Last Months Meeting
Happy
new year! I hope that everyone had a joyous Christmas/Chanukah
and New Years! (Joyous and safe!!!) I also hope Santa was good
to all my brewing buddies everywhere too, talking to Mike at Merchants-Ann
Arbor, Steve at Dearborn and Toney at Royal Oak I know they each
sold about 50 starter kits so homebrewing is definitely alive
and doing well in S.E. Michigan.
Last months meeting at our new meeting spot,
Chelsea's in Dearborn Heights, couldn't have gone better! The
turnout was tremendous for a meeting close to Christmas (35-40
people!) and the staff at Chelsea's couldn't have been nicer.
Mary, the owner, helped us out with whatever we needed, she sectioned
off most of the restaurant for our meeting, killed the jukebox
when the meeting started, made sure we had separate checks, in
other words, made us feel very welcome, our thanks to Mary and
the staff at Chelsea's for making our first meeting there a success.
As long as I'm passing out thanks, Jim Bazzy was the one who got
us in at Chelsea's, he has been going there for a while now and
mentioned to Mary that we as a club were seeking out alternate
meeting sites to downtown Detroit, Jim and Mary then planned on
how our club could have a successful meeting there and you could
see the results, Jim was also responsible for coordinating the
2 suppliers who provided the beer for evaluation that night, a
MIGHTY BIG congratulations to Jim for that one! I've heard from
Jim that Aldo was so pleased with the evaluation forms we filled
out on his beers that he would like to repeat this tasting/evaluation
in the future, a few times a year! He noted that our feedback
was some of the best he's ever gotten from doing this over the
past several years, so congrats to all of you! You showed a specialty
beer distributor that homebrewers are extremely beer knowledgeable
in many different ways!
For those of you that couldn't make the meeting Aldo presented us with 11 different beers and an evaluation form to help him decide which beers to carry and look into further, this exercise also helped Mary decide which specialty beers Chelsea's should carry as well.
Anyways, the meeting started with an introduction
of the new officers as the new officers officially took "office"
in December. Pat then made the announcement that the T-shirts
would be ordered over the holiday break and ready by the January
meeting (still on schedule for that) and he brought sample shirts
in every size for people to try just to be sure. Tom then presented
the crossword puzzle results, actually Neal Petty was the only
one who brought in a completed puzzle so the contest was declared
a wash, a noble experiment that just didn't quite work as planned,
our thanks to Tom Herron for procuring the puzzle and answers!
We then talked about different meeting locations
for a bit, Chelsea's looks to be a great home base but in the
summer months it would be nice to meet somewhere outdoors to do
some actual brewing, so if anyone wants to volunteer their home/yard
for a summer brew, see Neal Petty. The contest schedule was set
for the year and distributed via Profs since then, I have included
it as a poster for your fridge in the back of the newsletter,
enjoy! We then asked people for ideas for the coming year for
club events and although no one spoke up at the meeting feel free
any time to propose an idea to any of the club officers outside
the meeting to be discussed.
We will be having a pig roast again this
year, why mess with success! Although Tom & Tammy won't be
able to host it this year due to several things, the least of
which is they're moving I have volunteered my humble home which
is about a mile away from Tom & Tammy's, so we'll know more
as the pig roast draws closer (usually first week in August).
Sue Merritt has volunteered to be on the Pig Roast committee but
we need at LEAST one more person to help plan this event, so speak
up now, believe me, these things take time to plan!
Also, while we're on the subject, we need
a volunteer or two for the National Homebrew Day committee, we
have been tentatively invited to two locations so far, possibly
3 to do our famous Outdoor Pico® brewing demo, so please step
forward and take the charge!
From that point on in the meeting we kicked
back and had FUN! Everyone brought out their homebrews to share
and many of the new members commented that they were getting some
excellent advice and help on their beers.
January's meeting
January's meeting will be back at Chelsea's (22120 Vanborn, between Monroe and Telegraph, phone #313-278-0888) on Wed. the 24th at six PM.
T-shirts will be available (see note under
club business) as well as ID cards for members who have paid dues
for 1996.
New Members
We've had a whole mess of new members
join since November, let's welcome Bart Clark, Tyler Barber, Rob
Clough, and Linas Orentas. I also have a list of 4-5 people that
said they WILL be joining in January, so if everyone joins that
said they would, we will be up to member #73, and that doesn't
take into account anyone that dropped out of the club after '94,
I predict we'll hit #100 by the end of the year, we need a prize
for that!
It is with some sadness we that bid
farewell to two members this year, Dennis Raney has bowed out
due to time constraints coupled with some medical problems, and
Tammy Herron has dropped out due to time constraints and a new
baby on the way! Dennis will of course always be remembered for
his "Death By Chocolate" porter made famous at just
about every Pico brew we have ever done. Tammy will of course
always be remembered as the hostess for the 1st and 2nd pig roasts,
and the person who identified 4 out of 6 American light beers
at the spirits of the past contest (heh heh heh!) Both will be
missed at the meetings, but we can always hope to see them at
the pig roast.
Member News
Well, Lily "brewster" Cassell
and Dean "Brewmeister" Streck finally tied the knot
over the holidays, our congratulations to them! (throw some rice
extract at them when you next see them!) Although they didn't
have homebrew at the reception, Lily said they did serve Sam Adams
and Sierra Nevada Pale Ale (they even tried to get Sierra Nevada
Celebration Ale, but alas, unavailable on the east coast)which
unfortunately left them with a lot of MGD at the end of the evening.
Although there's no new babies to report just yet, Sue Tepatti is due within a couple of weeks, so by the February meeting, Timmy T. should be a new daddy, best of luck to those two!
In The News
The following article was in the
Dec. 20th (?) edition of the Dearborn Press & Guide (thanks
to Pat Babcock for sending this article electronically to me)
Club's interest in home beer brewing
grows
BARBARA WILD
Special Writer
If Santa's lucky, Tyler Barber of Dearborn heights will put a bottle of his home-brewed raspberry stout right alongside a plate of cookies on Christmas Eve. If it gets a thumbs-up back at the North Pole, the jolly old elf will have Barber to thank and the Dearborn-based FORD, the Fermental Order of Renaissance Draughtsmen brew club that inspired Barber's first attempts to brew beer at home. Barber found the FORD brew club through a demonstration the group sponsored at Merchant's Warehouse, 22250 Michigan Ave. in Dearborn, to mark Octoberfest. "Everyone was having a good time. I thought it was harder to make your own beer than what it was," Barber said. Barber loves Belgian ales and planned to attend the group's December meeting for some hands-on advice. With more than 60 members in the club, there's bound to be someone who will be able to help. Membership in the Fermental Order is open to anyone interested in brewing. The FORD acronym is a tribute to the Ford Motor Co. and the club's home town. The brainchild of Ford employees Rich Byrnes and Mike Preston, the group is 2 years old and currently seeking affiliation approval through the Ford Employee Recreation Association. Whether or not Barber or other brewers join the club, the Octoberfest demonstration is considered a success. Merchant's Warehouse sold a lot of brewing kits and, as Pat Babcock, the Order's business manager explained, "Every time a new brewer is brought into the fold, not necessarily our club, it means the craft will survive and we'll be able to buy our supplies because people will want them." Like the automaker, FORD's membership is in contact with home brewers anywhere from Sweden to Japan. Via the Internet, Babcock and the club members may receive anywhere from two to 50 e-mail comments and questions a day. The Fermental Order of Renaissance Draughtsmen, which includes female members, meets regularly every fourth week on alternating Tuesdays and Wednesdays. The groups most recent meeting was Dec. 12. However advanced the new technologies, home brewing dates back more than 4,500 years. It begins with unbrewed beer, or a wort. Pronounced "wert," the concoction is a solution of fermentable sugars provided by ready-made kits or a mash of ground grains soaked in hot water end strained. After 90 minutes or so of boiling the mixture, hops are added to give the solution its distinctive bitterness. When wort is cooled, yeast is added and the liquid is put into its first fermentation where the sugars are converted into alcohol. Next, it's transferred to another container for a secondary fermentation.
Finally, sugars are added to start
the carbonation and the mixture is bottled or kegged. Brewing
beer is a very creative process, Babcock explained. "You've
got cooks and you've got chefs," said Babcock. "With
beer, you can mix and match the different base ingredients and
different profiles. "It can be cookbook if you use a recipe,
but you can express yourself more readily through beer making.
It is very much like being an artist." In addition to selling
kits, Merchant's Warehouse provides the brewers with inspiration.
With almost 400 different beers to try, there's a taste to tempt
any palate. The vast beverage selection is a natural lead in to
home brewing. Steve Robertson, manager of the beer sales and home
brew department at Merchant's Warehouse, is also a homebrewer.
Until the FORD club could meet, Robertson helped with advice as
Barber tweaked his raspberry ale recipe. "Steve taught me
just about everything I know," Barber explained. The beer
selection and the home brewing equipment and supplies Robertson
sells complement one another. "I don't know what would happen
if I were to have this great collection of ales and take away
the home-brew department," Robertson said. The hobby is definitely
on the rise. Brew clubs are also growing, with the Downriver Brewers
Guild meeting since April at the Brew-It Yourself Center in Southgate.
Brewers at all sites agree, however, that brewing isn't an opportunity
for excess. With the process comes a certain discrimination. "You
like to keep a beer around and see how it evolves. It's going
from walking through an art museum to taking an art appreciation
course and taking that walk again," said Babcock. More information
about the meeting or club is available by calling Rich Byrnes
at (810) 558-9844. Anyone who likes to raise a glass is welcome
to attend.
The following article is from the
Wall Street Journal 1-11-96 (thanks to Chris Frey for this one!)
Brew Pubs benefit as more quaffers switch from lager to faster brewed ale.
Lager a mild brew long favored by Americans accounted for only 7% of sales last year at a Goose Island Brewing Co. pub in Chicago, continuing a decline from 68% in 1988. John R. Hall, president, says the pub uses sampling courses, in which participants earn "Masters of Beer Appreciation" degrees, to promote ale. In Cleveland, Great Lakes Brewing Co. says ale a bit stronger tasting than lager has climbed to half of sales, from zero in the late 1980's. One Great Lakes ale that has appropriately caught fire: Burning River Pale Ale, inspired by the onceflammable Cuyahoga.
Brew pubs restaurants that make their own beer prefer to sell ale. It is much faster to ferment, effectively raising capacity. And ale drinkers are thought more likely to become repeat customers. "We're able to distinguish ourselves more with ale than with lager," Mr. Hall explains.
The U.S. has more than 520 brew pubs
and gains three weekly, says the Institute for Brewing Studies,
Boulder, Colo.
Competition News
I will post the club competition
schedule at the end of the newsletter to be posted on your fridge,
or in your basement brewery.
If anyone wants info on the AHA nationals,
please send me a note and I'll forward you all the info, it's
too much to post here. Actually for those of you comfortable with
E-mail, send a note to info@aob.org and on 3 separate lines just
put the words style, chart, and nhcrules and you will be e-mailed
3 files with all the info you need for the competition, for those
of you without e-mail capabilities I'll provide the info for you.
January's contest will be the AHA
Hail to the Ale competition held before the meeting, notices have
been sent to everyone prior so I won't repeat that notice here.
The categories are English Pale Ale, American Pale Ale, India
Pale Ale and American Wheat.
February's contest will be another
AHA Club Only contest, Ultimate Alt. Alt beers fall under the
mixed style category, with characteristics of both an ale and
a lager.
18. GermanStyle Ale
a) Koelsch Koelsch is warmfermented and aged at cold temperatures (German ale or Altstyle beer). Koelsch is characterized by a golden color and a slightly dry, winey and subtly sweet palate. Caramel character should not be evident. The body is light. This beer has low hop flavor and aroma with medium bitterness. Wheat can be used in brewing this beer which is fermented using ale or lager yeasts. Fruity esters should be minimally perceived, if at all. Chill haze should be absent or minimal.
Original Gravity (deg. Plato) 1.04246
Final Gravity (deg. Plato) 1.00610
% alc./wgt. (% alc./vol.) 3.84.1 (4.45)
Int'l. Bittering Units 2030
Color SRM (EBC) 3.55 (814)
b) Duesseldorfstyle Altbier Copper to brown in color, this German ale may be highly hopped (though the 25 35 IBU range is more normal for the majority of Altbiers from Duesseldorf) and has a medium body and malty flavor. A variety of malts, including wheat, may be used. Hop character may be evident in the flavor. The overall impression is clean, crisp and flavorful. Fruity esters should be low. No diacetyl or chill haze should be perceived.
Original Gravity (deg. Plato) 1.04448
Final Gravity (deg. Plato) 1.00814
% alc./wgt. (% alc./vol.) 3.64 (4.35)
Int'l. Bittering Units 2548
Color SRM (EBC) 1119 (2565)
Last months competition was a combination Barleywine and Holiday beer, I believe there were 11 entries for the holiday beer and 1 Barleywine. The judges had a hard time picking a winner for the holiday beer but when the dust settled and the smoke cleared, Pat Babcock's "Uncle Paddy's Whiskey Wheat" beat out the others as the favored holiday entry. The recipe will be posted later, note the ingredient "honey malt!" John Goodpasture had the winning entry for Barleywines and his recipe will appear next month as space allows.
Club Business
Dues are still due! OK folks, lets
dig deep into our wallets and cough up that $15 for '96, less
than half of the members have paid dues so far. I have printed
the '96 club id-discount cards but they are only being distributed
to people who have paid their dues, I will of course bring the
cards to the meeting to catch anyone that pays there, but if you
don't plan on making the meeting, please send a check payable
to Sandy Bruce or Neal Petty and mail it to one of them, thanks!
They're here!
Club Logo tee-shirts will be available at the January meeting. You must sign for your shirt to receive it; therefor, no 'pickups' will be allowed unless I am informed of who will be picking up whose shirt prior to the notification deadline of 2:30 PM January 19, 1996.
One shirt is included with each membership. For those who have ordered
additional shirts, the prices are as follows:
Youth $6.25
Adult to XL $6.75
Adult XXL, XXXL $9.25
Please have payment in check or money order (NO CASH WILL ACCEPTED!!!) payable to Sandy Bruce or Neal Petty.
Please contact Pat Babcock as to
whether or not you will be at the January meeting. Due to the
volume of shirts, only shirts for those who have indicated that
they will be there will be brought to the meeting. Pat can be
reached at 313.467.0842, PROFS pbabcock, E-Mail pbabcock.ford@email.com.
Please notify him of your intent prior to 2:30 PM January 19,
1996.
YAAAAAAAHH! Now that the T-shirts are out of the way we can work on other goodies with our logo on it, I'm currently investigating coasters, coffee mugs, key chains and other goodies! If anyone has any other suggestions for promotional items please let me know and we can look into it. The T-shirts were a freebie with your membership, all other items would be paid for by you, but thanks to the size of our club we can expect to get some good price breaks. For example, coasters, our first order would be about $200 plus shipping for 2000 coasters, if we marketed them in packs of 50, this means only 40 people in the club would have to kick in $6 or $7 to get a pack of coasters, if there is enough interest I'll initiate an order. What I'm looking at is a 4" round bright white coaster on heavy stock with our logo in black, we could also get square but after printing samples, I like the round better. I have a friend that now prints coffee mugs as a side business, I have a sample mug he printed with my name on it that can be done pretty cheaply, prices are yet to be set as we are looking for a local source of mugs, but there would be no minimum order or artwork setup charge. Pat is looking into a company that makes bottle openers that we could put our logo on. I have yet to test the material yet but Canon now makes Iron-on transfer paper designed to be used with Ink-Jet printers, I will try one out on a sweatshirt, or if someone wants to be the guinea pig and try it out I will make Iron-ons available to the club for
whatever purpose (and they can be
colored in any color you want!) and sized up to about 8"
x 8". We could also do pint glasses or beer mugs with our
logo either silkscreened on or sandblasted, the possibilities
are endless!
I do owe the club an apology, sort
of. First, I sent our roster to the AHA with phone numbers only
on it, AHA is doing a big membership drive and each club that
submits a roster will be put into a drawing for a COMPLETE library
of Zymurgy's (18 years worth!) so I thought that was a noble cause.
Secondly I submitted our roster to Sam Adams-Boston Brewing Co.
and everyone will be mailed a Sam Adams calendar, this is a desk
calendar with a beer quote or saying or factoid a day, this will
also put you on the Sam Adams mailing list, If anyone wants additional
calendars, please contact Calendar/Boston Beer Co/ 30 Germania
St/Boston, MA 02130.
Winning Recipe
From Pat Babcock (All Grain-15 gallons)
9 Lbs 2-row
10 Lbs Malted wheat
1 Lb. Honey malt
10 Lbs honey
1 Oz. Crystal-60 Mins
2 Oz. Crystal-30 Mins
1 Oz. Crystal-5 Mins.
Wyeast 1056-American Ale
OG 1.057
FG 1.009
Primed with .5 C. Honey
New Years Resolutions
FROM: John Goodpasture
I resolve to:
1. Never again use strawberries in my homebrew (it's like mixing milk and o.j.)
2. Brew more.
FROM: Al Czajkowski
I resolve to brew at least a couple of batches with OG's of less than 1.060!
FROM: Chris P. Frey
I, Chris Frey, do hereby resolve that in 1996 I :
and I, your humble secretary resolve
to get every Ford employee to get this newsletter electronically!
New Wyeast Strains
Remember folks, you read it here
first, these new strains aren't yet widely available but should
be available special order through any retailer that carries W-Yeast.
Y-1335 British Ale Yeast
Typical of British ale fermentation
with good flocculating and malty flavor
Y-1318 London Ale Yeast III
From traditional London brewery with
great malt and hop profile
Y-1272 American Ale Yeast II
Fruitier and more flocculant than
Y-1056
Y-1275 Themes Valley Ale Yeast
Produces classic British bitters,
rich complex flavor profile.
Y-1388 Belgian Strong Ale Yeast
Neutral flavor yeast with moderate
to high alcohol tolerance.
Y-1742 Swedish Porter Yeast
Stark beer Nordic style, yeast of
unknown origin.
Y-1762 Belgian Abbey Yeast II
High gravity yeast with distinct
solventy flavor profile.
Y-2247 Danish Lager Yeast II
Clean, dry flavor profile often used
in aggressively hopped Pilsners
Y-2272 North American Lager Yeast
Traditional culture of North American
Lagers and light Pilsners, flocculates well.
Y-3333 German Wheat Yeast
Subtle flavor profile for wheat beers
with classic Weisse profile
Y-3787 Trappist High Gravity
Robust top cropping yeast with phenolic
character. Alcohol tolerance to 12%. Ideal for Biere De Garde
Y-3942 Belgian Wheat Beer
Estery low phenol producing yeast
from small Belgian brewery.
At this writing I haven't confirmed
which of these yeasts are actually in production,
Competition Schedule
Jan 24 (W) Pale Ale (AHA)
Feb. 27 (T) Alt (AHA)
Mar 27 (W) Porter
Apr. 23 (T) Bock (AHA)
May 22 (W) Wheat
Jun. 25 (T) Light Summer Brew
Jul. 24 (W) Mead (AHA)
Aug. 27 (T) Fruit Brew
Sep 25 (W) Octoberfest (AHA)
Oct. 22 (T) Stout
Nov. 20 (W) Belgian (AHA)
Dec. 17 (T) Christmas Brew
Pale Ale (AHA-Jan '97)
F.O.R.D. is a private, non-profit organization of home brewers. Its main goal is to share information regarding technique, equipment and skill required to brew quality homemade beer.
F.O.R.D. is a member of the American Homebrewers Association. F.O.R.D. encourages letters, opinions, articles for publication and information from members and friends of the club.
Correspondence should be directed to:
Rich Byrnes,
30972 Cousino
Warren, MI 48092
Voice/Fax 810-558-9844
usfmczgm@ibmmail.com
CompuServe 75113,411
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