National Home Brew Day Festivities and Activities-Part One-Dearborn.
Report from Dearborn on National Homebrewers Day - Chris Frey
Saturday, May 4th, was National Home Brew Day and the club responded with a three-pronged strategy to demonstrate the various methods of home brewing at several of our favorite (and supportive!) home brew supply distributors. The club brewed in excess of seventy gallons and members taught each other many of the tricks of the trade. The public got the opportunity to witness how beer is made and asked F.O.R.D. members a variety of questions (the most popular of which was "when is it drinkable?").
In Dearborn at Merchants there were three brews done that day. Ted Geftus and Chris Frey co-led, with help from Tom Seija and Doug Geiss, the Pico all-grain effort that produced fourteen gallons of Tom's Rocket City Pale Ale. Gabrielle Palmer whipped up a 5 gallon batch of Nekkid Druids Nut Brown Ale using a combination of specialty grains, DME and lots of hops. Tyler Barber and Bill Cole sweated through their American Wheat brew and swear that they use more barley and less wheat in their next batch! A tip of the hat goes to Jim Bazzy for his organizational efforts in assuring that everything got to the site and for helping everyone out with their brews; to Tom Seija for lending his Pico system; to Bret Pastryk and his wife Gretchen and to Joe Brown for their support. Neal Petty, Thomas Plocher and Pat Babcock all brought their families to visit the brew site and Jerry Garner, Tim Tepatti, Joanne Wilson and Jerry Garner also stopped by to see how the day was going.
And special thanks go to Jonnah, Steve, Brian and the rest of the crew at Merchants for supporting the art of home brewing and their support of this days activities! And we all appreciated the wonderful Dijon and Parmesan Chicken breasts that Mark Polk of Academy Packing Co. provided and cooked and the awesome sausages that Steve and the crew grilled later in the day for us. Outstanding!
National Home Brew Day Festivities and Activities-Part Two-Royal Oak
Report from Royal Oak on National Home brewers Day
- Rich Byrnes
We met at sunrise for a hearty breakfast, well actually
more like 9am, 9:30 for some of us (no names mentioned), we met
at the Lantern restaurant, where a sign on the roof proudly proclaimed
"no cross table dancing allowed" and a sign over our
booth read "enjoy your food and get out" . At 10:00
sharp we started to unload our cars and start setting up, as I
put up the big red & white circus tent (OK, canopy) Doug Wood,
Mark Hansen, Joe Carulli, Mike Preston, Tom Herron, Scott Henry
and Aaron Dionne started unloading the 7 burners, 5 half barrels,
4 propane tanks, igloo cooler, 8 gallon Vollrath pot, and 5 gallon
stockpot that would make up the bulk of our equipment that day.
Mark & Doug were making an 11 gallon Strong Ale, Tom &
Mike were making a 15 gallon Pale Ale, Aaron was making a 5 gallon
cooler-mash Scotch Ale and Scott Henry was brewing a 5 gallon
extract Sierra Nevada Pale Ale clone. The grains were mostly donated
by Royal Oak Brewery (A special thanks to Wayne Burns & company
for donating the grains and great hats!) and Tony Randazzo &
Frank Retell made sure we had everything else we needed. The brewing
itself was flawless, a sight to behold! There were no equipment
or procedural snags, I got to test my re-circulation pump with
thermometer (it performed beautifully thank you very much!!).
The weather kept many people away, that was the only downside
to the entire day. In Royal Oak, when the weather is nice, people
go out! They walk, ride, roller blade and go places, with the
crappy cold damp weather, we had only about 50-60 people throughout
the day stop by. Toney did sell 3-4 starter kits I believe and
had a lot of positive feedback from the customers so that part
was a success. I believe to make this event a real success, more
advertising needs to be done in advance. Everyone that was there
brought home wort so that wasn't a problem, Wayne even donated
a 22 oz bottle of fresh yeast slurry for Doug & Marks batch.
Special thanks to everyone at Merchants Royal Oak (Tony/Frank/John
Joana), Royal Oak Brewery (Wayne & ?), everyone from the club
that came out and worked that day making beer, Pat Babcock, Neal
Petty, Tim Tepatti, Sandy Hill & George Dietrich for stopping
by to lend support and Jim Byrnes, my brother for lending me his
canopy. (Oh yeah, lets not forget Tammy Herron, Kim Babcock ,
Eileen Byrnes & all the future brewers & Brewsters who
showed up to root us on)
MEMBER NEWS
Tom & Linda Sieja proudly
announce the arrival of a new tax exemption.Nicholas Edward
Sieja was born on April 15th,
weighing in at 8Lbs, 10OZ, 21" long
and arriving at 4:32P.M. Mother
and baby were doing fine, Dad was still recovering.
National Home Brew Day Festivities and Activities-Part
Three - Brew & Grow
No info available at printing
Home Brew Exchange to Begin At May Meeting
Members are encouraged to participate in a home brew exchange. Typically , we would like to sample everyone's fermentables during our monthly meetings. But with the growth that the club has experienced it is not feasible (or safe) to attempt this. And after six or seven varieties it becomes increasingly difficult to fully appreciate what our fellow brewmiesters are offering. However, the idea of a beer exchange, similar in concept to a bakers club swap where members bring in their baked goods and swap with other members was brought up at the last executive group meeting by Tim Tepatti and it immediately received full approval. Members were informally polled at the last club meeting and the idea received full support.
To participate, you need to bring a six pack of your homebrew to the meeting. Bring just one style (hopefully your favorite) and label the bottles clearly. If you do not do labels as of yet, just print/write at least the following information and attach a copy to each bottle with a rubber band (Tech Tip: If you have considered doing labels and don't want to glue them to your bottle, just baste the back side of the label with milk and smooth it on to the bottle. Works like a charm - thank you HBD!). Include your name, the style, date brewed, ingredients (a full recipe would be appreciated, but at least what type of grains, extract, hops and yeast, plus any water treatment, fining, etc.). Bring one extra copy and these will be saved by the librarian.
Deliver the six-pack to Chris Frey at the beginning
of the meeting. Once all those who are participating has delivered
their brew, Chris will return to you a mixed six-pack with the
brews of six other members from the club along with 6 style score
sheets to record your impressions. Take these six-packs home and
enjoy them one at a time at your own leisurely pace. At the next
meeting, along with your six-pack, return the comments to Chris
and he will distribute them back to the appreciative homebrewer.
That's all there is to it!
------------------------------------------------------------Who
Brews the Beer they Drink?
AHA Survey results
From the Summer '96 Zymurgy
Based on 10% of AHA membership
male 97.2% female 2.8%
Married 74.9%
single 20.3%
domestic partner 4.8%
age 21-25........5.2%
26-34........34.7%
35-45........42.3%
46-55........12.1%
55+............5.7%
Highest level of education
high school 11.5%
vocational school 4.5%
associate of arts/comm. College 8.6%
college 42.1%
professional school or masters 24.7%
doctorate 8.5%
home brewing habits
# years brewing
1 16.3%
2 18.0%
3 19.0%
4 12.3%
5 9.2%
6 4.6%
7 3.2%
8 3.2%
9 2.1%
10+ 12.3%
Batches brewed yearly
1-3 7.7%
4-6 25.0%
7-9 29.3%
10+ 38.0%
Average Batch size (in Gallons)
5 89.1%
10 9.2%
15 1.2%
20 0.1%
20+ 0.4%
Brewing Habits
20% brew with extracts 90% of the time
33% brew with extract & grains 95% of the time
47% brew with all grains more than 90% of the time
amount spent on hobby yearly
less than $50 1.8%
$50-$150 18.3%
$150-300 41.9%
$300-$500 25.9%
$500+ 12.1%
Packaging
65% bottle more than 90% of the time
35% keg more than 85% of the time
-------------------------------------------------------
New from Wine Barrel
Mark has been attempting to stock all the grains
mentioned in the '95 special zymurgy great grains issue. New on
the shelves are Scottish (?), Peat smoked malt, Stout malt(very
high diastatic power), British Brown (Very hard to find), British
Caristan & British Caristan Light. Mark hopes to carry Canadian
Honey malt very soon too! (The secret ingredient in Pat Babcock's
prize winning Uncle Paddy's Whiskey Wheat beer)
-------------------------------------------------------
Beer Wins Long Struggle For Honor In US Diet by Fred Eckhardt
From the Southern Draft Brew News April/May 1996
Vol.3/No 4 (Thanks to Jim Bazzy for forwarding the article to
me)
The government has finally admitted that beer is nutritious, delicious and good for you. But it has been a struggle. The agricultural department, in conjunction with the Department of Health and Human Services, recently allowed as how moderate drinking may actually be beneficial to folks.
Golly, gee and gosh! What'll they think of next?
If there was no beer, we would certainly have to invent it, in the interest of human sanity. Historically, the invention of beer signaled the end of nomadism and the beginning of cultivation and civilization.
The use of beer had a civilizing effect on people, and ass the effects of group living and pollution began to erode the environment, beer came to be a lifesaver in those days because it was safer than water.
Beer is not only easily digestible but also aids digestion. Beer has unique taste and physiological and nutritional facets. It is composed mostly of water, plus alcohol and some organic and inorganic compounds ranging from amino acids and sugars to dextrin's, polypeptides and proteins. Minerals in beer include potassium, magnesium, manganese, zinc and copper.
The bitter substances in hops, especially have a soothing sedative-therapeutic effect. In moderate amounts, beer enhances appetite and digestion, increases water transport from the body, and benefits heart activity.
These attributes combine to make it a wholesome food for everyone, including women who are pregnant or nursing, and children. When consumed moderately, beer's non-alcoholic components act as alcohol buffers, promoting the effects of relaxation and the overall enhancement of life.
The media often connive with the government to deliberately obfuscate the beneficial effects of alcohol consumption. Historians have shown alcoholic beverages are a cornerstone of civilization.
The good things in life and alcoholic beverages go well together - they keep us from being too serious.
Moderate drinkers live longer than either non-drinkers or heavy drinkers. Incidentally, consider the Brits view of moderate vs. the U.S. government's. Our government considers as acceptable 14 bottles of beer a week, half that if you're a woman. But the British government, in new guidelines approved last December, approved up to 18 bottles a week for men and 14 for women. The Germans too, get better surrender terms from their government.
Women react differently to alcoholic beverage consumption. Since they are usually physically smaller then males, there is a difference between men's rates of alcohol absorption and utilization.
Despite our government's turnabout in acknowledging the preponderance of evidence showing drinking in moderation not only is safe but good for you. The neo-prohibitionists are still out there. The U.S. government and the World Health Organization, in seeking to reduce alcohol consumption in the world by 25% continue to exaggerate the problems caused by alcohol. They manipulate statistics about accidents, about Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS), about the effects of alcohol abuse, and about the prevalence of alcohol abuse. Most of us alive in the United States today were actually born to mothers who drank during pregnancy.
There seems little doubt, however, that FAS may result from overindulgence in alcohol, especially if the abuse is heavy and continues over a long period during the pregnancy. Unfortunately in matters like this, it can never be proved beyond all doubt that light or moderate use of alcohol is actually safe for pregnant mothers. Government s are intimidating to doctors and keep them from telling their patients the whole truth.
Let us not forget that, while alcohol can be abused, it is not unnatural to the human body. Our bodies produce 10-15 grams of it every day, which can not be said of aspirin, caffeine, cocaine, marijuana or nicotine. Our bodies can and do deal with alcohol, and very successfully from our earliest years of life.
These new prohibitionists present a real threat to your way of life. It's time to start taking action. Start at home. Teach responsibility to your children by example and practice. Don't let your children's teachers malign you or your lifestyle because you enjoy alcohol in moderation. Educate your co-workers and the people around you with the facts. One of the most healthy sources for the facts is Healthy Drinking Magazine ($15 a year/six issues, $20 outside the U.S. ) 867 W. Napa St., Sonoma, CA 95476, Phone 707-939-0822. Write to your legislators in congress and state government. Write letters to the editor of your local newspaper.
Most importantly, drink responsibly, be a good example to your children and your community.
------------------------------------------------------
Last Meeting
Neal Petty reviewed the National Home Brewers Day
plans. Then the Great Baraboo homebrew contest was reviewed. There
were 86 entries, 10 judges and 3 winners. There were entries from
several members of the club; Aaron Dionne, Neal Petty, Tim Tepatti,
Tyler Barber, Bill Cole and Gabrielle Palmer all entered their
suds. The winning beer was a Scotch ale brewed by a former Strohs
brewer, his beer scored a 47 and one of Tylers beers scored a
46. Talk about close!
Neal reviewed the FERA approval status (2 approved
readings) and Rich announced a change in the charter to the description
of the positions of the secretary.
The mugs (Beer/Coffee) that were ordered were distributed
to everyone who was there if anyone wants additional mugs, please
contact Rich for ordering info. Thanks to Eric Morris, the mugmaster
for helping the club with this project.
Sandy gave a verbal treasurers report and Crispy
handed out the articles from Zymurgy that covered American, British
and German beer styles and mentioned a couple of new books he
has been eyeing. A 50/50 raffle was held and $34was collected
for the library.
For show & tell period Rich Byrnes brought in
a modified pico-recirculating pump with an industrial thermometer
installed in-line with the output. He thought of the design shortly
before the meeting as he was pondering how to best monitor the
temp at the bottom of the tun without doing more drilling/welding.
He just tested it this past weekend at Royal Oak and it performed
beautifully, if anyone is interested in the design, please contact
Rich.
-------------------------------------------------------
Next Meeting - Guest Speaker
Next meeting is Wed. the 22nd of May at Chelseas,
22120 Vanborn, between Telegraph & Southfield, call 313-278-0888
for more info on directions. The meeting will start at 6 and we
will have a guest speaker. A friend of Dave Dahl's son will be
speaking to us about professional brewing. Dave Hale is a recent
graduate of a brewing school and will be the brewmaster at a brewpub
out East.
------------------------------------------------------------
Competition News
Last months competition was the elusive Bock Beer.
I say elusive because there is more myths and un-truths associated
with this style than anything else I can think of (except maybe
Red Dog, what is that stuff?) To this day people still believe
Bock beer comes from the bottom of the barrels, or its the gunk
they clean out in the spring, go figure, how do these rumors get
started? Bock was traditionally brewed by the monks to carry them
through the Lenten period when they were allowed liquids only,
Bock is rich in nutrients being a maltier brew. Bock beer is also
a lager beer, which makes it difficult to do a true bock for many
people not quite ready to start lagering. Anyways, we had 4 entries
to the contest. Neal Petty took first place with his Rodentbock,
and there's a great story behind that one. That beer is almost
as old as the club itself. Neal brought that beer to one of the
first few meetings and if memory serves correct, there were only
6 people that night. Neal broke out this delicious batch of Rodenbach
and we promptly renamed it Rodent Bock because it sounded funny
at the time, guess you had to be there. Anyway, Neal's Bock will
now be competing with Bocks from all the other AHA clubs who entered.
Don Parisot took 2nd, Scott Williams took 3rd and Doug wood/Mark
Hansen took 4th. Congrats to all who entered and thanks to all
the volunteer judges as well.
The competition style for May is Wheat; bring 'em if you got 'em!
-------------------------------------------------------
For Sale
From Doug Geiss (Dgeiss profs ID)
50lb CO2 Tank, make offer, call Doug at 33-73971(w)
or 313-291-3812(H)
From Rich Byrnes (Rbyrnes2 Profs ID)
Stainless Steel frig. mount Backsplash/Drip pan-draining.
This unit measures 16" tall, 19" wide and 9" deep,
it has 4 holes pre-drilled for shanks and has a threaded plastic
drain fitting on the bottom. New in box, originally $86, asking
$60
Stainless Steel Drip Pan. 6" wide by 5"
deep with drain tube in bottom. New $25, asking $15.
Jet Bottle washer, $8
Zapap lauter tun, 7 gallon capacity with drain valve.
$5
From Al Czajkowski (Aczajkow) 10 Anheuser-Busch beer steins Clydesdales Holiday. Available are the steins issued from 1980 - 1989. Make offer. Call 313-84-57886(W) or 810-348-5587(H)
From America Online
Amber Waves Brewing Supply, kegging sale. 5 gallon
Ball Lock pepsi kegs, $15 ea in lots of 10 ($12 in lots of 100)
Rebuilt 2 gauge regulators (norgren, tap-rite, Cornelius) $25
ea. Contact Chris Terenzi (770)-384-1448 or e-mail CTERENZI@aol.com
or Harry Hager at (404)-315-1100 (prices do not reflect s/h costs)
-------------------------------------------------------
Hot! Hot! We are in !
Subject: Home Brewers Club
Gentlemen:
All went well at last night's FERA General Council
Meeting! Your Club was officially voted to FERA!!...Again my personal
CONGRATULATIONS, and WELCOME ABOARD!
With that Profs message to Neal it is almost official.
Well, you see, they voted us in, but there has to be another meeting
of the FERA board, and they are not meeting again until September.
But they DID vote the club in! The rest is just a technicality
that I am sure Neal will want to explain.
------------------------------------------------------------
Volunteers From F.O.R.D. Requested !
Hot off the presses, we need volunteers, scads of them! The word is that Home brewers will be the only volunteers this year at the tables (we will be joined by our brewing brethren from the AABG), the shift away from red cross volunteers is to place more beerknowledgeable veterans behind the tables pouring beers and answering questions.
The event is Friday, July 26th from 511, the actual event is from 610 I believe but we are the Prep & cleanup crew as well (not the entire crew, but we will be there early and help where needed) so far we have been asked to provide about 70 volunteers, one for each table plus some floaters.
Please profs me (rbyrnes2), email (rbyrnes2.ford@email.com), or call me 3133232613 or 8105589844(h) to sign up for this event. If you want to go and sample 200 different beers (well, not all 200 I hope!) please plan on spending $25 for a ticket and standing on the other side of the table, asking us for a beer!
We will be a lot more prepared this year than last and the event promises to be much bigger. We may even have our own table there with homebrew equipment and people (possibly homebrew samples but we're not holding our breaths). The Riverplace hotel (3132599500) will be offering big discounts on rooms that night, so plan accordingly!
Given the size of the volunteer base they are looking
for, it's a safe bet spouses will be welcome once again this year
and Rich Byrnes will be coordinating table assignments so that
should help out as well!
-------------------------------------------------------
Bad Frog Beer Still in the News
The makers of Bad Frog beer can keep a label showing
a frog flipping the bird - if they eliminate the word "obscene"
from the beer's slogan, the Michigan Liquor Control Commission
said. The beer, brewed by Frankenmuth Brewery Inc., has a label
featuring a picture of a real frog, altered so that its right
arm is turned upward and a finger extended in the well-known gesture.
The last line of the label reads, "It's mean, green and obscene."
The commission's order said that the label "may be clearly
offensive to some (but) it is not so patently offensive that the
advertising and promotion of Bad Frog beer should be banned completely
in this state."
----------------------------------------------------------
Legalize the Hobby!
House Bill 4005 is a bill that contains a provision
to statutorily recognize homebrewing in Michigan. Representative
David Anthony (D) is the Bill Sponsor. Interested homebrewers
should contact the following list of legislators on the House
Regulatory Affairs Committee as soon as possible. It does not
matter if they do not live in that particular district. For more
information contact Kristie Sherman of the Association of Brewers
@ 303-447-0816.
House Regulatory Affairs Committee Members:
Vice-Chair Representative Dave Jaye (R)
District 32 (Washington Township), Rm. 52,
State Capitol Building, Lansing, Mi. 48913
phone: (517) 373 0843; fax: (517) 373 5958
Representative Walter DeLange (R)
District 72 (Grand Rapids), Room 351
Capitol Building, Lansing, Mi. 48909
phone: (517) 373 0840
Representative Sue Rossa (R)
District 30 (Sterling Heights) Room 719
Olds Plaza Building, Lansing, Mi. 48909
phone: (517) 373-7768
Representative Ilona Varga (D)
District 8 (Detroit) Room B80
State Capitol Building, Lansing, Mi. 48909
phone: (517) 373 0823
Representative Ed Vaugh (D)
District 4 (Detroit), Room 694
Roosevelt Building, Lansing, Mi. 48909
phone: (517) 373 1008
Representative Lloyd Weeks (D)
District 28 (Warren), Room 363
Roosevelt Building, Lansing, Mi. 48909
phone (517) 373-2275
--------------------------------------------------------------
Home brood - from
tne cover article of The Oakland Press, Panorama section, May
13th,1996
"Local Residents create their own beer"
the title of the article by Bob Gritzinger proclaims. The article
goes on to quote local brewers and generally does a good job indicating
the increasing popularity of the hobby, both throughout Michigan
and the U.S.. Lots of factual information, quotes from local merchants
such as Sean Haas, store manager of the Red Wagon Wine Shoppe
in Rochester Hills and from Scott Day, owner of Brew&Grow,
along with an interview of Craig Spicer and Rich Bojanowski, both
officers of the Pontiac Brewing Tribe made for a balanced piece
of journalism that the hobby deserves.
The article goes on to state that the American Homebrewers
Association counts 20 clubs in Michigan. They also have a decent
primer on what one needs to start brewing and they included the
following extract recipe:
Bust a Nut Brown Ale
1 Munton & Fison nut brown ale kit
3 lbs. Munton & Fison amber malt extract
2 oz. Willamette hops
A starter of King Brewing Co. London ale yeast
Add nut brown kit extract and amber malt extract to two gallons of water and bring to a boil.
At start of boil, add 1.5oz. Of hops. Boil 45 minutes and then add .5oz. Of hops for the last two minutes of the boil.
Strain into primary fermenter when temperature of brew drops to 68 to 75 degrees F.
Tightly seal fermenter lid and install air lock.
Allow brew to ferment for 5 to 14 days (until bubbling in air lock has subsided for several days or hydrometer readings are constant for two to three days.)
Siphon brew into bottling bucket. Add priming sugar (½ to 3/4 cup priming sugar boiled in a pint of water).
Bottle and place bottles at room temperature for a week to 10 days before drinking.
Makes about 48 12-oz. bottles.
Now that's good journalism! And I guess these guys
are reaaaal relaxed. Not one word about sanitizing. But seriously,
it's nice to see good press and informative, too!
Editors note: You probably
see a difference in this months YOB News and that is because I,
Crispy, have taken on the awesome responsibility of editing the
newsletter. After a few brews some months back, I indicated to
Rich that I had a decent PC at home and a wife who edits a newsletter.
If he needed a hand I would be glad to help out. Well, you know
the rest of the story! Anyway, be kind to me as this is my first
attempt and any errors, factual misrepresentations or omissions
were due solely to my incompetence and I will gladly refund anybody
the cost of their subscription.
Old Editors Note
Thanks Crispy, this level of volunteerism is prood
that this club will last a long long time, and that I can get
my life back to normal now, phew! The Newsletter will continue
to evolve under new management, but as always, Crispy's main role
is Editor, not author, there is a difference. Please take the
time to think about what you want in the newsletter, can you make
a contribution? The answer is YES! Jim Bazzy sent me an article
from Fred Ekhardt, there is tons of info on the net, maybe you
can write an origonal article, review a brewpub, summarize a new
procedure you learned that would benefit everyone, review a new
micro-brew that you thought was tasty, any little contribution
is helpful, and makes the newsletter more diverse and interesting.
This club has a fantastic, diverse membership, but we need more
involvement if we are to prosper and evolve, please think about
what you can do in the club to help, not just for the newsletter,
but for meetings, special events, new locations etc....This is
your club, you can control its future, you just need to step up
and do it!
Back to the FORD Newsletter Page...
© 1995, 1996 by Pat Babcock
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