Seeking Taiwan's taste
"I'm not pursuing further studies just to learn advanced brewing techniques," he explains. Barham would like to try using millet and sorghum grown in Taiwan as principal beer ingredients, in place of barley and wheat, which need to be imported, thus breaking free from traditional constraints and creating something new, not for novelty's sake, but to help Taiwan's farmers.
"I define 'beer' as an alcoholic beverage that's fermented with the starches and enzymes stored within the grain," explains Barham. Many of the world's tropical regions, such as Africa, use traditional brewing methods on sorghum-maize mixtures. Germany produces ale because barley is grown there, plus it is better for malt glycation than other types of grain and barley mash is easier to filter because the husks serve as natural filtering material. But Belgium, with an equally long-standing beer culture, has followed its own path by adding other raw ingredients such as fruit and spices. "So clearly, beer follows local growing conditions," says Barham.
"By drinking local beer, you can return to the simple pleasures of life." This is Barham's beer dream. He believes that when consumers better understand where the flavors of a beer come from, such as what kind of grains grow in what kinds of soil (organic farming being best), the mineral content of the water used in brewing, the strain of yeast, and so forth, "they will better appreciate the beer they're drinking."
So far he has found a way to filter mash made from sorghum sprouts, and has successfully brewed a half-sorghum, half-malt beer. Next he'll try something more challenging and possibly unprecedented: millet beer. He's also looking into greener ways to store beer.
"Cheers!" to Taiwan's new beers!
American student Nathan Barham (right) is grateful for the guidance of Tatung University professor Duan Kow-jen (left), whose fully equipped lab allows Barham to gain a first-class education. Duan adds, "Americans will definitely finish off beer they brew themselves."