Oktoberfest

Ozapft ist!" "It's tapped!" exclaims the Lord Mayor of Munich after broaching the first barrel of the rich, amber colored, Hacker-Pschorr Oktoberfest Bier, thus officially opening the world-famous Munich Oktoberfest. For the next 16 days, as it has been for over 185 years(since 1810), the citizens of Munich, along with 6 million visitors from all over the world, flock to the Wies'n, the Oktoberfest grounds at the foot of the Queen of Bavaria statue.

"Live and let live, eat and drink well," is the maxim most Oktoberfest revelers have in mind. Big dippers, merry-go-rounds and roller-coasters, all part of a huge midway, provide the background for the proverbial Oktoberfest merriment. The seasonal smell of roasted almonds, rotisseries laden with schweinhaxen (pig shanks, of which 75,000 will be consumed), halbes ein hahn (half a chicken, of which 700,000 will be consumed), 600,000 German sausages, 100 roast oxen, 100,000 salty smoked mackerel or whitefish, 250,000 oversized pretzels, Then there is the Turkish Delight and the gingerbread hearts that all become part of the festive atmosphere as the oom-pah music of the large brass bands within each tent. And, of course, there's the echoing clang of one liter Hacker-Pschorr beer steins accompanied by the ever-present cheer, "Prosit!" (which will be uttered about 3,300,000 times, 790,000 gallons!)

Munich's Oktoberfest is, to the world, the "superbowl of beer." Contrary to popular belief in the United States, Oktoberfest is NOT a celebration of the harvest. Rather, Oktoberfest began in 1810 as a celebration of the wedding in Munich of King Ludwig I of Bavaria to Queen Theresia. The Oktoberfest is not a German nor a Bavarian Holiday; rather, it is strictly a Munich holiday, trademarked by the city of Munich. Only breweries such as Hacker-Pschorr and Paulaner, whose facilities are physically located within the city limits of Munich, are allowed to participate. And, quite similar to champagne in Europe that must be made in the Champagne region, only beers brewed within the city limits of Munich are recognized and allowed to use the Oktoberfest name.

Today's Oktoberfest is still held on the same village green (and former horse ranch) as in 1810, now renamed Theresien -Weisse ( Theresia's Meadow). A huge statue of queen Theresia, similar in size to the statue of liberty, towers over the grounds, her outstretched arms encompassing all of the celebration. Historically, Oktoberfest begins in September and runs for 16 days, ending on the first Sunday in October.

Next Month- a live report from David Peters (our Cologne correspondent) who is GOING to Oktoberfest this year, don't kill too many brain cells David!

Last Meeting

Last months' meeting was another great meeting chock full of rookies and veterans alike, which is surprising for the summer months. There was about 30 members and guests alike at the meeting.

Neal was absent from the meeting as he had family matters to attend to, which left me to run the meeting, big mistake! I now see the value of the agendas, talk about chaos (just kidding Neal, it wasn't that bad, was it guys)?

The proposed changes to the constitution to comply with F.E.R.A. requests were read and voted on for a second time (a stipulation of our constitution), the one item that was ......

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somewhat questionable was the percentage of members that should be actual Ford employees, F.E.R.A. has been asking all the clubs to commit to a 90% employee requirement, we are not now or ever intended to be a Ford Motor Co. Employees only club, we feel 90% is absolutely out of the question, we will counter offer with 70% with explanation, that being the popularity of the hobby and rapid growth of the club. We will know more when Neal submits these changes to the F.E.R.A. Review board.

We also demonstrated the making of an immersion wort chiller. one person (Al Czajkowski) brought in all the parts to make a chiller, with different hose fittings than recommended, but equally good. If anyone ever wants to make a chiller, I will only be too happy to bring in all the tools to make another one. You will need a 50' coil of 3/8" soft copper tubing (probably labeled refrigeration tubing) which will cost about $20 or so, and I prefer to use compression fittings and garden hose adapters (part list available on request) Total cost for a 50' wort chiller is right around $30, compare that to retail cost!

Before we actually had the demonstration began, Pat Babcock was kind enough to present the results of an experiment he performed comparing a counterflow wort chiller Vs an immersion chiller with data being presented on time to cool to specific temperatures, time to sanitize beforehand and time to clean afterwards and overall efficiency. The C.F. wort chiller uses less water, cleans easier and is more efficient it would seem. I have found however, that stirring the wort while chilling greatly reduces the time me to cool for an immersion chiller, and I don't experience the same cleanup problems that Pat encountered, so with any presentation of this nature the YMMV warning applies (Your Mileage May Vary). Pat's presentation was top notch (especially because he only found out he was doing it a few days beforehand)! and copies of his findings titled "a chilling night at the speedway" can be found in our library.

We had a brief review about the Renaissance Festival, the brews seemed to go fine, the site is right in front of an area where live "skits" go on quite frequently, and that can be distracting, but we all got through it and there should be some great beer to share in the near future. For the new members, the Renaissance Festival runs from the first weekend in August through the end of September, each weekend day, different homebrew clubs get a chance to brew on a full Pico system as a demonstration of all grain brewing, the equipment and ingredients are provided by Frankenmuth Brewery, we merely provide muscle, know-how, and we get to keep what we brew. Keep your ears open next year for our clubs dates.

For those of you that have been asking about the glasses for the volunteers at the Rivertown Beer Festival, they should be in by the meeting, no promises carved in blood though!

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 an associate member of the American Homebrewers Association. F.O.R.D. encourages letters, opinions, articles for publicat- ion 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

Member News

Congratulations to Mark & Denise Tenbrink, Marie Lynn was born on 9/14; measuring up at 8lbs 1oz, 20.25" long. Mother and child are doing fine!

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Congratulations to Jim Bazzy for taking some awards at the '95 Michigan State Fair, Jim took a 4th in porter, 2nd in wheat and 2nd in brown ale, the first thing Jim said to me was "Rich, I've only been brewing 10 months, where's all the really good brewers in the club, they could have just killed them!" Let's take Jim's advice and make a real showing at next years fair!

Competition News

Last month's competition was porter (a club favorite) and out of 6 entries, Tim Tape's Paranoid Porter won first place, way to go Tim!

Tim's recipe is as follows:

QUESTIONS?

Dear Baron Von Brewmeister......

"How can I use the dregs of my primary for my next batch?"

This is a question that many brewers are asking themselves! There are several methods available, but they really boil down to:

1. Store the yeast for later use.
2. Immediately repitch the yeast.

No matter what method you choose, sanitation is of the utmost concern! Spray or wipe your work area down with ethanol or bleach before proceeding.

Immediately after racking your beer to the secondary, flame the mouth of the fermentor and the bottom of the airlock to ensure they are free from nasties.

Replace the airlock as soon as you can! I prefer propane torches as flame sources as they produce a controlled, shaped, and extremely hot flame! Ideal for the yeast rancher's needs!

Now, method one: Your yeast dregs can be transferred to another (usually smaller) container for storage under cap or refrigeration. To do this I soak a large funnel in sanitizer. I then spray some foil with ethanol (vodka is fine) and cover both openings on my sanitized funnel. I then soak a paper towel in ethanol and liberally swab the mouths of the primary fermentor and the storage bottle. It's also a good idea to swab the shoulders of your fermentor if you use a carboy. it is helpful to keep some ethanol in a spray bottle so you can simply 'spritz' your work area. Following the swabbing, I flame the mouth of the fermentor as I remove the airlock. The idea here is not to ignite the ethanol but to let the hot flame kill any nasties.

Try to keep your work area tight and under the updraft of the flame as you work. Now, flame the mouth of the storage bottle. Quickly remove the foil covers from your funnel and put it in the storage bottle. Pour the dregs from the fermentor into this bottle. Immediately cap the bottle, or install a sanitized airlock.

Some will store the bottle capped at room temperature. I prefer the use of an airlock and refrigeration. I'd recommend refrigeration no matter which method you use!

To repitch, if a long time has gone by since storing it, let the bottle come slowly to room temperature, then pitch the yeast into a starter as normal (pretty big starter, though)!. If it has been under a month since it was stored, you can simply bring the bottle slowly to room temperature and pitch directly to the wort. Either way, be certain to swab and flame the storage bottle's mouth and shoulders before letting near your precious wort!

Method two is a lot simpler: After racking, swab and flame the fermentor and airlock as above, and replace the airlock on the fermentor. Brew a batch of suitable wort. Chill. Flame fermentor and airlock while removing the latter.

Siphon chilled wort onto dregs. Replace airlock.

Of course, it is considered better to use the yeast from the secondary. Does anyone want to know why?

Dear Baron Von Brewmeister...

"What's the point of doing a mashout? What's the downside if I choose not to?"

Mashout deactivates the enzymes in the mash, allowing YOU to determine the sugar/protein composition of your wort. Without a mashout, the enzymes will continue working during the sparge, converting the proteins responsible for head retention and mouthfeel to sugars. The result a being thinner, more alcoholic beer than you would have had had you performed a mashout. Unless, of course, this is what your mash schedule was set up to produce...

Remember, Baron Von Brewmeister isn't really a Baron, but he knows more than You!

Recipes.

As promised here are the recipes for Tim Millners cider and Doug Lecureaux's Baba Ganooj and toasted chips, both from the pig roast. Thanks to Doug & Tim for sharing these recipes with us!

For 10 gallon batch, combine the following in a large food grade tub:

Juice of 1 bushel of Macintosh apples
3 oz acid blend
2 1/2 tsp. grape tannin
20 lbs sugar
5 campden tablets (crushed)
8 1/2 - 9 gallons of warm water (depending how much juice you get from apples)
*1/2 gallon of yeast starter

Yeast starter in this case is 1 qt of warm water, 1 qt of apple juice and 2 packs of dry white wine yeast. Bring water & juice temp up to about 90 degrees F in Tupperware bowl, sprinkle yeast in and seal. When lid pops off (about 30 minutes), stir and wait 1 hour. You should get a nice thick foam.

Pitch yeast starter into mash at 80 degrees F. Your SP GR should be between 1.08 to 1.1 depending on how sweet your apples were. Rack into 2 5 gallon carboys and add blow off tubes.

After 2 or 3 days(however long it takes for initial blow off), rack & top off with some non-preservative apple juice or cider and add air locks.

1 month later, rack & add 2 1/2 tsp. of pectic enzymes for clarity. Again, top off with a non-preservative apple juice or cider and add air locks.

2 months later, rack & top off.

3 months later, rack & add 6 tsp. of potassium sorbate to stop any more fermentation, sweeten to taste and top off.

3 months later, bottle.

2 Medium sized egg plants
1 Tsp. salt (more to taste)
Juice from 1 big lemon
1/4 Cup finely minced scallions (opt)
1/2 cup of Tahini
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
1/2 cup finely chopped parsley
1 Tbs. extra virgin olive oil

- Pre heat oven to 400 F.
- Cut off stems of egg plant, cut in half lengthwise, pierce skin all over with a fork and lay face down on a cookie sheet.
- Roast in oven until completely pooped. (wrinkled like raisins and soft to the touch.) approx. 45 min.
- Remove from oven and let stand on counter top until cool.
- Using a large spoon scoop out all the meat of the egg plants leaving only the skin. Discard the skin.
- Run meat through food processor until smooth. (seeds and all)
- Combine remaining ingredients (except olive oil) and mix well in a bowl.
- Chill well.
- Drizzle olive oil over the top just prior to serving.

Tips for further Ganouj enjoyment...

- A small amount of finely minced garlic can be added but go easy. Ganouj has a very delicate flavor that is easily over powered.
- Another great way to prepare Ganouj is to cook your egg plant on a charcoal or gas grill or smoker. Prepare the egg plant the same way as above and place face down on the grill. Again cook until pooped.
- You can also add a small amount of liquid smoke (start with 1/4 tsp.) but again go easy. That smoke stuff is really powerful.
- Periodically drizzle more olive oil over the top as you consume.

Note: Tahini is a middle eastern staple food in the form of a loose paste made from sesame seeds. It is sold in a jar at most middle eastern and health food stores. It keeps forever and can be used in other recipes to give a wonderful sesame flavor.

Recipe #2 Never enough buttered pita chips

Easy to make and in my opinion, the only way to reach true Ganouj enlightenment

- Start with plain old store bought pitas (the big ones).
- Split 'em in half and completely separate the halves.
- Cut them into chip size pieces. (The Baba always tears his)
- Brush the rough side with melted butter (did I hear someone say garlic butter)?.
- Place buttered side up on a cookie sheet and sprinkle with parmesan cheese.
- Bake in a pre heated 350 degree oven until golden brown. (watch out, they cook fast and will easily burn if you forget about them.
- Best eaten while still warm and served with chilled Ganouj.

Tip: Sprinkle with you favorite hot sauce or tobasco prior to baking

Prestons Pub Review

MI BREW TOUR

Slowly but surely Michigan is finally getting on to the brewpub/ microbrewery band-wagon.

Over the summer I was fortunate enough to travel to parts of our wonderful state where these needles in a haystack were actually in operation.

My first stop was in early spring at the Grand Rapids Brewery in you guessed it.... Grand Rapids. This is a really nice brewpub done in English pub style charm. The ceilings are vaulted, and the walls hold pre and post prohibition ads, and objects. The brewery itself is situated between the bar room and the dining area. It's on the small side, 7bbl, but that doesn't seem to hinder their output. At the time I was there, their sampler tray was made up of 7 different brews that included a raspberry wheat, and a stout. The menu is really impressive! Everything that was ordered at our table was outstanding.

The second stop was at the Great Baraboo. This was on their second night of being open. Needless to say it was really busy. I stopped in there just to try their brews, and ended up running into a few friends. Two were friends from high school, and the other was Mike Ward from the eastside homebrew club; The Detroit Carboys. This guy Mike seems to know every new brewpub/micro and brewery owner in the state! Anyway.... The Baraboo has four of their own brews that were available the time I was there, plus they brew a specialty that I haven't seen in the three times I've been there. They are: Sharks Tooth Bay Golden Ale, which is really light; Kings Peak Caribou Brew Wheat, when this was mixed 50/50 with the light, it turned out to be a very nice light American wheat; Snake Eye Canyon Red Ale, this is what I drank my second and third trips to the Baraboo, and by all means, it's not what brought me back! The fourth and final brew on hand at the Baraboo was the Boston Blackstone Porter, This is described on the beer menu as "the brewmaster's own family recipe brewed during prohibition. A delicious dark-colored, medium to full body, known for it's creamy texture, a real treat." It would have been a real treat if he would have actually followed the above guidelines. The food at the Baraboo isn't all bad. On the second visit I had the fish and chips. The fish was in a beer batter and the chips were really thick potato wedges. The third visit I had the half rack of bbq'd ribs. These were very meaty and medium spicy. The food here and the fact that they are local were the reasons to return to this bright, airy and loud pub again and again. That was until the Royal Oak Brewery opened their doors on Sept. 4th.

The Royal Oak Brewery is the perfect definition of a brewpub. It has a nice warm English pub type atmosphere, and the menu has a southwest flair. The dining side of the pub is dimly lit and cozy. And the brewery........... It is enormous in proportion to the rest of the restaurant! Brightly lit, shiny, stainless catches your eye everywhere you look. Royal Oak's new product lines are all guaranteed winners. I ordered their 5oz. sampler tray of the 4 brews they had available at the time. They were: Northern Light, brewed for those who would normally order a commercial, run-of-the-mill type beer, the only difference is the taste; Royal Oak Red, they had to have one, everybody's got one! This red is very, very good, highly recommended, perfect ivory head, deep garnet color, and the smell and taste are just, just....... making me really thirsty! Pappy's Porch Sippin Porter, I would love to find out how they came up with the name for this one. I have yet to find a porter from a brewpub in this state to be close to what I consider a true porter. Pappy's was close but it was lacking body. The Bitter Dish, a true English bitter. This ale had a terrific bite after swallowing! I'm not much of a hop-head but this was very good.

While at the Ann Arbor Art Fair, I made it a point to stop at Arbor Brewing. They had just opened the weekend prior and had only two of their brews available. Bonnie's Bliss, an American wheat that I greatly appreciated after walking the fair for 3 hours. Arbor Alt, I don't remember if this was the correct name, but I do know it was an alt. Very nice, but a tad too heavy due to the heat of the day. Didn't eat there, they just had a special art fare menu with just appetizers and salads.

Last of the summer brewpub tour was the Big Buck Brewery & Steakhouse. It is worth the trip to just see what 3 to 4 million U.S. dollars will get you in a brewpub. Don't get me wrong, this is a very nice establishment, but for that kind of money................ Actually, I think they might be both, a brewery and a brewpub. They have a very impressive brewhouse behind glass for all to see, that almost compares to Frankenmuth in size. In a room next to the "brewquarium" as one of the owners called it, is a half million dollar bottling line! As I was getting the tour, I asked the gentleman which of the brews was his favorite. His answer had me feeling surprised and sad both at the same time; believe it or not, he is allergic to the yeast in beer. Another reason to make this 4 hour trip is the food. In one word, outstanding. I had the Wisconsin Street Ribs with the smoky bar-b-que sauce.....WOW! TAS-TEE! The Big Buck has the best brewpub menu I've seen. In fact, I finished my first pint before I decided what to order. And my first order was a sampler of their six available of seven brews. This could be why there is at least a 2 hour wait for lunch and dinner Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The beers are: Antler Ale, and Big Buck Beer, two for the masses stuck on commercial beer; Redbird Ale, nicely done red pale ale; Billy Bock, the saaz aroma really comes through in this one, body was a little thin for my liking, never-the-less, very enjoyable; Black River Stout, this is what I ordered to help me in my menu choice. This porter was exciting, wait, even better, it was perfect. Now there's a word you'll rarely see/hear from me when I'm tasting beer, the only exception is when I'm drinking my own! Wolverine Wheat, as you probably can tell, I'm not really big on wheat beers, but according to the sampler description sheet, it says "This beer will be a real thirst quencher on those hot summer days.

At the Big Buck, they have a room on the left side as you enter. In here they have clothing and drinking vessels with the brewery name and logo on them. They also sell their Big Buck Beer to go in six packs. They also have their beers in Party Pigs! Party Pigs are 2 gallon containers with a tap that has an inflatable bag inside that forces the brew out. They require a $25 deposit on this, but it is refillable. The cost to fill depends on the style you buy, and all their beers are available.

As I was writing this informative article for the newsletter, I made my way back to Ann Arbor to check out the state's latest brewpub entry; Grizzly Peak. It has taken over 3 years for this pub to open, so naturally I expected great things form this place. The food was excellent! The beers although on the low gravity side weren't too bad. Victors' Golden Ale; a light ale, this wasn't available when I was there, but our waitress said it was their best seller. Grizzly Peak Pale Ale; this was on the light side, but it was bitter. Could've been their light ale for all I know. Steelhead Red; weak. Bear Paw Porter; could've been an excellent porter, if only the O.G. was higher. County Cork's Irish Stout, not bad, but a little too heavy on the roasted grain.

I asked if we could get a tour of their brewery, but was denied. Our waitress said the brewer just finished sterilizing everything and didn't want to risk contamination. Later I found out they incorporate an open fermentation in their brewing process. Hmmmmmm.

Revisits

While in Ann Arbor I revisited the Arbor Brewery and was able to sample four of their house brews. Red Snapper Special Bitter, refreshing, smooth bitter with a quick clean finish; Big Ben Mild Bitter, mild bitter comes across as an oxymoron I know, but this is exactly what the name states. It truly is a mildly bitter ale. Octoberfest, unfortunately this was the only brew unavailable . By the time you read this, it will be very popular. The assistant brewmistress Bonnie assured me of this. Faricy Fest Irish Stout, this stout was heartily welcomed after sampling the stout from their neighbor's a block away. The Faricy??? with light body and mild hop bitterness was real smooth and creamy. Very enjoyable. Lastly we have Bonnie's Bliss, which is their wheat beer. No change to the previous writing. All the brews at the Arbor Brewery are unfiltered. According to Bonnie this doesn't seem to bother the customers. It certainly didn't bother this one!

I was able to make another trip to the Royal Oak Brewery for dinner. Their menu really does have a southwest attitude. I had a steak and onion pizza, and was offered the choice of regular dough or spent grain. Of course I chose to go for the grain! It was excellent! Also had the red again. It was different than the red on the previous visit, much better if you can believe it. Definitely check this brewpub out. The waitstaff are really helpful and somewhat brew-knowledgeable. The CD jukebox has a very decent selection and they have a television in every corner in case you want to glance up to see what's going on in the sports world. The Brewmaster Wayne is usually there, and loves to talk beer/brewing.

On the Horizon

In the near future, I think we'll be seeing more and more brewpubs arriving. In every town in the tri-county area that already has something to draw people in, there will soon be a brewpub where you can walk into, pull up a stool, and order their finest pint of liquid refreshness. And this is all coming soon to a town near you. Cheers!

More Reviews

Mmmmmmm...tasty beer! King's offers a Pale Ale and a Crown Brown Ale. The owner's, Jeff and Scott, also intend to offer several seasonal brews including IPA, Triple Bock, Wheat, and Porter. The beer is currently being served from twelve taps around town with a potential capacity to support eighty. Bottling is on the horizon.

The brewing system appears very user friendly. They have a large crushed malt storage tank with augers to transfer the grain. The mash/lauter system has 15 bbl capacity while their 3 fermenters are 30 bbl. They chill the beer after fermentation to cause the yeast to settle out to be used for the next batch. Each fermenter is connected to a slick glycol cooling system. To prevent secondary fermentation once kegged, they use a plate filter. The tax determination tank doubles as a carbonation tester; if the beer needs it, CO2 is added. King is brewed with filtered and conditioned Pontiac water. There is room for some expansion in the brewing area.

Out front is a hospitality area where beer and brewermania is available. The tasting room is open until 7:00pm and boasts beer, dart boards, and friendly folks. Jeff offered the use of the facility for brew club meetings although they have to stop serving at 9:00pm (it's the law). Also, John, from the CassRiver Brewers suggested a joint club gathering on a weekend. I think King'shas a good thing going.

Three cheers for local beers!

Mark Hansen

Oktoberfest Pt. 2

Our clubs own Oktoberfest will be celebrated at Merchants Warehouse of Royal Oak on Sep. 30th (Saturday) officially from 12-5, but participants will be there at around 10:00 to start setting up. This is a great opportunity to stop by to help make an all grain batch, experience is definitely not required. We will be in the parking lot behind Merchants (on Main St. Just North of 11 mile) making a Vienna and Marzen all grain, and 2 different extract batches. Stop on by and get some deals at Merchants and lend a hand brewing. This event has been publicized so we should get a good showing from the public!

Next meeting

Septembers meeting will be on Wed the 27th at Traffic Jam & Snugs in Detroit. The meetings generally start a little after 6 and go for a couple of hours or so.

For the new members I must repeat the rules of the restaraunt.

- there is 1 check only at the end of the night, cash only!

- We are allowed to bring our own beers in, nothing else (except homemade wine)

That's it!

The competition this month is "Best of the Fest", an AHA club only Octoberfest competition. This includes Vienna and Marzen/Oktoberfest.

The next few competitions are as follows:

October: Fruit/Pumpkin
November: Brown Ales
December: Xmas & Barley wine

The October competition is a free for all, meaning your rasberry stout could be competing with a cherry wheat.

The Brown ale is an AHA competition, and the Dec. Xmas beer is another free for all.

TIPS

Check out a restaraunt /bar supply shop for brewing supplies, you would be surprised what you can find in those places!

Need old stale hops for a lambic? You could save some for a few years, OR you could check out any health food store, they usually have hops sitting on th shelf, pretty old & pathetic looking!

See you at the meeting!

Age: 30

Profession: Programmer

Outside Interests: Taking care of my daughter (Madison), golf (duffer) and any other activity that comes along (I'll try almost anything)

Years Brewing: 8 months

Batches Brewed: 6

How Started: My brother-in-law received a brew kit for christmas from his father in law. His first batch was so good (nut brown ale) that I had to do this for myself.

First Batch: IPA, turned out OK, had help from my brother-in-law. Got a little sloppy straining the wort through the hops (contamination?) but it was still pretty good.

Worst Batch: Tried to make a fruit beer, the problem was that I was trying to make something totally different every batch. I made a strawberry beer, just to see what a fruit beer would be like (not because it sounded like a particulary tasty beverage). I must have contaminated the beer with the fruit because the aroma was good, but the taste went from slightly bearable to pretty damn horrible over the first month. (Still drank it though!)

Best Batch: A honey wheat and a porter both turned out pretty good.

Favorite Commercial Beer: Sam Adams has a lot of good beers, Bass Ale, Oatmeal stout.

Favorite Style to Brew: Haven't made the same style twice.

Philosophy: RDWHAHB (Relax, Don't Worry.....) Make this as enjoyable for yourself as possible. If you stress out and work too hard to do everything perfect (i.e. hours sanitizing and rinsing bottles, carboys...) you won't enjoy doing it. My Brother-in-law has already slowed down, and that's a shame because he always used to have a good supply of homebrews when I visited.

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Last updated 10/17/96