Judges Newsletter Nº3/2003

CONTENTS

2 Committee 3 Editorial 4 Chairman 5 Conference Manager 7 Obituary– Renée Golding 8 Cabernet Sauvignon Mk2—Bill Smith 10 10 Hours to Scarborough—Mike Davey 12 Beer at its best—Bill Lowe 14 North Thames Judges 16 North East Region Judges 18 Gerry’s new yeasts– Bill Smith 20 Microbiology in the brewing industry—Jan 22 Southdowns Judges Mitchell 25 Volume measurement—Doug Hodkinson 26 South Manchester Group 33 Conference 2003—Roy Ekins 34 Country wines as a cure for all ills—Jan 42 Pro Mitchell 44 Pasteurisation of wines—Doug Hodkinson 46 Pro 48 Note from the Hon Treasurer– Keith Jones

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COMMITTEE

President Doug Hodkinson 0191-2901250 Chairman Bill Elks 01582-414803 & Chief Beer Examiner Conference Manager Pauline Pearce 0116-241-4941 Hon. Secretary Jan Mitchell 02392-465147 Hon.Treasurer Keith Jones 01229-584214 Chief Examiner John Scottow 0121-744-2920 Head of Technical Panel, Geoff Cooper 020-8556-5538 & Registrar Newsletter Editor Norman Chiverton 01788-810344 PRO Barry Pearce 0116-241-4941 NAWB Rep & Assistant Kate Edge 01733-564982 Conference Manager Minutes Sec & Supplies Bill Lowe 0161-282-0443

Subscriptions & Supplies

All subscriptions are due on 1st August annually.

Supplies Judging sheets, Notepaper etc £1.00 + 65p p&p Training Manuals £2.00 + 54p p&p Judges Handbooks £3.50 + 65p p&p Ladies Pendants £10.00 + 50p p&p Judges badges £2.25 + 30p p&p Ladies scarves £6.25 + 30p p&p Ties £6.50 + 45p p&p Teacloths £2.00 + 45p p&p Judges Registers £2.00 + 30p p&p Bulk orders—please enquire Judges name badges available from Keith Jones for £5.00

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A note from Hon.Treasurer. EDITORIAL

It is my intention to change the Guild's Banker to the Midland Bank in Ulverston. Yorkshire Bank, Bolton (our Greetings all!!. present bank) is over 60 miles away. The nearest Yorkshire Hope you are all looking forward to our annual bash at Ba- branch is in Kendal , a 50-mile round trip. For purely geo- rnby Moor. It is nice to welcome Bill Lowe to our committee, our intrepid Manchester beer taster!! graphical reasons it would seem prudent to change. When all Jan Mitchell has asked me to tell you all that she is doing her the necessary paperwork has been completed a change will be annual disposal of ISO glasses, and would appreciate it if you could effected. let her know in advance, so she does not have to fill the boot up un- I will inform you all, in due course, through the News- necessarily. Details on page 2.( e-mail wine.wood @virgin.net) letter of the bank codes etc so that those who pay by standing Not such a large newsletter this time around, so please keep order may continue to do so. the articles coming Your editor has just passed his pension milestone, and is now Having said all this I must thank the Yorkshire for all paid by the Government !!!! Still a youngster, of course !! their assistance and endeavours in trying to sort out our prob- We have just had the bad news of the passing of Renée Gold- lems. They have been most helpful and by my moving the ac- ing. This would have been my first editorial without an obituary to counts in no way expresses any dissatisfaction with their ser- mention. vice. You will see elsewhere that the hotel is nearly full. I believe Looking forward to seeing you all at the AGM last-minute bookings will be accommodated quite close to the Old Bell if it is totally full. Keith Jones. Roy Ekins tells me that he is still able to supply home wine &

beer books, plus some commercials. Telephone -01704 875898 or e- Thanks Keith, for doing a good job at such short notice, which mail [email protected]. He has a list of over 100 titles. brings me to the end of this little missive. My thanks to all the Judges groups who so regularly send in Thanks everybody for contributing, hope you enjoyed it. their reports. Keep them coming !!! PLEASE keep the articles coming, I will let you know if I don‘t like Hope to see you all at Barnby Moor. them !!!!. Cheers & Beers Cheers and beers from Norman !!!!

Norman

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CHAIRMANS REPORT Pontifications of the armchair judge

Despite the contrasting weather earlier in the year, the lack of frost has meant an abundance of hedgerow fruit. Our Commercial colleagues are also full of anticipa- tion. Some describe the expert As someone who knows more and more This summer I have enjoyed TWO visits to France. The second time, early Au- about less and less, but if one is not actively involved in the production gust, was just too hot to go looking at vineyards, and drink a lot of red wine. We were lucky enough to find a wide range of Rosés. These made a pleasant change. Being just of the very product you are asked to give a judgment on, how long is it north of Vendome, not a great wine producing area, much time was spent hiding from before you lose your edge? the sun, and watching the rich variety of bird life. One noticeable factor was the Among the laity of wine and beermakers we, the judges are re- amount of fruit being carried by ALL types of tree/shrub—apples, pears, acorns, hazel garded as somewhat experts and yet there has been for quite some time, nuts, blackberries and elderberries in abundance. All were surpassed by the sloes. I‘ve murmurings among the wider judging fraternity about this increasing never seen boughs so heavily laden, but ALL UNRIPE!! Back home, thoughts are already on the National—Dave Pulley has got the situation of the non productive members still judging and yet being invitations out!! If you have not been invited and are able to make Weston next April, shown to be very much out of touch with modern forward thinking, and Dave would welcome your call—April 2,3 & 4 are the dates. comment labels are a prime example of exposing an individuals weak- We still have our A.G.M. to look forward to. Numbers are up. I believe the nesses. Hotel is almost fully booked as I write. Caravan pitches are available too. When adverse comments are made about a wine or beer, that com- The web-site is now up and running, thanks to the hard work and expert knowl- edge of our Francophile Stuart Jones. Stuart will be at Barnby Moor and should be petitor (who may be a judge themselves) who is not happy will perhaps available straight after the A.G.M. to deal with any queries or suggestions. The facility seek a second opinion and if it is proved right that the first judges re- will be ‗on-line‘ so please make his journey worthwhile. marks are bit iffy (and they no longer make wine or beer) there is a lot This together with a lot of bias towards matters FORTIETH should make it of tut tutting and few remarks like ―well what can you expect‖. another memorable weekend. The amazing thing is that when I happened to look in a back num- Pauline is standing down from the Committee after several years dedicated, loyal service, having combined Conference Managers duties with three years as Chair- ber of the Amateur Winemaker magazine, many of the problems in man. She was also the Guild rep. on NAWB Committee where she did sterling work homebrew that were common in 1969 are exactly the same on the prob- there as their Convenor. Pauline now feels she wants more time to spend on local lem page of a new Canadian Home-brew magazine distributed by winemaking matters. Youngs Homebrew that I looked at last week, ie ―it won‘t clear‖ ―it has Once again I am appealing for a volunteer, preferably a lady, to join our Com- a strange taste‖ ―got a funny smell‖. mittee. There is no specifice office, but the Committee feel that a recruit now who can get the flavour of how and why each member works would help the continuity and Is it the pace of life that has got quicker. I only ask, because it is efficiency of your Committee. Please give me a call….even a word at Barnby Moor being said. prior to the A.G.M. will be much appreciated. Now, if you haven‘t already decided please consider joing the A.G.M celebra- Barry PRO tions in an attractive comfortable Hotel, enjoying good food and excellent company. It‘s your loss if you don‘t come along. For those who do … see you there. Good brewing, happy Judging …….. Bill (Continued on page 48)

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HOW MANY HATS AT CONFERENCE ? OUR RUBY CELEBRATION CONFERENCE.

The ―car park attendant‖ at the ―Old Bell‖ has once again excelled I am delighted to say that we already have 100 members himself again with his preparations for the caravans and mobile homes, be- and guests booked into our special conference! cause once again directions past the main entrance of the hotel to the rear car- We already know the warm and friendly atmosphere of the park will be displayed. You will then be free to select your own site, at the mo- hotel, the facilities are ideal, and with the attentative staff and ment there are 9 booked in and the ― ‖ ―says there is still plenty site marshal quality of the food, we should be able to make this a record atten- of room‖. WINES AND BEERS FOR THE SATURDAY dance! Anyway, come what may I know we are all going to enjoy Any bottles that require chilling or storage, please ask at the main recep- ourselves. tion where your ―guild cellar-master‖ will have arranged instructions for If you are bringing a caravan or motor home, don’t forget their safe keeping. that you still need to book in at reception. Incidentally, the rally YOUR BOTTLES FOR THE SUNDAY ASSESSMENT Marshall tells me that there is still space for more vans - so if you During the day light hours of Friday and Saturday the ―chief steward” would like to book in - send me the form! has arranged for directional signs to The Neilson Suite which is past the recep- If you are running late on Friday evening, have a word with tion and bar, in the room clear procedures for booking in of your own wines reception on 01777 705 121 and they can perhaps arrange some and beers are clearly visible, the “Guild office staff” have also provided ade- food for you on arrival, those who do arrive early will after enjoy- quate self adhesive labels and pens. ing the dinner, begin by tasting some special brews of ruby ale!

THE SUNDAY ASSESSMENT YOUR NAME BADGE Please read the notice about the Sunday morning assessment, your “wet nurse” who is overseeing the setting out this section of the mornings proceed- The main reception will have blank labels, for the guests, ings will be making sure that you will have adequate judging space, chairs, and but there is nothing to stop you ordering a maroon badge for your water, he will want to know whether you wish to judge wine or beer, please partner, Keith Jones is your man, Tel: 01229 584 214, he could make sure your name is on the right sheet, “the convenor” of have it ready for the conference, if you order now. this prestigious event can then ensure that the appropriate number of judging sheets will be readily available. WHAT TO SUP, WHAT TO BRING.

Over the full weekend you will be able to enjoy cask ales Your News Editor ―Norman‖ will be expecting a blow by blow account from the bar and for those of you who will be bringing your home- of the whole proceedings from your “scribe?” And for those who did not know made wine for the dinners: Friday evening dinner will be Tradi- I had my ears well and truly chewed off by Diane Reynolds when she eyeballed tional Turkey and Saturday evening we shall have Roast Loin me at the North Wales Show, and quite rightly so, there was a remark I made Pork, basted with honey & ginger, stuffed with prune and apricot about acid for which I most humbly apologise. ―PHEW‖, don‘t want that forcemeat. If you want to have vegetarian meals and have not again. already let me know - please, either give me a ring, drop me a Barry PRO (Continued on page 6)

46 5 (Continued from page 5) (Continued from page 44) line or email me as soon as you can. And now to the cheese: On recommend this quantity. So how do I do it? the basis of last year the hotel are prepared to let us choose ei- I use screw topped bottles of one litre capacity, which have previ- ther pudding or cheese, If you have a good appetite, there is ously held water, or say, Italian wine. I put one litre of wine to be pas- no problem to having both, but you will need to give the teurised into the bottle, put the bottle into a pan of warm water contain- waiter your room number for the extra charge in- ing a trivet, so that the bottle does not overheat. curred. I heat the water in the pan gradually, taking temperature measure- ments at intervals on the wine in the bottle. When the wine temperature reaches 65C, I remove the bottle from the pan, insert a small plug of cotton wool moistened with 10% metabisulphite solution, and put on the screw top loosely. After about 15 to 20 minutes I tighten the screw top fully and leave the bottle to cool overnight. I once tried to force THE BIG ALTERNATIVE. cool by running cold tap water over a 2 litre bottle - and it imploded.; so it‘s one litre bottles cooled naturally! I don‘t go beyond 65C because I don‘t wish to lose too much alco- hol. There is the free bus to Nottingham, leaving at 1-30 return- If there is carbon dioxide in the original wine there will be a fair ing to the hotel for 5pm, there will be over 2 hours shopping, if amount of gas released during the pasteurisation; this may still be given however a guest would like to go out and about under their own off when 65C is reached. Ignore this and allow the wine to cool as I steam but needs to know availability, perhaps down a Mine, up in have suggested. a Balloon, a Pedicure, or Turkish bath with full massage, we can Now some may think that subjecting a wine to temperatures of try to sort it out for you, but please form an orderly queue for the 65C or thereabouts will detract from the wine‘s quality . All I can say is massage! that I can‘t be bothered to count the number of Firsts, Seconds and If you have a problem whilst at the hotel, please speak to Thirds that I have won from pasteurised wines entered in the National the staff, I am sure they will do their utmost to put things right. show over the last 25 or more years. The committee decided that this year, to ensure the comfort Doug Hodkinson of everyone, the main conference room will be a non smoking area, I am sure this decision will be respected by everyone. I must admit that I had a malo-lactic fermentation on a very expensive Pauline Pearce Selection kit wine that rendered it hopeless !!! - Ed

Thanks Doug !!!!.

(

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Pasteurisation of wines - for the Amateur. Renée Golding RIP

I suppose that few amateur winemakers have even remote Renée died recently at a fairly advanced age having been, if not a foun- thoughts on pasteurising wines, but it is a straightforward way of stabi- der member of NGWBJ, certainly one from the earliest days. lising wines, particularly if the wines are being blended for showing, or She lived for many years at Chalfont St Peter and was a founder mem- if one needs to stop a malolactic fermentation. ber of Misbourne Winemakers. I first met her in the mid-seventies and, since I Why should we pasteurise wines? Well, it is the only way I know then lived just down the road at Denham, judged a number of times at the club. of stopping a malolactic fermentation. Now some may think this is a She was a committed supporter of the National and a stalwart within the fermentation to be encouraged; it is allowed to develop in most com- Herts. and Beds. Federation (as it was universally known) as well as the mercial red wines, and we are told it mellows a wine, reducing the Herts.and Beds. Judges‘ Group, along with Cedric and Dulcie Austin, Gene and Roy Skelton, Ruby Jones, Daphne Grant, Roy Roycroft, Bill Elks and harsher taste of malic acid to the softer taste of lactic acid. Dave Moon. However, I have experienced one malolactic fermentation on a I remember that she came to at least a couple of A.G.Ms when it was at five gallon batch of white wine which took the acidity down to 2.7 ppt West Bromwich, once having a lift with Erika and me and once having invei- ( as sulphuric ), and rendered the wine rather insipid. gled her husband to attend (and drive!) I often blend wines for competition, with the aim of producing a I do not know the details, but when (as she would have said) ―a young good wine, typical of the class, and likely to be recognised as such by gel‖, she had been brought up in France. She thus spoke perfect French and I the judge. Such blending can lead to instability, e.g. refermentation, think that it was my work as a language teacher that always made her very af- hazes, which is eliminated by pasteurisation, and if necessary, subse- fable towards me. This was not always the case; she definitely considered beer quent fining and filtration. Pasteurisation is particularly important when judges in general as ―not quite one of us‖. blending a medium dry or medium sweet wine from a dry wine and a In view of her French connection, it always seemed strange to me that sweet wine, where the last thing that is needed is a refermentation, she had no interest in commercial wines. She was firmly in the old country wine camp and had neither any sympathy for, or understanding of, the wine- caused by a few yeast cells in one of the wines. by-purpose school nor any great expertise in dealing with such wines on the So how do I go about it? show bench. Well, Emile Penaud in his book ―Knowing and Making Wine‖ on She was a widely-read woman with a well-stocked mind and if one page 334 writes that pasteurisation, leading to sterilisation of the wine, could tap into this one was assured of rewarding conversation. I discovered needs ― A few minutes at 55, 60, or 65 C‖. this when once driving us both to a judging engagement in Sawtry, near Peter- Charles Bamforth, in his book on ―Beer‖, writes that a residence borough, a round trip of about 150 miles. That‘s a lot of conversation! time of between 30 and 60 seconds at 72 degrees C. is sufficient to kill I salute her as one of the old school, in the knowledge that the Guild off virtually all microbes. today is what it is because of all those who came before. Firstly, I pasteurise only in modules of one litre. This is conven- Alan Kimber ient for blending, and reduces the risk of broken bottles. I know of at least one person who pasteurises one gallon at a time, but I would not

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44 7 (Continued from page 42) CABERNET SAUVIGNON MARK 2 for failing our exam, also the reasons for not taking the guild exam again, or as the majority decide, not to even bother attempting it, it is In the Newsletter of January 2003, I felt that I had achieved reason- because of their individual difficulty with identifying the major faults, able success in making a wine with accentuated blackcurrant bouquet and and this is not taking into account ―nerves on the day‖ which are a flavour without the normal accompanying high acidity. This was done by blight at any age. using only the skins of the blackcurrants, the juice being either discarded Or is it just easier, within our establishment, to tread water and see or used to make a rosé style wine. It is now time to see if this methodology nothing?, say nothing?, do nothing?. can be used to design a Cabernet Sauvignon style wine. The recipe I have Barry P.R.O. chosen is one produced by Chilterns Masters, a small group of enthusiasts in Buckinghamshire. The ingredients for 5 litres are:

Red grape concentrate 600ml THE GLOVES ARE REALLY REALLY OFF? Blackberry 600g Elderberry 350g Blackcurrant 500g It is official then, if you can not or will not fill the com- Oak shavings 30g ment label in at the 2004 National then do not bother to reply Sugar 550g to the Convenor‘s invitation, it is quite straight forward and we all knew it had to come, there may be something said at I decided to drop the elderberries and replace them with the skins our Guild conference AGM but NAWB has finally come from 1100g blackcurrant skins. I separated the skins from the juice and down on the side of common sense, most of us have abided most of the pulp as described in the last article, and tested the titratable acidity in the juice and pulp fraction, which had a total volume of 2.9 litres with the request in the past but in order that we are not just including the washes. The titratable acidity was 1.15% (as tartaric acid), heard but seen to be acting in a unified response, we must giving a total of 33g in the juice and pulp fraction. The expected value in now all pull together. the skins + juice and pulp would be 33g - 44g (Must, Gerry Fowles), mak- Barry PRO ing the 33g estimate for the juice and pulp fraction a very believable figure. My heritage could not let me discard this fraction which was duly fer- I must agree—I have thought for some time that if we do mented to make a rosé wine. The skins from the 1100g blackcurrant would have had a relatively low acidity, and were used as described below. not like the practicalities, then we do not accept !! - Ed The recipe above had already been started about 10 days earlier in November 2002, fermenting the concentrate and sugar at a volume of about 3 litres. The blackberry and oak shavings were pasteurised in near boiling water, mashed, and then pulp fermented. Finally, 2 days later, the blackcurrant skins were added and the pulp fermentation continued for 2 more days. The wine was strained, fermented to completion, racked, and clarified by normal techniques. 8 43 N.G.W.B.N (Continued from page 8)

Hello Again Nutters? When clear, the wine was sampled in December 2002, and was found to have a very fruity blackcurrant bouquet with fruitiness in the

palate, but with, at this stage, an astringent farewell, hardly surprising as

Gerry points out that the phenolic content of blackcurrants is high Well, you have to be one of them don‘t you after all you are a (WFAS, No 2) Three slivers of English oak were added and the wine judge, and the longer you are a judge (that is longer in the tooth) the was left to attain some maturity. more you find you will be talking to yourself, and in particular when In May 2003, the wine was racked off the oak and tasted. I you are a little hyped up trying to identify faults and among the com- found it to be a pleasant medium bodied wine with the oak quite promi- mon mutterings about faults are ―Eh---I know what it is but‖ --- nent relative to the fruit, and with the acidity noticeable in the farewell. ―Goodness ¬!^*#+> gracious‖ --- ―Oh dear oh dear‖ and it is even However, both the oakiness and the acidity usually reduce in the first worse when this sort of thing happens in front of your steward, and then few weeks after racking. The astringency had mellowed, and was more there is the judges classic glazed eyes routine across the table when acceptable. The wine was sampled blind by two tasters. The first taster among friends and your facial expression is saying ―give us a clue‖, - found the wine to have good potential with the oak slightly dominating OK, the inevitable short pause memory loss is quite common among the fruit. When asked to put a style to the wine, he said somewhere be- people of all ages, but, I‘m on about that creeping long term problem tween Rioja and Claret. The second taster liked the wine, but said that that slowly effects all the senses? she would like to taste it with more maturity, the acidity being on the Our National Guild exam requires us to identify not just the noto- high side at present. She reckoned that it was in the style of a Bordeaux rious faults like the dreaded mouse and so on but also the simpler ills wine. like sweetness and over acid, are we obsessed with the finer details of I decided to estimate the titratable acidity which I found to be actually having to name every thing that is wrong? Do we stay as we 0.75% as tartaric acid, definitely on the high side for this style of wine. are with our present one exam for life and then continue practising dou- I reduced the acidity by 0.1% with potassium bicarbonate, putting the ble standards, in that you qualify to the given high level but once you wine into the higher end of acceptable acidity for dry red table wines. have your feet under the table ―you do as you please‖. The tasting of this acid-reduced wine demonstrated almost instant matu- As a duty we are there at the bench primarily to select the best ration in that the balance was now improved and the wine appeared to wines and beers and place them in the correct order of merit, if this aim be more mellow. can be achieved then should we not seek a lesser degree of expertise in I feel that the trial has been successful, and I shall certainly be the candidates qualifying at the exam so it would be good enough for using blackcurrant skins again in the future. the candidate to identify that something is wrong but not bother to be to ` Bill Smith so specific, after all it is known there are judges among us who cannot now identify major faults but these same judges are still regarded as Thanks Bill—I tried the ―new style‖ and it got finished fairly equals, and as we go down each of the lesser qualified order of judges quickly !!!! - Ed from Federation Judges, District Judges, Circle Judges, and the self opinionated ones we will hear quite openly the admission and excuses

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42 9 (Continued from page 40) 10 HOURS TO SCARBOROUGH CHAPPED HANDS: Angelica, mint and lady‘s mantle infused in hazy ( My account of the 2003 National ) apple and carrot wine. It‘s a good idea to add glycerine to the lotion to combat the degreasing effect of the alcohol. The active vitamin in this Friday the 4th of April dawned bright and sunny, a lovely day for travel- lotion is Vitamin A which is also present in carrots, apricots, nettles, ling (little did I know) As usual I was travelling with Bert Mower and Terry elderberries, dandelions, cranberries, blueberries, cowslips, redcurrants, Foulds and we had arranged to meet at my house at 12.15. First I had to go to mint and parsley. All wines made from those ingredients are good for work but I had arranged to leave at 12.00 o‘clock. Time to get washed and your skin. changed, ready for Bert and Terry to arrive. Bert was already waiting for me NERVOUS COMPLAINTS: You need lots of Vitamin B1. All wines when I arrived home so I rapidly got ready and we then waited for Terry, and contain yeast - so drink on! Good wines for your nerves are barley, pea, waited and waited. Terry finally arrived at about 12.45 and we quickly loaded his fig, raisin, dandelion, pineapple, orange and parsnip. What a way to get car and set off. The bottle entry closes at 6.00 and our hotel was serving the eve- ning meal at 6.00 also, so although time was tight we reckoned that we should just well! make the deadlines. We always travel on the A1 and made good time until we GREY HAIR AND BALDNESS: I make no promises with this one. were just past Stamford when at about 3.15 we came to a halt in a long line of Vitamin B5 is found in wheat, yeast, peas, barley, rice and carrot wines. stationary traffic. We made very slow progress and it was obvious that this was Vitamin H is found in yeast and it can combat hair fall out. Then why is more than a minor traffic hold up. there so much grey hair in wine circles? Eventually we were diverted off of the A1 on to the A606 towards Oak- DECLINE OF SEX LIFE: Vitamin E is extremely good for everybody. ham. Now, as we did not have a map in the car we had no idea where we were It is considered by some to be an aphrodisiac. If this is the case, you heading for, so we followed the long line of traffic ahead of us. Past Rutland Wa- should be drinking lots of apple, barley and nettle wine. There are three ter on towards we knew not where. The local radio station said that there had been other vitamins in the B complex which assist male fertility. These are an accident between two lorries on the A1 one of which was carrying several tons folic acid, inisitol and para-aminobenzoic acid. They are all present in of potatoes. These were now all over the road and needed clearing before the road yeast - from which we can assume that all wines are good for your sex could be re-opened. Please, no jokes about a bad smash or anything to do with chips. On we crawled, now towards Melton Mowbray, with the radio saying that life! all of the surrounding local roads were now totally grid locked by the volume of Quite a few winemakers use herbs to make delicious wines. Of diverted traffic. At around 5.00 it became obvious that we were not going to make course these are only flavourings and the body and alcohol have to be the deadline for bottle reception, so a quick phone call was made to Dave Pulley produced by using grape concentrate or dried fruit, acids and sugar. I and it was arranged that we could put our entries in on the Saturday morning. A will just mention some of the more common herb wines and tell you further phone call to our hotel confirmed that we would not be in time for our din- how good they are for you. ner but we thought that we would be there at around 8.00. Ever onward we LEMON BALM: The herb is used in the treatment of the nervous sys- crawled, past Barleythorpe, Burton Lazars, (good brewing references there) Crox- tem as it has a calming effect. The benefits of lemon balm can also be ton Kerrial until at just before Grantham we finally regained the A1. By now it extracted by soaking 2oz of the leaves in a cupful of wine for 10 hours. was approaching 9.00 and we realised that we would not be in time for any of the One tablespoon of the strained liquid can be taken at bedtime for insom- Friday night revelries. We finally reached our hotel at10.45, and after a quick nia. It‘s best to use a base wine that has no invigorating ingredients that sandwich and a couple of cans of John Smiths (we were that desperate for a drink) we thankfully tumbled into bed. will conflict with the lemon balm. With very little to drink on the Friday we had no problem being down MINT WINE: All mints can be used for wines that will have a benefi- early on the Saturday, and after a very filling breakfast we were soon heading for cial effect on the digestion. The best base for a lotion for skin ailments the Spa centre to enter our bottles and see what we had to judge. I had 3 classes: 10 41 (Continued from page 39) (Continued from page 10) content is bad for you. If you do make it, it is very useful as a base for London Brown ale, Newcastle Brown ale and sweet red grape based. The 2 herbal remedies. The wine is strongly purgative and laxative. Rhubarb beer classes were very good with the winners outstanding. The wine class was was highly valued by Chinese physicians. not quite as good although the top 6 were all good examples of the style. Rice wine is a very useful wine, being full of vitamins, minerals Once I had finished judging I had time for a look round to see how my entries had fared. I found that I had a first in the barley wine, a second in the and other essential dietary needs. It is a tonic, a blood cleanser and it apple dry and various other awards. The beers that I had expected to do well relaxes those with hypertension. For young and elderly alike suffering with had come nowhere, others that I had not expected much of had crept into from loss of appetite due to sickness, a tonic of one part rice wine to two the awards. I expect that bottle variation had something to do with this, as parts of water at regular intervals works wonders. The dose is an egg unlike wine you cannot have a taste from the actual bottle of beer that you en- cupful at hourly intervals. If the patient complains of thirst, only give ter. That‘s my story (excuse?) anyway. Time for a quick sandwich and then it water when complaints are really persistent. The patient is already on was time for the Call My Bluff wine tasting presented by Al & Doreen Procter. the way to recovery at this point! Here we tasted 5 wines and were given 2 different descriptions of each wine Here are ways to cure some common complaints: by Al & Doreen, only one of which was correct. Some got all 5 correct, me, I simply enjoyed the wines. A very different and enjoyable wine tasting. This was followed by presentation of the trophies. After the ―ordeal‖ of collecting the bottles we just had time to freshen up before dinner. A very raucous affair, with the winning entries being com- pared to the also-rans. Then it was time for the evenings jollification, with a constant stream of people eager to sample the contents of ―the barrel‖. ( a 3- gallon beer barrel filled with the contents of some of the days beers) All too soon the evening was over and it was time to wend, weave? ones way back to the hotel. Because of the distance that we had to travel we did not stay for the talk and the A.G.M. but it was interesting to learn later about the location of the 2004 national. It will not stop me going but it will be interesting reading the views of other members. Mike Davey

Mike – you have my sympathies – we experienced something like it at last years AGM travelling!!!! - Ed

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Beer at it’s Best for Wine Judges! (Continued from page 38) recommended for the skin, especially to clear facial blemishes. To I will try and answer Barry‘s query on Beer-making, as I believe no make a hawthorn lotion, soak two or more handfuls of dried flowers and one else has responded. One must remember that there are no real short berries in three cups of water. Leave overnight then bring to the boil cuts in life. Can one make a Premier Cru from Tesco‘s grapes or is a wine and simmer for 10 minutes. Cool, strain and pour into a stoppered jar. made from good quality ripe fruit better than supermarket fruit juices? It keeps in the refrigerator for a week. Hawthorn liqueur is made by I think the first step is to learn the theory. Obtain a copy of Dave steeping the berries in brandy. The blossom wine is anti-spasmodic Line‘s ―The Big Book of Brewing‖. Although first published in 1974, it (stops sickness), sedative and a diuretic heart stimulant. It increases the explains the basics very clearly and along with the Guild Handbook it is a flow of blood to the heart, helps angina and normalises high or low good grounding for the Guild Part 1 examination and brewing either from blood pressure. The sedative effect is very useful for the overworked kits, malts or complete mashing. Two other good books are by Graham and stressed and it also combats insomnia. My grandfather would never Wheeler, both CAMRA publications: ―Home Brewing‖ and ―Brew Your have ―unlucky‖ may blossom in the house, but in the Middle Ages, it Own Real Ale at Home‖. was regarded as lucky to take it indoors. Kits: These have improved tremendously in the last few years and I Peapod wine is a traditional wine, which some people still make. have been using Coopers from Australia, the only true brewery that con- It‘s worth considering for it is a wonderful tonic, absolutely full of centrates worts for the home brewer. I make about six a year for our wine many vitamins and minerals. It is really good for you and from the club socials and they are very acceptable. There is rarely any left! Using glowing description, it will make a new person of you. It is good for these kits one can also make two different batches of beer, say a strong la- convalescents, especially those suffering from loss of appetite. ger and a light lager by boiling the concentrated malt in three gallons of Peach plum and pear wines well worth making for their medicinal water, run off about ten pints, add ½ kg of wheat spray malt and boil with benefit as well as for the enjoyment of them. Peach wine is a wonderful ½ oz of Hallertauer or Saaz hops. Add two gallons of water to the original remedy for constipation, but it will also help with sickness and will help and a few hops for a lighter lager. Use brewing sugar not household. The to sedate a person who is not feeling too well. Pear wine is really good same can be done with ale kits to produce IPA and pale ales. These may for treating rashes caused by allergic reactions to plants, especially the not be prize-winning beers but acceptable drinks, although I did win a rash caused by stinging nettles. Plum wine is an aid to digestion. fourth at the Wales and West this year for a strong lager made this way. I haven‘t made potato wine for years - not since Gerry Fowles told Spray Malt: For several years I have been making up one-gallon kits us about the undesirable alcohols produced by potato fermentation. for our wine society members to encourage them to brew and enter our Like the tomato when it was first introduced to this country, the potato competitions. The basis for these has been Spray malt. The last three I is- was thought to be poisonous as it is in the same family of plants as bel- sued were for Lager, Bitter and Dry Stout. ladonna and henbane (Solanacea). There were worries about eating the Lager: 11/2 lbs lager malt, 1oz crushed wheat, 1oz flaked maize & ½ tubers of a nightshade and it is true that we tolerate the solanin poisons oz Hallertauer hops. in potato because we are inured to them from childhood. In 1596 po- Bitter: 11/4 lbs pale malt, 8oz Crushed pale malt, 2oz crystal malt & tato, the new experience, was recommended for diarrhoea, stomach ul- 7/8 oz Goldings or Fuggles hops cers and migraine. I still don‘t think I‘ll bother with the wine. Stout: 1lb 2oz dark malt,13/4oz roast barley, ¾ oz black malt, 13/4 Do not make rhubarb wine unless you use the sugar extraction oz torrified wheat, 31/2 oz pale crushed malt, 13/4 oz chocolate malt & 1oz method or the freezer method, as the high and poisonous oxalic acid (Continued on page 40)

12 39 (Continued from page 37) (Continued from page 12) cleanses the pancreas, spleen and - can you cope with this one - the Bramling Cross hops. feminine sexual organs. It can treat dyspepsia, insomnia, jaundice and - Method for all kits: Heat up one gallon of water to 65 deg. C, add it is a stimulant for sluggish liver problems - that‘s if you don‘t drink ingredients and maintain a temperature of 65 for one hour. Bring to boil too much of it trying to make yourself well! When used to treat reten- for 40 min tion of fluid, it flushes out impurities in the blood, liver and kidneys but replaces the lost potassium, which is a side effect of diuretics, as it has a utes, allow to settle and strain off. Cool quickly and make up quantity to high natural potassium content, and its high iron content is excellent for one gallon with cooled boiled water. Aerate the wort by pouring back anaemia. If you don‘t want to drink dandelion as wine, but have swol- into the pan and then into your bucket. Add yeast and after four days len ankles or water retention problems, make dandelion tea by putting 2 into demi-jon. Rack off when clear; add three level teaspoons of sugar oz chopped fresh leaves in a non-metallic pot and pouring over 1 pint of (to the gallon) and bottle. boiling water. Strain it after 15 minutes and drink three small cupfuls a Hints: Do not use any equipment that has been used for winemaking, day. You can make dandelion coffee from the roots, eat the root raw for fill your bottles to a one-inch airspace and use competition bottles with all manner of ailments, eat the leaves in salads, make a dandelion spread plain gold crown corks. Once again, these beers will not be major prize- or just make wine from the flowers. winners but are quick, easy and acceptable drinks. Did you ever realise how good elderberry wine is for you? It has Mashing: One really needs good equipment for this process, good been a favourite country brew for centuries. It is widely know to be a ingredients and a day when you can spare about eight hours. cold weather tonic able to combat the onslaught of colds and flu. It is a Roy Dutson for many years has been telling North West wine cir- cathartic (laxative), diaphoretic (promotes perspiration), diuretic, purga- cles about mashing in a Thermos flask. I believe one needs a four- pint tive and stimulant. I think I like the last one best! At the first sign of a flask and this is filled with the grain, and hot water at about 74deg.c is cold or flu, a sherry glassful taken before retiring will work wonders. It poured in and left to mash for two hours( 65 –67deg.c for mix). The liq- will aid congestion and headache and aches and pains due to colds. I uid would then be poured off, the grains ―sparged‖ and the wort boiled bet it will! Did you know that elderberries were once added to port with hops. It is an easy way of once again making a gallon of beer. wine to improve flavour and colour until the practice was halted by leg- I have never tried it as; if I am going to make beer I prefer to have islation? It‘s hard to find an elderberry bush in Bordeaux, as they were five gallons at the end. Maybe Roy could expand his ideas for us? once all torn out by law to prevent the enhancement of wine by their I believe beer making to be an art as is winemaking but one has to addition. If you would rather rub elderflower wine on yourself instead learn at least some of the science behind. Cleanliness, good ingredients of drinking it, it is excellent for skin inflammation and the treatment of and experimentation combined with shared knowledge and ideas from boils. others are essential. Joining an organization like the Craft Brewers As- I don‘t know how many of you have ever made hawthorn blossom sociation can help. Have a go! wine or haw wine. I once did make haw wine, but found it a long-term Bill Lowe. enterprise due to harshness and astringency and never tried it again. In the Middle Ages, young girls would bathe their faces in hawthorn dew on May Day morning to give themselves a beautiful complexion. As a Thanks Bill—I was wondering if anyone was going to respond. I use spray- malt myself, quite usefully on the odd occasion _ Ed beauty herb, hawthorn lotion, made by infusing berries or blossom is (Continued on page 39)

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(Continued from page 36) Notes on a meeting of The National Guild of Wine & Beer meal, but during treatment, this is the only wine that you should drink Judges held at The Northolt Community Centre on whilst treating yourself. Beetroot wine with an equal amount of honey th is an excellent cough medicine. Blackcurrant wine is a general tonic Thursday, 10 July, 2003. due to its high vitamin C content. All the currant wines are good for you. Blackberry wine is useful for bronchial and respiratory com- PRESENT APOLOGIES plaints, as a blood cleanser and as a general tonic for convalescents. Alan Kimber Anne Mills Tony Badger My father-in-law told me that when he was a child, if he or any of Joan Adcock Gene & Roy Skelton Mike Bedwell his siblings had threadworms, mum would give them a large raw carrot Sandra Claydon Don Scrace Eric Clarke to eat. It did the trick! Carrots are a very old country remedy. They Brenda Holgate Stan Thompson John Holgate Bernard Lamb Alan Thurlow Colin Hotham were introduced from Holland in the 15th century and the orange type Bob Marsdon Jack Tunmore David Moon didn‘t appear until the 17th century as a mutant, the previous carrots Peter Miller Ken Wilkinson Chris Randall having been purple and white. The orange carrot found favour because Bill Smith of its pleasing appearance. Carrots are good for gastro-intestinal com- plaints, for flatulence and stomach acidity and the wine has these prop- As we discussed our recent dinner, we enjoyed Alan Kimber‘s dry erties. Carrot wine is a tonic for exhaustion and tired eyes. Carrots con- white aperitif.Our thanks were due to all those who had contributed. tain potassium, so the wine has good diuretic properties. As the Northolt Centre is becoming very popular, it was decided we Damson wine is really good for you. It‘s an aperient (laxative), should think ahead and book for next year‘s dinner. Don would try to diaphoretic (promotes perspiration), diuretic (promotes urination) and book Friday, 7th May, but if this should be unavailable, he would go for stomachic (good for the stomach). You can gargle with damson wine Friday, 30th April 2004. for inflammation of the mouth and throat - but you must not swallow it Our next meeting will be on Thursday, 9th October, and the sub- afterwards, however excellent the vintage! What a shame! ject will be Lager. Peter Miller will bring a suitable aperitif. This eve- Dandelion wine is an ancient wine medicine that is so highly re- ning we were to taste dry red table wines, with one fruit (which was to garded as a country beverage that its beneficial medicinal properties be stated on the bottle) predominant. have been largely forgotten. About three years ago I purchased a bottle of dandelion wine in deepest France and saved it for the N.G.W.B.J. 1. Loganberry – gorgeous bouquet, oaky, soft tannins, well melded to- Annual Conference out of interest. It was foul – and it cost about £5.00! gether: some thought blackberry – ―a cracking little wine‖. This was st The dandelion is beloved of herbalists and practitioners of folk medi- Anne‘s started on 31 July, 01. For 2-gallons there were 2 lbs. logan- cine. The whole plant can be utilised in various ways. It is a source of berries, 5 lbs. blackberries, 1 lb. elderberries, 0.5 lb. white currants as vitamins A, B, C, E and K. The juice can get rid of warts and in ancient well as some Merlot grape conc. Toasted oak was also added, and China the crushed leaves were used as a poultice on boils and abscesses. later, when the wine was split into 2 demi-johns, 10 gms. of Sandra‘s It is a cholagogue (a purgative causing evacuations of bile), an aperient, oak was added to each. stomachic and diuretic. We all know the warnings about the last one. (Continued on page 15) The French call it ‗pis en lit‘ - wet-the-bed. Not only that - dandelion wine stimulates the appetite, helps the body to expel toxins, and it (Continued on page 38)

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(Continued from page 35) 2. Cherry – really good cherry flavour: well balanced: very pleasant: into a dark bottle with a stopper. Rinse your mouth with it after clean- concentrated flavour – very Tuscan like: cherries very well handled: ing your teeth in the mornings for daylong freshness. You can make a we agreed this was clearly based on cherries. Sandra had made this as a chilblain cure using the herbs angelica, lady‘s mantle, rosemary, sage Chianti style, using bottled cherries in 1999. and mint. This lotion is rubbed into the chilblains where it is rapidly 3. Blackcurrant – very pale, with prominent acid: a good wine for absorbed and it soon cures the agony of itching, swelling and breaking blending. With food the acidity would not notice: well made wine. out. There are reasons for all of these medicinal wines working well. I This was Bill‘s made in March this year, using 1 lb. blackcurrants, 4 lbs. will detail this chilblain cure, but will not bore you by going through the blackcurrant skins (i.e. no juice), 1 litre red grape juice and 2 lbs. sugar reasons for all the cures as I progress. for 5 litres. Very short oak maturation – 2 months. Alcohol - a disinfectant Vitamin K - present in herbs, Vit K often prescribed for chilblain 4. Blackberry – Bouquet not too popular, but better on the flavour: sufferers slightly oxidized (or un-ripe fruit – opinions differed here): very high Vitamin E - tissue repair tannin: needs time for things to come together and for the acidity to Vitamin B complex - (yeast) folic acid, amino-benzoic acid & inosi- smooth out. This was Brenda‘s made in December ‘99 using 4.5 lbs. tol, all promote healthy skin blackberries, 8 oz. Grape conc. And 4 oz. Blackcurrants. herbal oils - aid absorption 5. Blackberry – good bouquet: a ―fruity bouquet rather than a black- My mother used to make lemon barley water if she suspected that berry aroma‖; good length, high acidity: has had a stick of oak in it for my brother or I had ―a chill on the kidneys‖. If you make barley wine 12 months: 15 lbs. blackberries, 2 – 3 litres grape juice and sugar – no using pearl barley, you can use the resulting brew to great effect if you acid added. Very obviously blackberry – very pleasant wine. This was have had any liver or kidney complaints. Half a sherry glass of barley Alan Thurlow‘s. wine first thing in the morning and half an hour before eating, each time followed by a glass of water is the dose. For the relief of aching limbs, 6. Blackberry – Good nose: well made wine: high acid: needs to be soak a handful each of comfrey and thyme in a pint of barley wine for a blended with something else, or maybe reduce the acid (something we week. Rub the resulting lotion into your aching limbs. I give no guar- don‘t do very often). Bernard had made this at the end of August ‘01 antees on this one: to make an anti-ageing lotion, place one part com- using 3 lbs. blackberries, 3 ozs. Blackcurrants and some sultanas for 1 frey root, one part young nettles, one part marigold, one part evening gallon: later he had added grape conc. for colour. primrose and one part lady‘s mantle in a vessel and cover with barley 7. Elderberry – nose certainly elderberry-like but mature – even hints wine. After 10 days strain off the lotion into a dark bottle and add glyc- of farmyard! Acids and tannin softened. Stan had made this in 1983 erine. from a recipe of Ted‘s for a Light Claret. The wine is still very ―alive‖, Beetroot wine is an excellent blood purifier as well as being diu- and this was Stan‘s last bottle. retic (makes you pass water), carminative (gets rid of flatulence) and depurative (cleanses and purifies). Diluted equally with cold water, 8. Elderberry – pleasant bouquet but not elderberry and not dry: high beetroot wine is excellent for excessive flatulence. The normal dosage alcohol, green-ness on nose but not on palate. Well made but out of is a cupful of neat wine after breakfast and another after the evening (Continued on page 16) (Continued on page 37)

36 15 (Continued from page 15) (Continued from page 34) class. Bob had made 6-gallons using 15 lbs. elderberries, 2 lbs. black- making, and evidence has been found in the tombs of Pharaohs. The berries and grape conc. He had divided it into 6 demijohns and all 6 earliest medicinal preparations made by monks were concoctions of had very different s.g,‘s: this gallon had an s.g.of 1006. He had made herbs steeped in wine, which not only imparted subtle flavours but also this last October: and the other demi-johns were all still fermenting. resulted in the extraction of beneficial drugs from the plants that were in turn stabilised by the alcohol content of the wines. 9. This commercial wine from South Africa (First Cape Vineyards – The home winemaker is carrying on an ancient craft, almost as Shiraz\Pinotage 2002) had a lovely rich bouquet – fruity and oaky, old as mankind itself. During the Dark Ages the art of country wine- which was described variously as ―seductive, voluptuous, cheerful with making was kept alive by monks mainly for medicinal purposes, for velvety tannins‖ stated 14% abv. on the bottle, and was much enjoyed their main daily drink was ale, rarely water. Saxons, in common with by us all. It was brought by Gene and Roy. all the tribes of Northern Europe, drank vast quantities of ale. When the Normans invaded in 1066, they imported wines for their own use, but All those who had brought wines were thanked, as was Sandra, who the populace continued to quaff ale. Housewives were called alewives had provided our refreshments this evening for it was their job to brew the household‘s ale. The marriage of Eleanor Anne Mills of Aquitaine to Henry II of England in the 12th century (a million pounds‘ worth of knowledge!) had the consequence of the importation of vast quantities of superior but cheap wines to this country from Bor- deaux and other areas of the south. Home production of insignificant vinous beverages dwindled into insignificance. North East Region Wine and Beer Judges Your country wines are probably more pure than many commer- cial products. There is a frightening list of chemicals that are permitted Minutes of meeting held on June 8th 2003 at Bowburn. ingredients of wine, and in the past there have been disasters concerning Present Chairman J Parcell Sec. H P Rose D Hodkinson C. Shelton additives to wine with the result that all stocks of the affected wines had D Turner A Gough W Walker (new member) to be withdrawn from sale. One incident concerned the highly corrosive Apologies . G Sparrow A Proctor. and poisonous use of ethylene glycol (the main constituent of anti- freeze) as a sweetener. Another incident concerned the use of methyl The chairman welcomed a new Wine Judge Mr William Walker of alcohol to fortify wine. Drinking methyl alcohol can cause blindness Tynemouth Circle to the regional group. The chairman took the op- and death. You are able to collect ingredients that, hopefully, are free of portunity to also congratulate Mr A Gough on becoming a Wine as well pollution and chemical contamination; even better, your wines are pro- as a Beer judge duced at a fraction of the cost of commercial wines. Lets take apples: apples contain vitamins E and B17 and minerals The discussion on detecting Mouse started at the last meeting was con- calcium, magnesium and phosphorous. If you wanted to leave a pectin tinued ending with the conclusion that Mouse is normally detected haze in your wine and drink it like that, it would lower cholesterol. If upon the palate. you suffer from halitosis, soak a sprig of dill and rosemary in a cupful of apple wine for a week. Keep it covered and out of daylight and strain (Continued on page 17) (Continued on page 36)

16 35 (Continued from page 16) COUNTRY WINES AS A CURE FOR ALL YOUR ILLS Tasting . commercial by D Turner A Blackberry Sweet from Lindis- Some years ago, whilst mulling along the shelves of a bookshop farne. in Weymouth, I came across a little book that made me look at country This did not get a good reception. Synthetic nose, lacking texture ? bal- wines in quite a different light. It resulted in the purchase of more ance and thin . books and some research. The book that started this all off was, ―Medicinal Country Wines‖ by Howard Cook, published by Power Pub- Members wines Sweet Red Fruit any. lications, Ferndown, Dorset. All this interest eventually led to a talk Overall the wines were of good standard and produced a lot of discus- that goes down quite well at wine circles and WI‘s. It‘s a bit ―tongue-in sion as to the requirements in judging a Sweet Fruit wine. Result. It -cheek‖ for I‘m not an expert. should clearly be a fruit wine though the particular fruit is not identifi- All judges are, or have been, used to making country wines and able. Some wines though excellent had lost their fruit character. these wines are not only pleasant beverages to consume, they are also Charles‘ wine was chosen as first because of definite fruit and good effective medicines, as they contain elements, such as iron, minerals and body and balance . I could not do them justice as I was the driver. vitamins, apart from beneficial compounds produced by the continuing chemical interaction of the base constituents. As if this was not suffi- Williams. Strawberry. Good nose pale colour A bit sweet for bal- cient evidence to induce us to partake regularly of modest quantities of ance .Hot finish Overall a good wine. country wines, there is yet another beneficial ingredient and that is the H Rose Blackcurrant made from Grape conc. Blackcurrants and Ribena. alcohol content. Isn‘t all this good to hear? Aren‘t you glad that you Earthy nose with fair fruit. Light in body but balanced. Fair wine. I felt make wine? I‘m going to make you feel even better. it had a flat centre. Of course, the dangers - with your own homemade wines as much as with commercial wines, beers and spirits - are with over con- A Gough Blackberry fresh and (Black muscat Selection Kit) Interest- sumption. I think that many of us, when we read the recommended ing !! Government guidelines, are a little bit worried, for in a good social Small nose, light body but reasonable balance of sugar to acid . Astrin- week with perhaps a wine circle meeting, a dance, a visit from wine- gent finish. making friends, a meal out and maybe a visit to members of the family, John presented Keith Simpsons old wine. Hints of oak on nose. Big we may exceed the advised amounts - some of us by quite a lot! But fruit body. alcohol in controlled amounts is good for you: by dilating the blood ves- Well blended and balanced . Produced lots of talk from members. sels, it improves circulation and brings blood to aid the digestive proc- ess in the stomach, and thus, by improving digestion, the appetite is en- Charles. Elderberry /Turkish cherries fresh! Grape conc. Good fruit hanced and tense muscles are relaxed. The benefit of wine consumption nose. Sweet attack but smooth on palate. Good length and well bal- in moderation has been known for thousands of years, and wine was anced . A very good wine. often prescribed by Hippocrates ―The Father of Medicine‖. I can re- member when stout was prescribed for invalids and nursing mothers. Doug A blending of two wines containing elderberry cherry blackber- The Ancient Egyptians were practitioners of the art of wine ries blueberries .A good mature nose . Smooth balanced approach and (Continued on page 35) (Continued on page 18)

34 17 (Continued from page 17) CONFERENCE 2003 middle with a clean well- married finish. A good wine. . th After several years‘ unavoidable absence, I am looking forward to renewing Next meeting Oct 12 2003 Wine APERITIF DRY OR many old friendships at the Guild‘s Ruby Anniversary this year, at Ye Olde Bell Ho- SWEET (fortified or not ) tel in November. Denys Turner to get commercial. But as you love me (?), please do not offer me your prize red wine, whether re- Harry Rose labelled or your own hand-crafted brew. Why not? Read on! For various reasons, mostly connected with old age and decrepitude – have you noticed that as retirement dashes along, what used to take a few minutes spare time, now seems to fill most of the day? – I have over the last couple of years made less wine than before. Damsons? I have two trees full. Crabapples? They become a nuisance. Tayber- GERRY'S 5 NEW WINE YEASTS ries? Redcurrants? Let the birds scoff the lot! (Anyone want to make a 4 & 20 black- birds pie?) . The ‗get up and go‘ just went! But this Autumn I decided I must do something constructive. So my little store- Early this year, Gerry sent me samples of 5 yeasts. I have been room now sports Damson Gin, Cherry Brandy, a full Rumpot, and an experimental extremely pleased with the results using these yeasts, especially num- Cherry Plum and Rum infusion , all to be ready for Christmas. And fermenting, I have bers 1 & 2. All the yeasts were given adequate nutrient and vitamin a gallon each of red stone-fruit wine, a damson port-style, and a cherry-plum table supplement. wine, plus a five gallon kit wine. There is only one snag! A year ago, while Irene and I were holidaying with Number 1: This high alcohol yeast was first used to produce a Judith in Conwy, my foot started swelling. ―A mere nothing,‖ I thought, and bought a red after dinner wine, feeding in sugar after the wine had been strained cheap pair of shoes a size larger than usual. Bliss! Then I tramped – limped – hobbled off the pulp. The gravity fell quickly to give a very good after dinner - round Parys Mountain in Anglesey, to the amusement of other rock-specimen hunt- wine with high alcohol. A white after dinner wine was then made, this ers. Oh, the indignity of it. time making an effort to monitor the total amount of sugar used. After a As the months passed, the awful truth became unavoidable. I HAD GOUT! This dread complaint, which I thought of (if ever) in connection with Rabelais, small pulp fermentation, the wine was fed with sugar as necessary until Hogarth, and perhaps Doctor Samuel Johnson,, proved to be just another plague exist- the fermentation ceased at 1.020. Adding up the total fermentable sugar ing into modern times. in the ingredients, and allowing for the residual sugar in the wine, I used That was when I ceased to drink my beloved red wines – table wines, and port, an 88% efficiency figure for the conversion of sugar to alcohol, estimat- - and sherries, and most dear to my heart, those darling Scotches, single malts or ing the final alcohol at 20.7%, a figure that may be a little higher as blends, or Irish whiskeys or American corns. No rum, light or dark, and most certainly no brandy. By dint of perilous experiment, I have found I can tolerate white wines, there is always some loss of sugar and alcohol in the residue after a pulp and modest quantities of some white spirits such as vodka and gin, which do not carry fermentation, even after rinsing. Tasting the clarified wine suggested the same amount of congeners as the other spirits. very high alcohol for the style. But imagine how I feel. My shelf runneth over! But don‘t anticipate flocking I will certainly use this yeast again, although I have been round like vultures at Christmas. I have numerous friends and relatives who visit, and very happy in the past with the after dinner wines produced by GV 26. what ‗Drink and Drive‘ prevents them from drinking here, they will doubtless take home to consume in safety. Number 2: This sparkling wine yeast was used for the secondary I still look forward to our Ruby Anniversary event. But -please, please, don‘t fermentation of a gallon of dry white wine sweetened up to produce 5 offer me your prize red wines… atmospheres of pressure. After a secondary fermentation of about 2 Roy Ekins (Continued on page 19)

18 33 (Continued from page 31) (Continued from page 18) Chairman had done something we all dream about. He had months, one of the 6 bottles was removed and 'hurried through' the re- opened his own brewery! The Copper Dragon, a ten barrel plant, muage process. The yeast was quick to floculate and settle. being ready all stainless steel made and built by Bavarian Breweries. It has for degorging within 2 weeks. As ever, the product was well primed six, ten barrel conical fermenters and six conditioning tanks, all and true to style, although it lacked the classical Champagne character- glycol cooled. When we last saw Steve he told us he is now istics at this early stage. brewing nearly to capacity, five days a week with one hundred I can thoroughly recommend this yeast which is the best that I and sixty outlets. He also issued us with a personal invitation to have used in the thirty years that I have been making sparkling wines. visit the brewery. Numbers 3, 4, & 5: These 3 yeasts were compared with GV 6- The August meeting was at The Oddfellows, Elland (near Hud- 8906 and CC84, a Rhine yeast which Gerry had given me some years dersfield), W.Yorkshire, the brew-pub for The Eastwood and ago. Five separate gallons of the same recipe were made, and the wines Sanders Fine Brewery. After a lunch and a lively meeting during were tasted about 2 weeks after they were crystal clear. All the wines which we sampled “First Light”, “Bargee”, “Beyond The Pale” and were fermented at about 18oC, and all fermented well, although number “Nettlethrasher”, also “Pale Gold” from Ossett Brewery which is 4 was slower to ferment out to dryness. Final specific gravities ranged just up the road were all fine beers We also had a competition for from 0.992 to 0.996. A tasting of the wines showed that all had floral Heavy Lager for which Bill received a Silver Award (second). Af- character, not surprising as the main ingredients were grape juice and ter the meeting we were led two hundred yards up the road to the apple/elderflower juice. All were very acceptable show standard wines, brewery in an industrial unit. A ten- barrel plant brewing seven and it was difficult to tell them apart in the palate. Perhaps more subtle different beers. An old four- barrel plant is on site as stand-by. differences could have been seen if the wines had been made from a The head brewer, Dave showed us around us around the plant plainer recipe. and we examined a rare bag of Brown Malt and several different I would be happy to use these 3 new yeasts again. How- hop varieties. He had laid on two different beers for us. A very ever, as I have found 6-8906 to be a very trustworthy servant, I will light bitter and a porter, both were excellent. We don’t remember probably continue to use this yeast for most of my wines other than high much more! alcohol wines and sparkling styles. We hope to meet many of you at the Guild weekend in October. We are indebted to Gerry for making these yeasts available for Cheers for now. our use, and I gather that he might be marketing some of them next Joe and Bill. year. Bill Smith Thanks Bill and welcome to the committee—keep up the good work my friend !!! Ed

Jan Mitchell has sent me the following article, and I should, of course, give thanks to Cheryl Head for permission to reproduce it - Ed

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32 19 (Continued from page 19) (Continued from page 30) I came across this article in Laboratory News, August 2003. It Bill with the Three Bottle Class so Bill put his ten beers on the was written by Cheryl Head, product Manager, Oxoid Ltd and I have show benches. been given permission to reproduce it. I thought that some members Joe took his mind off his beers by judging a shared class of might find it of interest. The article becomes very technical when it gets Red Fruit Sweet. How did our beers compare to the other en- on to Culture media, so I gave up at that point. tries? It soon became obvious that we had met a man on form. Our Guild Chairman, Bill Elks who, when we attended the trophy presentation our group were full of admiration for his achieve- MICROBIOLOGY IN THE BREWING INDUSTRY ments. Of the fourteen beer trophies on offer, Bill had won nine. The other five were awarded to Charles Hill (2) for Light Ale and Historically beer has been a safer drink than water, as the alcohol, Newcastle Brown, Richard Brooksbank for Dry Stout, Bill Lowe low pH and ingredients with antimicrobial properties mean that con- for Barley Wine and Joe Hughes for Light Lager. In the points, Bill taminating micro-organisms rarely thrive. However, there are some or- was third overall with Joe fifth, so it wasn’t all doom and gloom. ganisms that will tolerate the combined effect of these factors. The We will try again next year. Bill was pleased to win a third for his three main categories of micro-organisms are: Red Table Dry from eighty entrants. Brewer‘s yeast: present for beer production. We have both just made our Heavy lager for the Guild week- Spoilage organisms: yeasts and bacteria which are able to grow end. We had a pleasant day out, taking the scenic route to Hud- in the brewing process or final product, dersfield for our supplies. We brewed on the same day, not quite Other organisms (or spores) able to survive in the product but with the same ingredients but constantly in telephone contact for not grow. These are often encountered in quality control but do progress reports. They both have an original gravity of 1067, so not lead to spoilage. we are awaiting the outcome. Before the Guild weekend we have the seven beer classes at the North Western Federation Show at Main entry routes for spoilage organisms Morecambe. All beers are already bottled and ready to go. Bill Barley – If not stored correctly fungi may contaminate the grain. will be going up to Scotland after judges at the bar to visit his Malt – Contamination is destroyed in the kilning process, though spores son’s new house in Gourock. may survive. Hops – Contain various flora, but minimal contamination due to boil- Ardbeg Whiskey: Joe was fascinated to read Don Hawkin’s story about ing. the Ardbeg experience (so was I—Ed). Bill bought him a 10 year old for Water – Often contains gram-negative organisms which may be able to last Christmas. Joe is now afraid that if he beats him at the NW Fed he grow in wort, but not often in beer due to the low pH. will buy him another! It certainly is an acquired taste, as is Lagavulin Brewing – High mashing and wort boiling temperatures restrict the which has a similar TCP taste. growth of micro-organisms. Yeasts and bacteria will only grow in the early stages of the mashing cycle when temperatures are lower. Spores Northern Craft Brewers: We both missed the April meeting that of Clostridium and Bacillus species can survive higher temperatures but was held in Skipton,N. Yorkshire. Steve Taylor our founder and (Continued on page 21) (Continued on page 32)

20 31 (Continued from page 29) (Continued from page 20) a heavy beer which is very complex in flavour and nose with a will not germinate in hopped beer. high alcohol. A fullness and roundness with a slightly malty sweet Classifications of beer spoilage and grain finish. Top marks, awarded six plus. Ropiness – the beer becomes viscous and pours in an oily stream. The No other beer could match this on the day but one did come main causal organisms are Acetobacter, Lactobacillus, Pediococ- close. George Bateman, Wainfleet, Lincolnshire: “Victory Ale”, cus,cerevisiae and Gluconobacter oxydans. 5.2%abv, brewed only in April an October. Pale copper in colour Sacciane Sickness – a honey-like odour produced by contamination and a much fuller beer than Bateman’s flagship brew, “XXXB”. A with P cerevisiae. good flavour of fruit and grain with an excellent balance of hops Sourness – caused by Acetobacter. and bitterness. It finishes fruity and dry, awarded a six rating. Turbidity and off odours – caused by Zymomonas anaerobia and spoilage yeasts. Beware of Imitations: Have you ever wondered why the beers you enjoyed while on holiday abroad tastes much nicer than the Growth of bacteria is possible in beers if the pH is not too low ones bearing the same name when purchased at your local su- (generally pH 4-5) and there are utilisable nutrients present. Gram- permarket? Eighty-five percent of “foreign” beers bought in this negative, anaerobic bacteria have been isolated from spoiled beers and country are in fact brewed in this country. Carlsberg’s intensive pitching yeasts, producing acetic and propionic acids and lactate. One television advertising goes to great lengths to make us believe of the major spoilage yeasts found in packaged beer is Saccharomyces their beer comes from Denmark. The drivers of Carlsberg lorries diastaticus and there are others including Brettanomyces. are portrayed being kept prisoner locked in cellars to prevent the beer leaving Denmark. In actual fact the beer is brewed in Leeds Isolating and identifying spoilage organisms and Northampton. If the English version is as good as the Danish Breweries monitor at several stages of the brewing process. A version why do Carlsberg spend so much money to keep up this sample of liquor, yeast, wort or beer is taken and used to inoculate a pretence? broth or agar. The medium and growth conditions will depend on the Not only global giants are involved. Charles Wells Brewery, suspected contaminant. Inhibitors are used to give a clear picture. Nor- Bedford, brew under license: Kirin (orig. Japan), Cobra (India) mally a selective medium is used in conjunction with a non-selective and Red Stripe (Jamaica). Whilst Shepherd Neame brew Holsten medium to give an overall picture of brewing hygiene. (Germany), Kingfisher (India) and Oranjeboom (Holland). The customers’ safeguard lies in our labeling laws, for some- Inhibitors in Brewing microbiology where, no matter how small, the real brewer’s name will appear. Cycloheximide – inhibits yeasts, permits the growth of bacteria. Beer tasting groups need to be aware! Tetracycline – inhibits bacteria, permits the growth of yeasts. Copper salts – inhibit brewing yeasts, permits the growth of wild Beer Shows: The eleven no nonsense beer classes at the Wales yeasts. and West Festival must surely be the ultimate home brewers’ Phenylethanol – inhibits Gram-negative bacteria. challenge. A final polish and Joe’s beers were lost in the rows of Vancomycin – inhibits non-beer-spoilage Gram-positive bacteria. their fellows, thirteen beers in total. Ron Williams had allocated (Continued on page 31) (Continued on page 22)

30 21 (Continued from page 21) (Continued from page 28) Culture media informing us of the virtues of beer and food. Does the beer stand the test? A slight vegetable nose but not unattractive, The article now becomes very technical, detailing three agars a malty sweet clean beer with good condition. A reasonable and one nutrient medium used by the brewing industry for the growth of hop rate and found to be good with our buffet. It passed its specific spoilage organisms. If any of you would like a copy of that part self imposed test and was awarded five. of the article, send me a SAE and I‘ll send it to you. It is very interest- Judged to be the best and enjoyable beer of our first tasting ing to read how organisms may be isolated and identified by the use of was Marston’s “Old Empire”. An excellent 5.7% abv India Pale the correct culture medium. Ale. A citrus/orange nose with little hop but orange peel. The fla- I hope that I have got the spellings of the organisms correct. Sur- vour is full with malt, grain and fruit with hop. A very well bal- prisingly they were a little haphazard in the article. It‘s interesting to anced beer for its high alcohol with a slightly bitter and dry finish, read that whilst we fight our small skirmishes with infection, the brew- a six rating. Running close was “Ossian’s Ale” Inveralmond, ers have a whole battle on their hands. Perth. A 4.1%abv, Great British Festival Finalist, 2001. Awarded Jan Mitchell a five plus rating.

Thanks Jan—a very interesting article—Ed Bill opened his tasting with three beers from Young’s Ram Brewery, London. “Lords”, 4%abv at four plus rating but “Dirty Dick’s Ale” at 4.1%abv was more enjoyable at five plus rating. A very rich, fruity and malty nose with crystal malt and a slight floral hop. The flavour was rounded and SOUTHDOWNS JUDGES full. Crystal and amber malts giving the pale ruby colour. It finished fruity with balanced bitterness. Minutes of the meeting held on Monday 1st June, at 27 Burwood Grove, “Special London Ale”, 6.4%abv. We felt we had tasted this one Hayling Island at an earlier meeting. Bill checked his cellar to discover he did in fact have two varieties; the bottle conditioned one, first introduced in 1998 and the filtered beer as supplied in the Young’s pubs. A Present: Jan Mitchell, Peter Mitchell, Nigel Palmer, Barbara Cham- comparison is for a future date but today we taste the BC one. bers, Derek Gammon, Judy Barratt. Maris Otter pale and crystal malts with Fuggles and Golding Apologies: John Whalley, Den Barratt. hops. Fermented for seven days in open fermenters and then

warm conditioned for three weeks on a bed of Goldings hops. There was some discussion about small breweries. We are all keen on Cold conditioning before filtering with the BC version being discovery, visiting and tasting. Jan previewed the N.G.W.B.J. 2003 primed and reseeded before bottling with a twelve month best A.G.M. and Conference. Bookings were already high and caravan before date. Our sample therefore had been bottled in February bookings were better than last year. It‘s a special year as it‘s our 40th 2003, so according to our source it should be in prime condition Anniversary and the accent will be on ruby – ruby beers, red sparkling and so it proved. A floral Seville orange, fruity and alcohol nose; (Continued on page 23) (Continued on page 30)

22 29 (Continued from page 27) (Continued from page 22) mainly fizzy water which had to be chilled to such a degree one’s wine, etc. taste buds were anesthetized. Now there are more than eight As the evening‘s subject was to be Red Social, medium wine, Jan read hundred craft brewers, many of which have been investigated by out the handbook definition. Those without their own wines managed the group including Samuel Adams (Boston Beer Co.), Pete’s to bring something along. Wicked Ales (California) and Brooklyn Brewery (New York). These breweries endeavour to brew “old world” styles, using 1. The first wine had a good colour with a blackberry flavour. Barbara hops mainly grown on the North Pacific coast, 70% in the state of noticed a slight prickle. It was Judy‘s raspberry and blackberry wine, Washington and 30% in Oregon. Many of these varieties are now blended and the wines were 3-4 years old. We decided that it was a real being used by Britain’s microbrewers and home brewers includ- social wine and that it was lovely and very suitable. ing Willamette and Cascade but we avoid the cat’s pee charac- teristic of Cluster, Columbus and Chinook. Probably the prefer- 2. We liked this one; it was nice and smooth with good alcohol. In fact ence for cat’s pee beer against foxy wine is the reason the Ameri- it was a 3 year-old Spanish garnacha grape wine at 15%, sweetened up can Homebrewers’ Association has a large membership. Since by Peter (not a winemaker). There was enough body to carry the sweet- 1978 the AHA have produced a journal “Zymurgy” which is avail- ening. No price available as it was a Laithwaite‘s wine. Well done, Pe- able in the US at $5.50. We sometimes manage to pick up a ter, to sacrifice a good bottle to the cause. Well, stewards have to taste, copy. It is a journal concentrating solely on home beer brewing too! and packed with technical detail. An article on yeast shows the availability of forty beer strains with a full description of each, % 3. This wine had an attractive nose and was just off dry – or was it fruit attenuation, optimum fermentation temperatures and suitability sweetness? Barbara purchased it in Threshers for £4.99. It was Portu- for beer style. One that caught our eye was Southwold, Suffolk – guese Ramada 2002 at 11.5%. It was too dry for the class but was very Adnam’s, must be useful for beer cloning? After that brief diver- palatable indeed. sion into the USA the remainder of our beers were from England and Scotland. 4. We detected grains of sugar in the bottle! Signs of hasty sweetening- up! It was delicious, obviously stoned fruit, rosé rather than red. We Wychwood, Witney, Oxfordshire brewed the 4.5%abv liked it. Nigel had brought along Carol‘s Bullace wine. Carol is a good “Pumpking”; dark amber/copper in colour using Maris Otter pale winemaker indeed. with a touch of Simpson’s slightly toasted malt and a balance cre- ated with Northdown hops. The flavour is grain and very dry with 5. Nigel detected a blackberry flavour in this wine, but Derek had fruit. Given a four plus rating. sweetened up a Spanish Don Darius Tinto wine. It had lots of alcohol at The group has been drinking beer with food since it’s in- 14.5% and Derek had added a touch of glycerine that had smoothed it ception, as have many Guild members for several years. without giving a hot burning sensation. Nice one, Derek! Where have the commercial brewers been? Greene King, Bury St.Edmunds, Suffolk surely do not think they invented 6. Oh dear ….. Jan thought she had cracked this one, having had a year the idea? Their “The Beer To Dine For”, 5%abv with the label off winemaking due to knee trouble! The wine had an unreal colour, (Continued on page 29) (Continued on page 24)

28 23 (Continued from page 23) (Continued from page 26) sort of fluorescent pink and it tasted over sweet, foul, synthetic and Hill and John Keeley. chemical. It was Gale‘s Strawberry Wine with 14.5% alcohol and it had Keeping busy is his way of trying to cope with his loss, as cost £4.99. It ended up being tipped down the sink – Jan couldn‘t even Chairman of Stockport Metro Show and Secretary of his wine so- drink it whilst cooking dinner! ciety and also a member of the Village Hall committee. Out thoughts are also with the Lady who supported John’s active I don‘t know whether or not we were all any clearer at the end of the life… Betty, who is coming to the Guild weekend with us. tasting about the medium definition. We have noticed in competitions where the wines can be tasted after the judging that some judges be- Meetings: The group has had two meetings since our last th th come very sweetness tolerant as judging proceeds and that the winners report (JNL May 03) on 26 May and 27 June bringing the total in a medium class are at the top end of medium sweetness, verging on meetings to forty-one during which six hundred and sixty-three sweet. It‘s worrying. We were looking for a decent alcohol level in the different beers have been tasted and catalogued. Well nearly all wines. Judy‘s wine and Carol‘s wine brought along by Nigel were the different, the odd duplicate does sneak through but usually a dif- best of the evening. ferent brew date. Jan provided the usual hearty supper to soak up the wines. The fortieth meeting commenced with two beers from the USA; Goose Island Brewery, Chicago, Illinois. Although the group’s Next meeting: Monday, 1st September at Nigel‘s. only rule is that we have no rules, we had a silent vow that we The subject will be SUMMER BEERS. Obviously, not everybody will would no longer hunt beers from around the world, but the first have home brew, but there is a good selection on the shelves so that we was an IPA and as we cannot resist India Pale Ale we thought we can have an enjoyable tasting. might discover what a yank’s idea of an IPA is. “Goose Island IPA:” A lovely golden colour with a pleasant hop Thanks folks!! Very nice to get a different group in our newsletter, and and caramel nose and initially a malty sweetness. An American please keep it coming—Ed IPA? Then, suddenly wham! A hop bitterness to balance the sweetness and the 5.9% abv and a very good long dry finish. Watch this space—the Midland group are about to have a meeting in Fully deserving our five plus rating. September !!!! - Ed This increased our anticipation of the Goose Island flagship beer “Honker’s Ale” 5%abv. Pale tawny in colour with poor condi- tion and a poor nose; cardboardy, stale and malt with no sign of the Styrian Golding hops. A malty finish desperate for more hop, only three plus rating. Goose Island was founded in 1988 as a brewpub and was sup- plemented in 1995 with a full production craft brewery. The growth in micro-craft breweries in America is remarkably similar to the growth in Britain. In the 1970’s the American market was dominated by Anheuser-Busch, Coors, Millers and the like, (Continued on page 28)

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P.P.S. Having written all that, I have just realised that for most practical Volume Measurement from S.G and Weight purposes, since we are dealing with liquids of S.G very close numeri- cally to 1.000, we just need divide the weight in pounds by 10, and if metric, equate kilos to litres. That should be accurate enough. Simple - From time to time I make 5 gallons of beer and bottle only two isn‘t it? gallons, putting the rest into a Cornelius keg. If I bottle at IPA strength, Doug Hodkinson I may wish to serve the keg beer at a lower strength, in which case I di- lute with boiled and cooled water. Thanks Doug – that was really helpful – Ed !! Now when I bottle, I always have a few tasters, so that if I am di- luting the balance, there is some doubt as to how much goes into the keg. The kegs are stainless steel, I have no calibrated dipstick for them, and it is difficult to see into them. I calculate the volume as follows;- I measure the S.G of the beer, Weigh the amount of beer I put into South Manchester Group the keg, and divide the weight in pounds by 10 times the S.G. This gives me the volume in Imperial gallons. I use bathroom scales to measure the Meetings attended by: Joe Hughes and Bill Lowe weight of the empty keg, and the weight with the beer added. The calculation relies on the principal that an Imperial gallon of Prologue: Bill is unaware that this introduction is being written but water weighs 10 lbs, so that a liquid at an S.G. of say, 1.010 would is essential that it is said. Our beer tasting notes may appear to weigh 10.1 lbs per gallon. be the same, but in reality nothing will ever be the same. When This approach is convenient for whatever uncalibrated vessel is Nancy died on the eleventh of April the heart went out of the used to hold the liquid. group. Bill and Joe may have felt they were the bricks of the wall, Those of you skilled in the ways of metric measurement will have but Nancy and Shirley cemented it together. Without the girls in- already realised that if the weight is measured in kilos, divide by the S fluence the group could never have been formed. G. and not by 10 times the S.G to give the volume in litres. This is be- It was the support, encouragement and gentle bullying by Bill’s cause a litre of water weighs 1 kilo for all practical purposes. family that made him decide to go to the Wales and West Festival For those of you who still use brewers pounds for S.G. measure- in May, but it was entirely his own decision to offer his services to ment, good luck! the National Executive Committee as minutes secretary and sup- plies officer. P.S. If its wine, and not beer you are putting into an uncalibrated con- The contribution by John Keeley can never be replaced tainer, for Imperial measurement, the same rule applies, ie for an S.G of and Bill knows this, but he feels that the long standing bond 0.990, divide by 9.9. between the North-West and the guild should continue in the For metric units, for a wine of S.G. 0.990, divide the weight in kilos by traditions set by Graham Paxman, Phillip Dransfield, Sybil 0.990. (Continued on page 27) (Continued on page 26)

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