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Free Beer That's Free as in Speech

Posted by Zonk on from the best-of-both-worlds dept.

darkonc writes "The CBC has notes and an interview with Dane Rasmus Nielsen who decided to reduce the confusion between 'free as in speech' and 'free as in beer' by making a beer free -- in speech. The result is Vores Oel, an open source beer. The CBC site includes the recipe for the beer which is made with Guarana beans, and gives it a bit of a caffeine-like hit. The danish site downloads include the label for the beer (which is also Open Source)."

9 of 379 comments (clear)

  1. Wired by moyet · · Score: 3, Informative

    Wired had the same story a couple of days ago. Their article is a bit longer and with a bit more background.

    1. Re:Wired by Nakanai_de · · Score: 4, Informative

      Here's the link to the Wired story.

      --

      Sono koro, bokura wa, sore ga sekai no shinjitsu da to shinjite ita.

  2. Confused? by the_unknown_soldier · · Score: 3, Informative

    Here is the GNU definition:

    ``Free software'' is a matter of liberty, not price. To understand the concept, you should think of ``free'' as in ``free speech,'' not as in ``free beer.'' Free software is a matter of the users' freedom to run, copy, distribute, study, change and improve the software. More precisely, it refers to four kinds of freedom, for the users of the software:


    * The freedom to run the program, for any purpose (freedom 0).
    * The freedom to study how the program works, and adapt it to your needs (freedom 1). Access to the source code is a precondition for this.
    * The freedom to redistribute copies so you can help your neighbor (freedom 2).
    * The freedom to improve the program, and release your improvements to the public, so that the whole community benefits (freedom 3). Access to the source code is a precondition for this.
    http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-sw.html

  3. DO NOT follow their directions by IvyMike · · Score: 5, Informative

    The process of brewing beer is easy, but not quite THAT easy.

    A good introduction to brewing is How To Brew by John Palmer. The entire 1st edition of the book is available on the web for free at the URL above. (Perhaps predictably, it's free as in beer, not as in speech :)

  4. Coming from an ameteur brewer.. by Vellmont · · Score: 5, Informative

    This recipe is terrible. The most glaring error is they don't specify the type of yeast. Is this an Ale or a Lager? There's a big difference beween the two. Given the room temperature fermenting, you'd assume an Ale, but some Lager yeasts can ferment at room temperature too. Among those two major yeast types there's a huge difference among the various strains that produces very different end products.

    The recipe calls for armoma hops and bitter hops. The only difference between the two is the length of the boil. Bitter hops are boiled on the order of 30 minutes, Aroma hops are boiled on the order of 5 minutes. But no boil times are specified at all. The boiling time of hops impacts the hop level of the beer, which has a major impacts on the flavor of the beer.

    If this recipe were code, it wouldn't compile. You'd have to guess at the yeast type and boil times for the hops. The massive 85 liter batch size isn't terribly usefull either. Most homebrewers do 5-6 gallon batches.

    --
    AccountKiller
    1. Re:Coming from an ameteur brewer.. by Sax+Maniac · · Score: 3, Informative
      Not necessarily. What's printed on the label as an ale or lager does not mean what yeast is used. Some states have weird laws determining what you are allowed to call an "ale" which are not the technically correct definitions. (Ale yeast ferement at room temps, 60-70F. Lager yeasts ferment at refrigerated temperatures - 35F.)

      Basically, the ingredients listed here are useless. Brewing is all about technique, not ingredients. In order to realistically clone a beer, you need to know:

      • The yeast strain to produce the correct flavor profile. Even specifying "ale yeast" is not enough. There are dozens and dozens of strains with very different flavors.
      • What kind/brand of grain used and its color. Caramel malt comes in a wide spectrum of colors and varieties.
      • The expected alpha acid % in the hops to normalize for natural differences. One day your Hallertauer might be 2% and the next 4%. If you don't normalize, the second will be roughly twice as bitter.
      • What temperataure it's fermented and conditioned at, and for how long. Some beers have complex fermentation schedules with many changes.
      • Mineral profile of the water they use. You can't substitute hard water for soft and expect it to be the same.
      • How it's mashed. Single infusion? Double? Protein rest? Mash out? Maybe it's a (single/double triple) decoction?

      Without all that, you are not cloning a beer, but merely making something vaguely similar. This level of detail is what brewmasters need to do to make a zillion gallons that all tastes the same, regardless of region. That's why when you buy Sam Adams in Arizona, made with different ingredients, it still tastes like Sam Adams.

      Basically, this recipe is a marketing ploy and not useful in the least.

      --
      I can explanate how to administrate your network. You must configurate and segmentate it, so it can computate.
  5. Re:Open Source Beer? by shawb · · Score: 3, Informative

    Creative Commons liscenses allows "open sourcing" just about any IP you want: music, visual arts, writing... it's just a license that you have to print the license and the recipie if you want to distribute the beer.

    --
    I'll never make that mistake again, reading the experts' opinions. - Feynman
  6. Recipes are already free by aridg · · Score: 4, Informative

    In the US anyway, and probably in other countries with similar intellectual property laws, recipes are not covered by copyright.

    Why do you think Coca-Cola keeps their recipes under strict secrecy?

    So brew away -- and feel free to ignore the licensing restrictions of the CC license, at least for the recipe.

  7. Re:Somewhat Lacking? by CagedBear · · Score: 3, Informative

    "The history of beer in north america was changed dramatically by prohibition. During that period, they were brewing awful stuff, and serving it very very green. What was discovered, if you chill the beer till it's 'cold', folks liked it better. ...beer (ice cold), will numb many of the tastebuds..."

    Ah Bologna. Cold beer in the US dates back at least to the mid 1800's where they used ice houses, especially in the hot west to keep beer cold through the summer. It was hot and it was dusty. And the townsfolk wanted something cold to drink. Plain and simple.

    Here's an interesting beer history link for all the European beer snobs: http://www.beerhistory.com/library/holdings/raley_ timetable.shtml If you scroll down to modern history, it states:
    In the mid-19th Century (1850's) German immigrant brewers introduced cold maturation lagers to the US (Anheuser-Busch, Miller, Coors, Stroh, Schlitz, and Pabst roots begin here).
    The modern era of brewing in the US began in the late 1800's with commercial refrigeration (1860), automatic bottling, pasteurization (1876), and railroad distribution.

    Cold beer is just part of the American culture. There is something about reaching in a cooler after a hard day of work and grabbing a can or bottle that has been sitting in ice for hours. Even in the winter time the beer comes out of the car and goes in a snow bank for deep chilling before serving. And we like it that way!