Fellow Homebrewers,
As I write this entry, the NCAA men’s basketball tournament has commenced. Well, in my opinion March Madness actually kicked off the preceding Saturday with the 2014 OVHA Barrel Brew Day. In all, 13 of your fellow brewers gathered to produce 105 gallons of sweet wort. After fermenting, about half will go into a Four Roses barrel graciously donated by Liquor Locker. This version of foreign extra stout, a take on Glen Wrinkles Big Turkey winner, will make its debut at the Zoo Brew on June 7, 2014. It will also be served up at this year’s National Homebrewers Conference the following week and at all our charitable events later in the year. Thanks goes out to Jason Carson for hosting the event and to John Mills for all his assistance (John also whipped up a pretty tasty corned beef and cabbage.) Being indoors with a ready supply of hot liquor water makes this an ideal venue for a club brew. Oh yeah, they’ve got great beer on tap should you get parched from your labors! Let’s hope this event becomes an annual tradition. Thanks to all those who dunked your Twinkie!
Based on the feedback I’ve received, last month’s calibration tasting went quite well. Thanks to Michael Julian for putting his brewing skills out there for all the club to judge. I think the consensus was that his Vienna lager was a fine representation of the style and was just a damn fine beer. If you’re interested in brewing a Vienna lager, you might find the following link helpful.
http://byo.com/stories/issue/item/2964-vienna-lager-tips-from-the-pros
Also, if you have any suggestions to improve the experience, please don’t hesitate to let me know. The next calibration tasting will be in May when we put Professor Purcell’s American wheat under the microscope.
At post time, we will be less than a week away from what promises to be one of OVHA’s most memorable meetings ever. On Wednesday, March 26, 2014, we will welcome Upland Brewing Company’s head brewer, Caleb Staton. Caleb will discuss the brewery’s sour beer program and lead us through tastings of three of this year’s production. Upland is recognized nationally and internationally for these sour ales, traditional Belgian beer style known as Lambics. In fact, Upland’s sours are so sought-after they are sold by lottery. This is such a unique opportunity that even if you’re “not into sours” you do not want to miss it. So just pucker up!
Seems like you can’t throw a mash paddle without hitting an author among our OVHA brethren. Dutch DeHaan has written an article for Farm Collector Magazine about the history of cider press manufacturing in the mid- to late-1800’s. In the article Dutch also comments on the resurgence of the cider industry in the U.S. and quotes a couple of major news articles regarding the boom of cider production by Angry Orchard among others. Dutch also gives the OVHA an honorable mention. Let’s hope that part doesn’t end up in the editor’s circular file!
Not to be outdone, HomeBrewTalk.com is publishing Michael Julian’s article entitled “Sour Mashing My Berliner Weisse”. How sweet, or sour, is that! It’s a very well-written article and has prompted several positive comments. See for yourself! http://www.homebrewtalk.com/Sour-Mashin … eisse.html
I’d also like to recognize Dutch and Maryann for their contribution of four books on homebrewing to the public library. You represent the homebrewing community well!
Finally, I want to remind everyone about the quarterly canned food drive at this month’s meeting. Bring a canned good to receive a door prize ticket. Sky will deliver the donations to the local food bank. Thanks in advance for your generosity!
Just Brew It!
Jeff
