The Boiler December 1997 Our Good Friend Kurt Our very good friend and long-standing MhBA member Kurt Graffunder passed away on Sept. 24. I first met Kurt at one of our infamous Schells Brewery meetings. We had ducked away from the tour in the cellaring area and were sampling beers directly from the aging casks. Real keg beer! Over the years Kurt and I became good friends. The kind of friend that you stop over at his house and always feel welcome. Kurt specialized in Lager brewing. His lagering setup had to be seen to be believed. And his results were testimony to his knowledge. One beer we had a common fondness for is Munich Dunkel. In this day of wildly hopped beers this style has fallen from favor. His was true to style. Balanced, malty and crystal clear in its brown glory. Kurt was also an excellent cook. Ask anyone who waited in line for some of his smoked salmon at his backyard cookouts. These cookouts were grand affairs with plenty of great food, beer and conversation. Kurt's son, David, donated Kurt's brewery to the MhBA so we could have something to remember him by. We are having a sale of this brewing equipment at our Dec. 12 meeting. The proceeds are being donated back to David to help with his college expenses. Proist Kurt! Ron Wolfgram --- IBU Testing I will take samples for hop analysis at the next homebrew meeting. Price is $2 and please bring information on the beer so that I can compile information to give results back to the club. Aaron Kelley Biological Process Technology Institute Department of Chemical Engineering and Material Science University of Minnesota akelley@cems.umn.edu --- 18 Ingredients, 3 Winners The Westies held the first annual competition to celebrate the legalization of homebrewing in the US. 18 ingredients to mark the 18 years. First place went to Will Holway and his Black Death. Gary Westman took second, and Gary Sinnen third. Prizes were gift certificates from Brew By You, The Brewshop, and Wind River. Next year you'll need 19 ingredients. --- Newsletter Up for Grabs I quit. I no longer have the time or the interest in cranking out the Boiler, so anyone who wants the job can have it as far as I'm concerned. Elections will officially be in February, but I think this is my last issue. I'm willing to help in the transition, but I'm overly busy lately and haven't even had time to brew in the last year, so it seems silly to go on like this... Sorry, Scott Christensen SC3216@aol.com --- MhBA Calendar -December 12 (Friday) 6p.m. to 10p.m. at CSPS Hall 383 Michigan St., St. Paul. (Corner of West 7th St., Western Ave. & Michigan St.) Kurt's Brewery Auction, Karl Bremer will bring Serrano Pepper Ale, pot luck. -December 18 (Thursday) 7:30p.m. West Side Meeting Lake Fellowship Church on Glen Rd in Shorewood. -January 10th (Thursday) 3p.m. to 6p.m. at Summit (probably, check the Hotline) --- Dec. Meeting Potluck So far we have white chicken chili and killer Klam chowder spoken for. Bring something else. And remember Karl Bremer is bringing St. Croix Serrano Pepper Ale. --- TREASURER'S REPORT As of 10/31/97 the MhBA had a cash balance of $1,337.79. The MhBA also has an inventory of 55 short sleeve club T shirts and 15 long sleeve shirts. 1997 income and expenses through 10/31/97 are listed below. INCOME Malt Auction 24.00 Membership 970.00 T-Shirt sales 152.00 TOTAL INCOME 1,146.00 EXPENSES Education materials 57.73 Food 6.76 Hall Rental 200.00 Hotline 132.00 Membership forms 30.35 Memorial 43.40 Misc. Supplies 26.62 Newsletter 383.20 Shirts 408.90 TOTAL EXPENSES 1,341.18 Please check the membership expiration date on your mailing label. If your membership has expired, please renew your membership by mailing $10 to MhBA, c/o Bruce Benson, Treasurer, 6632 Clinton Av. S., Richfield, MN 55423. If your mailing label does not list an expiration date, you are receiving a complimentary copy of this newsletter. Complimentary copies are sent to area homebrewing retailers, breweries, and other friends of the MhBA. If you receive an electronic copy of this newsletter you will be notified by e-mail when your expiration date approaches. After three years as MhBA Treasurer, I do not plan to stand for election again in February. I'm willing to provide any assistance necessary to my successor. The job includes maintaining the membership list, handling club funds, and providing mailing labels to the Secretary for the newsletter. The only thing you really need is access to a word processing program (I use MS Word or WordPerfect) and a printer. It takes me about three hours per month to do the job. Any members interested in running for the position can call me at 866-9641 or e mail me at akbbenson@aol.com for more information on the job. Bruce --- WELCOME NEW MEMBERS Joining the club since 10/1/97 are: Richard Abbruscato, Cory Ahonen, Gary Anderson, Les Jones, Brian Olson, Pete Peters, Jason Powell, Ken Unruh, Jeff Thomford, Eric Steeg, Fyke McMuck, Peter Howard, Dan Hillman, Mark Doneux, Paul Johnsen, Thomas Guillermou, and Curt Kaler. Glad to have you aboard. --- The Auction Want to move to All grain? 10 gal batches? Here is your chance. On Friday Dec 12 from 6-10 p.m. We are having a brewing equipment silent auction. Why silent. Because you can't talk when your mouth is full of lager beer! Seriously now, David Graffunder, (son of our fallen comrade, Kurt Graffunder) donated Kurt's brewing equip to our club. We in turn are selling it and donating the proceeds to David's college fund. (he is a freshman at Santa Cruse CA). Also in the spirit of giving, Brewery Creek Brewing Company (Jeff Donaghue) donated a weekend for two in their newly built Bed and Breakfast in Mineral Point WI. We will be serving some of Kurt's well-lagered beer and also potluck dinner (bring your favorite dish). This is going to be a fun event and will be for a good cause. The List 1ea Counterflow Chiller Counterflow chiller with fittings and connectors 1ea Wort Pump MitiVac Brand setup to work with above Chiller 1ea Natural gas cooker Wolf brand restaurant style cooker duty cast iron with 3/4 inch gas line 2ea 5gal glass carboys 1ea Propane Cooker 3 Ring (3 valve) propane cooker 1ea Alum Table about 3 foot high 3 x 2 table no top Heavy Duty 1ea Grain Mill home made powered grain mill, with big grain hopper 1ea 1/2 Barrel Keg 16 Gal beer keg not cut off (fermentor) 2ea 1/4 Barrel Keg 8 Gal Beer keg not cut off (fermentor) 1ea 1/2 Barrel Keg 16 Gallon keg with lid cut off (boiler) 1ea 1/2 Barrel Keg 16 Gallon keg with lid cut off (electric boiler) 220 vacwater heater element mounted on side 1ea 1/2 Barrel Keg 16 Gallon keg with lid cut off with valve mounted on side AKA easy masher (tm) 1ea Kettle Volrath 10 gallon SS kettle w/SS lid 2ea 10 gal cornelius kegs 10 Gal cornelieous style container all Stainless very unusual 1ea Electronic Thermometer Polder brand electronic thermometer with remote probe 6 ea. 5 gal Corny kegs Slightly rough don't hold pressure 6 ea. 5 gal Corny kegs Good shape hold pressure 2 ea. 25 gal grain bins Very good Quality garbage cans New Beer Refridge older model fridge with custom built Electronic thermostat Lagering freezer Kenmore brand 15 Cubic foot freezer about 3 years old with precision temp regulator plus/minus 1/2 degree the key to lagering your beer Hops There is also Lots of smaller stuff that I haven't inventoried yet. Cheers, Ron Wolfgram(aka wolfman ron) PS: we are not bringing the Frige or freezer to the CSPS hall so the bidding starts now. Starting price on the 15 cubic freezer with custom built temp control only 3 years old is $150. The older refrigerator also with electronic temp control $50. send your offers to rwolfgram@mci2000.com --- A Note From Jeff D. A forward from Jeff Donaghue former president of the MhBA. News about his brewery his E-mail is brewpub@mhtc.net Hey Ron, how are things going in the City of St. Paul? I was in town back in June, but only for a day so I didn't call. Found an antique bar and backbar for our "pub" area. Ironically it was about 3 minutes away from where we used to live in Edina down the hall from my barber, but I never knew it was there... I did the deal on the brewery from Criveller in Niagara Falls. Heated mash lauter tun with a hydraulically lifted raking arm, reversing for automatic spent grain removal and an under screen spray system for cleaning. With raking arms you really have to bolt the screens down which makes removal for cleaning a pain. The grant has an automatic level shut off tied with the mash tun making it very difficult to suck the grain bed down. It is interesting fitting 30 bbl tanks into a 9'2" high room. For the glycol system I have the guy who's upgrading the Page brewery. He builds a unit which has a large "chill barrel" in it which has a glycol mixture that is frozen in off peak. The chill bundle gives 5 tons capacity so when you add that to the normal reservoir you get a 10 ton equivalent, but with a 5 ton system. Also you use it to cool water for wort cooling, which means I'll get better energy recovery. I could just go on and on.....Due to plumber delays I have pushed delivery back to November rather than October. Either way its a good time to start up from a learning point of view, but bad time because its the slowest time of the year for beer sales.... Jeff --- Brewfest Winners The Best of Show judges were Michael Jackson, Ray Daniels, and Dennis Davison. They selected Chris Stomberg's Robust Porter as the overall winner. Chris will have his name engraved on the William Rahr Memorial Trophy that resides in the bar at Sherlock's Home. These awards were presented during the Best of Show on Sunday, October 12, 1997 during the Brewfest at Sherlock's Home. English/Scottish Strong Ales, Barley Wine 29 Entries 1. Barley Wine - Ray Taylor & Gene Pribula, Fargo, ND, Prairie Homebrew Companions 2. Strong Scotch - Ray Estralla, Cottage Grove, MN, Minnesota Homebrewers Association 3. Barley Wine - Jim Gebhardt, Fargo, ND, Prairie Hombrew Companions Belgian-style Specialty 32 Entries 1. Dubbel - Peter Ausenhus, Minneapolis, MN 2. Strong Dark Ale - Bruce Benson, Richfield, MN, Minnesota Homebrewers Association 3. Tripel - Randall Thompson, Minneapolis, MN, Headwaters Homebrewers Mild and Brown Ale 18 Entries 1. American Brown - Deb & Frank Nelson, Apple Valley, MN, Minnesota Homebrewers Association and South Metro Wort Mongers 2. American Brown - Ray Taylor, Dick Niles, Gene Pribula, Tim Schulz, Sharon Schulz, Mark Griffin, Holly Griffin, Don Kaspari, and a host of others, Fargo, ND, Prairie Homebrew Companions 3. Northern Brown - Dan La Vigne, Shorview, MN English-style Pale Ale 25 Entries 1. IPA - Wayne THeuer, Blooming Prairie, MN, MN Timber Worts 2. IPA - Neil Gudmestad, Ray Taylor, Fargo, ND, Prairie Homebrew Companions 3. IPA - Ron Smith, Indianapolis, IN, Foam Blowers of Indiana English Bitter & Scottish Ale 31 Entries 1. Strong Bitter - Brian Johnson & David Weiler, Golden Valley, MN 2. Scottish Export 80 - Bob & Susan Ruud, Harwood, ND, Prairie Homebrew Companions 3. Scottish Export 80 - Michael Fennessy, Orange, CA, Bare Knuckles Brewing Porter 17 Entries 1. Robust Porter - Chris Stomberg, Minneapolis, MN 2. Robust Porter - Bruce Benson, Richfield, MN Minnesota Homebrewers Association 3. Robust Porter - Mick & Vi Walker, Fargo, ND, Prairie Homebrew Companions Stout 24 Entries 1. Imperial Stout - Wayne Theuer, Blooming Prairie, MN, MN Timber Worts 2. Imperial Stouts - Jim Gebhardt, Fargo, ND, Prairie Homebrew Companions 3. Dry Stout - Michael Gasman, Lincoln, NE, Lincoln Lagers Bock 22 Entries 1. John Denny, Cedar Rapids, IA, THIRSTY 2. Traditional Bock - John Burke, Minneapolis, MN, Minnesota Homebrewers Association 3. Dopplebock - Susan Ruud, Harwood, ND, Prairie Homebrew Companions Pilsener/Munich 26 Entries 1. Munich Helles - Michael Gasman, Lincoln, NE, Lincoln Lagers 2. Munich Dunkel - Susan & Bob Ruud, Harwood, ND, Pririe Homebrew Companions 3. Schwarzbier - Tim Curran, Ramsey, MN, Rum River Wort Hogs Vienna/Marzen/Oktoberfest 15 Entries 1. Marzen/Oktoberfest - Mark Armstrong, Shakopee, MN 2. Marzen/Oktoberfest - Leo Vitt & Bill Van Vugt, Rochester, MN, MN Timber Worts 3. |Marzen/Oktoberfest - Paul Kerchefske, Minitowoc, WI, Manty Malters & Sin City Sudzzers German-style Ale 12 Entries 1. Kolsch - Carl Eidbo, Fargo, ND, Pririe Homebrew Companions 2. Sticke - Neil Schlegel, Lino Lakes, MN, Minnesota Homebrewers Association 3. Dusseldorf-style Altbier - Leo Vitt, Rochester, MN, MN Timber Worts German-style Wheat Beer 15 Entries 1. Weizen - Mike Kamrad, Apple Valley, MN, Minnesota Homebrewers Association 2. Weizenbock - Leo Vitt & Bill Van Vugt, Rochester, MN MN Timber Worts 3. Berliner Weisse - Mike Hahn, Salt Lake, UT, ZZ Hops Fruit, Herb and Vegetable Beer 19 Entries 1. Pumpkin Pie Spice - Jim Wagner, Pasadena, MD, Chesapeake Real Ale Brewers Society 2. Sweet Gale - Mike & Vi Walker, Fargo, ND, Prairie Homebrew Companions 3. Assorted Spices - Deb Nelson, Apple Valley, MN Minnesota Homebrewers Association and South Metro Wort Mongers American-style Beer 34 Entries 1. California Common - Robb & Nancy Greenberg, Minneapolis, MN 2. California Common - Carl Eidbo, Fargo, ND, Prairie Homebrew Companions 3. Cream Ale - Rich & Kris Bucholtz, Sun Prairie, WI --- >From the web: From: Steve Hersey [SMTP:shersey@world.std.com] Sent: Thursday, October 23, 1997 Subject: I SWEAR I'M NOT MAKING THIS UP!!! Hydrogen Beer! TOKYO (AP) -- Here in the chic pubs of the Aoyama district, the latest fad inspired by beer makers struggling through a sluggish economy is the flammable suds of the new Hydrogen Beer. The latest craze among the environmentally conscious crowd of twentysome-things, the "Suiso" beer made by the Asaka Beer Corporation has been extremely popular at karaoke sing-along bars and discotheques. Hydrogen, like helium, is a gas lighter than air. Because hydrogen molecules are lighter than air, sound waves are transmitted more rapidly; individuals whose lungs are filled with the nontoxic gas can speak with an uncharacteristically high voice. Exploiting this quirk of physics, chic urbanites can now sing sopran parts on karaoke sing-along machines after consuming a big gulp of Suiso beer. The drink comes in a transparent hexagonal bottle imported from the maker of the new American drink "Zima," according to Hideki Saito, marketing director of Asaka Beer Corp. While the bottles are imported from Tennessee, the labels are made with a 100% biodegradable polymer. The bottle caps are equipped with a safety valve to prevent excess build-up of pressure in high temperatures. The flammable nature of hydrogen has also become another selling point, even though Asaka has not acknowledged that this was a deliberate marketing ploy. It has inspired a new fashion of blowing flames from one's mouth using a cigarette as an ignition source. Many new karaoke videos feature singers shooting blue flames in slow motion, while flame contests took place in pubs everywhere in Tokyo on New Year's eve. So far, Asaka beer has insisted that the quantities of hydrogen used in the drinks is too low to create potential for bodily harm. In the factory, the carbon dioxide that is dissolved in the beer is partially extracted and replaced with hydrogen gas. Mr. Saito maintained that the remaining carbon dioxide mixed with hydrogen prevents the rate of combustion from increasing dramatically. Carbon dioxide is a nonflammable gas that is naturally contained in the exhaled breath of humans. However, the company has hesitated from marketing the product in the US due to legal complications. Each bottle of Suiso beer sells for approximately 1,200 yen, or eleven US dollars. The bottles are packed in special crates lined with concrete to prevent chain explosions in the event of a fire. --- If there's ever a German beer of this type, I expect it will be called "Hindenburg Light". -- Steve ;-)