Inside this issue:
Inside this issue:
Alien
Beer in Durham?
By Gary Clayton
TRUB 9 FROM OUTER SPACE is almost upon us. Steve & Clark's
Brewpub in Durham is the place to be on Saturday Nov. 1 for a
full day of judging homebrews. Entry information can be found at
the official website at http://trub9.home.mindspring.com. All
CARBOY members are encouraged to head over and help judge in this
ninth edition of TRUB's annual competition.
This is a great opportunity to further your knowledge of and
taste for beer.
A special added incentive is Andy Kagen & Keith Klemp's annual
Halloween party the night of the competition and only several
blocks away. They have promised 10 kegs of homebrew!
To sign up contact:
Director of Judges - Keith Houck -hak@lilly.com -419-3714
Competition Organizer - Gary Clayton -
garyclayton@mindspring.com - 483-8127
Call
for Judges
by Keith Houck
TRUB IX Needs Judges and Stewards on November 1st. Please contact
Keith Houck for judging opportunities by email (hak@lilly.com)
or phone (419-3714). You do not have to be BJCP-certified to
judge. Contact Dave Green to sign up to be a steward.
Saving
a Bad Beer
by Bill MacKenzie
A few months ago I was faced with a dilemma. I had been
promising for 2 years to bring some of my home brew to a Blue
Grass festival in the mountains of Old Virginia. And for the
second year the beer I made was less than good. They were light
beers so the rough flavors weren't hidden a bit. No bragging
rights here. If I didn't show up for the second year in a row
with beer, My reputation would forever be tainted; this crowd
doesn't let such failures pass unnoticed into memory.
The beer was cloudy, with a rough bitterness that was at once
penetrating and long lasting. I brew with soft water so that
excessive minerals, i.e. magnesium wasn't the problem. The
flavor wasn't bad just spoiled by harshness. I remembered
reading about Polyclar being used to make white Zinfandel wine.
Zinfandel is a red wine with flavors that only true wine lovers
could admire. Something like some of the Belgian beers. If a
wine that I enjoy could be made from a wine that I didn't, maybe
I could make a good beer out of my bad beer using polyclar and
cover up by saying that I used a fining agent in the process.
Sneaky? Not really; the use of Polyclar is allowable under the
Reinheitsgebot and my production methods are a trade secret.
Polyclar is the trade name of polyvinylpolypyrllidone (PVPP). It
is used as a white powder which is made into a slurry and added
to the beer before final settling or filtering. In commercial
beer operations PVPP is used as both a fining (clearing) agent
and a "stabilizer" (an agent that extends shelf life).
Polyclar's primary action is to bind to tannins and other
polyphenols to prevent the haze that forms in cold temperatures
when tannins complex with proteins. If the tannins aren't
available the proteins stay in solution and there is no chill
haze. The PVPP/tannin bond is a tight hydrogen bond that is
stronger than fining agents that depend on differences in
electric charge such as isinglass (fish glue) or gelatin. PVPP
also rapidly removes yeast from suspension, removes some of the
compounds involved in the harsh flavors associated with
oxidation, removes compounds involved with browning of stored
beer, and removes oxidized melanoidin, those undesirable compound
associated with hot side aeration. It is non-toxic and easy to
use. PVPP also reduces hop bitterness and lightens the color of
beer.
It is obvious from the above that the overuse of PVPP can have a
deleterious effect on beer and the dosage must be carefully
controlled. The recommended dose is 2 tablespoons slurried in 6
Oz. of sterile water added to the secondary fermentor prior to
racking into the dispense container. If you are bottle
conditioning, new yeast must be pitched since the yeast will be
in the sediment left behind. This is true of all fining agents
added at the end of fermentation and not a particular
disadvantage of PVPP. Overuse can also cause excessive
lightening of beer and remove needed bittering and other
desirable flavor components. Dosage also depends on the particle
size of the PVPP compound. Polyclar AT or SB100 is a fairly
large particle and has the advantage of rapidly falling out of
suspension. Polyclar 10 is much finer, 0-75 microns, giving it a
75 Sq.M/g surface area to react with beer. Naturally the dosage
level is lower for this later product. The product sold in the
local brew shops appears to be the courser of the two products.
Well back to my story. Since I wanted to do more than clarify
the beer but not so much as to affect the desired color and
flavors, I had a dosage problem and no solution in the books I
had available. I settled on about 5 tablespoons per 5 gals of
beer. I added this to the corny kegs I used for secondary and
shook it for a few minutes and allowed about an hour of contact
time. Then racked it through a 5 micron filter to the dispense
corney keg and conditioned it with CO2 gas. The results were
marvelous and my reputation remains unsullied and I now have a
new trick to prevent feeding fresh beer to my garden.
If you have any questions on the use of polyclar ask me at this
month's meeting.
British
Brewery Tours: Fuller's & Young's
by Jeff Vogt
I was recently afforded the opportunity to travel to London on
"business" and had the good fortune of being there during the
Bank Holiday weekend when not a lot of business could take place.
As such, I had some free time and took advantage of this good
fortune by taking in some of the city's history by touring two of
London's oldest and most successful independent breweries:
Fuller's Griffin Brewery in Chiswick and Young's Ram Brewery in
Wandworth.
Fuller's Brewery is London's oldest brewery. Beer has been
brewed on the site of the Brewery for over 325 years. While
Fuller's Griffin Brewery has existed (only) since 1845, it is
still run by direct descendants of the founding families. It is
located in the West of London on the banks of the River
Thames. Fuller's beers have won more CAMRA Beer of the Year
Awards than any other brewery.
The tour began in the Mawson Arms pub at the edge of the Brewery
where I and another beer enthusiast were met by our tour guide,
John, who had worked at the brewery his entire career and had
recently retired.
We were led throughout the brewery starting with the grain silos,
proceeding to enormous liquor tanks where water for the mash is
heated, the Malt Mills which were re-conditioned 19th Century
originals, and onto the cold Hop Room, which was a welcome relief
on an unseasonably humid day. From here we came to the center of
the Brewery where its history met with its modern day operation.
A steam-heated Copper kettle dating from 1823 sits next to a mash
tun from around the same time (neither still in use) both of
which are adjacent to the newer stainless-steel Mash Tuns, where
the starch in the grain is converted to sugar, and Coppers, where
the wort is drawn off and boiled at a capacity of between 200 and
300bbls!
I was struck by the longevity of the Brewery and the history
surrounding it. John attributed much of its recent to success to
CAMRA which, as we all know, fought against the
decline of real ales by raising consumer awareness. John said
that things were fairly bleak for the Brewery several decades ago
and a strategic decision had to be made whether to continue
producing cask ales or to shift to filtered, artificially
carbonated products. Due in large part to CAMRA's efforts
Fuller's made the decision to stick with real ales and has
prospered since the real ale revival.
Fuller's practices the parti-gyle' method of brewing where a
high-gravity output is achieved in the Mash and then where
blending or dilution in boil produces the different strength
ales. For example, the same grist is used in each of Fuller's
primary ales: Chiswick Bitter, London Pride and ESB. A high-
gravity wort is produced and water is added to the Copper in
varying amounts for each specific beer, more for the Chiswick
Bitter - a low-gravity bitter and less for the ESB - a strong-
bitter. Also, varying quantities and types of hops are used to
produce each distinct beer.
From the Copper, the cooled wort is run into stainless-steel,
closed, conical shaped Fermenting Vessels and the yeast is
pitched. Fuller's has its own unique strain of yeast which is
used for all of the Brewery's ales. Cultures of the yeast are
grown in the Brewery's laboratory and are reused on a weekly
basis and for many generations.
Before the beer is transferred to secondary fermenting tanks
(Maturation Vessels) where fresh yeast is pitched, the yeast from
the primary fermentation is filtered out using a Yeast Press.
This accordion-like piece of equipment removes a majority of the
yeast by running the beer through a series of compact filters.
This solid yeast which literally filled several dumpsters is then
sold to a company which converts it to Marmite - a vitamin-rich
toast spread which I wasn't brave enough to try.
After a week or so in the Maturation Vessels, the beer is racked
into casks. Some are dry hopped at the racking stage and all are
given a dose of isinglass finings in the cask which causes the
yeast, still present in the beer, to settle. The yeast present
allows the beer to condition naturally on the way to, and in, the
pub cellars, while the isinglass leaves the beer bright and clear
provided the sediment in the cask is not disturbed.
Interestingly, Fuller's also bottles Guinness Stout for the
English market. The beer is brewed at Guinness' London Brewery
but is shipped over to the Fuller's location in tanks for
bottling. Fuller's also acts as a distributor of wide variety of
beverages for its over 200 Fuller's houses across the country.
So while they maintain their independence, the Brewery has
adapted to modern times to remain competitive.
The tour concluded in The Hock Cellar where many brewery
artifacts and memorabilia are on view and where the range of
Fuller's products can be sampled. We were poured a fresh pint of
London Pride and then viewed a brief film about the history of
the Brewery. Then more samples of their draught real ales were
had, including ESB, Chiswick Bitter, Summer Ale and others.
At this point we were led into a cold room behind the bar which
was the highlight of the tour: the cellar. This cellar is
ordinarily used to train the cellar staff at the 200 pubs in and
around London, owned by the Brewery. Here John described the
handling and dispense of cask ales and we were able to see, first
hand, the care that goes into serving the products. Of note was
an oak cask that had been altered to include glass ends so that
one could see the "live" ale inside. It was fascinating to see
the yeast and sediment on the bottom of the cask and the dry hops
floating at the top while the beer in between was a rich amber
color and brilliantly clear. After a sample or two of some
nitrogen-dispensed ales (the new fad among consumers, apparently)
the tour was over and I was convinced that Fuller's beers are
some of the best I've ever had.
London Pride: A medium strength ale with a strong, malty base and
a rich balance of well-developed hop flavors. (OG 1040, Alc.
4.7% vol.)
ESB: Strong and aromatic. A full-bodied maltiness and a rich
hoppiness are immediately evident and develop into a deep
fruitiness. (OG 1054, Alc. 5.9% vol.)
Chiswick Bitter: A distinctively hoppy, refreshing beer, with
underlying maltiness and a lasting bitter finish. (OG 1034, Alc.
3.5% vol.)
London Porter: A smooth, rich, dark stout brewed from a blend of
Brown, Crystal and Chocolate Malts. (OG 1053, Alc. 5.2% vol.)
Old Winter Ale: A tawny ale with moderate malty aroma and flavor.
Lightly hopped, with an astringent bitter finish. (OG 1048, Alc.
4.8% vol.)
1845 Bottle Conditioned Ale: The Brewery's 150th anniversary
"Live Ale" in a bottle. (OG 1062, Alc. 6.3% vol.)
Summer Ale: A refreshing, golden, hoppy bitter, with balancing
malt flavor. (OG 1037, Alc. 3.9%)
*Descriptions of Fuller's beers taken from Brewery Literature
and CAMRA Good Beer Guide 1997.
Another day, another brewery tour. I arrived at Young's Brewery
in Wandworth, a London suburb to the southwest, and was greeted
in the gift shop by the tour guide, a Scottish fellow. I was
first shown a brief movie about the history of the brewery
narrated by John Young, the chairman of the brewery. He was
quite the character and my tour guide commented that if he didn't
own a brewery he'd be considered a nut, but because he runs the
Brewery he's considered "eccentric." Regardless, the tour began
with myself as the only guest.
At the sight of the Young's Brewery, traditional draught beer has
been brewed for at least 400 years. Thus, this makes the Brewery
the oldest site in Britain on which beer has continuously been
brewed. The Young's family bought the business on this site in
1831 and has been in control of the brewery since that time.
As at the Fuller's Brewery, Young's exhibits a mixture of
history, traditional methods, and modern technology. Two brewing
coppers from the Victorian era are present which had been used
for well over a century. Though no longer in use I was told that
they still could be put to work, as could two 19th-century steam
engines -believed to be the oldest of their kind still
functional on their original site.
The modern equipment is stainless steel and is computer
controlled. After the mash and boil in stainless steel vessels
the beer is cooled and transferred to the fermenting vessels.
Distinct from Fuller's stainless, conical fermenters, those at
Young's are all open fermenter. These are mostly stainless or
copper squares and ovals in which copper piping continually
circulates cool water to keep the temperature of the fermenting
beer regulated. The aromas coming from the tops of these pools
of beer were truly incredible. Yeast is skimmed from the top of
the fermenting beer and repitched into subsequent batches. As at
Fuller's the beer is run through a Yeast Press before maturation
and the excess yeast is sold to the same Marmite company.
Before casking or bottling the beer goes through "the sniffer",
an individual at Young's whose sole function was to sniff the
casks that had been through the washer to check for off-aromas
which could indicate contamination and to peer into the casks and
retrieve any keystones or shives which may have remained in the
container after dispensing the beer inside. What a job!
Fuller's used to have a person that performed this function, but
he retired, and the job was retired as well. This reminded me of
the blenders in Belgium who train their palates to blend the
right barrels of lambic. In this case the nose must be trained
to pick up smells that would indicate bacteria which could
contaminate the beer inside the cask.
While Young's produces a range of real ales it also produces a
lager beer. The lager is stored in huge tanks which tower
outside the Brewery and which are kept cool with liquid nitrogen.
Up until about a month before my visit Young's delivered its beer
locally by horse drawn dray as had been the case since the early
days. Twenty horses, including Shires and Clydesdales, were kept
at the Brewery Stables for this purpose. However, I was told
that the Brewery's Financial Board recently decided to stop this
method of distribution in favor of trucks, something that seemed
to be a bit of a sore point among the Brewery's staff. The
Brewery Stables also include goats, a pony, a donkey, a herd of
geese (supposedly for protection), and the brewery mascot, a ram.
Young's Ram Brewery also includes the last remaining cooperage in
London, where wooden barrels used to be made and are still
repaired.
The tour finished with a walk through these stables then we
headed back to the pub for some hand-pulled samples: Bitter,
Special, Wheat and Oatmeal Stout all of which were
excellent. They even had something called "Oregon Ale" which was
hopped with American hops. I didn't try this latter beer, but
I'd highly recommend the others as well as a tour of the Brewery
if you're in the neighborhood.
Bitter: A distinctively amber beer. A strong, hoppy bitterness
is followed by a delightfully astringent and hoppy, bitter
aftertaste. An underlying malt balance is present throughout.
(OG 1036, Alc. 3.7% vol.)
Special: A strong, full-flavoured, bitter beer with a powerful
hoppiness and a balancing malt flavor. Hops persist in the
aftertaste. (OG 1046, Alc. 4.6% vol.)
Ram Rod: Mid-brown beer with a malty aroma which leads to a
strong malt aftertaste. Only a faint hint of hops throughout.
(Alc. 5.0% vol.)
Oatmeal Stout: Slightly oily, with notes of toffee, coffee and
bitter chocolate. Dry and medium-full bodied in texture.
Winter Warmer: A dark reddish-brown ale with a malty, fruity
aroma, a sweet, malty flavor and a sweet fruity finish, plus a
hint of caramel throughout. (OG 1055, Alc. 5.0% vol.)
Wheat Beer: A naturally cloudy, straw-coloured beer with a mostly
fruity aroma, an orangey fruit taste, moderate sweetness and a
slight bitterness. Notably dry aftertaste. (Alc. 4.1% vol.)
*Descriptions of Young's beers taken from CAMRA Good Beer Guide
1997 and Michael Jackson's Beer Companion.
The next meeting of CARBOY will be held on Wednesday, October 22.
The meeting will be held at 7:00 PM at the BB&Y Restaurant.
Celebrate the beginning of fall by sharing homebrew with the
friendly folks of CARBOY! You are encouraged to bring at least
three 12 ounce bottles (or equivalent) of homebrew and join the
fun!
The meeting will include guest speaker Jim McBroom. Jim is the
beer buyer for Fowler's. He loves beers and has the courage to
stock such beers as Rodenbach's Gran Cru. Don't be shy, come on
out to meet one of the people responsible for bringing great beer
to the Triangle!
The October meeting will also include a discussion of the
Shamrock Open. The Shamrock Open is the annual CARBOY homebrew
competition. We need to know if can be a viable event for the
upcoming year. Attend the meeting, and make your voice heard!
BB&Y Restaurant is located on the first floor of the Caswell
Building at 3700 National Drive, in the Koger Center off Glenwood
Avenue in west Raleigh. Owner Nick Jones allows CARBOY to meet
monthly at his restaurant when we don't have picnics or field
trips scheduled.
BB&Y is open for breakfast and lunch each weekday. We encourage
members to visit BB&Y for a relaxed informal meal. Please let
Nick know you're from CARBOY when you visit his restaurant.
The next monthly CARBOY night at Harrison's Bar and Grill in Cary
will be held on Tuesday, November 4. Every month, the gang from
CARBOY gathers to share good food, and good fun. Tomcat Ales are
served for $2/pint, and appetizers are 1/2 off. How can you miss
a deal like that? The gathering starts at 5:00 and ends when the
last of us leaves.
I am very please that Mike Wallace contributed this recipe. Why?
Because Welsh Rarebit is truly a classic beer food. In my
opinion, fewer dishes perfectly compliment a pint of ale on a
cool fall evening.
WELSH RAREBIT
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 tablespoons flour
2/3 cup ale
10 ounces extrasharp Cheddar cheese, grated
1 teaspoon English mustard
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
2 to 3 drops Tabasco pepper sauce
12 English muffin halves, toasted
6 slices bacon, cooked to crispy
Chopped parsley, for garnish
-Melt the butter in a saucepan over low heat, add the flour and
whisk to make a roux. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes.
-Whisk in the ale and boil the mixture for 3 minutes while
whisking.
- Reduce heat to low, add the Cheddar cheese, mustard,
Worcestershire, and Tabasco pepper sauce, and cook, stirring,
until hot but not boiling.
-Spoon the Cheddar mixture over the toasted muffins, garnish with
parsley and serve with crispy bacon.
Yield: 6 servings
Receive The Fermenter Electronically
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The Fermenter is the newsletter of CARBOY. As such, it relies on
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below. Electronic mail to mlew@ntrnet.net is preferred, but not
required. Thank you!
CARBOY has been invited to tour the Carolina Brewing Company in
Holly Springs. This will be an exciting chance to get an inside
look at one of the area's best breweries! The tour will be held
on Saturday, November, 22 at 3:00 PM.
John Shuck, head brewer, chief cook and bottle-washer, will lead
the tour of their brewery and new (and hopefully up-and-running)
bottling line. The Carolina Brewing Company is located at 140
Thomas Mill Road- Holly Springs, NC 27540 (919)557-BEER
Directions to the brewery are as follows:
>From Raleigh and Cary:
-Take Route 1 south to Highway 55 East.
-Turn left on Highway 55 (toward Holly Springs) and go 4.4
miles.
-Turn right at the light onto New Hill/Holly Springs Road.
-Go one mile and turn left on Irving Parkway.
-Go 200 yards and turn right on Thomas Mill Road.
-Go 300 yards and we're on the right hand side (#140).
>From Chapel Hill and Durham:
-Take I-40 East to Exit 278.
-Take Highway 55 East through Apex to Holly Springs.
-Once in Holly Springs, turn right at the light onto New
Hill/Holly Springs Road.
-Go one mile and turn left on Irving Parkway.
-Go 200 yards and turn right on Thomas Mill Road.
-Go 300 yards and we're on the right hand side (#140).
Do you already have plans for Superbowl Sunday? Well, cancel
them, because CARBOY is having a superbowl party! We will be
celebrating the NFL championship by sharing hombrew and having a
chile cookoff. Steve Murphrey has graciously volunteered to host
the party, and let us watch the game on his wide-screen TV.
Watch future issues of The Fermenter for more details.
I am pleased to announce that CARBOY will be holding its third
annual Christmas social for members, spouses, and other invited
friends. The party will be held on Saturday, December 13, from
2:00 to 5:00 PM. Sandwiches and light finger foods will be
served. Ticket prices will be announced in the November issue of
The Fermenter.
Do you like Irish music? Do you like beer? Then we have a deal
for you! On October 26, it will be time for Irish band practice
at O'Malley's. Join the CARBOY for good beer and good music.
The band begins practice at 2:30 PM. O'Malley's is located in
Raleigh in the Oak Park shopping center on Glenwood Avenue. Hope
to see you there!
