"Lindemans Framboise" news and stories

Once upon a time not so long ago, the word "beer" prompted mental images of frat boys chugging Miller Lites. It did not, traditionally, scream "mother."

But times, they are a-changin', and more and more women are drinking beer these days. And despite the lingering stereotype of a "mom drink" as a chilled glass of chardonnay (not that there's anything wrong with that), some moms are definitely sipping suds. Heck, Carol Stoudt, mother of five, has adopted the moniker of "Queen of Hops" since opening Stoudt's Brewing with her hubby in 1987.

Asked about the perfect Mother's Day brew, Matt Barclay of Brooklyn (N.Y.)'s Bierkraft says, "most of our women customers drink the Belgian Tripel [style]." With fruit and candy flavors, Tripels can be sweet but also incredibly complex. If mom is a fan of sweet wines or desserts, try pouring her a Belgian ale after dinner, like an aromatic raspberry Lindemans Framboise lambic. If she's a chocolate freak, proffer a Chocolate Stout.

Or maybe your mom does sling back Miller Lite with the best of them. School us! Does your ma drink beer? What's her favorite brew? (Moms, don't feel shy about speaking out on your behalf!)

As a self-professed beer geek, I've always appreciated the link between chocolate and beer. I've been known to munch on a bit of good dark chocolate whilst enjoying a cold flute of Lindemans Framboise, and there's nothing quite like a bottle of Young's Luxury Double Chocolate Stout. Until yesterday I had no idea the connection between two of life's greatest gustatory pleasures goes back to 1100 B.C. (N.B., that's Before Christ not Before Chocolate, though given what I learned it could very well stand for Before Chocolate.)

National Geographic News reports that researchers believe chocolate was accidentally discovered 3,000 years ago by Central American Indians brewing beer from the pulp of cacao seedpods. Around 1100 B.C. ancient brewers used the cacao pods to make their beer. The pod pulp was used to make the beer and the seeds were then discarded. Some 300 years later people began to use the fermented seeds to make a hot beverage, a distant relative to today's hot cocoa. Chocolate itself continues to be made from fermented cacao pods.

Give an ancient Central American the sludge left over from brewing and what do you get: chocolate. Give a Brit a similar goo and you wind up with Marmite. Perhaps I'm being a bit unfair, after all the Central Americans were making beer since 1100 B.C.

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