Greetings fellow Beer-lings!
You are all welcome to attend BJCP class #5 at Al Boyce's house this
Thursday, January 31, 2002 at 6pm. Call Al at
952-927-8968 for information.
Beer Styles:
5A. Scottish Ales: Light 60/-
5B. Scottish Ales: Heavy 70/-
5C. Scottish Ales: Export 80/-
10A. Brown Ale: Mild
10B. Brown Ale: Northern English Brown
10C. Brown Ale: Southern English Brown
10D. Brown Ale: American Brown
11B. Englisth and Strong Scottish Ale: Scotch Ale
If anyone has any HOME-BREWED examples of these, please consider bringing
them to this class for the edification of all.
Technical Topic: Hops, including varieties, IBUs, hopping scheduled
and the association with different beer styles.
See you then!
- Al Boyce
A competition in Des Moines. The special category seems like a normal
beer for a few members.
Iowa Brewers Union Open
Homebrew Competition 2002
Judging: Saturday, March 9th, 2002
Entry Deadline: Sunday, March 3rd, 2002
Competition Specific Category: IBU Challenge. For you hopheads, the only
requirement of this category is the beer must have 1 IBU per 1 OG point.
Example: 1.045 O.G. must contain no less than 45 IBUs of Hops.
Entries must be received by 7:00pm Sunday, March 3rd 2002. Ship to the
address below or drop off at local sites.
Edwards Graphic Arts
Attn: Mike Edwards
2700 Bell Ave
Des Moines, IA 50321
515 280-9765
All Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP) styles will be accepted -
including meads and ciders. The Director of Judging may combine categories
if necessary.
Go to www.iowabrewersunion.org/events.htm to see complete rules. We are a
qualifying event for the Great Plains Brewer of the Year
Mark Vernon
--
Steve Piatz piatz(a)cray.com
Cray Inc. 651-605-9049
1340 Mendota Heights Road
Mendota Heights, MN 55120
St. Paul brewery may shut down
Tony Kennedy
Star Tribune
Published Jan 30 2002
St. Paul would lose its second brewery in five years if the city doesn't
guarantee repayment of a $2 million bank loan needed to save Minnesota
Brewing Co. from financial ruin, the brewery's majority shareholder said
Tuesday.
"If they say they don't want to do it, we'll just close her down," said
Bruce Hendry, the investor who saved the West 7th Street beer plant from
demolition in 1991.
Despite the addition two years ago of an ethanol plant that was supposed
to boost business, the maker of Grain Belt and Pig's Eye beer is $14
million in debt and out of cash. Hendry personally covered the plant's
payroll last week.
Under a turnaround plan forged by Minnesota Brewing Chief Executive and
President Jack Lee, $5.5 million in new loans would be enough to
restructure the brewery's finances, fix its bottling line and capture
high-volume business that will return the company to profitability and
keep the plant's 180 to 225 workers on the job.
Hendry, the principal owner of the brewery and ethanol plant, said he
leads a group of investors willing to lend $3 million of the needed
money.
But the group's participation is contingent on city backing for an
additional $2 million bank loan, Hendry said. The bank won't lend the
money without the city's guarantee of repayment.
"I'm not going to put more money into this operation unless we have the
city as a partner," Hendry said.
Because of neighborhood complaints about ethanol odors and brewery noise,
the city has been at odds with the West 7th Street plant for more than a
year. The complaints began after the ethanol plant opened in April 2000.
Lee said neighbors should realize that if the job-intensive brewery
closes, the ethanol plant and a related carbon dioxide operation would
stay open. The brewery's parent company, MBC Holdings Inc., is separate
from the profitable Gopher State Ethanol Co.
"We're looking for acknowledgement from the city that it, too, wants the
brewery to continue," Lee said.
Dan Smith, project manager for the St. Paul Department of Planning and
Economic Development, said the city's credit committee has rated the
proposed loan deal and prepared a report for the City Council.
Smith said the committee judged the collateral for the loan -- the
ethanol plant -- to be fairly strong. But he said the prospects for
repayment were viewed as a problem, based on the brewery's history of
production problems and possibly unrealistic sales projections.
The end result was a "doubtful" rating, which doesn't disqualify it for
council consideration. "The city has done 'doubtful' loans before," Smith
said.
Hendry and Lee acknowledged the restructuring plan has risk. But an
outside consulting firm, Twin Cities-based Manchester Group, has endorsed
it as sound, Lee said.
"There's plenty of risk, yes, but it's reasonable," Hendry said.
When Hendry bought the idle brewery in 1991 from G. Heileman Brewing Co.,
he received an $800,000 loan from the St. Paul Port Authority to help
bring it back to life. That loan has been repaid.
Several years later, the city of St. Paul granted four acres of land
valued at $370,000 to Summit Brewing Co. for a new plant. Summit's
founder, Mark Stutrud, said the new brewery is profitable and in the
middle of a self-financed expansion of its production capacity.
In nearby Wisconsin, the La Crosse City Council has lent $1.8 million to
City Brewing Co. in the past two years to revitalize the former G.
Heileman plant. City Brewing is a competitor of Minnesota Brewing.
Hendry was a vocal opponent of state aid for Northwest Airlines in the
early 1990s. Asked how he justifies government help for his brewery, he
said: "I'm not asking for help. If they want to keep the jobs, this is
what they do. I'm giving them an opportunity to invest in this community.
It's not something I'm dying to do."
Since Hendry reopened the former Jacob Schmidt brewery, it has incurred
combined operating losses of $12 million. Last year, the brewery lost
about $3 million.
Lee said the biggest problem was a bottling-line upgrade that went bad.
Minnesota Brewing bought used bottling equipment to increase production
from 30,000 cases of beer a day to 50,000 cases. The investment promised
to make the brewery comfortably profitable, especially since the ethanol
plant had lowered the brewery's fixed costs.
Instead, the bottling line sputtered for most of the year as technicians
struggled to keep it working. Production was only 15,000 cases of beer a
day. Lee said managing the problem was complicated by the sudden demands
of meeting noise and odor limits.
By the end of last year, the brewery was more than $1 million overdrawn
on its bank line of credit, and it owed suppliers and vendors about $7
million. Meanwhile, the ethanol plant made $4 million in operating profit
before interest and taxes.
"The vision was correct. We lowered production costs and attracted good
business," Lee said. "The ethanol plant saved the brewery. In the year
2000 we made our first profit in nine years."
Despite last year's production fiasco, Lee said the brewery still has
ample contracts to fill orders for outside beverage companies. It also
has its own beer to make.
The brewery president said he wouldn't have a restructuring plan to bring
to the city if it wasn't for the $3 million loan commitment from Hendry
and other ethanol plant investors. The long-term plan is to combine the
ethanol plant, the carbon dioxide operation and the brewery into a single
business.
"Once again, the ethanol investors are saving the brewery," Lee said.
Proceeds from the $5.5 million loan package would go to bottling line
improvements, debt restructuring and operating capital. Bremer Bank,
where Minnesota Brewing is overdrawn by more than $1 million, would get
$1 million of the money. (Lee hasn't specified where the additional
$500,000 will come from.)
Frank Warner, the second-largest beer distributor for the St. Paul
brewery, said the turnaround plan is sound because Lee has enough
business to fill the plant's capacity.
"It's a temporary situation to get over," said Warner, president of Maple
Plain-based Day Distributing Co.
He said it would be a loss for the entire state to see another old-line
brewery close. In November 1997, 350 jobs were lost when the Stroh
Brewery closed after 135 years. Minnesota Brewing's West 7th Street
brewery opened in 1855.
David Berg
President, Minnesota Craft Brewer's Guild
Head Brewer, Water Tower Brewing Company
Let's try this again.
David Berg
President, Minnesota Craft Brewer's Guild
Head Brewer, Water Tower Brewing Company
>
> Hey all-
>
> I've had a couple of questions already on how people can get
information
> on festivals, beers, and what have you for the Minnesota Craft Brewer's
> Guild. I think I posted it before, but the best way is to sign up on
> our mailing list. Go to
>
> http://www.mncraftbrew.org
>
> and follow the instructions. Some things I send to both the barn and
our
> mailing list, but not all. It's not that I'm trying to keep anything
> secret, I just forget to copy the barn sometimes. So, your best bet is
> to be on the mcbg mailing list.
>
> Cheers!
>
> db
>
>
> ________________________________________________________________
> GET INTERNET ACCESS FROM JUNO!
> Juno offers FREE or PREMIUM Internet access for less!
> Join Juno today! For your FREE software, visit:
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>
________________________________________________________________
GET INTERNET ACCESS FROM JUNO!
Juno offers FREE or PREMIUM Internet access for less!
Join Juno today! For your FREE software, visit:
http://dl.www.juno.com/get/web/.
The Wine Institute
http://www.wineinstitute.org/
Has a stste-by-state listing of the state and federal legalities of shpping
alcoholic beveridges between the states.
Cheers,
Chuck
_________________________________________________________________
MSN Photos is the easiest way to share and print your photos:
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Click below for winner to Camra's Winter Ales Festival
<A HREF="http://www.camra.org.uk/news/janmar02/wbob.htm">Click here: CAMRA - The Campaign for Real Ale - News Release</A>
Annette may
B United Int
Good question. Copying the list.
Jim
----- Original Message -----
From: "mmm_b33r" <dhawley(a)citilink.com>
To: <mnbrewers(a)yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Saturday, January 26, 2002 10:09 AM
Subject: [mnbrewers] Sample from Carboy
>
> I'd like to take a hydrometer reading from my carboy, but was looking
> for the best method. Someone suggested using a turkey baster to draw
> the beer out, but I'd prefer some thing a bit more sanitary. Ideally,
> I'd like a very long glass pipette, but I have no idea where to find
> something like that. Any ideas?
>
>
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>
>
For sample extraction, there are two ways to proceed - all require opening the carboy.
There is a device called the "Wine Thief" that works well. It is a plastic tube with a one way check valve at the bottom. It fits through the carboy neck and allows a small sample to be quickly removed. It is clear and black plastic. I am not sure if there are any metal parts on the valve. One of the nice features is the ability to touch the plastic needle valve on a cylinder allowing the liquid to be dispensed for your test. The other nice thing is the remaining liquid can be dumped into a glass for further testing.
Most wine and beer shops carry them.
Other location is the scientific supply company in St. Paul. It is a real "dangerous" spot to visit especially with cash! They are located on the north side University Avenue just on the St. Paul side of 280. Sorry but I don't have their address or name but the last name is "scientific." They have Pipettes, microscopes, test tubes, glass tubing, earlymeyer, beaker........... Like I mentioned, really dangerous to the budget.
Best of luck.
Rick Oftel
