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Tasting notes from the 1 Wort 20 Yeasts experiment.

admin — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 15:33:47 +0000

Tasting Notes from 1 Wort 20 Yeasts (1.2Mb PDF file)

Chris Frey writes:

Attached are the tasting notes from Saturdays’ Same Wort – Different Yeasts.

Two tables of 5-6 volunteers carefully discussed the nuances of each sample.

This will be further developed, but someone suggested getting this feedback scanned and out to the collective asap.

I am here to serve.

You have been served.

Sincerely,
Chris Frey

2010 Big Brew

admin — Mon, 03 May 2010 14:55:48 +0000

First, Crispy’s brief report:

Big Brew 2010 is in the bag. (Literally for Roger!)
I have posted our results to the AHA site.
I was given the number 185 for the number of gallons brewed.
I forgot to make an actual batch count and participant count, so I gave it my best guesstimation…
The weather cleared up in time and round two rain held off just long enough.
Lots of visitors and supporters were there to check out what was going on and of course, feast upon the mighty pig. Thanks to every one who came, brewed, assisted, brought food and beverages to share, and/or helped with the clean up.
A special shout out to Mike and Jack for making it all happen.

And now, a bunch of photos:

From Roger: http://picasaweb.google.com/rogersburns
From Cameron: http://www.embizacho.com/v/misc/nhbd10/?g2_page=1
From Matt: http://picasaweb.google.com/emuskunk
From Spencer: http://picasaweb.google.com/spencer.w.thomas/AABGBigBrew2010
From Steve: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=14742&id=1764964476&l=fa74e8e45b
A video slideshow of (all?) of the above photos, by Mike: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BNMRYky4vos

AABG Sour Wine Barrel – Initial Fill

Aron Butler — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 21:33:10 +0000

The AABG purchased a used barrel from 2 Lads Winery of Traverse City, where it had previously held Cabernet Franc. The barrel itself is the Bordeaux Export model made by Radoux Cooperage (French oak, M+ toast, 2007).

It was delivered to Aron Butler’s house in Pittsfield Twp on April 18, 2010. The basement there will be its home for the course of this experiment, which is expected to involve a few months of aging a Saison followed by transition to a Flanders Red style ale for the longer term. Mark Zadvinskis is coordinating participants and recipes for the project, so those interested in schedule and participation should contact him.

Crispy, Alex, Justin, and Aron were present on April 19 for the initial setup and filling with Saison to approximately halfway. Subsequent visits from others had it full by mid-week. Ten brewers in all contributed beer to this initial phase:

Alex & Claudia Pettit
Aron Butler
Chris Frey
Jim Dusseau
Justin Scanlon
Randy deBeauclair
Mark Zadvinskis
Mike O’Brien
Chuck Warpehoski
Phil Wilcox

The recipe provided to the brewers is listed below (adjusted for 5 gals). Specs are 1.052 OG and 24 IBUs. Some hop substitutions took place, but all brewers were able to find the classic Saison yeast strain (I think… please comment if otherwise).

8 lbs Pilsner malt
1 lb wheat malt
0.5 lb Munich malt
18 IBU EK Goldings (60 mins)
0.5 oz Styrian Goldings (15 mins)
0.5 oz Styrian Goldings (1 min)
0.5 oz Czech Saaz (1 min)
0.5 oz EK Goldings (1 min)
WLP-565 Saison Yeast

A measure of gravity thiefed from the barrel immediately after filling read 1.018. As of this writing (a few days later), the airlock is showing near continuous activity, so it looks like we are getting some additional attenuation already.

Some photos of the fill event are located in the AABG galleries here:

http://aabg.org/aabg-photo-albums/sour-wine-barrel-initial-fill-april-2010/

Details on the beer in the barrel are here:

Excel spreadsheet
PDF of spreadsheet

Stay tuned for replies and posts with updates.

April’s Brew & View

crispy275 — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 00:32:38 +0000

We will be enjoying American Beer – a documentary. “In June of 2002, five friends left New York City by minivan and set out across the United States to visit 38 breweries in 40 days.” http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0372140/ . They visit some well renowned breweries and talk with their founders and brewmasters including Larry Bell, Sam Calagione, Dick Yuengling, and Fritz Maytag to name a few.

As a reminder, because the meeting is at Original Gravity, please do not bring homebrew. However, anyone who wishes to try some of the F.O.R.D. Bourbon Barrel brews, I will have both the Sour Brown and the Flanders Red, both with Michigan tart cherries, available in my driveway between 6:30 and 7:15. For anyone heading to OG from AA, if you take Saline-Ann Arbor Rd., you go right by the house.

Regular meeting time (7:30), we’ll do a business meeting pretty close to 8:00. Topics will include:

Big Brew (May 1^st)

Wine Barrel

2010 National Homebrewers Conf.

Brewola(s)

Movie starts around 8:30 – don’t forget to tip your server!

Michigan Homebrewers at the NHC

admin — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 14:27:57 +0000

Crispy sent this group photo of Michigan homebrewers at the National Homebrew Conference. He says “If you weren�t in the picture, you missed a really good time.” (Not all of the brewers are AABG members, which may be why you don’t recognize all of them.)

(Click on the image for a larger view.)

3rd ABC Brews Crews Homebrew Competition

spencer — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 02:38:18 +0000

A BJCP/AHA sanctioned event sponsored by Arbor Brewing Company, Ann Arbor, MI

Best-of-show grand prize package includes the opportunity to brew your beer on the ABC house system, to be served on tap at the pub.

Competition Date: Saturday, June 6, 2009
Location: The Corner Brewery, Ypsilanti, Mi

Official website of the competition: http://brewscrews.aabg.org

21-batch brew day?

spencer — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 13:25:51 +0000

Mike O’Brien writes:

I had read an article, in a German brewing magazine, that talked about a system that could brew 21 batches in a 24 hour period! This System for 21 batches in a day uses some very highly engineered kettles to maximize energy efficiency and claim to be able to do 21 batches. When I look at their charts – I do not see how this would happen – but it does provide an idea… (to be continued)

Support our bid to host the National Homebrew Conference in Michigan

spencer — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 16:41:16 +0000

Over the last several months, Fred Bonjour, Chairman of the “Get the American Homebrewers Association National Homebrewers Conference (AHA NHC) here to Michigan!” effort, has been steadily obtaining support for a 2010 or 2011 AHA NHC to be held here in Michigan. Since the original proposal was submitted to the AHA last fall, several meetings with local fellow homebrewers have been held to build awareness of this effort, and get some preliminary ideas of how a Michigan based conference could be supported, and to identify volunteer resources.

The AHA’s Director, Gary Glass, is coming to Michigan visit potential conference sites provided by Fred in his proposal bid. Gary will be available on Friday, March 13th, at the Corner Brewery from 7:00-8:00PM in the lounge to discuss planning for a National Homebrewers Conference and to answer people’s questions. Additionally, Fred and his assistant chairman, Chris Frey, would like to get additional themes, topics and ideas from Michigan homebrewers for a potential local conference.

With AHA NHC conference attendance averaging 800+ members and growing, the support of the local homebrewing community is more critical than ever to make these events a success. Come and hear what some of the contributions local homebrewing clubs provide to successful Homebrewers conferences and be prepared to provide your input and ideas.

While this is not an AHA Rally, this is a gathering to show support for hosting an AHA NHC here in Michigan! Matt and Ren� Greff, proprietors of the Corner Brewery, are Brewers Association members, and offer AHA members Happy Hour pricing at all times when you present your AHA Membership card. They have also waived their customary fee for reserving the Lounge portion of their facility to further show their support.

Additionally, afterwards, the Ann Arbor Brewers Guild will host their monthly meeting in the brewery area. Homebrew is not allowed in the public area of the Corner, so if you wish to enjoy and share homebrew, you are invited to join us, but please leave it in your vehicle until after the presentation and Q&A session is over and the AABG meeting has moved into the brewery area. Please check out www.aabg.org for meeting information.

Finally, as (hopefully) an added incentive, I will be serving three kegs of a quasi-Dragonmead Final Absolution triple clone, where I did an experiment in aeration. One batch received 5 minutes of pure oxygen through an air stone just prior to pitching the yeast, the next received five minutes of air from an aquarium pump through an air stone for five minutes and the third was shaken 50 times� to receive its aeration. I will have 3×5 index cards for people to share any perceived differences between these three kegs, as well as their guess as to which keg was provided which aeration method. After I have collected peoples responses, I will then share the actual treatment and final gravity for each keg.

Please consider joining us on Friday, March 13th at the Corner Brewery from 7:00-8:00PM to show Gary Glass our support for hosting a National Homebrewers Conference in Michigan. Then share a collective meeting with fellow Michigan Homebrewers in the brewery area. I encourage you to share this invitation with other Michigan homebrewers!

P.S. � Fred is also holding a similar support gathering with Gary Glass the evening before (Thursday, March 12th) at Founders in Grand Rapids (without the homebrew club meeting afterwards). If this works out better for you, feel free to contact Fred directly at nhcmichigan@beerdujour.com for additional details.

Cheers
Chris P. Frey
American Homebrewers Association
Chairman – Governing Committee
Treasurer – AABG
Member – Fermental Order of Renaissance Draughtsmen
Friend of homebrewers everywhere

Bizarro brew

spencer — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 23:17:20 +0000

Mark Zadvinskis's Amazing Zymurman Logo!

Over the Valentine’s weekend, the Ann Arbor Brewers Guild resurrected an old tradition — brewing a Bizzaro ale. The first Bizarro was brewed in 2001, and was inspired by Larry Bell’s Eccentric Day ale. Members bring adjuncts and specialty grains, and these are all tossed into the kettles creating—well, A VERY unusual ale indeed. This last batch was brewed at the Corner Brewery in Ypsilanti, Michigan and will be served commercially thanks to Matt and Rene Greff’s Rat Pad program (http://www.arborbrewing.com/index.php?site=cornerbrewery&page=menu3&submenu=2). Homebrewers use a 3 half barrel system, brew a batch and it gets served a few weeks later as one of the Corner’s specialty brews. Brewers are also reimbursed for their ingredients, and get their moment of fame!

Perhaps when Mike is running away, we should pay attention!

Some 40+ members showed up Sunday and our own Mike O’Brien dangerously balanced the mash tun on top of the other two kettles. First 20 pounds of wheat and rye were mashed together, then drained. The initial temp was supposed to be 100o, but instead it was 110o, and a three hour mash ensued. This was followed by another 45+ pounds that mashed a little easier.

More grains can fit!

Once approx. 20+ gallons had been sparged into two kettles, an insane number of unique and creative adjuncts were added. Additionally, our own Steve Hawley, contributed Michigan homegrown hops from his new hop field (below, as well as contribution of Liberty and more Nugget from Jim and Rog.

Steve's hop field

Yours truly took it upon myself to make sure I talked to each contributor of the following ingredients, and tried to guesstimate an amount appropriate to the brew — not that there was much appropriate about the brew! My lasting memory will be of the little yellow marshmallow peeps floating momentarily on top of the boil, then slowly becoming part of the brew! And here is the final “tally” of what all went into Bizzaro:

Some of the adjuncts

Bizzaro Ale #2
Mash
45 lbs. Marris Otter
10 lbs. rye
4 lbs. wheat
2 lbs. corn grits
2 lbs. aromatic toasted malt
2 lbs. fresh spruce under the mash screen
1 stick cinnamon

Hops:
Hops were provided by Steve Hawley and Jim Satterfield. All but the 1 oz. of Liberty pellets were locally grown in Michigan and no alpha acid information is available.
4 ounces of Centennial @ 60m
2 ounces of Magnum @60m
1.5 ounces of Cascades each, loosely added @ 15m, 10m, 5m and 1m.
1 ounce Liberty hops tossed in @various times starting at about 10m.
Total hops 13 ounces + dry hops

Adjuncts:
6 pieces of Jamaican country Mauby bark (used to make a concentrated syrup for homemade pop) @60m
8 ounces of Peruvian bitter chocolate (semi-melted in a pot and added) @10m
1 tbls. Of Orange peel @10m
10 Marshmallow Chick Peeps @10m
2 tbls. Cracked Juniper berries @5m
2 tbls. Jamaican jerk rub (Allspice, thyme and hot pepper) @5m
3 Star Anise crushed @5m
12 ounces of molasses @5m
2 tbls. Black pepper (cracked) @5m
4-5 sprigs fresh rosemary @2m
3 ounces fresh Ginger chucks @2m
500 ml. Homemade Michigan maple syrup @2m
1.5 lbs. Dark Belgian Candi syrup @2m
1 once Calendula flower tops (from Bridgette’s garden) @2m

Additional items to go into primary and/or secondary
6 pounds of cranberries, 5 pounds of tart cherries, 4 vanilla beans, more cinnamon, Nugget hops (4 ounces-dry hop), and blueberry extract. Dry Australian Ale Yeast was used to ferment this puppy.

There are tons of pics available of the day’s activities from these websites:
http://picasaweb.google.com/dan.jeska/BizzaroBrewII
http://picasaweb.google.com/picobrew/BizzaroBrew
http://picasaweb.google.com/ajneitzke/Bizzaro?authkey=QEHWQ_FJjJc

And if brewing this puppy wasn’t enough, Mike O’Brien provided a distinctly Wisconsin treat known as a “fish boil”. Let’s just say that it was another violation of OSHA and food handling laws, but take a look at the final moments of both fish boils at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kYYuWcZDStY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S1eCuINhOmA

Err, Mike ... the gas line ... Mike?!?

As one member said, it is truly incongruous that as brewers, this activity actually requires a boil over. And Rog posited that we were actually losing valuable Omega acids and fish oils, but ce la vie.

Mike O’Brien said “the beer had an OG of 1.080 had a beautiful flowery aroma and flavor with a mouth feel like gravy! We will see what the final product tastes like soon enough at the Rat Pad, and 10 gallons will be aged and saved for club functions for years to come. Several bottle of the 2001 vintage Bizzaro made it to the meeting, and if last years foray into food into the beer project presented at the 2008 AHA National Conference is any guide, we may have out-Dogfish’ed Sam Calagione!”

February, 2009 meeting

spencer — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 20:33:07 +0000

Note the Date and Time!
Sunday at Noon!

Please note: you must be at least 21 years old to attend AABG meetings.

The February meeting will be hosted by Mike O’Brien, starting at Noon on Sunday, February 15. We will be brewing beer starting at noon, with a potluck dinner featuring a “Door County” fish boil at dinner time.� The beer will be #2 in the “Bizarro” series, so you are invited to bring an ingredient.� See the newsletter for details.

Read more about the meeting online, including an interactive map to the location, or download the newsletter, which contains information about the meeting and features English Pale Ale, the style of the month.