Last months meeting was back at our usual home, Chelsea's in Dearborn
Heights. Turnout was pretty good for the summer months (OK, so
May is pushing it, but the #@&%! Frost freeze warnings are
finally over) and that is always encouraging.
Our featured guest speaker called me during the meeting from Ontario,
saying her flight was canceled and she wouldn't be able to attend.
Susan did say that she would be more than happy to reschedule
so look for a future meeting with Susan Grayden from Premier Malts
as a guest speaker.
I presented the ribbons and score sheets for Stout and Bock competitions
as Johanne Wilson was unable to attend, congrats to all the winners.
The Brown ales for Mays competition were collected and the competition
for June was announced (Kölsch) announced. Tom Majorosi
from Atwater brewery is scheduled to be a guest speaker at June's
meeting and also a celebrity judge for the Kölsch beers that
are entered.
All the volunteers for the Dearborn Jaycees demo and the Merchants
Fine Wine demo were acknowledged and thanked.
Doug Lecureaux then proceeded to talk about this years Beer-B-Que
(The event formerly known as the Pig Roast). Due to some unfortunate
circumstances we were forced to switch dates from July 12th to
the 26th, same time and location as last year (Hemlock park in
Dearborn, details to follow). The format will be identical to
years past, the club will provide the main course (Turkey drumsticks,
hams and Roast Beast) Individual club members will provide the
salads, vegetables, side dishes, appetizers and desserts as a
pot luck. Tickets are $5 per adult, kids under 12 eat free, and
the whole family is invited. As always, we will have games for
the little ones, plenty of beer on tap (but do bring your own
to showcase!), singing, games and general merriment. This has
always been a high point for the club and I encourage everyone
to set aside some time in your schedule for this wonderful family
event. Contact Doug LeCureaux for more info or to purchase tickets
(home 810-757-6329, work: 313-323-8385)
Rich Byrnes and Sue Merritt are selling discount tickets to Cedar
Point (24.75), Sea World (23), Kings Island (23) and Canada's
Wonderland (23) for the benefit of the club, so if your summer
plans call for any of these parks, or anyone in your family of
any of your friends, please call Sue at 313-248-1226 or Rich Byrnes
at 313-323-2613 and we will make arrangements to get these tickets
to you!
Mark George from Wine Barrel Plus made it to the meeting and asked
for some speaking time...the store has some fantastic sales right
now on 50lb bags of 2-row, bulk extract and 5 gallon carboys,
call Mark at 313-522-9463 for more info. Mark also brought 2
bottles of vintage 1995 Sierra Nevada Bigfoot Barley wine for
sampling, served warm. I have never tried this wonderful beer
at that temperature, what a thrill! The rich maltiness was even
more evident and pronounced, and everyone that got a sip really
noted the difference. Thanks to Mark for sharing that treasure
with us as well as the sale info. Mark also brought in several
samples of a new brand of liquid yeast in culture tubes that he
was asked to evaluate, Mark passed out as many as he had and asked
only that the people that took them let him know how they performed
(editors note, please follow up with Mark if you did get some
free yeast, he was kind enough to share some freebies with us
and your input will decide whether or not this is a worthwhile
item to carry).
Ted Geftos reports that many items are being checked out of the
library and this is a good thing! If anyone has a request for
an item that the library should purchase, or if you want to inquire
about the contents of the library or the status call Ted Geftos
at 313-84-59278.
We will be ordering more T-shirts soon as we have finally run
out of Xl's, so given this opportunity, we will allow people to
purchase extra shirts on this order, cost is not determined yet,
but figure around $7 for a XL and a bit more for xx or xxx.
Thanks to everyone that volunteered for Rivertown this year, for
those of you that would rather walk in the front door and sample
all night, tickets are on sale for $30 at Merchants Fine locations,
call 313-446-2437 for more info. T-shirts and info packs should
be available at July's meeting if not in June.
The next meeting will be on Tuesday, June 24th at 6:00pm at Levagood
Park in Dearborn. The park is near Telegraph and Cheery Hill on
the North West side.
Take Telegraph to Sheridan Westbound Sheridan is the first side St. just North of the Junior High right on Telegraph past Cherry Hill. Take Sheridan 3 blks. straight to the parking lot of the park. We are at site #1, which is to the right of the pool main entrance. Alternatively, you can take Denwood (runs N/S, 3 blocks West of Telegraph) which runs into both Ford Road and Cherry Hill right to the parking lot. Levagood is a huge park which runs from Silvery Lane to the West and Denwood to the East and is several city blocks from North to South. We will hang a huge poster of our logo from the site so you'll be able to find it!
If you want something to eat beforehand, there are several restaurants
close by including: Pork and Beans (Tex-Mex), Mexican Fiesta (Mexican),
Dearborn Italian Bakery (Pizza slices, pepperoni rolls, salads
& sandwiches) and the Stardust (family), all on Ford Road
West of Telegraph; Ground Round, Salvatore Scallipini's and Red
Lobster all on Telegraph North of Ford Road; Subway Subs, Boston
Market, Andoni's (family) and China City (fast food), all on Telegraph
between Cheery Hill and Ford Road. Karl's Pizza is also right
on Cherry Hill just East of Telegraph. See ya there at 6:00!
If you need more specific directions, please call Rich Byrnes
at home @ 810-558-9844. Thank you!
Ryan Jonna of Merchant's Fine Wine in Dearborn, has invited the
club to participate in another public demonstration of our homebrew
hobby for Saturday, August 2nd. This is also Dearborn's homecoming
weekend. He would like to extend the same conditions as the last
demo; i.e., wants to see a menagerie of brewing systems and would
like us to concentrate on light, summer beers.
People who would like to participate need to contact me either
at work (313-337-1642) or home (313-397-7001). I believe I was
fairly eloquent in the last issue that discussed public demonstrations,
but I will risk repeating myself. These are excellent opportunities
to learn what is happening in your brew pot, give the club great
visibility and are the only times that the entire club is invited
to brew together other than at each others homes. Club members
will receive a 20% discount for homebrew supplies purchased that
day.
If you ever said any of these phrases:
"in a not-frosted glass, please"
"probably dirty hoses"
"what kind of beer is supposed to be?"
"my yeast is ready"
"Aw crap, twist-offs"
May's Homebrew Competition Results
We had 10 entries in the Mild and Brown category. Score sheets
should be available at the next meeting from Johanne.
Here are the results:
Mild - 1st place - Jim Rice
Style - English Dark Mild
Score 42/50
Okay, so there was only one entry in the Mild part of the category...
but if you had tasted this beer you probably would have agreed
with us that this one deserved to be in a category by itself.
although the body and alcohol was a bit high, this beer had absolutely
no off-flavors. With a substantial malt flavor and caramel aftertones,
this beer was very well balanced in hops bitterness and flavor...
We liked it!
Brown- 1st place - Aaron Dionne
Style - American Brown Ale
Score 38/50
This one was an almost perfect example of an American Brown Ale,
except that it had a carbonation problem and needed a bit more
hops flavor. A very clean beer with no off-flavors. This one
was named "Something Wicked This Way Comes".
Brown - 2nd place - Aaron Dionne
Style - American Brown Ale
Score 37/50
Okay, I know what you're thinking...But no, this wasn't the same
beer as the one that won first place in this same category, they
were every different, although it still had the same carbonation
problem as the other. This one had a dominating Cascade aroma.
Although it was overhopped (as if that's possible), it had no
off-flavors and was a favorite of the hopheads in the judging
group...reminiscent of Sierra Nevada's Celebration Ale.
Brown - 2nd place - Mike Arend
Style - American Brown Ale
Score 36/50
This one was very clean and refreshing brown ale with a deep copper
color. The hops bitterness, flavor and aroma were a bit low for
the American Brown Ale style, but it had absolutely no off-flavors.
The Fermental Order of Renaissance Draughtsmen have been invited by the Pontiac Brewing Tribe to a joint social meeting at Kings Brewing in Pontiac on Thurs. Aug. 7th. The pints drop from $2.50 to $2.00 for this special event. Details and a map will be in July's newsletter. They are already planning on a fun night between both clubs, they will of course bring homebrews to sample and some mead as well.
Well, planning for this years Beer-B-Que (the event formerly known
as the pig roast) is well under way. This years event will be
at Hemlock Park in Dearborn with a covered pavilion, private restrooms,
and a playground close by. The day will feature eating, drinking,
singing, merriment, entertainment, kids and adult games, prizes,
a spectacular raffle, beer (duh), more beer. The picnic runs from
1:00 to 10:30 on Saturday, July 26th.
The format is identical to past years...The club provides the
main course (ham, roast beast, and turkey drumsticks) and the
individual members will provide the salads, veggies, appetizers,
side dishes and desserts (and beer).
Tickets are $5 a piece (kids under 12 free) and are available through Doug Lecureaux (810-757-6329-H / 313-323-8385-W) now. Tickets will be available at the door on the day of the event, but advance tickets are preferred since the money is needed upfront to purchase the food.
F.O.R.D. BREW NEWS
published by the F.O.R.D.homebrew club
Editor
Chris Frey
Contributing Writers
Chris Frey
Rich Byrnes
Gabrielle Palmer
Johanne Wilson
Club Officers
Rich Byrnes, President
Johanne Wilson, Vice-Pres.
Sandy Bruce, Treasurer
Ted Geftos, Librarian
Chris Frey, Secretary
Jim Bazzy, Event Coordinator
Tyler Barber, Equipment Manager
Pat Babcock, Business Manager
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.
Correspondence should be directed to:
Chris P. Frey
42686 Woodbridge Road
Canton, Mi. 48188
Work 313-337-1642
Home 313-397-7001
(w) chris.frey-ford@e-mail.com
(h) crispy@worldnet.att.com
Visit our website at: http://oeonline.com /~pbabcock/ford.html
current circulation.....136, and growing!
In the next couple of weeks, I will be sending out a list of possible
dishes to sign up for, but for the time being, I want to get a
count of attendees. If you are definitely NOT coming this year
(and trust me, each year it gets better and better!), please let
me know and I will take you off the list of contacts. If you are
coming, please RSVP with a count of how many adults and children,
and names (for name tags).
No need to sign up for a dish this early unless you know what
you want to bring. Also, if you plan on bringing a keg (last year
we had almost a dozen) please let me know now or soon, and if
it's coke or pepsi.
One of the things that make our annual Beer-B-Que a real success
is the raffle. In the past prizes have been donated by members,
as well as stores. If you would like to donate a prize (usually
beer paraphernalia or beer making supplies), or have contacts
at a store that would be interested, or if you would like to be
a part of the Raffle Prize Procurement Team, or if you just have
a goof idea regarding the Beer-B-Que, please contact me via profs
JWILSO10) or call me at (w) 313-248-4496.
My wife and I just had a new son. He was born on the day of the
last F.O.R.D. meeting (of course) May 28th at 10:54 AM. He was
1.5 carboy diameters long (that's 21.5 inches to the un-initiated)
and weighed in at 11.33 bottles of beer (again, 8lb 8oz for those
that can't do math in their heads). Both Mom and baby are doing
fine. Fuggles Cascade Hampo looks forward to meeting everyone
in the club at the picnic this summer (Ed. - only kidding, his
name is Michael James Hampo).
Appreciation of good beer begins with the inspection of the bottle.
Many homebrewers make time and effort to make a beer label that
will truly complement their home-brew. Our club's first Beer
Label contest proved that we have many talented beer label makers
in our club.
The panel of judges for this competition consisted of three volunteers,
Ed Marsh, Jerry Garner and myself. We were very glad to have Ed's
participation as he and his wife own a Graphic Artist business,
and he has a an impressive collection of labels that he makes
for his own home brews. Ed is also the secretary of the Detroit
Carboys, a home-brew club . Although Jerry and I do not have such
glowing credentials, we have been known to spend hours in the
beer aisle at Merchants, admiring beer labels!
In total, 19 beer labels were entered, enough to separate into
two categories, traditional and eclectic (that is, non-traditional).
Our definition of "traditional" was "classic",
not containing anything out of the ordinary. And "eclectic"
encompassed everything else.
Traditional Category 1st Place Winner: Cat and Parrot
Brewing Company , Sandy Hill,
We could not deny that this is a professional, truly classic label, with the personal touch (The cat and parrot are Sandy's and George's pets). The choice of colors also make this label stand out. This label says that the beer it adorns is a top quality home brew!
Traditional Category 2nd Place Winner: Raspberry Mistletoe Ale, Palmer Brewing Co., Gabrielle Palmer
The Old English font and traditional Santa Claus motif match the
holiday spirit in which this beer was brewed. We liked the text
also.
Traditional Category 3rd Place Winner: Light Brown,
Furnace Room Brewery, Joe Tomasi.
This label has all the classic ingredients: barley, hops, a stein
and an obscure Latin phrase.
Eclectic Category 1st Place Winner: Nekkid Druids Nut Brown Ale, Palmer Brewing Co., Gabrielle Palmer
Eye-catching and consistent in approach with the Celtic font and
the Celtic ring. I've been muttering the rhyme to myself ever
since reading it.
Eclectic Category 2nd Place Winner: Joe Stout, Teddy
Brewing Co., Ted Geftos
Good use of black and white. This label puts you in the mood for
a mellow brew. (Also, amazing likeness to the brewmeister himself!)
Eclectic Category 3rd Place Winner: Trashmeisters Extra Special Bitter, Gary Shewchuk
Trashmeisters wins points for the guy with the lamp on his head
and the lava lamp!
Honorable Mention: Jamaica Mistaka, Chris Frey
Really we think Chris might have gone a little overboard in making this label, but deserves a prize for his painful sacrifice. (Yes it's a real X-ray!)
All in all we were impressed with all the labels that were entered.
Congratulations to the winners and we are looking forward to the
competition next year!
Label Tip of the Day:
Milk makes a good adhesive. Just brush it on, it's not messy,
it sticks well and washes off easily. And it is readily available.
(Skim milk will work too.)
Kolsch is considered a hybrid/mixed style by the AHA. It is a
German style ale, warm-fermented and aged at cold temperatures.
It is golden in color, light bodied. slightly dry, winy, and subtly
sweet. Caramel character should not be evident. Low hop flavor
and aroma with medium bitterness. Fruity esters should be minimally
perceived, if at all. Chill haze should be absent or minimal.
We are not expecting many entries in this category so will we
will do the judging at the meeting. If you are interested please
see Johanne at the beginning of the meeting.
Webmaster for the F.O.R.D. homepages. Must be a Fermental Order
of Renaissance Draughtsmen member. Must be familiar with HTML,
HTML editors, MSWord Internet Assistant, telnet and ftp. Must
have own external internet account and/or firewall clearance in
order to also maintain our external mirror site. Interested parties
should contact Rich Byrnes (rbyrnes2).
Ramblings
Nice thing about being the editor. If you feel like rambling, go on... Two carboys of Dry Irish Stout in their secondaries, a Belgian Wit in the primary, a Wyeast 1056 smack pack bulging on top of the refrigerator, countless bottles of Barley Wine, Porter, Pale Ale, Dark Ale, mystery beers, a pico in the garage, line on a fridge. God, I love this sport!