>From Rick Oftel -
Greetings homebrew beer fans. July is almost history and wonderful
August, the month of almost anything on a stick, is just around the
corner. The end of the month initiates a new brew club tradition
although it is not an actual club event; Thfirst before the First. Mine
you, I may have spelled or quoted it wrong but the event is warmly
making inroads into homebrewing history.
Quit rambling and get to the point OK? Thanks, I needed that. This
Friday, July 28, Rick and Dawn Oftel cordially welcome you to a homebrew
tasting starting around 5:00 and going until about 9:30~~. As many of
you know, the brewery is a little cramped but thanks to the drought, the
mosquito population is very low so we can likely move outside around the
fire ring.
As of Monday, we have 6 beers on tap including: dry stout, APA, Brown,
Charlie Porter, Wheat, and Blond. There are a few beers in reserve and
we also have ginger ale. Following an act like Steve is challenging to
say the least and no, we do not have any sour or lambic beer available.
There is an interesting keg or two that may have some critters for the
really bold but basically, we just have normal beer served from a really
trick cooler.
The BBQ is always available. We will have a few snacks. You can cook
anything you like as long as you bring your own stick.
We are located at 6400 Mildred, 55439. Although the easiest way to
arrive is by helicopter, most folks access our quagmire from 66th street
@ hwy 100.
See you this Friday.
Rick & Dawn Oftel
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ERIC AND KIM OLSON POOL PARTY THIS SUNDAY, JULY 23 - noon til ??
You are invited for a day of fun in the sun at the Olson residence this
Sunday, July 23rd. Party starts at noon and goes until the last one
leaves. If you weren't at last year's party - you won't want to miss this
one! We have a pool and a hot tub....)
What to Bring:
Think summer-y...something light to drink (hmmm...some hibiscus wheat beer
would be perfect ;-D ) and something to throw on the grill and/or snack
to share. We will have plenty of napkins, paper plates, silverware and
condiments. Don't forget your swimsuits, towels and sunscreen, too.
Invite a fellow brewer to attend a meeting with you! For questions,
contact Eric Olson at:
Eric and Kim Olson
5024 Overlook Drive, Bloomington.
Phone #: 612-618-2297.
http://www.mnbrewers.com/images/maps/map_olson.jpg
Directions are pretty easy:
Take 494 to France
Go south on France almost 5 miles
France veers right and becomes Overlook Drive
Go 8/10ths of a mile, corner of Overlook and 114th
Yellow house with big cedar fence
TAKE A BUS TO MEAD DAY - AUGUST 5, 2006
You DONT want to be driving home from Mead Day!!! Wilbur Ince, an MhBA
club member, has secured a bus to take us to Mead Day in Elk River! The
bus will leave from Midwest at 8:45am. Email me at AlBoyce(a)bigfoot.com by
Aug 3, 5pm to reserve your seat. We need to get a minimum of 15 people,
at $15 each. The more people we get, the cheaper it will be. MAXIMUM
PASSENGERS ARE 34, SO RESERVE TODAY! (More details about Mead Day
available in the July issue of the BOILER at
http://www.mnbrewers.com/newsletters/2006/2006_07.pdf )
- Al
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mail2web - Check your email from the web at
http://mail2web.com/ .
ERIC AND KIM OLSON?S POOL PARTY!
Sunday, July 23, Noon - ???
Greetings, fellow brewers!
You are invited for a day of fun in the sun at the Olson residence on
Sunday, July 23rd. Party starts at noon and goes until the last one
leaves. If you weren't at last year's party - you won't want to miss this
one! We have a pool and a hot tub....) What to Bring: Think
summer-y...something light to drink (hmmm...some
hibiscus wheat beer would be perfect? ;-D ) and something to throw on the
grill and/or snack to share. We will have plenty of napkins, paper
plates, silverware and condiments. Don't forget your swimsuits, towels
and sunscreen, too.
Invite a fellow brewer to attend a meeting with you! For questions,
contact Eric Olson at:
Eric and Kim Olson
5024 Overlook Drive, Bloomington.
Phone #: 612-618-2297.
http://www.mnbrewers.com/images/maps/map_olson.jpg
Directions are pretty easy:
* Take 494 to France
* Go south on France almost 5 miles
* France veers right and becomes Overlook Drive
* Go 8/10ths of a mile, corner of Overlook and 114th
* Yellow house with big cedar fence
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Electronic Privacy Notice. This e-mail, and any attachments, contains information that is, or may be, covered by electronic communications privacy laws, and is also confidential and proprietary in nature. If you are not the intended recipient, please be advised that you are legally prohibited from retaining, using, copying, distributing, or otherwise disclosing this information in any manner. Instead, please reply to the sender that you have received this communication in error, and then immediately delete it. Thank you in advance for your cooperation.
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STATE FAIR ONLINE REGISTRATION STARTS TODAY JULY 19!
IN 15 DAYS, Entries accepted at drop-off sites, Aug. 3 - 11, 2006
The registration deadline for the MINNESOTA STATE FAIR HOMEBREW COMPETITION is coming up on Friday, August 19, 2005. This is a fun, local competition for MINNESOTA home brewers only, and tends to be smaller than the Mash-Out, so your chances of winning are that much better. There are 20 medal categories this year, so 60 medals will be awarded, plus an awesome "Best of Show" large rosette. You may enter in any BJCP Beer, Mead or Cider category and you may enter one beer per BJCP sub-category.
To enter your beers:
http://www.mnbrewers.com/events/mnfair/
VOLUNTEER AT THE CONTEST! We need Judges! We need Stewards!
The competition is also looking for volunteers to help judge or steward at the judging on Saturday, August 19, 2006. EVERYONE is welcome - they will pair novice judges with more experienced judges. If you're thinking that you'd like to find out what beer judging is all about or if you're thinking of taking the Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP) exam prep class this fall, come out and judge! You will get retro-credit for your judging once you take the BJCP test. If you're too shy to judge, you can "Steward", which involves helping the judges.
To sign up to help judge or steward:
http://www.mnbrewers.com/events/mnfair/
BEST-OF-SHOW JUDGES and AWARDS CEREMONY VOLUNTEERS NEEDED!
The Awards Ceremony and Best-of-Show judging will occur on Saturday, August 26, 2006 at 11am at the Creative Activities Building Annex, outside the Creative Activities Building while the State Fair is going on. Come on by to see who won, or better yet, volunteer to help the contest and the beer clubs promote homebrewing!
To sign up to help at the Awards Ceremony:
http://www.mnbrewers.com/events/mnfair/
Please pass this along to your homebrew friends!! I've tried to pass this to other MN clubs if anyone belongs to an another list(s) and doesn't see this post, please cross-post. Here are the clubs: Boreal Brewers, Buffalo Ridge Brewers, Cloudy Town Brewers, Cross River Alliance of Zymurgists, Grin and Brew It, Headwaters Homebrew Club, Men of our Wort, Minnesota Home Brewers Association, Minnesota Mashers, Minnesota Timberworts, Mobius Microbrewers, Northern Ale Stars, Northern Lagers, Northern Lights 'N Stouts, Rosemount Homebrewers Guild, Rum River Wort Hogs, South Metro Wort Mongers, St Paul Homebrewers Club, Three Rivers United Brewers, Up North Brewing Club andYeasty Boy Homebrew Club
Regards,
Sean P. Hewitt
Minnesota State Fair Homebrew Competition Organizer
Sponsored by Minnesota Homebrewers Association (MHBA) and St.Paul Homebrewer Club (SPHBC)
An interesting discussion on brewing water chemistry from the CBS
list. Last I knew, Mpls and St. Paul water came from the river/lakes,
is relatively soft at about 80 ppm hardness.
Suburban water typically comes from wells and so is moderately
hard at 300 to 400 ppm of hardness. Looks like Windy City
Water is somewhere in between.
Another advancte of CaCl and Gypsum is that they are buffering
agents. So, if you don't have a pH meter, you can't really muck
it up too bad like you can using acid.
Cheers,
Jim
----- Forwarded message from Ray Daniels <raydan(a)AMERITECH.NET> -----
Importance: Normal
Date: Tue, 18 Jul 2006 15:08:47 -0500
Reply-To: Ray Daniels <raydan(a)AMERITECH.NET>
From: Ray Daniels <raydan(a)AMERITECH.NET>
Subject: Re: Chicago Water
To: CBS-HB(a)LISTSERV.UIC.EDU
Nils and all,
Water chemistry can get plenty complicated but let's see if I can make some
simple statements that will generally hold true for our water.
1) You can make good beer in many styles without treating Chicago water,
espeically if you are doing extract or partial-mash brewing. Pale bitter
beers are the biggest exception, see #3 below.
2) If you are mashing, you will want to add some calcium as it aids in
bringing mash pH down to the proper level and is a necessary cofactor for
mash amylases. So, in practice I'd do the following:
a) For pale, hoppy beers this is definitely recommended and I would
use gypsum.
b) For malt-balanced beers I use calcium chloride (aids perception
of roundness, fullness of malt flavor).
c) With dark beers, pH adjustment is aided by the dark grains and
the natural calcium in
the water will supply some of the cofactor needs, so you can get
away with no Ca addition
in these cases, but personally, I still add some calcium
chloride.
3) Chicago water has more calcium carbonate (temporary hardness) than is
generally desireable for pale, bitter beers like Pilsner, IPA, even Kolsch.
Some mitigation of that is desireable to prevent a harsh, sometimes soapy
bitterness. As Chicago carbonate content levels are about 105-120 ppm and
acceptable levels for brewing are between 50 & 75 ppm, you can accomplish
these levels by diluting Chicago tap with distilled or RO water (which
contain no minerals). (And no, you don't want to use all distilled or RO,
you need the trace elements found in tap water--a 50/50 mix is good.)
Some will argue for acidification to control pH, but I have found that
calcium additions and dark grains work very well. Furthermore, I've had a
good number of over acidified beers that are so dry you need a glass of
water between pints.
All for me.
R
Ray Daniels
Director, Craft Beer Marketing
Brewers Association
ray(a)brewersassociation.org
773-769-1300 Chicago Office
or 312-203-8383 cell
For the latest beer news, visit our Media Room
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Chicago Beer Society Home Brewer List
> [mailto:CBS-HB@LISTSERV.UIC.EDU] On Behalf Of Conor McGrath
> Sent: Tuesday, July 18, 2006 2:34 PM
> To: CBS-HB(a)LISTSERV.UIC.EDU
> Subject: Re: Chicago Water
>
>
> On Tue, Jul 18, 2006 at 03:25:13PM -0400 Nils Hanson said:
> > Besides a carbon filter does anyone do anything special to
> filter or
> > treat the water here in Chicago? I had a friend visit and he has
> > recommend Gypsum and Calcium Chloride??
>
> Chicago water is pretty good for brewing if you use a
> charcoal filter. That's all I use and I've done dozens of
> batches over the last five years. Of course, if you were
> aiming to brew a particular regional beer and were trying to
> match the water chemistry of that region you may want to add
> some minerals. I've never found that necessary.
>
> Did your friend have a reason for recommending water additions?
>
> -Conor
>
----- 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 *
MhBA and SPHBC Members -
Hope you can make our backyard party with the Mike and Amy Finders Band! It
should be a great time!
Al and Beth
PS - Bring Homebrew!
THE MIKE AND AMY FINDERS BAND
At the Old Kitchen Rug Brewery!
Please respond by July 22!
WHO: The Mike and Amy Finders Band
WHAT: Old Kitchen Rug Brewery House Concert!
(our home)
WHEN: Saturday, July 29, 2006 - Outdoors! Rain or shine.
Potluck and Barbecue at 5pm
Showtime at 7pm - Note: Earlier show time!
WHERE: 3208 Edgewood Avenue South
St.Louis Park, MN 55426
(952) 927-8968
alboyce(a)bigfoot.com
DONATION: $12 in advance, $15 at the door
ADVANCE RESERVATIONS REQUESTED!
(Sorry, we can only hold your seat if we have
your check.)
RESERVATIONS: Send check to address above, made out to
"Mike and Amy Finders"
FIRST COME, FIRST SERVE! If we sell out, I'll
call
you and send your check back.
BRING: Beverages, a snack to share, a lawn chair, and extra $$
for CDs
if you wish. Afterwards break out your musical
instruments, voices, and toes to tap - for a jam session
and campfire after the show!
I will be tapping one of the brewery's latest
creations
to share with the brave-of-heart...
DETAILS:
Since the late 1990's, the husband-and-wife team of Mike and Amy Finders
have channeled their estimable talents into a mix of vintage and original
music that has make them one of the hottest roots/Americana acts in the
Midwest.
Amy's voice is the obvious showpiece. It's a sexy, mike-busting powerhouse
that can deliver bluegrass, gospel, folk or classic country with authentic
punch, then wrap around a bluesy stomper with all the swing and sass of a
Jug Band-era Maria Muldaur. Mike's agreeable tenor is convincing in its own
right, and two split lead vocal duties, chiming in with copacetic harmonies
throughout.
If you loved "Oh Brother, Where Art Thou", you'll love Mike and Amy Finders!
It is our honor to present the Mike and Amy Finders Band OUTSIDE at the Old
Kitchen Rug on July 29. Please join us for a potluck and barbecue picnic at
5pm, with the band starting at 7pm.
- Al Boyce/Beth Williams
UPCOMING SHOWS:
The Rolling Blunder Revue Saturday, Sept 23,
2006
Papa John & the Hot Club of East Lake St. Saturday, Nov 11, 2006
For a Google map to our house, visit:
http://tinyurl.com/c3r5f
To check out the Mike and Amy Finders Band website, visit:
http://www.mikeandamyfinders.com <http://www.mikeandamyfinders.com/>
For a picture of the Mike and Amy Finders Band, visit:
http://www.mikeandamyfinders.com/grax/pics/finderspic02medresprint.jpg
Thanks to Janis' request, The MhBA2 Mead Day store now has LONG SLEEVE
Mead-Day shirts and sweatshirts for sale, in addition to all of the other
cool stuff. ONLY 19 DAYS until Mead Day 2006! Order your stuff NOW if you
want it to arrive by Mead Day!
- Al
-----Original Message-----
From: Steve Piatz [mailto:piatz@cray.com]
Sent: Monday, July 17, 2006 12:23 PM
To: alboyce(a)bigfoot.com
Subject: Re: [mnbrewers] MEAD DAY SHIRTS! etc
Al,
Janis noticed there were no long sleeve options on the list. DOes cafepress
have long sheet shirts?
On Fri, Jul 14, 2006 at 05:54:06PM -0500, alboyce(a)bigfoot.com wrote:
> AHA MEAD DAY is coming up August 5, 2006, and this year, the MhBA
> (Minnesota Home Brewers Association) will be celebrating mead day with
> the MhBA (Minnesota Hobby BeeKeepers Association)! In addition, we
> will be celebrating out at the Johnson Apiary, and will get to learn
> about beekeeping and honey production, while our sister club learns
> about making mead. To top it all off, National Mead Champion Curt
> Stock will be on hand to give a talk about the latest in mead-making
> techniques, and to answer your questions. More info, and directions
> to the Apiary are available in the July 2006 issue of The BOILER, the
newsletter of the
> Minnesota Home Brewers Association. INVITE A FRIEND OR THREE, and
> convince one of them to be your designated driver!
>
> To celebrate this magical conjunction, we have created a CafePress
> Store, stocked with all sorts of shirts, hats, and other logo goodies
> to commemorate the day. ORDER NOW, so your merchandise will be here
> in time for mead day! Thanks to Gera Exire LaTour and Joel Stitzel
> for the cool logo!
>
> http://www.cafepress.com/meadday
>
> - Al
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
> -------- Electronic Privacy Notice. This e-mail, and any attachments,
> contains information that is, or may be, covered by electronic
communications privacy laws, and is also confidential and proprietary in
nature. If you are not the intended recipient, please be advised that you
are legally prohibited from retaining, using, copying, distributing, or
otherwise disclosing this information in any manner. Instead, please reply
to the sender that you have received this communication in error, and then
immediately delete it. Thank you in advance for your cooperation.
> ======================================================================
> ========
--
Steve Piatz piatz(a)cray.com
Cray Inc. 651-605-9049
1340 Mendota Heights Road cell: 651-428-1417
Mendota Heights, MN 55120
It's once again time to sign up fool-hardy folks for the Beer Good Bus Tour III! Last year's tour of WI brewpubs was a great success, and this year's route will be a northerly one. The tentative trip itinerary is below.
If you're interested, please send your non-refundable $50 per person deposit to John Longballa, 1211 Minnehaha Ave W, Saint Paul, 55104. The bus will be about $60 per person, assuming that around 35 people come along. The hotel will be about $100 for double occupancy, and you'll be able to walk to it from the last Saturday stop, so how late you stay up will be entirely up to you! Could someone please pass this along to the SPHBC, as my new e-dress is not registered with their listserve?
Thanks!
The trip is shaping up as such:
Saturday, September 30th! (consensus was to move it one week earlier, since Autumn Brew Review once again set down on our tentative date of October 7th!)
8:00--we board a luxury bus, complete with restroom. We immediately begin the People's Choice competition, and hopefully Paul won't take BOTH the top spots again! ;)
10:45--we roll into Fitger's for lunch, because any day that begins at Fitger's has GOT to be GOOD!
12:30, we roll across Duluth Harbor and into Superior's Twin Ports Brewing for sampling. Normally they don't open until 4:00, but I sweet-talked Steve into opening just for us!
1:45--we leave TP, arriving at White Winter Meadery in Iron River, WI at 2:30 for a special tour and tasting, complete with appetizers.
3:45--we exit WW and turn south toward Hayward, where not one, but TWO brewpubs await! We pull into either the Angry Minnow or the Mad Muskie around 4:30 for dinner. I haven't yet decided which place is our dinner stop, but they're both good options. 6:30 we head to the other.
7:30--we leave Hayward and head for an 8:30 tour of Deep Water Grill at South Shore Brewing in Ashland. We kick back and relax after a hard day's work. We sleep hard in Ashland.
Sunday, October 1st!
On the road around 9:00.
11:00--we have lunch at Minocqua Brewing in Minocqua.
12:30--we head 10 miles to Bugsy's Brewpub in Rhinelander.
1:30--we head to Hereford and Hops in Wassau, arriving around 2:30.
3:30--leave Wassau for Central Waters Brewpub in Marshfield. Yes, this is the same brewer as in Junction City with the sewage problem--no, it's not the same PLACE!
4:30--dinner at Central Waters.
6:00--head for Saint Paul, arriving around 9:00.
Yes, I'm certain that we could stop at a WI liquor store for WI micros again! :)
Yes, I'm certain that there will be funny movies showing again! :)
Yes, I'm certain that someone will be willing to do the Wheel of Fortune again! :)
Sooooo . . .
As soon as I get your non-refundable $50 per person deposit, made out to me and mailed to my house, then you are set.
Thanks for entertaining the idea!
John
AHA MEAD DAY is coming up August 5, 2006, and this year, the MhBA
(Minnesota Home Brewers Association) will be celebrating mead day with the
MhBA (Minnesota Hobby BeeKeepers Association)! In addition, we will be
celebrating out at the Johnson Apiary, and will get to learn about
beekeeping and honey production, while our sister club learns about making
mead. To top it all off, National Mead Champion Curt Stock will be on
hand to give a talk about the latest in mead-making techniques, and to
answer your questions. More info, and directions to the Apiary are
available in the July 2006 issue of The BOILER, the newsletter of the
Minnesota Home Brewers Association. INVITE A FRIEND OR THREE, and
convince one of them to be your designated driver!
To celebrate this magical conjunction, we have created a CafePress Store,
stocked with all sorts of shirts, hats, and other logo goodies to
commemorate the day. ORDER NOW, so your merchandise will be here in time
for mead day! Thanks to Gera Exire LaTour and Joel Stitzel for the cool
logo!
http://www.cafepress.com/meadday
- Al
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Electronic Privacy Notice. This e-mail, and any attachments, contains information that is, or may be, covered by electronic communications privacy laws, and is also confidential and proprietary in nature. If you are not the intended recipient, please be advised that you are legally prohibited from retaining, using, copying, distributing, or otherwise disclosing this information in any manner. Instead, please reply to the sender that you have received this communication in error, and then immediately delete it. Thank you in advance for your cooperation.
==============================================================================