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The Amateur Brewer is publishedannually in August. The Amateur BrewerNewsletter is published four times a year in October, December, February and May. AMATEUR BREMER NEWSLETTER No. 8-2, December 1981 (503) 289-7596

BOOK REVIEW by Loren Strunk, editor, Oregon Brew Crew Newsletter Home Brewed & , by Ben Turner. EP Publishing, Ltd., Wakefield, , . 9^pp, tables, illus., no index. This is really two books in one—"Beer" ginners' book. Despite the growing popularity and "Cider". The beer part illustrates how of in Britain, the recipes are mostly far British and American home have of one type, and are summed up by Mr. Turner developed and how much they have grown apart, as all being of that type: pale, well-carbon and it is the beer segment that this review ated, medium bodied and relatively dry. The whole range of Continental styles is missed, is primarily about. and even the American style is ignored. There is a chapter on the in England, and a short but reasonably A more general limitation is that Mr. sophisticated Glossary. Neither are partic Turner hardly discusses the characteristics ularly useful to the brewer, but both are of the ingredients. The information needed informative and interesting to the general to compare or evaluate from a brewer's beer enthusiast and Anglophile. The fol standpoint is largely lacking. This is lowing chapters on Beer Styles, Processes, perhaps not a criticism of what the book does Equipment, Ingredients, etc., are clear, have, but it should be borne in mind by the concise and, within the book's parameters, American brewer who wants a book on how to informative. Mr. Turner has aimed at the_ brew British beers. beginner, while providing enough information The "Cider" section parallels the "Beer" to help carry the beginner on to more ad chapters, but with some changes. Oddly e- vanced beers. There are some all-grain nough, Mr. Turner doesn't have any apple- recipes. The techniques follow a more-or- juice concentrate recipes. He does favor less typical British pattern, which is augmenting fresh juice with genuine cider- rather oddly different from the American apple concentrate, but if you want to make custom. In particular, two objections cider, he says to start with apples. Like might be made: Mr. Turner dissolves his old-time wine books, the recipes have no extract in hot water, boils the flexibility for adjusting the acidity of in a separate batch of water, then adds it the fruit, etc. to the wort. (When brewing all-grain beers, he boils the hops in the wort.) Also unlike Overall, Home Brewed Beers & is rather a mixed bag. For those who value some brewers, Mr. Turner does not use a secondary fermentor, although he does not reading about beer and brewing, the comments leave his single-stage fermentor sealed for and ideas will be welcome. On the other hand, Mr. Turner endorses some questionable tech the entire fermentation period. niques and processes, and has little or no The two biggest limitations of the book thing to add to the existing library of are the result of its being a British be- brewing books.

BEER BEER by Jeff Jones, president, Oregon Brew Crew (Last summer the Oregon Brew Crew toured General Brewing's plant in Vancouver, Wash., and we were all able to obtain samples of their and observe the production of generic BEER, that most American of beers. A couple of months later Jeff brought some samples of a beer he had made. It tasted just like Beer beer, but slightly hoppier, and therefore slightly better. If you really like American beer, you'll LOVE this beer. As usual we don't especially reccomend this sort of thing, f.e.)

INGREDIENTS 5-USgals (20-litres) water 6-lbs (2.6-kg) American Lager Malt 2,-lbs (1-kg) flaked corn (maize) 1^-oz (45-gm) cluster pellets (2-oz if you like a hoppier beer, plus |-oz (15-gm) Cascade pellets aromatics if desired) Amateur Brewer L yeast if you can't get a commercial sample. Carbonation: 1.2-oz dextrose/USgal

Copyright (c) I98I by Fred Eckhardt, all rights reserved (cont'd over) AMATEUR BREWER INFORMATION SERVICE BEER BEER, cont'd. in the bottle will be the result. If there The better commercial beers often have has been a long storage period you may need a smoothness and balance which can be diffi- to add a yeast culture at bottling to insure cult for the homebrewer to duplicate. The a good ferment in the bottle. A week after ability to cr eate a beer with "drinkability" bottling, the bottled beer may be returned can be difficult for the amateur. Definition: to the refrigerator for cold storage until drinkability- the quality of a beer which consumed. With luck and care the Amateur allows one to consume a large volume without can beat the Pro at his own game. experiencing satiation. However, the home- brewer is able to duplicate most of the best characteristics of a good commercial beer (ed note: the upward-step infusion mash with a little effort and experimentation. (above) is described more fully in our paper Mashing for the North American Home Brewer My first experience with light available for $lTi began after I obtained a sample of the yeast used to make Beer beer. This culture, I learned, has been working for over 30-years and is attuned to a particular environment. SEVENTH ANNUAL ABQAIQ BEER-JUDGING This yeast was accustomed to a high pro In ABNL 7-4 we published information portion of corn as an adjunct in the mash. on the ABQAIQ competition in Saudi Arabia, It works strongly at cold temperatures. land of prohibition. Here are the results of that competition. With that in mind I tried a mash with six pounds of American Lager malt (mostly The Amateur Brewer 20-point system was 6-row) and two pounds of (imported) flaked used with some modification. Seventyfour maize to yield a very light bodied wort entries were received in this contest, which similar in color and flavor to the commer has been carried on since 1975. making it cial variety. one of the oldest American beer competitions. There were ^5 light beers, 23 dark, special MASHING SEQUENCE k and 2 !! Winners: Steve Gore,Light, The lager mashing sequence begins by 15.56 points, Dave Roth, Dark, 17-75 points, blending the cracked malt and maize , John Slining, 11.71. Special, Alan Griggs, into the mash liquor at 122-125°F(50-51.5°C). 18.25 points. Sixteen judges and nine Stir well to insure good mixing of grain stewards presided over the competition, which and water. nHold the temperature at 118- featured the ABKAK German Band. That must 120°F(i+8-4-9 C) and stir frequently for 20 have been some festival. As you might imagine, to 30 minutes. This is the protein rest. bottles are surely at a premium in such a Gradually increase the temperature to begin place, and the report ends with a terse note: starch conversion, stirring all the way. BOTTLES should be picked up ASAP by contestants. It should take about 15-minutes to reach 150° (65.5 C). Do not exceed 155°(68°C) as you MINNESOTA HOME FOAM LEAGUE BEER COMPETITION may destroy the enzymes. Hold at this tem November 7. 1981 saw the first Minnesota perature for 30 to 45 minutes, or if you competition, sponsored by the Home Foam prefer, until the iodine test indicates League beer club and '.Vine Art Minneapolis. starch conversion has been completed. A 50-point scoring system was used, and Mash-off is next; raise the temperature to there were 38 entries. Winners: Lagers 168°F(75.5°C) to end conversion, and bring (extracts), Scott Smith (31 points). , the mash to sparging temperature, to Bob Ostlund (40-points), Adjunct beers, Don complete the process. Crenshaw, (33 points), All-Grain Beers, Kevin Smith \k2 points). Mike Barrett, BOILING THE WORT Wine-Art manager, writes that four of the The mash liquor, now beer wort, should judges had judged at the nationals in 1979. be brought to a boil as quickly as possible. and they said the quality was much higher Once a full boil is under way the hop pellets this year in the local contest. are added. Since this will be a light bodied That confirms my own observations to the beer it is important to balance the hopping same effect. Our beers are getting soooo character with the body of the beer. An ounce much better as we compete against one another, and a half to two ounces of good quality hop and share recipes and formulations. pellets are all that are required for boiling and a half ounce aromatic hops, such as Naturally, secondary ferment will proceed Cascades (optional) may be added during the at a slower rate under cold tempetures, so final 15-minutes of boil. The wort is boiled allow plenty of time. Two months should for about an hour and a half until a gravity be enough, with optional lagering beyond of l.OifO to 43 is reached. that.

THE FERMENT BOTTLING THE BEER Cool the finished wort as quickley as One side-note: before bottling any possible and pitch the yeast at 70°F(21°C). refrigerated beer, allow it to come to room If you are using a good commercial lager yeast temperature. This may take 24-hours or (or Amateur Brewer L) you can do the entire longer. Cold liquids contain higher con ferment under refrigeration. Refrigerator centrations of dissolved gasses. If the ferment will ad greatly to the smoothness of normal amount of priming sugar is added the finished product. If you don't have the to the cold beer, over-pressurization in proper yeast carry the primary ferment at as 1982 HWBTA NATIONALS SET FOR SANTA ROSA low a temperature as can be achieved grace fully. Refrigerate the secondary fermentor. HWBTA Beer Competition Chairman Byron Burch announced that the 1982 competition

-2- will be held in Santa Rosa,Calif. Entry is only available thru local H.tfBTA (Home Wine & Beer Trade Association) member shops. Your local merchant will handle your entry. The beer must be presented in de-labeled 11- or 12-oz bottles (3 bottles per entry). YOUR label may be on the bottle, but com mercial labels must be removed. Entry forms and fees are due in Santa Rosa by Saturday, Feb 20, 1982, via your local shop. The beer (via your local shop) should reach them by the end of February. Beer entries must have your name and address, sponsoring shop, beer type, number and name of category entered. Let this be one way you (we) can show our support for the folks who keep us supplied with beermaking stuff. Ttu rifhtromM cry mnd thr Lord h»mr» mud dtltv- Entry fee is $3.00 per entry. crt thrm a ml •fill thrtr tromUrt (ttSTtl T), O five Awards: First, second, and third prize rib Uuutkm aula thr Lord far Br it good: for Bl» mtercj cmdmrrtM forever (FS IH:1) bons plus trophies for best of class and best of show. Government Label Approval Missing Categories: 1) American Light beer, 2) Full Charles wanted to produce a , bodied light lager, 3) Dark lager, 4) Pale but the Oregon Liquor Control people told Ale, 5) , 6) Sweet , 7) Dry him that if he did he couldn't sell it in Stout, 8) , 9) . A des his , so he was forced to keep the cription of categories may be had from your alcohol under k% by weight. local merchant, as there is not room here The beer is finished in elegant green for that. If you want to enter this nat bottles (recycled £

' *** offer Lee sympathy in his bereavement. CARTWRIGHT DELIVERANCE ALE In October our local small brewer, I am going to take the liberty of cutting this Charles Coury encountered some financial issue short, by using my Christmas column from problems, so he proposed to the local home the Seattle Times ( I do a monthly for them) brewing community that he produce a special on the last page. I think you'll enjoy the ale on a subscription basis. We soon round article. The beers are available in most ed up money for a hundred cases, and Charlie parts of the US. This will help me meet my was off and running. A religious man, he newsletter deadline of in-the-mail 12/31. called Deliverance Ale. The beer is now ready, and I call it a Christmas Ale. Wondrously hoppy and quite delicious, I found the beer, although only ten days in the bottle, to hold excel lent possibilities, especially if allowed to age a while.

-3- for wassails

Potent tradition is revived

In England and Northern Eu These annual beers have bou Smith's Porter, from rope, strong, dark beers are the quet and flavor, and each one is England, an excellent example of BEER normal fare with traditional an all-time great beer. I have high this type of beer. My preliminary hojjjay meals. Three types of beer expectations for the 1981 issue, tastings tell me it is at least fine, prssasi: amber beers, dark beers and I know it's worth a trip to San if not great. (I don't like to jump anil special Christmas beers. Francisco. I also know there are to beer conclusions in one or two •&*• the "good old days," every only 8,800 cases being made, so tastings.) brewery made a special beer for hunrvi Very little of this produc Some of the world's strongest Christmas. Some or those "Christ tion4 leaves California. beers are called stout. The word mas ales" were brewed with an Meanwhile, there are Christmas stout originally referred to very alcohol content that could be quite beers available here in Seattle. strong beer (ale) and first was high, Sy3 or 9 per cent by weight. The" 1981 Aass Jule 01 has a used around 1677. There also are Such beers seldom are made in redneck label, to differentiate it double and imperial stouts. the';United States, at least since from the 1980 (whiteneck label). Russian Imperial Stout first was Prohibition. Norwegian beer is among the brewed in England for the Em RgCefttly however, the tradition world's finest, and the small Aass press of Russia, Catherine the FRED ECKHARDT of brewing special Christmas ales brewery makes a superb product Great, in 1795. It still is brewed has.iaen revived by some small with great flavor and lovely bou annually, just before Christmas, Times columnist , notably the Anchor quet. Noche Buena, another by the same brewer, Barclay & Brewery (San Francisco) and this Christmas beer, is from Mexico. It Perkins of . Jean.iHe Cartwright Brewery of is a good beer, but nothing special, By far the most popular stout is 'ortiand, Ore. The Anchor Christ- a brown ale. The Cartwright beer Stout, made since 1759. masiale has been brewed annually from Portland is not ready yet, Guinness is the Irish dry stout by 'ji dd-pP") MlA since 1975. but you'll have to buy it in which the others are measured. Portland, because the Cartwright Because of the 4.4 per cent alcohol Anchor Steam Beer, long avail bottle is not the right size to be content, you'll have to go to your 'rd±peT&m~ able in Seattle, always has been admitted to Washington State. Be state liquor store to buy it. Two one of my favorites, so when I sure to get advance permission other great stouts are available at first encountered their Christmas from the State Liquor Board, and your local beer merchant: Macke- ale, in 1977, I thought: What can pay their small fee, to bring beer son, English-style stout, a little &* v. they do to make a better beer into this state from another state. sweeter than most Irish stouts, than their regular product? and Finnish Koff Imperial Stout, What a surprise when we DARK BEERS misnamed, but still a great beer in operied that bottle and poured it Actually you don't need a spe my book. Australia's Tooth Sheaf carefully into tulip champagne cial Christmas beer because many Stout (4.8 per cent) gets my three- .- A wonderful lively head regular beers are ideal for holiday star (fine) rating, and the 25.6- unfolded, with tiny bubbles, remi enjoyment. Ales and stouts are ounce bottle is a real blessing, but all, niscent of fine champagne, but the traditional libation for the only from the state liquor store. witRMMtra zing. rich, heavy foods served during A£ the light amber liquid filled the holidays, but the best beer for BARLEYWINE ALES the"", I leaned carefully to such heavy dinners is a good stout I have saved the best for last, sniff- (not knowing what to ex- or porter. because my real choice for the pec*).. WOW! The bouquet was Porter probably was the first of holidays is Old Peculiar Yorkshire overwhelming and magnificent. the very dark English ales to be Ale. This is the only example of The beer had been dry-hopped! brewed, although all of the early what the English call barleywine Dry-hopping is the addition of beer produced in England and available in Seattle. Barleywine highly "flavorful hops into the Germany probably was very dark ales (you can't call them - aging-tanks which give the beer a in color, because of the lack of leywines because the government very, special bouquet. A bouquet temperature control in the malt doesn't approve of mixing terms) so fllCe that it tickles your nose. ing systems of that era. are very rich, strong and flavor The beauty and delight of dry- One porter recently has been ful. Old Peculiar, with 6 per cent hopping is that it does not add introduced in Seattle: Samuel alcohol is available only in the extfit bitterness; only the hop state liquor stores. Do try it as an bouquet. aperitif with your Christmas din Special for ner. Christmas, hearty, Copyright (g) 1981 by Fred Eckhardt ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION $6 All rights reserved potent ales AMATEUR BREWER INFORMATION SERVICE P.O. BOX 546 PORTLAND, OR 97207 Sunday, December 6,1981 The Seattle Times