THE BEER BEAT: Odds and ends from the month of May. I can't remember anything before that.

Why on earth did I keep the empty bottle?

Roughly a year ago, 18th Street's Sex and Candy was a very big deal. First, the backdrop.

(1 of 4) 18th Street's Sex and Candy, but first, the story of 18th Street Brewery.

(2 of 4) 18th Street's Sex and Candy, and how the "Twitter Fight Over Racy Indiana Beer Label Highlights Industry Sexism Concerns."

(3 of 4) 18th Street's Sex and Candy, and wondering, "What ... the Brewers Association (Is) Doing to Address Gender and Race?"

(4 of 4) 18th Street's Sex and Candy: "Your Sexism is Predictable and Boring, 18th Street Brewery."

Fast forward to a resolution of sorts.

18th Street Brewery Redesigns Sex & Candy Label, Calls for Progressive Dialogue Going Forward, by Dave Eisenberg (Good Beer Hunting)

Company founder and head brewer Drew Fox says the new artwork is not open to misreading. “We want to be part of something positive and not part of something that people see as negative or derogatory,” Fox says. “We know that the [new] imagery would not lead to any interpretation of being a sexist label or objectifying women.”

It's good by me. Any effective strategy for dealing with sexism in "craft" beer is likely to be incremental. We're talking attitudes, and these take time. Speaking of time, I'm a history nut, and "extinct" styles fascinate me.

A few beers no longer lost nor forgotten, by Stan Hieronymus (Appellation Beer)

 ... “Why do I want to taste extinct styles? On one level it’s purely from curiosity: how did it taste, what did it look like, how did it drink? All the things you can only really learn about a beer by having one in a glass in front of you. That simple need to know could be satisfied by a pint or two,” he says.

“But then there’s the cultural aspect. Beer styles—and especially those associated with a specific place—have a wider significance than just being a drink. Because every beer style is a unique cultural item. When one disappears, the culture it came from is diminished.”

Heaven knows for a time, we tried. Back in 2012, NABC's Ben Minton did a damned fine Grätzer/Grodziskie.

Grätzer/Grodziskie ... oak-smoked wheat session ale, coming soon to NABC.

Ben Minton will be brewing another new historical re-creation session beer this week. We recently acquired a small quantity of oak (eiche) smoked wheat malt for this beer. The beer will be 100% wheat, something we've never done here, and it will be a very hard beer to brew. If you see Ben pulling out his hair, this is why.

Ben's task may have been extreme, but the ale he produced was delicious. These are the things I miss, as well as not-quite-extinct lagers like Zwickelbier.

BEER OF THE MOMENT: SCHLAFLY WHITE LAGER, by Ken Weaver (All about Beer)

The Saint Louis Brewery
Schlafly White Lager
St. Louis, Missouri
Style: German-Style Zwickelbier
ABV: 5.5%

As the weather warms up and we’re assessing our go-to summer options, it’s our latest Beer of the Moment: a deftly structured German-style lager with firm hops and a hint of mint.

But why "White Lager"? Modern marketing sets the teeth to grinding, but then again, I'm old. At this juncture, it's always worth a few minutes of refreshing as to the fermentation dichotomy.

LAGERS VERSUS ALES, by Randy Mosher (All About Beer Magazine)

It is common to slice the beer world into two irreconcilable sectors. Lagers are the yin: cooling, clean and constrained; ales are the bold, brash, ebullient yang. When it comes to pairing with food, some have even made an analogy between white or red wines and lagers or ales. The mind seeks simplicity, so a trope like this may be useful for getting a grip on the bewilderingly diverse world of beer, but is there any truth to it?

From the joys of stylistic awareness, I close this installment with the messiness of sausage-making.

Lawmakers to pore over Indiana's 'archaic' alcohol laws this summer, by Kaitlin L Lange (C-J, Indy Star)

Indiana lawmakers will spend their summer poring over the state's complicated mixture of alcohol laws, following a heated legislative session debate this spring over which retailers should be allowed to sell cold beer.

Let the record show this column complete, with time to walk down to Floyd County Brewing Company for a nice, civilized holiday weekend Sunday beer.