The Brewsletter

May 2007

 

 

The Official Newsletter of the Hampton Roads Brewing & Tasting Society (HRB & TS)

www.hrbts.org

 

 

The President’s Podium – Jason Kuller

 

First off, I would like to thank the folks at the Taphouse in downtown Hampton for hosting our last meeting.  They have certainly widened the array of quality brews that can be found in Hampton and, if you haven’t been there yet, it is definitely worth the short drive over to check it out.

With so many beer related and other fun events all happening this time of year, it can be almost overwhelming in a beery great way.  Last weekend was the World Beer Fest in Raleigh, as well as a beer dinner at Terra Cotta Café with the newly-crowned Beer Drinker of the Year: Diane Catanzaro.  There was so much going on that I had to reschedule our first Award of Brewing Judging with a date yet-to-be-determined.  As soon as I set a new date, I will let everyone know!

Next weekend is also very exciting for homebrewers worldwide when 3000 people will brew the same beers simultaneously…on 7 continents!  BIG BREW X celebrates a 10 year tradition of a worldwide simultaneous toast to homebrewing and the enjoyment of great beer.  No homebrewer should miss it.  This exciting and popular event on May 5 will have 3,000 homebrewers worldwide savoring and singing the praises of a hobby that has been around thousands of years.  Organized by the American Homebrewers Association (AHA), BIG BREW celebrates National Homebrew Day, honored each year on the first Saturday of May.  So go to www.beertown.org, find a local place to participate, and get your brew on!

[Ed. Note: Homebrew USA is hosting a parking lot brew session again this year.  Call ‘em for details.]

Then, as if you might forget, the Virginia Beer Festival is rapidly approaching on Saturday May 19th from 1-7 at Town Point Park in Downtown Norfolk.  If you haven’t already gotten your tickets, make sure you put it on your to-do list.  This is a guaranteed great time with live music, lots of tasty beer to “sample”, and a terrific setting on the water.

On a final note (not to spoil the competition corner) Congratulations to JP who has taken the crown as honorary hop king of HRBTS with not only the first but 1st and 2nd place in the club’s IPA contest!  Way to brew JP!

 

Cheers - Jason

 

 

March Meeting Location – Diane Catanzaro

 

Spring has sprung, the grass has ris’,
I wonder where the birdie is?

He floats on breezes over here,
He dropped some whitewash in my beer!

I‘m alright, I won't cry,
I'm just glad that cows can't fly…

 

Ah, nature….ya gotta love it! And where better to appreciate nature than the backyard idyll that Rob and Jody Sisson call home?  Azaleas will be blooming and the lady of the lake gently beckoning like a beer-siren (“sip this!”), as we meet at Rob and Jody’s in what has become an HRB&TS rite of spring.  Dress for outdoor weather!  Much appreciation to Rob and Jody for hosting this meeting in their Shangri-la-like yard; bring ‘em a bottle of homebrew or craft beer to show your appreciation!  You are welcome to bring something to cook on the grill, and/or munchies to share. The meeting is May 2, and starts at 7 pm!

After a winter of restaurant meetings, warmer weather means we can meet in members’ backyards, decks, and courtyards.  This means that, in addition to homebrew, we can bring commercial CRAFT BEERS to meetings to share!!  Why bring “store-bought” beer to a homebrew club meeting?  Well, don’t forget we are a brewing and TASTING society.  Tasting craft beers is one way we learn about the interesting, unusual, and flavorful beers being brewed by craft brewers in the U.S. and around the world.  This is an important part of beer education, where we share ‘finds’ and favorite commercial craft beers with fellow HRB&TS-ers.

Those in the club who don’t homebrew can repay the beery kindness of the homebrewers who have shared their suds all winter long by bringing some great craft beer to share with them!  Time to head to Grape and Grain, Total Wine, The Bon Vivant, Gene Walters’, Coastal Wine Connection, or your favorite beer retailer (or beer stash) for something special to turn your homebrewing friends on to! Some ideas: Achouffe Houblon, Urthel Hop-it, Bell’s Two Hearted Ale, Green Flash IPA, Dogfish Head’s new Red and White, Buffalo Bill’s Orange Blossom Cream Ale, Urthel Tripel, Breckenridge Vanilla Porter, Southhampton Double White….

 

 

Beer - the World's most popular beverage

AC Nielson, a company that does international marketing analysis, recently carried out a survey which revealed that the world's most popular beverage is beer, Associated Content published March 26.  The second and third most favorite beverages in the world come as no surprise.  In second were soft drinks and in third came wine.

 

Beer consumption around the world is soaring.  One reason for the increase of beer being drunk is that it is now available to massive markets where it had previously been banned. Two to the countries with the highest rise of beer sales are China and Russia, both countries were beer was previously was restricted.

 

At the moment the US is the largest producer of beer in the world.  However this expected to change within the next five years.  It is thought that China will over take the US. Since 1995 the consumption of beer in China has risen by 88 percent.

 

(Article copyright Belgianshop.com, 2006)

Competition Corner, March 2006 – Patty Messier

 

Our monthly judging took place on April 18, at the home of Mike and Terri Connell in Hampton.  This scenic waterfront location was perfect for the judging and we had lots of participation!

 

IPA’s are always a popular choice and we had 13 wonderful specimens to taste and judge!  Listening to the judges deliberate, I heard adjectives such as chewy, chunky, hoppy and smooth used to describe these beers.  Quite an interesting combination!!

 

After the deliberations, the results were as follows: 

First Place (tie), JP Messier with his Hop Yum Yum Alpha, good for three HRBTS Cup points; 

                        and JP Messier again with his Hop Yum Yum Beta,  also good for three HRBTS Cup points;

  and 

Third Place, Tom Byrnes with his IPA, earning him one HRBTS Cup point.

 

Brian Edgar also came away with a point this month for placing third in the Scottish/Irish Ale AHA club-only event !!  He entered a club-only competition for Scottish and Irish Ales held by the New York City Homebrewers Guild of New York, NY.  His Scottish Export 80 was ranked 3rd out of 52 entries nationwide!!  Congratulate Brian the next time you see him!

 

Our next monthly judging will be on May 16.  Please note that this is the 3rd Wednesday of the month, not the fourth Wednesday like we normally do in a five Wednesday month.  We will be judging German/American Wheat & Rye (Categories 6D & 15).  Choose 2, and only 2, of your favorites and enter them this month!  With 7 more competitions to go, it’s time for YOU to step up and brew some amazing beers!   It’s still anybody’s game!  Give these guys a challenge!  Look and plan ahead so you too can enter these monthly challenges and join the competition!

 

The current HRBTS Cup standings are in the table, following this text. 

 

2007 HRBTS CUP STANDINGS (as of 20 April 2007)

 Name of Brewer(s)

Total Points Accumulated

 

J. P. Messier

13

Chris Jones and Diane Catanzaro

7

Tom Byrnes

7

Brian Edgar

4

Victor Perrotti

2

This could easily be you ….

…. if you get brewing

 

 

Quit throwing away your used yeast vials! – Patti Messier

 

Hey, all you brewers out there!  We need you to save your used White Lab Yeast vials HRBTS will begin collecting your empty vials and redeeming them with White Labs to earn some great prizes for our raffles.  JP Messier will be collecting them at the monthly meetings as well as the judgings.  So gather those empty vials and hand them off to JP at the next meeting!

 

2007 HRB & TS Beer of the Month Schedule – Patty Messier

 

Month

Style

Category

Judging

AHA

January

Holiday Season

21B

Dec 20th

 

February

Barleywine

19B,C

Jan 24th

 

March

Scottish Ale

9A,B,C

Feb 21st

Y

April

Extract

All

Mar 21st

Y

May

India Pale Ale

14A,B

Apr 18th

 

 

June

German/American Wheat & Rye

 

6D, 15

 

May 16th

 

July

Meads

24,25,26

Jun 20th

Y

August

Fruit Beer

20

Jul 18th

 

September

Belgian Strong Ale

18

Aug 15th 

 

 

October

European Amber & Dark Lager, Bock

 

3,4,5

 

Sep 19th

 

 

November

Smoke-Flavored & Wood Aged

 

22

 

Oct 24th

 

 

December

Spice, Herb, Vegetable Beer

 

21

 

Nov 21st

 

January

Stouts

13A,B,C

Dec 19th

 

 

February

Strong Ale & Russian Imperial Stout

 

13F, 19

 

Jan 23rd

 

 

 

Recipes of the Month – JP Messier

Each month we will attempt to provide the recipes from the contest winning beers from the Beer of the Month judging.  Below are the three winners from the IPA contest.

 

 

Hop Yum-Yum Alpha

JP Messier; May 2007 HRBTS BOTM 1st Place Tie

BJCP Style and Style Guidelines

14-B India Pale Ale, American IPA

Min OG:

1.056

Max OG:

1.075

  

Min IBU:

40

Max IBU:

72

  

Min Clr:

6

Max Clr:

15

 Color in SRM, Lovibond

 

Recipe Specifics

 

Batch Size (Gal):

5.00

Wort Size (Gal):

5.00

Total Extract (Lbs):

9.63

  

  

Anticipated OG:

1.060

Plato:

14.79

Anticipated SRM:

15.4

    

  

Anticipated IBU:

75.7

  

  

Wort Boil Time:

60

 Minutes

  

 

Grain/Extract/Sugar

 

%

Amount

Name

Origin

Potential

SRM

51.9

5.00 lbs. 

Generic LME - Light

Generic

1.035

7

5.2

0.50 lbs. 

Crystal 20L

America

1.035

20

5.2

0.50 lbs. 

Crystal 80L

America

1.033

80

5.2

0.50 lbs. 

Cara-Pils Dextrin Malt

  America  

1.033

2

31.2

3.00 lbs. 

Munich Malt

Belgium

1.038

8

1.3

0.13 lbs. 

Chocolate Malt

America

1.029

350

 

Hops

 

Amount

Name

Form

Alpha

IBU

Boil Time

1.00 oz. 

Chinook

Pellet

13.00

61.6

60 min

0.50 oz. 

Centennial

Pellet

10.50

6.6

15 min

1.00 oz. 

Centennial

Pellet

10.50

8.3

1 min

 

Yeast

White Labs WLP001 California Ale

Notes

 

Dry hop with 1.5 oz of Centennial

 

 

Hop Yum-Yum Beta

JP Messier; May 2007 HRBTS BOTM 1st Place Tie

BJCP Style and Style Guidelines

14-B India Pale Ale, American IPA

Min OG:

1.056

Max OG:

1.075

  

Min IBU:

40

Max IBU:

72

  

Min Clr:

6

Max Clr:

15

 Color in SRM, Lovibond

 

Recipe Specifics

 

Batch Size (Gal):

5.00

Wort Size (Gal):

5.00

Total Extract (Lbs):

10.00

  

  

Anticipated OG:

1.066

Plato:

16.15

Anticipated SRM:

16.0

    

  

Anticipated IBU:

101.7

  

  

Wort Boil Time:

60

 Minutes

  

 

Grain/Extract/Sugar

 

%

Amount

Name

Origin

Potential

SRM

80.0

8.00 lbs. 

Generic LME - Light

Generic

1.035

7

5.0

0.50 lbs. 

CaraMunich Malt

Belgium

1.033

75

10.0

1.00 lbs. 

Crystal 60L

 America

1.034

60

2.5

0.25 lbs. 

Melanoidin Malt

        America

1.033

35

2.5

0.25 lbs. 

Cara-Pils Dextrin Malt

    America  

1.033

2

 

Hops

 

Amount

Name

Form

Alpha

IBU

Boil Time

1.00 oz. 

Columbus

Pellet

15.00

34.9

30 min

1.00 oz. 

Centennial

Pellet

10.50

47.9

60 min

1.00 oz. 

Cascade

Pellet

5.75

7.0

15 min

1.50 oz. 

Centennial

Pellet

10.50

12.0

5 min

 

Yeast

White Labs WLP001 California Ale

Notes

 

3 tsp of gypsum and 1/2 tsp of salt at 15 min. plus 2 tsp of Irish moss
Dry hop with 1.5 oz of Centennial and 1.0 oz. of Cascade

 

 

IPA

 

Tom Byrnes; May 2007 HRBTS BOTM 3rd Place -

BJCP Style and Style Guidelines

14-B India Pale Ale, American IPA

Min OG:

1.056

Max OG:

1.075

  

Min IBU:

40

Max IBU:

72

  

Min Clr:

6

Max Clr:

15

 Color in SRM, Lovibond

 

Recipe Specifics

 

Batch Size (Gal):

5.00

Wort Size (Gal):

5.00

Total Grain (Lbs):

9.25

  

  

Anticipated OG:

1.080

Plato:

19.35

Anticipated SRM:

8.3

    

  

Anticipated IBU:

136.2

  

  

Brewhouse Efficiency:

75

 %

  

Wort Boil Time:

60

 Minutes

  

 

Grain/Extract/Sugar

 

%

Amount

Name

Origin

Potential

SRM

86.5

8.00 lbs. 

Muntons DME - Light

England

1.046

5

10.8

1.00 lbs. 

Crystal 20L

America

1.035

20

2.7

0.25 lbs. 

Cara-Pils Dextrine Malt

  

1.033

2

 

Hops

 

Amount

Name

Form

Alpha

IBU

Boil Time

2.50 oz. 

Simcoe

Whole

14.00

136.2

60 min

1.50 oz. 

Amarillo Gold

Whole

10.00

0.0

0 min

2.00 oz. 

Amarillo Gold

Whole

10.00

0.0

Dry Hop

 

Yeast

White Labs WLP001 California Ale

Notes

 

1 tsp of Irish Moss for 60 mins.

 

 

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.  Visit the HRB & TS online at www.hrbts.org.