Here is a link to some photos of the "beer-quet" our beer clubs put
together for Bob Cromer.
http://photomail.photoworks.com/sharing/album.asp?Key=1~FQQ4aBru.cIiTYqNZAl…
I delivered it to Bob on Tuesday afternoon. He was sitting up in a chair
when I arrived, the first time he has been able to do that since his
stroke. He is still unable to speak, and still paralyzed on his right
hand, but he gave me a firm left hand handshake when he saw me. Bob is
moving to Bethesda Rehab Center today, at 559 Capitol Blvd, St. Paul, MN
55103 (phone 651-232-2000). Rene said she would let us know when Bob was
up to receiving visitors. In the meantime, cards are still appreciated!
Rene said that there was some beer Bob had brewed that will need
racking/bottling soon - I told her to say the word and they would have any
number of volunteers to help.
- Al
Fellow Brewers :
"Never believe that a few caring people can't change the world. For, indeed,
that's all who ever have." Not just words from Margaret Mead, but a call to
action. I'm asking for your help for a very special cause - The Ride Across
Minnesota (TRAM) for the Multiple Sclerosis Society.
It has been over 22 years since my wife was first diagnosed with Multiple
Sclerosis (MS) - more than half of her life. MS is a chronic, often
disabling disease of the central nervous system. Symptoms may be mild, such
as numbness in the limbs, or severe, such as paralysis or loss of vision.
Most people with MS are diagnosed between the ages of 20 and 50 but
unpredictable effects are lifelong. Every case is different and my wife has
been lucky - the disease continues it slow relentless attack but so far the
progression has been slow. Daily medication helps combat the fatigue but the
disease, and it's effects, is always there.
Each year I pedal the 300+ miles across Minnesota to raise money for the
fight against Multiple Sclerosis. The money goes to programs to help
education and services to people with MS, to help them live with MS, stay as
healthy as possible and to maintain their independence throughout the course
of their disease. Over 7,500 Minnesotans are living and dealing with MS
every day. This is a fight in which I chose to be personally involved and
each year it becomes more important that we find the cure.
This year's TRAM starts Sunday July 25th in Brainerd, with stops in Park
Rapids, Wadena, Little Falls, and Sauk Centre, finishing Friday July 30th in
St. Joseph. This is my 14th ride across Minnesota and my 17th year riding
for MS, in search of a cure. Lots of hills, beautiful scenery, and more
hills as we wind our way across the state riding in search for the cure.
Three young heroes will accompany me this year- my nephew James (13) will
make his 1st ride this year along with sons Andrew (16) on his 8th ride and
Eric (14) on his 5th year of riding.
As a family we have ridden over 10,000 miles toward finding a cure. Every
mile I ride, every mile my sons and nephew ride, we get a little closer to a
cure. Each and every mile we ride we hope this is the mile that earns the
dollar that finds the cure. A cure for Diane and for all the other patients
with MS. We ride for them and we ride for you. Every mile we ride we thank
all our generous sponsors that help us to reach that goal. Until a cure is
found, we will continue the fight against multiple sclerosis - one mile at a
time.
Many of you have been very generous in the past (Thank You!) and I hope that
you will again choose to help with this fight. Our goal this year is to
raise at least $4000. Any size donation helps, and you can sponsor any of
us or all of us.
Thanks again for your support.
Jonathan Crist
Cristj(a)bsci.com
(763) 494-2745
In case you missed it.
Also an audio visual tour of Brooklyn Brewing
at the nytimes web site.
Cheers,
Jim
----- Forwarded message from Zemo <zemo(a)BUYVICTORY.COM> -----
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Date: Wed, 16 Jun 2004 06:46:42 -0500
Reply-To: Zemo <zemo(a)BUYVICTORY.COM>
From: Zemo <zemo(a)BUYVICTORY.COM>
Subject: Beer article in the NYTimes
To: CBS-HB(a)LISTSERV.UIC.EDU
Precedence: list
Once again, I reprint (without permission) an article here in it's entirety
so you don't have to subscribe. Thank me later.
Z
----------------------------------------
When the Right Wine Is a Beer
By MARK BITTMAN
Published: June 16, 2004
It's not that Garrett Oliver doesn't like wine. In fact, he knows more about
it than most people, enjoys it often with food, even sings its praises. It's
just that he thinks there are times when beer does a better job.
"To me," said Mr. Oliver, the brewmaster of Brooklyn Brewery, "beer and wine
are both beverages meant to be served with food. And good beer, real beer,
often offers things that most wine does not, like carbonation and
caramelized and roasted flavors - aspects that sometimes make beer the
preferable choice.
Advertisement [Deleted - Buy Z a beer when you see him] 8^)>
"And the most wonderful thing about beer is that it has that ability to
`reset' your palate. Take cassoulet, for example: Rustic southern French
reds are good, but French beer is a much better choice. Cassoulet can be
like cement, but beer busts it up and makes it seem so much lighter."
Though wine snobs might disagree with him, I understood Mr. Oliver's points
when we spoke on the phone. It's certainly true that on those occasions I
had consumed enough wine to cut through a cassoulet, I had fallen under the
table. And I knew that Mr. Oliver, who is also author of the comprehensive
"Brewmaster's Table" (Ecco, $29.95), had done wildly successful
beer-and-food pairings around the world.
But the beer-pairing mentality was beyond me. When I want a beer, with or
without food, I just order the best-sounding one; I cannot say that I've
ever thought which beer would go better with the meal.
So I journeyed to Mr. Oliver's renovated carriage house in Boerum Hill,
Brooklyn, where we cooked together. Really, he cooked; I chopped and took
notes. He then paired the various dishes with beer.
We chose preparations that would be challenging pairings for wine - like
pasta with lobster and chorizo, and very spicy crab cakes - and some that
even an amateur would be able to team readily with wine, like goat cheese
and apple omelet, and roast quail.
I left a convert but quickly discovered Mr. Oliver's frustration: few of the
restaurants cooking the best food in the city (or the country, for that
matter) serve the best beers.
Never mind. "Beer," as Mr. Oliver put it, "is an affordable luxury; many of
the best beers in the world cost less than a latte at Starbucks."
And though the best beers in the world are not on many restaurant beverage
lists, they are not so rare that you can't find them in ordinary package
stores, supermarkets and even corner markets.
"For $2 or $3," Mr. Oliver said, "you can buy beers that match certain
dishes perfectly, rather than trying to put wine where it doesn't belong and
spending more than you need to."
According to Mr. Oliver, beer can be versatile in ways that wine cannot
because brewers think about flavor in a way that winemakers cannot.
"Brewing is an act of intent," he said, "whereas there is more fate and
serendipity involved in winemaking. If a winemaker's idea is to express the
terroir, he might just get out of the way.
"But with beer, you try to create a vision, and there's a tradition of doing
so. Brewing is more like cooking than like winemaking; my nearest peers are
not winemakers, but chefs."
But even though a brewer can craft his product to complement a range of
foods, the pairing itself is a creative process. After years of practice,
Mr. Oliver - a native New Yorker who became fascinated with beer 20 years
ago and has been involved with it ever since - is brilliant at it.
Twenty years ago, Mr. Oliver, who had recently graduated from Boston
University, began to travel around Europe, where he discovered that not all
the beer "tasted like water."
Equally fascinating, he thought, was that Europeans were not obsessed with
beer; they simply drank it.
Back home, he became an avowed enemy of what he calls the "lies" of
mass-marketed food - the loaf of bread that isn't real bread, the hunk of
fake cheese, the tasteless beer. And he began brewing his own beer, leading
eventually to a job as an assistant at the SoHo-based Manhattan Brewing
Company, which has since closed, and about 10 years ago, as the brewmaster
of Brooklyn Brewery.
Since then, he has become widely acknowledged as an expert not only in
making beer, but in tasting it, pairing it and talking about it.
He's a good cook, too. Since we began in the morning, he started with an
omelet of green apples and goat cheese, itself an unusual pairing - at least
in the omelet world - and a wonderful one. With this, he served me a glass
of Blanche de Chambly, a Belgian-style wheat beer made in Canada.
I'd never liked wheat beer (which you're more likely to see labeled
witbier), but Mr. Oliver calls it "the ultimate brunch beer." I could see
what he was talking about. The beer, indeed, "busted up" the eggs and
cheese, much like Champagne would. But its spiciness made it seem more
complex than any wine, and a better match for the apples.
Advertisement [Deleted - Buy Z another beer when you see him] 8^)>
Our palates primed, Mr. Oliver went on to prepare his spicy crab cakes,
which are laced with cilantro. Nearly everyone knows that the fallback
drinks for Asian food are beer and Champagne (a candid admission that most
wines are unsuitable), but few people think, "Which beer?"
The answer, says Mr. Oliver, is often India pale ale, and we drank the one
he makes at Brooklyn Brewery.
India pale ale, the subject of a tasting in the Dining section on May 26,
was regularly shipped from England to Calcutta in the 19th century. The
eight-month trip spoiled a lot of ordinary beer, so an ale was developed
that was very dry, with little residual sugar for bacteria to feed on. And
because it contained a high proportion of hops, which act as a preservative,
the beer was quite bitter. For the same reason, it was also fairly high in
alcohol.
Those three elements that marked the ale's initial style are, in the hands
of the new traditionalists like Mr. Oliver, back with a vengeance.
The combination was fantastic. I could taste the hops and cilantro playing
with each other, and the bitterness allowed the beer to stand up to the
spiciness of the crab cakes. I could not think of a single wine that would
have worked even half as well.
We moved on to pasta with chorizo, lobster and peas, a multiflavored dish.
If I were going to serve this with wine, I would shrug and chill a ros?;
again, essentially an admission of defeat.
Mr. Oliver paired it with Duvel (the name is the Flemish word for devil, a
reference to its 8 percent alcohol content). Duvel is actually a blend of
two beers, fermented separately, and virtually an icon in Belgium, served in
its own special glass.
Once again, the beer came on strong, with a powerful perfume, a refreshing
dryness, and a slightly fruity and herbal character that elevated both beer
and food. The whole really did become greater than the sum of its parts.
Mr. Oliver is a campaigner and a proselytizer, but he is also a realist, and
never pushes beer where it won't work. In general, he said, "wine does
contrast best; beer does harmony best."
So it annoys him when he knows that the classic food-wine pairings would be
better as food-beer pairings. "Take the notion of port with chocolate cake.
You like the idea of the port, but you don't taste anything. But if you eat
that cake with the right beer - a framboise, or a chocolate stout - it
dovetails beautifully. Unfortunately, people don't necessarily think in that
direction."
To prove his point, Mr. Oliver and I finished our little feast with
chocolate almonds from Jacques Torres. Mr. Oliver poured Brooklyn Brewery's
own Black Chocolate Stout - no, it does not contain chocolate; it's just
very, very dark.
The beer is lightly sweet, but it doesn't cloy the way most dessert wines
do. Rather, it cleared my palate perfectly, blasting through the sweetness
of the candied nuts.
There was only one problem.
As Mr. Oliver said, "The beer works so well, you can eat more."
So we did.
----- 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 *
As most of you know by now, our friend and brewing buddy Bob Cromer suffered
a stroke a week ago. We thought about getting him flowers, but decided that
Bob would like a "Beer Bouquet" instead. Bob's wife Rene endorses this
plan - she says he smiles when the doctor talks about his homebrewing hobby.
Here's the idea: There's a grand opening of the new Vine Park
Brew-On-Premise today, Sunday June 13 from 4pm-8pm. (1254 West 7th St, St.
Paul - 651-228-1355, www.vinepark.com for directions.) Everyone who wants
to participate come and bring 2 or more bottles of your best homebrew, with
a paper neck label stapled on it with A) Your Name; B) The name of your
beer; C) The brew or bottling date of your beer, and D) (optionally) a "Get
Well Bob" message on it. We will collect them and artfully arrange them
somehow, and drop them off at the hospital (Bob's not up to visitors yet,
but Rene said one or two of us could come up to drop it off.)
I know it's short notice. If you read this and can make it, call a couple
other homebrewing friends and see if they want to participate.
Thanks!
- Al
Please take time today to send a get well card to Bob Cromer. Bob suffered
a stroke this past weekend. Rene, Bob's wife, reports that he should be
home in a day or two.
Bob Cromer
775 Larson Lane
Hudson, WI 54016
- Al
Congratulations to Steve Piatz (new grand master I) and to Al Boyce (new
BJCP treasurer)
-----Original Message-----
From: JudgeNet - the beer judge digest [mailto:judge@synchro.com]
Sent: Thursday, June 10, 2004 12:04 AM
To: Digest Recipients
Subject: Digest for the period 6/9/2004 - 6/10/2004
Table of contents
----------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Altbier (Nathaniel Lansing)
2. New Grand Master I Judges (Peter Garofalo)
3. New BJCP Officers (Peter Garofalo)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Nathaniel Lansing Date: Mon, 7 Jun 2004 10:22:59 -0400
Subject: Altbier
I had to check the altbier book to make sure;
but one of the recipes included is from the
braumiester of Shumacher, (the oldest existing Altbier brewery?). His
recipe is reported to be based on the recipe used at the brewery. Lo an
behold! it is 100% Munich. The other recipes, like the bottle of Uerige
said, use base malt, caramel, and roast malt.
So, with all the confusing data I tried to sort it out in my mind. I struck
upon the obvious answer; Altbier isn't a recipe, it's a method. I know as
judges we lean toward having a clear cut parameter to judge by, but this
time I think the main characteristic is going to be the subdued fruitiness
and the maturity of a lagered *ale*.
Compare this to the differences in the Premium American lagers. A certain
set of brewers use rice as an adjunct, certain brewers use corn. Is one more
correct or incorrect? There are certainly flavor differences! So it is with
Altbier.
Hopefully this will add to the confusion and liven up the board ;-)
...Somewhere, out there, raking muck...
NPL
**********************************************************************
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* Send subscription requests & changes to judge-request(a)synchro.com *
**********************************************************************
----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Peter Garofalo Date: Tue, 8 Jun 2004 22:33:28 -0400
Subject: New Grand Master I Judges
I am pleased and proud to announce that three new Grand Master I ranks have
just been approved by the Board of Directors. They are:
Ed Westemeier, current BJCP Communication Director
Steve Piatz, current Western Exam Director
Ron Bach, current Board representative from the South region, and new BJCP
president (subject of a separate notice)
Please join me in congratulating all three on their outstanding achievement.
I can personally attest to the hard work each of them has done in service to
the BJCP.
Cheers!
Peter Garofalo
BJCP Northeast representative
**********************************************************************
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* Send subscription requests & changes to judge-request(a)synchro.com *
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----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Peter Garofalo Date: Tue, 8 Jun 2004 22:39:19 -0400
Subject: New BJCP Officers
It is my pleasure to announce the new slate of officers of the BJCP. The
new Board (as of June 1, 2004) has elected the following representatives
into the listed positions:
President: Ron Bach
Vice President: Peter Garofalo
Treasurer: Al Boyce
The officers are elected as of Saturday, June 5, 2004. Please join me in
congratulating Ron Bach as our new president.
Note that the Board is working on a backlog of issues, with smoother and
more open workings as a major goal. Please e-mail your representative with
your concerns!
Cheers,
Peter Garofalo
BJCP Northeast Representative
**********************************************************************
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* Send plain text only, no HTML, MIME, encoded text or attachments *
* Send subscription requests & changes to judge-request(a)synchro.com *
**********************************************************************
Hey kids,
The Maibock is gone until next year, hope you all enjoyed it.
This thursday, 6/10 we will release another...."Bug Dope." Bug Dope is a 4.5% abv classic Kolsch style beer made famous in Cologne, Germany. These are brite golden/yellow ales that feature delicate malty tones, that may be a bit fruity, and a hint of German hops that make the beer crisp and refreshing. Stop in the Minneapolis Town Hall Brewery and try a pint for just $1 between 5-6pm this Thursday.
Pop a growler of this one after you mow the lawn or while fishing and the bugs are sure to stay away!
Cheers,
Mike
Rene-
Our prayers are with you and Bob. Thank you for keeping us informed.
- Al
----- Original Message -----
From: "R Cromer" <renecromer(a)pressenter.com>
To: "St. Paul Homebrewers Club - Public Mailing List" <Sphbc(a)sphbc.org>
Sent: Tuesday, June 08, 2004 7:44 AM
Subject: Re: [SPHBC Public] Re: Mashout
> Dear Beer Club Members,
> Wanted to give you an update on Bob. He suffered a major setback Mon
AM
> and is totally paralized on his R side and without speech. He is able to
> respond by moving his head and is awake. We will know more about his
> prognosis by tommorrow. Thanks for your offers of help and concern. I
will
> continue to pass along your well wishes. He is in critical care and
unable
> to have visitors. I am sure down the road he will need all the visits he
> can get, but for now he needs to rest. Thank you again.
>
> Rene'
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Steve Piatz" <piatz(a)cray.com>
> To: <Sphbc(a)sphbc.org>
> Sent: Tuesday, June 08, 2004 7:21 AM
> Subject: Re: [SPHBC Public] Re: Mashout
>
>
> > The CAMRA site is very hard to follow, I have to admit that I have the
> > IPA book so I don't have to go to the site to find the recipe.
> >
> > Rick Oftel writes:
> > >
> > > Steve, How do you navigate these sites? Everytime I try to find
> anything
> > > like a recipe, I look at endless links, try a few and give up. Any
> ideas?
> > >
> > >
> > > ----- Original Message -----
> > > From: "Steve Piatz" <piatz(a)cray.com>
> > > To: <Sphbc(a)sphbc.org>
> > > Cc: <mmoranz(a)net-info.com>; <mba(a)thebarn.com>; <cstock(a)barr.com>;
> > > <fletty(a)umn.edu>
> > > Sent: Thursday, June 03, 2004 07:39 AM
> > > Subject: Re: [SPHBC Public] Re: Mashout
> > >
> > >
> > > > Rick,
> > > >
> > > > While I agree that the traditional IPA was made wih English
> > > > hops, I doubt the levels were as intense as you and I would
> > > > make them. Take a look at the CAMRA (start at
> > > > http://www.camra.org.uk/) book on IPA which reprints a number
> > > > of the old recipes from the commercial producers of the time
> > > > and then include the fact that it took nearly a year for the
> > > > beer to get to the drinkers in India and the beer was bitter
> > > > but the hop flavor and aroma were likely very low.
> > > >
> > > > My version of one of these didn't place in Mashout but is
> > > > advancing in the AHA Nationals. If I remember correctly the
> > > > boil (something like 1.129 OG) was 1.5 pounds of Goldings for
> > > > 85 minutes for approximately 7 gallons of wort so it was really
> > > > bitter. The original recipe had no late hop additions, no hop
> > > > back, and no dry hopping. Of course the spent hops were reused
> > > > to boil the 13 gallons of second runnings and that was also a
> > > > very hoppy beer was supposed to be a Scottish Ale but it was
> > > > more of an English Pale Ale.
> > > >
> > > > Rick Oftel writes:
> > > > >
> > > > > But in the traditional sense of the name, isn't the judges comment
> > > correct? I enjoy hoppy ales more than most but believe that a
> traditional
> > > India Pale Ale should be made primarily from English hop and malt
> varieties
> > > and should be hopped to the gills in the: kettle, hopback, grant, keg,
> and
> > > in the glass.
> > > > >
> > > > > Rick Oftel
> > > > >
> > > > > >>> "Steve Fletty" <fletty(a)umn.edu> 06/02/04 09:56AM >>>
> > > > > My favorite scoresheet ever was the one where the judges told me
> that
> > > > > American hops were inappropiate in an IPA. I resited the
temptation
> to
> > > visit
> > > > > eash one of them and give them a nice Bell's Two Hearted or
> Celebration
> > > Ale
> > > > > or Hop Devil or....
> > > > >
> > > > > ----- Original Message -----
> > > > > From: "Curt Stock" <cstock(a)barr.com>
> > > > > To: "Mike Moranz" <mmoranz(a)net-info.com>; "Steve Fletty"
> > > <fletty(a)umn.edu>;
> > > > > <Sphbc(a)sphbc.org>
> > > > > Cc: <mba(a)thebarn.com>
> > > > > Sent: Wednesday, June 02, 2004 9:53 AM
> > > > > Subject: RE: Mashout
> > > > >
> > > > >
> > > > > Great comment Mike. That's a perfect way to get the most out of a
> > > > > scoresheet.
> > > > >
> > > > > -----Original Message-----
> > > > > From: mba-bounce(a)thebarn.com [mailto:mba-bounce@thebarn.com] On
> Behalf
> > > > > Of Mike Moranz
> > > > > Sent: Wednesday, June 02, 2004 9:34 AM
> > > > > To: Steve Fletty; Sphbc(a)sphbc.org
> > > > > Cc: mba(a)thebarn.com
> > > > > Subject: RE: Mashout
> > > > >
> > > > >
> > > > > It's not just numbers of entries, it's understanding judging and
> knowing
> > > > > your own beers. I entered 4 and won 3 medals. The judges
comments
> also
> > > > > have to be read with an experienced eye to be able to improve your
> > > > > brewing. Most comments are useful even though you may disagree
with
> the
> > > > > judge. Sit back with one of your entries and your scoresheet and
> taste
> > > > > it while reading the comments. Mike
> > > > >
> > > > > > -----Original Message-----
> > > > > > From: mba-bounce(a)thebarn.com [mailto:mba-bounce@thebarn.com]On
> Behalf
> > > > > > Of Steve Fletty
> > > > > > Sent: Tuesday, June 01, 2004 11:52 AM
> > > > > > To: Sphbc(a)sphbc.org
> > > > > > Cc: mba(a)thebarn.com
> > > > > > Subject: Re: Mashout
> > > > > >
> > > > > >
> > > > > > I'd like to echo Rick "you've got to enter to win" idea.
> > > > > >
> > > > > > I had 11 beers in the Mash-Out and managed to win with 3. One of
> my
> > > > > > beers scored a 21.
> > > > > >
> > > > > >
> > > > >
> > > > >
> > > > >
> > > > >
> > > > >
> > > > > _______________________________________________
> > > > > Sphbc mailing list
> > > > > Sphbc(a)sphbc.org
> > > > > http://sphbc.org/mailman/listinfo/sphbc_sphbc.org
> > > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > --
> > > > Steve Piatz piatz(a)cray.com
> > > > Cray Inc. 651-605-9049
> > > > 1340 Mendota Heights Road cell: 651-428-1417
> > > > Mendota Heights, MN 55120
> > > >
> > > > _______________________________________________
> > > > Sphbc mailing list
> > > > Sphbc(a)sphbc.org
> > > > http://sphbc.org/mailman/listinfo/sphbc_sphbc.org
> > >
> > >
> > > _______________________________________________
> > > Sphbc mailing list
> > > Sphbc(a)sphbc.org
> > > http://sphbc.org/mailman/listinfo/sphbc_sphbc.org
> > >
> >
> >
> > --
> > Steve Piatz piatz(a)cray.com
> > Cray Inc. 651-605-9049
> > 1340 Mendota Heights Road cell: 651-428-1417
> > Mendota Heights, MN 55120
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > Sphbc mailing list
> > Sphbc(a)sphbc.org
> > http://sphbc.org/mailman/listinfo/sphbc_sphbc.org
> >
> >
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Sphbc mailing list
> Sphbc(a)sphbc.org
> http://sphbc.org/mailman/listinfo/sphbc_sphbc.org
