Congratulations ! You are the proud recipient of the inaugural UKG newsletter for the first year prefaced with the number two. Better put it away in a time capsule, there probably won't be a Knaves Knews for Jan./Feb. 3000. Anybody want to speculate on what the beer industry and homebrewing hobby will look like in Y3K ? If so, submit your best prognostications to our newsletter editor.
This should be an exciting year for the club especially as the anticipation builds to the middle of the year when all beer steins will be trained on the metropolis of Livonia MI to hear if the Knaves can repeat AHA Club of the Year honors and retain the coveted chrome bench capper for another year. The club is backing this effort by subsidizing one-half the cost of each member's entry fee to the AHA Nationals. Although number of club members in attendance at the national conference does not count for Club of the Year points, it is my hope that we can get a sizeable Knave contingent to Livonia June 22-24 at least for moral support.
But before we get to June, there's a few months between now and then and a few club events I'd like to highlight.
This month we host our annual February train crawl (see story within for details). Those of you long-time club members (more than 2 years) will recall that this event has typically been focused on brewpubs and good beer bars along the BNSF Metra line. After last year's crawl we thought we'd try the same concept along the UP-West line. Unfortunately, the only potential stops within easy walking distance from the train stations would have been Glen Ellyn Brewing and John's Buffet. So another idea was proposed; a train excursion to one of the more distant brewpubs that most members have not been able to visit. Two that are near Metra stops are Mickey Finn's in Libertyville and Flossmoor Station in Flossmoor. Upon reviewing train schedules, Flossmoor was chosen for this years event. FSBC head brewer, Todd Ashman, has been contacted and promises brewhouse tours as well as some interesting selections among their dozen taps. Cost of transportation for the whole trip is a very reasonable $5 for a Metra weekend pass.
Next month is the second annual Drunk Monk Challenge homebrew competition and potluck dinner which will be held this year at Two Brothers Brewing Co. Event planning is well underway and in the capable hands of competition chairman, Steve McKenna. This is a good opportunity to have your beers judged just prior to the AHA Nationals so you can find out which ones have the best potential for entry in the nationals. It's also a great chance to get involved in a major club event. If you haven't already volunteered, this is a great way to get involved in a major club event; contact Steve at 630-305-0554 for more information.
In May, club member Wendy Cottrell will be conducting a yeast management seminar. This event promises to be very educational and offer plenty of opportunity for questions and discussion. We'll have more information about this in next newsletter.
In closing, I'd like to mention that your current club officers, myself and Tom Oelrich, will not be running for reelection during officer elections in June. Our collective opinion is that after 3 consecutive terms it's probably time for some new leadership and new ideas. We will still maintain positions on the board of directors as specified by the club bylaws. I, myself, would like to contribute more time to the club in terms of organizing style seminars which I promised I would do a term or two ago but haven't been able to. Nominations for president and newsletter editor will be taken during the May meeting for ballot publication in the June newsletter.
Once again, thanks for your support and ongoing contributions that make this one of the most successful clubs in the Chicagoland area.
Anheuser-Busch Cos. has learned the hard way that in Japan, at least, sex doesn't sell beer. In the mid-1990s, the world's largest beer maker ran a series of television commercials showing scantily clad "Budweiser Girls" swinging their hips as they served beer to Japanese salarymen relaxing in crowded bars after work. Trouble is, in Japan 70 percent of all beer is consumed at home. The misguided ads helped send the Budweiser brand into a decline that ended with the company's decision last month to close Budweiser Japan Co., fire 90 workers, and sell its beer through a distributor.
"Those TV commercials with Bud Girls were so unrealistic," said Shuichi Shibanuma, a senior analyst at Merrill Lynch Japan Inc. "Japanese beer drinkers don't connect Budweiser Girls with their beer-drinking practice." Last year, Budweiser Japan captured just 0.8 percent of the case volume in Japan, the world's fifth-largest beer market with about 2.7 trillion yen ($26.5 billion) in annual sales. That was down from 1.3 percent in 1996, Budweiser's best year in Japan.
Though it dominates Japan's foreign-beer market, it has never come close to challenging domestic leader Kirin Brewery Co. and No. 2 Asahi Breweries Ltd. The "results were far below expectations," the company said in its annual report last year.
Anheuser-Busch officials declined to be interviewed. The Bud Girls commercials were developed by Hakuhodo Inc., Japan's second-largest ad agency, which also declined to comment.
From 1981 to 1993, St. Louis-based Anheuser-Busch sold Budweiser through a licensing agreement with Suntory Ltd., Japan's fourth-largest beer maker. Then the company bet it could increase sales by going it alone. Its case volume did rise slightly at first, but last year it was 32 percent lower than it was its last year under
Suntory. "They were too confident about themselves and thought they could sell their beer better in Japan than Suntory did," said Masaaki Yamaguchi, a senior analyst at Nomura Securities Co. "They gambled, but they didn't win."
The advertising was one of several high-profile mistakes that showed Anheuser-Busch, a master marketer in its home country, didn't understand Japanese beer drinkers, analysts say.
Those drinkers had flocked to foreign brands in the early 1990s, when the strong yen kept imported beers inexpensive. By 1994, imported beer accounted for 4.5 percent of all the beer taxed in Japan, up from 1 percent in 1989.
Japanese brewers introduced low-malt beverages to compete. Low-malts, which are taxed less by the government, sell for about two-thirds the price of regular beer. That made them an attractive alternative when Japan's economy stalled. In 1998, sales of low-malts doubled while regular beer sales shrank 8 percent.
"I used to drink foreign beers at home because they were cheaper than Japanese beer brands," said Kazuo Suzuki, a 39-year-old furniture salesman. "Now I drink low-malt brew because
it's as good as regular beer and much cheaper." Anheuser-Busch tried to compete by introducing its own low-malt brew, the first time the brewer had tried a country-specific product. Buddy's brand, which went on sale last year, never caught on.
Japanese beer drinkers weren't convinced that an American company could make a low-malt beer as well as the major domestic brewers, such as Kirin, according to analysts.
"I knew Buddy's wouldn't sell because Anheuser-Busch couldn't sell Budweiser well in Japan," Nomura's Yamaguchi said. "How could it sell the low-malt brew?"
Compared with their Japanese rivals, Budweiser and other foreign brewers don't do enough to promote the quality of their brews, analysts say.
"The Japanese are serious about beer," said Yuji Fukuda, a senior research director at Dentsu Institute for Human Studies, a think tank for Dentsu Inc., Japan's largest ad agency. "And they need a strong appeal from beer makers that they are trying hard to make good beer. Foreign beer makers fail to appreciate that." Anheuser-Busch's brands now will be distributed by Kirin, which had owned 10 percent of Budweiser Japan and produced 20 percent of Budweiser beer at its factory in Tochigi prefecture, north of Tokyo.
Kirin will produce all Budweiser sold in Japan, though when it takes over wasn't spelled out in last month's agreement. That should keep the remaining Japanese Budweiser fans happy -- and hopeful.
"For me, Budweiser is America," said Yukio Takano, president of Billy Barew's Japan Co., which operates four imported-beer bars in Tokyo. "And to me, America is a strong country. If the Americans really try hard, they can be very powerful."
June Davidson interviewed more than 2,000 women this year to uncover their tastes in beer. Now Davidson, director of marketing at Louisville, Colo.-based Majestic Brewing Co., and her colleagues are ready to launch what could be a first worldwide - a creamy, golden microbrew named "Anu" that is dedicated to women. With Anu (she was the mother of Celts, according to the folks at Majestic), Majestic is betting that women really do have different tastes in beer than men. "When Majestic first formed, they always saw a market segment for women", Davidson said. When the brew pub opened in January 1999 Davidson's first job was to chat with women about what they wanted in their beer. She tracked them down wherever she could find them - in bars, in health clubs. "It's been very interesting", Davidson said. "Women want an alternative to traditional beers." Davidson's polling results indicated that women were thirsting for a smooth beer that wasn't highly carbonated. Majestic set about making Anu. Using a nitrogen-based brewing process, like that used in beers like Guinness, Anu is sold in a box that contains 24 pressurized pouches designed to stay fresh for six to eight weeks. The boxes cost $28. For each box sold, Majestic will donate $1 to breast cancer research. Though it's not a low-calorie "lite" beer, "it's lower in calories than most beers", Davidson said. Majestic is introducing Anu in Colorado and plans to make it available nationwide within six months. "This caters to what's most neurotic in women", says Julie Bradford Johnson, managing editor of All About Beer, a brewing journal based in Durham, N.C. "They think, `Beer is gassy and it will make me fat.' Well, I drink quite a lot of beer, and I'm not fat. It's the chips, not the beer, that make you fat." The editor and beer connoisseur says any brew dedicated to women should be nothing less than rich and flavorful.
Other brewing experts say targeting women is wise, but marketing to them exclusively may limit potential sales.
A poster with a surprise behind it is giving new meaning to the phrase “doing your business” in the bathroom. From the same Canadian firm that pioneered the placement of advertising posters above men’s urinals in restaurants and bars comes a new twist — interactive audio ads pushing beer just as the potential customer is making room for more. Once a light-sensitive switch behind the new posters is activated, a male or female voice issues its message out of four tiny speakers hidden in the aluminum frame. The aim? Captivating a captive audience. For its first foray, Montreal-based Zoom Media teamed with Toronto’s Labatt Breweries, placing the ads in nearly 150 bars and pubs in five Ontario cities and a number of university campuses. The ads promote Labatt’s Blue brand of beer among 18- to 34-year-olds. “Labatt wanted new ideas” for their ‘Out of the Blue’ campaign that positioned the product as ‘unexpected,’” explains Zoom General Manager Martin Poitras. “And we knew we would have our frames talk. We were just waiting for someone to ask for it.” While the poster promotes Blue beer, the four 30-second ads say almost nothing about the product, relying instead on surreal comedy. One audio ad is set up like an answering machine — complete with flashing message light — that plays back “messages” from your mother, best friend and sister. Another is designed to make you feel like you’re taking a taxi ride on a trip to French-speaking Montreal. It offers handy phases such as “oui” (yes), “bonjour” (hello), and “Je voudrais voir un avocat” (I’d like to talk to a lawyer). Poitras says the promotion has been an outstanding success. “People laughed, and Labatt sold more beer.” The firm is now working with a U.S. company to launch a nationwide talking ad campaign in the first half of 2000, adds Poitras. The campaign may take a little getting used to. Bookstore worker Janet Milligan, who now thinks the ads are funny, says she first found them intrusive and annoying, especially since mostly male voices are used. “It’s jarring to hear a male voice in a woman’s washroom.”
Toronto actor Ron Thomson “thought they were funny,” when he first heard them. The ads “started a lot of discussion, so people wanted to go in and see and hear what it was about. New technology always attracts a crowd.” His only criticism was having to hear a message from “his mother” while he’s in the bathroom. Plus, he adds, “they scared a lot of drunks at the urinals.”
A group of Belgian brewers sued the Coors Brewing Co. Thursday, contending that calling a beer brewed in Colorado and Tennessee "Belgian" is misleading consumers. At issue is Coors' marketing of Blue Moon Belgian White, which the Confederation of Belgian Brewers believes is designed to fool consumers into thinking it is a Belgian-made rather than a Belgian-style beer. "There are ways to do a Belgian-style beer without misleading the public," said Bart Lazar, the confederation lawyer who filed the lawsuit in federal court in Chicago.
Lazar said complaints to Coors and the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms eventually caused the company to put the words "Belgian Style" on the bottles, but that the words are in small type and obscured by the six-pack's carton. The main label says "Blue Moon Belgian White," while the smaller label reads: "A Belgian-style wheat ale that is brewed with wheat, oats and barley malt; exotically spiced with coriander and orange peel for a creamy taste and refreshing finish." Coors had not yet seen the lawsuit and could not comment on it, company spokeswoman Lori Varsames said. But she pointed out that both labels refer to "Blue Moon Brewing Co. USA" and that the bottles also note the beer is brewed in Denver and Memphis, Tenn. The ATF had reviewed and approved the current labels, Varsames said.
The Belgian brewers are seeking to stop Coors from marketing the beer as Belgian, to make it pay for "corrective advertising" and to make it pay punitive damages. Radio advertisements for Belgian White refer to Belgian beers as among the world's best. One refers to Blue Moon Belgian White as being "brewed in the true Belgian tradition." Another says "there are four Belgian universities dedicated to brewing excellence and inspiring people to brew beer like Blue Moon Belgian White." Asked if his clients think Blue Moon is lousy beer, Lazar was diplomatic. "Taste is subjective," he said. "But if the public associates Belgian beer with an inauthentic product it could have a substantial effect on the growth of the market."
On the 20th of February, the newest addition of the local brew scene will open it's doors. The Ram restaurant and brewery opens in Schaumburg (1901 N. McConnor Pkwy.) I am not sure why, but they have not yet offered us a sneak preview, so the only info I can pass on is from their website. Ram International, owners of The Ram, run a number of different brewpubs throughout the South and West under many different names: Humperdink's, Tir-Na-Nog, C.B. & Potts, Texas Bar & Grill, and The Stonehouse along with The Ram. Their beer line-up is mainstream - mostly ales with one lager style (Maibock). Most have un-interesting names like Big Horn Light and Big Red Ale, but they also show a bit of personality with their Buttface Amber Ale and Total Disorder Porter. And this just in to the Knave Knews newsdesk, Ram International has just announced plans they would like to open a new location in Wheeling, IL on the site of the old Hines Lumber building at 700 N. Milwaukee along Wheeling's Restaurant Row. With Flatlander's and Mickey Finn's just down the road, Milwaukee Ave. would boast a nice line-up for a future pub crawl. Let's hope The Ram's beer is better than their names.
While on vacation in early January, I had a spare hour or two in Key West Florida. My wife and I were on a cruise with friends, and this was our first stop. We decided not to go on any of the planned tours, but simply walk around the area and get a feel for Key West. While walking down Whitehead St., it was my wife, Sue that noticed the sign: Kelly's – Caribbean Bar-Grill-Brewery! It was an attractive building with a beautiful courtyard/dining area. The bar was old looking and comfortable. Kelly’s has two attributes, which separate it from other brewpubs. The first is proclaimed on t-shirts sold in its gift shop and on signs inside “The Southernmost Brewery in America”. The other is not noticeable at first, and I didn’t realize until after I left and read it in some literature about Key West; actress Kelly McGillis and her husband own Kelly’s. I had time to have a pint of their Golden Ale, which was the color of a Bass ale (the supplier delivered the wrong kind of malt, the barkeep explained) which otherwise was quite good. I also sampled their porter and weiss, and was glad I ordered the pint of Golden Ale. But if your plans bring you to the Keys, I suggest you take the time for a visit to Kelly’s.
For lovers of a thick, rich pint of Guinness stout, the question that may come to mind when gazing at the glass is why the brew's bubbles seem to sink down along the sides, not rise as self-respecting bubbles are supposed to do. The answer has been elusive because those asking the question are often in the process of drinking the experiment, complicating the physics involved. Now Clive Fletcher, a computer theorist at Australia's University of New South Wales, has taken a sober look at the mystery by making a computer model of a pint of Guinness using fluid-dynamics software. What he and his students found was that Guinness bubbles in the center of a glass move upward with such speed that they create a circulation pattern that drags small bubbles down along the side of the glass. It isn't clear whether this phenomenon is unique to Guinness, so students of other stouts and ales should stand by to perform experiments in the service of science. To see fluid dynamics in a pint of Guinness, go to: http://www.fluent.com/news/pressrel/guinness.htm
The basics:
Inventors: Alan J. Forage & William J. Byrne
Assignee: Arthur Guinness Son & Co., Ltd.
Process:
The gas pod in the can is blow molded with nitrogen (N).
A laser zaps a hole in the pod. (they experimented with holes between 0.2mm and 2.5mm finding that 0.61 mm as ideal)
Pod is inserted in the bottom of can.
Can is filled with CO2/N2 supersaturated stout. N2 is present at 1.5 v/v min up to 3.5 v/v. (FYI, vol/vol is the number of volumes of gas which are dissolved in a unit volume of beverage at 760mm of Hg & 15.6°C) CO2 is present at between 0.8 and 1.5 v/v.
During filling, foam rises to top of can. This clears the air.
A charge of liquid N2 is added to the stout.
Can is sealed.
As liquid N2 boils off in can during pasteurisation (60°C for 15-20 min), top of can pressurizes and forces the stout into the pod, thus compressing the ambient pressure N2 in the pod.
Equilibrium is reached at about 25 psi.
As I interpret the patent, this is what happens when the can is opened:
The can quickly depressurizes to ambient pressure. The pod thus expels the stout contained in it (about 10-15 ml) at high velocity through the orifice. This causes high local strain of the stout at the plane of the orifice. This strain exceeds the cohesive forces holding the gases in solution. As a result, the N2/CO2 is liberated from the stout at the plane of the orifice. The millions of tiny N2/CO2 bubbles then become the foam head. So contrary to my initial belief, while some of the N2 gas in the pod escapes directly into the stout, it is actually the "ripping apart" of the stout as it exits the pod which produces the bubbles, hence the creamy head
Eviction
Upon review of Naperville liquor laws, Taylor Brewing will no longer allow
homebrew to be brought on premises. A new site for monthly meetings will be determined.
Homebrew should not be brought to Taylor for the Feb. meeting.
UFO (Unusual Fermented Objects) Sightings
Belgian Red Cherry Ale - New Glarus Brewing
DE-Icer - Chicago Brewing
Hoppy Holidays - Taylor Brewing
The Knaves will host a BJCP exam at Taylor Brewing on 4/23/95.
The first study session will be held at Frank Dobner's house on Jan. 20.
Pale Ale Style Seminar
23 members and guests attended a pale ale style seminar at Taylor Brewing.
Commercial and homebrewed examples were sampled.
A popularity poll was conducted of the homebrewed submissions, results
are as follows:
First - Mike Montgomery's "New World IPA"
10# DWC Pale Ale Malt-----|
3/4# DWC Biscuit
|_______Mash at 151-153F for 90 min.
1/4# DWC Wheat
| Mashout
at 168-170F for 10 min.
1# Crystal Malt 60L-------|
1 oz. Cascade(whole)7.4% 60 min.
2 oz. Northern Brewer(whole)7.5% 60 min.
1 oz. Cascade(whole) 30 min.
1 oz. Cascade(whole) 10 min.
2 oz. Cascade(pellet)5.5% dry hop
Wyeast London ESB
Water treatment - 1 tsp. ea. gypsum, epsom salt, lactic acid
Second - Jay Kash's "West India Pale Ale"
9# DWC Pale Ale Malt
3/4# Crystal Malt 20L
1/2 oz. Northern Brewer(pellet)7.1% 60 min.
1/4 oz. Pearle(pellet)8% 60 min.
1/4 oz. Eroica(pellet)9.5% 60 min.
1/4 oz. Tettnang(pellet)4.1% 20 min.
1/4 oz. Willamette(pellet)5% 10 min.
1/2 oz. Cascade(pellet)6.5% at knockout
Wyeast American Ale
Third - Frank Dobner's "English Pale Ale"
10# DWC Pale Ale Malt -|_______
Mash at 151-153F for 90 min.
1# DWC Caravienne Malt -|
Mashout at 168-170F for 5 min.
1 oz. EastKentGoldings(plugs)5.2% 60 min.
1/2 oz. EKG(plugs) 30 min.
1/2 oz. EKG(plugs) 15 min.
1 oz. EKG(plugs) dry hop
YeastLab British Ale
Water treatment - 2 tsp. gypsum
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Last modified 01/27/01 .