Taste It, Sam: According to a Belgian study published this week, music and similar “auditory stimuli” can have a serious impact on the flavor of a beer. Lighter, more playful melodies made test subjects report sweeter flavors in their beer, while bass-heavy tunes saw increased reports of bitterness. Hopheads, it looks like you’ll need some EDM in your lives (or maybe some serious doom metal.)
A Scoop of Beer, Please: The malt wizards at New Belgium have announced another Ben & Jerry’s inspired beer: Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Ale, which will debut this fall. The first beer in the series was their Salted Caramel Brownie Ale, which was unfortunately released before New Belgium’s distribution spread to Brooklyn. We’re looking forward to trying this new brew, and really hoping there’ll be chunks of cookie dough at the bottom.
Craft Drinkers Inexplicably Healthier: The latest study we badly want to believe says that dedicated craft beer drinkers tend to be healthier people and have healthier habits, such as exercise-related hobbies, fewer binge-drinking reports, and a better diet. A part of us thinks this is true, given all the bicycles and runners found in many craft breweries. Another part of us ate a heap of Ben & Jerry’s Half Baked while standing over the sink last night. Who knows.
Raising Your Rum Knowledge: Rum is a delightful liquor, but has a tendency to be misunderstood. We blame misguided college parties, but Liquor.com took a more solution-based approach and compiled this handy list of rum myths and the truths behind them. We raise an enormous, tiny-umbrella-festooned glass to their work.
More Beer and Ice Cream: Yes, there’s a lot of ice cream news, but ’tis the season. All About Beer and Baskin & Robbins have teamed up to release a comprehensive graphic of pairings for craft beers and Baskin & Robbins ice cream. Unfortunately, their beer-mug-shaped ice cream cake seems to have been forgotten in the shuffle, so allow us to speak from experience and recommend a good kriek there.
Bringing It Home: The Kings County Brewers Collective is closing in on their opening day in Bushwick, marking the first time beer has been brewed in Bushwick since Schaefer closed its doors in 1976. Braven Brewing is soon to follow, and we can only hope many more follow. We’ve got a great borough, but we can always use more breweries around here. Welcome to the neighborhood!