View from the Top of the Tun

Most of what a president would say at the start of a new brewing season actually got said in the August issue. So if you want to read what I would normally say here go back a month.

It cannot be overstated that last year was one of the best the Guild had in many years. We managed to revitalize ourselves, membership has grown and we hosted our biggest competition ever. The reintroduction of our monthly tastings and participating in the AHA club only competitions certainly played a critical role in stirring interest amongst established members and holding on to new ones. A successful BJCP course resulted in several new judges, and judges from the Guild traveled to shows in Regina and Calgary helping to solidify our stature as the leading brew club in western Canada. We’ve gained the respect of other clubs in the region and I am confident that the Guild will continue to play a leading role in the development of homebrewing in the Prairie Provinces. If all goes to plan this year we will be hosting western Canada’s first regional conference to coincide with our ABC/MCAB competition. This event will help to inaugurate a new organization tentatively entitled the Western Confederation of Beer Clubs. Regina, Calgary and Winnipeg have all expressed interest in forming this union of Western Canadian brew clubs.

The executive this year was outstanding with everyone pulling together to make the Guild work. Long time guild member Neil Herbst, in addition to hosting the guild and exec meetings, always provided sage advise to the exec. Neil co-taught the BJCP course with me and without him the course would not have happened. Boyd Oberhoffner in his first term as secretary kept an outstanding record of all decisions and could be relied on to make sure we made consistent and legally correct decisions. At a time when our bookkeeping was far behind and our membership list out of date, long time brewer Ray Duperon stepped in to play the role of treasurer and added a great element of stability to the record keeping. Glen Hannah took over as competition chair for the long serving Kevin Zaychuk and did the impossible, by yet again increasing our number of entries into the ABC. Günther Trageser continued to serve as newsletter editor and maintained the standards that had established The Worthouse News as the best brew club newsletter being produced in Canada. And lastly but certainly not least, board appointed Website guru Jim Whittome maintained a dynamite site that brought in most of our new members. And lastly but certainly not least, new Guild member Bob Boufford stepped in to pinch hit for Gunther and finished off the year in fine form as acting editor of The Worthouse News. Make sure you drink a toast to all these guys for the great service they have done for the Guild over the past year.

I hope that the next executive will continue along the same vein that last years did. It is especially important that we keep up the monthly club tastings and that we try to send more brews to more competitions both in the region and internationally. I expect that the newsletter will shift itself to producing more original content, drawing on the great depth of knowledge that exists among members of the Edmonton Homebrewers Guild. If we are to maintain our standards as the best club in the west, and by default, the nation, then we have to be the ones to lead. And the best ways to lead are to: 1- host a great competition, 2- compete in other clubs competitions, and 3- publish a great newsletter that teaches everyone how to brew better beer, whether they be guild members or from other Canadian brew clubs. In that way the cloak of excellence that all Guild members have earned the right to wear will be shared with all brewers across the nation.

Elections

The September meeting is the Annual General Meeting with elections to the board. Now before that scares you into not showing up to avoid being railroaded into a position, let me say that this year we have unprecedented enthusiasm. In fact people have already let it be known that they intend to run for positions making the normally agonizing nomination procedure much easier this year and leaving more time to do the things we really want to do – like drink beer! Positions people have stepped forward for to date are: President (Roxy) and Treasurer (Ray), and the always difficult Newsletter Editor (Bob Boufford) and Competition Chair (Glen). Jim says that he will continue with the website. That leaves only Vice Pres. and Secretary completely open. That being said, if you would like to run for any positions they are all open. I encourage you to show up and participate in the elections. As a good friend of mine used to say “If you don’t vote - don’t bitch.” But honestly, the club deserves better than that and your input determines its strength and direction. The Guild is now on a roll, membership is increasing, and everyone’s input and participation is needed to keep the momentum going. It would be great to have a full house at the September meeting so we can get the new season rolling a month earlier than normal.

From the Bottom of the Mash

Welcome to the September issue of The Worthouse News. I hope everyone had an enjoyable summer and managed to keep on brewing.

As you read this issue, we look to continue publishing, as Roxy says, "the best brew club newsletter being produced in Canada". Thanks to Günther Trageser and his efforts over the past couple of years publishing the club newsletter.

So what's planned for upcoming newsletter issues? Not much of a major change right now. For the time being, we look to keeping the layout and format you are used to seeing every month. From my experiences publishing the Ohio Lawn Care Association OLCA News newsletter, we found members like some consistency. Think of the bad feeling you get when your favourite brew store rearranges all the stock?

One of our major goals for upcoming issues will be having more contributions from EHG members. Now, I know some of you right away are saying, "I can't write". But you will be surprised at what you can write when it comes to something you are passionate about, homebrewing. And we will not always want full page or multi-page articles for the newsletter. It might be your favourite recipe that you can share with the rest of the club membership or, tell us your experiences visiting a unique brewpub or microbrewery. Both of these topics will fit nicely into a half page of the newsletter. We are also interested in style articles to go with the monthly Theme nights and for general interest.

One of the major tasks of a newsletter editor is to work with article authors. Unlike the movies and television shows, it is not in our best interest to rip through an article or toss it in the trashcan. Our task is to guide you in your writing and help when needed. If you can write at least two handwritten pages for an article, there will be plenty to print in the newsletter. We only ask that you type your article into a Microsoft Word document or send it as an email message. For those who absolutely cannot type, my going rate for typing is a bottle per page. ☺ We will also be interested in any homebrewing articles printed in other homebrew club newsletters or brewing publications. The only requirement is that we have copyright permission to reprint the article. Most homebrew club newsletters give reprint permission to other club newsletters with proper credit to the author and the club. An electronic copy of the article will make it easier to reprint in the newsletter.

Important Upcoming Competitions

A couple of important competitions coming up that Guild members are ask to support with entries.

Dixie Cup Houston TX
October 16-18, 2003
MCAB qualifier

This is the 20th annual Dixie Cup and is the largest regional competition in North America. The Foam Rangers always support the ABC with lots of entries and to keep this friendship going it’s important that we reciprocate. Besides it’s an MCAB qualifier and so for those of us who missed out on a first place qualifier at the ABC, especially those who lost to Texas, here’s a chance to redeem ourselves. This is a full BJCP class competition that has similar split categories to what we did last year (in fact we stole the idea from them!).
Date: Entries 26 September – 10 October
Fees: $6.00 USD till October 3rd, $10.00 USD until
October 10th
Bottle requirements: three bottles
Further information: http://www.foamrangers.com or http://www.crunchyfrog.net/dixiecup/
Roxy will have a few copies of entry forms at the September meeting but we encourage you to download the entry form from their website as it runs several pages.
Editor's note: The new September 2003 issue of Brew Your Own magazine has a profile article on The Dixie Cup (pg 11).

Saskatoon
Nov 15-16, 2003

This is we believe Saskatoon’s first competition being held independently of Regina but as part of the ALEs network. It’s important that we show support for other western brew clubs, especially a brand new competition. I know Regina will be shipping a lot of beers and it’s a great way to start of the season with a bit of friendly regional rivalry. I am sure this will be an AHA sanctioned event so we should organize a car pool of judges to go and help out. Billeting will be available so travel costs will be low.
Date: Entries due Nov. 8

Competition: weekend of Nov. 15-16
Fees: unknown at this time
Classes: unknown at this time
Further information will be published in the October and November issues of The Worthouse News

Second Annual Cane Exchange

In a basic effort to keep our beer quality high the Guild will be running our second annual Cane Exchange. What’s the Cane Exchange you may ask? Bring in your old racking cane to either Harvest Brewing Co. or South Side Brew Crew, spend $10.00 on any product, give them your old cane and they will give you a new cane in exchange. What’s an old cane? Well I would say any cane pushing a year old is old – canes develop micro-cracks as they age and these cracks harbour bacteria and wild yeast that bleach just cannot reach. Eventually populations of these critters build up in a cane and ruin all beers being racked through them. Any light band-aid or sour character in your beer is a good sign that you’ve got a cracked cane. Take advantage of this deal between the Guild and these supporting stores and GET RID OF THAT OLD CANE!

Speciality hop order this month!

I have worked with Paddock Wood to bring in two specialty European Lager hops. On spec they have brought in both varieties in pellet form. As such I am willing to organize a hop order for these varieties. I want to send the order right after the September meeting. This is not part of our annual whole flower hop order, but an opportunity to obtain some new hops. The annual whole flower hop order will be announced in an upcoming issue of the newsletter.

I’ll have an order sheet at the September meeting. Cost is $7.00 per 4oz or $20.00 per pound including shipping. Bring payment to the September meeting, as I will only order with a prepayment.

Try these Lovely Lager Yeasts

Did you know that yeast is one of the biggest contributors to the flavour profile of beer? In addition to adding sulphur, ester, and diacetyl characters, yeast plays a significant role in determining whether hops or malts will dominate. Yet, while many of us delight in experimenting with various hop combinations and drool over the now readily available selection of malt varieties, when was the last time you tried a new yeast?

Most of us tend to be pretty conservative when it comes to choosing yeasts. Once we find a variety that we like we tend to stick with it — pretty much like the average beer drinker will blindly stick with their Bud or Blue. However, unlike Bud and Blue, there are huge differences in the flavour profiles amongst the yeast varieties that are available to us.

Many local lager brewers have discovered the very forgiving, reliable, clean, slightly malt accentuated Wyeast 2124 Bohemian. This is a very good yeast to start brewing lagers with. It keeps its lager character at low ale temperatures and works well across a wide range of styles. Its balance makes it the London Ale of lager brewing. Its use by Budweiser gives some credence to its mainstream temperament.

For those seeking to broaden their brewing horizons I have three other yeasts that I recommend exploring. The first two are commonly available locally; the third can only be ordered from Paddock Wood — they are the sole distributors.

Wyeast 2112 California lager – like 2124 this is a lager yeast that is forgiving of warm temperature ferments. Its flocculation is listed as high and it’s supposed to ferment brilliant. I’ve found that its flocculation is medium and it usually requires a clearing agent to make it brilliant. Wyeast suggests that it produces malty beers, but I have found that it can lean towards being a bit dry and actually does very well for bitter beers like Classic American Pils. Its extremely clean profile and forgiving nature make it a natural choice for American style lagers, and for California Common beer. A good choice for people wanting something with bit more of a North American micro twist in their lager’s profile than what the European 2124 delivers.

Wyeast 2278 Czech Pils – this yeast requires cold fermentation temperatures. It ferments down to 75% in about 20 days at 10° C. At 20 days the beer is basically clear – isinglass would make it brilliant. Wyeast says this yeast is malty but dry. I found that description a bit confusing. In fact it is distinctly soft and malty. The sulphur character of the primary ferment dissipates and the beer is left with just a hint of DMS – very pleasant and lending a bit of complexity to an otherwise clean profile. Its soft profile makes it an excellent choice for all malt-dominated beers including Bohemian Pils, Munich Helles, Oktoberfests, Boks and Munich Dunkels. Fermenting it at a warmer temperature in the primary followed by a cold secondary would probably make for a very distinctive and wonderfully complex California Common.

Wyeast 2782 Staro Lager – this yeast is only available from Paddock Wood (http://www.paddockwood.com). For those of you with adventuresome tastes, this is a truly wonderful complex, competition-style lager yeast. It creates unique beers for those brewers intent on making a statement. Not for the faint of heart, but if you love the sulphur character that compliments the spicy hops of a rich tasting North German Pils this yeast is for you. More sulphur character lingers on with this yeast than in 2278 and the balance is distinctly towards hops. That being said, the most flavourful Oktoberfest I ever made was using Staro yeast, perhaps because it pushed the brew to its limit. For North German Pils and Dortmunder Exports there could not be a better yeast. I took a silver medal in the MCAB finals last year with a German Pils made with Staro yeast. The yeast does require patience – long cold primary and secondary ferments are necessary to control the sulphur profile. The beer will clear wonderfully. The wait is worth it. Any brew that is intended to be big, bold and perhaps a bit nasty will benefit from the use of Steropramen.

Gabriel’s Touch – North German Pils

20 liters (5.25 gal US), 1.052 O.G., 45 IBU
4.5 kg (10 lbs) Budvar Undermodified
300 gm (11 oz) Carahelles – 12° L
300 gm (11 oz) Carapils
40 gm (1.4oz) Mt. Hood 5.0% 60 min
56 gm (2.0oz) Sterling 7.0% 20 min
21 gm (0.75oz) Mt. Hood Dry hop
21 gm (0.75oz) Sterling Dry hop
1600 ml Staro culture

2/3 of the total water bill should be reverse osmosis treated water

2 step decoction mash

Primary 24 hours at 15 C (60F) then 17 days at 5 C (40 F). Secondary 40 days at 5 C (40 F)

Notes:

• cleared with isinglass but was probably not needed
• if you use Westcan malt then either use all Carapils or 450 gm Carapils and 150 gm Carahelles
• Saaz can be substituted for Sterling at about 2 times the weight

Gose Down So Well

When my wife and I were traveling from town to town through what was formerly East Germany we happened to find a real treasure in the city of Leipzig, Gose beer. Gose (pronounced 'goezah') was originally brewed many centuries ago in the town of Goslar. This beer was easily the most popular beer in Leipzig for centuries. The reason for its popularity may have something to do with the fact that it was rumoured to increase sexual potency, but I think the rumour existed simply to give men an excuse to drink it. By the late 1800’s the demand for Gose was much greater than the supply, but for some reason the brewery didn’t expand to satisfy the public desire. Instead, Gose was rationed out to select pubs. Being an owner of a pub that served this luscious beer was a privilege that few enjoyed. Thus, Gose was a beer for the elite, too expensive for the working masses. It was bottled in special long necked bottles that at one time served to naturally seal when a thick cake of yeast rose up from the fermenting beer and hardened. After the Second World War, the infamous Gose became virtually unknown and by 1968, there was none being produced at all. In 1985, a brewer interviewed some old Gose drinkers and formulated a recipe that came as close as possible to the original. The rest is history. Gose can be obtained only in Leipzig at a few pubs that are lucky enough to serve it. Modern bottles of Gose are thankfully sealed with bottle caps or corks, rather than allowing the krausen to harden in the neck of the bottle. Unfortunately, only one brewery still uses the long necked flat bottles.

Like most beers in Europe, each has its own glass. Gose is always consumed in a long cylindrical glass, similar to its bottle. The beer itself is naturally cloudy due to the use of wheat and is well carbonated. When drinking Gose, don’t expect it to taste like any other beer that you’ve ever had. They add spices and (gasp) salt, but the salt flavour is barely evident. The combination of the malty sweetness, hop bitterness, the slight saltiness, and subtle sourness may possibly make this beer the most flavour-balanced style in the world. Now, university students proudly order Gose in select beer gardens near the University of Leipzig.

The most wonderful thing about this style is that it is no problem to reproduce at home. The base malt is 50 – 60% wheat malt, and 40 – 50% German pilsner malt. Some Munich malt is added for flavour (perhaps some of the more experienced brewers in the guild will be able to ballpark how much). I was told that the mash is 2 hours long, so I assume that a decoction mash is performed. The hops used are surprisingly Northern Brewer for bittering and Perle for flavour and aroma. Ground coriander and a small amount of salt are added. The yeast strain used is Wiehestephan along with a lactobacillus culture. Fermentation takes place at 20°C for 3 – 5 days and lagering is done for about 3 weeks.

The only way to get a commercial example of this rare beer is to go to Leipzig. As far as I know, only one bottle exists in Canada and it is sitting in my refrigerator right now. However, if you come to the September meeting on Monday, I will have that 500mL bottle there for the group to try. Being that this month's theme night is speciality, experimental and historical beers, I thought it would be good to introduce a totally unique style that is reminiscent of how beer was brewed in Germany prior to the Reinheitsgebot of 1516. I promise that it is a truly fantastic beer. See you there.

Roxy Profiled in Brew Your Own magazine

Thanks to Mike Tessier of CAMRA Calgary, Roxy Hastings is being profiled by Brew Your Own magazine. BYO contacted CAMRA Calgary looking to profile an avid homebrewer from Canada. Mike suggested that they get in touch with Roxy who he described as being “a real brewing machine”. The article has been written and edited and is expected in the October issue.

Meeting Nights will continue with Theme Nights!

As written in the August 2003 issue of The Worthouse News, for this upcoming season, the Guild is continuing with Theme Nights at monthly meetings. So check out what's scheduled and plan your brews accordingly. On the months marked with AHA, the beer deemed the best of the night, will go forward to an AHA event.

We currently have the following styles scheduled with other styles to be determined by the Guild Executives. The list will be updated in an upcoming issue of The Worthouse News.

For this month's Theme of Specialty, Experimental and Historical styles, any left over beers from the first BURRP! Contest qualifies as "experimental" giving you and the club an opportunity for more glory at a higher level of competition!

Guidelines for the Theme night "mini-competitions" can be found in the August 2003 issue of The Worthouse News or at the club website:
http://www.ehg.ca/EVENTS/guidelines.htm.

Grinding away again: Adjusting Plate Mills

After the article on malt mills in the August 2003 issue of The Worthouse News, some of the members took me to task about my comment on plate mills (Corona/Porkert) being more difficult to adjust. One rebuttal was to use a feeler gauge. Being distracted into trying more of Roxy's prize-winning ales, I didn't pursue it further at the time. While recently scanning the Homebrew Digest forums (http://www.hdb.org/forums), I came across this recommendation for adjusting plate mills by Richard Triplett:

"A trick to roughly set up the crush is to place a dime between the plate and mill. Tighten down end wing nuts first, and then tighten down the center wing nut. Back off the end wing nuts just enough to extract dime and run a bit of grain through. I have issues where the end nuts back out over time, but a quick turn sets things right again."

If anyone else in the Guild has a favourite method of adjusting plate mills to obtain a consistent grind, send it to the editor for publishing in a later issue of The Worthouse News.

Intermediate Brewing and Mead Making Courses

After an almost 10 year hiatus Roxy and Neil were once again approached by the Devonian Botanic Garden to run beer and mead making courses. The beer course is an introduction to extract brewing and takes place over 6 Wednesday evenings. The mead making is a one-day course. This is an opportunity to learn about brewing in a structured course. The class will brew two beers and talk about and taste various beers and brewing products. You will learn how to select hops, malts and yeasts for various beer styles, how to handle fermentations and packaging options. There is a very real possibility that Roxy and Neil will teach a one day introduction to all-grain brewing course at the Garden in the winter session.

Brewing Better Beer: Oct 8 to Nov 12 6:30-9:30 $95.00
Making Marvelous Mead: Sun Nov 9 10:00-3:00 $36.00

To register for one or both courses, contact the Devonian Garden. Phone: 987-2064
Brewing and Mead Making Course descriptions (from Devonian Botanic Garden)

Brewing Better Beer

Immerse yourself in the wonderful world of wort! Learn how to process basic ingredients into excellent, extract- based home brewed beers. This is a hands-on course with lots of demonstrations and sensory evaluations. You will brew two extract beers under the guidance of instructors from the Edmonton Homebrewers Guild.
Topics will include: basic brewing principles, equipment, recipe formulation, hop tastings, malt additions, yeasts and packaging. Learn the most common faults of homebrew and how to avoid them. Best of all, you are going to learn how to brew better beer — without relying on commercial kits.
Instructors: Roxy Hastings and Neil Herbst

Making Marvelous Meads

Made from honey, this wonderful wine-like beverage is simple to make and a delight to sample. You will learn how to vint soft Riesling-like whites, sparkling ginger meads and deep, rich, and earthy berry concoctions. After demonstrating how various meads are made the instructor will discuss basic equipment and ingredients, including popular honey varieties, fruits, and spices. We will examine yeast strains and learn how to handle the fermentation cycle for desired sweetness, balance and carbonation.
Instructor: Roxy Hastings

BJCP Course

Because of their commitments to teaching the courses at the Devonian Botanic Gardens Roxy and Neil will not be offering their BJCP course this year. They are however willing to do the course next year. However, there are other qualified instructors in the Guild and these people may step forward to offer a course this year. One way or the other it is never too early to start studying for this exam. So Roxy will be creating a list of persons interested in either taking the exam for the first time or rewriting for advancement. She will have a sign up sheet at the September and October meetings. We will start to assign these people to judge in our monthly tastings sessions.

If you are aiming to rewrite the exam remember that you have the option of writing just the essay or tastings as well as doing the whole thing. Fees are lower and you will be under less time pressure. Contact the BJCP to get a breakdown of your essay and tastings scores. Roxy is willing to help you plan a strategy for your rewrite based on your breakdown.

In case you haven’t heard, last spring Roxy was promoted from a BJCP instructor to exam grader status by the BJCP. She is currently the only Canadian BJCP judge to hold this position. Her duties in that position entail marking and grading BJCP exams (not Edmonton’s of course) and creating the feedback sheets to the examinees. This position gives her an inside track on the workings of the BJCP and how the exam process works. It will be a benefit to all BJCP judges and wanabees in western Canada to have her as part of the BJCP system.

Annual General Meeting and Election of Executives

Guild members are reminded that the September meeting is the Annual General Meeting and that means elections to the board. Now before that scares you into not showing up to avoid being railroaded into a position, we can that this year we have unprecedented enthusiasm. In fact people have already let it be known that they intend to run for positions. This includes: President and Treasurer, and the always difficult Newsletter Editor and Competition Chair. That leaves only Vice Pres. and Secretary completely open. That being said, if you would like to run for any positions they are all open. We encourage you to show up and participate in the elections. As a good friend of Roxy's used to say “If you don’t vote - don’t bitch.” But honestly, the club is better than that and your input determines the strength and direction of the club. The Guild is on a roll now and everyone’s input and participation is needed to keep the momentum going.

ehg-Bay

Steropramen/ Wyeast 2782 Staro Lager For Sale
Roxy Hastings

In a recent order to Paddock Wood I wound up ordering 2 packages more of Steropramen yeast than what I immediately needed. These packages are the freshest Staro you can get and are in good condition. These packages will be for sale at the September meeting at $8.00 a piece – which was my cost without shipping.

Various cleaning chemicals
Bob Boufford

Have some chlorine-based cleaning materials I can no longer use including Sparkle-Brite and Brewer's Edge. Will swap for 3-6 bottles of homebrew at the September meeting.

Open to any current member of the Edmonton Homebrewers Guild.

Members can list anything related to homebrewing including equipment, chemicals, malts, yeasts and hops for sale, to buy, swap, barter or trade.

Deadline for listings is 10 days before the next scheduled monthly meeting.

Editor and Executives reserve right to trim, edit, remove or leave out listings.