The Brewsletter

January 2008

 

 

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

www.hrbts.org

 

 

The President’s Podium – Jason Kuller

 

Editors Note:  The President’s Podium is empty due to some gnarly skiing in Colorado.  Hopefully the President will return with two working legs and a fine selection of Colorado brews.  Have fun, Jason.

 

January Meeting Location – Diane Catanzaro

 

January 2 at 7:30 pm

The Bier Garden, 434 High St. in Olde Town Portsmouth

 

January 2nd. A day that gets no respect.  Nobody ever says “Have a great January 2nd”, or “How was your January 2nd?” The holiday cards stop arriving, people start looking askance at others’ Christmas trees (i.e. “how long are they going to keep that tree up, for God’s sake?”) You want to throw up if you hear Jingle Bells one more time. By January 2nd you’ve already forgotten those pesky New Year’s resolutions. THAT’s January 2nd. Sounds pretty good, right?  I thought so! SO January 2nd clearly is a GOOD THING. We can get on with our lives and back to lighthearted beer drinking with people we are not related to.

 

To relax and enjoy January 2, 2008, the HRB&TS will meet at the restaurant with the finest beer selection in Hampton Roads. Of course I’m talking about the Bier Garden in Olde Town Portsmouth!  Fabulous, family-owned, and the bottled beer selection at the Bier Garden is the best anywhere in the region. The choice of Belgian ales is better than you’ll find at most places in Brussels!! They have dozens more German beers than you’ll find at Oktoberfest!!

 

We’ll meet in the warm, cozy, smoke-free dining room at 7:30, but early birds will want to get there as early as 7 pm to start getting their groove on and ordering some of the best German food this side of Munich….German specialties include bratwurst, knackwurst, wiener schnitzel, leberkaese (German meatloaf), sauerbraten, linsen spaetzel, and strammer max. Vegetarian options? We love the vegetarian “special spaetzel” which is spaetzel with sautéed mushrooms and onions and melted cheese….very tasty and it’s like $7 or $8. They have a tasty lentil soup too. They have hamburgers, various sandwiches (Reuben, chicken, turkey, veggie burgers, etc.), fried flounder, and a cheese and fruit plate.

 

Trappists, traditional lambics, saisons….this is a great place to expand your knowledge of beer by trying something different. And, you can always share with your friends!! For you lambic-sour fans, Cantillon is back. On tap the Bier Garden currently has St Bernardus Abt 12, the Duchesse, Aventinus and Aventinus Eisbock, Buffalo Belgian Stout, Celebrator, Lindeman’s Framboise, Koenig-Ludwig Hefe, Cottonwood Frostbite, and more. However, many Belgian beers are actually better in the bottle, due to bottle conditioning, so be sure to get a copy of the beer menu and/or take a trip to the bar to look at the extensive bottled selection in the large fridge. There are lots of Belgian beers here you can’t get elsewhere in the area, so why not try something you haven’t had before or that you probably can’t get elsewhere? Some suggestions: De Dolle’s Oerbier or De Dulle Teve, Rodenbach Grand Cru, Tripel Karmelit, DuPont’s Avec le Bon Vieux or Moinette, the Duchesse’s fun-loving siblings Echt Kriek and Vichtenaar, Hansen’s Gueuze, Poperings Hommel Bier, Rochefort 10, Urthel Hop-it, or a farmhouse ale from Blaugies or Vapeur?

 

We have the main dining room reserved for our club meeting. The Bier Garden requests that you order your beers and food from “your table” so they can keep track of which tab your beer and food goes on.  IF you order beer or food while ‘traveling’ the room, be sure to let the server know specifically which table has your tab!!

 

Yes, we may bring homebrew, and please do!  However, of course no commercial beers of any kind can be brought in.  In addition to being illegal, it would be very, very silly.  Like bringing coals to Newcastle!

 

The Bier Garden is located at 434 High St. in Olde Town Portsmouth (393-6022), right across from the Commodore Theater. This location is central to all of Hampton Roads and the Peninsula.

 

From VA Beach: Take 264 W to the Downtown Tunnel.  Stay in tunnel right lane and take first exit, at Effingham St.   Stay on Effingham several blocks, and then turn right on High St.  The Bier Garden is at the corner of High and Dinwiddle. To park, turn right off High St. at end of block, onto Court St. Take the 2nd right onto County St.  See free parking lot on your right.  There is also on-street parking for the lucky.

 

From the Peninsula: Take the Monitor-Merrimac toward Portsmouth.  Take exit 9 onto Rt. 164 toward Portsmouth.  From 164, follow signs to downtown Portsmouth. Turn left onto High St, and it is a few miles up on the left in the 400 block. Parking tips are above.

 

From Norfolk: Take the Downtown Tunnel to Portsmouth and exit onto Effingham Street right after the tunnel.  Follow directions above under ‘VA Beach.’ OR instead take the Midtown Tunnel, once through the tunnel keep straight/left toward Rt. 58, once you hit High Street turn left and it is a couple of miles up High Street. See parking tips under ‘VA Beach.’

 

From Chesapeake: Pretend you are going to take the Downtown Tunnel to Norfolk, but exit before the tunnel, onto Effingham Street.  Take Effingham toward Old Town Portsmouth, turn right on High Street and look for the 400 block. See parking tips under ‘VA Beach.’

 

Competition Corner – Patti Messier

 

Well, we got the first judging of the 2008 HRB&TS Beer Cup completed on Dec. 19 at the lovely Virginia Beach home of Doug and Diane Boyd. The category was Stouts and there were many delicious ones to sample!  Our esteemed panel of judges (Will Walker, Doug Boyd and J.P. Messier) tasted and enjoyed them all while the rest of us enjoyed some holiday fellowship! 

 

After the deliberations, the results were as follows: 

First Place, JP Messier with his Oatmeal Stout, good for three HRB&TS Cup points;  

Second Place, Doug Boyd with his Dry Stout, good for two HRB&TS Cup points; 

Third Place, Tom Byrnes with his Oatmeal Stout, good for one HRB&TS point.

 

So the race has begun again and the cup is back up for grabs!  It is time to start thinking about the 2008 competition year.  Start planning now …11 more judgings to go… February will be Strong Ale and Russian Imperial Stout (categories 13F & 19) and March is Porters (Category 12). Start brewing now so you will be ready when these judgings roll around!

 

2008 HRB&TS Beer Cup Standings (as of December 27)

 Name of Brewer(s)

Total Points Accumulated

J. P. Messier

3

Doug Boyd

2

Tom Byrnes

1

This could easily be you ….

…. if you get brewing

 

2008 HRB&TS Beer Cup Schedule

Month

Style

Category

Judging

January

Stouts

13A,B,C

Dec 19th

 

February

Strong Ales &     Russian Imperial Stout

 

13F, 19

 

Jan 23rd

March

Porters

12A, B, C

Feb 20th

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Recipes of the Month – J.P. Messier, Dougie Boyd, Tom Byrnes

 

1st Place, JP Messier – Currituck Oatmeal Stout

BJCP Style and Style Guidelines

13-C Stout, Oatmeal Stout

Min OG:

1.048

Max OG:

1.065

  

Min IBU:

25

Max IBU:

48

  

Min Clr:

22

Max Clr:

60

 Color in SRM, Lovibond

 

Recipe Specifics

 

Batch Size (Gal):

5.00

Wort Size (Gal):

5.00

Total Extract (Lbs):

10.25

  

  

Anticipated OG:

1.063

Plato:

15.51

Anticipated SRM:

50.6

    

  

Anticipated IBU:

47.5

  

  

Wort Boil Time:

60

 Minutes

  

 

Grain/Extract/Sugar

 

%

Amount

Name

Origin

Potential

SRM

48.8

5.00 lbs. 

Generic LME - Dark

American

1.035

25

9.8

1.00 lbs. 

Generic LME - Wheat

America

1.035

4

4.9

0.50 lbs. 

Chocolate Malt

Belgium

1.030

500

9.8

1.00 lbs. 

Munich Malt

Belgium

1.038

8

7.3

0.75 lbs. 

Roasted Barley

Belgium

1.030

575

4.9

0.50 lbs. 

Crystal 60L

America

1.034

60

14.6

1.50 lbs. 

Flaked Oats

America

1.033

2

 

Hops

 

Amount

Name

Form

Alpha

IBU

Boil Time

2.00 oz. 

Fuggle

Pellet

4.75

43.9

60 min

1.00 oz. 

Goldings - E.K.

Pellet

4.75

3.7

1 min

 

Yeast

White Labs WLP005 British Ale

2nd Place, Doug Boyd – Dry Stout

Extract w/ specialty grains
SG: 1.045
FG: 1.015
Boil:  60 min
Primary Fermentation:         7 days
Secondary Fermentation:   10 days

8 lbs   Liquid Malt Extract (Dark)
1/2 lb Chocolate Malt
1/2 lb Black Patent Malt
1/2 lb Roasted Barley (unmalted)
3 oz  Fuggles hops (pellet)
Wyeast 1084 Irish Ale Yeast in a 1 quart starter.
1 1/4 cups Dry Malt Extract (Dark) for priming

Heat 2 gallons of water to 150 degrees.  Steep grains in a grain bag for
45 minutes.  When done pour 2 quarts hot sparge water over the bag
then discard.  Add liquid malt extract and another 2 gallons of water to
brew pot to give you around a 4 gallon boil and bring to a slow boil for
60 minutes. Add 1 oz hops at the beginning of the boil, 1 oz with
45 minutes left, 1/2 oz with 30 minutes left and 1/2 oz with 15 minutes
left.

Chill wort to 80 degrees, move to fermenter and pitch yeast.  Shake vigorously
to aerate.*

 

3rd Place, Tom Byrnes – Quiet Storm Stout

A ProMash Recipe Report

 

Recipe Specifics

----------------

 

Batch Size (Gal):         6.00    Wort Size (Gal):    6.00

Total Grain (Lbs):       14.73

Anticipated OG:          1.065    Plato:              16.0

Anticipated SRM:          46.2

Anticipated IBU:          40.6

Brewhouse Efficiency:       75 %

Wort Boil Time:             60    Minutes

 

Pre-Boil Amounts

----------------

 

Evaporation Rate:      15.00    Percent Per Hour

Pre-Boil Wort Size:    7.06    Gal

Pre-Boil Gravity:      1.056    SG          13.71  Plato

 

 

Grain/Extract/Sugar

 

   %     Amount     Name                          Origin        Potential SRM

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

 54.3     8.00 lbs. Pale Malt(2-row)              Great Britain  1.038      3

  6.8     1.00 lbs. CaraMunich Malt               Belgium        1.033     75

  3.7     0.55 lbs. Chocolate Malt                America        1.029    350

  3.7     0.55 lbs. Crystal 105L                  Great Britain  1.033    105

  3.7     0.55 lbs. Roasted Barley                America        1.028    450

  3.7     0.55 lbs. Black Patent Malt             America        1.028    525

  6.8     1.00 lbs. Munich Malt                   Great Britain  1.037      6

  3.7     0.55 lbs. CaraPilsner                   France         1.035     10

 13.6     2.00 lbs. Flaked Oats                   America        1.033      2

 

Potential represented as SG per pound per gallon.

 

 

Hops

 

   Amount     Name                              Form    Alpha  IBU  Boil Time

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

  1.64 oz.    Fuggle                            Whole    5.00  28.3  60 min.

  1.09 oz.    Goldings - E.K.                   Whole    4.75   9.2  30 min.

  1.09 oz.    Willamette                        Whole    5.00   3.1  2 min.

 

 

Yeast

-----

 

White Labs WLP004 Irish Stout Yeast

 

 

Mash Schedule

-------------

 

Mash Type: Single Step

 

Grain Lbs:   14.73

Water Qts:   14.37 - Before Additional Infusions

Water Gal:    3.59 - Before Additional Infusions

 

Qts Water Per Lbs Grain: 0.98 - Before Additional Infusions

 

Saccharification Rest Temp : 152  Time: 100

Mash-out Rest Temp :         169  Time:  10

Sparge Temp :                169  Time:  45

 

 

Total Mash Volume Gal: 4.77 - Dough-In Infusion Only

 

All temperature measurements are degrees Fahrenheit.

 

Age at Judging was 1 year

 

 

Beer/Food Pairing - from The Best of American Beer & Food by Lucy Saunders

 

Blue Heron Blue Cheese Spread

            From Jason Noble at BridgePort Brewing Company, Portland Oregon

 

Best served with:  India Pale Ale

 

1 pound crumbled blue cheese

1 pound cream cheese, softened

¼ cup sweet cream butter, softened

¾ cup pale ale (Blue Heron Pale Ale preferred)

1 tablespoon minced tarragon

1 ½ teaspoons freshly ground black pepper

½ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

 

  1. Blend all ingredients in a food processor until a pasty lump forms.  Divide mixture into small serving dishes and chill until ready to serve.
  2. Serve with veggies, bread for dipping or on turkey sandwiches.

Makes 3 cups.

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 HRB&TS 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!

 

Changes

 

Below are the names of the folks who worked like dogs to better the beer world in 2007.  Please thank them by, oh, maybe buying them a beer.  Most have agreed to again champion beers, other brewed beverages, and HRB&TS in 2008.  Thanks folks.

 

2007 HRB&TS Officers

 

President - Jason Kuller

V. President - JP Messier

Treasurer/Secretary - Jeannine and Ron Jones

Newsletter Editor - Will Walker

Competition Coordinator - Patti Messier

Meetings Coordinator - Diane Catanzaro

Webmaster - Victor Perrotti

 

2008 HRB&TS Officers

 

President - Jason Kuller

V. President - JP Messier

Treasurer/Secretary - Greg Gustafson (GUS)

Newsletter Editor - Shana Pribesh

Competition Coordinator - Patti Messier

Meetings Coordinator - Diane Catanzaro

Webmaster - Victor Perrotti

 

Highlight on Members….

 

Each month we will ask a HRB&TS member or two to fill us in on their brewing life.  This month, we asked a couple of the winners of the Stout competition to give us a peek.  If you’d like to share your experiences, please email your answers to the questions below to editor@hrbts.org.

 

....J.P. Messier

 

  1. What was the first beverage you brewed and how did it turn out?

 

Honey wheat...tasted fine....overcarbonated and blew like a geyser.  Used honey to prime and way too much.  Also made it sweeter than it should have been.

 

  1. How long have you been brewing?

 

I've been actively brewing for a little over 3 years.

 

  1. What is your favorite beverage to brew?

 

Not one favorite style...like to try everything instead....but have brewed Porters the most.

 

  1. All grain, partial mash or extract? – why?

 

Extract...time constraints and feel the ability to make a quality brew this way as long as the right amount/type of specialty grains and adjuncts are used.

 

  1. What should every brewer have?

 

A hydrometer and detailed recordkeeping.

 

  1. Have you ever had a brewing disaster and what did you learn from it?

 

I brewed an English Barleywine last year that I used dried figs and raisins in it.  The starting gravity started out very high, ~1.120....it did not ferment down as much as needed, left the beer very syrupy and cloying, and there were many particles in the final

beer....earned the UFO beer title that month for judging....Unidentified Floating Objects (UFO)....I learned that to start as high as that a second yeast addition would be needed, as are yeast starters and probably an oxygenation need....Also, learned how to strain/filter the sediment out from racking better by using a reusable tea-bag that I attach to the end of

the tubing to catch all the fines/sediment.

 

  1. What do you do when not brewing or tasting?

 

Spending time with my lovely wife.  Always keeping busy with my two daughters 15 and 13.  Restoring a 1975 corvette, going to the beach, hanging with friends, and of course going to work (Coast Guard) to pay the bills.

 

  1. What are you drinking now?

 

Oatmeal Stout....

 

…. Doug Boyd

 

  1. What was the first beverage you brewed and how did it turn out?

 

My first beer was an extract wheat ale that I brewed sometime in 1998 at a brew-

on-premises site called Be A Brewmeister.  They later become the St. George Microbrewery in Hampton. 

 

  1. How long have you been brewing?

 

9 years

 

  1. What is your favorite beverage to brew?

 

Bavarian Wheat

 

  1. All grain, partial mash or extract? – why?

 

I usually do extract with additional specialty grains or partial mash.  It takes less time to brew extract and I get good results.

 

  1. What should every brewer have?

 

A good brew pot.  I’m looking to get a 7 gallon stainless steel for my 5 gallon batches so I can do a full boil with less boil over.

 

  1. Have you ever had a brewing disaster and what did you learn from it?

 

Yes. Sanitation! Sanitation! Sanitation! I’ve only had to fertilize the lawn with two batches.

 

  1. What do you do when not brewing or tasting?

 

I work as a computer programmer.

 

  1. What are you drinking now?

 

I recently brewed a stout that’s not quite a stout.  My wife says it tastes like a porter so this one might become a porter.

 

Editor’s Note – Shana Pribesh

Thank you to Will Walker for doing such a great job with the HRB&TS Brewsletter and handing it off to me in great shape and with lots of advice.  Over the next few months, I’ll try not to mess it up too much but need your help.  I want to add a Beer/Food Pairing recipe or article each month.  If you have good recipes that marry brewed beverages with great food, please forward.  Also, we want to meet all the members – even ones who cannot make meetings.  So, do not be surprised if you are asked to complete a Highlight on Members questionnaire.  Finally, if you have suggestions for the newsletter or coupons for free beer, please do not hesitate to contact me at editor@hrbts.org.

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.