Liquid Bread

For good reason, beer has often been called "liquid bread" by people of wisdom. More than just a recreational beverage, the golden elixir -- or in many cases the black-as-night tonic -- has in some nations been considered a quality food staple along with meat, vegetables and other foods that give the body nutrients it needs for good health.

We might smile at old popular ad slogans, such as "Guinness is good for you," but facts are facts. And the fact is, they're right. Beer is good for you. It's made from grain, after all -- so it shouldn't be a surprise that the USDA lists calcium, magnesium, phosphorous, potassium, sodium, niacin and folate among the benefits of your favorite quaff.

And don't forget the alcohol. Although the dangers of over-imbibing are well known, so are the advantages of drinking revved-up drinks moderately.

Good for the blood, good for the heart, and good for the soul. It's been known through history from the Sumerians in the 18th century B.C., to the European monks of the Middle Ages, to the Thanksgiving tables of men, women, and even children today.

Research and Development

So with the Northern Hemisphere now going into autumn survival mode, dancing that annual seasonal dance clothed in the colors of dying foliage, we too prepare for winter by making sure the basics are taken care of. The furnace is checked, firewood is gathered, and we stock up on the best seasonal brews to make sure the next few months are warm and healthy.

To help the readers of UTW in this task, we have gathered our own team of scientists and survivalists to look into some of the best staple beers of the season available in the metro - good solid "liquid bread" brews to warm the holidays and cooler months.

The team included: Freddy Lamport, owner of BierGarten Wine & Spirits; Mason Beecroft, brewmaster of Dead Armadillo Brewery; Ken Alexander, head of Spring Loaded Brewery; Everett Estes, manager at James E. McNellie's Tulsa Pub; Gene Collins, official beer judge and expert small-batch brewer; Tony Peck and Chris Barba, also of Dead Armadillo Brewery; and Jakub Krzyzostaniak, Classified Account Executive at UTW and beer connoisseur.

Special thanks go to Dianne Kirk, coordinator of the medical laboratory at Platt College and her team for invaluable scientific research and background information, and to Andolini's for pizza.

Methodology

Our selection of beers was crafted with almost as much skill as the beers themselves. Most are seasonals -- only available for a limited time during the autumn months. But a few others are year-rounders that share some of the characteristics of the others on the list. So most of these autumn beers are on the heafty side, with a weight and substance to match the briskness of fall.

The alcohol by volume (ABV) content of each beer is listed when the information was published by the breweries.

Cheers! Salud!

To your health!