn saved your life -- would you be willing to tell the story?<br /><br />Your book helped me get trough a bad case of the flu, flu shot notwithstanding, which meant I couldn't sip alongside it, but will definitely revisit parts with the appropriate drink in hand! Thanks!Billhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03634642987617262810noreply@blogger.com