The Boiler Newsletter of the Minnesota homeBrewers Association June & July, 1997 -April meeting at O'Gara's- There wasn't much business that took place during the business portion of the meeting on 4/22. Mike S. announced dates of future events and meetings. Steve Piatz initiated a discussion about the limit of one entry per subcategory per brewer at the MN Brewfest. We voted to retain that limit. This also means that a brewer cannot enter a beer by himself and in tandem with other brewer(s) in the same subcategory. Brian Benkstein, Head Brewer at O'Gara's, gave a talk about his career and the O'Gara's brewpub. Brian started out as a homebrewer. He had been brewing for about four years when he heard that O'Gara's was going to install brewing equipment. He harassed the owners until they agreed to hire him. He was involved in the selection of brewing equipment and its installation. The first batch was brewed on 5/15/96. Brian continues to work his day job while brewing at night and on the weekend. They use a 7 barrel stainless steel direct fired gas burning system. The kettle can be brought to a boil in 10 to 15 minutes. They can only do single infusion mashes. There are 4 fermenters that are cooled with coils running cold water. They don't have a glycol chiller. Fermentations typically take 7 to 10 days. A cold conditioning for 7 to 14 days at 32 to 34 degrees drops out the yeast. The base malt is Breiss Pale 2 row malt. They buy it pre crushed. Beers currently offered are a Red, Brown, Apricot Wheat, Bitter, and a 1066 O.G. Bock. 400 barrels were brewed in the first year. They brew 1-2 times per week. Brian also mentioned that he is interested in convening a taste panel every month or so to try out his beers and give feedback. He invited members with some judging experience or knowledge of beer to contact him if they are interested and available. -MhBA Top Club at St. Paul Brewing Competition- The MhBA won the top club award for the second straight year at the St. Paul Brewing Competition, beating out the Prairie Homebrew Companions, the South Metro Wort Mongers, and the Rum River Wort Hogs. Best of Show judging took place on May 3rd at Mill St. Brewing. The Best of Show Beer was an American Brown Ale brewed by Rob and Michelle Snyder (no club affiliation). The Big Cheese award to the most prolific homebrewers went to Mickey and Vi Walker of the PHC. Congratulations to the following MhBA medalists: Ray Estrella (2nd - Belgian/French Ales), Brian Van Stavern (1st - English Bitter), John Gleason (2nd - Pale Ale), Bruce Benson (1st - Pale Ale, 1st - Porter), John Burke (2nd - Bock, 2nd - English/Scottish Strong Ales), Tom Miller (1st - English/Scottish Strong Ales) and Mike Valentiner (3rd - Fruit/Vegetable/Herb Beer). Congratulations also to club member Deb Nelson for co-brewing a 3rd place Wheat, a 2nd place Specialty Beer, and a 2nd place Fruit/Vegetable/Herb Beer. Unfortunately, Deb listed her club affilitation with another club. MhBA members put in many hours in preliminary judging. Best of show judges were former MhBA Vice President Andy Leith, current Vice President Jim Ellingson, and club member Gloria Sheehan. Karl Bremer of St. Croix Brewing was the emcee. Thanks to Northern Brewer and brewmaster Ron Flett for another great competition. -Club T-shirt Design Contest Considered- We need a new club t-shirt, and we're holding a design competition, (probably). Plan on discussing guidelines at the June meeting, and having the competition at the July meeting. There may even be a cash prize! Zowie!! -May meeting at Great Waters Brewing Co.- The 5/5/97 meeting was held at Great Waters Brewing Co., located on the first floor of the Hamm Building in downtown St. Paul. Our hosts were owner Mark Van Wie and brewmaster Jeff Martin. Jeff is a former brewer at Page Brewing and has been homebrewing since he was 16 years old. Great Waters opened just a couple of months ago and construction is still taking place. They use an artesian well that already existed in the building (formerly owned by the Hamm family). The well is 1,400 feet deep and they claim its mineral content is similar to some famous English brewing water. They serve a Bitter and a Porter as "real ales". Primary fermentation takes 3 to 5 days. The beers then undergo a secondary fermentation of 2 to 3 weeks in 10.8 gallon stainless steel firkins. Isinglass is added as a clarifying agent. They are hand pulled and are served within 4 days. The beer menu also lists an IPA, a Pale Ale, a Brown Ale, a Wheat, and a Seasonal Beer, which was an interpretation of Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale. Thanks to Great Waters for having us and letting us sample their fine wares. We also judged several entries for the club-only Bock is Best competition. Steve Piatz entry was sent to the AHA to represent the club. Nice job, Steve. -BJCP Exam Scheduled- The test date is tentatively scheduled for Sunday, June 22 at Sherlock's Home Brewery in Minnetonka. -Renaissance Competition: Organizer and Judges needed- Greetings. As you know, the MhBA co-sponsors the Ren Fest Competition, along with Lee Kramer Enterprises and Mid-America Festivals. John DesHarnais and I organized the first two Ren Fest Competitions. John is unavailable for this year's competition, and so I'm looking for an assistant or chief organizer. It's a fun competition with about 100 mead, cider and beer entries judged under a tent, at the Ren Fest, on Labor Day(Sept 1st). It's also our best chance to educate the public about homebrew and homebrewing. The organizers have 3 main duties. Get the book work lined up at Lee's shop. Transport the entries to the Ren Fest Grounds. Run the show/competition on Labor Day. Lee Kramer's shop takes in the entries, and sends out the forms, does the advertising, etc. Please contact me if you're interested in being assistant organizer or if you are otherwise able to help out. You do get BJCP points for organizing. Judges get free admission to the Ren Fest on Labor Day, get nifty costumes to wear and $5 in food coupons... Entries will be due at America Brews, probably by 8/24/97. The fee will be $6 and will include a free pass to the RenFest. Categories will include mead, cider and several beer groupings. All BJCP categories are accepted. Cheers, Jim Ellingson, MhBA V-P. 645-0753 jellings@me.umn.edu -Timberworts to Sponsor Club Campout- The annual Minnesota Homebrew Club Campout will occur the weekend of August 15-17. The campout is sponsored this year by the Minnesota Timberworts of Rochester. The location is Wayne Theuer's place in Blooming Prairie, between Owatonna and Austin. Camp at Wayne's or a nearby campground with showers, pool, etc. The tentative schedule is as follows: Friday night: Beer sampling and deep fried dinner Saturday morning: Tour a microbrewery in nearby Kasson Saturday midday: Judging for MN club only competition Saturday evening: Pig roast Saturday night: Judging for mead challenge The MN club only competition involves one beer from each MN homebrew club in each of the following styles: Stout/Porter, Big Ales (Barley Wine, Old Ale, etc.), Light Lagers (German or American), and Pale Ale. MhBA members who wish to enter will need to bring a bottle to our July meeting for judging. The mead challenge is open to anyone attending. Prizes determined by the Minnesota Timberworts. See the next newsletter for more details. Details will also be posted on the Homebrew Hotline as they become available. -First Round Nationals- Steve Piatz was in Kansas City to judge the regional portion of the AHA's National Competition. He ended up with about a dozen ribbons to be distributed to various area brewers. If you're on the list below, see Steve at the June 7th MhBA meeting at James Page Brewing (1:00 - 5:00 PM) or contact him to make other arrangments. Winners will eventually receive a letter from the AHA with instructions on how to send their beers to the next round. Bruce Benson (1st American Pale ale), Brent T. Vreze (1st traditional mead), David L. Klocke (2nd American style premium lager), Frank & Deb Nelson (1st place mild and brown ale), Frank & Deb Nelson (3rd English & Scottish strong ale), Gary Westman (3rd American style), Leo Vitt & Bill Van Vugt (2nd classic American pilsener), Leo Vitt & Bill Van Vugt (2nd fruit & veggie beer), Ron Elshaug (1st place barley wine), Ron Elshaug (3rd German dark lager), Wayne Thueur (1st place English style), Wayne Thueur (2nd porter). There were also several winners from the PHC, as might be expected, but those ribbons went via another carrier. This year there was a new rule, you can't advance to the next round unless you get a score of 30 or higher. If your score was under 30 even if it was the highest score you don't get a ribbon either. There were categories that didn't advance three beers to the next round. In German wheat beers there were no beers advanced. -MhBA Calendar- -June 7 (Saturday) 1-5p.m. Meeting @James Page Brewery 1300 NE Quincy St, Mpls--tour & samples, bring homebrew and ideas for new MhBA T-shirt design contest to be held at July meeting, (maybe). -June 19 (Thursday) 7:30p.m. West Side Meeting Lake Fellowship Church on Glen Rd in Shorewood. -June 22 (Sunday) BJCP Exam at Sherlock's Home Check the Homebrew Hotline for details as they arise. -July 12 (Saturday) 1-5p.m. Meeting @CSPS Hall 383 Michigan St., St. Paul.(Corner of West 7th, Western Av. and Michigan St.) Club-only extract competition. T-shirt design contest judged, (probably). -July 17 (Thursday) 7:30p.m. West Side Meeting Lake Fellowship Church on Glen Rd in Shorewood. -August 15-17 Minnesota Homebrew Club Campout Check the Homebrew Hotline for details as they arise. -August 21 (Thursday) 7:30p.m. West Side Meeting Lake Fellowship Church on Glen Rd in Shorewood. -September 1 (Monday)Renaissance Festival Competition Check the Homebrew Hotline for details as they arise. -September 18 (Thursday) 7:30p.m. West Side Meeting Lake Fellowship Church on Glen Rd in Shorewood. 18 ingredient competition judging. -Directions to Lake Fellowship Church: * I-494 to Hwy 7 westbound * Hwy 7 to the town of Excelsior * Right onto County Rd. 19 * (about 2 miles to STOP sign, Oasis Market) * Continue on 19 (about 1/2 mile) to Glen Rd. (left turn) * Lake Fellowship, 24575 Glen Rd. -Minnesota homeBrewer's Association- President: Mike Swalinkavich Vice President: Jim Ellingson Secretary: Scott Christensen Treasurer: Bruce Benson Boiler Production: Scott & Maren Christensen For Boiler submissions 3216 Harriet Ave S., Mpls., MN 55408 or e-mail at SC 3216@aol.com The Homebrew Hotline 229-5129 - contains the latest information on upcoming club events. -TIP: These homebrew Shops offer club members a 10% discount: Brew and Grow, Fridley Northern Brewer, St. Paul Wind River, Eden Prairie Brew By You, Minnetonka Midwest Homebrew Supplies, St. Louis Park Brewmeister's, Richfield " When I read about the evils of drinking, I gave up reading." --Henny Youngman end of boiler