mba September 2004

mba@thebarn.com

39 participants
73 discussions

A Call to Arms (and Kettles) for MN Brewers

by John Longballa

Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable "Ask not what your club can do for you-- ask instead what you can brew for your club." Ladies and Gentlemen-- For far too long (four years running!) the Quality Ale and Fermentation = Fraternity (QUAFF) from San Diego, CA, has had a stranglehold on the = Club of the Year competition at the American Homebrewers Association = (AHA) national convention. For the past four years, they are the only = club to hoist the trophy over their collective heads and receive the = accolades that accompany the honor of being AHA Club of the Year. This year . . . =20 that changes. This year, the brewers of the North Star state are going to take home = the prize. After all--it's much too warm in southern California to = properly ferment most styles; besides, we've got better brewers! The challenge is this. We need many brewers to commit to brewing and = entering lots of styles. (New style listings attached) I will be in = charge of keeping track of who is brewing what, so that we can have = numerous entries per style. For those who are unfamiliar with the = national competition, each club earns points on a 6-4-2 basis for = brewers from that club who place first, second, or third in a style = category at either the first round (right here in MN in 2005!) or the = second round. We would like to see a few MN beers entered in each = sub-category, so that when many of our beers take places, we are = garnering points all across the board. Why the call to arms now? Certain styles will need to be brewed in the = very near future in order to be ready for the April contest. = Additionally, we need everyone thinking about what they will brew over = the next eight months, so that we can have MN entries in every = sub-category. With the first round being judged in the Twin Cities, MN = brewers can save on some shipping, which should increase the incentive = to enter! Your club can certainly enter beers under your own club's name, but here = is the second part of the request (besides the one that asks you to tell = me which styles you will be brewing so that I can send out requests for = people to brew styles that are not being covered)-- As some members of the MN Homebrewers club (MHBA)and the St. Paul club = (SPHBC) know, there is a friendly agreement between the MHBA and the = SPHBC that the club that has the most competition points heading into = the AHA national competition will be the club that will is listed as = each brewers' club on the entry forms, regardless of which club the = brewer usually associates with. In other words, if the SPHBC has earned = some points in the AHA club-only competitions (COC) during the year, = while the MHBA has not, then both clubs' members will enter the April = AHA national contest as SPHBC members. This way, one club receives many = points, rather than two MN clubs splitting some points and both clubs = finishing far down in the Club of the Year standings. I am humbly requesting that all MN clubs (and maybe even the Prairie = Homebrewing Companions! :) ) consider entering the national = competition under the name of the MN club that has the most COC points = going into the nationals. There are five more COCs before April, and = those points are awarded on a 12-8-4 basis. If every MN entry had the = same club name on the national entry forms--and if MN was represented = numerous times in each category--well then, we just might have ourselves = a trophy! This is more than do-able; this is imperative! Many MN brewers entered = under the SPHBC banner last year, and the result was an impressive = fourth-place finish! With an even more concerted effort, the trophy = comes to Minnesota. So--the bottom line is this: Please look over the attached list of new Beer Judge Certification = Program (BJCP) styles (complete style guidelines at www.bjcp.org) = decide which styles you can commit to brewing and entering, then let me = know which those are. Barleywines, Russian Imperial Stouts, Meads, sour = ales, and other larger or more need-time-to-mellow beers need to be = brewed right quick! Then, please consider entering into a friendly agreement that all MN = brewers will enter under one club name. At the moment, it would be MHBA = or SPHBC, considering that those two clubs have scored well in previous = contests, but the club name used on entries could be open for = discussion. QUAFF must fall--and we're just the brewers to make it happen. Please = send me the styles you are willing to brew and enter, then think about = entering under one club name when the time comes to register. Thank you for your support of this concept, and I'll look forward to = tallying the hundreds of entries we'll be flooding the contest with! Thanks again, John Longballa Coordinator, The Campaign to Bring the Club of the Year Title to = Minnesota! (CBCYTMN) ;) -- Attached file included as plaintext by Ecartis -- -- File: NewBJCPstyles.txt 1. LIGHT LAGER 1A. Lite American Lager 1B. Standard American Lager 1C. Premium American Lager 1D. Munich Helles 1E. Dortmunder Export 2. PILSNER 2A. German Pilsner (Pils) 2B. Bohemian Pilsener 2C. Classic American Pilsner 3. EUROPEAN AMBER LAGER 3A. Vienna Lager 3B. Oktoberfest/Märzen 4. DARK LAGER 4A. Dark American Lager 4B. Munich Dunkel 4C. Schwarzbier (Black Beer) 5. BOCK 5A. Maibock/Helles Bock 5B. Traditional Bock 5C. Doppelbock 5D. Eisbock 6. LIGHT HYBRID BEER 6A. Cream Ale 6B. Blonde Ale 6C. Kölsch 6D. American Wheat or Rye Beer 7. AMBER HYBRID BEER 7A. Northern German Altbier 7B. California Common Beer 7C. Düsseldorf Altbier 8. ENGLISH PALE ALE 8A. Standard/Ordinary Bitter 8B. Special/Best/Premium Bitter 8C. Extra Special/Strong Bitter (English Pale Ale) 9. SCOTTISH AND IRISH ALE 9A. Scottish Light 60/- 9B. Scottish Heavy 70/- 9C. Scottish Export 80/- 9D. Irish Red Ale 9E. Strong Scotch Ale 10. AMERICAN ALE 10A. American Pale Ale 10B. American Amber Ale 10C. American Brown Ale 11. ENGLISH BROWN ALE 11A. Mild 11B. Southern English Brown 11C. Northern English Brown Ale 12. PORTER 12A. Brown Porter 12B. Robust Porter 12C. Baltic Porter 13. STOUT 13A. Dry Stout 13B. Sweet Stout 13C. Oatmeal Stout 13D. Foreign Extra Stout 13E. American Stout 13F. Russian Imperial Stout 14. INDIA PALE ALE (IPA) 14A. English IPA 14B. American IPA 14C. Imperial IPA 15. GERMAN WHEAT AND RYE BEER 15A. Weizen/Weissbier 15B. Dunkelweizen 15C. Weizenbock 15D. Roggenbier (German Rye Beer) 16. BELGIAN AND FRENCH ALE 16A. Witbier 16B. Belgian Pale Ale 16C. Saison 16D. Bière de Garde 16E. Belgian Specialty Ale 17. SOUR ALE 17A. Berliner Weisse 17B. Flanders Red Ale 17C. Flanders Brown Ale/Oud Bruin 17D. Straight (Unblended) Lambic 17E. Gueuze 17F. Fruit Lambic 18. BELGIAN STRONG ALE 18A. Belgian Blond Ale 18B. Belgian Dubbel 18C. Belgian Tripel 18D. Belgian Golden Strong Ale 18E. Belgian Dark Strong Ale 19. STRONG ALE 19A. Old Ale 19B. English Barleywine 19C. American Barleywine 20. FRUIT BEER 21. SPICE / HERB / VEGETABLE BEER 21A. Spice, Herb, or Vegetable Beer 21B. Christmas/Winter Specialty Spiced Beer 22. SMOKE-FLAVORED AND WOOD-AGED BEER 22A. Classic Rauchbier 22B. Other Smoked Beer 22C. Wood-Aged Beer 23. SPECIALTY BEER 24. TRADITIONAL MEAD 24A. Dry Mead 24B. Semi-sweet Mead 24C. Sweet Mead 25. MELOMEL (FRUIT MEAD) 25A. Cyser (Apple Melomel) 25B. Pyment (Grape Melomel) 25C. Other Fruit Melomel 26. OTHER MEAD 26A. Metheglin 26B. Braggot 26C. Open Category Mead 27. STANDARD CIDER AND PERRY 27A. Common Cider 27B. English Cider 27C. French Cider 27D. Common Perry 27E. Traditional Perry 28. SPECIALTY CIDER AND PERRY 28A. New England Cider 28B. Fruit Cider 28C. Applewine 28D. Other Specialty Cider/Perry -- Binary/unsupported file stripped by Ecartis -- -- Type: application/vnd.ms-excel -- File: NEWBJCPSTYLES.xls

21 years, 2 months

RE: C.S.P.S hall event - History & Culture of Beer

by Rick Oftel

Sounds like an opportunity for an oncore appearance of the long dormant club cooler! Rick >>> <Paul_Dienhart(a)cargill.com> 09/13/04 03:16PM >>> Rick Oftel and I went to a similar event that featured the history of Pilsner. The lectures were a bit dry, but the people were great fun. When the Czechvar rep had to leave, Rick and I took over serving at the bar and tapped one of his kegs. Rick was the toast of the party. People were fascinated that you could make homebrew this good and we were showered with compliments. We even had a Czech dance troop offer to perform at the next club Christmas party. Paul -----Original Message----- From: marc(a)targetadv.com [mailto:marc@targetadv.com] Sent: Monday, September 13, 2004 2:39 PM To: mba(a)thebarn.com Subject: C.S.P.S hall event - History & Culture of Beer A friend sent me this the other day. -marc History & Culture of Beer Friday, October 15 - 7:00 P.M. C.S.P.S. Sokol Hall 383 Michigan on West 7th St. (1 block East of St. Clair Avenue) Saint Paul, MN 55102 Click here for a map The Czech and Slovak Cultural Center and Sokol Minnesota will jointly host an evening program on "History and Culture of Beer in the Czech Republic and Central Europe" at the C.S.P.S. Hall. The program will include a film on the history of Czech beer making loaned to us by the Czech Embassy in Washington, a short lecture and "beer sampling" of Czech beers with the famous Czech chlebicky (open sandwiches).

21 years, 2 months

RE: C.S.P.S hall event - History & Culture of Beer

by Paul_Dienhart＠cargill.com

Rick Oftel and I went to a similar event that featured the history of Pilsner. The lectures were a bit dry, but the people were great fun. When the Czechvar rep had to leave, Rick and I took over serving at the bar and tapped one of his kegs. Rick was the toast of the party. People were fascinated that you could make homebrew this good and we were showered with compliments. We even had a Czech dance troop offer to perform at the next club Christmas party. Paul -----Original Message----- From: marc(a)targetadv.com [mailto:marc@targetadv.com] Sent: Monday, September 13, 2004 2:39 PM To: mba(a)thebarn.com Subject: C.S.P.S hall event - History & Culture of Beer A friend sent me this the other day. -marc History & Culture of Beer Friday, October 15 - 7:00 P.M. C.S.P.S. Sokol Hall 383 Michigan on West 7th St. (1 block East of St. Clair Avenue) Saint Paul, MN 55102 Click here for a map The Czech and Slovak Cultural Center and Sokol Minnesota will jointly host an evening program on "History and Culture of Beer in the Czech Republic and Central Europe" at the C.S.P.S. Hall. The program will include a film on the history of Czech beer making loaned to us by the Czech Embassy in Washington, a short lecture and "beer sampling" of Czech beers with the famous Czech chlebicky (open sandwiches).

21 years, 2 months

C.S.P.S hall event - History & Culture of Beer

by Marc Donnelly

A friend sent me this the other day. -marc History & Culture of Beer Friday, October 15 - 7:00 P.M. C.S.P.S. Sokol Hall 383 Michigan on West 7th St. (1 block East of St. Clair Avenue) Saint Paul, MN 55102 Click here for a map The Czech and Slovak Cultural Center and Sokol Minnesota will jointly host an evening program on "History and Culture of Beer in the Czech Republic and Central Europe" at the C.S.P.S. Hall. The program will include a film on the history of Czech beer making loaned to us by the Czech Embassy in Washington, a short lecture and "beer sampling" of Czech beers with the famous Czech chlebicky (open sandwiches).

21 years, 2 months

Beer Release

by brewmaster＠townhallbrewery.com

Hey All, This last Saturday marked the 4th annual Autumn Brew Review. I'd like to thank all of you that attended, hope you enjoyed yourself. This Thursday, 9/16 we will relase a new seasonal to replace the Smoked Hefe. Many of you have been sending me emails about your personal hop addiction(s) and that you need more. You said "Hop It!", so that is what we did. Hop It! Pale Ale will come out this Thursday. For those of you keeping track this single hop American Pale features the American variety called Amarillo. Stop in at the Minneapolis Town Hall Brewery this Thursday and try a pint of Hop It! for just $1 per pint from 5-6pm. Cheers Mike

21 years, 2 months

Re: Harvesting hops

by Steve Piatz

John Longballa writes: > > One of my hop rhyzomes went nuts in this, its first year, and I've been looking at the cones, wondering when I know that it's time to harvest them. After I do, should I dry them in the oven slowly--say, 100 degrees F for 2-3 hours? > Thanks much, > John > If they are getting to have yellow resin and a little crisp they are ready to pick. I dry mine in a thin layer on a window screen (fiberglass/plastic) laying in the rafters of the garage. Commercial dryers for hops heat them over 100F but they are blowing a lot of air through the hops at the same time which keeps them from rotting.. You can pack the dry hops in glass (I use wide mouth canning jars) and store them in the freezer for a long time. I also store my commercial hops that way. If you compress them you can get around a half pound in a quart jar. Alternatively, you could wet hop a beer. This is popular in the west coast areas near the hop fields. Don't dry the hops but use them fresh and green. Obviously you need way more (by weight) than regular since most of the fresh cones are water. Try searching HDB, Brew Your Own, and Zymurgy for stuff on the technique. Maybe even a Google search would find the stuff. I think for wet hopping you could just freeze the whole and fresh undried hops in plastic bags until you were ready to use them. -- Steve Piatz piatz(a)cray.com Cray Inc. 651-605-9049 1340 Mendota Heights Road cell: 651-428-1417 Mendota Heights, MN 55120

21 years, 2 months

Harvesting hops

by John Longballa

One of my hop rhyzomes went nuts in this, its first year, and I've been looking at the cones, wondering when I know that it's time to harvest them. After I do, should I dry them in the oven slowly--say, 100 degrees F for 2-3 hours? Thanks much, John

21 years, 2 months

Roll out the barrel

by sweiland＠usfamily.net

Cheers to all, For a barrel aged IPA, should we possibly consider a French Oak new barrel?? Or an American Oak barrel?? For the Imp. Stout, a bourbon barrel would be very nice, I believe. For a braggot, again we should consider a "virginal" cask made of oak. Barreling along, Steve ------ http://USFamily.Net/info - Unlimited Internet - From $8.99/mo! ------

21 years, 2 months

Re: Harvesting hops

by sweiland＠usfamily.net

Hi John and everyone, Clip the hop cones off with a scissors onto a plate or tray. Dry them at room temperature, in the dark. Don't pile them on top of each other, spread them in a single layer. They will take a couple days to dry, unless it is very humid in your home, then it will take longer. They are ready to harvest when they are still green, not brown, but lighter in color than during the summer months, and when torn apart, there is lots of bright yellow hop resin sacs in the interior part of the hop cone. And best of all, when sniffed, it is very fresh and wonderful smelling. Use the hops right away for the best aroma. Use them as finishing hops, or if you are really brave, estimate the alpha acid content of the hops based on the industry average for that variety and do a real "Homegrown" beer. I've done this with mixed results....a great tasting, fresh hop aroma pale ale, but a too-bitter Scotch ale have been produced by yours truly using only my homegrown hops. I have Mt. Hood and Cascade hop vines. The Mt. Hood cones are awesome and very good for brewing. The Cascade vine always gets hammered on by insects (I don't spray them at all) and the yield is poor, but the cones are really great....for about a week or two then they get all brown and oxidized (Steve Piatz Lambic hops...) Well, that is my nickle's worth on the subject of picking and drying hops. Want some Mt. Hood cones, anyone?? They are ready now!! Cheers, Steve One of my hop rhyzomes went nuts in this, its first year, and I've been looking at the cones, wondering when I know that it's time to harvest them. After I do, should I dry them in the oven slowly--say, 100 degrees F for 2-3 hours? >Thanks much, >John ------ http://USFamily.Net/info - Unlimited Internet - From $8.99/mo! ------

21 years, 2 months

Re: Decisions

by Rick Oftel

I look forward to a big stout and believe it will work very well with a fresh barrel. After a grueling subjective sensory evaluation experiment, it was determined that an IPA should not be aged in a newly drained bourbon barrel. The flavor of the bourbon overwhelms the hoppy nature of an IPA. Second barrel use (immediately following stout transfer and hot washing) would be ideal. Of course, this experiment did involve beer, bourbon, and White Castle. The information in this message is highly likely to be somewhat reliable and was approved by me. Rick >>> <sweiland(a)usfamily.net> 09/09/04 03:09PM >>> Hi Paul and everyone, An Imp. Stout seems like a very good choice. Originality should not be overlooked, but neither should drinkability. If we want to do another style in a barrel, why not get a fresh, unused barrel?? Then we could do a style like an IPA or a braggot. For the RIS recipe, I tend to side with all-grain brewing, or at least a partial mash with all specialty grains in the mash and simple light-colored liquid (or dry) malt extract to build up specific gravity of the wort. Cheers, Steve >The choice is Russian Imperial Stout. The only objection we could think >of is that it's not terribly original. We'd like to base the recipe on >Curt Stock's "She-Devil, Double D." (I'm not sure who the name refers >to, but I'd like to meet her.) This is one of Curt's few non-swill >beers. It's actually won a few medals. You can find it at: >http://www.mnbrewers.com/events/mashout/2003mashout.htm#367 > >OK, you can see the problem. It's about half extract, and this offends >the purity of certain members of the fellowship. Piatz is going to >formulate two other versions of the recipe in consultation with Curt. >One will be a mainly all-grain and one will be a pure extract recipe. >Likely, one or two extract batches may be brewed at Barley John's in >early November at Longballa's Teach a Friend to Brew event. Rick has >graciously agreed to brew a spare five gallons for topping off purposes. > >Yes, we're going to do individual brewing, as before. Having 11 brewers >would be viewed as absurdly risky by many barrel aficionados, but we >figure we're so damn good that we can pull it off. It was fun to pool >all the different brews for the first barrel. We're going for >complexity. > >I think I'm solid on the above information. Some of the evening is a >little hazy, and all I have is a few words Al scrawled on a napkin for >reference. There was some bitterness that the St. Paul people were all >indulging in amusements while the Minnesota people carried the >responsibility of almost five hours of evaluation and decisionmaking. >Anyway, here's what I remember, subject to correction: > >-- We tried a wonderful Oud Bruin that was ruined by the addition of >whiskey, so we threw out that style and Flanders Red. >-- Braggot and Belgian Strong Dark seemed to be enhanced a bit by the >whiskey flavor. >-- We again confirmed that whiskey takes away from a Double IPA >(although we had a fairly lousy example that was brewed on the St. Paul >system). However, we're intrigued by a Double IPA that has more oak >character than whiskey character. > >So, here's a rough schedule: > >Fill barrel with Russian Imperial Stout in early December. > >Consider obtaining another barrel in April to fill with a braggot. >(Trying to do two barrels at once would be a pain, we decided.) > >Empty the RIS in July, rinse the barrel with boiling water, and >immediately fill with a Double IPA. > >Empty the braggot in December. If the Double IPA is showing good >results, refill the second barrel with a Belgian Strong Dark. > >That concludes the minutes of the meeting. Several attendees departed >for White Castle. Now, that's sacrifice! >Paul > > > > > >Attachment: BDY.RTF >Content-Type: application/rtf >Content-Disposition: attachment; filename="BDY.RTF" > ;Creation-Date="Thu, 9 Sep 2004 09:32:07 -0500" >Content-Transfer-Encoding: base64 > > ------ http://USFamily.Net/info - Unlimited Internet - From $8.99/mo! ------

21 years, 2 months

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mba September 2004