Helium beer isn’t a real thing, much to the dismay of fans of squeaky voices around the world. What started off as an April Fool’s Day prank in the beer world deserves slightly more explanation. To help get helium beer debunked, let’s first expose a simple fact: helium isn’t soluble in water. That is to say, helium does not react with water or other substances. That means you can’t carbonate beer with it. Simple as that!

The myth of helium beer was first spun by a pair of viral videos released on April 1, 2014. The videos featured, respectively, The Boston Beer Co. co-founder Jim Koch in one and quality assurance manager at Stone Brewing Co. Rick Blankemeier in the other. Their “HeliYum” and “Cr(He)am Ale” were supposed to have the magical quality of giving a beer enthusiast a high voice. Yet, like the "fizzy lifting drink" in Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory, helium beer is only a fantasy.

Helium is colorless, odorless and tasteless. It doesn’t add special qualities to beer. Technically, you could add helium to beer with a helium pump. But that wouldn’t change how the beer tastes or behaves – and it would not give you a squeaky, high-pitched voice (sadly).

With crisp air, bejeweled foliage and the holidays right around the corner, it's time for a new issue of The Beer Connoisseur!

This issue will fill you up like your favorite autumn seasonal – whether it be a Marzen, Oktoberfest or Pumpkin beer – though instead of suds, we’re providing ample beer knowledge and a heaping helping of interesting and engaging stories that are sure to wet your whistle.

Leading off Issue #56 is Jim Dykstra by providing a list of 13 Great Atlanta Beer Bars that are sure to draw beer drinkers in like moths to a flame. 

Then, Kristen Kuchar provides a list of 17 Intriguing Wine Barrel-Aged Beers, showcasing the fact that beers aren’t just made for whiskey, bourbon or rum barrels these days.

Following that, Jessica Zimmer tees off on the fascinating topic of Fruit Smoothie Beers – a delectable style that has exploded in popularity in recent years due to the immense fruiting quotient that breweries can explore within the style.

For the next piece, Matt Simpson canvased numerous social media platforms in order to answer 10 questions that are sure to keep beer drinkers entertained and amused while also allaying their confusion.

PARTNERS
Tavour
Willamette Valley Hops
 

ADVERTISERS
Artisanal Imports
Brasserie St. Feuillien
Brouwerij Bosteels
Breckenridge Brewery
Compliant Bootlegger
One Beverage
Star Beer USA
The Boston Beer Co.
The Original Craft Beer Club

As the seasons slowly shift from stifling summer to cooling fall, it’s that time again: a new issue of The Beer Connoisseur Magazine is upon us!

This issue will fill you up like your favorite autumn seasonal – whether it be a Marzen, Oktoberfest or Pumpkin beer – though instead of suds, we’re providing ample beer knowledge and a heaping helping of interesting and engaging stories that are sure to wet your whistle.

This issue will fill you up like your favorite autumn seasonal – whether it be a Marzen, Oktoberfest or Pumpkin beer – though instead of suds, we’re providing ample beer knowledge and a heaping helping of interesting and engaging stories that are sure to wet your whistle.

Leading off Issue #56 is Jim Dykstra by providing a list of 13 Great Atlanta Beer Bars that are sure to draw beer drinkers in like moths to a flame. 

Then, Kristen Kuchar provides a list of 17 Intriguing Wine Barrel-Aged Beers, showcasing the fact that beers aren’t just made for whiskey, bourbon or rum barrels these days.

Following that, Jessica Zimmer tees off on the fascinating topic of Fruit Smoothie Beers – a delectable style that has exploded in popularity in recent years due to the immense fruiting quotient that breweries can explore within the style.

Barrel-aging is nothing new for brewers, and it’s no secret why. That time spent in a barrel adds such complexity and flavor to a beer that is impossible to achieve it any other way. And while whiskey or bourbon barrels tend to dominate, aging a beer in barrels formerly home to wine gives a beer a whole new dimension. These 17 intriguing wine barrel-aged beers illustrate that perfectly.

“First and foremost, these beers offer a complexity that only the barrel-aging process can provide,” says Mike Siegel, Barrels and Beyond Beer Innovations Manager at Goose Island Beer Co. “The combination of beer, fruit, yeasts, lactic acid bacteria and oak, with the right amount of time in wood, provide a flavor profile that can’t be achieved any other way, just like a fine wine.” The success of Goose Island’s Bourbon County Stout led to a drive for more creativity and pushing boundaries resulting in aging and fermenting in wine barrels and foudres for various beers.

Sean Sasscer, Brewer Manager at Cigar City Brewing, approaches aging beer in wine barrels differently than bourbon barrels. "With wine barrel-aging, you have to consider tannins much more so than with whiskey barrels. Knowing the wine, its age and its varietal will guide what kind of beer is appropriate for that barrel," he says.

Among the myriad beer fans around the world, many of us tend toward the fastidious. Not uncommon among beer nerds’ activities are: visiting every brewery possible, waiting (and standing in line) for every big beer release, attending (or organizing) tastings with dozens of beers present, and maybe even homebrewing and entering competitions. Clearly, if you’re reading this publication, you’re into the art of beer. That doesn’t mean we all know everything about it. We may all learn more. Research more. Ask more. Herein are a few questions garnered from dozens of online sources, sent from our peers. These are real inquiries from social media and around the web with no pretense of sarcasm implied or intended. Maybe you’ve asked one or two of them recently. If so, here are 10 beer drinking questions answered.

Q: What is the correct serving temperature for different styles of beer?

There is no shortage of craft beer in Atlanta – and no shortage of beer bars to supply it (and no shortage of demand, too). Census data places the average Atlantan in their mid-30s – perfectly suited to hit the town in search of love and the perfect pint. Whether for casual business, or first date fare, here are 13 great Atlanta beer bars to slake your thirst.

Wrecking Bar Brewpub
A mix of traditional and experimental beer from Bill Arnold and Ryan Donald painstakingly brewed on their 7-barrel system paired with local farm-to-table pub classics from Executive Chef Mikey Staniewicz, served in an exquisite Victorian setting that was once a “home, a church, a dance studio, and an architectural salvage store.” It’s a beautiful setting, and fitting for an organization committed to being one of Atlanta’s best spots to eat and drink beer.