mba November 2001

mba@thebarn.com

32 participants
50 discussions

by Al Boyce

The Club-Competition "MILDS" entries are due December 7. Anybody want to get together on Tuesday, November 27 for a tasting? We can have it at my place, 7pm, unless someone else wants to host. Who's got entries? - Al 3208 Edgewood Ave So St.Louis Park, MN 55426 (952) 927-8968

24 years

32 gallon keg

by Gregory H. Walsh

I have a chance to pick up an old 32 gallon stainless keg. It has been outdoors for several months and has a very light coat of rust. My thoughts are, nice boiler, sparge water, or whatever. Comments please. Greg

24 years

Re: Cider

by Jason Nelson

Speaking of cider, maybe someone with some experience can give me advice? My original intent with this year's batch (my second try) was to experiment with cider's natural yeasts to see how that would affect the finished product. I was hoping for something a little bit on the sweet side (1.010-1.020). I restrained myself long enough to let it get going, which took a few days. I finally got around to tasting it a couple of days after noticing active fermentation, and it was already quite dry at about 1.004. Now I would like to kill the critters off and maybe add something back to increase the apple flavor and/or sweeten it. Should I just chill it and add a little fresh pasteurized or preserved cider to taste? Has anyone tried something like this that would care to share their experience? "Russell Loucks" <rjl(a)mm.com> on 11/14/2001 03:43:44 PM To: "Rick Larson" <rick(a)adc.com>, "My Beer Alias List" <mba(a)thebarn.com> cc: (bcc: Jason Nelson/MN/Unitedmail) Subject: Re: Cider Holy Wild Yeast, Batman!!! I was hoping the wild yeast present in my batch of cider would be strong enough to ferment, but no!!!! After two days of no activity I had to pitch some champagne yeast..... I got my cider at the 'club press' at Webbers. This year's batch of cider is the first batch that didn't didn't have enough wild yeast on it to ferment. Oh, well. I just racked mine into secondaries. Rather dry tasting (as a result of using the champagne yeast....). Enjoy! R ----- Original Message ----- From: "Rick Larson" <rick(a)adc.com> To: "My Beer Alias List" <mba(a)thebarn.com> Sent: Wednesday, November 14, 2001 3:28 PM Subject: Re: Cider > Jim's cider post reminded me to give a quick update on > my cider. > > I hope everyone's cider is happily fermenting. The club buy > cider is really getting great (a bit of sulfur in the nose does > blow off). I was racking some off into a serving container > until the boys said the cider was tasting "funny". > > My technique is very simple. Pour jugs into sanitized > corny keg. Let sit for 3 days at basement temperature. > Put in fridge. Chill. Blow off any pressure and serve it. > > I've been really enjoying this years batch and hope to have > some left by Thanksgiving. > > I'll have to try some more tonight :-). > rick >

24 years

Re: Cider

by allan.boyce＠usbank.com

I have two batches going - one from the cider press at Webbers, and another from the club buy. The first I did as Rick Larson suggested - tossed it in a sanitized corny and refrigerated it. (Skipped the two days at basement temps step.) It is slowly and deliciously fermenting. I hope there's enough left when it's done fermenting! The other I boiled 6 gal down to 4 gal (as Mark Glewwe suggested) and pitched with the new Wyeast Cider Yeast. Racked it into the secondary last night, but it's still bubbling away slowly. It's pretty tart and dry, I'm thinking of adding some honey to it to sweeten it up. - Al "Russell Loucks" To: mba(a)thebarn.com <rjl(a)mm.com> cc: Sent by: Subject: Re: Cider owner-mba@the barn.com 11/14/01 03:43 PM Holy Wild Yeast, Batman!!! I was hoping the wild yeast present in my batch of cider would be strong enough to ferment, but no!!!! After two days of no activity I had to pitch some champagne yeast..... I got my cider at the 'club press' at Webbers. This year's batch of cider is the first batch that didn't didn't have enough wild yeast on it to ferment. Oh, well. I just racked mine into secondaries. Rather dry tasting (as a result of using the champagne yeast....). Enjoy! R ----- Original Message ----- From: "Rick Larson" <rick(a)adc.com> To: "My Beer Alias List" <mba(a)thebarn.com> Sent: Wednesday, November 14, 2001 3:28 PM Subject: Re: Cider > Jim's cider post reminded me to give a quick update on > my cider. > > I hope everyone's cider is happily fermenting. The club buy > cider is really getting great (a bit of sulfur in the nose does > blow off). I was racking some off into a serving container > until the boys said the cider was tasting "funny". > > My technique is very simple. Pour jugs into sanitized > corny keg. Let sit for 3 days at basement temperature. > Put in fridge. Chill. Blow off any pressure and serve it. > > I've been really enjoying this years batch and hope to have > some left by Thanksgiving. > > I'll have to try some more tonight :-). > rick >

24 years

Re: Cider

by Rick Oftel

Cider is also fermenting very well at the Garden View Brewery. I used a very similar technique. Had a bit of a "pressure surge" at the tap handle last evening but it is working very nicely. A little sulphur notes but it does blow off. Cooled down quite a bit to help control ferment. Thinking about sterile filtering since I have one demo set of sterile pad filters but will wait just a wee bit longer. Thanks again for the post and thanks Mark Glewwe for all the work involved in tracking, pressing, storing, hauling, for the last three or four years! Rick O >>> "Rick Larson" <rick(a)adc.com> 11/14/01 03:28PM >>> Jim's cider post reminded me to give a quick update on my cider. I hope everyone's cider is happily fermenting. The club buy cider is really getting great (a bit of sulfur in the nose does blow off). I was racking some off into a serving container until the boys said the cider was tasting "funny". My technique is very simple. Pour jugs into sanitized corny keg. Let sit for 3 days at basement temperature. Put in fridge. Chill. Blow off any pressure and serve it. I've been really enjoying this years batch and hope to have some left by Thanksgiving. I'll have to try some more tonight :-). rick

24 years

Re: Cider

by Rick Larson

Jim's cider post reminded me to give a quick update on my cider. I hope everyone's cider is happily fermenting. The club buy cider is really getting great (a bit of sulfur in the nose does blow off). I was racking some off into a serving container until the boys said the cider was tasting "funny". My technique is very simple. Pour jugs into sanitized corny keg. Let sit for 3 days at basement temperature. Put in fridge. Chill. Blow off any pressure and serve it. I've been really enjoying this years batch and hope to have some left by Thanksgiving. I'll have to try some more tonight :-). rick

24 years

Cider (fwd)

by Jim L. Ellingson

Dining In, Dining Out/Style Desk; Section F A Revolutionary Idea: Trading Grape for Apple By AMANDA HESSER 11/14/2001 The New York Times Page 1, Column 4 c. 2001 New York Times Company A THOUGHTFUL host may have the best intentions, beginning the evening with a splash of Champagne, perhaps, and then pausing with a crisp Alsatian white, before settling into earthy reds for the main course. But Thanksgiving dinner is a meal that, even in the best hands, stretches the definition of hearty. By the end, it is a triumph if you are not stuffed, tired and tipsy. But there is a drink that can be more graceful than wine, and in some ways much more appropriate in balance and tradition for Thanksgiving dinner. It is hard cider, made from fermented apples or pears. And if you're tasting Martinelli's in your head, then keep in mind that it is to hard cider what purple grape juice is to a grand cru. In Colonial America hard cider was as common as beer. In 1775, 1 out of every 10 farms in New England owned and operated its own cider mill, according to Ben Watson in ''Cider, Hard and Sweet'' (Countryman Press, 1999). Fermenting the juice was a way to make it last. But as the number of family farms diminished and Prohibition took hold, the tradition vanished. It is just in the past decade that cider making has revived, with a small cluster of fruit growers around the country turning to cider with a winemaker's approach. Meanwhile, importers have begun bringing in artisanal ciders from France -- some like fragrant, delicate Champagnes, others bracing, yeasty brews. Ciders are low in alcohol, usually 3 to 7 percent, and generous in nuance. They are also fantastically cheap. Most cost less than $10 for a 750-milliliter bottle, and most wine stores have at least one in stock. You can also find fermented ciders -- as long as they're not fortified -- in better grocery stores. Cider can be sparkling or still, dry or sweet. You could start a meal, for instance, with the frothy, sweet bubbles of Henri Bellot, cidre bouche from France, and make your way to a clean, dry Farnum Hill cider from New Hampshire, with aromas of cherries and melon. All the while your palate will remain alert, your appetite unblemished, and your mind clear. French ciders tend to have floral, mineral aromas and lighter body, more like dew than nectar. Duche de Longueville makes a brut called Antoinette, which is a beautiful golden liquid with a soft, flabby bubble, and a Muscadet de Dieppe, which is much sweeter, like honey, and just 2.5 percent alcohol. It is perfectly pleasant, but not all that challenging, when you compare it with artisanally produced cidre bouche like that made by Henri Bellot in Chaource, France. Its frothy bubbles race around your palate, spreading a buoyant mix of grass, cooked apples, yeast and butter. In the same vein is Sydre Argelette, a cider made by Eric Bordelet in Normandy. Mr. Bordelet, who used to be the sommelier at Arpege, the Michelin three-star restaurant in Paris, revived an old orchard and began making artisanal ciders combining more than a dozen apple varieties. From the slender neck of the bottle flows a cider the color of amber. Fine, feisty bubbles release a robust, fresh fruit flavor. It is heartier than you might think and quite dry -- a good thing to serve with turkey. His Poire Granite, or pear cider, made from an orchard of 300-year-old trees is so delicious I would drink it with anything. It is pale, almost weak-looking, like a pinot grigio -- a disguise. It is much more elegant than the apple cider, more like Champagne with a clean sparkle and a potent aroma of pears and flowers. >From France, there are also some fine ciders that align more closely with good beer. The cidre bouche, brut de Normandie, from Etienne Dupont, is a dense yellow and rustic with delicious, sharp, yeasty flavors and almost none of the friendly fruit aromas you get from others. It complements things like game, steak and fried potatoes. European ciders have long been made with bittersweet and bitter-sharp cider apples, most of which are hard and inedible. They produce more austere qualities in the cider and less obvious fruit flavors. Such apples are rare in American orchards, and American cider makers are less hemmed in by tradition in general. They experiment with apples and techniques, some producing ciders that are dense and fruity, others making cider that tastes of earth and minerals. Elizabeth Ryan, the founder of the Hudson Valley Draft Cider Company, first intended to make apple brandy, but was inspired by a research trip to England, where she visited a number of cider producers. Steve Wood, an owner of Farnum Hill Ciders in Lebanon, N.H., came to cider making as a way to save his sputtering fresh apple business. In the 1980's, Mr. Wood began planting heirloom cider and eating apples on his farm. ''I pretended it was a commercial venture,'' he said. ''I think it was closer to gardening.'' ''By the late 80's we started taking it seriously, as the apple market was deteriorating,'' Mr. Wood added. ''By the early 90's we were taking it very seriously, indeed. In order to continue to grow apples on these bony hillsides with a straight face we need to have something viable to keep doing it.'' So Mr. Wood began making cider with the heirloom fruit. ''We're not really following any tradition,'' he said. ''We're trying to make cider that's reflective of the fruit we grow and the place we grow it.'' This is why American ciders are difficult to pin down. Hudson Valley Farmhouse Cider is reminiscent of English ciders, with lazy bubbles, a lot of body and assertive acidity. It smells much like a Sauternes, with the aroma of golden raisins, minerals and rubber. Its dryness would balance well with sweet potatoes, turnips and turkey, but probably stomp all over a dainty hors d'oeuvre. Farnum Hill's ciders stand alone. If you swirl a glass of the sparkling semidry, a waft of citrus blossoms and pear travels up to your nose. It is dry and crisp, with a gentle warming quality, like a Scotch. Mr. Wood blends up to a dozen rare varieties of apples like Esopus Spitzenberg, Dabinett, Yarlington Mill, Kingston Black and Medaille d'Or. His extra dry has the same kind of vibrancy, with an aroma of cherries and melon that seems to leap from the glass. It is dry and distinct with a pleasant sharpness reminiscent of bitter oranges. Both would be terrific with a meal. Mr. Wood has also begun experimenting with single-variety ciders, where there is still a mix of apples but one variety's flavor is amplified. West County Winery in Colrain, Mass., has already headed down this road. Its Redfield cider, made with the red-fleshed Redfield apple along with McIntosh, Northern Spy and others, is clean and tart. The cider is an apricot pink and smells like fresh apple skins and spice. They also make Tremlett's, which is a little fuller with gentle hints of pear and lemon. None of those flavors are what you would expect from fermented apples. But you should, considering that no one expects wine to taste like grapes. A carefully made hard cider is produced much like wine. The apples are ripened fully on the tree so that their sugar content is very high. In France, and sometimes here, the fruit is allowed to fall and sit on the ground for a few days to ''sweat,'' or dry. The apples are then crushed, pressed and fermented. Because apples and pears contain less sugar than grapes, they produce a drink with lower alcohol. It is at this point that techniques diverge. Bill Rhyne, an owner of Rhyne Cyder in Sonoma, ferments the apple varieties separately, then blends them before bottling. As the cider is bottled, he adds a little unfermented juice so that the cider goes through a second fermentation in the bottle, like Champagne. ''This brings out the apple flavor,'' he said. West County Winery also bottles right away, but it lets the crushed apples ferment for a few days before pressing, a technique that draws out many delicate flavors in the skins. Hudson Valley Farmhouse Ciders and Farnum Hill both age their fermented ciders in barrels before blending and bottling. Mr. Wood uses French and American oak and stainless steel. ''Cider is so delicate,'' said Ms. Ryan, who matures her cider in redwood, ''We don't want wood flavor, but we do want slow oxidation which builds complexity over a few months. Literally the cider is being allowed to breathe. If it goes too far, it can get too complex and too interesting.'' Cider makers are careful not to turn away new drinkers, which is why Mr. Wood makes some of his sparkling. ''A few bubbles make the whole thing a little bit jollier,'' he said. Cider, in the past, was not something you drank for nuance or fun, or because you wanted to get in the mood of the season. ''You have to think,'' Ms. Ryan said. ''What was there? There was water, there was milk and there was cider. There was a little bit of wine and beer and not much else.'' At one time, Westchester County was renowned for its ciders. ''New Jersey had hundreds and hundreds of cider mills,'' she added. It is the fine details that cider makers now tend to. Mr. Wood said: ''I drink a lot of wine and a fair amount of beer, and I don't think our cider would be what it is if I didn't. ''If I had my way, I'd be making all dead-dry still cider and people would be flocking to buy it because it would be so lovely. The still is the purest expression of the fruit.'' But all ciders are an expression of the harvest. What better time to celebrate them? Photos: GOOD WITH TURKEY -- Several varieties of heirloom apples go into Farnum Hill cider, which is made in Lebanon, N.H. (Rose McNulty)(pg. F9); FEISTY BUBBLES -- Sydre Argelette is a sparkling dry apple cider from Normandy. (Tony Cenicola/The New York Times)(pg. F1) ------------------------------ http://www.menet.umn.edu/~jellings/ * * Dr. James Lee (Jim) Ellingson, Ph.D. jellings(a)me.umn.edu * * University of Minnesota, tel: 651/645-0753 fax 651/778-4398 * * Great Lakes Brewing News, 1569 Laurel Ave., St. Paul, MN 55104 *

24 years

Re: Rodenbach...

by SPARROW, JEFFREY C. [IT/1825]

I will append one item to Todd's message. I asked the Brewer about the demise of Alexander. He told me that beer was a marketing development and was never his own idea. It was also he who asked Palm to discontinue the beer and not the other way around. He said that he felt strongly about the one type of beer and the two levels to which the finished products are blended and was not interested in a fruit beer. This jives with the press release of a year ago about Alexander not being a "credible beer". Could be propaganda but the Brewer definitely has a passion for the one style of beer he makes at the brewery. ~jcs -----Original Message----- From: todd ashman [mailto:tashman@AMERITECH.NET] Sent: Monday, November 12, 2001 7:09 PM To: CBS-HB(a)LISTSERV.UIC.EDU Subject: Rodenbach... Hey Everybody- Had a good time in Belgium with Jeff and Joe. Had good tours of Rodenbach, Moortgat, Hoegaarden and Orval. Of course side trips to Dusseldorf, Beersel and Brussels made for a great time. Rodenbach is alive and well though some things are changing. I don't know how much of what we were told was propaganda and what was true but I came away with the following. They are installing a new brewhouse with a Muera Mash filter(very cool). We were the first 'foreigners' to step foot in this 'under construction' area. The old brewhouse is still chugging away. Lot's of work is being done on the physical plant but much of it is being done painstakingly to preserve old buildings which are considered historical and as such are part of Belgium's past. The Rodenbach's were very important people. The last part of our tour was the oak 'casks'. They're still being used and they are quite proud of them. The casks themselves may reach historical status and the brewery may get funds from the government to help with their upkeep. When the tour was over we had a 'degustation' of Rodenbach and the Grand Cru. We were joined by the Brewmaster and two of his assistants. They asked us which of the two beers would be the best to market in the US. This of course brought more questions than answers as a possible product pullback may loom. It seems as though the higher priced Grand Cru is the one they want to sell here as they want the most return on shipping dollars spent. We'll see... We thanked our hosts who proclaimed us ambassadors of Rodenbach and to spread the word that the brewery isn't a museum. next...Moortgat Todd

24 years

Rodenbach...

by todd ashman

Hey Everybody- Had a good time in Belgium with Jeff and Joe. Had good tours of Rodenbach, Moortgat, Hoegaarden and Orval. Of course side trips to Dusseldorf, Beersel and Brussels made for a great time. Rodenbach is alive and well though some things are changing. I don't know how much of what we were told was propaganda and what was true but I came away with the following. They are installing a new brewhouse with a Muera Mash filter(very cool). We were the first 'foreigners' to step foot in this 'under construction' area. The old brewhouse is still chugging away. Lot's of work is being done on the physical plant but much of it is being done painstakingly to preserve old buildings which are considered historical and as such are part of Belgium's past. The Rodenbach's were very important people. The last part of our tour was the oak 'casks'. They're still being used and they are quite proud of them. The casks themselves may reach historical status and the brewery may get funds from the government to help with their upkeep. When the tour was over we had a 'degustation' of Rodenbach and the Grand Cru. We were joined by the Brewmaster and two of his assistants. They asked us which of the two beers would be the best to market in the US. This of course brought more questions than answers as a possible product pullback may loom. It seems as though the higher priced Grand Cru is the one they want to sell here as they want the most return on shipping dollars spent. We'll see... We thanked our hosts who proclaimed us ambassadors of Rodenbach and to spread the word that the brewery isn't a museum. next...Moortgat Todd

24 years

Happy Holiday Homebrew Competition

by hhhc＠stlbrews.org

The St. Louis Brews are proud to announce the 2001 Happy Holiday Homebrew Competition. The competition is a qualifying event for the Fourth Annual Masters Championship of Amateur Brewing (MCAB4). The Competition will be held Saturday, December 15, 2001, entries are due December 8. For further information, rules, and online registration please visit our website http://www.stlbrews.org and click on the 'competitions' button. Please join us as a judge or steward; you may register online also. So you think your beer can be a contender? Find out by entering it in the HHHC01. We are only interested in sending these emails to beer-lovers and brewers who are interested in receiving them. If you don't want to receive notifications regarding our homebrew competition simply reply to this email and tell us. Thanks.

24 years

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mba November 2001