After months and months of planning and preparation, it's all over in a day. No, I'm not talking about Y2K remediation; I'm talking about the 2000 edition of the UKG Drunk Monk Challenge. On March 4th, local and out of state judges and stewards converged on Two Brothers Brewing in Warrenville to evaluate 276 entries and ultimately determine the best of show and crown the latest Menace of the Monastery. The Knaves deeply appreciate the commitment of the out-of-town judges from the Quad Cities, Champaign, and Detroit for making the trip (hey, where were the Wisconsin and Indiana folks?) and spending a weekend with us. Thanks also to members of our neighboring clubs, the Headhunters and Chicago Beer Society for help with judging the most entries we've ever had for this competition.
I greatly appreciate the tireless effort from head organizer (and club webmaster), Steve McKenna, in orchestrating the many details that made this a successful competition. Thanks also to the following members of the competition committee: Shane and Laurel Coombs for making sure all entries were registered quickly, accurately, and completely, Don Alton for graciously hosting the pre-competition reception and assembling the menus for lunch and the post-competition banquet, Chris Campanelli for taking time out Friday to set up the competition site and for procuring the "comfy chairs", Joe Formanek for rounding up the judging contingent and maintaining order during the day, Zemo for managing the stewarding group as well as designing and procuring the ribbons and awards plus the commemorative glassware, and finally, John Mains for signing up sponsors and door prize donors that allows this competition to post a modest increase to the club treasury as opposed to being a drain on the treasury as most competitions are.
Ultimately, DMC2000 was a resounding success because of the generosity and commitment of Two Brothers Brewing to host this event. Two Brothers and The Brewers Coop have been long time supporters of this club's efforts and we are most indebted for their assistance in making these activities possible. I hope everyone who participated in the competition or attended the evening's festivities had an enjoyable experience and is looking forward to next year's extravaganza. In February, the club conducted our annual Train Crawl (Crain Trawl to you veteran members); this time our destination was Flossmoor Station Brewing hard by the Metra Electric line at the Flossmoor stop. I thank Todd Ashman and the staff at FSBC for their warm hospitality and growler of Old Conundrum Barley Wine that was consumed on the return trip to Chicago. On both legs of the excursion, we stopped at the standup bar at The Berghoff. Crawlers were also treated to a "once in a lifetime" stop at the Ida Noyes pub on the University of Chicago campus. This is a members-only club and we were granted admission as guests of Roger Deschner from the Chicago Beer Society who joined the crawl on the way to FSBC (thanks again, Roger).
Please note that on the last Saturday in April (4/29), club member Wendy Cottrell will be conducting a yeast management seminar in Naperville at the home of fellow member, John Mains. We will have more information as the event approaches, but I would like to thank John for once again hosting a club event of this magnitude and Wendy for sharing with other members some of her expertise on this subject. Just a reminder that the annual AHA conference will be held June 22-24 in Livonia Michigan and the club is making a commitment to repeat last year's honor as Homebrew Club of the Year. We hope to have substantial club representation there since we will be hosting two hospitality events; plus a lot of people in the picture when we accept the club-of-the-year trophy will look good in Zymurgy. I will have more information regarding registration for the conference at future club meetings. Finally, the next newsletter will contain a ballot for election of club officers (president and newsletter editor). Nominations will be accepted anytime between now and the May club meeting.
The Trojan Horse was filled with Greek soldiers. The Trojan Goat is filled with beer. The giant, barrel-bodied goat is the new BockFest poster, the fifth one designed by Cincinnati illustrator Jim Effler. "Each year I try to do something with a goat," Mr. Effler says. (The German word bock means billy goat.) "Last year I was taking pictures at the BockFest parade, and I was getting down real low to get dramatic perspective. I thought about how big things looked from below and I thought about the Trojan horse."
Mr. Effler, who is co-owner of Air Studio on Main Street, downtown Cincinnati, does magazine, advertising children's book illustrating. He is the author of an instruction book on airbrush illustration. He has created posters for Cincinnati Oktoberfest, Summerfair, A Day in Eden, the Cincinnati Zoo's Festival of Lights and Baseball at Broadway Commons. Each year Mr. Effler selects a different variety of goat to star in his BockFest poster. This year's parading goat is surrounded by a crowd of revelers dressed in garb from various time periods from the Renaissance to the present. "One of the reasons I like to do the BockFest poster is so I can get out my oil paints. Oil is a great medium to work in, but it dries so slowly that you can't use it for commercial clients who are always in a rush."
Two Augustinian monks who live in the Mother of the Good Shepherd Monastery by the Sea on Peaks Island follow their holy orders to live a simple, contemplative life. Bound by vows of chastity, poverty and obedience, Father Seamus of Jesus and Brother Nicholas of the Immaculate Heart chant prayers up to seven times a day from early morning to late at night. They spend at least an hour a day in meditation and reading Scriptures, and they eat dinner in silence. But their lives aren't completely closed to the secular world. Seamus and Nicholas also have a Web site, a gift shop, a guest house and an answering machine that tells callers, "Be assured that the monks are praying for you." And, following a tradition dating back to German friars in the 1300s, they make beer. Before Christmas, Gritty McDuff's asked Seamus and Nicholas to bless the brewery's mash for Christmas ale. Then some friends gave them a beer-making kit and they brewed 43 bottles, which turned out to be the first batch of Two Monks Brew. To earn their way, the two monks rely on donations as well as the guest and retreat section of the monastery. Nicholas, a former nurse technician who entered the religious life eight years ago, says the beer may be a new source of funds. "Any beer is godly if it will bring in money," said Nicholas, the bursar and beer drinker of the two. But, he emphasized, "We're not here to build a business - we're here to pray." While they watch TV, rent movies, read newspapers, and their business card lists phone, fax, e-mail and Web site, the two monks are vigilant against "too much world," said Seamus, a former parish priest who went blind as a child 41 years ago. The two hold periodic retreats to "concentrate on what God has called us to."
In England, a small traditional maltster is helping to produce a batch of unusual real ale - brewed using barley grown in fields with crop circles. Warminster Maltings in Wiltshire was approached by a local farmer after an American company expressed an interest in the barley grown in his numerous mysterious fields. The Californian-based Crop Circle Beer was anxious that its specially selected barley should not be mixed with crops from ordinary land. So farm owner Tim Carson, of Alton Barnes, near Devizes, contacted his local maltings, which still uses the traditional labour-intensive method of steeping the grain in vats of water, and then spreading it on the floor to ensure germination. Head maltster Chris Garratt said that the American brewer was insistent that the crop circle barley should be clearly identifiable and traceable throughout the malting process. That is now complete and the barley is being transported to California for brewing. The beer will not be available in England, but Mr Garratt said he planned to make every effort to visit the Californian brewery to try it. He said: "It was a unique moment to have this batch isolated and we knew it would turn into something special."
A group of women stormed a Kenyan police station to demand officers either make love to them or close illegal drinking dens they said made their husbands impotent, a local newspaper reported Wednesday. The People newspaper said the women, from Kandara, north of Nairobi, brought business in the town to a halt with their day-long protest against excessive drinking by their menfolk. "Our men have turned to vegetables. They leave home early and come back intoxicated. There is nobody to meet the sexual needs of wives," the newspaper quoted one woman as saying. The women, drawn from 24 Catholic church groups, demanded that the officer in charge of the police station either order his men to make love to them or find them new husbands because they were sexually frustrated. The paper did not say how police reacted to their demands. The women said the population of the district was falling as a result of the poor sexual performance of the men.
Brewers are among the world's most exacting customers. One reason for this fussiness is that while beer making is a high tech industry, many brewers cling to traditions dating back to Bavarian brewing laws written 500 years ago. Industry consolidation is another factor, said Blair Louden, who procures malting barley in Canada for ConAgra Ltd. A single company may brew 30 different types of beer and every vat must be perfect, Louder said at the Western Canadian Barley Growers Association's annual convention in Calgary. Brewers emphasize brand loyalty, product quality and consistency above all. Their specifications for grain and malt are extremely tight. For example, companies selling malt to Japan must test for 72 pesticide residues. Half of those chemicals are not licensed in Canada. An example of strict product guardianship is a trade assurance scheme for grain in the United Kingdom. The program started in the early 1990s because of concern over the type of chemicals used on farm-stored grain. When bovine spongiform encephalopathy (mad cow disease) was traced back to animal feed, the grain program became more diligent. It is a paper blizzard for farmers and allows processors to trace back and audit every farm product. Under this scheme, grain companies have a code of conduct and code of practice for trucking and grain storage. Everybody handling grain must be accredited and is subject to independent audits. When grain arrives at a malting plant, there is paperwork to explain when and where it was seeded. The program documents soil analysis, fertilizer applications and chemical use. The trucker must document what he hauled for the last three loads. Farmers must sign off on the cleanliness of the truck because it could have been used to carry animal byproducts. Louden said North America has not paid enough attention to these audit systems. An identity preserved system could be used as a sales feature. This kind of tracking system could be part of a production contract that acts like an admission ticket to some markets.
Don Alton "wins" a raffle at the Dec. '94 meeting for a chance to be 'brewer-for-a-day' at Box Office brewpub (R.I.P.) in downtown DeKalb. Don assisted head brewer, Mike Rybinski (now at The Roundhouse in Aurora - ed.), brew an oatmeal stout. The grain bill included 150# 6-row, 100# 2-row, 50# carapils, 50# Vienna, 20# black patent, 20# chocolate, 75# oats. Fuggles were used for bittering, and Saaz for aroma. Wyeast 1056 utilized for fermentation.
Baderbrau Bock at Eric & Me - St. Charles
Golden Prairie Maple Stout (growlers) at Famous Liquors - Lombard
Sam Adams Dopplebock at John's Buffet - Winfield
When brewing with maple syrup you will undoubtedly create a high alcohol brew. Maple syrup-based beers will, due to the presence of unfermentable sugars, add quite a bit of residual sweetness along the lines of a sweet desert wine.
Grade A syrups are the mildest, typically from the first sap run. Grade C are the darkest, most intense syrups and are produced from the last sap run of the season.
Moon Shot Maple Ale (2nd place 1995 AHA Specialty Quest Club-Only Comp.)
4# Alexander's pale extract
1# Alexander's dark extract
2 oz. Cascade hops
2 oz. Willamette hops
14-16 cups Grade C maple syrup
1-2 tsp. Irish moss 5 gal. water
Bring water and extract to boil. Add Cascade hops. After 30 minutes add 1 oz. Willamette hops and maple syrup. After 15 minutes turn off heat and add last ounce of Willamette hops. Let steep for 10 minutes then cool to fermentation temperature. Ferment with a neutral ale yeast. OG 1.100, FG 1.020.
The European Commission this week targeted leading European brewers including Heineken, Peroni, Grolsch and Carlsberg for investigative raids carried out as part of a probe into suspected price-fixing and collusion. The Commission, the Brussels-based executive arm of the European Union, said Friday it had raided Heineken offices in the Netherlands and Italy, Dutch sites owned by Belgium's Interbrew as well as other offices owned by Dutch brewers Grolsch and Bavaria, citing suspicions that the companies colluded to fix prices, share markets and exchange commercial information. In Italy the investigators also raided Peroni and Carlsberg. The raids also extended to the Dutch and Italian brewers associations. The EU conducted a series of similar raids in France in January and in Belgium last year. In the French raid, officials searched French food company Danone's Kronenbourg brewing unit in Strasbourg, France and the Paris offices of Danone and Heineken. A few months prior to that search, the EU had launched a similar investigation in Belgium into Danone's Maes brewing unit. If a cartel is found to exist, the EU has the power to levy fines of as much as 10 percent of any accused company's annual revenue. Any fines by the EU would be the first of their kind in the beer industry. The EU hinted that the raids could extend to other areas as well. "The investigation is not limited to the Netherlands and Italy," the Commission said in a statement. "The Commission is also looking at the beer market in other European countries."
Tiny Australian brewer Boag & Son thinks big. Based on the island state of Tasmania, Boag, with its book value of $31million (American, $51 million Australian) has made a bid to purchase the giant English brewer Bass Ale. The folks at Bass are considering bids on their brewing operations, which includes such names as Carling, Worthington and Caffrey Ale, along with brewing interests in the Czech Republic and China. It seems they want to concentrate more on their hotel and pub business and leave the brewing to someone else. Other international brewers are anxious to get their hands on Bass as well. Heineken, Carlsberg and South African Breweries all have entered the bidding war. Boag CEO Philip Adkins said its success in the competitive Australian beer market qualified it to compete for Bass. Since Bass is valued at anywhere from 4 to 5.3 billion American dollars not many people give Adkins a chance at pulling this off.
What
is it?
Big
Brew 2000 is an event where homebrewers everywhere brew beer on the same day,
National Homebrew Day, May 6, 2000. For the third consecutive year, homebrewers
across the nation, as well as homebrewers in other countries, will brew the same
beer recipe at the same time and participate in a synchronized toast.
Purpose
-
To celebrate the 11th Anniversary of National Homebrew Day and the 21st Year of
the American Homebrewers Association.
-
To promote and encourage all levels of homebrewing by any and all homebrewers.
-
To organize an event where homebrewers can stand up and be counted as part of a
large homebrewing community.
Guidelines
In
order to officially participate in Big Brew 2000 you must brew beer anytime on
National Homebrew Day, May 6. You
also need to register your brewing site on the AHA web site at http://beertown.org/AHA/Bigbrew99/bigbrewreg.htm. The options for Big Brew 2000 are:
-
"Same Recipe"
How
many gallons of the same recipe is brewed? This year the recipe is an American
Pale Ale. See below for recipe
details
-
"Same Time"
Regardless
of style brewed, ignite flame(s) at 12 noon
-
"Big Brew Toast"
At
exactly 12 noon, raise a glass to toast other homebrewers everywhere!
-
"Teach Someone to Brew"
Number
of new brewers observing / participating we can introduce to the rewarding hobby
Staffing
-Site
Director/Site Liaison
One
person at each site to ensure that the site is registered before Big Brew 2000
and ensure that all the data is collected and remitted to the AHA. This person
will also act as the liaison between the AHA and all the participating
Recipe
| 6.5 gallons water (2.5 mash, 4 sparge) | 1 T gypsum (unless using hard water) |
| 7 lb U.S. two row malt | 1/2 lb U.S. crystal malt 60 L |
| 1/2 lb U.S. dextrin malt | 1
oz Perle hops (first wort hop) |
| 1/2 oz Cascade hops (flavor) | 1/2
t Irish moss |
| 1/2 oz Cascade hops (aroma) | 1/2
oz Cascade hops (dry hop) |
| Wyeast 1056 liquid ale yeast |
Mash
grains in water at 152° F for 60 minutes. Raise temperature to 168° F by
draining mash tun, heating liquid to 180° F. Recirculate. Sparge with 168° F
water with gypsum. Bring to wort boil. Add bittering hops. Boil 80 minutes. Add
Irish moss and flavor hops. Boil 9 minutes. Add aroma hops. One minute later,
turn off kettle. Chill. Transfer to fermenter.
Pitch yeast and aerate. Do a two-stage fermentation. Add dry hops to
secondary fermenter before racking. Bottle with 3/4 cup corn sugar or keg and
force-carbonate when complete.
| 5 gallons water (1 1/2 steep and boil, 3 1/2 added) | 1 T Gypsum (unless using hard water) |
| 1/2 lb U.S. crystal malt 40 L | 1/2 lb U.S. crystal malt 20 L |
| 6 3/4 lb Alexander's Pale Malt Extract Syrup | 1 1/2 oz Perle hops (bittering) |
| 1/2 oz Cascade hops (flavor) | 1/2 t Irish Moss |
| 1/2 oz Cascade hops (aroma) | 1/2 oz Cascade hops (dry hop) |
| Wyeast 1056 liquid ale yeast |
Steep grains at 160° F for 20 minutes. Remove grains. Bring to boil. Remove from heat. Dissolve malt extract and gypsum in kettle. Bring to boil. Add bittering hops. Boil 30 minutes. Add Irish moss and flavor hops. Boil 9 minutes. Add aroma hops. One minute later, turn off kettle. Chill. Transfer to fermenter. Pitch yeast and aerate. Add dry hops to secondary fermenter before racking. Bottle with 3/4 cup corn sugar or keg and force-carbonate when complete.
It was February, so naturally it was cold. We had just had the biggest snowfall of the year. And naturally, the Knaves were on a train on their way to drink some beer. Our $5 weekend METRA pass was taking us south. Not far enough south to be any warmer or any less snowy, but far enough to find some really fine beer. About a dozen Knaves met around 11:30am at the Berghoff downtown after taking the train from the western burbs. With only enough time for a single beer, we hopped the Illinois Central and by 1:15pm we had arrived at Flossmoor Station. When you get off the train you just about trip over the brewpub, but since we only had one beer so far, we walked gracefully into the renovated train station. The warm, friendly interior was as welcome as the first Gandy Dancer Honey Ale I ordered. After managing just a few quick sips, Flossmoor's brewmaster, Chris, who had to run out to Libertyville for a competition, started the brewery tour. While most everything at the brewery was normal for this type of operation, the fact that the grain was stored across the street and had to be hauled over for each brewday, did seem a bit strange. It turns out the village fathers, in all their wisdom, did not like the idea of grinding malt on premises, as the flour could explode. One can just not be too careful when dealing with volatile 2-row barley. After showing us his equipment and answering our questions, Chris took off and we ordered our lunch. I think everyone agreed that the food and drink were quite good. Too soon it was 4:00 and time for the Last Train to Clarksville, or Chicago at least. Most of us stopped off at the University of Chicago for another round or two with Roger Deschner, but a few others and I reversed our earlier trip and headed home. Another crain trawl was over for this year.
February 12 proved to be an exciting day for UKG brewer Rich Janevicius. The best of show winner of the 1999 Land of the Muddy Waters Competition held last May in the Quad cities. The competition was sponsored by M.U.G.Z.. (Mississippi Unquenchable Grail Zymurgists) and drew over 120 entries. Grand prize was the opportunity to brew a batch of the winning entry at the Blue Cat Brew Pub in Rock Island. Unfortunately, due to scheduling conflicts and other unavoidable delays, Rich didn't get to brew until this past February. It all worked out in the end since Rich's winning entry was a Raspberry Wheat, better served during the spring and summer months.
Early in the morning of February 12, Rich began his brew day. Joe Egdorf, brewer at the Blue Cat met Rich and his wife, Ellen at 7am to get started. Joe is a graduate of the Siebel Institute and has been brewing at Blue Cat for over a year. Grinding over 300 pounds of grain came as an easier task than it is at home, thanks to automation! However, removing it from the mash tun was quite a task since it has to be loaded into a wheelbarrow and brought outside, via a narrow gang plank. After the wort was boiled , it was chilled via a heavy duty wort chiller (Rich couldn't talk Joe into letting him borrow it for use at home. Oh well!). "All in all, it seemed easier to brew on a large scale than it is at home, since much of the process is automated", stated Rich. " Now the only thing to figure out is how to justify an 8 barrel system in my basement!" The beer is scheduled to be tapped around April 15, though an exact date will be forthcoming in case any fellow Knaves wish to take a road trip out to the western part of our state.
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Last modified 07/04/02 .