Most beer taps are made from plastic or glass. But, pub style beer taps are made the old fashion way. They are made from wood.

I love the rural initiatives that are placing grant money into small businesses to make it possible for trucking companies to clean up fallen trees from the local area. Four or five trees on a truck make for a very good day because they are hauled to the mill where they get cut into shape.

It depends on the size of the tap handles being made, but normally a two inch by two inch cut will do just fine. So let's just have some fun and do a little math. Let's say that the average tree that falls will have a three foot diameter. Plus, let's say that they are normally cut into eighteen foot sections. So, how many tap handles can be made if these trees are cut down into two inches by two inches by one foot sections?

The area of ​​the tree I just described is 1018 inches. If you want to do the math for yourself, area equals pie times the radius squared. Remember, keep the measurements the same. If it's in inches, stick with inches throughout the math problem. So, 1018 inch area means that 254 handles can fit in one section of the tree. With an 18 foot tree, 18 sections would give us 4,581 tap handles just out of one tree. 22,905 tap handles can be made from a truck load carrying five trees. Not a bad day indeed.

Once they are cut into shape, they are hauled off to the manufacturer of the tap handles. Again, this is not the standard operating procedure for all manufacturers of beer tap handles. But, many use a software called AutoCad that allows manufacturers to see the beer tap handle on the computer with a complete mock up before it goes to the floor. Some manufacturers even have machines that utilize the AutoCad software to make cuts and trims like what you might see at Orange County Choppers where Paul Teutul Sr. builds some of the most famous choppers today.

But, some old school manufacturers will put the wood sections through a series of calculated cuts that will first cut them down to size. Then, trim off excess. Run through a lathe where they will get formed. Then, given a shot of paint and lacquered for the shine. Final stage is when they put labels on the handles.

A more detailed process will include actually embedding the label into the wood. Something like that can be done with AutoCad as well. But, that's more for a mass production of handles or a more precise design that comes out perfect every time. Of course, a team of highly skilled woodworkers can produce very high quality work.

With the exception of such staples as curry, steak and ale pie or, god forbid, the doner kebab, beer and fine cuisine have tended to have a difficult relationship. Despite the arrival of microbrews and fruit beers, grain remains very much grape's poor relation, with few top restaurants boasting of their beer list.

Now, however, grain has found its champion in Maxim 'Beer Chef' Richard Fox. The Food and Beer Cook Book is an unashamedly unpretentious collection of recipes and informative titbits designed to convince us that beer deserves a place in every kitchen, above and beyond that of chef's lubricant.

Fox's love of beer emerges from the start, guiding us energetically through the various types, matching beers to meals and even giving a quick rundown on beer tasting. Throughout, it's clear that his recipes are as much about celebrating the beverage in all its forms as they are about the food itself.

As Fox himself says, 'cooking at home is more about the event … than about fancy food', and that's reflected in his choice of dishes. Many are established favorites such as the club sandwich, Welsh rarebit and eggs Benedict, while every recipe uses beer either for flavor or to simplify preparation.

Fox assumes that his reader will have all the culinary aptitude of the stereotypical male, keeping recipes simple to the point of brutality and focusing on ingredients and flavors rather than technique. The club sandwich is made with pigeon and caramelised onions – 'top tasting, beer soaking, footie friendly fodder of the highest order' – while canapés include mini Yorkshire puddings with venison and raspberry beer sauce, with a side order of idiot-proof instructions.

The Food and Beer Cook Book includes suggestions for both formal and informal occasions, ranging from a romantic dinner à deux to supplies for TV marathons. Ladies horrified by the idea of ​​confronting one of Fox's creations at their next candlelit rendezvous can take comfort in dishes such as fruit salad with strawberry beer crème fraiche, and inside-out hot dogs with BBQ sauce look likely to keep plainer appetites topped up.

As you've probably guessed, this isn't a book for the aspiring Gordon Ramsay. For those more Can't Cook, Won't Cook than Masterchef, however, it may prove just the thing to remove that kitchen phobia. Cheers!

** The Food and Beer Cook Book is published by Sentinel Press **

Who doesn’t love ending the day with a cold one? Perhaps you like to sit down with a pint of smooth stout, or maybe you’re more in love with India Pale Ales. Maybe you like hefeweizens and their immense body, or you might prefer a brown or red ale. There’s a lot of room for diversity in the beer world, and that’s certainly part of the fun. Is there room for sour beer, though? If you haven’t tried any of the sours now coming to market, they’re definitely something different. Most find that they either love them or hate them, though declaring them as an “acquired taste” seems to be the best description. What are sour beers and what should you know about them?

Originally

Once upon a time, sour beers were pretty much the province of Belgian brewers. That’s not to say they didn’t develop anywhere else, but the Belgians were the ones famous for their sour brews. Most of those being developed by craft brewers today stem from the Belgian tradition, at least in theory if not in actual practice.

Why might craft brewers today drift away from the traditional ways of making sours? Mostly it’s because of the practice that allowed wild yeast strains into the brew during fermenting. Wild yeast can result in some, well, wild results and most brewers try to stay away from situations in which this type of unpredictability is common.

How Breweries Develop Sour Flavors

There are several ways that brewers can develop sour flavors within their brews. While there are still a handful of brewers that stick to the original method (mostly in Belgium), other options have been developed.

Yeast: There are two options available for brewers hoping to use yeast to create a sour brew. One option is to use old aging barrels with wild yeast in them – the way they did it in the beginning. You’ll find that this is employed mostly by traditional brewers still operating in Belgium. The other way is to intentionally introduce a particular strain of yeast to the mix known for creating those desired flavors. In the world of wine making, brettanomyces is something that must be avoided at all costs because of the unwanted flavors it imparts during the fermenting process. In the world of beer, it’s desirable, at least if you want to end up with a tart, sour brew.

Of course, as you might expect, there are problems when using a different type of yeast to what’s ordinarily used during the brewing process. Cross contamination is a very real threat that can ruin a good batch of beer, so brewers making use of this specialized yeast must keep their sours far away from their regular brews, going so far as to house their sour beer in a completely separate building.

Fruit: Another way to create sour beer is to use different types of fruit during the aging process to result in a secondary fermentation. Not only does the fruit impart its unique flavor characteristics, but it also brings additional yeast to the table, which will feast on the remaining sugars in the brew as well as the sugar from the fruit. Cherries and raspberries are both commonly used for this. Fruit can also be used mostly for flavoring – adding tartness to a brew in an attempt to increase its sourness. Apricots are favorites for this.

The Aging Process

One of the hallmarks of sour beers (other than the flavor, of course), is the lengthy aging process it must go through. While ordinary beers can age for just a little bit and be palatable, sour brews need to age for a much longer period – sometimes up to three years. That’s quite an investment in time, equipment and space for brewers, and sometimes the gamble doesn’t pay off even when the beer produced is exactly what’s intended. Many craft brewers find that their offerings are really only enjoyed by a few faithful fans and true sour beer lovers.

The Types of Beer

Technically, most any type of beer can be made sour. It just takes the right bacteria and a little bit of time. However, there are a few types that are known specifically as sour brews, including Flemish ales, guezes and lambics. Of the three, lambics are probably the most famous for their sourness. However, both German and American style sour ales are beginning to make headway in the burgeoning craft beer market.

You’ll find that one of the best things about sour beer is the fact that they can help bridge the various worlds in alcohol consumption. For example, a Flanders red might be an excellent option for a confirmed wine drinker, while fruitier sours can be excellent options for those who don’t like malt or hops particularly. While the name “sour” can be a turn off, you’ll find that the refreshing, tart nature of these brews can make a world of difference in your own drinking enjoyment, and can even bring non-beer lovers into the craft beer fold.

To help you get out and discover some new and interesting brews, here are some breweries that currently put out sours:

• New Belgium

• Cascade

• Lost Abbey

• Cigar City

• Goose Island

• Cantillon

• Allagash

Enjoy Them Any Time of Year

Sours are known for their refreshing flavors, their low alcohol content (relatively speaking) and their lesser body and hop flavor than IPAs and other brews. If you’re looking for something a bit different from the standard pilsner, lager or IPA, then why not give the world of sours a chance? You’ll find there are quite a few out there, but you’ll have to do some searching to get your mitts on one. Actually, that search can be half the fun here. Go out and enjoy a sour today, and you’ll get a glimpse of just how diverse and enjoyable the craft beer world truly is. Spring, summer, fall or winter, these brews make a great choice all year long.

Poto Cervesia,

Dustin Canestorp

As beer lovers, we are pretty certain that we know the beer brewing methods used by the mega-breweries pale in comparison to the love and attention we lavish on our own home brew recipes whether they be from the commercial brew brewing kits or our very own recipes.

But we owe a great debt to the commercial breweries and their history of improving the brewing process to the point where we can enjoy home beer brewing as the satisfying hobby that it is.

Way back in Mesopotamia some 50 centuries ago beer and bread were staples of the daily diet and both were produced in individual homes by the women of the time. While the process of fermentation was understood very early on, the various technologies required to centralize the brewing process into one location in greater quantities did not begin to come into use until the tenth century when European monasteries began to expand their beer brewing methods to include additional product which could be used as payment for the monasteries bills. The monks are also credited with much improving beer brewing recipes by coming up with adding hops to the process. The addition of hops was first mentioned in the eighth century and again in the tenth. This transition from primarily home brewed beer to also marked the exclusion of women from brewing responsibilities.

These early breweries were almost always built in multi story buildings and arranged so that the earliest stages of the brewing process took place on the highest floors so the brewers could depend on simple gravity to help move the product from one brewing stage to the next. The state of the brewery, with relatively few improvements such as the use of copper vats instead of wood, remained pretty much the same for several hundred years. It wasn’t until the 1700s that the brewery started to take on the appearance we would be familiar with today.

The development of the steam engine in 1765 brought the ability to mechanize aspects of the brewing process including the mixing and stirring of the batch. Pumps operated by steam power were also developed which gave the brewers the ability to mix more reliably while heating which reduced the possibility of the mash scorching. Overall, steam power gave the brewery the ability to produce larger quantities of beer since they no longer had to rely on just human powered mechanisms.

The next great improvement in brewery technology was in the late 1800s when the capability to refrigerate the beer was introduced. Before refrigeration, because yeast is extremely temperature sensitive, most beer was brewed in the cooler winter months in great enough quantities to last through the warm summers. With the ability to maintain the desired cool temperatures yeast requires, beer could now be reliably brewed all year round.

The work of Louis Pasteur was to also greatly influence beer brewing methods. The discovery that yeast is a living microorganism that fermented the wort lead to the development of pure yeast cultures chosen for their fermentation ability and flavors they produce.

Today’s modern brewery, whether huge or a local micro brewing operation, are almost all constructed from stainless steel which has distinct advantages over the materials used in years past. It does not flavor the beer itself in the way wood casks did, and it is very easy to clean since it doesn’t react with many chemicals.

Heating is now done with pressurized steam but some smaller breweries do use direct fire methods. Cooling is achieved by installing cooling jackets on the tanks. This arrangement helps control the temperature of each tank individually and very accurately.

Perhaps the best improvement in today’s breweries is the amount of testing that takes place for quality control. Not only is the batch sampled many times during the process for any impurities or unwanted variations, so also are the incoming shipments of the raw ingredients tested for compliance to quality standards.

Neither man nor woman alone can create beer. Wort is as far as humans can take the process of beer making. The final glorious conversion to beer is the job of the microorganisms known as yeast. Their conversion of sugars to alcohol completes the fermentation.

How much yeast do I need for a five gallon batch?

Many experienced brewers suggest about 1 million healthy yeast cells per milliliter of wort per degree Plato.

Most American home brewers measure their wort with a hydrometer and get specific gravity readings. For this discussion we can estimate our specific gravity being 1.004 for every degree Plato. So to get an equivalent degree Plato from our specific gravity reading, simply divide the number on the right of the decimal point by 4 and that should give you your degrees Plato. An example is a specific gravity measurement of our wort being 1.048 would convert to 12 degrees Plato.

A five-gallon batch of wort contains 18,927 milliliters so we will round up to 19,000 milliliters of wort when making the English to Metric conversion.

Using the above information, we can plug the numbers into the formula to calculate the number of needed healthy yeast cells to pitch into our wort.

1,000,000 X 19,000 X 12 = 228,000,000,000

That means we need 228 billion healthy yeast cells ready to convert our wort to beer. The most common liquid yeast used by home brewers comes from White Labs or Wyeast. The tubes and smack packs on average contain about 100 billion yeast cells. You can see we really need a little over 2 times that number for our beer.

Using two tubes of White Labs yeast or two smack packs of Wyeast will provide the approximate correct number of yeast, but at twice the cost. This is where a yeast starter comes into play in home brewing.

What is a yeast starter?

A yeast starter is nothing more than a very small batch of wort, usually between a 1,000 and 2,000 milliliters of fermentable sugars. The use of DME (dried malt extract) is one simple and effective way of creating wort for your starter. This starter provides an easy way to increase the number of healthy yeast cells.

The yeast cell count after creating a starter can only really be calculated by a laboratory with the proper testing equipment. However, according an article written by Jamil Zainasheff (05/24/2007), adding one tube of White Lab’s yeast to a 2-liter starter will produce approximately 240 billion healthy yeast cells.

The cost of the dried malt extract comes in around $1.00. A considerable savings when compared to adding an additional tube of yeast.

Adding yeast starting to your toolbox of brewing tools will benefit you both financially and with a better-finished beer.

What is beer? – Simply put, beer is fermented; hop flavored, malt sugared, liquid.

Brewing beer is fun and easy; if you can make mac and cheese from a box without help, you can make beer. This section will provide you with all the necessary ingredients and products for you to brew beer.

All beer is brewed from malted barley, hops, yeast and water, although other ingredients such as fruit, wheat and spices are sometimes used. The yeast turns sugars in the malt into alcohol and the hops provide the bitter flavors in beer and the flowery aroma. The flavor of the beer depends on many things, including the types of malt and hops used, other ingredients and the yeast variety. Getting the yeast right is essential as each variety has its own distinctive effect on the beer.

Carbon Activated – ENO – (For decolorizing and purification)

Carbon Activated – CPW – (For decolorizing and purification)

Carbon Activated – 2SW – (For deodorizing)

Caustic Potash Flake – (For cleaning)

Caustic Potash 50% Liquid – (For cleaning)

Caustic Soda Beads (For cleaning)

Caustic Soda 30% & 50% Liquid (For cleaning and water treatment)

Chlorinated Trisodium Phosphate (For cleaning)

Citric Acid Anhydrous (For use in cleaning)

Dextrose – Enhances the body of the beer. (Aids the yeast in completing fermentation.)

Dicaflock Fibers (Dicalite) – (As pre-coat during filtration)

Diatomaceous Earth (Dicalite) – (Various grades for initial filtering to polishing.)

Filter Modules (Filtrox) – (Both 12 "and 16" modules available as either flat ends or with "F" adapters.)

Filter Sheets (Filtrox) – (Standard and custom sizes for coarse filtration, clarifiying, fine filtration, germ reducing, and sterile filtration.)

Gelatin – (For removing unwanted solids)

Hydrogen Peroxide 35% – (For cleaning and disinfecting)

Muriatic Acid – (General cleaning)

Peracetic Acid – (General cleaning and disinfecting)

Potassium Chloride (Pellets) – (For water softening)

Propylene Glycol USP – (Coolant for refrigeration)

Propylene Glycol Inhibited – (Coolant for refrigeration)

Soda Ash (Dense & Light) – (For neutralizing)

Sodium Chloride – (For water softening)

Sodium Hypochlorite 12-14% – (General cleaning and disinfecting)

Sodium Percarbonate – (General cleaning)

Sterox & Sterox Foaming – (General cleaning)

Sterox K & Sterox K Foaming – (General cleaning)

Sulfuric Acid 93% – (For cleaning and water treatment)

Trisodium Phosphate – (For cleaning)

Yeast – Mauribrew Ale – (Active Dry Yeast)

Yeast – Mauribrew Lager – (Active Dry Yeast)

Adjuncts, other ingredients such as rice or corn, can be used to "extend" the ingredients imparting a "clean" to "no taste" and providing the beer with longer shelf life.

A True American Health Plan

The “French Paradox”, that phenomena of the French eating high amounts of saturated fats yet enjoying low rates of heart disease, recently led the British Medical Journal (BMJ) to conduct a study in Denmark on the health habits of wine drinkers vs. beer drinkers. While it is true Frenchy grabs a Big Mac less frequently than the typical American, the American may now be able to revel in the fact that a cold sudsy brew may trump the health benefits of Frenchy’s warm red vino.

The BMJ’s study found that in their studies of supermarket buying habits in beer-oriented Denmark supermarkets that the typical wine drinker eats much healthier than a typical beer drinker. So, logically, one can deduce that wine plus eating healthy plays a part in general health. But what about those flavanoids found in wine – aren’t they the pinnacle ingredient lauded for heart-health?

Perhaps not! Numerous studies, including a recent study at the Institute of Epidemiology and Social Medicine at the University of Muenster, have shown that “It cannot be proved that there is any health advantage to drinking red wine, for example, rather than beer” and “Studies indicate that light to moderate alcohol consumption from beer, wine or spirits is associated with a reduction in all-cause mortality, owing primarily to a decreased risk of coronary heart disease.” Aha! Finally a beer-friendly answer to the age old Vino vs. Beer: Heart Health Debacle.

What makes beer a heady boon to health? Recently UC Davis Professor Charles Bamforth found that beer contains antioxidants that fight against heart disease and cancer as well as several B vitamins, an array of minerals, and even fiber. Health benefits stem from beer being brewed from barley, wheat, rice or corn. Another of beer’s main ingredients, which provides health benefits in much the same way as natural grains, is hops. These beer-essential grains have an abundance of health-promoting polyphenols – the cancer-stopping, cholesterol-lowering, virus-killing counterpart to flavanoids.

And Bozeman’s local brewhouses (aka. Cancer and Heart Disease Prevention Centers) provide many extremely “hopped up ales.. So, whether you ski, snowboard, snowshoe, or just recreacize by taking a leisurely stroll this winter, when you’re done, kick back with your friends, a hoppy local brew, and…

DRINK TO YOUR HEALTH.

This natural toenail fungus treatment information came to me via a professor of mine during our medical procedures course. I am passing it on to you in hopes that people try this first before resorting to the toxic effects of Lamisil.

Please also be aware of claims stating that a product will cure or treat toenail fungus in a few days or a couple weeks. From my clinical experience, that is not possible. It takes a few months for a nail to grow out and even up to 6 full months. Nail fungus resides underneath the nail and a product has to penetrate deeply to get to it and then the nail must grow out before it looks healthy. So – be careful of false claims. There are many.

Acidophilus Beer Soak:

The basic premise behind this odd sounding natural toenail fungus treatment is to soften the nail with the beer, create an acidic environment with vinegar which is beneficial to good bacteria and deadly to fungus and then penetrate the nails with beneficial bacteria to help kill and prevent further recurrences.

Essential Ingredients:

• Acidophilus sachets containing 125 billion organisms
• Guinness Stout beer or any other dark beer.
• White Vinegar
• Basin big enough for your feet or hands
• Time
• Persistence and Consistency

Natural Toenail Fungus Treatment Procedure:

• In tub, pour 1 liter of room temperature beer into a basin
• Add 60 billion acidophilus which is half of one sachet.
• Add 1 liter of White vinegar
• Soak clean feet in the solution for 30 minutes before bed or when best for you.
• On removing your feet or fingernails from the basin, file the nails down with a pumice stone or file. Do this once per week. Wash your hands well afterwards to avoid contamination of fungus to your fingernails. Also place your feet back into the bin for about a minute or more to rinse off the filings.
• After each 3rd day, toss out the entire solution mixture and remake using the formula: 1 liter of white vinegar, 1 liter of dark beer and the remaining half of one sachet. This keeps the solution’s ingredients in active live form. If too old, it will not work.
• Repeat for 30 days every day. Do not skip a day for best results.
• Do twice a day for faster results
• You may warm the solution by adding boiling water to the mix before using

What to look for: As the fungus gets killed by this natural toenail fungus treatment, you will notice that the new nail growth from the nail base is coming in clear. This is a good sign. Some people see clearing at the base within one week and some people see clearing at the base in one month. It all depends on how fast your nails grow and how often you soak them.

It will take about 3 months for the infected nails to completely grow out. As long as you keep seeing the nail base come in clean and grow out cleanly, you are on the right track.

If your feet get sensitive or sore, do the soak only once per day. Some people have sensitive skin while others do not. Simply put on some great liquid vitamin E or aloe on the sore areas should they occur. This is rare.

Make sure you do this toenail fungus treatment daily. Make it a routine. Watch some TV, read a book or wash the dishes for 30 minutes. Do not skip a day. If you do, it may take a bit longer than a month but keep at it.

If you know your nails grow slowly, then consider purchasing some MSM or Silicea 6x cell salts as they have shown to increase nail growth. If you find yourself having gas after taking MSM or eating garlic or headaches after red wine, then that is typically a sign of molybdenum deficiency. You can get molybdenum at a health food store. Liquid molybdenum is ideal as it absorbs better.

This anti-fungus protocol is an excellent way to help prevent liver damage via Lamisil. Mind you, not all people are affected badly by Lamisil. However, the FDA did put out an advisory for physicians: “Both Sporanox® and Lamisil® have been associated with serious hepatic toxicity, including liver failure and death, including some cases involving patients who had neither pre-existing liver disease nor a serious underlying medical condition. As of April 2001, the FDA is aware of 16 cases of liver failure in association with Lamisil® Tablet use (including 11 deaths and two liver transplantations). These patients received Lamisil® Tablets for the treatment of various dermatologic conditions, including onychomycosis.”

If the formula is not strong enough, play with it. Perhaps add some more acidophilis to the mix or more vinegar – or more beer. Play with the concentrations.

If you’ve any questions, I’m happy to answer them for you.

You may find the Acidophilus Sachets here along with other related useful products for the Beer Soak protocol.

I estimated the total cost of this procedure to be about $200.00 That is very inexpensive compared to Lamisil – and much healthier to your liver.

Even if you drink a couple Guinness Stouts while you do the soak – it may still be safer than Lamisil on your liver. 🙂

Spent grain can make up as much as 85% of a breweries total by-product. It takes about one pound of grain to make one six pack of beer, multiply that by the sheer volume of leftover grain from the average batch at a craft brewery, you’ve got yourself a whole mountain of spent grain. With the growing popularity of craft breweries in the country, some might wonder what breweries do with all that spent grain. Most of the breweries have programs in place to make good use of the leftover grain that might otherwise just be considered trash. Here are some of the more popular uses of leftover ingredients from craft brews.

For The Birds

Predominantly spent grain is used for compost or feed. Many craft breweries specialize in seasonal brews made from local ingredients. These farms work together with the breweries to provide the grains to make these unique brews and then return the leftover grain to the farms to be used as compost for the next season’s special brew. Poultry and livestock can also feed of the remaining grains from brews which in turn provide eggs and meat for the restaurants that pride themselves on recipes using locally sourced foods in their recipes.

From Liquid Bread to Real Bread.

Craft breweries are popular for unique beers as well as great food. In addition to using their beers in food recipes, spent grain is often used to make breads, cookies, granola and pizza dough that serve as a perfect pairing with a cold one.

Energy Innovation.

Alaskan Brewing Company has developed a first-of-its-kind biomass steam boiler, fueled entirely by their waste. This new boiler has already eliminated the use for fuel oil in their grain drying process and cuts the use of fuel for the brewing process in half. As the brewery grows so does their fuel source. With fossil fuels quickly depleting, this innovation could quickly become the future of fuel sources for brewers.

A Beer For You and Your Best Friend

Some breweries will make their own dog treats in their kitchens or donate the used grain to bakeries that specialize in baked goods for our furry friends. In San Diego, breweries like Green Flash Brewing Co., and Stone Brewing Co. supply their spent grain to David Crane, a home brewer whose company makes “Doggie Beer Bones” out of the beer leftovers mixed with other ingredients and sells them online and in breweries and pet stores nationwide.

Beer Flavored Lip Balm Anyone?

Love the taste of beer enough to use it every day as a lip balm? Oskar Blues makes a”beer-blessed” lip balm from the hops and barley in their Old Chub Scotch Ale.

How About A Beer Bath?

Stone Brewing Company in San Diego has a collection of handmade soaps available in their store and online that smell so good you just might want to eat them.

Most breweries don’t sell their leftovers to the public, however if you are a home brewer there is no reason you can’t use your own spent grains to make flour to use in your own special recipes or compost in your backyard garden. There are great resources online for how to dry spent grain, make spent grain flour, or turn it into compost. Soap recipes can be found as well if you are feeling crafty and want to try your hand at soup making with leftovers from your own home brews.

Depending on where you live, finding leftovers from brews shouldn’t prove to be too difficult an item to procure. For example, San Diego has over 160 breweries that are all sure to have plenty of spent grain available for free or at the very least, a minimal cost. Just go online and search a few breweries in your hometown and contact them about taking some of their spent grains off their hands.

The diamond industry model of the 21st century should be considered as different from the diamond industry model of the 20th century. This is because there was a single company that monopolized the entire diamond industry.

Throughout the 20th century the diamond industry was monopolized by De Beer, whom some have considered used many underhand methods to achieve and sustain this monopoly on the diamond industry.

It has been suggested that the company used several tactics to take control of the market, for example, they would purchase stockpiles of diamonds that came from other competitors and then manipulated the prices through the aged old supply and demand.

Another underhand methods used was to flood the market with similar products of producers who refuse to join his monopoly.

At the time the family of companies was employing around 20.000 employers on five continents at different places around the world.

The family of companies were involved in all aspects of the diamond industry, from mining of the diamonds, to selling rough diamonds, to distribution and production and also the marketing and the making of jewelry.

The De Beer Family is credited as selling around 40% of the world’s rough diamonds, which came from their own mines or through their joint ventures with various governments.

It might be worth noting here for those who might not know, that it is not the name of a person, but it is the name of the company that was founded by Cecil Rhodes back in 1888 and which was funded by Lord Nathan Rothschild of the Rothschild family.

Cecil Rhodes started a company back in 1871 during the gold rush days selling water pumps to miners. This took place in South Africa where the largest diamond of 83.5 carats was found in Kimberly.

Using the profits from this operation he wisely invested in buying up claims from small diamond miners and in another bold move.

He secured further funds from Rothschild for a massive expansion and De Beer was created in 1888 with the merger of Cecil Rhodes and Barney Banarto, who subsequently became the owners of all the mining production in South Africa.

Cecil Rhodes was afraid that one day someone will find another diamond mine and that is just what happened, enter the Cullinan mine, which was discovered in 1902 and was to De Beer’s major competitor and subsequently the cause of the end of De Beer monopoly.

The owner of the mine refused an invitation to join the monopoly opting instead to do business with the Bernard and Ernest Oppenheimer, which delivered another blow to De Beer’s cartel.

The Cullinan mine was so successful that they are credited with finding the second largest diamond ever found, The Cullinan Diamond and their production soon matched that of De Beers.

However, business being the way that it is De Beer soon obtain ownership of The Cullinan mining industry sometime during the 1st world war.

In 1902 after the death of Cecil Rhodes the De Beer company had been controlling over 90% of the diamond production of the world.

In 2000 a number of diamond producers in places like Australia, Canada and Russia decided that they had enough of De Beer and would be seeking to distribute their diamonds outside of the De Beer cartel. It was this single act the saw the end of the De Beer monopoly.