How Big Breweries Failed the Taste Test

correspondence How big breweries failed the taste test Sir — Two points mentioned in a recent As mentioned in the book review1, these This increased “sophistication” in the book review on beer1 deserve clarification. activities have indeed led in part to the brewing industry led inevitably to The term ‘real ale’ does need to be growth of this art in England, but have also consumer demand for better beers (if not distinguished from other beers. Real ale played a decisive role in the evolution of the indeed for ‘real beer’). This worldwide refers specifically to an ale made from craft (pub, small/micro- and home-) trend in which beer consumers increasingly traditional ingredients in which brewing industry throughout the world. demand a quality product has led to 8 carbonation is produced by means of Second, the brewing of mass-produced significant losses in sales by the largest secondary fermentation in the cask (or beers probably should not have been breweries, which are now making efforts to container) from which it is served2. referred to as “sophisticated”. Historically rectify this by introducing all-malt and A real ale uses no external source of the largest breweries in the world were other speciality beers to compete in this carbon dioxide pressure to drive beer from easily able to out-compete smaller growing consumer sector. So, if anything, the cellar to the tap, but instead employs a breweries and public houses from the end the “sophistication” of the large breweries traditional hand-operated pump called a of the prohibition years until the has been responsible for their own beer engine. The result is a beer with a beginnings of the craft brewery movement misfortune. much lower level of carbonation than that by producing beer more inexpensively than Victor E. Buckwold usually encountered in other beers, which smaller breweries (by virtue of the large Ricardo Amils might well be loosely defined as alcoholic volumes produced), and through extensive Centro de Biología Molecular, beverages made with water, malted barley advertising campaigns. Along the way, “Severo Ochoa” Universidad and hops, and fermented by yeast. A real ale though, the drive to increase the profit Autónoma de Madrid, requires the careful management by skilled margin of beer and reduce the costs of its Cantoblanco, publicans of a live beer whose flavour may production led to the excessive use of 28049 Madrid, Spain change subtly with each passing hour or few brewing adjuncts (cheaper sources of e-mail: [email protected] pints served. fermentable sugars for yeast fermentation 1. Postgate, J. Nature 393, 129 (1998). The preservation and revival of this than malted barley) and to excessive 2. Daniels, R. Designing Great Beers: The Ultimate Guide to Brewing method of preparing and serving beer has dilution of the beers produced by means of Classic Beer Styles (Brewers Publications, Boulder, CO, been largely due to the Campaign for Real high-gravity brewing techniques (reviewed 1996). Ale (CAMRA) in England, formed in 1971. in ref. 3). 3. Buckwold, V. E. Brewing Techniques (in the press).

review to challenge internal academic Bullying of PhDs procedures2. Mr Beg was allegedly denied Summing up a wizard at Sir — The ‘feudal’ master–servant an MPhil because he criticized a professor. relationship existing between a PhD If future legal challenges are to be avoided, maths... warts and all supervisor and his or her student1 has reform is required to make possible Sir — In his review of my book Wizard: The another facet seldom broached by equitable adjudication in alleged cases of Life and Times of Nikola Tesla (Nature 388, academics. That is bullying. Employment supervisor misconduct. If UK institutions 135–136; 1997), L. Pearce Williams says that legislation prohibits bullying at work, but, insist on maintaining the status quo, the “no evidence is presented that [Tesla’s] because PhDs are not salaried or courts may now intervene and universities mathematical competence was at the level contracted, they are not legally ‘employees’ will increasingly become embroiled in of contemporary mathematicians or even and so are vulnerable to capricious unwelcome litigation3. Denying the his fellow ‘electricians’”. I find this claim supervisors. existence of bullying could become costly. difficult to understand. I regret to say that the conduct of my Universities competing for funding and In 1937, Tesla was nominated for a PhD supervisor was tantamount to kudos can ill-afford to risk harbouring Nobel prize in physics for his fundamental bullying. Corroborative complaints by known aggressors, thus condoning their equations explaining AC polyphase peers and by me proved futile, culminating conduct and bringing departments into systems, and his application of in my supervisor misappropriating disrepute. mathematical principles to his various corresponding authorship after editorial Inevitably, ‘whistleblowers’ (whether inventions was acknowledged by Ambrose review of our manuscript. Although on matters of personal or academic Fleming, Lord Kelvin, Ernest Rutherford, nebulous commitments to PhD supervision misconduct) risk damage to their careers4. W. H. Eccles, Niels Bohr and Albert published in guidelines are welcome, they To ensure scientific integrity, postgraduate Einstein, among others. are merely cosmetic unless enforced students need adequate protection from Also, the statement that I “always” impartially against the occasional aberrant the repercussions of ‘speaking out’. portray Tesla in a favourable light is supervisor. Experience has left me PhDs should surely be protected from incorrect. His financial deception of John disaffected with my university, which is bullying and unfair termination of Jacob Astor, his breach of contract with J. P. ostensibly content to allow a rogue studentships, in the same way as ‘employed’ Morgan and his self-destructive tendencies supervisor to usurp authorship and researchers are protected by legislation and and their link to the death of his older confidence by allowing vulnerable PhDs to contracts. brother are just some of Tesla’s quirks, be bullied. Name and address supplied mistakes, foibles or miscalculations that I PhDs may now, however, be able to pointed out. 1. McComb, J. Nature 387, 448 (1997). seek alternative recourse. In an 2. The Guardian 27 January 1998. Marc J. Seifer unprecedented move, the British High 3. Robinson, J. Education and the Law 9 (2), 93–107 (1997). MetaScience Productions, Court has granted a student at the 4. Macilwain, C. Nature 385, 669 (1997). Box 32, University of Cambridge, Mr Beg, judicial 5. Poon, P. J. Law, Med. Ethics 23, 88–95 (1995). Kingston, Rhode Island 02881, USA