The Knights of the
Brown Bottle 

Your Monthly Newsletter March 1999 Vol.3 Issue 3

Serving the dallas - fort worth - mid-cities home brewing community

 
 
 

Inside This Issue:
pg.2	KOBB\AHA CONTEST SCHEDULE
pg.2	Crusader of the Year Award 1999
pg.4	RECIPE – Brown Ale
pg.5	Beer Styles - NEW
Pg.6	Beer Trivia is Cool!
	and more...

The APRIL meeting of the KOBB will be held at J. Gilligan’s Draft House in Arlington for a guided tasting.

April 14^th 1999 at 7:30 p.m.
 
 

The Knights of the Brown Bottle Homebrew Club is a group of people interested in brewing and enjoying quality beer. The regular club meetings are held monthly at 7:30 p.m. on the second Wednesday of each month at:

Dr. Jeckyll’s Home Brew Supply
2304 W. Park Row #18
Pantego, Tx.
817-274-7405
 
 

Visit the Knight’s Webpage at:  http://hbd.org/kobb/

President : Steve Wesstrom
VicePresident: Larry Jarvis
Secretary: J.B. Flowers
Treasurer: Jim Case
Competition Chairman: "just Dave" Girard
Newsletter Editor: Byron Eastwood
 
 

KOBB 1999 COMPETITION SCHEDULE
 
 

HAIL ALL WARRIORS!

CRY HAVOC!…

AND LET SLIP THE DOGS OF WAR!
 
 
 

KOBB/AHA Schedule

March – Belgian Ales + Scotch and Scottish Ales
AHA will be at the end of March so bring your entries to the March meeting. Category 2

April – Bock
AHA will be at the end of April so bring your entries to the April meeting. Category 12

July – Mead + Wheat beer (all categories)
AHA will be at the end of July so bring your entries to the July meeting. Category 25

Sept - Porter
AHA will be at the end of Sept so bring your entries to the Sept meeting. Category 9

Nov – English and Scottish Strong Ale
AHA will be at the end of Nov so bring your entries to the Nov meeting. Category 10

Crusader Awards Competition 1999

by Steve Wesstrom 

Last year I had the honor of winning the Knights' Crusader award. This award is given to the club member that acquires the most points in outside AHA sanctioned competitions. This is different from the Club Only competition in that the entries go to various competitions around the country. Some are very
large, others are very small. I have listed some available competitions, local as well as remote events.
Some of the events you may already know about, The Bluebonnet, The Sunshine Challange, The Dixie Cup, The North Texas State Fair, The Celtic. There are many more however. Try your hand at entering some of these events. You may find that the score sheets can help you in improving your brew, as well as receiving some of the great awards that are annually given out by some of the clubs. There is great enjoyment in this aspect of our hobby! I hope the next winner of the award has as much fun entering these competitions as I have.

Coming up AHA sanctioned events.
 

3/20/99

13th Annual Bluebonnet Brew-Off, AHA Sanctioned Competition, Irving, Texas.

Entries due 2/26/99 thru 3/5/99 with $6 entry fee. Contact Spence Mabry at

(817) 249-4789 (h) or (817) 415-4126 (w), e-mail: smabry@flash.net.
 

3/21/99

8th Annual New York City Spring Regional Homebrew Competition, AHA Sanctioned

Competition, Staten Island, NY. Sponsored by the Homebrewers of Staten Island.

Entries due 3/1/99 thru 3/18/99 with $5 entry fee. Contact Ken Johnsen at

(718)987-7202 (h) or (718)667-4459 (w), e-mail: kbjohns@peakaccess.net.
 

3/27/99

World Cup of Beer '99, AHA Sanctioned Competition, Berkeley, CA. Sponsored by

Bay Area Mashers (BAM). Entries due by 3/13/99 with $5 entry fee. Contact

Bernie Rooney at (925)932-2235 (h) or (510)849-0400 (w), e-mail:

oakbar1@aol.com.
 

4/5/99

Majestic Brewing Cup Series 1999 - Brown Ale, AHA Sanctioned Competition,

Louisville, Colorado. Sponsored by Majestic Brewing Company who will brew and

serve the BOS at their brewery. AHA Categories 4c & 4d only. Entries due

3/29/99 thru 4/2/99 with $5 entry fee. Contact Chris Munzer, Brewmaster at

(303)666-5914
 

4/10/99

The 1st Annual Palmetto State Brewers Open, AHA Sanctioned Competition,

Columbia, SC. Entries due 3/22/99 thru 4/6/99 with $5 entry fee. Contact

Jonney T. Grunnet at (803)808-9415 or (803)777-5617, e-mail:

grunnet@engr.sc.edu.
 
 

4/10/99

Maltose Falcons Mayfair Competition, AHA Sanctioned Competition, Woodland

Hills, CA. Entries due 3/18/99 thru 3/20/99 with $6 entry fee. Awards Ceremony

is 4/24/99. Contact Kevin Baranowski at (818)362-5109 h or (818)367-2021 w, e-

mail: kavba@earthlink.net.
 

4/16/99 to 4/17/99

The 1999 Crescent City Competition, AHA Sanctioned Competition, New Orleans,

LA. Sponsored by the Crescent City Homebrewers. Entries are due by 4/2/99 with

$6 entry fee. Contact Morris Olivier at (504)464-4485, e-mail:

olivimj@texaco.com.
 

4/16/99 to 4/18/99

Dukes of Ale "Spring Thing 99", AHA Sanctioned Competition, Albuquerque, New

Mexico. Entries due 4/3/99 through 4/10/99. Entry fee $5/1st entry, $3/addl

entries. Contact Bill Aimonetti at (505) 286-2746 or (505) 822-7103, e-mail:

Bill.Aimonetti@abq.sc.phillips.com.
 

5/14/99 to 5/16/99

10th Annual Sunshine Challenge, AHA Sanctioned Competition, Orlando, FL.

Sponsored by The Central Florida Homebrewers. Contact Steve Vallancourt at ,

e-mail: stevebrau@aol.com.
 

6/5/99 to 6/6/99

Celtic Brew-Off, AHA Sanctioned Competition, Arlington, Texas. Sponsored by

The Knights of the Brown Bottle. Entries due by 5/7/99 with $5 entry fee.

Contact J.B. Flowers at (817)467-0398, e-mail: bpflowers@flash.net.
 
 

Belhaven beats Tennent's in battle of Scottish brews

by Brian melton- the Beer Nut

(submitted by Steve Wesstrom)

What is it with the Scots? These people embody both the sublime and the absurd. They invented golf, for example- a maddeningly complex yet wistfully simple game. Then with scotch, they miraculously converted their auld sod peat Bogs and brackish water into heartbreakingly beautiful beverages- then had the gall to serve it with simmered haggis, a vile combination of new mown hay and blood clots stuffed into a sheep’s stomach. Likewise, their beers point up the same dichotomy. We tasted two Scottish ales,
Tenent's and Belhaven, in a side by side sampling, and though they come from the same region, they come across as polar opposites. Although not unpleasant, Tennent's seems flat and lifeless, lacking in character and body. Think of a slightly heavy Bud, and you get the idea. Which makes sense, in a sad sort of way- it's brewed in Glasgow by an international conglomerate, Tennent Caledonian Group. Don't get me wrong: Tennent's works perfectly well by itself, for quaffing at a bar after work. But for a social pairing with food, it offers nothing of consequence. Belhaven, on the other hand, brewed in Dunbar, is part of the worldwide revival of smaller breweries using traditional methods. But the little brewery, Scotland's oldest surviving independent (founded in 1719) uses modern technology to preserve it's heritage- namely, the same little gassy widget in the oversize Guinness and Boddington's.

One sip and Belhaven's deep caramel color, rich Belgian lace and slightly sweet, hoppy flavor made a believer out of this Scots-Irish Guideman( head of household). Think about pairing Belhaven's with robust chicken stews, hearty pesto dishes, even as an apertif with strong, forthright cheeses. For your
next televised soccer match, why not don your familial kilt, hoist a cool (not cold) Belhaven's and dig into a steaming heap of haggis with gusto? Then lean back and belch lustily.

====================================
 
 

English Brown Ale

This is great stuff! If you are at all familiar with Brown Ales you know that they are just as much fun to drink as they are to brew. Even though this is an extract recipe with some specialty grains, I recommend that you "All-Grainers" consider whipping up a 5 gallon batch of this for drinking whilst you ponder your next serious concoction.

Let the ale sit in the refrigerator in the secondary for about two weeks at 50 deg. and you’ll be pleased with the silky smooth results.
 

Recipe type: Extract
Batch Size: 5 gallons
Starting Gravity: 1042
Finishing Gravity: 1017
Time in Boil: 1 hour
Primary Fermentation: 7 Days
Secondary Fermentation: 7 Days (or 14 days at 50 degrees)
Additional Fermentation: NA
 

Ingredients:

6.6 pounds English Light LME
1 pound 60l Crystal Malt
1 pound Briess Special Roast (Biscuit Malt)
1 ounce East Kent Golding (5%) 60 Minute Boil
1 ounce East Kent Golding 5 Minute Finish
Wyeast Thames Valley Ale Yeast

Procedure:

Add crushed grain to 6.5 gallons of water, bring to approx. 155F. Let steep for 20 minutes, remove, rinse with a pint of warm water then discard grain. Add LME to pot mix thourghly, turn on heat then bring to a full boil. When fully boiling add 5HBUs of East Kent Golding, let boil 55 minutes, add other hops let boil 5 more minutes. Chill wort through a chiller or wait for it to cool to 70 deg. add yeast.

==================================

by Byron Eastwood

If you have never tasted a fresh homebrewed Brown Ale then you have overlooked an important opportunity in your "brewing career". Brown Ales and English Milds are of a character all their own and hail from days of ancient Celtic origin. Sweet, carmelly with a hint of nutty or toast flavor, Brown Ales are so unique to Britain that they have been appropriately set in their own individual style. Few now know the true facts concerning Brown Ale’s origin but one thing is for sure; it is virtually the oldest continuing style known today. While the Paulaner Monks were having their diapers changed by some ancient mid-wife and some lazy Belgian farmer (who would later leave barley outside, accidentally souring it) was but a twinkle in his great-grandfather’s eye; before the hailed first batch of Guiness Stout was even an idea, long before Reinheitsgebot, even before hops were considered an essential part of ale,…

Brown Ale (Broon Ale) was being consumed by the Ancient Celts of England and Wales.

In those days, one hell’uva long time ago, ales were brewed with herbs and spices to offset what was probably often a yeasty and unconditioned beverage made up primarily of malted barley that had been slightly roasted. It is legend to be the preferred drink of such notable characters as Mary Queen of Scots and also Robin of Locksley (Robin Hood). Brown Ales in Britain tend to be quite different geographically as Michael Jackson notes "Brown Ale …In the south of England, a dark-brown ale, sweet in palate, low in alcohol (3-3.5 by volume). In the northeast, a reddish-brown ale, drier, of 4.4-5. The slightly sour, brown brews of Flanders are also of brown ale origin, though they do not generally use the designation."

This month, take a journey into the past, brew a mild or brown ale in the present and be guaranteed a blissful future!

Mild Ale

Originating in coal mining areas of England and Wales, this was a low-alcohol beer designed for generous consumption by manual laborers. The name "Mild" refers to the lack of hop bitterness. The style is sweeter and paler than porter, and the body is light but as malty as is possible in a low gravity beer. Mild is gentle, with a soft body and may have a very lightly nutty flavor. The color is light amber to very dark brown, and is derived from a mixture of malts. There is very little hop flavor and aroma. The hop bitterness can be undetectable to low. Low esters.

Commercial example: McMullen's AK, Fuller's Hock, Highgate Mild, Bank's Mild.

O.G.: 1.030 - 1.038; Alcohol: 2.5 - 3.5%; IBU's: 10 - 24; SRM: 8 - 34.
 

English Brown Ale

A British ale that is sweeter, fuller bodied and stronger then mild ales. Some have nutty characters. Low bitterness. The style splits along geographic lines.
 

Southern Brown Ale

Southern brown ales are darker (dark brown and almost opaque), sweeter from the use of caramel malts and are made from lower gravities. They have a medium body. Some fruitiness and esters are present. They have low hop flavor, aroma and bitterness. Low diacetyl OK.

Commercial example: Mann's Brown Ale.

O.G.: 1.040 - 1.045; Alcohol: 3.5 - 5%; IBU's: 15 - 20; SRM: 20 - 34.
 

Northern Brown Ale

Northern varieties, though still medium-bodied, are less sweet, dryer, have a "nuttier" malt flavor with a pale copper to dark brown color. Some esters and fruitiness are present, and the hop flavor, aroma and bitterness is usually in the low range but can approach medium. Usually have a higher alcohol level. Low diacetyl OK.

Commercial examples: High Level, Newcastle Brown Ale, Samuel Smith's Nut Brown Ale, Double Maxim, Oregon Original Nut Brown Ale.

OG.: 1.040 - 1.050; Alcohol: 4.5 - 6.5%; IBU's: 15 - 30; SRM: 12 - 30.
 

American Brown Ale

An adaptation by American homebrewers desiring higher alcohol and hop bittering levels to go along with the malty richness characteristic of all brown ales. A drier and more bitter style of English brown ale. Medium maltiness is present in a medium body. Hops are American varieties and can be assertive in bitterness, flavor and aroma (medium to high). Dark amber to dark brown. Low diacetyl is OK.

Commercial examples: Cooper Smith's Dunraven Ale, Hart's Pacific Crest Ale, Pete's Wicked Ale, Brooklyn Brown, Smuttynose Old Brown Dog.

O.G.: 1.040 - 1.055; Alcohol: 4 - 6%; IBU's: 25 - 60; SRM: 15 - 22.

See the Recipe of the month

on page four!!

Beer Trivia is Cool!

by: Byron Eastwood

Evidence of Ancient Beer

From the Journal NATURE, Volume 360, page 24, issue of November 5, 1992: Rudolph H. Michel ,Patrick E. McGovern , Virginia R. Badler

Lower Mesopotamia, comprising the wide alluvial plain of the lower Tigris and Euphrates rivers, was home to one of the oldest literate civilizations in the world, that of the early Sumerian city-states, dating back to the Late Uruk Period (late fourth millennium BC). Irrigation agriculture of domesticated cereals included barley, from which beer is made. Beer was the preferred fermented beverage of the ancient Sumerians. Godin Tepe, a site (excavated by a team from the Royal Ontario Museum) in the nearby Zagros mountains of Iran which has strong Lower Mesopotamian influences, has yielded the earliest chemical evidence for beer. We have discovered a characteristic organic residue inside a pottery vessel which was evidently used for beer fermentation or storage. During the late fourth millennium BC, the early Sumerians exploited surrounding areas for precious commodities. At Godin Tepe, the discovery of various artifacts in well-constructed buildings contemporary with the Late Uruk lowland city-states indicates the presence of early Sumerians The people at Godin Tepe, with their close ties to lowland Mesopotamia, were probably also beer drinkers. Carbonized six-row barley was very common at the site and could have been converted to beer there. We have observed curious criss- cross grooves covering the interior below the shoulder of a Late Uruk jar from Godin Tepe. If the jar served as a beer vessel, the grooves may have been designed to retain beer sediments. The early Sumerian sign for beer (kas) shows a jar with similar linear markings . Together, the archaeological and textual evidence strongly suggest that this vessel was a beer container. Some of the grooves contained a pale yellowish residue which gave a positive test for oxalate ion. Calcium oxalate, which is soluble in water only with difficulty (6mg 1-1 at 18!C), is a principal component of beerstones and settles out on the surfaces of fermentation and storage tanks of barley beer. Similar test results were obtained from scrapings from an Egyptian New Kingdom jar (clearly intended for beer according to tomb paintings and reliefs), beerstones from a modern brewer’s vat, and pure calcium oxalate. Spinach and rhubarb, which grow in the Iranian highlands today and presumably grew there in the past, contain substantial amounts of oxalates (5-10%). Compared to cereals, however, they are a minor part of the human diet and we can think of no reason why they should have been stored or processed in the ancient grooved vessel. Although minor amounts of oxalates are widely distributed in nature, exterior scrapings of vessels from the same site which originally contained a grape product all gave negative results. The chemical evidence for the earliest beer at Godin Tepe complements the finding of the earliest grape wine there, also dating to the last half of the fourth millennium BC. Analysis of storage and processing containers from earlier periods and from a wider geographical area are needed to determine the ultimate origins and significance of beer production.

I couldn’t help but re-print this article.

Beer Trivia at it’s most rudimentary level!!!

See ya next month.

Until then, listen to your beer! It has a tale to tell

"Got a strange beer fact or legend that you would like to see published in the coming months"?

Send to Byron Eastwood at:

2615 S. Center St.

Arlington, Tx. 76014

or

E-mail : eastwood@intrinsix.com

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Mission Statement

The mission of the Knights of the Brown Bottle and this newsletter is to serve as a forum to promote public awareness and appreciation of the quality and variety of homebrewed beer through the collection and dissemination of information regarding the art and science of homebrewing, and to promote the responsible use of beer as an alcohol - containing beverage.

The club newsletter is published monthly and highlights the events and meetings of the club, local beer events and technical information that will help everyone brew better beer. Items for publication are welcomed and encouraged. They should be directed to Byron Eastwood.

Byron’s e-mail: eastwood@intrinsix.com
 
 

One beer is not enough, two beers is not quite enough, and three beers is nowhere near enough.

A wise man

After a show in Austin, a deadhead goes into the hotel bar and orders a beer.
"Jesus!" he says to the bartender, "This bar must be 50 feet long!" "You're in Texas, son" says the bartender. "Everything's bigger in Texas".
When his beer arrives, the guy says, "I just ordered plain old beer, but this must be half a gallon!"
"Remember, now," says the bartender, "You're in Texas. Even the BEERS are bigger down here.
Not even halfway through his beer, the deadhead asks where the men's room is.
"Down the hall to your left and first door on your right," says the bartender.
But the guy has a pretty good buzz going, so instead he goes down the hall to the RIGHT and goes through the first door on the LEFT, where he falls smack into the hotel swimming pool.
When he comes to the surface, he thinks for a second and then starts screaming, DON"T FLUSH IT! DON"T FLUSH IT!"
 
 
 
 

From the Editor

For those who did not attend the February meeting, I announced to the club that as of the installation of new officers, in June, I will be giving up my position as editor of the KOBB Newsletter.

Anyone who is interested in taking over this task should contact me between now and then.

Thanks,

Byron

(817) 276-1370

email:eastwood@intrinsix.com