mba October 2004

mba@thebarn.com

38 participants
56 discussions

[zemo@BUYVICTORY.COM: Farmhouse ale article...]

by Jim L. Ellingson

FYI. ----- Forwarded message from Zemo <zemo(a)BUYVICTORY.COM> ----- X-MessageWall-Score: 0 (smtp-relay.enet.umn.edu) X-Priority: 3 X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook Express 6.00.2800.1437 X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V6.00.2800.1441 Date: Wed, 13 Oct 2004 07:32:36 -0500 Reply-To: Zemo <zemo(a)BUYVICTORY.COM> From: Zemo <zemo(a)BUYVICTORY.COM> Subject: Farmhouse ale article... To: CBS-HB(a)LISTSERV.UIC.EDU Precedence: list from the NY Times. Enjoy. Z --------------------------- Chug This? Shame on You By ERIC ASIMOV Published: October 13, 2004 I know more than a few beer fanatics, and though they are fine people, almost all have an ax to grind. Why is wine, they want to know, venerated as a complex, sophisticated beverage that belongs on the dinner table of every food lover, while beer is essentially lumped with demolition derbies and monster truck pulls? Good question, even if by confronting wine they are picking the wrong enemy. No one has damaged the reputation of beer as much as the big beer companies, which through their own advertising have created the unfortunate image of the beer lover as bottom feeder. Nonetheless, the fans are on a crusade to prove that traditional beer, not the insipid supermarket stuff, is as fine a drink as wine to grace the table, if not better. I refuse to get into a battle over whether wine or beer is superior: is painting better than sculpture? But I know that if you need to make the case that beer can have all the complexity and intrigue of a fine wine, Exhibit A has to be farmhouse ales. As you might guess, farmhouse ales were historically the products of an agricultural society. In the days before refrigeration, when summer was too hot for brewing, farmers in the French-speaking part of Belgium and across the border in France made beer in the winter and spring that they could put away for summer consumption. Today the Belgian beers, which have come to be known as saisons, are typically light-bodied and tart, with a crisp bitterness that can be deliciously refreshing. Sometimes they are flavored with pepper, orange rind or other spices and botanicals, but they share an acidity and complexity that leaves you wanting more. The French beers, known as bi?res de garde ("beers for keeping"), tend to be darker, earthier and maltier and to have more herbal flavors and a touch of sweetness rather than bitterness. As different as the two styles can be, they have a lot in common beyond historical ties. These beers do not come in pop-top cans. They are usually put into 750-milliliter bottles - just like wine - complete with corks. They are treated seriously by the few Belgian and French brewers who still produce them. The styles have become increasingly popular with American microbrewers, who have achieved some excellent results. One more thing, as the Dining section's tasting panel found out: these beers, historically brewed for summer, are great year round. For the tasting, my colleague Florence Fabricant and I were joined by Joe Carroll, owner of Spuyten Duyvil, a bar in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, that specializes in Belgian beers, and Phil Markowski, brewmaster at the Southampton Publick House, a restaurant and brewery in Southampton on Long Island. Mr. Markowski has also written a book, "Farmhouse Ales: Culture and Craftsmanship in the Belgian Tradition," to be published next month by Brewers Publications of Boulder, Colo. We were all impressed by the superb quality of the beers. Most of the bottles were fresh, which is often a problem with imported beers if they are not handled carefully and kept refrigerated. Ms. Fabricant noted that the bi?res de garde had nutlike flavors while the saisons were fruitier. She described the saisons as winelike, a comment that may both gladden and enrage beer partisans. As we tasted the saisons, in their gorgeous hues of pale orange, and the bi?res de garde, in different shades of amber, I felt as if I were transported to the countryside in preindustrial Flanders when beers like these were consumed not only for refreshment, but because they were nutritional and, in some cases, safer than drinking water. It was a pleasant feeling, though purely imaginary. As Mr. Markowski pointed out, nobody knows how those old farmhouse ales tasted. They were not produced commercially, and written recipes and descriptions are practically nonexistent. As a result, brewers have enormous leeway to experiment, and the prevailing styles today most likely have little to do with what was typical then. For one thing, farmhouse ales are now much higher in alcohol, generally 6 to 9 percent, than what sustained the working farmhand a few hundred years ago. "Some feel the bi?re de garde name today is pure marketing," Mr. Markowski said. While that may be true, it seemed to me that the 11 bi?res de garde we tasted had more similarities of weight, texture and overall flavor than differences. Our favorite, the Ambr?e, or amber, from La Choulette, was as complex as a good Burgundy, yet harmonious too. We also liked another beer from La Choulette, de No?l. (See, it's not just for summer.) This beer, though less alcoholic, had even earthier flavors and like most of the bi?res de garde would be great with cheese. Only two of the bi?res de garde were American, but both made our list. The Bi?re d'Art from Heavyweight Brewing in particular impressed us with its creamy texture and spicy- herbal complexity. As much as I liked the bi?res de garde, I loved the taut nerviness of the saisons, which dance through the mouth with a lightness that rarely fails to refresh. Dupont is probably the most famous producer of saison, and we all loved the Moinette, a beer of both substance and subtlety. The Darbyste from Blaugies was similarly a balanced, lively beer. The Fant?me, the third Belgian brew among our five saisons, by contrast, was heavily flavored with orange. It was not sweet, but it was full and round in the mouth rather than angular, like more typical saisons. The two American brews in the group included another atypical saison, from Pizza Port in Carlsbad, Calif. This beer, SPF 8, has won lots of praise in beer circles, and it was easy to see why. "Great, winy and dark," was how Mr. Carroll described it, and yes, unlike the other saisons, which were orange in color, this one was as dark as stout. Yet it still had the tanginess of a saison. The other American brew, the Cuv?e des Fleurs, brewed by Mr. Markowski, was more in the saison mainstream, with spicy orange flavors. "My favorite," Ms. Fabricant said. Sadly, American farmhouse ales like the Southampton and the Pizza Port are not always easy to find. Sometimes you have to go to the brewery. The French and Belgian ales are more widely available at stores that specialize in great beers. But these are beers that can stand up to even the most determined wine snobbery. Simply pour into a tall glass, raise pinkie and enjoy. Tasting Report: Descendants of a Farmhouse Tradition BI?RES DE GARDE La Choulette Ambr?e $6 France 750 milliliters *** 1/2 Complex and balanced, with classic flavors including fruit, herbs, spices, coffee, malt and caramel. (Importer: Shelton Brothers, Belchertown, Mass.) Heavyweight Brewing Bi?re d'Art $7 Ocean Township, N.J. 750 milliliters *** Spicy, creamy and both sweet and bitter, with persistent flavors of orange, black pepper and herbs. La Choulette de No?l $8 France 750 milliliters *** Smoky and toasty, with flavors of dried fruit, malt, chocolate and chicory; good with cheese. McKenzie Brew House Bavay $9 Glen Mills, Pa. 750 milliliters ** 1/2 Complex and creamy, with aromas of smoke, herbs, dried fruit and malt. Theillier La Bavaisienne $9 France 750 milliliters ** 1/2 Aromas of dill and cucumbers, with subtle, earthy flavors. SAISONS Dupont Moinette *** 1/2 $8 Belgium 750 milliliters Delicious and alive in the mouth, with the aroma of sea air and crisp, subtle flavors of fruits and spices. Pizza Port SPF 8 *** $10 Carlsbad, Calif. 750 milliliters Unusual but successful, with the roasted-chocolate character of stout, yet tangy and refreshing. Southampton Publick House Cuv?e des Fleurs *** $10 Southampton, N.Y. 750 milliliters Perfumed aromas of orange and spices, with beautiful herbal flavors; nicely bitter at the end. Blaugies Darbyste ** 1/2 $9 Belgium 750 milliliters Tart, lively and spicy, with subtle, balanced flavors. Fant?me Saison ** $8 Belgium 750 milliliters Intense - maybe too intense - flavors of orange, peach and strawberry; a lot going on. ----- End forwarded message ----- -- ------------------------------ * * Dr. James Lee Ellingson, Adjunct Professor jellings(a)me.umn.edu * * University of Minnesota, tel: 651/645-0753 fax 651 XXX XXXX * * Great Lakes Brewing News, 1569 Laurel Ave., St. Paul, MN 55104 *

21 years, 1 month

FW: October E-Newsletter

by aboyce＠mn.rr.com

FYI - the latest E-Newsletter from our neighbor club to the North, the Northern Ale Stars. - Al Original Message: ----------------- From: Northern Ale Stars northernalestars(a)hotmail.com Date: Fri, 15 Oct 2004 10:08:39 -0500 To: northernalestars(a)hotmail.com Subject: October E-Newsletter Hello Ale Stars, Just wanted to get out the October E-Newsletter to let you know about the exciting homebrew events coming up: October Meeting Beer Weekend: The annual Fall Beer Weekend and Meeting at Hestons Resort and Casino will commence Thursday, October 21st with the traditional Pub Night. Pub Food (appetizers) will be the grub of the evening, for you early birds who make it up Thursday, so bring your favorite Pub Grub to munch on and share with the others. Pizzas will be the fare for the traditional Saturday evening group meal and, as mentioned before, Hestons has a new brick bread oven. Barb Gecas has graciously offered to make pizza crusts, so bring your favorite toppings and well see what happens. Im sure there will be a contest for the ugliest pizza, the craziest pizza, ect., so use your imagination (but you have to eat what you make). If you havent contacted Greg or Barb to let them know youre coming, or you just realized you don't want to miss all the fun, and would like to see if the is still cabin space, you can contact them at 218-388-2243 or info(a)hestons.com November Meeting: The November NAS meeting will be Sunday, November 7th at the home of Bryn Jacobson, also the home of Boreal Bicycles. So bike on over and bring along some homebrew. The start time will be the usual 2:00PM-ish. Bryns address is 631 E. 8th Street in Duluth. Brewing Ingredients: As most of you know, since the closing of Lake Superior Smokin Brews, mail order was the main source of brewing ingredients for us in Northern Minnesota, especially if you are an all-grain brewer (Last Chance Liquors carries extract ingredients and yeast). Until now........ Head Brewer Dale Kleinschmidt, at Lake Superior Brewing, has graciously offered to include orders from club members for grain and hops (in bulk quantities i.e. bags of grain, hops by the pound) with the brewerys orders. Now granted, while you might be able to use a bag of Pale malt, you probably dont need a whole bag of crystal 40 or chocolate malt. However, the idea has been brought up that we pool our needs and order in bulk quantities as a group, then divide the spoils ( er, that might have been a poor choice of words) once the order arrives. For example, we get 5 people who each need 20 pounds of crystal 40 and we could order a 50 pound bag. A home brewers co-op, of sorts. If you are interested in participating, let me know. Well get together soon to combine our needs and get our order to Dale. And speaking of Smokin Brews, dont forget, Bill Clark (former proprietor of Lake Superior Smokin Brews) still has good quantities of specialty grains and other brewing ingredients. You can e-mail Bill at wrclark(a)smokinbrews.com (or check out his web site www.smokinbrews.com ) to see if he has something you need and would be helping Bill clear out his remaining inventory. Take it from me; he still has a lot of good stuff! Congratulations: Mike Hoops of Town Hall Brewery in Minneapolis brought home three medals from the Great American Beer Festival for his Hope and King Scotch Ale (my favorite), Thunderstorm and the just released Grand Cru. Brother Dave of Ftigers Brewhouse metaled with his Farm House Reserve. Congrats guys! Keep up the good work. Mash-Out Moves: The Upper Mississippi Mash-Out (UMM) has moved to January. The contest dates are January 27-29th, 2005. That's the weekend before the Super Bowl, so you won't miss a minute of NFL play-off action. This year the UMM will be the first contest in the High Plains Brewer of the Year circuit. New this year for the contest: -New Brewer award: a special award category just for new brewers, complete with medals and prizes, open to any style of beer, cider or mead -BJCP 2004 guidelines will be used (see below) -more award categories: we're going to try to have awards for all 28 BJCP categories, but reserve the right to collapse categories as needed -multiple mead award categories: all 3 BJCP mead categories will have awards for 1st, 2nd and 3rd -judge and steward prize drawing: there will be a separate prize drawing for all judges and stewards. -food at the awards show: no details yet, but we're working at having food at the awards show at the Summit brewery Keep checking the web site for details: http://mnbrewers.com/mashout 2004 REVISION TO THE BJCP STYLE GUIDELINES NOW ONLINE The Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP) recently released the 2004 revision of the beer styles that are used by almost all homebrew competitions. http://www.bjcp.org/styles04/ The last time the beer style guidelines were updated was in 1999, with a minor revision in 2001. Since then several new styles have appeared in the market, and several old styles have been re-discovered by homebrewers. The 2004 revision of the style guidelines reflect these new/rediscovered styles. There have also been some deletions from the 1999 style guidelines, namely Traditional Mead and Varietal Mead. These have been re-defined by the Sweet, Semi-Sweet and Dry Mead categories in the new guidelines. Also, the former Light/Standard Premium American Lager category has been re-defined by breaking each of the three into it's own sub-style. Where there were formerly 26 styles and 81 sub-styles, the 2004 guidelines delineate 28 styles and 99 sub-styles. Taking into account the three styles that were deleted, that means a total of 18 new sub-styles are defined in the new guidelines. The new styles are listed below. NEW STYLES IN THE 2004 BJCP STYLE GUIDELINES # LTR CATEGORY SUB-CATEGORY 1 A Light Lager Lite American Lager 1 B Light Lager Standard American Lager 1 C Light Lager Premium American Lager 9 D Scottish and Irish Ale Irish Red Ale 12 C Porter Baltic Porter 13 E Stout American Stout 14 B India Pale Ale American IPA 14 C India Pale Ale Imperial IPA 15 D German Wheat & Rye Beer Roggenbier (German Rye Beer) 18 A Belgian Strong Ale Belgian Blond Ale 21 B Spice/Herb/Veg Beer Christmas/Winter Specialty Spiced Beer 22 C Smoke-Flav. & Wood Aged Wood-Aged Beer 24 A Traditional Mead Dry Mead 24 B Traditional Mead Semi-Sweet Mead 24 C Traditional Mead Sweet Mead 27 B Standard Cider and Perry English Cider 27 C Standard Cider and Perry French Cider 27 D Standard Cider and Perry Common Perry 27 E Standard Cider and Perry Traditional Perry 28 B Specialty Cider and Perry Fruit Cider 28 C Specialty Cider and Perry Apple Wine 1999 BJCP STYLES THAT HAVE CHANGED OR ARE GONE # LTR CATEGORY SUB-CATEGORY 1 A American Lager Light/Standard/Premium 25 A Mead Traditional Mead 25 B Mead Varietal Honey Trad.Mead The new guidelines are online at: http://www.bjcp.org/styles04/ Even if you have no intention of brewing any of the new styles, it is worth your time to read the new guidelines. There have been changes to the existing styles as well - mostly subtle, but sometimes subtle is the difference between a good beer and a great beer. The new guidelines are officially set to replace the old guidelines on January 1, 2005, although there are a few competitions that have already switched to the new guidelines. To avoid confusion (or perhaps to maximize it...), the authors have gone out of their way to make sure that the style numbers and letters that were paired with the styles in the old guidelines are all different with the new guidelines. The old guidelines will be preserved on the BJCP Website, in a special archive section for historical purposes. The new guidelines will be covered in the Winter 2005 BJCP class sponsored by the Minnesota Home Brewers Assoc., one of the homebrew clubs in the cities. Now is a great time to take the BJCP class to learn these new styles, or to re-take the class to get a primer on them. The Winter 2005 BJCP class is being organized by Jonathan Crist, and will be starting January 6, 2005. You can contact Jonathan at cristj(a)bsci.com. Cheers! Steve Daiken Secretary northernalestars(a)hotmail.com _________________________________________________________________ Is your PC infected? Get a FREE online computer virus scan from McAfee® Security. http://clinic.mcafee.com/clinic/ibuy/campaign.asp?cid=3963 -------------------------------------------------------------------- mail2web - Check your email from the web at http://mail2web.com/ .

21 years, 1 month

The 31st annual Guzzle 'n' Twirl Vintage Beer Memorabilia Show , 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday

by Michael Swalinkavich

Anyone needing beer signs, tap handles, any beer collectables should try to make it to the The 31st annual Guzzle 'n' Twirl Vintage Beer Show will be from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday at Aldrich Arena, 1850 White Bear Ave., Maplewood. I went last year and bought some tap handles, but they had any type of beer memorabilia you can think of. About 170 exhibitors and 800 collectors are expected at the 31st annual , one of the largest such memorabilia events in the nation. Admission is $3. For more information, call Dave or Joe Wendl at 651-731-9573. http://www.twincities.com/mld/twincities/living/9911671.htm?1c<http://wwwtwincities.com/mld/twincities/living/9911671.htm?1c> Cheers!, Mike

21 years, 1 month

American Beer Film

by John Longballa

> AMERICAN BEER > Filmmaker Present to Introduce Film > Gentlemen...Start your livers! Since the best beer in America is locally-made and available, Brooklyn filmmaker Paul Kermizian and four friends hit the road to visit a button-busting 38 breweries in 40 days! In the 1970's, there were only 50 major beer bottlers in the U.S. Today there are over 1,700 individual brewmasters throughout the country bottling their personal experiences as tinkerers, closet brewers, cooks and > entrepreneurs in the form of unique beer recipes. Some of these former you-name-its have become the most recent captains of industry; others might better be described as drunks! All their stories about beer and beer-making are inspired: crazy ingredients, brewing in basements, starting from scratch, sampling the wares, fighting the big three brewers, and of course, the perfect cure for hangovers. And speaking of hangovers, > don't forget about our road-tripping, glass-tipping lads behind the camera. From Maine to Oregon, they must sample at least five pints of the best beer in America each night for over a month! That adds up to a lot of drinks, drunks, chucks, cheeseburgers, naps and new belt notches. Can our fearless filmmakers get to New Orleans before cirrhosis sets in! In the true, ahem, spirit of Central Standard, American Beer amusingly shows how much more interesting, inspired, and rewarding America is once you tap into a keg of our subculture and, well, flush the mainstream! > > Director: Paul Kermizian > Producer: Paul Kermizian > Cinematographer: Jon Miller > Editor: Paul Kermizian > Music: Bob Gilligan > Featuring: Jeremy Goldberg, Paul Kermizian, Jon Miller, Robert Purvis, Richard Sterling > > St. Anthony Main 4 - 1:45 PM - Sat., Oct. 16th > St. Anthony Main 5 - 10:00 AM - Sun., Oct. 17th > > Brooklyn, NY ~ 100 minutes > > > >

21 years, 1 month

Beer News in the Star Tribune

by Michael Behrendt

Two items of interest from yesterday's Star Tribune: BEER -- IN MINNESOTA In its October issue, Bon Appetit magazine named two Minnesota beers as two of the eight best autumn brews in America -- Schell's Octoberfest and Summit Octoberfest. Schell brewery is in New Ulm; Summit ales from St. Paul. HOPPING AWAY Hops Restaurant, Bar &Brewery in Eden Prairie has closed, but its sister restaurant in Maple Grove remains open. "We are restructuring the Hops brand," said Greg Graber, Hops vice president for marketing. "We are looking at shifting trade areas and closing down negative cash flow restaurants." Fourteen of the 51 Hops restaurants have been closed, and the remainder, including the Maple Grove restaurant, will be transitioned into Hops City Grills in the next 18 to 36 months. The new concept will have a "contemporized" interior and a new menu, including some smaller appetizers called bistro bites.

21 years, 1 month

REMINDER: MHbA Club meeting is this Saturday, 3PM at Barley John 's

by Crist, Jonathan

Greetings from the Prez Just a quick reminder that we have our October Club Meeting this Saturday October 2nd, 3PM at Barley John's Brewpub in New Brighton. The weather should be okay for sitting on the terrace. A couple of topics that will be discussed at the meeting: Teach a Friend to Homebrew Day Upper Mississippi Mash-Out contest moved to January 1st round Nationals in Minneapolis next year Cider press date and Cider buy information Fall BJCP exam date Winter BJCP class signup Brew-a-rama Style of the Month and the Club Only competitions Christmas Party date November meeting location Possible dates for a swap meet And that is just during the 1st pint See you Saturday! Jonathan Crist

21 years, 1 month

Re: CNN.com - New ideas brewing in beer industry - Oct 11, 2004

by Jim Herrick

An article from CNN: CNN.com - New ideas brewing in beer industry - Oct 11, 2004 http://www.cnn.com/2004/TECH/10/11/explorers.beer/index.html

21 years, 1 month

anyone need sankey taps?

by Steve Fletty

I have 2. Make an offer. I'd also trade them. -- Steve Fletty fletty(a)umn.edu

21 years, 1 month

Fw: New Brewing Technique

by Bruce.Butler＠colorspan.com

http://www.cnn.com/2004/TECH/10/11/explorers.beer/index.html

21 years, 1 month

Fw: CNN.com - New ideas brewing in beer industry - Oct 11, 2004

by Jim Herrick

EMAIL THIS EmailArticle from CNN: CNN.com - New ideas brewing in beer industry - Oct 11, 2004* http://www.cnn.com/2004/TECH/10/11/explorers.beer/index.html

21 years, 1 month

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mba October 2004