WHAT’S BREWIN’

Well this month I’ll sound a little like a broken record. The main topic of discussion is the Oktoberfest. We still need volunteers for serving beer, taking tickets, and helping with the food. You will find sign up sheets at the next meeting. The next thing is we have decided to offer a $5 discount for every pair, that’s two, of tickets sold. So that’s $25 for 2 or $15 for 1, PLEASE PURCHASE IN ADVANCE.

We still need raffle items, music/P.A., and don’t forget you covered dish. This year’s taster’s choice competition registration deadline is the next meeting. Cost is $3 per entry and is due at registration. The rules are as follows; all AHA categories will be accepted, you must provide 1 tap for each entry (2 entries 2 taps), full 5 gallon (or larger) kegs, most votes wins. We have two different Oktoberfest beers and one type of pilsener to serve at the event. Plus all that food, fun, and prizes, what a deal!

The next item is a meeting location. We only had ONE person turn in an information sheet on a prospective location, we CAN and NEED too do better than this folks. We did however have quite a long discussion on the subject. The main twist of this dialog was that a scheduled rotation of venues might be the best answer. So with this in mind we need to get more info sheets in and set up a rotation. Please remember to gather the following info, name and address, contact name and phone number, nights of the week available, can we bring homebrew samples, beer selection, type of room available.

On this same type of subject we also need to start looking for a place to hold The Blow Off ’99.

We might want to consider a hotel with banquet and conference facilities. This way we could reserve a block of rooms for out of town guests and the locals that like to go down slow.

Another very interesting topic that came up at the last meeting was that of competitions. To be specific, the SAAZ compition, the CFHB compition, the Tampa BEERS, the AHA nationals, and the Blow Off. There is strong support by your fellow club members to go after these competitions in force. This type of initiative has been suggested before with little effort or support. Lets do better. To help aid this, the club has decided to pay for your shipping charges for all of the out of town competitions listed. That is provided you get your entries turned in to be shipped with the other club entries. So now is the time to start brewing for these competitions. You only need three beers per compition, except the AHA where you need four. Start by brewing your stronger beers and lagers, so they have sufficient aging time. Then as time draws closer continue brewing, but switch to lighter beers that require less aging. We have one of the largest pools of accomplished brewers I have ever seen, extract and grain alike, so lets make some beer!

I will be unable to attend the next meeting so I expect you to give your complete cooperation to Gorman so he can complete the proceedings in a timely fashion. I’m looking forward to seeing you all at the Oktoberfest till then keep on brewin’.

Peace "drewbrew"

NOTE FROM THE EDITOR

Seems that people are getting back from vacation, In the past week I’ve received about 4 or 5 things to add to the newsletter. We have a good one, full of things to do and use with your brew. We also have received a lot brewing news. Sorry if the quality on some of them is not so good, I got some through the fax.

Oktoberfest is quickly approaching so get your beers kegged and aged for the Tasters Choice contest at this years Fest. Also start brewing your bigger beers for next years contest season, giving them plenty of time to age.

Keep sending the articles, jokes, news, etc. (We could use more pictures as well). I will do my best to include in the upcoming newsletters. Thanks to Andy, Betty, Chuck, Dave, Drew, George, Mel, Patti, Victor and Wayne for submitting articles (I hope I did not forget anyone).

Cool Fermenting

Jamie

Editor--------Jamie Latimer

Co-Editor---Patti Latimer

5332 Courtney Circle

Boynton Beach, FL 33437

Reporters---You-Our members

To write articles or send

comments, please forward to the

above address, fax to (561)392-4090

or (preferably) E-mail to

Editor reserves the right to edit

due to space or content.

President----------------Drew Griffin

Vice President---------Gorman Selph

Secretary----------------George King

Treasurer---------------Andy Rodusky

Education----------------Victor Sears

Activities-----------------Betty Turso &

Dan Oliver

Oktoberfest--------------Troy Webster &

Vince Yeck

Hurricane Blow-Off---Mel Thompson &

Tiffany Griffin

Membership-------------Victor Sears

Newsletter----------------Jamie Latimer

PBD Web Page----------Jan Lobota

Membership Information

Applications for membership

are available at Homebrewer’s

Outlet, at 4734 Okeechobee Blvd.,

West Palm Beach.

Or write to Palm Beach Draughtsmen,

Inc. at PO BOX 210174, Royal Palm

Beach, FL 33421-1074

Visit our Web Site at:

For club information contact:

Drew Griffin (561) 795-6615

Ever hear a beer described as having or not having enough "maltiness", "mouthfeel",

or even, "breadiness"? The presence of compounds called melanoidins in your

brews are important, because these are the compounds which provide the above

characteristics to beer. Conversely, low levels of melanoidins can result in an overall

lack of the above attributes, whether it be body, maltiness or the "breadiness" of some

of the higher gravitybeers. In case you are curious, melanoidins are formed when

amino acids in your mash combine with sugar (Richman, 1994).

So if these melanoidins are important, how are they formed?? There are three ways

(listed from highest to lowest production), the malting process, by taking part of your

mash and doing a "decoction", and during the boil. It should become apparent that the

decoction step is the most important to us homebrewers, because it is in this step

where we can produce the greatest amount of melanoidins, unless you grow and malt

your own barley!! So the next question is "what is a decoction"? A decoction is a

procedure in which some of the mash is heated to the boiling point and then boiled for

a certain period of time. After the boil, the decoction is added back to the main part of

the mash to raise the temperature of the entire mash, usually into the primary starch to

simple sugar conversion range of 150-160 F. Decoctions (yes, you can do more than

one during the mash schedule) are primarily found as part of the mash schedules for

several of the German styles. The effect of the decoction can be fairly obvious to your

mouth, and is worth the effort when trying to make a weissbier (German wheat), bock

or pilsener to style. Yet, many don't include a decoction step as part of the mash

schedule, probably because of the extra work and time that is involved, and the danger

of scorching the mash while raising the temperature. Scorching the mash, from not

stirring constantly while raising the mash temperature, results in a smoky flavor, not

unlike barbecue, being added to the brew. If you sampled the "Smoked wheat" that

Bruce DeRocher and I had last spring, then you had a good example of what scorching

the mash does to a beer.

So here is where the pressure-cooking angle comes in. The theory is, that by pressure

cooking some of the collected wort (from the sparging step), melanoidins can be

produced in a quantity similar to that produced by a decoction. Thus, the pressure-cooking

step replaces the decoction. Bruce was daring enough to join me in giving this pressure

cooking idea a try. The "test" brew was 10 gallons of weissbier. After about 5 gals or so of

the sparged wort was collected, we took 1.6 - 1.7 gals of the wort and Pressure-cooked it

for 20-25 mins (at 10 lbs of pressure) at approx. 240 F, in a 2 gal pressure cooker. While

Bruce watched the pressure cooker, I watched the continuing sparge. When the pressure

cooking step was done, we added the pseudo-decoction back to the rest of the wort and

proceeded with the rest of the brew session as we normally would.

The advantages of the pressure cooking step are that we saved time, did not have to work

nearly as hard (there was very little to it!) as we would have had we done a decoction, and

best of all, there was no scorching!! As for the final product, several who tried the beer at

the August meeting felt that it had an appropriate amount of body/mouthfeel for the style. It

seems that the pressure cooking method satisfactorily replaced the decoction step when

making a German wheat beer. Will it prove satisfactory as a replacement for decoctions in

all styles that call for decoctions? I cannot answer that, but I have pressure cooked about

the same volume of wort for an Oktoberfest I recently made, so you can be the judge when it

is ready (thanks to Greg Pope for generously loaning his pressure cooker)!

Reference:

Richman, Darryl. Classic Beer Style Series - Bock. 1994. Brewers

I’ll try to do about four beers per column, and hopefully that should give me enough material to keep this going for quite a while. But enough jaw’n, lets review some beers!

Our first selection is Tasmanian Pale Ale by Devil Mountain Brewing Company. "Ale brewed with Tasmanian hops" is the claim the label makes. This beer is brewed in Cincinnati Ohio, affectionately known as "Sudscinnati", only the hops are from Tasmania. The beer pours clear with a medium amber color. It offers a dense off white head, which quickly reduces to a pleasant collar around the top of the glass. The aroma is mostly malt with some yeast and hop characters present. The flavor is a reflection of the aroma with a little more emphasis on the hops. It has a long pleasant finish that is bitter but not dry. This is pale ale for when you want your hops soft and smooth. Try it with some spicy Caribbean food. Recommended

The next beer is Veltins Pilsener by Brauerei C. & A. Veltins GmbH & Co. It is brewed in Grevenstein, Germany. This is a golden colored pils with a nice white head. The aromas are of yeast-based sulfur and malt. There was little to no hop aroma. The flavor was dominated by sweet malt at the start, some softer grain flavor through the middle, which gave way to a balancing bitterness. The body on this beer is a little too full for a German style pilsener, it’s more like a Bohemian, and it could use a little more bitterness. Despite this though it is a very drinkable beer. Recommended

The third and fourth beers are from a brewery a little closer to home. The brewery is Indian River

Brewing Company located in Melbourne Florida. The brewmaster there is Jack Owen, his background includes making malt extract among other things. There is currently two German style ales available from this brewery. The first is a Kolsh style beer named Shoal River Ale. This sample was golden with a dense white head. It was crisp and dry on the pallet with a slight yeast bite that was pleasant.

Highly Recommended

The second of there two offerings is Amber Jack Ale. This is a Dusseldorf style alt, with a deep amber color and thick tan head. The aroma was complex with layered malts, and true to form the flavor supported the aroma with all it was worth. A very balanced and drinkable beer. Highly Recommended

by Wayne Desmond

El Hefe’s Lucky Thirteen Ways To Improve Homebrew

1. Prepare & Organize before you brew. Better preparation = Better beer. Plan procedures in detail to avoid confusion. Finalize the recipe before you start.
2. Sanitation! Again with sanitation?! Well, it is the single most important aspect of brewing Quality Beer.
3. It’s in the water! Use carbon filtered or R/O water for brewing. Tap water has tannins and Chlorine. Bad. Very Bad. Note: The R/O machines at the store (HBO) work fine.
4. Use FRESH extracts/grains/hops. Obvious eh?
5. Use a full wort boil if possible. If not, Use at least 3 to 3.5 gl. In boil. The larger the boil the less darkening/carmelizing of the wort and the better hot break and hop utilization.
6. If using a concentrated boil, consider cutting boil time to 30 min. Result?: Decreased darkening/carmelizing of the wort. Not: Hopping rates may have to be increased to adjust for lower utilization.
7. Dry extract (DME) tip: Add DME to water BEFORE it emits steam. Less lumping up/sticking to bag and extract dissolves easier.
8. Use a wire trivet on an electric stove to prevent wort scorching. Direct contact with the coil can cause problems.
9. After boil, cool wort quickly. This promotes wort sanitaion & cold break. Result: Clearer, cleaner tasting beer.
10. Use Irish Moss to promote protein coagulation after hot break. This results in clearer beer.
11. Use a good quality yeast. If using a dry Yeast, rehydrate it properly, Use a starter for liquid cultures.
12. Ferment at the proper temperatures for the yeast you are using. 60-72 deg. for ales, 60 deg or below for lagers.
13. Use specialty grains & consider steep/mashing technique to improve the flavor and complexity of your brew.

There are lots more, but with your attention spans...Naw!

Over Due Palm Beach Draughtsmen Library Books:

1) Victory Beer Recipes – A.H.A.

Unknown Missing!!!

2) Principles of Brewing Science – Fix

David Kelley: 4/25/94

3) Classic Styles #3 – Lambic – Guinard

Scott Nystrom: 6/18/94

4) First Steps In Yeast Culturing – Rajotte

Andrew Aldoretta: 1/21/95

5) Beers of North America – Bill Yenne

Tom Haanen: 3/1/95

6) Homebrewers Companion – Papazian

Joe Simon: 3/6/96

7) Classic Styles #8 – Scotch Ale – Noonan

Tom Kyron: 10/24/96

8) New Brewing Lager Beer – Noonan

Joe Hughes: 6/25/97

9) Classic Styles #2 – Continetal Pilsner – David Miller

Vince Yeack: 11/8/97

10)Brewing Beers Like Those You Buy – Dave Line

Drew Griffin: 2/26/98

11)Classic Styles #6 – Belgian Ale – Pierre Rajotte

Drew Griffin: 2/26/98

12)Brewing Lager Beer – Noonan

Tad (The Pilot): 4/11/98

13)Classic Styles #7 – German Wheat – Eric Warner

Dave Matthews: 7/11/98

14)Classic Styles #4 – Vienna – George Fix

Dave Matthews: 7/11/98

As you may notice there are a lot of overdue books, many for a ridiculously long period of time!! The Library is a privilege for Palm Beach Draughtsmen Members that is being terribly abused. Books should be kept for no more than two (2) weeks. To do otherwise is to deny responsible Members the use of a valuable resource! Please return these books!!! Violators will lose the 10% discount at the Home Brewer’s Outlet!!! Also, please use your first and last name on the card when checking books out.

**Sudwerk Wins Big At 1998 California State Fair***

Davis, CA - Sudwerk Privatbrauerei Hubsch of Davis, California, took home four First Place medals at the California State Fair's fourth annual commercial

brewing competition, making the brewery the overall winner of the competition. Of the 65 breweries, which entered a total of 380 beers in the competition, no

other brewery won more than two First Place awards.

Sudwerk Pilsner took First Place in the "European Pilsner" category and was named the competition's "Best of Show," Sudwerk Marzen won in the "German

Amber Lager" category, Sudwerk Maibock was the best Bock, and Sudwerk Hefeweisen received First Place honors in the "Wheat Beer" category.

Some of the other winners included Anheuser-Busch, which took top honors in the "American Light Lager" category with Michelob Honey Lager (Budweiser

placed second); Jack Russell Brewing, located in Camino, CA, won in the "Brown Ale" category, with its Jack's Brown Ale; San Francisco's Tewnty Tank Brewery

won the "Strong Ale" category with their Nyack Barleywine; BJ's Pizza Grill & Brewery in Brea, CA, was judged the best in the "Pale Ale" category for its Piranha Pale Ale; The "Belgian / French Ale" category was dominated by Alesmith Brewing of San Diego, which won First Place with their Belgian Strong Ale; Hoptown Brewing Company of Pleasanton, CA, brewed the best "India Pale Ale," winning the category with Hoptown IPA; and the Valley Brewing Company of Stockton, which took First Place in the "Light Ale" category with Valley Brew Pale Wheat Ale.

Congratulations to all of this year's winners from HappyHours.com!

***Pilsner Urquell Strikes Gold In Montreal***

Montreal, Canada - Pilsner Urquell was awarded the gold medal at the prestigious Biere Mondial Show in Montreal. The Czech beer placed first in the "Bitter Lagers" category. Pilsner Urquell sold 9 thousand hectolitres of bottled beer in Canada last year, and began delivery of kegs to that country this year. The distributor in both Canada and the USA is the Guinness Import Company.

***HappyHours.com Idea O' The Week! "Brewbakers."***

Ann Arbor, MI - Barry Seifer and his wife Sarah Minor, founded "Brewbakers," a combination microbrewery and French bakery in downtown Ann Arbor last year.

The company now has nine employees, is brewing and baking at near capacity, and has turned a profit!

Brewbakers' beers include a Golden Lager, Raspberry Ale, Pale Ale, Chestnut Ale, London Porter, Cream Stout, and a seasonal Scotch Ale. They bake 18

varieties of bread, including German "Vollkonbrot," a heavy bread made with wheat, barley, sunflower seeds, corn, rice and rye; Pesto bread made with parmesan cheese, basil, walnuts, roasted garlic and sourdough; Provencal, baked with roasted garlic, white cheddar, kalamata olives and sourdough; French baguettes and Pomodoro, made with sun-dried tomatoes, onion, roasted garlic and sourdough.

The brewery produces about 2,000 barrels of beer a year, while the bakery produces about 1,800 loaves of bread a week. Brewbakers also makes about 700

barrels of hand crafted root beer and ginger ale each year.

**HappyHours.com Beer Fact O' The Week - Sumo!**

"Konishiki," who is the biggest sumo wrestler on Earth, once tipped the scales at 625 pounds and was capable of consuming 100 beers and 70 pieces of sushi in a single sitting! I would not want to be around for that burp!

*** HappyHours.com's Movie Trivia Contest ***

Answer Just One Question Right, And You Win!

Name the movie in which Ringo ordered four "Lagers and lime," for himself and the other Beatles.

In the 1985 movie "Mask," Gar, played by Sam Elliot, drinks what brand of beer?

In National Lampoon's "Vacation," what is the first brand of beer you see supermodel Christi Brinkley drinking?

In the 1983 movie "Strange Brew," Dave Thomas and Rick Moranis get jobs at the brewery. What was the job? - BONUS QUESTIONS - What was their dog's name? What does the bumper sticker on their van say? What does the MGM Lion do as the movie opens? Who played "Brewmiester Smith?"

In the 1981 film "Stripes," we see a can of what beer in Bill Murry's apartment?

YOU CAN WIN DINNERS FOR TWO - GREAT BEER & WINE WEARABLES - GLASSWARE & MORE

***The 180 Mile Per Hour Battle Of The Beers***

How do America’s favorite macrobrews stack up on NASCAR’s "Winston Cup" stock

car circuit?

Current statistics:

Beer Sponsor: Miller Lite

Car No. 2 - Ford

Driver: Rusty Wallace

Owner: Penske South Racing

Crew Chief: Robin Pemberton

Currently 5th in Winston Cup Points with 2462.

1998 Driver Winnings: $1,352,080.00

Beer Sponsor: Coors Light

Car No. 40 - Chevrolet

Driver: Sterling Marlin

Owner: Felix Sabates

Crew Chief: Tony Glover

Currently 17th in Winston Cup Points with 1834.

1998 Driver Winnings: $691,495.00

Beer Sponsor: Budweiser

Car No. 50 - Chevrolet

Driver: Ricky Craven

Owner: Hendrick Motorsports

Crew Chief: Tony Furr

Currently 46th in Winston Cup Points with 524.

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