Inside This Issue

The Knights of the
Brown Bottle
Your Monthly Newsletter December 1999
Serving the Dallas - Fort Worth home brewing community Vol.3 Issue 12

Officers

President J.B.Flowers
V.President Tom Brooks
Secretary Karl Williams
Treasurer Jim Case
Competition Chm. Richard Graham
Newsletter Editor Steve Wesstrom

December Christmas Party!!!!

FRI - December 10 at 7:00pm
at:

Steve Wesstrom’s
1714 Park Ridge Ct. Arlington
Tele 460-5207

Directions: Located in North Arlington - From I-30 and Fielder, go north 1 blk, turn west 1 blk, turn south go into cul de sac..
Club Events:

January meeting- Brew demo at Mike Porters Home Brew Shop, TOPIC- Partial Mash Technique

February meeting; At Home Brew Shop- TOPIC- Packaging the January brew.

Four football beers, if you're game.
By Brian Melton, the Beer Nut

Last week I scribbled about wild game beers, meaning beers that go well with meals centered around pheasant,quail or venison and the like. this week, I'm pontificating on beers that go well with wild football games, like when the two minute whistle has blown, the score is tied 28 all and Troy been knocked for a loop and Steve Young is on his own 80 yard line. But first, a few rules. One beer per quarter, along with snack recommendations to help avoid a drunken rout. OK?

FIRST QTR With the kickoff, pop the top on a fresh clean Asahi draft lager, Japanese beers are outstandingly fresh, crisp and clean. just like the high hopes you have for your team this afternoon. Polish off a nice chicken sandwich, with Dijon mustard.

SECOND QTR Uh-oh, things aren’t looking so good. Sure, those first two touchdowns against your team were just dumb luck, but the fumble and recovery on your one yard line for the field goal at the end of the half hurt momentum. Oh well, at least you’ve had a bag of potato chips and a Beck's dark to buoy your spirits. Go into the kitchen and make nachos for the second half. Heavy on the jalapenos- something tells me you'll need them.

THIRD QTR Tom Landry used to say that whoever scored first in the 3rd qtr would win the superbowl. If that's the case, you might as well switch to the Bowling channel right now, because your Boys are falling apart.. Your mood is dark, and so is your beer: Modelo Negro, a bracing, chocolaty beer to help assuage your disappointment. But hey, it ain’t over till its over! Right?

FOURTH QTR Is that Mamma Cass I hear? In a trio with Kate Smith and Ethel Merman? Those overpaid, miserable bums on the field let you down again. Choke down some pretzels and share your bitterness with a pint of good beer!

COMPETITION UPDATE

By Richard Graham

NEW STYLES GUIDELINES. Effective January 1st, the American Homebrewers

Association (AHA) and the Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP) have agreed to consolidate and standardize their beer, mead and cider style guidelines. The new styles are very comprehensive and in a new format. The updated AHA/BJCP style guidelines will be used in the 2000 National Homebrew
Competition and in all AHA sanctioned contests starting in January. A sample copy of the new guidelines can be found on the KOBB web page or The BJCP web.

page (http://www.bjcp.org/).

The 16th Annual Dixie Cup Homebrew Competition was held in Houston on 22 & 23 October. Thirteen KOBB beers were entered. Richard Graham was awarded a second place ribbon for his Feldsteinbrau Devestator Dopplebock and Just Dave Girard took a third for his mead.

UPCOMING COMPETITIONS!

Following is a list of homebrew competitions from around the state and region. For club members interested in entering any of the out-of-town Competitions, we will try to gather the entries and send the lot to save on shipping costs. For KOBB members only - You pay your entry fees and the club will pay for shipping. Be sure and let me know well ahead of time if you have out-of-town entries to insure the entry deadlines are met.

December:

AHA - Winter Warmer (Strong English/Scotch Ales)/ KOBB Holiday Cheer (spiced beer/cider). Style numbers 10, 22, and 28d. This is the final competition for the KOBB Master Brewer of 1999. Entries were due at the November meeting and judging was held in late November after press time for this issue of the newsletter. The top scoring Strong Ale will be sent to the AHA for the Club Only judging to be held in early December.

Note: I hope anyone who has made a spiced beer or cider for the holidays will bring several bottles to the December meeting/Christmas party and share in the holiday "spirit".

January 2000:

AHA - Barley Wine/ KOBB - Brown Ales - Style numbers 12a, 12b and 10. This is the first contest for the Y2K (Year 2000 Knight) Homebrewer of the Year and the first contest using the new AHA/BJCP guidelines. The top barley wine goes to the AHA in early January. Entries are due no later than December 18th to make the AHA deadline.

AHA/KOBB: AHA club only style have not yet been finalized for 2000. The styles and entry dates will be published as soon as possible.

OTHER COMPETITIONS: It is not too early to start planning and brewing for spring competitions.

Bluebonnet – entries due in February.

The KOBB Celtic Brew-off – entries due in May.

AHA National Homebrew Competition – entries due in May.

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DEMONSTRATION CLARIFICATION
By Richard Graham

At the November meeting, I demonstrated a technique for purging air from one carboy to another using racking canes and pressurized carbon dioxide. I also mentioned that the same technique could be used for bottling to minimize oxidation. However, I failed to point out that the raw beer must still be primed.

I use CO2 to rack the beer from the secondary carboy to a third (bottling) carboy where the beer is mixed with the priming solution. After replacing one racking cane with a bottle filler, I again use the CO2 to purge the air from the bottles prior to filling. If the beer is not primed, your will probably wind up with flat beer as there is not sufficient CO2 to fully carbonate the beer.

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Club Events:

January meeting-
Brew demo at Mike Porters Home Brew Shop, TOPIC- Partial Mash Technique

February meeting; At Home Brew Shop- TOPIC- Packaging the January brew.

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BLUEBONNET 2000

Wilson World Hotel
DFW Airport Irving
4600 W.Airport Freeway
972-513-0800

Login - Sat 2/26, 2/27

1^st round judging - 3/11, 3/12 at COORS - I35N/ in Fort Worth

Event - 3/24, 3/25

Club Room Crawls Saturday !

Each club will have a club room at the event, Saturday nite there will be a 4 club room-crawl in the hotel. The Knights are expected to display a sampling of our great brew efforts for this event..Club information and prior event posters to adorn the room would be great!

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