HopJockeys' Newsletter 03/07/2006

Fellow Homebrewers,

I’m not sure what I love more: making or drinking homebrew. Instead of vacillating on the answer, I drink beer when I brew; … naked.

How’s that for a primer?

Local News

The Senate bill 1190 was killed, so for now, all Indiana Wineries are safe from that crappy bill. I hope legislatures are able to write a proposal that it good for both the state and the local wine industry.

I haven’t been down there myself recently but I hear that BBC now has a pretty good IPA on. I’ve heard that it is better and not over-the-top bitter like last year’s. If you get a chance check it out.

Rich O’s in New Albany has their Gravity Head festival going right now. I went down a week or so ago and it was definitely worth the drive. It started February 24th and will run through a line up of 54 high gravity draft beers from around the world. They have 17 of their 28 taps dedicated to the festival so there is a fantastic selection for those who go. The festival will technically go as long as the beers last; so they should still have quite a few still pouring. Matt wrote up an article for indianabeer.com you can read it here. Be sure to click on the full beer list link within the article, it’s quite impressive.

Club Stuff

The next meeting is scheduled for Thursday March 9th (tomorrow) at 7pm. We are planning on meeting at Upland; if you don’t see us sitting in the dining area ask the bartender if the homebrew club is in the brewery. Apparently, we may be getting a tour.

The second meeting in March is slated for Thursday March 23rd at 7pm. Matt Dunn is hosting this one. We are currently planning on having Kris Walker present on Hop growing and cultivation. Matt and are tentatively planning on doing a tasting of our malt comparisons experiment. We have a total of four beers to compare all made with the same recipe but each is brewed with different base malt. We will compare Munton’s Maris Otter, Crisp Maris Otter, Briess two-Row, and Simpson’s Golden Promise. It should be interesting.

We had an extra meeting last week to firm up the details for the competition. The competition is slatted for May 20th. The format will be similar to the Iron Chef program where we unveil a mystery ingredient. This ingredient could be a hop, malt, sugar, yeast, specialty ingredient like fruit, spice, or … pretty much anything that is beer related. I don’t think we’ll get too off wall with the ingredient, so Kris, no squid. (There will be squid, oh yes, there will be squid! - Kris)

All brewers need to supply their own equipment and ingredients. The goal for each team is to create a beer that best emphasizes the mystery ingredient and of course tastes good. The beers will be brewed on location at the competition. We will then host a 2nd event at a later date (which will basically be a party) where all the participants get back together and have their beers judged. We are currently planning to have BJCP judges to write up evaluation sheets and declare a best of show. The winner will receive the Judge’s Choice award. We will also have the People’s Choice award.

Also as a reminder the club logo submission deadline is March 23rd. If you want to have the bragging rights to our logo, and maybe even a free pint glass to the winner, get ‘er entered. We’re looking for a logo that embodies the club’s name and our love for brewing and beer drinking. So far I haven’t heard from anyone who plans to enter, email me so I can get a feel for how many submissions to expect.

Beer Style of the Month

March is stout month. Maybe brew a dry Irish stout on St. Pat’s day, or a big ass imperial stout, to drink uhh, St. Pat’s day next year. Either way, break out the roasted malt and go nuts.

Tips and Tricks

In January, I wrote about the benefits of making starters. Now I admit, making starters is a bit of a cost and a pain, so here’s a trick that will make it a little easier.

Instead of making a starter from extract why not grab some runnings from your next batch of beer. During lautering, pull off a couple pints when it’s in the 1.040 range. If you’re going to make a starter in a week just put it in a jar or flask and pop it in the fridge. If it’s going to be a bit longer put it in the freezer (just be sure there’s enough head space for ice expansion). Then when you’re ready to make a starter all you have to do is pull it out of the fridge, boil, cool and pitch. Easy cheesy.

Staying warm by the kettle,

Ryan

Copyright 2006