February 1999 Fermental Order of Renaissance Draughtsmen Vol. 7 - No. 2
In this issue:

January's Meeting
Chris Frey

Our esteemed President, Pat Babcock, began the meeting with "Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your beers". The meeting declined rapidly thereafter. Seriously, Pat reviewed the next meeting location, Fire Academy, and mentioned that other locations were beginning to offer us the opportunity to meet as well.

Sandy Bruce, Rich Byrnes and Sue Merritt sold a combined 299 auto show tickets in the name of the F.O.R.D. club, that will net the club, uh, let's see, divide by 4, add the coefficient, drop one decimel place, and uh, got it! $299! Good job gang!

The first ever brewpub crawl was discussed, as was the upcoming May 1st National Homebrew Day. Look for details on this May 1st event and plan to spend a day at the Barr House Brewery drinking, brewing and trading your favorite beverage!

The club collected a lot of dues during the meeting (thank you, thank you) and sold a few mugs. If there is more interest in those bitchin' glass mugs, contact Rich Byrnes. You can even get your name engraved on these beauties. I am sure lot's more was said and done, but by then I was enjoying my meal and brew and had no space left in my hands for a pen.


February's Meeting

The next meeting will be held at at the Fire Academy Brew Pub, 6677 N Wayne Rd (west side of Wayne Road 1/2 way between Ford and Warren) in Westland, 734-595-1988. We have the Fire Truck reserved from 5 pm on. The Fire Academy has a website at http://fireacademy.com/. The competition for this month is Belgian Ales. As usual, the thirsty hard-core who want dinner will start arriving around five, people will drift in for an hour or so, and we will start our meeting at 6:00-ish.


Paid 1999 Members
Chris Frey

The following are the members of the F.O.R.D. Club for 1999:

Mike Arend
Pat & Kim Babcock
Robert Babcock
Bob & Kim Barrett
Jim Bazzy
Lynn & Sandy Bruce
Rich Byrnes
Rick Carr
Paul Cascio
Todd Cioffi
Al Czajkowski
Aaron Dionne
Lyle Doerr
Marla Duffield
Chris Frey
Jerry Garner
Doug Geiss
Robert Goodrich
Bryce & Christine Grevemeyer
Chris Hail
Rich Hampo
Mark Hansen
Kerry Havener
Paul Hellebuyck
Scott Henry
Howard, Mike & Jr. Klix
Louis Lazar
Kathy Loftus
Sue Merritt
David Murphy
Bob Niemi
Kristine Niemi
Don Olexa
Gabrielle Palmer
Don Parisot
David Peters
Neal Petty
Jim Racine
Jim Rice
Paul Richards
Dan Riling
Larry Rose
Tony Schaefer
Gary Shewchuk
Sonny Stanley
Tony Tantillo
Tim Tepatti
Joe Tomasi
Tony Treusch
Joe Weishaar
Joanne Wilson
Chad Young
Robert Zukowsky

Those members listed above have secured their status as dues paying members and will continue to receive the newsletter for 1999. If you happen to be reading this and find that you are not on the list, but would like to continue both your membership and receipt of this newsletter (and the plethora of benefits mentioned in the last newsletter), please send you renewal check to: Chris Frey, 275 S. Ann Arbor Rd., Saline, MI 48176.

A motion was passed during the January meeting to not provide any pro-rating of renewal dues for members re-upping during the year. New members will continue to enjoy a pro-rate dues fee for initial membership. This will be the last newsletter for members who have not paid their 1999 dues.


Competition Results
Gabrielle Palmer

This month's competition will be the "Why Don't We Do It In The Robe" (AHA) Belgian Ales Competition, Category #2 a (Belgian Ouid Bruin/Flanders Brown Ale), b (Belgian Dubbel), c (Belgian Tripel), d (Belgian Pale Ale), e (Belgian Pale Strong Ale), f (Belgian Dark Strong Ale), g (Belgian White/Wit) & h (French Biere de Garde). The judging will be held on Monday, March 1st at Jim Racine's house. All are welcome. We'll start about 6pm. Call Jim at 313-277-5516 for directions or additional information.

There were only 2 entries for last month's "You're Special To Me" (AHA) Specialty & Experimental Beers Competition, but they were both very good beers. And the winners are:

Specialty & Experimental Beers
Place Name Style Points
1 Kerry Havener & Chris Cirino Apple Cinnamon Ale 35/50
2 Mike Arend Ginger Stout 34/50

Entries for the 1999 National Homebrew Competition must be turned in March 29th - April 9th. If you need an entry form/instructions see Jim Racine at the next meeting.


Fermental Brewpub Crawl
Chris Frey & Gabrielle Palmer
Pictures by Sue Merritt

We met at the Ford World Headquarters in the parking lot on a sunny yet crisp afternoon. Marvin, our driver from Royal tours was waiting with our bus and Tyler had loaded up the pony keg filled with Bell's Amber Ale. The 29 of us were all on the bus by 4:00 sharp and we left at 4:01, as advertised!

Bo's Bistro & Brewery, 51 N. Saginaw, Pontiac, 248-338-6200

Our first destination was Bo's. Tyler Barber, our intrepid organizer told us that the proprietors came from a family with 3 generations of good beer drinkers! We got there by 5:00 and lined up for the group shot in front of the bus (thank you Sue!) and then went upstairs. We were greeted by pool tables and darts (real steel-tipped ones, not those plastic tip jobs).

Most of us split out time there between darts, pool, appetizers and the beer sampler. The first brew we tried was their Blonde, a clean, light, refreshing brew, low in hop character, and what one would expect from this style of beer. In fact, all of their brews were clean and defect free. Next up was their wheat, which had a tad bit more hop bitterness (cascades?) than one might expect from this style, but we dubbed it an American wheat and enjoyed it. Their Pale was the only real disappointment at Bo's. Tyler had warned us that as of a week prior, they had only 3 beers available, but that they would have five by the time of arrival. We figured this one was one of the later 2, as the hops were mild (cascade again) and overall the ale tasted more commercial and less stylistically pleasurable (read: it was hurried a bit).

Their Red had a nice caramel taste to it that blended nicely with the other malty flavors - definitely balanced more toward the malt than the hops, but very good! The Pumpkin Stout was my personal favorite, Fall flavored (as in nutmeg, cinnamon and other pumpkin pie spices). Lovely light roast flavor, medium body - an Irish dry stout with the great pumpkin stuffed in! Appetizers were OK, maybe we should have ordered something other than the blooming onion and the wings.

Rochester Mills Beer Company, 310 Water Street, Rochester, 248-650-5080

Our next stop was Rochester Mills, a roomy, well-lit and modern brew pub. High tech, wide aisles, nice atmosphere. You are able to carry on a conversation here without having to get loud. Fully stocked bar, tons o' taps, TV's strategically placed, music subtly in the background... overall nice impressions! These people like beer! Pilsner Urquell, Sierra Nevada Celebration, Motor City, Atwater, Bell's, Guinness, Lindeman's Framboise, Spatan Optimator and others were on tap.

Their Watchtower Ale was decent, and their Rochester Red was very good. My favorite here was their Hoppy New Year IPA, and at 7.2%, it was a good thing that both Gabi and Sue were helping me with samples. Of course, I couldn't resist a Bell's 2-fisted Ale on tap, so I lost track of taking notes on their other styles. Their brewer, Pat Scanlon, also gave us a tour of their 15 barrel system. Afterwards, I spent some time with the proprietor, Mike, and Rex Halfpenny and they offered the club the use of their 1-barrel experimental mashtun! I will definitely be following up on that.

North Channel Brewing Company, 30400 23 Mile Road, Chesterfield Township, 810-948-2739

Onward, we head to North Channel. The moment we walk into the pub, the head brewer (Doug Beedy) shepherds us right into the brewery for the tour and sticks 29 Anchor Bay Pale Ales into our hands. Hey, bribery will get you everywhere! This was the best, baddest, greatest...OK, it was just one beer. But it was an awesome American Pale Ale, full bodied and nicely hopped. You could almost chew the hops! Their St. Clair light was properly named, clean, crisp, low in both hops and malt, very smooth. Their Wheat had a nice malt and honey background. Their Valentines special, Sweetheart Stout (chocolate & cherry flavored), was very good, medium bodied with a nice roast flavor note to it with a definite sweet chocolate taste and a slightly sour cherry flavor in the background. Their porter had a very light roast flavor, nice bitterness, with a light hop flavor. These people brew good beer, make good food and we all enjoyed our time there. But then it was time to move on to...

Atwater Block Brewery, 237 Joseph Campau, Detroit, 313-393-2443

We were down to our last brewery on the road. Attempts to sing "99 bottles of beer on the wall" were quickly stifled and the keg was drained, so we were ready when Marvin pulled up in front of Atwater. For several of us, coming to Atwater was a bit like coming home. Most of us have been here (several times) and we have come to expect their excellent beer, awesome facility and decent food. We arrived just in time to view the last few minutes of the Michigan State vs. Minnesota basketball game on the big screen just above the cigar lounge. The Krausen Hell was light bodied with a light clean malt background and a spicy hops bitterness at the end. The Krausen Rost had a slightly caramel malt flavor and a slight smokiness balanced well with a light hops aftertaste. The Krausen Dunkel had a complex, clean chocolate malt flavor with a lightly bitter hops aftertaste. The Kölsch was light and refreshing with a touch of residual sweetness balanced well with a light spicy hops bitterness. The Weizen had that typical cloudiness with a clove and banana flavor (mostly clove) and a slightly sour finish. Their Porter was a bit light for the style and had a chocolatey, roasted burnt flavor, but it was lacking in character. All of the Atwater beers had a very clean flavor. For your info, Tom Majorski will make a trip back from Germany for Atwater's 2nd anniversary, which is St. Patrick's day. Go figure.

Everyone was pretty tired by the time the bus arrived to take us back home. It was a long day, but everyone seemed to have a great time. All of the brewpubs were very accommodating to our big group and showed us a good time with great beers. In fact, I can say this for all four locations - they love their beer. Our fair state is producing some excellent brews and we should consider ourselves lucky to have so much variety so near. A big thanks go to Tyler Barber and Jim Rice for organizing our first Fermental Brewpub Crawl. Tyler wants to continue to do this every two months or so, and he is planning on invading Kalamazoo next. So let him know if you are interested ($20 reserves your seat), and we will all met again on the bus! Leave the driving to Marvin...


Maria Agatha Tomasi
Parents:
Siblings:

Date of Birth:
Weight:
Joe & Beth
Cecilia, Barbara, Anastasia,
Veronica & Andrew
February 4, 1999 at 5:17AM
8 lbs. 8 oz.
Congratulations to the entire Tomasi clan from the Fermentals!!!

Saying Goodbye To A Detroit Brewing Tradition
Gabrielle Palmer

I've been hearing the rumors for months now, but I was holding on to the hope that it wasn't true. Just a vicious lie or a bad dream. But now it looks as if the inevitable is about to happen. It has been reported that Stroh Brewery Company, after 149 years as a Detroit icon, is selling its Stroh's, Old Milwaukee, Schlitz, Schaefer, Old Style, Schmidt's, Lone Star, Special Export, McSorley's, Schlitz Malt Liquor and Rainier labels to Pabst in addition to its Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania brewery. The remainder of Stroh's lines, which includes the Mickey's Malt Liquor and Henry Weinhard's brands, will be sold to Miller.

Although it hasn't actually brewed beer in Detroit since the closing of the landmark brewery on I-75 in May of 1985, the Stroh Brewery Company has been a proud tradition in the city of Detroit since 1850. It all started in 1849 when a steamer from Buffalo docked in Detroit on its way to Chicago. A passenger from that steamer, 27-year-old German immigrant Bernhard Stroh, stopped off, liked what he saw, and decided to stay. Because of the Stroh family's long brewing heritage in Kirn, Germany, brewing was the obvious career choice for Bernhard. He established a small brewery at 57 Catherine Street a year later.

In 1865 he bought additional land on Gratiot Avenue to expand the brewery. Stroh grew to become the largest of Detroit's 23 breweries by the turn of the century with annual sales topping 50,000 barrels.

By the time Prohibition arrived in 1919, Stroh was the largest brewery in Michigan with sales exceeding 300,000 barrels annually. Prohibition forced Stroh to close its brewing operations and expand its product line to non-alcoholic beer, malt extract, soft drinks and ice cream manufacturing to survive.

In 1933, when Prohibition was finally repealed, Stroh returned to brewing beer but also kept the popular ice cream business. By 1954 annual sales topped the 1 million barrel mark. Two years later sales surpassed 2 million barrels annually. In 1964 Stroh acquired one of its Detroit rivals, Goebel Brewing Company. In 1970 it bought the Detroit Coca-Cola Bottling Company During the 1970's the Stroh Brewery Company was producing over 6 million barrels annually.

In 1981 Stroh sold the Detroit Coca-Cola Bottling Company and purchased the F&M Schaefer Brewing Company. Stroh became the third largest brewer in the country, behind Anheuser-Busch and Miller, when it bought the Joseph Schlitz Brewing Company a year later for $494.7 million. However, that also put Stroh $355 million in debt. In 1985 Stroh closed its Detroit brewery, the last major brewery in the city. By the late 80's, declining sales and heavy debt almost brought an end to the Stroh brewing tradition. In 1989 a deal to sell most of its brands and brewery equipment to Coors fell through. So instead, Stroh sold its ice cream operations to an Ohio company. The most recent acquisition occurred in 1996 when Stroh purchased the G. Heileman Brewing Company.

It feels as if the Stroh Brewery Company is abandoning Detroit as well as its brewing heritage. Okay, "abandon" may be a bit harsh, but you have to realize that to a lot of Detroiters, Stroh symbolized Detroit in its heyday. Stroh was one of the last vestiges of that old Detroit glory that we've been trying so hard to hold on to and rebuild. The things we took pride in as Detroiters, the things that represented the heart and soul of this city have slowly been sold off or moved out of Detroit. Stroh isn't the first to leave. In a gradual yet saddening trend, other familiar brands that once breathed life into Detroit have departed, leaving our city a shell of its former glory. During the 60's and 70's, Hudson's merged with Dayton's of Minneapolis, Motown moved to Los Angeles, and Vlasic was sold to the Campbell Soup Company. During the 80's, Faygo was purchased by the National Beverage Corporation of Ft. Lauderdale, Vernors was bought by A&W Brands of New York, and Sanders ended up dissolved in bankruptcy. Within the past few months, Chrysler officially merged with Germany's Daimler-Benz and Crowley's was taken over by Schottenstein Stores Corporation of Columbus, Ohio. Now we're losing the Stroh Brewery Company. Although many of those former Detroit icons still sell their products in our area, they are no longer Detroit-owned and operated.

I have fond memories of many of those businesses for a variety of reasons. Mostly nostalgic ones. When they left they took a piece of my childhood with them. Although I don't actually live in the city of Detroit, I still consider myself a Detroiter. I was born in Detroit. My family is from Detroit. My heart is in Detroit. When someone from outside the Southeastern Michigan area asks me where I'm from, I always proudly respond with "Detroit." Just like every other Detroit kid, I grew up listening to Motown music; eating Little Caesar's pizza; drinking Vernors, Faygo and Towne Club soda pop; satisying my sweet tooth with Morley's candy and chocolates; and eating Stroh's ice cream with Sanders hot fudge sauce for dessert. My parents shopped at Hudson's, Crowley's, Winkleman's and K-Mart; drove GM, Ford and Chrysler vehicles; and drank Stroh's beer while snacking on Superior and Better Made potato chips. Whenever we visited my grandparents they always had their refrigerator stocked with Faygo Redpop for us kids and Stroh's for the grown-ups.

My uncle Jack used to tell me stories about the Stroh brewery, where he worked as an electrician. He once told me that during lunch at the Detroit brewery, the workers were allowed to help themselves to free beer that was stored in a cooler in the break room. This would never happen in today's factories, but the theory was that this would curb the stealing of beer from off the production lines. Sounds like a great theory to me! One of the few memories I have of my mother's parents involves Stroh's. I'm proud to say that my Grandpa and Grandma Smith were beer drinkers. Like many other Detroiters at that time, their brand of beer was Stroh's. In the June 1996 edition of the Consumer Reports magazine, 17 trained beer tasters chose Old Milwaukee, a Stroh product, as the best-tasting mass-marketed brew. I must admit, in light of this report, that Old Milwaukee was the beer of choice for my friends and me during our college years. Several of my friends still drink "Old Mud," as we affectionately called it, as their main staple beer.

The Stroh Brewery Company has been very generous to the homebrewing community as well as the Fermental Order of Renaissance Draughtsmen. Stroh always makes a $500 annual contribution to the Michigan State Fair homebrew competition. Stroh also donated numerous pounds of malt and hops that were used as raffle prizes at our 1997 Beer-B-Que, making it one of our most successful ever.

So next time I'm at my local watering hole, I will order a Stroh product. With a tear in my eye and a lump in my throat, I will make a toast to the memory of a great Detroit brewing tradition and reminisce about what used to be. Goodbye Stroh. You will be missed. As the T-shirts and bumper stickers say, "Support your local brewery."


Superbowl XXXIII - One Homebrewer's Perspective
Chris Frey

Ah, the Superbowl. Hype, scandal, glory. Hits, misses and blowouts. The day had finally come and Kathy and I prepared to sit several uninterrupted hours, glued to the tube, watching what we hoped would be an epic struggle between the Denver bronco's and the Atlanta Falcons. Steaks were grilled, veggies cooked, ice cream scooped and nuts, chips and dip scattered throughout the TV room.

And then there was the beer. Let's see, what sort of brew goes well with football? If I were to believe Louie the Bud lizard, it would have to be the brew preferred by both swamp inhabitants and half the US population. Not! But I did love their commercials. The lobster snapping away at the Bud bottle was a great touch!

Nope, it would have to be an eclectic collection of brews. Right before the kick-off, I found a 2+ year old stout. Ah, yes, I remember you. You're the one where I held off on adding the dark grains until the sparge. Someone had suggested that if I put them in with the mash grains, I could end up with too much astringency. What I ended up with is a stout with too little darkness. Still, very nice after all this time.

Atlanta scores! Time to grab another brew. This time, it is my recently brewed SNPA Super 9, an exercise in excess. I pour it straight down the center of the glass, but alas, it was as I feared, too young (1+ week in the bottle) and no carbonation to speak off. Oh well, I sipped through half of it before I ran to the basement to grab a more traditional SNPA (#8) off of my newly installed draft system. Ahh, that hits the spot.

Denver is leading 17 to 3? What the hell happened? Ah, who cares. I am still rooting for the Jets. What the hell happened to my brew? Ah, who cares, time to get another one. With the half-time festivities coming up (and I have already been treated to Cher, Kiss and Pink Floyd), I figure I need a bold brew to grill up steaks in the garage. A National Homebrew Day Barley wine (damn, only 4 left! I'll need to brew this recipe again real soon) and a plate of steaks and I am grilling.

We grab our food and head into the TV room just before the 3rd quarter. "Can I get you something to drink?", Kathy asks, until she notices me pouring a Old Foghorn Barley wine into my glass. "Going commercial, are we?" Kathy asks. I nod in agreement, rather than explaining that drinking this drink is probably as popular as eating snails is in Alabama. Atlanta keeps going down the field, but they can't score! And the beer keeps pouring down, but I know where I can score another.

I didn't know I had a 120 Schilling Scotch Ale left! Cool, into my glass you go. I brewed this puppy almost two years ago and what a sweet nectar it is today. Kathy notes that it smells great, but my efforts to have her try a sip fail, as they all have for some years now. The lady likes her wine, gin, vodka and those silly little wine coolers (honestly, hun, they are just beer without the hops!), but she ain't trying my beer. Oh well, my brew lasts longer this way.

Except now my glass is almost empty. I am definitely feeling the effects of a six-pack of homebrew, Denver is kicking Atlanta's ass something like 31-13, so I figure a light small ale that I brewed behind a Barley Wine last year would be appropriate. Nice East Kent Goldings throughout this brew, low alcohol, clean taste. Ahhh burp!

Soon, the game ends and Kathy and I have no traveling to do, other than to the bedroom. I finish the night with a nightcap that has served me well after the brew club meetings; two aspirins and a tall glass of water! Man, I love this hobby!


Tequila-Like Lager?
Ron Givens, New York Daily News

"Hey, buddy, you spilled tequila in my beer!"

"No, buddy, you spilled beer in my tequila!"

The two glare at each other for a second before slowly drinking the accidental cocktails - and promptly spit them out on the bar.

Maybe this isn't exactly the commercial that the makers of Tequiza, Desperados and Wyatt's Wild Agave Beer would want you to see. And not just because it apes a very successful ad campaign for Reese's Peanut Butter Cups.

No, the makers of these three new brews - all of which add tequila-like flavor to light lager beer - wouldn't like the way such a commercial would incorporate my fair-to-poor opinion of this strange combo.

Even my friend Robert, who likes to chase his tequila with beer, doesn't want to mix them beforehand. Trying to bridge the gap with lime-like flavor, as if that might be the missing link between a shot of tequila and a Mexican beer, only makes things worse. All three brews, which arrived in the city only very recently, have beer-like alcohol levels - about 5% by volume.

Desperados (Fischer Brewery, Schiltigheim, France) may be the poorest brew I've ever tried to drink. The sugary sweetness and stale tequila flavor do not belong in a beer at all, let alone in tandem. The lime flavor doesn't save it.

Tequiza (Anheuser-Busch, St. Louis) isn't nearly as offensive, unless you expect it to taste like a beer instead of a very strange soda pop. Sweet and limy, with only a trace of tequila flavor, which may come from a dab of actual tequila or from agave juice, the stuff that actually gets turned into tequila.

Wyatt's Wild Agave Beer (a New Amsterdam Brewing Co. product made by the F.X. Matt Brewing Co. in Utica, N.Y.) is the only one of this trio that actually tastes like a beer. It smells like tarted-up British Sterling aftershave, but on the tongue, you have a fairly solid, if light, lager. The malt is slightly sweet, the hops dry and mildly bitter. These flavors encircle something I find hard to describe - spicy, a little vegetal, orange/coriander maybe? It's not overpowering but it is different.

I can't predict how many will like it, love it, hate it, but I think Wyatt's is interesting (and I don't mean that pejoratively). If you must try one of these peculiar brews, and I'm not saying you should, start with this one. If you actually get one of the other two, all I can say is: Vaya con Dios.


Beer Events, Meetings & Competitions
Gabrielle Palmer

Ye Olde Brew News
published by the F.O.R.D. Homebrew Club
Editor:
Gabrielle Palmer

Contributors:
Chris Frey
Ron Givens
Sue Merritt
Gabrielle Palmer

Club Officers:
Pat Babcock, President
Jim Racine, Vice President
Rich Byrnes, Secretary
Chris Frey, Treasurer
Gabrielle Palmer, Newsletter Editor/Webmaster
Sue Merritt, Photographer/Historian/Beer Mooch
Mike Arend, Librarian
?, Special Events Coordinator
Tyler Barber, Equipment Manager
Doug Geiss, Business Manager

F.O.R.D. is a private, non-profit organization of homebrewers. The main goal of this club is to promote awareness and appreciation of the quality and variety of beer; to share information regarding technique, equipment and skill required to brew quality homemade beer; and to encourage responsible use of beer as an alcohol-containing beverage.

Correspondence should be directed to:
Rich Byrnes
30972 Cousino
Warren, MI 48092

Work: 313-390-9369
Home: 810-558-9844

(w) rbyrnes2@gw.ford.com
(h) RByrnesJr@aol.com

Visit our website at: http://www.be.ford.com/brewers/
or external to Ford at: http://hbd.org/ford/

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