The Brewsletter
October 2005
The
Official Newsletter of the Hampton
Roads Brewing & Tasting Society (HRB & TS)
www.hrbts.org
The
President’s Podium – Tom Byrnes
Willkommen bis
Oktober: I love this time of year. Seems that just yesterday I was in the
fatherland standing on tables while drinking liters of beer and listening to
80’s music. What an interesting
culture. We are getting ready to
celebrate the marriage of King Ludwig I in grand style. We are preparing for one of our best meetings
of the brewing year, Oktoberfest at Will and Jonna’s. This meeting always features good homebrew
and authentic German cuisine courtesy of the club and your hosts. This year it gets even better with the
addition of a silent auction of beer related merchandise that has been
collected all year. This is your chance
to pick up that extra ingredient or piece of equipment that you’ve always
wanted and help the club’s treasury. So
bring your checkbook and have fun.
Last months meeting was
the lager month hosted by Dodge and Connie Hickman. The evening featured about 20 commercial
examples of lager from around the world.
My two favorites were Legend Lager and a beer from South American whose
name I forget. Spuds abounded from the
back deck making it an official meeting at the House of Dodge. Thanks to our hosts for their hospitality.
This month is what Doug looks forward too all year…stout
month. Decked out in Guinness clothing,
Doug confidently judged each entry at the competition. Unfortunately he will miss the meeting, as he
will be in Germany
in search of that lager that tastes most like a stout. Also this month, I spoke to the Harbor Front
Kiwanis club on brewing and beer styles.
Thanks to Catherine Henderson for inviting me.
I also had the opportunity to sample this years offering of pumpkin
beers, thanks to CJ and Diane. Two of
these beers were righteous so check out the article to see our top picks. I broke my brewing moratorium and brewed my
Christmas beer, which is currently in the fermenter. Finally the current issue of Brew Your Own
magazine did an article on brewing with Brettanomyces that really got my
creative juices flowing.
Now that CJ has survived lager month, I wanted to offer a recipe that
would make him proud. Russian River Brewing Company, noted for their hoppy ales
and most recently fermentation in white wine barrels, developed it. I have tried this beer on several occasions
and can testify that it’s a hopheads delight, but surprisingly smooth. So here it is, Pliny the Elder, a
classic recipe that you should only brew if you like the taste of hops.
5oz crystal 40L--steep
1.5oz Chinook - leaf—steep
9lbs extra light LME
1lb light DME
8oz maltodextrin in boil for body
1lbs corn sugar in boil
2.75oz warrior--90 min
.5oz Chinook--90 min
1 oz Simcoe--45 min
1oz Columbus--30
min
2 oz Centennial-flame out
1 oz Simcoe--flame out
3.25 oz Columbus--dry
hop
1.75 oz Simcoe--dry hop
2 oz Centennial--dry hop
Either WYEAST 1056 or White Labs California ale yeast in a starter.
Now this beer will require extended aging due to the amount of hops, but
it does mellow in time. For a real thrill it could be served via Randall the
Enamel Animal for that last dose of hop freshness. Could be a contender for our upcoming
imperial pale ale contest. Enjoy!
[Editor’s note: An all grain version of this recipe is
featured later in this newsletter for those so inclined]
Looking forward to see you at the October meeting.
Tom
Oktober
Meeting Location – Diane Catanzaro
Oktoberfest has its origin in 1810 as a celebration of the
wedding of the Bavarian King Ludwig I to the Princess Therese of
Saxe-Hildburghausen. What made this
wedding party unusual is that common folk were invited as opposed to those
royal weddings where most of us don’t make the A-list and have watch on the
telly. As Germans know a good reason to party when they see one this
celebration morphed into the annual beer bash now known as Oktoberfest. We
HRB&TS-ers also know that Oktoberfest is a good reason to party….when else
can you wear leiderhosen and knee socks, eat a bunch of sauerkraut and dance to
polka music? Sadly, these things are not part of our daily lives but at
Oktoberfest you can do all of these things and seem perfectly normal. And we’ll
have one thing they don’t have at the ‘regular’ Oktoberfest….cool prizes you
can bid on in the club’s first Silent Auction!
Pumpkin Ale Tasting
– Which Pumpkin is the Great(est) Pumpkin?
– Chris “C.J.” Jones
Well here we are, entering the fall season, where experience
some of the finer traditions that this time of year has to offer. You know the traditions I’m referring
to: the New York Mets being out of
playoff contention in the National League, the Washington Redskins teasing us
into thinking they might be good, and the arrival of pumpkin ales on the
shelves of your local beer vendor.
With so many pumpkin ales available, which ones should you
buy? Well, I’m here to help. I recently purchased five different pumpkin
ales at the Bon Vivant Market (www.bonvivantmarket.com) in Smithfield, and convened
a panel of experts to help me taste each one of them in an attempt to determine
which of them is the best one to put in your beer glass. Two of my compatriots, Tom Byrnes, President
of the Hampton Roads Brewing and Tasting Society (HRBTS), and Diane Catanzaro,
Meeting Coordinator for HRBTS, are both Ph.D.s and are credentialed beer judges, having passed a comprehensive
beer exam administered by the Beer Judge Certification Program. A third judge, Jim Raper, is a writer and
editor and a well versed wine aficionado, periodically penning articles gushing
about grapes under the non de plume
“The Humble Steward”. What are my
credentials for such a heady task? I
bought the beer.
Each of the five beers were poured into unlabeled plastic
cups, and presented to the judges in a randomized order. No one knew the identity of the poured beers
except me. We tasted them, rated them on
a five star (asterisk) scale (5 = the best, go get your keys and buy it right
now; 4 = a delicious example of the style; 3 = a pretty good beer; 2 = an OK
beer if there’s no other beer to drink; 1 = skip it). After it was all said and done, I told them
which breweries made each one of the sipped suds.
Two of the beers are head and shoulders above the other
three, in our opinions. One is a malty,
rich, well balanced brew, while the other is swimming in nutmeg and other
spices typically associated with pumpkin pie.
I encourage you to try each of these beverages, and reach your own
conclusions. You can find these beers
throughout the greater Norfolk,
VA area. The Bon Vivant Market in Smithfield, VA
has the largest pumpkin beer selection of any of my usual beer haunts, and
sells them by the bottle, making it easier for you to experiment with different
brewer’s products.
Consult the table below to help you make an informed
decision regarding your pumpkin ale purchase.
Cheers!
|
Tasting Order
1-5, 1 = the first one tasted
|
Average Score,
Five point scale
|
Name of the Beer,
Brewery,
Cost per bottle
|
Judge’s Tasting Comments
|
|
1
|
* * *
|
Post Road Pumpkin Ale, Post Road Brewing, Utica, NY
(actually brewed by Brooklyn Brewing Co. of New York City); $1.75;
|
Bitter, bitter, bitter; clovey; allspice flavors;
sophisticated in a crazy sort of way; not much pumpkin in the flavor;
|
|
2
|
* * *
|
Pumpkin Ale,
Buffalo Bills Brewery, Hayward, CA (actually brewed by Portland Brewing Co., Portland, OR);
$1.75;
|
A medley of spices; noticeable clove taste; shallow except
for a pronounced sugary taste; tastes like something that’s been mulled
(that’s mulled as in spiced, not mulled as in thought about extensively);
|
|
3
|
* * * *
|
Punkin’ Ale, Dogfishhead
Craft Brewery, Milton, DE; $2.50.
|
A big beer; pretty well made; alcoholic; a big hop bite;
slightly sweet, approaching candyish; a massive amount of malt;
|
|
4
|
* * * *
|
Cottonwood Pumpkin
Ale, Carolina
Beer and Beverage Co; $1.50
|
Tastes like the inside of a Jack-O-Lantern; big spice presence
in the aroma and in the taste; pronounced nutmeg aroma and taste; smells like
pumpkin pie; makes you most happy when you sip it; low alcohol flavor;
|
|
5
|
* *
|
Smuttynose Pumpkin
Ale, Smuttynose Brewing Co, Portsmouth,
NH; $1.75
|
Citrusy; very highly hopped, and very bitter, more than
the other four beers; skunky; cabbage-like; chlorophenol taste;
|
2005 HRB & TS Beer of the Month Schedule – C.J. Jones
Cut this out and tape it to your refrigerator along with those
pictures drawn by your children!
|
Month (2005 unless stated otherwise)
|
Beer style name & 2004
BJCP beer style category number
|
Beer judging date ;
usually two weeks before Club meeting)
|
Winner goes to an AHA Club
Only Contest?
|
|
January
|
Spiced
Beers (21)
|
15
December 2004
|
|
|
February
|
Strong
Belgian ales (18)
|
26
January 2005
|
|
|
March
|
Brown
ales (10C & 11)
|
16
February 2005
|
|
|
April
|
Fruit
(20) & Cider (27 & 28)
|
23
March 2005
|
|
|
May
|
Extract
(all)
|
20
April 2005
|
Yes
|
|
June
|
Mead
(24-26)
|
18
May 2005
|
|
|
July
|
Dale’s
Pale Ale clone (n/a)
|
22
June 2005
|
|
|
August
|
Belgian/French
ale (16)
|
20
July 2005
|
Yes
|
|
September
|
Lagers
(all)
|
24
August 2005
|
Yes,
for European Amber Lagers (3)
|
|
October
|
Stouts
(13 A-E, not F)
|
21
September 2005
|
|
|
November
|
Porter
(12)
|
19
October 2005
|
Yes,
for Baltic Porter (12C)
|
|
December
|
Holiday ales (21B)
|
23
November 2005
|
|
|
January
2006
|
Imperial
Stout (13F) & Imperial Pale Ale (14C)
|
21
December 2005
|
|
|
February
2006
|
Doppelbock
(5C) and Barleywine (19B & 19C)
|
18
January 2006
|
|
Competition Corner, June 2005 “C.J.” Jones
We judged our stout
competition in mid-September. This contest
had everything – six entries from five different brewers in three different
styles, an entry from a first time contestant, and an entry that was so
distinctive that it elicited fears of a homebrewing Jonestown, and an
interrogatory about beers and hogs. Most
amazingly, Doug Boyd didn’t knock a glass of stout over during the judging,
which has got to be a first; typically the formula is (Doug) + (dark beers) = a
dark table cloth. Oh yeah, the
judging. Diane Catanzaro, Mike
Pensinger, Doug Boyd, and Greg “Gus” Gustafson all stepped up to the plate and
put their talented palates to the test.
The contest was pretty tight, with three beers all receiving an average
score between a 33.5 and a 34.8. When
the foam had settled, here’s how things shook out:
First Place, Bill Berry, with a, Oatmeal Stout (13C), good for three
HRBTS Cup points;
Second Place, Diane and I, with a Dry Stout (13A) (bottled 8/15/04), good
for two HRBTS Cup points; and
Third Place, Diane and I, with a Dry Stout (13A) (bottled 1/11/05), good
for one HRBTS Cup point.
So, here’s your
up-to-date HRB & TS Cup standings:
2005 HRB & TS CUP STANDINGS (as of 25 Sep 2005)
|
Name of Brewer(s)
|
Total Points Accumulated
|
|
C.J. & Diane Catanzaro
|
27
|
|
Mike Pensinger
|
13
|
|
Victor Perrotti
|
10
|
|
Phil Swanson
|
7
|
|
Tom Byrnes
|
6
|
|
The OVBC
|
5
|
|
Richard Pigeon
|
5
|
|
Paul Shurke
|
3
|
|
Bill Berry
|
3
|
|
Cory Pettiford
|
1
|
|
Doug Boyd
|
1
|
|
You could be here ….
|
if you get brewing
|
See you at Will and Jonna’s house in October.
Imperial
Pale Ale recipes – Will Walker & “C.J.” Jones
Imperial Pale Ale – “C.
J.” Jones
Steeping Grains –
steep at 155 degrees F for half an hour:
2# Caravienna malt –
for color and flavor
1# Flaked Oats – for
mouthfeel
0.5# Crushed wheat –
for head retention
Boiling Stuff – boil
for one hour:
9.9# Muntons Extra
Light liquid malt extract
1# Muntons Plain
Extra Light dry malt extract
0.5 tsp Irish Moss –
boil for 30 minutes, to help clarify
Hops Bill – a lot of
them:
1 oz Centennial
pellets (10% AAU) – 60 min
1 oz Columbus pellets (12.6%
AAU) – 60 min
1 oz Cascade pellets
(5.1% AAU) – 50 min
1 oz Cascade pellets
(5.1% AAU) – 40 min
1 oz Cascade plug
(unknown% AAU) – 30 min
1 oz Cascade plug (unknown%
AAU) – 20 min
1 oz Cascade pellets
(6.6% AAU) – 10 min
2 oz Cascade pellets
(6.6% AAU) – 0 min
Yeast: White Labs California Ale liquid yeast
Brewed: 4 Sep 2005
Secondary: Forgot when ….
Bottled: 26 Sep 2005
Comments: I had Dogfishhead 90 Minute IPA in mind when
I made this – a continually hopped big pale ale; it smelled mighty nice when it
was bottles. I kegged half of this, and
plan on running it through a “Randall”, an “organoleptic hops transducer” to
hop it one more time before it hits my glass.
Pliny
the Elder (all-grain version) – collected by Will Walker
Thanks to Vinnie Cilurzo of Russian River Brewing for
sharing his recipe with the homebrewing community
Target
OG: 1.074
Target
FG: 1.014
IBU’s:
95-100
ABV:
7.95%
SRM: about
7-8
The
following grain amounts are based on collecting a pre-boil wort size of 8.0
gal. and assumes 75% efficiency. With a vigorous 90 min. boil, losses due to
evaporation, hop absorption, and transfers, the final amount should be close to
5 gal.
Malt Bill
13.3
lbs. Pale North American 2-row
1.1
lbs. Dextrose (aka corn sugar)
.94 lb.
Carapils (aka dextrin)
.32 lb.
Crystal 45L
Note:
Can substitute Crisp Maris Otter for the North American 2-row for a more
noticeable malt character. The beer will
also be a bit darker. However, the actual Pliny uses a North American 2-row,
very little crystal, and is very pale.
Hop Bill
(Use
all whole flowers; only exception is Simcoe if you can’t find them whole)
1.50
oz. Chinook 13.0% Mash Hops
2.75
oz. Warrior 15.6% 90 min.
.50 oz.
Chinook 13.0% 90 min.
1.00
oz. Simcoe 12.0% 45 min.
1.00
oz. Columbus
14.3% 30 min.
2.25
oz. Centennial 9.1% 0 min.
1.00
oz. Simcoe 12.0% 0 min.
3.25
oz. Columbus
14.5% (Dry hop 2 weeks)
1.75
oz. Centennial 9.1% (Dry hop 2 weeks)
1.75
oz. Simcoe 12.0% (Dry hop 2 weeks)
1.Mash grains with Chinook Mash Hops at 150-152 for 60 min.
2. Collect 8 gal. of wort.
3. Boil 90 min., adding hops at times indicated above.
4. Chill to 68F and transfer to fermenting vessel.
5. Oxygenate with two separate 20-30 sec. bursts of O2.
6. Pitch large starter (2L or more) of WLP001 CA ale yeast.
7. Ferment at 68F for 1 week.
8. Transfer to secondary and add dry hops.
9. Secondary at 68F. 10.
Wait two weeks.
11. Keg or bottle. 12.
Wait until carbonated.
13. Enjoy!
About the HRB & TS
The Hampton Roads Brewing and Tasting Society is dedicated
to promoting the enjoyment of home brewing.
The annual dues are $20 per individual and $25 per family. Members are encouraged to support the reasonable
enjoyment of beer and observe the laws of the Commonwealth of Virginia,
the Federal government, and the Golden Rule.
Persons attending HRB & TS meetings and events are solely liable for
actions attendant to their participation.
HRB & TS maintains a NO SMOKING policy during all meetings so that
members may better enjoy fine beers.
Smoking is permitted in meetings held in restaurants in the facility’s
designated smoking areas.
Visit the HRB & TS online at www.hrbts.org.