MINNESOTA hOMEBREWERS ASSOCIATION NEWSLETTER November, 1996 "Protected by the full force of intellectual property laws of the United States, except for the stuff we stole." OLD BUSINESS October Meeting The October meeting took place at the Walker Church near Powderhorn Park in Minneapolis on Oct. 19 at 1:00 p.m. Mike Kamrad delivered a presentation aimed at beginning and intermediate brewers. November Meeting The November meeting took place at CSPS Hall on Seventh St. in St. Paul on Nov. 2 at 1:00 p.m. Lani Hoff of All Saints Importers spoke about British ales, particularly All Saints' efforts to obtain uniquely high-quality products from particular breweries. All Saints generously provided samples of some of these limited-run beers. Grins all around. Thanks, Lani! NEW BUSINESS December Meeting The December meeting will take place on Monday, Dec. 2 at Mill Street Brewing (attached to The Green Mill) at the corner of Hamline and Grand Avenue in St. Paul. The meeting will begin at 7:00 p.m. in an area reserved for our use. Ask at the door where MhBA is meeting. NO KEGS, PLEASE. January Meeting The January meeting will take place on Saturday, Jan. 11, 3:30 - 5:30 p.m. at Summit Brewery (2264 University Ave. West) in St. Paul. February Meeting The February meeting will take place at CSPS Hall (383 Michigan St., St. Paul -- the corner of West 7th and Michigan) from 1:00 - 5:00 p.m. Saturday, February 8. The agenda: ANNUAL CLUB ELECTIONS! BE THERE! NEWS Results of the October 1996 Minnesota Brewfest, by Steve Piatz The final results from the brewfest. A total of 327 entries. Big congratulations to Bruce Benson for his India Pale Ale, which took first in the PA category, and his porter, which took second in its category. Congratulations to Neil Schlegel, whose Dusseldorf-style Alt took second in the German Ale category, and Rob Hunter and Bob Nelson, whose American Pale Ale took first in the American Ale category. All MhBA winners are marked ith a (*). Best of Show (sponsored by Rahr Malting): English Strong (Extra Special) Bitter, Brian Johnson & David Weiler, Fargo, ND English/Scottish Strong Ales, Barley Wine (29 entries, sponsored by Happy Harry's, Fargo, ND): 1st - Barley Wine, Steve Olson & Bill Clark, Duluth, MN, Northern Ale Stars 2nd - Barley Wine, Jay A. Johnsrud, Decatur, TX, Red River Brewers 3rd - Barley Wine, Randy Thompson, Minneapolis, MN, Headwaters Homebrew Club Belgian Style Specialty (26 entries, sponsored by WindRiver Brewing Co., Eden Prairie, MN): 1st - Tripel, Joe Formanek, Champaign, IL, Boneyard Union of Zymurgical Zealots 2nd - Dubbel, Robert G. Schneider, Burnsville, MN 3rd - Tripel, Ron Elshaug, Rochester, MN, Minnesota TimberWorts Mild and Brown Ale (22 entries, sponsored by ABC's Brewing Co., Burnsville, MN): 1st - American Brown Ale,Tom Peterson & Perry Reinhardt, St. Paul, MN, South Metro Wort Mongers 2nd - English Brown Ale, Mike Healy, Minneapolis, MN 3rd - American Brown Ale, John Denny, Cedar Rapids, IA, CRAZY English-style Pale Ale - 19 entries (sponsored by America Brews, Bloomington, MN): *1st - India Pale Ale, Bruce Benson, Richfield, MN, Minnesota homeBrewers Association 2nd - India Pale Ale, David A. Harrington, Minneapolis, MN 3rd - India Pale Ale, Carl Eidbo, Fargo, ND, Prairie Homebrew Companions English Bitter and Scottish Ale (22 entries, sponsored by All Saint's Brands / Zipps Liquors, Minneapolis, MN): 1st - English Strong (Extra Special) Bitter, Brian Johnson & David Weiler, Fargo, ND 2nd - English Ordinary Bitter, Dennis & Kathy Colliton, West Fargo, ND, Prairie Homebrew Companions 3rd - English Ordinary Bitter, Jim Kickul, New Hope, MN Porter (22 entries, sponsored by Vine Park Brewing, St. Paul, MN): 1st - Porter, Peter L. Sanders, Oronoco, MN, Minnesota TimberWorts *2nd - Porter, Bruce Benson, Richfield, MN, Minnesota homeBrewers Association 3rd - Porter, Ray Taylor, Fargo, ND, Prairie Homebrew Companions Stout (28 entries, sponsored by Brew by You, Minnetonka, MN): 1st - Imperial Stout, James Gebhardt, Fargo, ND, Prairie Homebrew Companions 2nd - Classic Irish Dry Stout, Jerry & Debbie Dusich, St. Cloud, MN, Cloudy Town Brewers 3rd - Imperial Stout, Gene Pribula & Jim Gebhardt, Fargo, ND, Prairie Homebrew Companions Bock (22 entries, sponsored by James Page Brewing, Minneapolis, MN): 1st - Doppelbock, John Denny, Cedar Rapids, IA, CRAZY 2nd - Traditional Bock, Gary Westman, Shorewood, MN, Prairie Homebrew Companions 3rd - Traditional Bock, Mickey & Vi Walker, Fargo, ND, Prairie Homebrew Companions Pilsener/Munich (16 entries, sponsored by Semplex, Minneapolis, MN): 1st - German Pilsener, Mickey & Vi Walker, Fargo, ND, Prairie Homebrew Companions 2nd - Schwarzbier, Timothy Curran, Ramsey, MN, Rum River Wort Hogs 3rd - German Pilsener, Duane Maki, Cedar Rapids, IA, THIRSTY Vienna/Marzen/Oktoberfest (20 entries, cponsored by South Lyndale Liquors, Minneapolis, MN): 1st - Marzen/Oktoberfest, Dan La Vigne, Shoreview, MN 2nd - Marzen/Oktoberfest, Ray Taylor, Fargo, ND, Prairie Homebrew Companions 3rd - Marzen/Oktoberfest, Timothy Curran, Ramsey, MN, Rum River Wort Hogs German-style Ale (18 entries, sponsored by The Brew Shop, St. Louis Park, MN): 1st - Kolsch, Carl Eidbo, Fargo, ND, Prairie Homebrew Companions *2nd - Dusseldorf-style Altbier, Neil Schlegel, Lino Lakes, MN, Minnesota homeBrewers Association 3rd - Kolsch, Richard & Kristine Bucholtz, Sun Prairie, WI, Virtual Village Homebrew Society German-style Wheat Beer (20 entries, sponsored by Liquor Depot, Minneapolis, MN): 1st - Dunkleweizen, John Denny, Cedar Rapids, IA, CRAZY 2nd - Weizen, Matt Musial, Fargo, ND, Prairie Homebrew Companions 3rd - Weizen, John Denny, Cedar Rapids, IA, CRAZY Fruit, Herb and Vegetable Beer (25 entries, sponsored by Pine Cheese Mart's Von Klopp Brew Shop, Pine Island, MN 1st - Fruit Beer, Raspberry Stout, Peter Kennedy, Burnsville, MN 2nd - Fruit Beer, Peach, Michael Cripe, Minneapolis, MN 3rd - Fruit Beer, Apricot, Neil Gudmestadt, Fargo, ND, Prairie Homebrew Companions American-style Beer (38 entries, sponsored by Specialty Marketing / Geezer Graphics, Edina, MN): *1st - American Pale Ale, Rob Hunter & Bob Nelson, St. Paul, MN, Minnesota homeBrewers Association 2nd - American Pale Ale, Carl Eidbo, Fargo, ND, Prairie Homebrew Companions 3rd - American Pale Ale, Wayne Theuer, Blooming Prairie, MN, Minnesota TimberWorts Vine Park Brewery The Twin Citiesx only brew-on-premises operation, Vine Park Brewery (246 West 7th in St. Paul), is a valuable asset to beginning brewers. To the intermediate and advanced brewer, Vine Park offers some useful services along with significant limitations. Supplies (malt extract, dry yeast, specialty grains for infusion or partial mash, hops, finings, etc.) are sold on site and appear to be adequate to support most recipes. Prices for these items are high because the cost of service and equipment are rolled into the price of ingredients. (On the other hand, the equipment is designed to serve up half-barrel batches, a convenience few beginning brewers enjoy at home.) VPB also offers (apparently) dependible sanitation up to bottling and excellent support service. VPB also has some limitations, and at least one of them would be difficult or impossible to overcome. VPB's facilities are built around malt extract brewing and fermentation on plastic. A mash and lauter tun are at the front of the shop area, but BATF regulations make it impossible for the owners to make them available to the general brewer. Other limitations are less difficult to overcome, so I found them harder to accept. No whirpool or hop back are available. There is no provision for indirect draining of the boil kettle. Hot break drains through an outlet at the very bottom center of the kettle, into the wort chiller where it combines with cold break, then plops straight into the fermenter. The fermenting wort stands on the entire charge of trub throughout the subsequent two weeks, which brings me to another problem. Fermenters spend only one week in the fermentation room (65 - 68 degrees) before cooling to 32 degrees in the cold room (another week) to settle out the yeast. Only light to medium worts pitched with very large (by HB standards) quantities of yeast can achieve full attenuation under such circumstances, and the presence of excessive amounts of water-soluble proteins will muddy the flavor of the finished beer. The bottle sanitizer douses your bottles with a squirt of chlorine solution quickly followed by a rinse; this process exposes surfaces to chlorine solution only for a few minutes, far short of the necessary half hour, and the rinse may not deal effectively with residual chlorine on glass surfaces. (I have no idea whether rinse water is sterile or stored in sterile conditions.) Why iodophor or quaternary iodine are not used for bottle sanitation is a mystery. Unlike VPB's reliance on processed extract for base malt, these latter limitations could be corrected with relatively little effort or cost. On the other hand, another potential source of problems -- fermentation on plastic -- has been mitigated. The fermentation container is a food-grade plastic bag inside a plastic pail, tightly closed and capped with a fermentation lock. Disposable plastic liners are scratch-free, relatively sanitary, and allow VPB simple clean-up. VPB's management has dealt with this aspect of the brewing process effectively and creatively. Lest one get the impression that VPB caters exclusively to beginners, it is important to note that VPB offers some advantages even advanced brewers seldom enjoy with custom-built breweries. Pressurized steam brings fifteen gallons to a boil in SS brew kettles within five minutes. Steam from the boiling kettles is drawn off through exhaust pipes by a powerful fan, creating a minor vacuum in the kettle and lowering boiling temp. This feature increases efficiency, reduces time and kettle carmelization (already minimal due to the reliance on steam), and reduces DMS precursors in the hot wort very effectively. The straight SS outlet line is driven by pump (chance of hot side aeration?) through a heat exchanger which brings fifteen gallons down to 75 degrees in about four minutes, minimizing DMS formation after the boil. An in-line oxygen tank supplies clean O2 to the cooled sweet wort. Counter-pressure bottling units and good cappers are well-shielded and clean. These are assets hard to find in home brewing. Bruce Benson and I (thanks for inviting me along, Bruce) brewed an American Pale Ale that was remarkably well attenuated given the short fermentation time, and had little green beer character at bottling. At the tender age of three weeks it was quite drinkable, and the choice of style proved to be a good match for VPB's resources. Incomplete attenuation was hardly noticeable underneath the 40 IBU Columbus hop charge, and the same ingredient (Columbus hops) gave the flavor definition that a more delicate style might have lost to the muddying effects of trub. However, I experienced one small-scale gusher in a fifteen-bottle batch, possibly attributable to an infection acquired during the bottling or cooling process. So Vine Park Brewery is suitable for many and somewhat limiting to a few. Install indirect drainage to draw sweet wort away from hot break, extend primary fermentation according to the gravity of the sweet wort, employ secondary fermenters for longer fermentations, keep the cold room for lagers, use iodophor. None of these steps would require difficult or expensive modifications of existing equipment. Copper in Brewing, by Andy Walsh (email awalsh@crl.com.au) [The following excerpt comes from an exchange of opinions which appeared in the e-publication Home Brew Digest. It appears here with the permission of Andy Walsh, who also volunteered to supply a post-script which follows. These appear in conjunction with the following story regarding recent developments in the Home Brew Digest. They provide a glimpse of the best and the worst aspects of the Home Brew Digest, and provide context to my remarks on the apparent death of that publication. The exchange took place between Andy and Algis Korzonis, a frequent contributor to the HBD.] **************** Al K. doubts my [Andy Walsh's] input on copper causing oxidation: AlK>What's your source on this information? I am extremely skeptical. Well, don't forget you asked for it! I'll start by quoting Charlie Bamforth of the Research Department of Bass(1): "Clearly the elimination of superoxide, but especially peroxide and metals, will be of singular benefit to the shelf life of small-pack beers...Above all, traces of metals such as copper and iron should be eliminated at all stages... Only when ground-state oxygen is activated to superoxide and beyond is it able to cause damage." AlK>Hogwa... er... I disagree. Billions of gallons of beer has been made in copper kettles and mash tuns. Narziss (Weihenstephan) says (3): "Metals catalyse oxidations. The replacement of copper or mild steel by stainless steel has minimised this factor, although the effect of cleaning agents on metal surfaces should not be neglected." (I presume "cleaning agents" refers to the practice of eliminating the oxide layer to minimise Cu++ and Fe++ pickup.) The negative effect of copper on beer flavour stability is one reason for the global switch to stainless steel. Technology does not remain stagnant. Most copper seen in modern breweries is for cosmetic reasons. That copper boiler you see is more likely to be of stainless steel with a copper hood. AlK>I've never had a problem with any of my beers that can be attributed to copper. I think you should rephrase that to, "I've never had a problem with any of my beers that I have attributed to copper." I personally think that the hysteria attributed to HSA and oxidation is an over-reaction from a homebrew perspective. However, if one wants to be really anal about oxidation (like being scared of fermenting in plastic or storing beer in PET bottles), I think it would be consistent to elimininate what is largely believed to be a major source of oxidation in beer (1,2,3,4). Charlie Bamforth's experiments show that introducing Cu++ (1ppm) to a 275ml bottle of beer causes more carbonyl compounds than introduction of 10ml air! (1). This trend has been confirmed in later studies (2,4). The one benefit copper is said to have on beer flavour is that of scavenging undesirable sulphury compounds (5). I'll post a follow-up containing the overall theory. References: (1) CW. Bamforth, R. Parsons. "New procedures to improve the flavor stability of beer". Journal of the American Society of Brewing Chemists. 1985. 43. pp 197-202. (2) CW. Bamforth, RE. Muller, MD. Walker. "Oxygen and oxygen radicals in malting and brewing: a review". Journal of the American Society of Brewing Chemists. 1993. 51. pp 79- 88. (3) L. Narziss. "Centenary Review. Technological factors of flavour stability" Journal of the Institute of Brewing. 1986. 92. pp 346-353. (4) AJ. Irwin, RL. Barker, P.Pipasts. "The role of copper, oxygen, and polyphenols in beer flavor instability". Journal of the American Society of Brewing Chemists. 1991. 49. pp 140-148. (5) RS. Thorne, E. Helm, K. Svendsen. "Control of sulphury impurities in beer aroma". Journal of the Institute of Brewing. 1971. 77. pp. 148-153. THEORY. As molecular oxygen is a relatively stable molecule, it must be converted to one of several radical or activated forms before it can react with beer compounds to form stale flavours (mostly carbonyls). This can occur by the acquisition of electrons from metal ions to form superoxide (O2-), hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), the hydroxyl free radical (OH*), and singlet oxygen. (These are in approximate ascending order of reactivity). It is not clear which of these forms are mainly responsible for beer staling, but the important point is that ground state O2 must be activated before it can commence. Transition metal ions can catalyse this process. These exist in malt, but a substantial quantity can be picked up from contact with metallics. The most important of these metallic ions appears to be copper, since as little as 50ppb has been shown to cause beer staling. Hence copper pickup should be minimised throughout the brewing process, from mashing through to the finished beer. MASHING & LAUTERING. The main source of oxygen absorption during mashing is thought to be due to the enzymic oxidation of polyphenols by peroxidase. This reaction is generally limited by the availability of hydrogen peroxide in the mash. This results in a reddening of the wort, and encourages the precipitation of polyphenols with protein. (It is interesting that unoxidised polyphenols play a major role in beer flavour stability, but possibly a negative one in terms of astringency!) High levels of copper in the mash (eg. due to a dirty copper mash tun) can thus lead to higher levels of H2O2, and promote oxidation of polyphenols, ie. HSA. Malt peroxidase is stable with temperature. About 50% will survive 1 hour at 65C, and 45% at 76C. BOILING. Copper ions bind strongly with species such as polyphenols, melanoidins and proteins. A substantial amount of Cu will precipitate in the hot break (although polyphenol oxidation may already have occurred). Melanoidins bind Fe and Cu very strongly, and it has been suggested that this may contribute to dark beers' antioxidant properties. FERMENTATION. Some metallics are absorbed by yeast during the fermentation, zinc in particular. POST-FERMENTATION. Minimisation of ground state oxygen at this stage is desirable, but the negative effects of even quite substantial levels of O2 may be negated if the O2 is not activated. Elimination of metal ions will enhance shelf life, and is possibly more important than over emphasising low oxygen levels. References: (1) CW. Bamforth, R. Parsons. "New procedures to improve the flavor stability of beer". Journal of the American Society of Brewing Chemists. 1985. 43. pp 197-202. (2) CW. Bamforth, RE. Muller, MD. Walker. "Oxygen and oxygen radicals in malting and brewing: a review". Journal of the American Society of Brewing Chemists. 1993. 51. pp 79- 88. (3) L. Narziss. "Centenary Review. Technological factors of flavour stability" Journal of the Institute of Brewing. 1986. 92. pp 346-353. (4) AJ. Irwin, RL. Barker, P.Pipasts. "The role of copper, oxygen, and polyphenols in beer flavor instability". Journal of the American Society of Brewing Chemists. 1991. 49. pp 140-148. [When I wrote to Andy to request permission to reprint this piece I asked about using white vinegar to clean copper just before brewing, with the idea that a light household acid could dissolve oxidizing compounds at least as well as wort. Andy responded:] ... I was interested because I wanted to read first hand what the experts had discovered on this recently. I must admit I was very surprised at all the recent references to copper being a major culprit. I think you must take it all into context, too. I really think that the oxidation phobia is excessive. I was trying to point out that if one was really serious (anal) about oxidation, then you should not ignore copper. I know of so may great beers (both home and micro brewed) that are made with virtually no regard to HSA or anything, to support this. Most of the professional research is with regard to packaged, filtered, pale lagers, which are quite prone to oxidation. Your comments on vinegar sound reasonable. I would not suggest that anyone throws away their copper equipment, but it does not seem very hard to clean it before each use, and would appear to be just another part of good technique. Vinegar is what I would use (and a scouring pad). A spray pack might be useful to clean coils and such. I guess you just clean it enough to make it shine. It doesn't take much effort. The Death of Home Brew Digest? by John Reese Jim Ellingson informs us that the e-zine Home Brew Digest (HBD) was discontinued last week by the computer host of that publication, the Association of Brewers. The mailing list for that publication is now up for adoption by anybody willing to take responsibility. The HBD has been a major influence on home brewing since its appearance in the late '80's. Issues were discussed in great detail, often by recognized brewing experts and professionals in related fields. The Association of Brewers took over ownership of the list from long-time 'janitor' Rob Gardiner earlier this year. Since then, HBD production quality has been marred by technical problems, such as the inclusion of empty posts, no subject lines, entries bounced for no reason, and a host of other problems. Technical problems also damaged quality under Gardiner's ownership of the list, but the problems increased rapidly this year. So did the rate of publication/distribution, with issues appearing up to three times a day. Many subscribers came to regard the HBD as junk mail. They dropped the e-zine by the score. Back in the days of 300- and 1200-bps modems, glitches affected nearly every issue of the HBD. Errors, gibberish, huge sig lines, and empty posts were uploaded. On the download side, line static often caused transmission to be interrupted, turned text into gibberish, or deleted the text altogether. Academic computing networks closed down e-mail accounts and servers without warning. Servers failed regularly. Simply logging in to receive e-mail required a minor competence in Unix programming. Transmission rates were so slow that subscribers could read the HBD as it rolled off the net while eating lunch or filling out paperwork. Access problems did not discourage devoted readership; production and management issues did not keep the best in the field from writing about their subject. Lest anybody think those were the good ol' days, there was also sizeable input from people who wished only to enthuse, write poetry, or introduce themselves under the influence of the famed HB. Nevertheless, too much HB and too little D did not crush the 'zine. Then in the early '90's readership expanded. The HBD stretched to the point of becoming a news group discussion. Argumentative contributors like Jack Schmidling and Algis Korzonis began to change the culture of the HBD as they did other nodes of the 'Net. Exchanges heated into stormy arguments. Lately, contributors attacked even the current hosts of the HBD who undertook the responsibility as a public service. To be fair, I frequently read Usenet news groups (particularly politically-oriented news groups) where exchanges are so vicious that they make the roughest HBD debates appear gentlemanly. Nevertheless, more has been lost to brewing than has been lost to political involvement. People just do not want to develop a hobby in the context of confrontation. Well-known brewers who made the HBD a powerful resource for the reborn art of brewing have withdrawn from active discussion, though they continue to lurk. The two most frequently voiced criticisms of the HBD, technical problems and silly posts, are not the real causes for the HBD's problems. Nor can I accept broader readership as an explanation for the HBD's failures. Just as I have seen tiny news groups fall to bickering, I also subscribe to civil, useful, and interesting e-pubs that serve and draw from readerships several times the size of the HBD crowd. Failure to sustain community -- a strange inability to combine discipline, hope, and patience in a way that enables people with different agendas to explore a common interest -- that is the cause of the HBD's problems. --- Internet Message Header Follows --- Received: from emout12.mail.aol.com by maryj.bitstream.net (8.7.3/SMI-4.1.R930813) id FAA23473; Thu, 28 Nov 1996 05:53:18 -0600 (CST) From: REE1@aol.com Received: by emout12.mail.aol.com (8.6.12/8.6.12) id GAA29059; Thu, 28 Nov 1996 06:47:37 -0500 Date: Thu, 28 Nov 1996 06:47:37 -0500 Message-ID: <961128064736_1850819234@emout12.mail.aol.com> To: Snydermark@aol.com, lanet@vtc.com, rick@adc.com, graff008@maroon.tc.umn.edu, rjl@mm.com, CEH@extend.mes.umn.edu, tee@cray.com, bakremse@cmonster.county.anoka.mn.us, kamrad@cdev.com, MValentiner@winternet.com, drin0004@tc.umn.edu, hamlec1@medtronic.com, solga002@maroon.tc.umn.edu, 70264.333@compuserve.com, 73071.1754@compuserve.com, WindRiver@bitstream.mpls.mn.us, cptvideo@websharx.com, mmoranz@net-info.com, jimme@lcse.umn.edu Subject: MhBA Newsletter, 12/96