If we are to take steps to avoid the spread of the corona-virus, it might help if we understood what it is. So, let’s take a moment for a quick Microbiology overview, courtesy of my Heriot Watt textbooks and my advanced Microbiology course.

There are two cellular life constructs in our world, namely eukaryotic and prokaryotic. The cells in the human body are of the eukaryotic construct. For here and now, suffice it to say that Eukaryotic cells are complex in design.

Prokaryotic cells are otherwise known as bacteria. Remember that nasty, hacking cough you had last winter? That was likely a variant of pneumono-coccal bacteria. Prokaryotes are about 1/10th the size of eukaryotes and are far less complex in design.What is important to know is that a bacteria cell has a membrane layer made up of protein and lipids (fat). Different bacteria have different proteins in the membrane layer.

Prokaryotic cells have an enemy and that enemy is called a virus molecule – an infectious agent of destruction. Viruses are not cellular organisms at all, but rather complex molecules that take over and dominate the bacterial cells they attack in order to replicate and stay alive. In terms of size, a virus is 1/10th the size of a bacteria cell. A virus particle consists of a core of nucleic acid enclosed by a coat of protein which in turn is surrounded by a layer of protein and lipid (fat). The proteins in the virus structure
contain the same amino acids as are found in human body cells and in bacterial cells. Certain viruses have an appetite for certain protein structures in certain bacterial cells. The scientific community is engaged in an on-going effort to better understand this.Scientists at UCLA – San Francisco have isolated some 22 proteins that they feel are most attractive to the coronavirus. As of March 23, a series of already approved drugs (for various other medical conditions) have been identified that have strong potential to make these 22 proteins otherwise un-attractive to the
coronavirus. Samples of virus along with samples of these drugs have now been sent to 3 Universities for fast-tracked testing.

When a virus enters the human body (breathing in, touching your eyes, nose, face etc…) it immediately seeks out its favorite type of bacterial cell to attach its tail to. Once firmly attached, it forces its tail through the bacterial cell’s cytoplasmic membrane. Think of the virus as a syringe poking itself into a target. The nucleic acid from the virus then flows into the bacterial cell. With injection complete, the internal machinery of the bacterial cell stops, gets re-programmed and immediately re-starts, this time
producing DNA material necessary for virus molecule re-production. After sufficient re-production of more virus molecules, the bacterial cell next generates a lysozyme type protein which ruptures the bacterial cell.The rupture spews viral molecules in every direction. These molecules seek out more bacterial cells and the entire process repeats.

The generation of viral material leads to rapid accumulation of what is termed a plaque (or biofilm). We all have experience with biofilm. That plaque your dental hygieneist scrapes off your teeth is a biofilm.

Imagine now if a virus molecule entered the human body and found some bacterial cells in the lungs, perhaps lingering from a cold you had earlier this year. Or perhaps you have a pre-existing lung condition where you are prone to bacterial mucous buildup in your respiratory system. Now imagine formation of a resilient plaque in your lungs. Breathing now becomes labored and your risk of death rises significantly.

Imagine too if a virus molecule finds some suitable bacterial cells in your digestive tract. The net result is a severe upset of your gut activity and you feel nausea or worse. Perhaps this explains the mad rush to hoard toilet paper?

In any eco-system (and yes, Earth is a giant eco-system), the weak will often perish and the strong will survive. Not everyone is getting afflicted with Covid-19, because there are some of us who do not have the requisite amounts of the right type of bacterial cells in our system that the virus desires. Even if we do, our immune response is likely robust enough to ward off the viral invaders.Those are the strong. Conversely, there are many of us who are aged, and who carry the necessary bacterial cells sought by the viral molecules. Those are the weak.No doubt, the Italian situation will be studied intensively. Do some cultures of people have a
genetic propensity to harbor the necessary bacterial cells that this virus seeks?

The best thing you can do here and now is to minimize your contact with others (social distancing) and specifically avoid contact with those who fit the profile of being weak and at risk. This viral outbreak will pass soon. But, it will not cease to exist. It will remain viable in our eco-system and it will re-appear in late 2020 when flu season makes its return. In the meantime, the best we can all do is to take steps to improve our gut health by eating foods with a robust probiotic profile ( yogurt, sauerkraut, kimchi, goldenseal tea, barberry bark tea etc…). We can also reduce our intake of junk foods and foods containing high fructose corn syrup so that we give our bodies ample chance to develop a strong immuno-response mechanism.At my house we are eating cinnamon powder on toast. One seldom talked about story from the 1918 flu pandemic was that of a cinnamon processing factory in the US mid-west. In the surrounding community, hundreds were getting ill. But, no employee at the cinnamon factory took ill. Another anti-viral and anti-bacterial is the Indian spice called tumeric. If you can, sprinkle some on your food. Better yet,
make yourself some curry. The exact mechanism for cinnamon or tumeric to act as anti-fungal agents is not well understood by science.

There is no secret that this virus originated in Wuhan, China. The Feb 2017 edition of Nature magazine clearly spells out Chinese efforts at building highly secret labs to play with viruses all in response to reported American efforts to build similar labs. Whether Covid-19 came from bats or from a fish market, I could care less. Mankind must stop meddling with viruses that can eradicate all of us.I doubt the virus was purposely released by the lab in Wuhan, but given the tense trade wars going on between China and America, nothing would surprise me. China has every intention of surpassing America as the sole global superpower. To what lengths a rogue agent would go to help his country attain that goal remains open for debate.

This viral outbreak has also laid bare the shortcomings of the North American (and arguably the World) health care system. If there is one positive thing to maybe come from all of this , it is might be the need for countries to spend less money on stupid foreign policy mis-adventures in the Middle East and more money on ensuring health care systems are fully equipped to respond to a critical event. Maybe too we will learn to stop playing with viruses in laboratories. The human animal is not as smart and as invincible as it thinks it is. Viruses are smarter.

In my most recent Workshop, I offered up samples of two Whiskies to hammer home a critical point. The point I was making was that a ferment generates an entire spectrum of alcohol type molecules with 2,3,4,5,6 and more Carbon atoms in their structures. By far, the most predominant molecule produced in a ferment is ethanol (C2H5OH). During distillation, the more vaporization and condensation that occurs, the more these various molecules will be separated from each other. Still internal surface area is directly related to the propensity for vaporization and condensation ( a.k.a “reflux”). In a column still with plenty of internal surface area, the distillate emerging from the still will be heavily comprised of ethanol. The other spectrum members will not emerge from the still. In a pot still with lesser internal surface area the distillate coming off the still will be comprised of ethanol and several other higher molecular weight constituents. The pot still distillate will thus have more texture, body and mouthfeel than the column distillate. In your travels, if you can find some Hudson Manhattan Rye Whisky, it will be a shining example of what a 4 year old pot distilled product tastes like. Conversely, if you can find something like a Bearface Canadian Whisky, it exemplifies what a column product tastes like. I am not at all suggesting that column Whisky is bad. There is a consumer segment for all types of Whisky. As a craft distiller, one must decide which segment of the Whisky drinking market to pursue. This, then will drive the equipment selection process.

As I discuss in the Distillery Workshops, wood is one factor that craft distillers for the most part completely overlook. I talk about the molecular composition of wood, the oxidative chemical reactions that occur when distillate is left to rest inside a wood cask and I talk about the importance of surface area. Apparently the message is not getting through. It irks me (well…OK, lets tell it like it is…it PISSES ME OFF…) when I see a craft distiller adding oak chips or oak cubes to distillate to make it turn brown so the distillate resembles Whisky.

In this blog post, there are two products that I suggest you try. Both serve to illustrate the importance of wood. The first is a no age statement whisky from Laphroaig. This nectar has been exposed to small barrels (1/4 cask or about 56 liters), PX barrels (used to contain Pedro Ximinez sherry) and European oak casks (different wood chemistry than American oak). I am not going to rattle off a list of cute descriptive words to describe this product. All I can say is the traditional peaty Laphroaig signature profile has been harmoniously married with the beauty of these different woods. I bought a bottle last week and it is now 1/2 gone. I think that about sums it up. Try this Scotch and give your palate a treat it deserves.

The other product I highly recommend is from Guyana in South America. El Dorado Rum (12 yr Old) is fast becoming a regular fixture at my house. The notes of raisin and plum are unmistakable in this Rum. This too me suggests ample use of ex-sherry casks in the ageing of this rum. Treat yourself to a bottle ( price is in the mid-$40s – Canadian funds). You will wonder why the hell you have been drinking “like a Captain” by mixing your rum with Coke all these years. Straight up with just a few drops of water will be your new mantra.

Many thanks to all those to date who have participated in beer tastings as part of my M.Sc. thesis research. This research focuses on using un-malted purple wheat to make a Belgian style Wit Bier. Taste tests have been done using the tetrad test. In this test, panelists are presented with flights of beer containing 4 cups. Two of the cups contain Wit Bier made from White wheat and the other cups contain Wit Bier made using Purple wheat. Panelists are asked to nose the samples and taste them. They are then asked to divide the 4 cups into 2 identical pairs. The goal is to see if the human senses can detect a difference between Purple wheat and White wheat beer. In some of the early testing, the beers were brewed with reduced amounts of orange, coriander and hops. Statistically, people were able to detect a difference (taste and aroma) between the beers. Some “high science” GC-MS testing on the beers proved that indeed the Purple wheat beers have elevated levels of longer chain alcohol molecules which explain the flavor difference between the beers. Why exactly the Purple wheat generates these elevated levels of long chain molecules remains the burning question.

The testing that was conducted recently was done on beers brewed with increased levels of orange, coriander and hops. So far, taste panelists are unable to definitively separate the 4 samples of beers into their proper pairings. In other words, the added orange, coriander and hops are covering up those long chain alcohol molecules.

As to how I analyse the data from a testing event…..I use the Binomial function which is:

In this messy looking equation, p = probability that a person identified the correct pairings. That probability is fixed at a value of 33% because believe it or not in a tetrad test there is a 33% chance of you guessing the proper pairings. In the equation q=probability of not identifying the proper pairings. N is the number of test panelists and n=the number of correct responses.

After crunching the numbers, if the resulting value P is less than 0.05, it can be stated with certainty that there is a difference between the beers in the flights.

The most recent data from the evening of Nov 18th, shows P values of between 0.19 and 0.225. In other words, statistically we cannot make the claim that the beers are different.

Obviously the tetrad test contains some imperfections. Maybe with deeply experienced beer judges, the results would be different. Maybe with more panelists participating the results would be different.

But for here and now, I am prepared to say that the average beer drinking patron at a Regina brew pub is unable to detect the difference between a White wheat Wit Bier and a Purple wheat Wit Bier.

This will have profound implications for a craft brewer. If people cannot detect the flavor difference in a Purple wheat beer, does that brewer use less costly White wheat to save $$$ on operating expenses ? Or, does that brewer spend extra money on the more expensive Purple wheat and go on to create a unique, powerful marketing message about using an ancient grain that originates in Ethiopia and now grows in Saskatchewan etc…

From time to time in this blog space I will turn attention to matters related to brewing. This is one of those times.

If you are old enough to remember 1989, you will recall the launch of a product called Molson Dry beer, marketed as having a clean taste that does not linger. Making a beer with a clean profile entails adding an enzyme in the process to break down the residual dextrin sugars that create body and taste. I recently had an experience (by accident) that resulted in a clean, almost dry beer. I was making a Rye IPA using malt barley and malt rye. I pitched my yeast and 12 hrs later there were no signs of fermentation starting. So what does one do on a Sunday evening (when brewing supply shops are all closed) when faced with such a dilemma? One rummages through the fridge and ends up pitching some Lallemand DS distillers yeast into the fermenter. Within 3 hrs I had signs of fermentation which saw me breath a sigh of relief and pour myself a goodly dram of Whisky to celebrate.

The net result of using this aggressive distillers yeast was a consumption of the dextrin residual sugars. My Rye IPA has now been aptly re-named a Dry Rye IPA. I must admit – it is very tasty…and clean. The malt flavors are evident, but there is less body than what normally would be the case.

So, beer brewers….if you are seeking to craft a Dry style of beer, look no further than a good quality Distillers yeast to replace your usual beer brewing yeast. Let me know how this turns out for you.

I count myself fortunate in that my adventures into craft distilling have allowed me to meet some amazing people from around the world. Over 2 years ago a gentleman from Thompson, Manitoba showed up at one of the Distillery Workshops. He was fixated on the traditional method of harvesting nectar from the upper branches of coconut trees and turning that nectar into a distilled alcohol. Time has a funny way of connecting the dots as it were. Last week I had a call from this gentleman and he wanted to know if he could stop by and visit me. He came bearing some treats – 3 bottles in fact.

Finally I was to have a chance to taste this coconut liquor he had talked about 2 years ago. He even showed me some video clips from his recent trip to the rural jungle areas outside Manila in the Philippines. The clips showed people scurrying up tall trees with a pail strapped to their back. Once atop the tree, they would empty smaller vessels full of nectar into the one on their back. The filled container would then be lowered down to the ground via a long rope. The collected nectar would be allowed to ferment naturally before it was distilled. All three bottles had different organoleptic qualities. By far and away the best one was the one at left in the photo. The middle one, made by a local farmer on a crude still in the rural farming area was a close second. To the best of my understanding, the fermented nectar is simply double pot distilled and then proofed down to 42%. Believe me – I could drink this stuff as my daily dram. I am now looking for a craft distillery to participate in a possible business venture that would see 1X pot distilled nectar imported into Canada to be re-distilled, proofed and bottled for sale to the Philippine ex-pat community across the country. I would even go so far as to say a credible Gin could be made from this coconut liquor. Hopefully in early 2020 I have a chance to visit the rural area near Manila and spend some time with the local farmers and artisan distillers.