Zymurgy 2016 Vol 39-01 Jan-Feb PDF

II ZYMURGY January/February 2016 HomebrewersAssociation.
org
®®
EDIT OR’S DESK by Jill Redding
Journal of the American Homebrewers Association

Publisher ...................................... Brewers AssociationSM
Editor-in-Chief .............................................Jill Redding
Associate Editor...................................... Amahl Turczyn
Technical Editor ......................................Gordon Strong
Homebrewers
Art Director ................................................. Jason Smith
Graphic Designer ..........................................Ashley Peck
Operations Director .................. Stephanie Johnson Martin
Shine at GABF
Sales & Marketing Director ...................... Barbara Fusco
Business Development Manager

[email protected]
for Advertising & Sponsorship (East)...... Tom McCrory

W hile the nation’s professional
craft brewers take center stage
in Denver for the Great American Beer
Colin Foy. Thomssen’s Raspberry Berliner
Weisse and Nanzer’s Belgian Golden
Strong Ale will join Foy’s Flanders Red Ale
[email protected] Festival each year, homebrewers also have in the 2016 LongShot Variety Pack avail-
Business Development Manager
for Advertising & Sponsorship (West) ... Kari Harrington
their time in the spotlight. able nationwide next spring.
[email protected]
Advertising & Sponsorship Associate............ Joe Damgaard “There is no GABF without homebrewers; “There’s no better time than now to be
Marketing Coordinator ................................... Jeb Foster there is no craft beer without homebrew- an American craft brewer or homebrew-
[email protected]
Member Services/Circulation Manager .... Dan Goloback
ing,” stated Jake Keeler, a member of the er,” Koch stated. “This year’s LongShot
Brewers Association board of directors and American Homebrew Contest winners
American Homebrewers Association AHA governing committee who spoke at serve as shining examples of that passion
Director................................................................Gary Glass
the media luncheon during GABF. and American homebrewing ingenuity.”
Assistant Director..................................................Steve Parr
Project Coordinator ............................................ Janis Gross Koch brewed the first batch of Boston
Web Coordinator ..........................................Duncan Bryant Boston Beer founder Jim Koch is also quick Lager in his kitchen in 1984.
Events & Membership Coordinator ................. Matt Bolling to acknowledge the role that homebrewers
Administrative Assistant .............................. John Moorhead
played in shaping the craft beer movement In other news from the GABF, Brewers
Brewers Association and the GABF. “The roots of the craft Association chief economist Bart Watson
The purpose of the Brewers Association is to pro- brewing movement are firmly planted in announced that there are now more than
mote and protect small and independent American
homebrewing,” said Koch in announc- 4,000 breweries operating in the U.S.
brewers, their craft beers, and the community of
brewing enthusiasts. The Brewers Association is ing the winners of the Samuel Adams In November, we eclipsed the all-time
a not-for-profit trade Association under Section LongShot American Homebrew Contest. high of 4,131 U.S. breweries set in 1873.
501(c)(6) of the Internal Revenue Code.
Currently, breweries are opening at a rate
BA Board of Directors Though Koch has built the second-largest of two per day in this country. Watson
Steve Bradt, Larry Chase, Steve Crandall, Tom craft brewery in the U.S., brewing more forecasted that craft brewers will have 12
Dargen, Gary Fish, Tom Flores, Chris P. Frey,
Steve Hindy, Kim Jordan, Jake Keeler, Dan Kleban, than 2.5 million barrels each year, he’s still to 13 percent market share by the end of
John Mallett, Scott Metzger, Cyrena Nouzille, very much plugged into the homebrewing 2015; the Brewers Association has a goal
Tony Simmons, Rob Tod, and Eric Wallace. community. “I read my Zymurgy every of 20 percent by 2020.
Published by the American Homebrewers Association, month looking for cool ideas,” he said.
a division of the Brewers Association, a not-for-profit
organization located at 1327 Spruce Street, Boulder, CO Since homebrewers are driving much of
80302 USA. Membership is open to everyone. Zymurgy Ground zero for homebrewers at the the growth in the craft brewing industry,
(ISSN 0196-5921, USPS 018-212) is the bi-monthly
journal of the American Homebrewers Association and is GABF are the American Homebrewers in this 10th annual Gadgets issue we
published six times per year. Periodicals Postage Paid at Association booth and the Pro-Am booth. take a look at Frankenbrew, a low-key,
Boulder, CO and additional mailing offices. Canada Post
Agreement Number 41197537. Annual memberships In the Pro-Am Competition, AHA mem- no-frills equipment approach to opening
are $43 U.S., and $52 International and include a $35 bers team up with craft breweries to scale a craft brewery. Author Tom Hennessy,
subscription to Zymurgy.
up their homebrew recipes and submit the founder of Colorado Boy Brewing Co.
Changing your address? Let us know in writing or e-mail those entries for judging. This year, 91 in Ridgway, Colo., has helped open 70
your address changes to [email protected].
entries were judged in the Pro-Am; all of breweries through a mentoring program
Zymurgy welcomes letters, opinions, ideas, article
queries and information in general from its readers. those entries were on tap at some point offered at three Colorado breweries.
Correspondence and advertising inquiries should be at the Pro-Am booth during the three-
directed to Zymurgy, PO Box 1679, Boulder, CO 80306-
1679, (303) 447-0816, [email protected], day event. For more on the competition In addition, we had a record number
www.homebrewersassociation.org. All material ©2016, and to see the winning recipes, go to of submissions for our Gadgets feature.
American Homebrewers Association. No material may be
reproduced without written permission from the AHA. page 58. Thanks to our always-inventive readers
The opinions and views expressed in articles are not for submitting their creative gadget ideas
necessarily those of the American Homebrewers In this year’s Samuel Adams LongShot com- for this annual issue.
Association and its magazine, Zymurgy.
petition, AHA members Tim Thomssen and
POSTMASTER: Send address changes to:
Zymurgy, 1327 Spruce Street; Boulder, CO 80302.
Kevin Nanzer were announced as the win- Jill Redding is editor-in-chief of
Printed in the USA. ners along with Samuel Adams employee Zymurgy.
HomebrewersAssociation.org January/February 2016 ZYMURGY 1

2 ZYMURGY January/February 2016 HomebrewersAssociation.org
(zī ’m r jē ) n: the art and science of fermentation, as in brewing.
e Vol. 39 ❋ No. 1 | January/February 2016
C OLUMNS
1 | EDITOR’S DESK
Homebrewers Shine at GABF
By Jill Redding
9 | FROM THE GLASS

Small Brewers Caucus
By Gary Glass
85 | WORLD OF WORTS
Visionary Mild
By Charlie Papazian
FE ATURES
88 | LAST DROP
28 | 16 Homebrew Gadgets for 2016
Zymurgy readers share their homebuilt homebrewing tools for solving problems and
Clubs are as Good as Gold making the brew day go just a little bit more smoothly.
By Andrew Luberto By Zymurgy readers
40 | Frankenbrew: Going Pro on the Cheap

Many homebrewers dream about going pro, but decide against it after seeing the price
DEP RTMENTS A of a turnkey brewing system. There is, however, another way.
By Tom Hennessy
6 | BEEROSCOPE
13 | DEAR ZYMURGY
50 | Dunkenweizendoppelbock
17 | DEAR PROFESSOR This big, delicious sipping beer with a warming and lingering alcohol glow makes it
ideal for relaxing in front of a crackling fire on a dark winter’s evening.
21 | STYLE SPOTLIGHT
By Horst Dornbusch
67 | WINNERS CIRCLE
73 | KUDOS / CALENDAR 58 | Going Big: GABF Pro-Am Competition

The 91 beers judged in the 2015 GABF Pro-Am Competition all began life in kitchens,
81 | COMMERCIAL CALIBRATION
garages, and backyards around the country. Three of them got their time on the big stage.
86 | ADVERTISER INDEX By Dave Carpenter
QUICK RECIPE GUIDE

Cover illustration © Carl Wiens, i2iart.com;
Pickelhaube Märzen ............................................................................. 22 Kalyke Blonde ...................................................................................... 68

Pickelhaube Festbier ............................................................................ 24 2013 Dry Mead .................................................................................... 70
Dunkelweizendoppelbock.................................................................... 54 Paracelsus............................................................................................. 72
Dunkelweizendoppelbock - Partial Extract .......................................... 56 Dunky Brewster ................................................................................... 72
Muscat Love ......................................................................................... 59 Visionary Mild - All Grain .................................................................... 86
Atahsaia................................................................................................ 60 Visionary Mild - Malt Extract ............................................................... 87
iStock (beer photo)
Citra IPA .............................................................................................. 61

E WEB
TH
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Find more homebrewing recipes on our website @ HomebrewersAssociation.org/homebrew-recipes

beer scope >> GET THERE
BEER DRINKER OF THE YEAR COMPETITION
After a two-year hiatus, Denver’s Wynkoop Brewing Co. will once
again crown the Beer Drinker of the Year on April 2.
The competition—a search for “America’s most passionate beer

drinker” that began in 1997—pits three finalists against each
other in a battle of beer knowledge and appreciation. Past finals
have included blind beer tastings, beer interpretive dance, beer
whispering, brewing knowledge, and beer trivia. Prizes include free
beer for life at the Wynkoop, and a chance to brew a beer with the
Wynkoop’s head brewer.
“Winning Beer Drinker of the Year was a huge honor,” said Cody
Christman, the 2009 champion. “It’s a chance to see what you know and go
up against the best in the nation.”
Submissions for the competition are being accepted through midnight on January 31. New this year, applicants must
submit a video, which will count toward the review and consideration of this year’s submissions. To learn more, go
to wynkoopbdoy.com.
January 7-9 January 22-23 January 23

Big Beers, Belgians and Great Alaska Beer & SoCal Winter Brewfest
Barleywines Festival Barley Wine Festival Anaheim, CA
Vail, CO Anchorage, AK socalwinterbrewfest.com
bigbeersfestival.com auroraproductions.net
February 6
January 9 January 22-31 Queen City Brewers Festival
Brew on the Bay San Francisco Beer Week Charlotte, NC
Key Largo, FL San Francisco, CA qcbrewfest.com
keylargobrewonthebay.com sfbeerweek.org
February 11-20
January 16-23 January 23 Arizona Beer Week
Kalamazoo Beer Week World Beer Festival arizonabeerweek.com
Kalamazoo, MI Columbia, SC
kalamazoobeerweek.com allaboutbeer.com/craft-beer-events February 19-28
New York City Beer Week
January 22 January 23 New York, NY
Pour for a Cure Atlanta Cask Ale Tasting newyorkcitybrewersguild.com
Pittsburgh, PA Atlanta, GA
pourforacure.org classiccitybrew.com/acat.html
>> For more craft brewing events, go to CraftBeer.com
>> YOU’VE GOTTA DRINK THIS

NEW ENGLAND BREWING CO. GANDHI-BOT DOUBLE IPA
N
I have been lucky enough to try Heady Topper and Pliny the Elder within a few weeks of
each
e other. While there is no question these are incredible double IPA offerings, I always
find
f myself coming back to Gandhi-Bot as what (for me) is the pinnacle of the style.
It’
I s got a huge floral nose, upfront piney and spicy notes, and finishes with a bitter bite
tthat stops just before it overwhelms. Its body is solid enough to keep me warm during
C
Connecticut winters and light enough that it’s not too heavy for a summer BBQ. Cheers!
Reviewed by Michael Hrdlicka, Branford, Ct.

R

>> BREW NEWS:
ZYMURGY NEEDS
+ YOUR SUBMISSIONS!
We’re currently planning content for
2016, and Zymurgy could use your help!
We need submissions for Last Drop as
well as the You’ve Gotta Drink This seg-
ment in Beeroscope.
>> GREAT PAIRING

Last Drop is a lighthearted look at
homebrewing, submitted by our read-
ers. Entries must be between 500
Blistered coconuts (pictured above left) filled with flambéed stone fruit, almond
and 600 words; (high-res) photos are
cake, spiced rum, and whipped cream, paired with Oskar Blues Death by Coconut
encouraged. Last Drop submissions are
(recently introduced in cans). Presented at the Oskar Blues Brewmaster’s Weekend
welcome at any time for consideration;
at Vail Cascade on July 25 in Vail, Colo.
email [email protected]
to submit or for more information.
R Q U OTE
E Have you tried a commercial beer
BE you just have to tell the world about?

Consider doing a short write-up about
“We are
>>
the beer and submitting it for our You’ve

Gotta Drink This section. Please limit
an independent submissions to under 150 words; photos
are encouraged. Send your submission to
brewery and we [email protected].
are fixin’ to stay Thanks in advance for helping to make

Zymurgy great in 2016!
that way.”
: WHAT’S NEW FR
—Allagash Brewing Co.
CT OM
DU
founder Rob Tod GENESIS BR
E
O FERMENTER
W
PR
CR
The new Genesis Fermenter was designed with
AF
safety in mind. Built-in handles allow for ergonomic
T
TU
lifting. The Genesis Fermenter Inner Liner provides an
>> G R E A
additional barrier against unwanted oxygen and bacteria.
SA
T U.S.-made fermenter has an industry-
The
leading 5.9-inch wide (15 cm) mouth and a
lleadi
6.5-gallon (24.6 L) capacity. When used with
6.5-g
6
Photos © Allagash Brewing Co., Brewcraft USA, Oskar Blues
the
t sanitary Inner Liner, the double layer offers
Brewery, Jill Redding, and New England Brewing Co.
aad
additional protection against bacteria exposure,
while
w reducing the need for cleanup.
The Fermenter Bundle includes the HDP

(high density polyethylene) fermenter,
lid, lid gasket, inner liner, rubber stop-
per with airlock hole, and s-shape
airlock. The Genesis Fermenter
SHARE YOUR FAVORITE BEER WITH US! Bundle retails for $54.99.
Send your description, in 150 words or To order go to
fewer, to [email protected]. brewcraftusa.com.
Photos are welcome and encouraged!

By
by Gary Glass
FR oM THE GLASS
Mr. Glass Goes to Washington
T his past October, I traveled to our

nation’s capital to give a briefing on
homebrewing to staff members of repre-
sentatives and senators on the House and
Senate Small Brewer Caucuses. It was a
great opportunity to convey the impor-
tance of our nation’s homebrewers to the
larger beer community. I explained some
of the issues that homebrewers face on
the state level and the potential impact
for homebrewers if legislation is passed
allowing the United States Postal Service
to ship beer. The briefing had a fairly large
turnout for this type of event, with 40 or
more staffers attending from House and
Senate offices on both sides of the aisle.
Several of the staff members who attended
are homebrewers.
While the AHA has been involved in

legislative issues in a number of states in
the past, this is the first time we have had
this degree of involvement on the federal
level. I am grateful to my colleague at the
Brewers Association, federal affairs man-
ager Katie Marisic, for setting up the brief-
ing and the reception that followed. This
is a great example of how fortunate we
are that the organization that represents
homebrewers in the U.S. is a part of the
Brewers Association.
Learn To Homebrew Day

Learn To Homebrew Day, celebrated on
November 7 (always the first Saturday in
November), set new records for participa-
tion. This day of service, in which home-
Photos courtesy of Gabrielle Grimard
brewers around the world help introduce

friends and family to our beloved hobby,
saw a record 360 registered sites teach-
ing 5,931 new homebrewers the ropes of
making beer at home. Homebrew club Brasserie du Chien Brun in Québec City, Canada, hosted its first
Learn to Homebrew Day. Fourteen people brewed 42 liters (11 U.S. gallons) of
Thanks to everyone who hosted a Learn Scottish ale named Saint-Laurent after the river that flows south of Quebec City.
To Homebrew Day site in 2015! It was the first homebrewing experience for about half of the participants.

Homebrewing Legalized session to clarify homebrew laws. Since I sent a message to all AHA members, clubs,
in Puerto Rico wrote that column, the Liquor Enforcement and shops in the state.
Congratulations to the homebrewers of Division (LED) has had several conversa-
Puerto Rico, where legislation legalizing tions with homebrew shop owners, the Ultimately, little has changed, and for the
homebrewing was passed in November. The executive director of the Colorado Brewers average homebrewer, it will be hobby as
new law has the same production limits as Guild, AHA assistant director Steve Parr, usual. There are some specifics that affect
U.S. federal law and has similar allowances and me. They now have a much better club meetings and serving of homebrew
for removal of homebrew for competitions understanding of what the homebrewing at homebrew shops that clubs and shop
and other events. community is all about. LED drafted a Q&A owners should be aware of, but for the
document with input from the AHA that most part, the Colorado homebrewing
Colorado Legal Update helps clarify what the state’s homebrewers community can continue doing what it
In my November/December 2015 column, I can and cannot do. We have posted that has been doing.
indicated that I anticipated there would be a document in the Homebrewing Rights sec-
bill in Colorado in the upcoming legislative tion of HomebrewersAssociation.org and Q3 Shops Survey
Since 2008, the AHA has conducted sur-
veys of homebrew supply shops to gain
insight on trends within the hobby. In most
of the past several years, the survey indi-
cated double-digit growth. The last couple
of years have shown slowdown in that
growth. Last year, the AHA introduced short
quarterly surveys to get more timely data
on how business is going for homebrew
retailers. The survey for the third quarter of
2015 was the first time we saw declines in
revenue when compared to the same period
the previous year for every retail segment
we look at, including those businesses that
are primarily selling online. Hardest hit are
the brick and mortar stores that have been
around for five or more years.
It seems strange, with more people than

ever before now homebrewing, that we
are seeing these declines in revenue at
the businesses that sell us our supplies. I
think there are a few factors at play here
that help round out the story and give us
a better idea of what is happening.
With the explosion of information avail-

able to homebrewers, we have seen the
rate of advancement within the hobby
accelerate. Our shops surveys have shown
steady decreases in the use of extract for
making beer, meaning more and more
homebrewers are using all-grain tech-
niques. All-grain brewing is fantastic,
because it allows homebrewers maximum
control over the brewing process and
ingredients. However, the downsides of
all-grain brewing are that it takes a lot
more time than brewing with extracts,
and requires more equipment. That time
factor is certainly an issue, particularly as
the economy has improved and unem-
ployment has fallen. Homebrewers in

general are not brewing as frequently as brewing, I have become a strong proponent
they used to, probably because they have of getting back to brewing with extracts.
less time to devote to the hobby—and all- Every time I finish an extract batch, I’m
grain brewing takes a big chunk of time. awestruck by how easy it was and how
quickly I’m done and moving on to other
A recent survey of craft beer drinkers things. Sure, you are giving up some con-
conducted by the AHA to gauge interest trol, but not as much control if you are
in homebrewing showed that the big- drinking someone else’s beer instead! I’ve
gest deterrents to getting into the hobby toured a malt extract plant and can attest to
are concerns about having the time to the quality of the extracts being produced,
brew and that it would be too difficult. so I am not in any way concerned about
These perceptions are likely influenced sacrificing quality by brewing with extracts.
by friends and acquaintances who are
brewers—more than one in 200 adults are So, if you are an all-grain brewer who
homebrewers in the U.S., which means finds it challenging to brew as frequently
most adults probably know someone who as you’d like, give extracts a try. If you
is a homebrewer. For these non-brewers, are showing a friend or family member
seeing their friends’ elaborate brewing how they can get into the hobby, let them
systems and the time it takes to brew all- know that extract brewing makes great
grain beer can be intimidating. beer, while requiring less time and avoid-
ing the intimidation factor of all-grain
As a long-time all-grain homebrewer who brewing. Go visit your local homebrew
has at times found life getting in the way of shop—I know they’ll be glad to see you.
2016 Calendar
The New Year is upon us, and the AHA has many events planned for 2016. Use this list
to help plan out your homebrew calendar for the coming year.
February 1-7 May 7

National Homebrew Competition Big Brew/National Homebrew Day
Entrant Registration
June 9-11
Mid-February to March 31 AHA National Homebrewers Conference
AHA Governing Committee Election Baltimore, Md.
Ballots accepted
August 6
Early March Mead Day
National Homebrewers Conference
Registration October 6-8
Great American Beer Festival
March 11-April 17 Denver, Colo.
National Homebrew Competition
First Round Judging November 5
Learn To Homebrew Day
March 31
AHA Radegast Club of the Year Award TH
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N
Deadline for entry submission

>> O
Visit the Calendar on

(see the Community section of HomebrewersAssociation.org
HomebrewersAssociation.org for details) for the most up-to-date listing
of events, including upcoming AHA
Rallies and AHA/BJCP sanctioned
homebrew competitions.
Until next time, happy homebrewing!
Gary Glass is director of the American Homebrewers Association.

by Our Readers
DE AR ZYMURGY
A Fond Farewell to a Friend

Dear Zymurgy,
My family and I recently lost our beloved
brew hound, Bauer, and we are hoping
to give him one last toast with a stout
(his favorite style) and an appearance in
Zymurgy (the photo is from one of our
earliest brews).
Bauer was a loyal and loving friend, not

to mention one hell of a brewer! I’ve been
brewing for about seven years, which is
how long we were lucky enough to have
this gentle giant in our lives. Brewing
without him just won’t be the same. We’ll
miss you, big guy!
Best,
Matt Welz
Stevens Point, Wis. Matt Welz and his beloved
brew hound, Bauer.
Bloodrocuted
Dear Zymurgy, Thanks, blood orange zest for a 6.5-gallon batch.
In the September/October issue you Stephan “Tank” Emswiler The purée and zest should be added to the
shared a recipe for Bloodrocuted [blood Bartlett, Tenn. primary before pitching the yeast. Brian
orange saison] in the Club News article. Connery, head of brewing operations at
There is no mention in the directions, Zymurgy editor Jill Redding responds: Dad & Dude’s Breweria, said the brewery
however, of how the blood orange purée I checked in with Stefan Hatfield of The added blood orange purée at the end of the
or zest is used (i.e., boil, secondary, or Fermentologists, and he clarified that the boil in its scaled-up version of the recipe.
packaging). Could you expound on that recipe should actually include 1 cup of No zest was used in the brewery’s version
for clarification, please? blood orange purée and 1 tablespoon of of the brew.

Liam Eddie Fitz
Simcoe (left) and Saaz
More Brew Dogs Dear Zymurgy,

Dear Zymurgy, This is Eddie Fitz, named after my wife’s
Meet our two Bouvier des Flandres, Simcoe favorite beer from Great Lakes Brewing
and Saaz—aka the Howling Brothers. (Edmund Fitzgerald Porter). Eddie loves it
Although they are not very interested in when it’s Eddie Fitz clone day!
the brewing process itself, during brew
day they are on constant watch for anyone Brian LaGoe
coming near the brewing tower. Ypsilanti, Mich.
My wife and I got engaged in the Flanders Dear Zymurgy,

region of Belgium, at the Saint-Sixtus Here is a picture of my co-brewer and
Abbey. When we decided we wanted a brew blog mascot, Liam. He is overseeing
dog, this breed was the perfect choice! the plate chiller in this picture.
Cheers, Cheers!
Ryan Carrick Mathew Wisner
Atlanta, Ga. Shoreline, Wash.
Send your Dear Zymurgy letters to [email protected]. Letters

may be edited for length and/or clarity.
Hey homebrewers! If you have a homebrew label that you’d like to submit
for the Dear Zymurgy section, send it to magazine art director Jason Smith at
[email protected].

*
2015 Battle of the Bottle Labels Winner
Heath Gelinas — Vernon, CT
Not long after finishing his first
brew session on a snowy Decem-
ber day in 2010, Heath Gelinas
and his homebrew partners—
brother Jason and sister-in-law
Stacey—formed their own little
homebrewery they dubbed Bot-
tom-Side-Up Brewing Company.
They progressed from pushing
the creative envelope of recipe
formulation to the pursuit of brew-
ing high-quality, hop-forward styles, but this was preceded
by a passion to create an identity for their amateur brewery.
“In all honesty, we had two labels designed before we even

brewed our first batch of beer,” shared Gelinas.
Project engineer for an aerospace components company by

day, Gelinas doesn’t have much formal background in graphic
design, but a lifelong passion for drawing sparked his journey
down the road to beer bottle label design. The team of three
will spend hours riffing on different names and concepts for
their homebrew creations before bringing the ideas to life in
the free design software Inkscape.
Juice Boxers Double IPA is an East Coast-style India pale ale

with a hefty dose of Amarillo and Simcoe hops, which Gelinas
says creates the impression of drinking a glass of juice.Building from the beer’s hop profile, and the common descriptor “juicy”
used to denote fruity, hop-forward beers, Gelinas and company came up with the idea of Juice Boxers.
2015 Battle of the Bottle Labels Runner-Up

Lily Alt — Brooklyn, NY
You know what they say…the couple that home-
brews together, stays together. Lily Alt and her
now-husband Kevin started homebrewing together
three years ago when they attended a few home-
brewing classes at the Brooklyn homebrew shop
Bitters & Esters. They ended up sticking with the
date-night activity and have continued to make an
array of beer styles in their Brooklyn apartment.
Alt is a photo director of Parents magazine and stud-

ied visual arts and painting in college, so she is no stranger to visual creativity.
Jal(-apeño), Yeah! is a farmhouse saison with notes of jalapeño pepper flavor and
aroma, but without the heat. The homebrew was submitted into a competition
hosted by Sixpoint Brewery in Brooklyn and won the Peoples Choice Award.
E W EB
TH
N
>> O
See all the finalists @ HomebrewersAssociation.org/bb2015

by Professor Surfeit
DEAR PR OFESSOR
Bottling with a Beer Gun

ing with clean aluminum foil and chill in the
refrigerator before using.
Leaving less airspace is a good theoretical

approach, but will likely not significantly
impact the issue you have.
It’s always a gas,

The Professor, Hb.D.
Still Prickly About Pears

Dear Professor,
The July/August 2015 Dear Professor has
a section on prickly pears that I have great
interest in. I live in southern New Mexico
where prickly pears are everywhere!
Dear Professor, garage, which at times can reach 85° F

About a year ago, my brewing buddy and (29° C) and tends to average 75° F (24° C)
I bought a Blichmann Beer GunTM so that in the summer. Any advice?
we could bottle directly from the keg.
I’ve noticed that the beer seems to lose a Thanks,
bit of carbonation once it is transferred Darren Duke
into the bottle. I’m assuming this is due
to the headspace (that pressure is going Dear Darren,
to come out of the beer until the head- Beer stored at 85° F (29° C) is never a good
space is of equal pressure to the beer). idea. It can result in undesirable continued
I’ve come up with two possible solutions fermentation, not only by the good yeast in I’m curious how Mr. Bucca processes
and am wondering which one is better: I your beer, but also by any not-so-good micro- them. I’ve done it once and ended up
can either carbonate the beer at a higher critters that might be present. This will create freezing them first, producing a juice, but
Photos © Jon Anderson (beer); iStock (prickly pear)
pressure prior to bottling, or I can leave more gas and more gushing as you experi- it’s extremely labor-intensive and I’d like
less headspace. enced. So the first step is to not store any kind to know how I can do it more efficiently.
of beer at those high temperatures. Perhaps they need to be harvested before
I don’t know if it is related or not, but I’ve they are entirely ripe? Also, if you use
also noticed that since I’ve been using the Of the two options you suggest, I’d bump up them fresh, how do you treat the outside
Beer Gun, some of my bottles seem to the pressure while bottling, but be sure not of the fruit since they have a lot of stick-
gush when poured. This seems to happen to exceed recommended pressures. Always ers? Do you just scrape the outside with a
more in the summer than the winter, so I use safety goggles to protect your eyes. Use knife to get rid of them?
am thinking it has something to do with gloves as added protection. Be sure the beer
storing them warm after they were force- is as cold as you can manage to get it. Make Ron Harmening
carbonated cold. I store the bottles in my sure the bottles are cold too. Cover the open- Las Cruces, N.M.

Dear Ron,
I believe Ralph splits the fruit in half and
uses a food drier to dry them. This should
be easier in New Mexico than in Maryland
where Ralph lives. You could also sun- or air-
dry them on a screen.
It’s best to have them fully ripe before harvest.

I either use them fresh or freeze them whole. I
process them in a Cuisinart, slicing them into
small pieces. No need to scrape, just chop
with the food processor. Then I add them to
boiling water—pulp, seeds, and juice. After
boiling, I strain out the solids. Boiling reduces
some of the sliminess. During fermentation,
hairy spines drop as sediment to the bottom
and are not an issue. Oxygenating Dry Yeast Dear Steve,
Dear Professor, No need to aerate with dry yeast. Here are
I’ve never had an issue with spines, except You had a lot of good information in some excerpts from Charlie Papazian’s books
when picking them. Don’t use leather or any the September/October 2015 issue about with more information:
kind of gloves—you’ll ruin them. I use tongs oxygenating wort being beneficial to the
to pick them. yeast, but a lot of homebrewers don’t From Homebrewers Companion, 2nd
think oxygenating is necessary for dry Edition: Before yeast is introduced, it is crucial
I met a guy who said he ate them once with- yeast. What’s your take on oxygenating to oxygenate the wort to provide the yeast suf-
out peeling. Big mistake. He was in serious dry yeast? ficient oxygen for its initial metabolic phases.
trouble for several weeks. During this lag phase, yeast cells take up the
Cheers, oxygen and nutrients required for later growth
Slimy time in the kitchen, Steve Ruch and fermentation. When using dried yeast, the
The Professor, Hb.D. lag phase is not as crucial because the dried
Photo © Brewers Association

yeast has gone through the lag phase during cold break. Those precipitated proteins are ferent and you’re going to have to adjust
culturing and already possesses stores of oxy- going to sediment out at the bottom of the your recipes. Just remember to relax,
gen and nutrients when it is packaged. This fermenter. You might not make a super- don’t worry, and have a homebrew.
is one reason why dried yeast seems to “take clean American-style light lager, but you’re
off” within an hour or two when introduced to probably not making those kinds of beers Go big or go home,
fresh wort. It jumps right into the growth and anyway. You’re probably brewing full-bod- The Professor, Hb.D.
fermentation stages much more quickly. ied and full-flavored ales and lagers. But
you will not notice the nuances of what the Send your questions to professor@
brewersassociation.org.
From The Complete Joy of Homebrewing, cold break will do in the fermenter.
E W EB
4th Edition: One can significantly maximize TH
N
>> O
the performance of dried yeast (and conse- I’ve been brewing since 1970—45 Need answers to your
quently the flavor of your beer) by properly years!—and I don’t worry about the cold homebrew questions?
rehydrating it. Do this by boiling 1½ cups break in my fermenter. Ramp it up; go for Visit the free AHA Forum at
HomebrewersAssociation.org/forum
(355 ml) of water for five to 10 minutes, pour the bigger size. Things are going to be dif-
into a sanitized glass jar (washed and boiled
for about 15 minutes), cover with clean foil,
and let cool to 100 to 105° F (38 to 41° C).
Do not add any sugars. Add dried yeast and
let rehydrate for 15 to 20 minutes. Bring the
temperature of the rehydrated yeast close to
that of the wort and pitch.
Airing it out,
The Professor, Hb.D.
Concerned About Cold Break

Dear Professor,
I’m getting ready to upgrade my pot and
cooler system with significantly larger ket-
tles. This means I’m going to have to
upgrade my chiller size. I know pros tend
to use counterflow systems and that ends up
putting the cold break into the fermenter.
As homebrewers we frequently begin with
immersion systems with recirculation and
keep the cold break in the kettle. Should I
move to a more efficient counterflow system
and let the cold break go into the fermenter?
Buck Buchanan
Trenton Falls, N.Y.
Hi Buck,
Charlie Papazian answered your question
while at the Great American Beer Festival
in September (available at youtube.com/
watch?v=LbTlmxlmi9A), but here’s the gist of
what he said in that response:
Hi Buck, I wouldn’t be too concerned

about it. Seeing how you just upgraded,
you’re going to be dealing with a lot of
other issues that have to do with a matter
of size and fluid dynamics. Don’t worry
about the cold break. Actually, a little bit
of cold break has been found to enhance
fermentation; yeast like the stuff in the

By Amahl Turczyn
STYLE SP OTLIGHT
Festbier and Märzen-Oktoberfest
A s far back as the Middle Ages, when

Bavaria was a Dukedom under the
reign of the Guelph Dynasty, brewing was
mainly a monastic pursuit. By the 13th
century, beer became a source of tax rev-
enue; no longer controlled by the church,
it was taken over by government-owned
and private family breweries. Breweries
cropped up all over Western Europe,
wherever there was a good water source,
but Germany, and especially Bavaria,
remained the spiritual home of brewing.
By the end of the 15th century, Munich
alone had 38 breweries.
All during this time, Bavarian brewers had

no notion of yeast or spoilage bacteria.
They only knew that beer brewed in the
cold months of winter tasted better than
the beer brewed in the heat of summer.
March marked the end of the brewing sea- By the time the grain harvest was com- soon became synonymous. Oktoberfest
son, because that was the last month the pleted in October, Märzen left over from now lasts two weeks and attracts crowds
beer they made tasted good—if they could the previous spring had reached peak from around the world.
keep it cold. So they worked overtime flavor. Since empty casks were needed
to produce large quantities of March, or for the resumption of the brewing sea- A Style Evolves
Märzen, beer, which they set aside in icy son, beer enthusiasts of the day found In the Middle Ages, Märzen was prob-
caves or cellars at the foot of the Alps for themselves with several good reasons to ably a dark, turbid, perhaps even smoky
cold storage. In conjunction with the low celebrate the fall harvest, and Märzen bier brew due to primitive malt kilning meth-
temperatures, Märzen’s 5 to 6.2 percent began to be known as Oktoberfestbier. ods. While the style slowly evolved and
ABV strength helped preserve its quality. improved over the centuries, it wasn’t until
This name was formally adopted on 1841 that it took a significant leap for-
Some brewers even saved ice from the pre- October 12, 1810, the day Bavarian ward in quality. Friends Gabriel Sedlmayr,
vious winter and packed it into the caves Crown Prince Ludwig married Princess owner of Munich’s Spaten Brewery, and
along with the precious beer casks. This was Therese of Saxony-Hildburghausen. The Anton Dreher, owner of Vienna’s Dreher
the origin of the practice of lagering, and couple opened their wedding party to Brewery, cooperated to lighten their ver-
it allowed the beer to keep from spoiling. the entire city, celebrating it on a mead- sions of Märzen-Oktoberfest by using a
Brewers also found that the longer casks ow outside the city gates, where 40,000 paler, more lightly kilned malt now called
were kept at near-freezing temperatures, citizens showed up. They repeated this Vienna malt. Perhaps most importantly,
the better the beer tasted. According to the festival every year on the same date, and the two brewers came to recognize the
German Beer Institute, not all Märzen beer on the same meadow, which was dubbed importance of yeast in brewing, specifical-
was matured for the whole summer. It was Theresa’s meadow, or Theresienwiese. This ly cold-fermenting lager yeast; Sedlmayr
gradually released in late spring to early meadow, known locally as the Wies’n, used only this yeast for his Märzen-
summer for thirsty drinkers who could not remains the site of the annual Munich Oktoberfest, and Dreher soon adopted
Photo © iStock
wait. But the casks that were allowed to Oktoberfest. While there wasn’t any beer the practice. This new, lighter-colored
mature the longest were clean and smooth for the first few years of the event, accord- lager was still called Märzen in Bavaria,
when they were finally tapped. ing to most sources, beer style and event but Sedlmayr claimed his was brewed “in

the Vienna way,” to set it apart from rival
Märzens from other Munich breweries.
Dreher’s new revamped style was basically Dark beers remained Pickelhaube Märzen
the same beer, but was henceforth known best in Bavaria, and
as Vienna lager. Pilsners tasted best INGREDIENTS
for 5.5 U.S. gallons (20.82 L)
These popular beers were not quite as pale when made from
as the Pilsner first brewed by the Burgher the soft water 5.5 lb (2.49 kg) Vienna malt
Brewery in 1842, but they gained such a of Bohemia. (47.8%)
following in their local markets that Dreher 3.5 lb (1.59 kg) 10° L
soon reached capacity at his Vienna loca- Munich malt (30.4%)
tion, and opened up new breweries in 2.5 lb (1.13 kg) 20° L
Bohemia and Budapest to meet demand. of Pilsner beer. But even as Munich brewers Munich malt (21.7%)
David Miller, author of Continental Pilsener, saw Pilsner’s popularity skyrocket, eclipsing 1.25 oz (35 g) Tettnang pellets,
points out that the new cold-fermenting even their famous, dark Münchner beer, 4.5% a.a. (FWH, 90 min)
lager strain was a key element in the success attempts at brewing their own hoppy, pale 0.25 oz (7 g) Tettnang pellets,
4.5% a.a. (15 min)
Bavarian or Munich lager yeast (2 L starter)
RO water treated with 1g/gallon
calcium chloride
Original Gravity: 1.056 (13.75° P)

Finishing Gravity: 1.010 (2.5° P)
IBUs: 23.5
SRM: 10
ABV: 6%
Boil Time: 90 minutes
Assumed Brewhouse Efficiency: 75%
DIRECTIONS
Mash in for a protein rest at 122° F (50° C)
for 20 minutes. Pull your first decoction of
about 9 quarts (9 L) and boil for 15 minutes.
Add back to main mash and equalize at
150° F (66° C). Hold at that temperature for
60 minutes. Apply heat or boiling water to
mash out at 168° F (76° C) for 10 minutes.
Sparge, boil 90 minutes, and add hops at
stated intervals. Chill and oxygenate when
wort temperature falls below 80° F (27° C).
Pitch a strong starter of yeast at 48° F (9° C).
Fermentation temperature may be allowed
to rise to 50° F (10° C). As fermentation
slows, bring to 55° F (13° C) and hold three
days for a diacetyl rest. When the gravity
reaches 1.012 (3° P), crash to lager tempera-
tures (35° F or 2° C) and lager the beer for
two to three months or until Oktoberfest.
EXTRACT VERSION: Dissolve 4.25 lb

(1.93 kg) Pilsner malt extract syrup and 4.25
lb (1.93 kg) Munich malt extract syrup in
RO water completely. Proceed with boil and
hop additions.

lager failed. They had no way of know- now: German and EU regulations protect
ing that when mashed, the lightly-kilned the term Oktoberfestbier as an appella-
Moravian pale malt that was such an intrin- Festbier provides tion for beers produced within Munich
sic part of the Pilsner style did not have a wonderful city limits for consumption during
enough acidity to counter the relatively opportunity to Oktoberfest. Breweries outside Munich
high alkaline water of Munich. Without the (at least within the European Union) must
ability to alter water quality, brewers had fine-tune the call their versions Märzen, or some other
to keep making what worked best in their balance between variation of the term.
respective regions: dark beers remained best malty flavor, clean
in Bavaria, and Pilsners tasted best when Brewing Parameters
made from the soft water of Bohemia. lager character, Subcategory 6A Märzen, as an Amber
crisp though not Malty European Lager, still has its place in
However, Sedlmayr and Dreher’s Vienna- quite bitter noble the updated BJCP 2015 Style Guidelines,
style lager fell somewhere between Pilsner and includes the darker export version
and Märzen, and therefore became a true hop accents, and of Oktoberfest. But now there is a new
challenger even to the famous Münchner drinkability. category called 4B Festbier that joins 4A
beer of Bavaria. The same Moravian barley Munich Helles and 4C Helles Bock in
used for Pilsner was kilned to the light the Pale Malty European Lager category.
yellow-orange Vienna color range, and exclusively as Munich Oktoberfest. With Festbier has been included because of yet
had just enough acidity to achieve a prop- all the reformulation and competition another, fairly recent stylistic transforma-
er mash pH, even with Munich water. that surrounded these styles as they tion to the Märzen-Oktoberfest beer fam-
evolved, it’s not surprising that there ily. In the 1970s, Munich breweries like
But the style soon evolved again. The was confusion as to what differentiated Paulaner began to notice that paler ver-
Spaten Brewery decided to change its one style from another. What distin- sions of their Oktoberfestbier were selling
Märzen by introducing a slightly darker, guishes Oktoberfestbier from Märzenbier, better than the classic, full-bodied, cop-
toastier version of Vienna malt that now for example, or Märzen from Märzen- per-colored brew. One can only surmise
goes by the name Munich malt. Their Oktoberfest is cause for contention to this this is evidence of that era’s capitulation to
darker, reformulated Märzen was released day. But at least there is a legal distinction worldwide Pilsner dominance.

So Paulaner initiated a return to the more brewers today, Festbier and Märzen may along with low to medium bitterness.
Vienna-style Oktoberfest of Dreher’s time, be the perfect excuse to explore the “Floral, herbal, or spicy” hops are pre-
which was lighter in body and color, in an delicate nuances of highly kilned malts ferred, preferably of the German noble
attempt to make it still taste great and yet from several different malting houses. variety, so Spalter or Hallertau (floral),
be…less filling. Not to cast aspersions, how- Weyermann®, Best Malz, and the more Saaz (herbal), or Tettnang (spicy) would
ever—this modern, golden-hued take on recently available Avangard, among oth- be my top choices. A broad range of
Oktoberfest, adopted in 1990 as the event’s ers, make some fantastic Vienna and both imported and domestic aroma vari-
official beer, deserves a place among its Munich malts, in addition to the indis- eties would do well for this style, too.
revered brethren. Festbier provides a won- pensable standby Pilsner. In such piv- The trick is to keep within the 18 to 25
derful opportunity to fine-tune the balance otal style classics as Fred Eckhardt’s A IBU range, and avoid any hop burst-
between malty flavor, clean lager character, Treatise on Lager Beers, published in 1970, ing or whirlpool additions—this is not
crisp though not quite bitter noble hop and even in George and Laurie Fix’s the place. First wort hopping, however,
accents, and drinkability. Humorously, the Classic Beer Style Series: Vienna, Märzen, would not be out of place.
2015 guidelines even quote the head brewer Oktoberfest, published in 1991, the vari-
from Paulaner as saying he wanted to make ety of quality, high-kilned malts was for For Märzen, the guidelines make hop
the beer “more poundable.” the most part unavailable to homebrew- aromatics very simple: “No hop aroma.”
ers, and the recipes in those publications Instead, you want the bready, doughy
Märzen, on the other hand, favors elegance reflect that. (With all due respect to those notes of Festbier, but also the dark-
over poundability, and elegant certainly classics, crystal malt has no place in er toasted and bread crust aromatics of
applies to the best commercial examples Märzen, Oktoberfest, or Vienna lager!) Munich malt. Hops in a Märzen should
of the style. It combines a richer, breadier, Fortunately, with the recent availability of only balance malt sweetness, and the 18
toastier mélange of malt flavors and aro- top-quality ingredients made possible by to 24 IBU contribution should be mostly
mas, with a darker, fuller body that still the craft renaissance, we can now choose from early kettle additions. First wort
dries to a festively drinkable finish. from a variety of new malts and hops. hopping works quite well here.
To achieve its golden hues, Festbier uses Speaking of hops, they are secondary Strength-wise, Festbier’s 5.8 to 6.3 per-
Pilsner malt as the base grain, with small considerations in these beers, as aromat- cent ABV range matches Märzen’s.
additions of Vienna and/or Munich malt ics and flavors should both be malt- Saccharification should be long and low for
to add some maltiness without pushing it focused. Aromatic emphasis should be both beers, right around 150° F (66° C) to
into Märzen’s color territory: 4 to 7 SRM on bready, doughy malt, perhaps with a maximize fermentability. A well-attenuated
is the range for Festbier as opposed to touch of toasted malt, and an “impres- finish is necessary to produce a malty, drink-
Märzen’s 8 to 17. With all the high-quality sion of sweetness.” Festbier can have a able beer that makes one thirsty for more.
German malts available to home and craft bit of low to medium-low hop bouquet, While not strictly necessary, a decoction
Pickelhaube Festbier
INGREDIENTS DIRECTIONS
for 5.5 U.S. gallons (20.82 L) Mash in for a protein rest at 122° F (50° C) for 20 minutes. Pull
your first decoction of about 9 quarts (9 L) and boil for 15 minutes.
7.0 lb (3.18 kg) Pilsner malt (63.6%) Add back to main mash and equalize at 150° F (66° C). Hold at that
4.0 lb (1.81 kg) Vienna malt (36.4%) temperature for 60 minutes. Apply heat or boiling water to mash out
1.0 oz (28 g) Hallertau pellets, 4.8% a.a. (FWH, 90 min) at 168° F (76° C) for 10 minutes. Sparge, boil 90 minutes, and add
0.5 oz (14 g) Spalter pellets, 4.5% a.a. (10 min) hops at stated intervals. Chill and oxygenate when wort temperature
Bavarian or Munich lager yeast (2 L starter) falls below 80° F (27° C). Pitch a strong starter of yeast at 48° F (9°
RO water treated with 1g/gallon calcium chloride C). Fermentation temperature may be allowed to rise to 50° F (10°
C). As fermentation slows, bring to 55° F (13° C) and hold three days
Original Gravity: 1.055 (13.5° P) for a diacetyl rest. When the gravity reaches 1.012 (3° P), crash to
Finishing Gravity: 1.010 (2.5° P) lager temperatures (35° F or 2° C) and lager the beer for two to three
IBUs: 21 months or until Oktoberfest.
SRM: 4.1
ABV: 5.9% PARTIAL EXTRACT VERSION: Mash Vienna malt at 150° F (66°
Boil Time: 90 minutes C) for one hour using RO water. Drain, rinse with hot RO brewing liquor
Assumed Brewhouse Efficiency: 75% to desired boil volume, and dissolve 5.5 lb (2.49 kg) Pilsner malt extract
syrup completely. Proceed with boil and hop additions. Resulting beer
may be slightly darker (4.6 SRM) but still within style range.

mash can add a dimension of maltiness not Yeast can be any Bavarian or Munich Resources
accessible with infusion mashing, as well lager strain. A large starter will allow the 1. German Beer Institute,
as adding a certain German authenticity. luxury of pitching at or near fermentation “Oktoberfestbier,”
One thing to keep in mind when decoction temperatures to minimize fruity esters in germanbeerinstitute.com.
mashing a Festbier is not to develop too the beer. Fortunately these strains tend to 2. Eckhardt, Fred. A Treatise on Lager
much color; a single decoction is enough finish dry, and the low mash temps will Beers, Hobby Winemaker, 1970.
to develop a rich, layered malt complexity also help retain the critical crispness of 3. Fix, George and Laurie Fix. Classic Beer
without ending up with a darker color than the finish. Style Series: Vienna, Märzen, Oktoberfest,
7 SRM. The guidelines clearly state, “Should Brewers Publications, 1991.
not have amber hues.” For this reason, and These classic German lagers are my 4. Miller, David. Continental Pilsener.
to more clearly distinguish Festbier from dedication to friend and mentor Fred Brewers Publications, 1998.
Märzen, I tend to favor Vienna malt in the Eckhardt, who was sometimes seen wear-
grain bill over Munich malt. ing a Pickelhaube. I think he would have Amahl Turczyn is associate editor
approved of these recipes. of Zymurgy.
With Märzen, both Munich malt and
amber/orange/copper hues are preferred,
with Vienna and/or Pilsner malt making
up the balance. Carafa can be used in
slight amounts (less than 3 percent) for
color if you prefer a darker beer, or you
can rely on a long double or even triple
decoction to develop color. The included
Märzen recipe uses roughly 50 percent
Vienna, 30 percent 10° L Munich, and
20 percent 20° L Munich, and still man-
ages 10 SRM, just within the 8 to 17 SRM
range. Half dark Munich will result in even
more toasty character, but I prefer to have
some light Munich involved for the bread
crust complexity it brings. Note that dark
Munich toast aromas and flavors can be
pretty intense in young Märzen, but this
will blend, mingle, and mellow with other
malt nuances during lagering. A final note
on malt: remember that diastatic power for
most Munich malts, especially the darker
variety, is relatively low. Vienna is perfectly
capable of converting itself. Munich malt
should be able to, barely. But I have had
mashes with a high percentage of Munich
malt take longer to completely convert
than those based on Pilsner or two-row, so
I’m going to recommend a minimum one-
hour rest at beta amylase temperatures,
especially for the Märzen.
Water should be soft for both styles; I

recommend starting with RO or distilled.
The usual benefits apply with a mod-
est addition of calcium chloride: richer,
maltier beer, better clarity, and less lager-
ing time. One gram per gallon will yield
72 ppm calcium and 127 ppm chloride.
Neither recipe should require mash acidi-
fication with acid malt or lactic acid. The
native acidity of Munich and Vienna malts
should serve that purpose sufficiently.

10TH ANNUAL
HO MEBREW
GADGETS By Zymurgy Readers
The Zymurgy Gadgets issue is an annual

celebration of the do-it-yourself nature
of homebrewers. If a piece of equip-
ment isn’t working for them, they’ll
often tweak it, build something from
scratch, or find a homebrew-related use
for household appliances or parts.
We’re celebrating 10 years of Gadgets

in 2016! The Gadgets issue got its start
after Tony Profera of Charlotte, N.C. Cheers to Profera for getting us started,
won the Great Gator Tail Brewing Gadget and to our readers for keeping the tradi-
Extravaganza at the AHA National tion going. We had a record number of
Homebrewers Conference in Orlando, submissions for the 10th annual Gadgets
Fla. in 2006. In the January/February issue, and unfortunately couldn’t fit them
2007 issue of Zymurgy, Profera shared all in the magazine. However, you can see
several of his homemade gadgets, and the more gadgets at HomebrewersAssociation.
annual Gadgets issue was born. org/10thgadgets.
1
PORTABLE KEGERATOR
Ever have a couple of Corny kegs of beer
you want to bring to an outing with fellow
beer geeks and you want to keep the beer
cold…and deliver it cold?
I took a 150-quart Igloo cooler, drilled

two holes in the lid for the delivery lines,
and removed the drain plug to bring in
the CO2 line. The cooler accommodates
two Corny kegs and two or three bags of
ice. I place the kegs in a 30-gallon plastic
bag so that when the ice melts, it keeps
the cold water and remaining ice in con-
tact with the kegs.
During our family reunion last summer,

I kept both kegs cold for three days (out-
side temperature in the low 80s) and by
mid-week, I only had to add two more
bags of ice. (But the beer only lasted four-
and-a-half days.)
Peter Priniski
Ludington, Mich.
Pour Souls Homebrew Club
2
HOSE CLAMP Materials:
R 1 - 3-inch plastic spring clamp
R 1 - 1/2-inch PEX bend support
From MIG to TIG welding to plasma cut- R 1 - 10-24 x 2-inch machine screw
ting to PIDs to Peltier modules, I’ve made R 1 - 10-24 nut
nearly every piece of equipment in my R 1 - #10 flat washer
home brewery. This idea is probably my
favorite because it’s so simple and one I Place the plastic spring clamp jaws in a
use in several different processes every vise or have someone hold onto them
single brew day. Five dollars and a five- tightly (the spring is pretty strong).
minute build will keep your silicone hose Remove stock screw and nut. Replace
tightly in place without kinking whether with 10-24 x 2-inch screw and flat
you’re pumping boiling liquid at full washer inserted through the PEX Bend
speed or gravity feeding from your HLT. Support. Tighten nut and remove excess
It works on every vessel in my brewery. screw with hacksaw.
Byron Ritchason
Batavia, Ill.
3 PARTY BUTLER
Since retiring to North Carolina, I have
had time to brew more, and brew bigger
batches. A few times a year I bring one or
two 2.5-gallon kegs to an event sponsored
by our local homeowners association.
I’ll brew up a 7.5-gallon batch and keg
5 gallons for me and 2.5 gallons for my
neighbors to enjoy. It also gives me an
opportunity to experiment with different
yeasts by fermenting the 5- and 2.5-gallon with a pen and cocktail napkin to sketch
splits differently. out a plan for the Party Butler.
The last HOA event was a mess. I wheeled I went to my local box store and bought
over two small kegs in my cooler, hooked $12.18 worth of ¾-inch PVC fittings and
up the picnic taps, and put cups on a pipe. What came out was a handy stand
table. The first few pours went fine, then that fits under my cooler. The stand has
the taps kept getting mixed up—a neigh- two ¾-inch tees that each hold a picnic
bor thinking he had a cream ale mistaken- tap with the beer line threaded through
ly got an IPA. Things went downhill from the tee, a cup holder, and a sign holder the taps, the taps didn’t get tangled and
there. It is hard enough to get the BMC so folks know what is coming out of each mixed up, and everyone knew what they
crowd to try homebrew without mixing tap. The next HOA party went perfectly were drinking. The Party Butler works for
up the taps. So off I went into the corner as far as serving beer. Cups were right by a single- or two-keg setup and could be
expanded. I like my neighbors, but not
enough for a third keg.
Jim Hill
Ocean Isle Beach, N.C.

4 POOR MAN’S
COOLING JACKET
This setup easily kept my temps in the
low 60s in a 90+° F garage this summer.
The jacket is made of ½-inch x 20-foot
5 MILLED GRAIN
HOPPER
Since starting all-grain brewing, I’ve felt
the hardest part of brewing alone is
mashing-in without making dough balls
soft copper tubing (Lowe’s) attached to a or spilling milled grain on the floor. I
submersible pump in a 10-gallon cooler. decided I needed to make some sort of
The pump is connected to the copper hopper system so I could gradually add
tubing by 3/8-inch high temp silicone milled grain to the mash tun while con-
tubing. The tubing is wrapped around tinually stirring away. I repurposed a dog
my conical. Attached to the conical is a food dispenser into a milled grain hopper
tri-clamp cross with a 20-inch thermowell by hanging it in my brew shed over my
with a temperature probe within it and an mash tun. I had to screw 1x1 wood strips
Auber two-stage temperature controller. inside and outside the plastic container
The copper tubing can be surrounded by so the hangers wouldn’t tear through the
neoprene for additional insulation (not plastic. I mill the grain directly into the
shown). When it’s in use, I add daily hopper, hang it up, pump my hot liquor
(sometimes twice daily) fresh ice to the into the mash tun, and then pull the hop-
cooler. (The cooler can also be placed in per chute with one hand while mixing
a kegerator.) with the other. It worked perfectly the
first time I used it.
Jeff Roach
Chestnut Hill, Mass.
Bräukline
Michael Heitt
Baltimore, Md.
Brewtherville Labs

6 DIY HOIST
SYSTEM
My gadget is a back-saver hoist system
I installed over my fermentation chest
freezer. In my 8-foot-wide storage room,
7
FLY SPARGING
HOT LIQUOR MANIFOLD
This is a fly sparging hot liquor manifold for a gravity brew system. The manifold
is made of ½-inch copper pipe, fitted with two tees, three end caps, two 90-degree
elbows, and a threaded union. A second extension tube that connects the manifold
I installed a side-to-side support made to the hot liquor kettle is made of approximately 16 inches of ½-inch copper pipe
of 1.25-inch galvanized steel pipe ($20 fitted with a threaded male pipe fitting on one end (to attach to the hot liquor
at Lowe’s) braced with pieces of 2-inch kettle), and the complementary end of the threaded union on the other end. The
x 4-inch wood screwed into wall studs manifold is drilled on the bottom with 5/64-inch to 3/32-inch holes, staggered to
on each side. On top of the pipe I used provide an even distribution of flow over the mash/lauter kettle.
a V Groove 4-inch Steel Caster ($19 on
Amazon) to which I attached an eye bolt. The threaded union allows the apparatus to be assembled one piece at a time.
From the eye bolt hangs a 500-pound This minimizes conflicts for clearance that would be caused by attempting to spin
manual hoist ($40 at Harbor Freight) and the threaded fittings onto or off of the hot liquor kettle while they are stacked on
from the hoist is my Vittle Vault fermenter the gravity flow brew stand. The tees of the manifold are angled along their long
with 11 gallons of beer held by a DIY har- axis, so the manifold maintains a more consistent height above the mash kettle,
ness. The hoist works great and will hope- allowing for the downward angle of the gravity flow out of the hot liquor kettle.
fully allow me to continue brewing when
I’m too weak to lift a full bucket of wort. Dale Raven (aka Ravenbräu Homebrew)
St. Petersburg, Fla.
Bob Sweeney PUBGUILD (Pinellas Urban Brewers GUILD)
Mobile, Ala.
Random Acts of Brewing
32 ZYMURGY January/February 2016

8 FOUNTAIN PUMP
WORT CHILLER
Here in Pennsylvania, the tap water will
get up to 75 to 80° F (24 to 27° C) in the
summer. As we usually make 10 to 12
gallons (38 to 45 L) of wort at one shot,
this makes chilling the wort to pitching
temperatures difficult, if not impossible.
We can get the wort from boiling to
100° F (38° C) in about 10 minutes with
no problem. It’s getting from 100° F to
pitching temperature that is the chal-
lenge. To get around this problem, we
now use a two-step process to efficiently
chill our wort to pitching temperature.
We use a stainless steel immersion coil
for the first phase of cooling to bring the
wort temperature down to 100° F. For
the final phase we use a 40-plate chiller,
cooled by recirculating ice water, to
reduce the wort temperature to its final
pitching temperature. A nice byproduct
of this new process is that we are also
able to conserve water.
A small 264 gph (4.4 gpm) fountain

pump was purchased from Harbor Freight
for under $20. The flow rate of this pump
is more than ample for the plate chiller. To
simplify storage of the pump, it was modi-
fied by attaching a short 4-inch hose sec-
tion with a male hose end to the ½-inch
tubing adapter that came with the pump.
In addition, two 5-foot hose sections were
built with hose connections on both ends.
These will be used to connect the plate
chiller with the fountain pump.
The modified fountain pump is then con- pump is turned on and the flow of wort
The stainless steel immersion coil is placed nected to the plate chiller with the custom is adjusted to achieve the desired pitching
in the boil kettle 15 minutes before the hoses. The drain hose is placed back into temperature of the wort as it flows into
end of the boil cycle to kill off any nasties the cooler to recirculate the water. The the fermentation bucket. With this new
that may be harbored on the outside of fountain pump is then dropped into the pump and ice water, we are now able to
the chiller. At the completion of the boil, a cooler and covered with ice: 40 pounds run the wort pump valve almost at full
garden hose is attached to the immersion for 10 to 12 gallons. About one inch of flow, effectively cooling the wort as fast as
coil and with constant stirring of the wort water is added to the cooler so that the the pump can push it. Happy fermenting.
the temperature is reduced to roughly pump has something to draw from at the
100° F in 10 minutes. Another benefit of beginning of the cooling cycle. William Hartzell
the stirring is that the whirlpool created North Wales, Pa.
by stirring causes the trub to collect in a The fountain pump is plugged into a GFI- Douglas Johnson
neat pile in the bottom center of the boil protected outlet to establish a flow of ice Lansdale, Pa.
kettle as the whirlpool settles down. water through the plate chiller. The wort (father-in-law/son-in-law)

9
KEG ROCKER fine. I find that sitting on the floor on a
bucket and rocking it with my foot for 15
to 20 minutes works great. I attach a gas
Having moved to a 10-gallon brew sys- line to the liquid-in post of each keg to get
tem, my son Chris and I found shaking maximum absorption. I usually let the keg
two 5-gallon Cornys to carbonate to be sit in the cooler overnight still hooked to
quite exhausting. I designed this Keg the CO2 cylinder. By the next day the beer
Rocker after rocking in a chair and deter- is ready to drink.
mined that this would be an easier way
to carbonate my homebrews. I built this Dennis Stevens
from several 1 x 8-inch planks and a lot Roanoke, Va.
of thought. I put a handle at each end and Star City Brewers Guild
later determined that one would do just
10
CARBOY
FILLING WAND
This is a carboy filling wand with a quick
disconnect fitting attached. I can sanitize
the wand and carboy together while recir-
culating hot wort through my chiller, then
just shift the return hose to the wand to
fill the carboy—no dirty hose drooping
into the carboy. I made it out of CPVC to
avoid scratching the carboy.
Norman Lane
Ormond Beach, Fla.
VCHBG Homebrew Club

11SERVING STRING
I love to make German Pilsners and take
special care in the mash schedule to cre-
ate the big, lacy, creamy head they are
known for. However, I keg and dispense
from a picnic tap. I have long sought a
way to draw a pint of lager carbonated to
the appropriate level without creating a
pint of foam. Compounding the problem,
I live at 6,000 feet, requiring an extra 3
psi on the beer to obtain the correct 2.5
volumes of CO2.
The standard method of using 3/16-inch

ID serving line PVC tubing with the
claimed drop of 3 psi per foot wasn’t
working. Neither was the taproom prac-
tice used for filling growlers of placing
a length of tubing on the end of the tap
extending to the bottom of the glass. I
got tired of dumping the keg’s pressure to
less than 1 psi prior to serving and then
having to re-charge to 16 psi to maintain
appropriate carbonation of future pours.
The only thing I found to work was
20-foot serving lines. But coiling all that
hose in my small refrigerator was an issue,
as was the long hose’s dead volume, caus-
ing the first roughly 4 ounces of a pour to
be flat and stale if not serving every day.
My solution was weed whacker string. By of the hose along with the strings, and head I desire by manipulating the picnic
simply unscrewing the top of the picnic slightly staggering the string ends helped. tap above the glass.
tap, the internals of the serving line are I never found the need, but lightly soap-
exposed. One can easily insert the plastic ing the strings (followed later by flushing, After extended use, I have found the
string into the hose, running it the typical of course) may be useful. string imparts no detectable off flavors,
six feet of length. The string increases the even in delicate Pilsners. It can be sani-
surface area for the flowing beer, as well The only downside of this solution is a tized using any standard method. As the
as reducing the effective diameter of the slow pour. It won’t be the standard 8-sec- string is purchased in coils and the coiling
hose, raising resistance and slowing the onds-to-bar-fill a pint. But 20 seconds can make it difficult to insert two strings
beer down. The resistance occurs evenly observing that beautiful head developing into a hose, I suggest boiling and then
over the entire length of the line and is is well spent. forcing the string straight while it cools.
thus gentler on the beer (gently handled I would not suggest using the string cur-
beer is happier, less foamy beer) than a I suggest running the string(s) the entire rently in your weed whacker—you might
short restrictor. The string also reduces 6 feet of your serving line. If your carbon- impart a grassy, earthy, dandelion flavor
hose dead volume, causing less than 1 ation pressure is low (say an ale) or you to your beer.
ounce to be stale. pour much slower than necessary to pre-
vent foaming, pull a section of the string Greg Terpay
I found the need to insert two strings to out from the picnic tap side with a pair Lone Tree, Colo.
get the soft pour I desired. This is a little of needle nose pliers, trimming its length Rock Hoppers Brew Club
more difficult. Removing the sharp edges until you reach the desired effect. I find
from freshly cut string, wetting the inside a slow pour useful. I can create the exact

12 WHIRLPOOLANATOR
My homebrew gadget was developed to
whirlpool my wort with ease. It’s cheap
and easy to make, but invaluable if remov-
ing the trub from the wort is an important
Whirlpoolanator should be in place prior
to the boil to avoid burns.
The Whirlpoolanator was designed with

13
BOTTLE
SPRAY SHIELD
This is a simple fix for people tired of
being sprayed when removing their bottle
brush from a bottle. Cut the top and bot-
step to your brew schedule. 90-degree angles, which allows the intake tom off of a large empty soda bottle. The
to be easily accessible and the output top end should be wide enough to fit over
I found that a whirlpool in a 15-gallon to push wort along the bottom side of the neck of the beer bottle, but not wide
boiler for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the the boiler to create a whirlpool effect. enough to fit over the body.
wort looks clear, will remove approxi- The copper tube is ¼ inch with a female
mately 95 to 100 percent of trub. When receptacle at the top to hold the connector After you have put your bottle brush
it is time to draw wort from the boiler, for your tubing. Although I found that I in the bottle and finished scrubbing,
draw the wort slowly enough to avoid can wedge it in my Blichmann boil kettle, flip the empty soda bottle over onto the
disturbing the trub. When nearing the a clamp works well. beer bottle.
end, watch the wort being drawn until
the trub in the middle starts to move David Lester Now when you withdraw the bottle brush,
near the draw tube, signaling you to shut Santa Clarita, Calif. the bristles will fling their detritus against
off the valve. As a safety precaution, the Maltose Falcons the inside of the soda bottle, leaving you
clean and dry.
Bryan Fink
San Jose, Calif.

14COMBINATION
MASH TUN/KEG HOLDER
I was looking at my mash tun and thought
it would be a good keg holder for festivals.
So I cut a hole the size of a keg in the lid. I
food-grade hose with the plastic inte-
rior removed. I use a tee connector,
which forms a circle. The keg fits per-
filled the inside of the lid with spray foam fectly within the tube.
that seals windows. (Then I went to Home
Depot to purchase a second lid.) David Scheil
15
Cedar Falls, Iowa
This setup keeps a keg cold for a good Cedar River Association
24 hours. The mash tun uses a braided of Zymurgy Enthusiasts (CRAZE)
SERVING SCALE
I use this to determine how many pints
I have left in my Corny keg. As you can
see, it’s a scale used for propane tanks.
But with a little math, you can change
the scale from working with propane and
a propane tank to one that will work for
beer and a Corny keg. You just need to
know how many pounds a propane tank
weighs both full and empty. Same for the
Corny keg. It’s not exact, but it works
pretty well when you want to know how
much beer you have left.
Mike Drago
Richmond, Va.
Mentoring Advanced Standards
of Homebrewing (MASH)

16 BREWCHILLA
SYSTEM
I envy those with an empty basement,
garage, or outbuilding that can be con-
verted to a dedicated brew area, but such
a luxury is not in the cards for me. My
brewing activities are relegated to the
kitchen that also serves to prepare my
family’s daily meals, so my brew sessions
must fit entirely between cleanup from
one meal and prep for the next. This led
me to develop the Brewchilla system for
brewing extract recipes.
My goals were: kettle where the intake and output are with the brew kettle lid closed to minimize
R Easy setup, takedown, and cleaning connected with short hoses to the kitchen contamination risk and allows for com-
R Fast and efficient brew sessions sink faucet and drain during chilling. pact storage when finished. Furthermore,
R Compact storage the entire assembly fits in the lower rack
R Makes great beer! The geometry of the dual coils improves of a dishwasher for easy cleaning and can
upon the standard single-coil wort chiller be sanitized before use simply by placing
The system is comprised of a five-gal- design. The two coils are overlapped the lid (and chiller) on the kettle for 10
lon brew kettle integrated with a novel to minimize hot spots in the center of minutes or so during the boil.
and efficient immersion wort chiller. The the kettle, and cold water entering the
chiller consists of two interlaced 10-foot system flows clockwise from top to bot-
x 3/8-inch copper refrigeration coils con- tom in one coil and counter-clockwise
nected via half-inch solid copper pipe from bottom to top in the other. These
and various copper fittings. Standard hose features reduce temperature gradients in
fittings pass through the lid of the brew the wort, enabling fast cooldown times
even with the relatively small amount of
copper tubing.
Integrating the chiller with the brew kettle

enables the chilling cycle to take place

To date I have brewed more than a dozen to circulate the wort during chilling
batches using partial boil and extract/ and aerate it after, all controlled by an
steeping grain recipes with this system Arduino microcontroller. But that’s a
and can attest to both the speed and effi- topic for another day!
ciency of the process as well as the quality
of the brews it has produced! The total Mark Forsyth
cost was less than $30 for the copper and Fort Collins, Colo.
fittings along with an hour or so of bend-
ing and soldering. E WEB
TH
N
>> O
I’m currently working on adding a tem- Check out more gadgets on
perature sensor and a pair of high tem- HomebrewersAssociation.org/
10thgadgets
perature food-grade submersible pumps

GOING PRO WITHOUT GOING BROKE
BY TOM HENNESSY
I
have yet to meet a homebrewer who hasn’t thought about going pro. Many fantasize
about getting paid to do what they love—brewing beer—just about every time they
brew a batch at home. Some may even take it one step further and begin an online
search for brewing equipment. However, once they see the price tag of a turnkey brewing
system, they are inclined to shut down their computer and decide it’s better to stick to
their current job because it seems more realistic.
There is, however, a way to go pro professional brewing system. I will also The choice of materials can be any grade
without going broke. I started teach- give you a few ideas for going beyond 304 stainless steel. This happens to
ing people how to put brewing systems that, with just a little bigger invest- include most dairy processing tanks. The
together using invented or repurposed ment. I guarantee this will get you best place to find any tank is on eBay by
equipment back in 1995. That year thinking, and perhaps redefine what searching “stainless steel tanks.” You can
I made a video called Frankenbrew. is realistic. also visit a used dairy supply house. If you
The main principles presented in live in farm country, ask around or look
that video still apply today, but I Brew Kettle on Craigslist.
have learned a lot in the last 20-plus Let’s begin with the heart of a brew sys-
years—information that you can use tem: the brew kettle. I prefer cylindrical as If you look at the kettles that McMenamins
to your advantage in creating your opposed to rectangular, so you can easily in Oregon uses for all their breweries, you
own professional brewery. whirlpool and separate out the trub and will notice that they are not insulated. In
hops from the wort at the end of the brew. fact, my first kettle was not insulated. It
In this article, I present the basics of how With a rectangular tank, this separation is was retrofitted with just a burner under-
to assemble a simple 7-barrel (11 hl) very difficult. neath and still works today after 20 years
An out-of-commission keg can be repurposed as a
grant (a capturing vessel between the mash tun
and the brew kettle). A centrifugal pump uses a
valve restriction on the outlet side to regulate
flow from mash tun to grant to kettle.
of service. Finding an un-insulated cylin- A dairy tank, commonly used for milk chill-
drical tank is a good place to start. A video ing, is the best bet for an inexpensive mash
of how to convert the tank can be found at tun. The dairy industry doesn’t use these
coloradoboy.com. anymore, so they are readily available and
cheap. These can be found in farm country
You may also opt for a new kettle. I have for around $200, but more likely you will
found sources for excellent U.S.-made find them for about $1,500 at companies
standalone insulated kettles with all the that deal in used dairy equipment. While
bells and whistles for about $9,000. this may seem expensive, this tank needs no
Photos courtesy of Tom Hennessy
further modification. Happily, these vessels

Mash Tun usually come with lids, and they are insu-
You will need a vessel that can hold lated. In fact, they are often jacketed, which
around 200 gallons (757 L). You could comes in handy for other uses.
get by with 150 gallons (568 L); however,
remember that larger vessels enable you to These tanks need one simple addition—
make higher gravity beers. a long pipe, about 1.5 inches (3.8 cm)

in diameter, extending the length of the
inside of the vessel. Cut slits one inch
apart into the pipe along the bottom.
Hacksaw cuts are ideal for this purpose.
The wort will pass through the slits and
the grain will not. The pipe can be made
from stainless steel or simple copper. It
needs to be capped on one end. The open
end is pushed into the outlet of the tank
where the wort exits.
If using a round dairy tank, place the cop-

per tubes in a grid pattern that enables
flow to the outlet. (For a video on how to
make a false bottom grid out of copper, go
to coloradoboy.com.)
When I am doing a vorlauf (recircula-

tion of wort) from the straight pipe, I get
really clear wort almost immediately, as
compared to the false bottoms that are
screens. So you may find that recirculat-
ing your wort isn’t really necessary.
You also need to make a sparge fixture

for the mash tun. A sparge fixture is sim-
ply a showerhead that allows hot water
(known as hot liquor) to flow evenly onto
the mash.
The Frankenbrew method sweats copper

tubes together in a grid or ladder shape
that fits the style of mash tun being used.
Holes are drilled in the pipes so the water
showers over the mash. The sparge arm
sits on top of the sides of the mash tun.
This costs about $30 in materials and
about an hour to make.
Standalone mash tuns insulated with a

sparge unit can be purchased for about
$6,000. I use a unit that is not insulated
and it works well, with negligible heat
loss during the mash process.
Hot Liquor Tank

This vessel is simple: it holds hot water
used for sparging the mash. It can be any
shape, and can be made out of almost any
material, although I would recommend
stainless rather than plastic.
For a 7-barrel (11 hl) system, a tank

should hold 150 to 200 gallons (568
to 757 L) of water. It’s beneficial if it is
insulated, but not mandatory, as I have
experienced very little temperature drop

in the time the water is pumped to the Table 1: Estimated Costs: Used vs. New
hot liquor tank until it is used for sparge.
Brew Kettle Converted Tank $4,000 New $9,000
If the tank sits up on racks higher than the Mash Tun Dairy Tank $1,500 New $6,000
mash tun, you can gravity feed the water Hot Liquor Tank Use Your Fermenter $0 New $850
for sparging rather than pumping it.
Fermentation (2) Dairy Tank $3,000 New $6,600
Instead of using a heating element in Serving Tank (4) Used $12,000 New $12,000
the tank, you can heat the water in your Pump Used $800 New $1,300
brew kettle after you have completed the Heat Exchanger Used $2,000 New $3,500
mash. The hot water is then transferred to
the hot liquor tank. I suggest heating the
Glycol Chiller Used $1,000 New $1,800
water to 180° F (82° C) and transferring it Walk-In Cooler Built $1,000 New $5,000
to the hot liquor tank. The water that hits Kegs (15) Used $1,200 New $1,500
the mash is usually about 170° F (77° C).
Pieces/Parts New $1,500 New $1,500
You can save space and money by using Total $28,000 $49,050
the fermentation vessel as a hot liquor
tank. If you decide to do this, you will
need an extra pump. A simple March
pump will do the job. Simply heat your
sparge water in the brew kettle to about
180° F (82° C) and pump it into the fer-
menter you will be using that day. This
hot water will not hurt your clean and
sanitized fermenter. When it comes time
to sparge, you will pump out of the fer-
menter to the sparge head. After sparging,
chill your fermentation tank back down
using the fermenter’s glycol jacket.
Fermentation Vessels
Two extremely important things must
be considered regarding fermentation
vessels. The first is a sanitary surface—
there can be no scratches or dings where
infection could occur. The stainless steel
should have a mirror finish. This includes
A milk chiller dairy tank, like this one shown at Big

Choice Brewing, is a good option for a mash tun.
all welds. When looking at tanks, inspect if the temperature rises above about 70° F
Photo © www.cfmworldwide.com (jacketed dairy tank)
the inside very carefully. Take time to (21° C), coolant will circulate through the
run your fingers along all the welds, jackets, bringing the temperature of the
under any manways, etc. to ensure that beer back within acceptable limits.
all are smooth.
One of the easiest options is a dairy tank.
The second is the tank’s ability to be It is perfectly sanitary, insulated, and jack-
temperature controlled. As you are aware, eted. All you need to buy is a racking arm
during the fermentation process, tem- that goes in the tri-clamp opening.
peratures increase. If the temperature goes
Jacketed Dairy Tank above the yeast’s temperature tolerance, A horizontal dairy tank with lids, like one
Fermentation Vessel off-flavors will develop in beer. The tank suggested for mash tun use, can also play
needs to be jacketed in some way, so that the role of a fermentation vessel, with a few

the heat exchanger by placing a poly
tank in the walk-in cooler and filling it
the day before with tap water. Overnight,
the water will chill to 36° F (2° C). Then
you can pump the cooled water into your
heat exchanger. I have found some poly
tanks that are square and narrow and
wouldn’t take up much room in a cooler.
Conditioning/Serving Tank
Many new brewers will just want to serve
out of kegs from the onset, but I don’t
recommend this. One 7-barrel serving tank
will hold 14 kegs of beer and will take up
a lot less room. Plus, it’s easier to clean just
one vessel. A serving tank is worth the
extra expense. Unfortunately, it’s difficult to
Slits cut into one side of pipe for converted mash tun.
find used serving tanks, but check out the
Brewers Association Forum (members only)
or the Classifieds section of ProBrewer.com
often and you may get lucky.
One of my students bought new Chinese

tanks directly from the manufacturer for
about $2,400 each including delivery.
That’s a pretty good price.
Go with kegs if you have to, but buy at least

one or two serving tanks. As you start earn-
ing money, you can build your inventory.
Glycol Chiller
To chill your two fermentation tanks, a
simple glycol trunk line chiller works
great at a fraction of the cost of a typical
commercial glycol chiller. I use a chiller
Pipe in place with slits facing down. with a 15-gallon (57 L) reservoir and a
¾ horsepower compressor. This com-
bination costs about $1,800 and has no
problem cooling the fermentation tanks
downsides. It takes up more room than to buy a spray ball for the top for cleaning to at least 36° F (2° C) and holding them
a vertical cylindrical tank, for one thing, and you also need a racking arm. at that temperature. One of my students
and harvesting yeast is a bit more difficult. uses just one of these for four fermenters!
However, I have used these tanks to brew Heat Exchangers I’ve been running mine now for three
beer that won medals at the World Beer It is difficult to find a used commercial years without interruption.
Cup® and Great American Beer Festival®, heat exchanger, so I recommend buying
so I know they make good beer. a new one. The size of the heat exchanger Walk-in Cooler
you will need depends on how warm your You will need a walk-in cooler to house
About four years ago, I started looking town’s water supply is in the summer. If serving tanks and kegs. An efficient
at white wine fermenters. These tanks it is lower than 70° F (21° C), you could arrangement is to set the taps right into
are jacketed but not insulated, and only probably get away with a 60 or 70 plate the wall of the cooler and place the bar on
32 inches (81 cm) in diameter. I bought exchanger. Ask the sales person to help the other side. A new walk-in cooler starts
one to see if it would work for beer, and you size the proper one for your town’s at roughly $6,000. The Frankenbrew way,
sure enough it did! I have talked most of water temperature. however, involves building your own
my students into purchasing these tanks cooler, which entails framing and insulat-
because they are fairly inexpensive and If your water is above 70° F, you can pre- ing a room. To refrigerate it, a unit such
don’t take up a lot of space. You still need chill the water before running it through as a CoolBot Walk-In Cooler Controller

works with a household air conditioning
unit. Many commercial breweries have
used them for years.
Pieces and Parts

Tri-Clamps
A tri-clamp is the type of fitting used
in most small American breweries. The
most utilized size is a 1.5 inch (3.8 cm)
tri-clamp. Brewing systems under 15
barrels really have no need for anything
larger. Tri-clamp fittings have a recessed
circular groove around the outer perim-
eter of the fitting.
Tri-Clamp
Clamp Ferrule
Clamp
Clamp Gasket
Clamp Ferrule
Many parts of a brewery fit together by

putting two tri-clamp fittings together
with a gasket in the middle and a clamp
around the outside. Examples include
attaching a pump to a hose, attaching
elbows and tees to tanks, and attaching a
beer hose to the bottom of a serving tank
that goes to the taps.
Brewery Hose
You don’t want to go cheap with the hoses Sierra Nevada's first brew kettle
you will use in your brewery. There are
three types you will most likely need.
the product. They can be ordered in vari- won’t transfer any flavors. I recommend
The first is a simple, but high quality, ous lengths with tri-clamp fittings on each clear Nutriflo suction hose, as you can
garden hose. This will be used for general end. You will need at least two, depending see the product move through. If you
Photo courtesy of Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.
cleaning, spraying down tanks, spray- on your brewery layout; one on the outlet cannot get them with tri-clamp fittings,
ing down the floor, etc. They are not of your kettle going to your pump, and you can purchase appropriate tri-clamp-
expensive and are easy to move around one from the pump to the heat exchanger. to-hose-barb adaptors and band them
the brewery. The typical cost of this kind of hose is yourself. This type of hose is easy to
about $12 per foot. cut and use, and costs around $3.50
The most important hoses will be used per foot.
on the hot side of the brewing process. The third type of hose will be used to
These hoses are super heavy duty, can handle product under pressure and Grant
take heat and pressure, won’t kink when below 140° F (60° C). They also need This is an optional device, but one that
hot, and won’t contribute off-flavors to to be made of high-quality material that I highly recommend. It is essentially

a capturing vessel between the mash
tun and the brew kettle. It is used as
an intermediary holding vessel because
direct pumping from the mash tun can
collapse the grain bed and result in a
stuck mash.
To use a grant, take an elbow from the

outlet of the mash tun and an extension
that drops down into the grant so that
the outlet is below the level of the wort
in the grant. This will prevent aeration of
the wort as it enters the grant. The wort
moves from the grant to the bottom inlet
of the brew kettle.
It is cheap and easy to make a grant.

Simply take a battered, out-of-circulation
keg and cut off the top. In the bottom of
the grant on the side, add a 1.5-inch tri-
clamp fitting.
Pumps
In brewing, only sanitary pumps are
used. Most breweries use centrifugal
pumps with stainless steel heads and
1.5-inch tri-clamp fittings on the inlet
and outlet. For a small brewery, a ¾
horsepower motor is all you need. I have
found used pumps on eBay. Look for a
well-known brand like Thomsen or Tri-
Clover, since spare parts and seals will
be easier to find. Don’t be surprised to
spend $1,300 on a new one. It’s worth it,
and reliability is priceless.
Many breweries started out with a

Frankenbrew system—just look at the
photo of Sierra Nevada’s first brew kettle
for proof. The money saved will allow
you to open your doors for business. You
might only use this system for a few years
and then install new equipment as you
can afford to upgrade. Or, you may end
up keeping it for the next 10 years. The
point is to start. That’s being realistic.
Tom Hennessy is the founder of

Colorado Boy Brewing Co. in Ridgway
and Montrose, Colo. He leads a
Brewery Immersion Course on how to
open breweries (70 so far) at Colorado
Boy, Echo Brewing, and Big Choice
Brewing in Colorado. He is the author
of Brewery Operations Manual. To
learn more about Frankenbrew, go to
coloradoboy.com.

Dunkelweizen
A Strong, Dark Wheat Ale for a Cold Winter’s Night

doppelbock By Horst Dornbusch and Deborah Wood
T
he saying, “What can be done, ultimately will be done,” definitely applies
to the limbo existence of an obscure beer style with a singularly long name,
the dunkelweizendoppelbock. As an abstraction, this brew is a perfectly
logical concept. Just think of it as a dark, super-strong, “imperialized” hefeweizen.
An online search reveals that seemingly no one is making this beer. This fact alone
turns the concept into a tempting challenge! Here is how we made a batch of this rare
heavyweight of a beer in June 2015 in Montreal, Canada.
What’s in a Name?
First, as a German derivative of a hefeweizen, a dunkelweizendoppelbock mash
should contain at least 50 percent malted wheat, by law, at least in its country of
origin. The large wheat content ensures a good protein body, as well as some residual
sweetness in the brew’s long, mellow finish.
Second, it is a “dunkel,” meaning its color is dark from chocolate and roasted malts—
barley-based and/or wheat-based—just as that of a regular dunkelweizen, a well-
established beer style in Germany.
Next, it is not just a bockbier, but a doppelbock. This means that its original grav-
ity should be in the upper 1.070s (>18° P) for an ABV of at least 7 percent. As a big
beer, it is likely to push the capacity limits of most mash tuns and likely requires an
extended boil time for extra evaporation. Perhaps the closest and best-known com-
mercial example of a brew resembling our concept is Schneider Aventinus, a wheat
doppelbock made by the G. Schneider & Sohn Brewery of Kelheim, Bavaria. It, how-
ever, is more ruby than truly “dunkel” in color.

clove and banana flavors of authentic
Bavarian hefeweizens.
Grain Bill
For the wheat portion of the mash,
we selected a base of 27 percent pale
wheat malt. This ensured the brew’s
dominant wheat character. To accen-
tuate the wheat flavor further and to
move the color toward the dark side,
we also added 15 percent dark wheat
malt. This gave the brew a smooth and
complex texture. For additional opac-
ity and depth of color, we selected a
combination of specialty wheat malts:
7.5 percent Carawheat® and a fractional
amount (1 percent) of roasted choc-
olate wheat malt. These contributed
wheat-derived flavor intensity and a
faint, deep-orange hue that was already
apparent during the thick dough-in.
Conceptually, the only wheat beer stron- is Schneider, which makes a 12 percent
ger than a weizendoppelbock would be ABV Aventinus Eisbock. For the barley portion of the grain bill,
a weizeneisbock (“eis” means ice). This is we selected the highly aromatic Barke®
a fully fermented weizendoppelbock that Finally, a dunkelweizendoppelbock Pilsner malt. It gave the mash good dia-
has been freeze-distilled to concentrate should be fermented with a top-fer- static power and even more maltiness.
its alcohol and maltiness. Once again, the menting German wheat beer yeast, This two-row spring barley malt made
only brewery that approaches this concept which is responsible for the classic up 46.5 percent of the mash. To further
Photos courtesy of Horst Dornbusch

Dunkelweizendoppelbock
All quantities and specifications in the recipe Directions
below are based on a nominal (!) system Dough-in at approximately 113° F (45° C) for Boil for at least 90 minutes (or longer if the
extract efficiency of only 55 percent, which a 30-minute hydration and beta-glucanase original gravity at the start of the boil is an
we calculated ex post facto, and a target rest. To mitigate subsequent lautering prob- issue). Add bittering hops 60 minutes before
original gravity of 24° P (1.101 SG). Your lems, it is also advisable to add about 10 the anticipated shutdown time. Add flavor
homebrew setup may perform better or percent of the dry malt weight in rice hulls hops with 10 minutes of boil time remaining.
worse with this substantial grain bill! The at dough-in. Add aroma hops five minutes before shut-
best homebrew approach, therefore, should down. Whirlpool. Heat-exchange.
be: It is what it is, and you get what you get. After the cytolytic rest, infuse the mash with
hot brewing liquor to raise the temperature Pitch about twice as much yeast as you nor-
Ingredients to 122° F (50° C) for a proteolytic rest of 30 mally would for a “regular” brew and aerate
for 5 U.S. gallons (19 L) minutes at the peak performance tempera- well. In our experimental batch, we used
ture of protease. 1.5 oz/5 gallons (44 g/19 L) of dried yeast.
9.28 lb (4.21 kg) Weyermann® Barke® Primary-ferment the brew at the middle
Pilsner Malt (46.5%) Next, raise the mash to 149° F (65° C), the of the preferred temperature range of the
5.39 lb (2.44 kg) Weyermann® Pale peak-performance temperature of beta amy- selected yeast for a total of three weeks.
Wheat Malt (27%) lase. This ensures the production of plenty of
3.0 lb (1.36 kg) Weyermann® Dark fermentables—and thus of alcohol. Allow 30 At the end of primary fermentation, rack
Wheat Malt (15%) minutes for this diastatic rest. the brew into a clean tank for seven to eight
1.5 lb (680 g) Weyermann® Carawheat® days of secondary fermentation. Prime and
Malt (7.5%) Repeat the temperature rise a final time to bottle the brew. Alternatively, rack the brew
0.6 lb (272 g) Weyermann® Acidulated reach the alpha amylase peak temperature into a keg and let it mature for two weeks
Malt (3%) of 162° F (72° C). Rest the mash again, this under pressure. Finally, adjust the carbon-
0.2 lb (90 g) Weyermann® Roasted time for 15 minutes, for the conversion of ation in the keg to 3.3 to 4.5 volumes (6.6 to
Chocolate Wheat Malt (1%) the remaining starches into unfermentable 9 g/L) of CO2 before dispensing it unfiltered
1.6 lb (723 g) rice hulls dextrins for extra body in the finished beer. from the keg.
0.5 oz (14 g) Herkules, 14.5% a.a.,
60 min The large grain bill in conjunction with the
0.3 oz (7 g) Saphir, 3.25% a.a., 10 min many hot-water infusions is also likely to fill the
0.8 oz (21 g) Saphir, 3.25% a.a., 5 min mash tun to the limit of its holding capacity.
Fermentis WB-06 or Fermentis Safbrew
Abbaye (see article text) Recirculate the wort thoroughly for perhaps
30 minutes. Then sparge and lauter simul-
Original Gravity: 24° P (1.101) taneously. Use the hot sparge liquor to raise
Final Gravity: 4.5 - 5° P (1.018 – 1.020) the grain bed temperature to the mash-out
IBU: 35 temperature of 170° F (77° C). The run-off
ABV: 10.1 to 10.3% is likely to be slow! Stop sparging as soon as
SRM: approx. 40 (100 EBC) the kettle gravity is about 1.086 (20.75° P),
assuming a 10 percent evaporation rate dur-
ing a 90-minute kettle boil.
In some mash tun configurations—because

of aspect ratios and false-bottom designs—a
kettle gravity of 1.086 (20.75° P) may not
be possible to achieve. In this case, simply
sparge until the kettle is full. Then extend
the boil until the net kettle gravity of 24° P is
reached through evaporation. When weigh-
ing out the hop additions, adjust quantities
to the projected actual net kettle volume.

accentuate the brew’s dark beer flavors,
we rounded the grain bill off with 3 per-
cent barley-based acidulated malt. In the
end, this mash produced a beer with a
porter-like color of roughly 30 SRM.
Mash Process
As a big brew of great complexity, a
traditional dunkelweizendoppelbock
would probably have been triple- or
even quadruple-decocted in Germany to
ensure that everything that is convert-
ible actually is converted! This, however,
would require a complex brewhouse
configuration with slurry pumps to move
the mash in and out of a cooker. Because
such equipment may not be available in
many craft breweries and is not com-
monplace for homebrewers, we selected
an elaborate multi-step infusion process
instead. In about two hours, we took the
mash from a thick dough-in at 113° F
(45° C) to a relatively thin mash-out at
170° F (77° C).
Boil
We boiled the wort for 90 minutes for
a thorough coagulation of unconverted
proteins as well as the required evapora-
tion needed to reach the relatively high
net kettle original gravity of 24° P (1.101
SG) at the end of the boil. Depending on
your setup, at kettle-full after lautering,
the original gravity may be too low and
only an extended boil time can evaporate
the wort to its correct target original grav-
ity—at the cost of a reduction in kettle
volume, of course. Make sure you adjust
the amount of hops to whichever net
kettle volume you end up with.
Hops
A dunkelweizendoppelbock is by defini-
tion a very malty brew, but it must not
come across as syrupy or cloying. Thus,
we chose a bittering value of 35 IBU, as
well as a solid amount of aroma hops.
The objective was to create noticeable
hop counterpoints and some lingering
hop aroma to the brew’s sweetness with-
out overpowering the brew’s complexity.
In deference to the German origin of
weissbier, we selected Herkules (usually
12 to 17 percent alpha acids) for bitter-
ing. This is a modern hop, released in
2006 by the Hüll Hop Research Center in
the Hallertau region. Its citrus and melon

Dunkelweizendoppelbock
Partial Extract Recipe
Ingredients Directions
for 5 U.S. gallons (19 L) Wheat malt extract syrup is a blend of pale
barley and wheat malts, so it should provide
12.25 lb (5.56 kg) wheat malt extract a suitable substitute for the base malts in
syrup (87.8%) the all-grain version. Omit rice hulls, dark
1.5 lb (680 g) Weyermann® Carawheat® wheat, and acidulated malts. Steep caramel
malt (10.8%) and chocolate wheat malts for 30 minutes in
0.2 lb (90 g) Weyermann® roasted 158° F (70° C) RO or distilled water. Strain
chocolate wheat malt (1.4%) out solids and dissolve malt extract in the
1.0 oz (28 g) Herkules, 14.5% a.a., sweet wort. Top off with RO or distilled water
60 min to desired boil volume. Cut boil time to 30
0.3 oz (7 g) Saphir, 3.25% a.a., 10 min minutes and increase 60-minute bittering
0.8 oz (21 g) Saphir, 3.25% a.a., 5 min hops to 1 oz (28 g). Follow directions in all-
Fermentis WB-06 or Fermentis Safbrew grain version for remainder of recipe.
Abbaye (see article text)
flavors complement the brew’s caramel
Original Gravity: 24° P (1.101) sweetness. For a flavor and aroma hop,
Final Gravity: 4.5 - 5° P (1.018 – 1.020) we selected the low-alpha Saphir (2 to
IBU: 35 4.5 percent alpha acids), also bred by the
ABV: 10.1 to 10.3% Hüll Hop Research Center and released
SRM: approx. 40 (100 EBC) in 2002. Saphir has a respectable total oil
content of 0.8 to 1.4 ml/100g, composed
of a good balance of myrcene, humulene,
and caryophylene. This oil combination
contributes spicy, fruity, and floral aro-
mas to the brew, lingering pleasantly in
the finish.
Yeast
Naturally, the first yeast choice is a
standard German hefeweizen strain.
However, other phenolic yeasts beckon
with their spicy-peppery aspects. Thus,
we decided to split the experimental
green beer into two same-size batches
and ferment one the German way, with
Fermentis WB-06, and the other the
Belgian way, with Fermentis Safbrew
Abbaye. In our experiment, both fer-
mentations started extremely vigorous-
ly, with the Abbey yeast throwing a
particularly rocky head. Both batches
underwent a rapid gravity drop of about
70 percent in only two days, and almost
80 percent in three days. In the end, the
Abbey yeast was the more attenuative
of the two, finishing at 1.018 (4.5° P),
whereas the wheat beer yeast finished
at 1.020 (5° P). We bottle-conditioned
both batches at room temperature for
about four weeks.

Tasting Notes
Bottles from both batches opened with
a satisfying pop from a good amount
of accumulated effervescence. In appear-
ance, both versions were dark brown to
deep mahogany, and almost impossible
to distinguish visually. Both sported a
nice, creamy head and left plenty of lace
in the glass. The bouquet was clean, rich,
complex, and malt-aromatic with alcohol
evident in the nose, especially in the brew
fermented with hefeweizen yeast.
On the palate, both brews were well-

balanced, smooth, and slightly sweet in
the finish, as one would expect from a
bock-style beer. The brew fermented
with Abbey yeast showed distinct, aro-
matic notes of malt, with a background
of fruity esters, a gentle hop profile, and
noticeable alcoholic warmth. The brew
fermented with the hefeweizen yeast
was fruitier on the palate, with stron-
ger caramel and chocolate notes, and a
stronger presence of alcohol, against a
mild hop background. The body of both
brews was medium, but with a complex
structure reflecting the complex grain
bill. Overall, both brews turned out to
be big, delicious sipping beers with a
warming and lingering alcohol glow,
which makes them ideal for relaxing in
front of a crackling fire on a “dunkel”
winter evening.
Deborah Wood is the Eastern Canada

technical sales manager for BSG
Canada, Ltd., a trained brewster, and
an international beer judge. She lives
in Montreal. Horst Dornbusch is a con-
sultant in the international brewing
industry, an international beer judge,
and the author of several books and
hundreds of articles about beer. He
is also the associate editor of The
Oxford Companion to Beer (2010). The
authors wish to thank BSG Canada,
Ltd. for sponsoring the ingredients for
this experiment.
E W EB
TH
N
>> O
Find more homebrewing

recipes on our website @
HomebrewersAssociation.org/
homebrew-recipes

BIG
G O I N G
BY DAVE CARPENTER
THE BEST-KEPT SECRET AT THE GREAT AMERICAN

BEER FESTIVAL (GABF) may well be the Pro-Am booth. While countless festival-goers
scramble to queue up for predictably popular breweries around the exhibit hall, patrons of the Pro-Am
plaza form a sort of nebulous swarm that huddles around more than 30 award-winning ales and lagers,
all developed by homebrewers. The specific draft selections are different each session of the festival,
rotating through the 90-plus entries in the Pro-Am competition.
The 91 beers judged in the 2015 GABF Pro-Am Competition all began life in kitchens, garages, and back-
yards around the country. Having already medaled at a Beer Judge Certification Program/AHA-sanctioned
competition and been chosen by a professional brewer for the GABF competition, every single Pro-Am
entry is, by definition, an award winner before it even gets to the Colorado Convention Center.
Only three of those winners, however, get to walk onto the stage of the Bellco Theatre and receive a
coveted GABF medal and a fist bump from Charlie Papazian.
2015 GABF
Pro-Am Competition
Muscat Love Gold

Brian Giebel, Gold Medal, 2015 GABF Pro-Am
(with Great South Bay Brewery)
Medal
Ingredients IBUs: 25
for 5.5 U.S. gallons (20.8 L) SRM: 5.6
Boiling Time: 90 minutes
Assumes 72% efficiency
14.8 lb (6.7 kg) Pilsner malt Directions
1.5 lb (680 g) Munich malt Mash at 148° F (64° C) for 75 minutes, collect runoff, and boil for 90
0.5 oz (14 g) Amarillo hops, 8.9% a.a. (60 min) minutes. Ferment at 64° F (18° C) for three days, then add the mus-
1.0 oz (28 g) Saaz hops, 4% a.a. (30 min) cat grape juice concentrate directly to primary. Rack to secondary
1.0 oz (28 g) Saaz hops, 4% a.a. (15 min) when specific gravity stabilizes near 1.011, then bottle or keg.
25.0 oz (709 g) Muscat grape juice concentrate (added to primary)
White Labs WLP500 Monastery Ale (3 liter starter) Extract Version: Replace the Pilsner and Munich malts
with 11 lb (4.99 kg) Pilsner liquid malt extract and 1.5 lb (0.68 kg)
Original Specific Gravity: 1.083 Munich liquid malt extract. Reduce boil time to 60 minutes and
Final Specific Gravity: 1.011 proceed according to the above directions.
2015 GABF
Pro-Am Competition
Silver
Atahsaia Medal
Mike Froehlich, Silver Medal, 2015 GABF Pro-Am
(with Odd13 Brewing)
for 5.5 U.S. gallons (20.8 L) Mash at 150° F (66° C) for 75 minutes, collect runoff, add the first
wort hops, and boil for two hours. Ferment at 68° F (20° C) for two
Assumes 80% efficiency weeks. Rack to secondary, add dry hops, and allow to infuse for
15.9 lb (7.2 kg) Rahr 2-row malt five days. Remove dry hops, then add the whiskey-soaked oak
11.0 oz (312 g) Crisp Extra Dark Crystal malt spiral. Age on the spiral until the oak and whiskey character are
4.0 oz (113 g) Simpsons Dark Crystal malt to your taste, typically about a month, then remove the spiral.
2.5 oz (71 g) Chinook hops, 11.4% a.a. (first wort) Condition for several additional weeks or months before packag-
1.5 oz (43 g) Cascade hops, 6% a.a. (15 min) ing. It will only improve with age!
0.5 oz (14 g) Cascade hops, 6% a.a. (0 min)
0.5 oz (14 g) Cascade hops, 6% a.a. (dry hop) Extract Version: Steep the crystal malts for 30 minutes at
0.5 oz (14 g) Centennial hops, 10% a.a. (dry hop) 155° F (68° C), and replace the two-row malt with 12 lb (5.44 kg)
2 sachets Safale US-05 pale liquid malt extract. To achieve sufficient attenuation, con-
1 oak spiral, soaked for two weeks in whiskey sider using 10.5 lb (4.76 kg) pale extract and 1.5 lb (0.68 kg) corn
(Bulleit Rye or Stranahan’s recommended) sugar instead of all extract.
Original Specific Gravity: 1.093

Final Specific Gravity: 1.015
IBUs: 98
SRM: 12
Boiling Time: 120 minutes

GOLD: The Great Grape Ale
Gold medal-winning homebrewer and
chemist Brian Giebel had been hoarding
a can of grape concentrate for some time
before the proverbial light bulb appeared
above his head.
“I never got around to brewing what I

had originally planned to make with that
grape puree,” said Giebel. “But then I
started kicking around the idea of brew-
ing a Belgian style with it. I read an article
about collaborations between brewers and
winemakers, and I realized that with its
light body and high carbonation, Belgian
tripel already has some wine-like charac-
ter to begin with.”
2015 GABF
Pro-Am Competition
Bronze
Medal
Citra IPA
Ryan Lotter, Bronze Medal, 2015 GABF Pro-Am
(with FATE Brewing Co.)
for 6 U.S. gallons (22.7 L) Mash at 152° F (67° C) for 60 minutes,
collect runoff, and boil for 60 minutes.
Assumes 75% efficiency Ferment at 68° F (20° C) for 7 days, then
He then started searching online to see if 7.0 lb (3.18 kg) Golden Promise malt dry hop with the first addition for four days.
others had tried it, and he kept running 4.0 lb (1.81 kg) 2-row malt Remove the first addition and then dry
across the same argument: Why would 1.0 lb (0.45 kg) melanoidin malt hop an additional three days with the sec-
you want to ruin a perfectly good Belgian 1.0 lb (0.45 kg) Vienna malt ond addition. Remove the second addition
2.0 oz (57 g) Ultra hops, 3% a.a. before bottling or kegging.
tripel with grapes?
(first wort)
1.0 oz (28 g) Citra hops, 12% a.a. Partial Mash Version: Mash the
Fortunately, he didn’t listen to the nay-
(20 min) Vienna and melanoidin malts with 2 lb (0.9
sayers. Instead, he built a tripel around 3.0 oz (85 g) Citra hops, 12% a.a. (5 min) kg) 2-row, then lauter and sparge. Add first
Muscat grape juice instead of Belgian 3.0 oz (85 g) Citra hops, 12% a.a. wort hops and enough Maris Otter liquid
candi sugar. (0 min) malt extract to achieve a pre-boil gravity
3.0 oz (85 g) Citra hops, 12% a.a. of 1.053, approximately 7 pounds. Boil, fer-
Photos © Jason E. Kaplan (winners); Dave Carpenter (beers)
Muscat Love went on to grab the attention (first dry hop addition) ment, and package as described above.
of Great South Bay Brewery in Bay Shore, 2.0 oz (57 g) Citra hops, 12% a.a.
N.Y. Several times a year, the brewery (second dry hop addition) Extract Version: Substitute 5 lb
collaborates with the Long Island Beer & Wyeast 1968 London ESB (2.27 kg) Maris Otter liquid malt extract and
5 lb (2.27 kg) Munich liquid malt extract for
Malt Enthusiasts (LIBME) homebrew club
Original Specific Gravity: 1.061 the grain malts. To simulate first wort hop-
and recreates an award-winning recipe
Final Specific Gravity: 1.012 ping, bring wort to 150° F (66° C), add first
on its 2-barrel pilot system. The beers are
IBUs: 55 wort hops, and hold for 30 minutes before
released in the tap room, and then the SRM: 6 bringing to a boil. Boil, ferment, and pack-
brewery selects one as its entry into the Boiling Time: 60 minutes age as described above.
GABF Pro-Am Competition. Primary Fermentation:
7 days at 68° F (20° C)
Phil Ebel, vice president of Great South Secondary Fermentation:
Bay Brewery, said his brewers look for a 7 days at 68° F (20° C)

recipe that they believe will do well at
GABF, but also one that represents what
Great South Bay is trying to achieve as
a brewery.
“Brian is a scientist, and he takes home-

brewing very seriously,” said Ebel. “He
takes the time to think about what he’s
doing, and you can taste it in his beers.”
While Giebel’s homebrew version needed
only 25 ounces of Muscat concentrate,
considerably more was required at the
30-barrel level—specifically, about 200
liters (52.8 gallons).
“We used 17 homebrew-sized California

Style Muscat wine kits from RJS Craft
Winemaking to deliver the juice,” Ebel
commented. “In the end, our production
run came in at about 11 percent alcohol,
a touch higher than the 9.5 percent pilot
version. But it’s really cool when you brew
something and it comes out tasting even
better than you thought it would.”
Giebel has been brewing off and on since

the turn of the century. His most offbeat
beer is a Bloody Mary Kölsch, which he
continues to perfect even now.
“Brew as often as you can, and don’t fall

victim to the myth that 10-gallon batches
are better than 5-gallon batches,” advises
Giebel. “Sticking to five gallons frees
you up to experiment without too much
commitment. Don’t be timid, keep on
brewing, and if something doesn’t work,
change it up and brew it again.”
SILVER: An Oddly
Named Beer
Atahsaia is considerably easier to drink
than it is to say. Pronounced “ah-tah-SYE-
uh,” it’s a subtle nod to the commercial
beer that inspired Mike Froehlich’s silver-
medal-winning barrel-aged barleywine.
Atahsaia, you see, is the name of a cryptid
found in the folklore traditions of the
Zuni, and some scholars believe it to be a
cultural cognate of the Pacific Northwest’s
Sasquatch, or Bigfoot.
“I knew I wanted to brew a big, barrel-

aged beer after I tasted a barrel-aged vin-
tage of Sierra Nevada Bigfoot,” admitted
Froehlich. “This was my third attempt at
brewing a big barleywine. I’ve been home-

brewing for 20 years, but this was my first ago. The strangest (or is that oddest?) beer probably buy some lottery tickets. Having
time to make it to the national level.” he has ever brewed was a peanut butter previously focused on malt-forward styles
and jelly porter. like stout and porter, he recently decided
Helping him get there were Ryan Scott that it was about time he try his hand at
and Brandon Boldt of Odd13 Brewing in Froelich’s advice? “Don’t be afraid to fail. a citrusy IPA. So he took one of the most
Lafayette, Colo. Known for such, well, Keep your process clean and sanitary, and in-demand hops out there and built his
odd brews as Humulus Kalecumber (a be willing to experiment. When you’ve Citra IPA using a couple of techniques
Berliner weisse brewed with kale, cucum- brewed something you really like, try to he’d never even practiced before. And he
ber, and mint) and Hawaiian Bartender do it twice. If it works, then you know hit it out of the park on the first try.
(a dry-hopped sour ale with mango and you’re onto something.”
pineapple), Odd13 nonetheless had their “I’d read about different hopping tech-
work cut out for them. BRONZE: When in Doubt, niques, so I decided to try first wort hop-
Add More Hops ping and hop bursting for the first time
Bronze medal winner Ryan Lotter should with Citra IPA,” he said. “I entered it into the
“Our system normally yields 10 barrels,

but the grain bill for Mike’s Atahsaia was
so big that we only got seven barrels out
of it,” said Scott.
Nonetheless, perseverance paid off, and

a half ton of malt later, Odd13 ended
up with 7 barrels of 1.093 wort, which
fermented down to 1.025 in about two
weeks. Then it was time for aging.
Froehlich had originally developed his

homebrew recipe using medium toast
oak spirals soaked in Bulleit Rye whiskey.
When it came time to scale up to the big
leagues, Bulleit Rye barrels weren’t avail-
able, but amazingly, Stranahan’s Whiskey
barrels were. After more than a year of
patient aging in Stranahan’s barrels, the
barleywine that emerged had a final grav-
ity of just 1.015 and an alcohol content
of more than 10 percent by volume. The
name may be hard to say, but once you’ve
enjoyed a snifter or two, you won’t care.
Froelich has been brewing for two decades

and still uses some of the equipment he
received in his first homebrew kit 20 years

Hop Barley and the Alers homebrew club
competition, which is where FATE Brewing
Company picks its Pro-Am selection.”
FATE, based in Boulder, Colo., selected

Lotter’s hop monster to send to GABF
THE HOMEBREWER’S BIBLE: because, according to head brewer Jeff
The essential guide to making a full range of
beer styles, including lagers, stouts, pilsners,
Griffith, “We just like hoppy beers, and
FULLY dubbels, triples, and specialty beers! we wanted to submit something straight-
REVISED
AND forward.” But Griffith and his brewers did
UPDATED
BL E!
AL SO AV AI LA have to make a few slight modifications in
scaling it up.
“There’s just a tremendous amount of

Citra in Ryan’s recipe, and it was challeng-
ing to fit all of it in at the 10-barrel scale,”
FULLY
Griffith said. “So we replaced some of the
REVISED
AND late kettle additions with first wort hops.”
UPDATED
Citra hops, Griffith notes, have been

notoriously difficult to acquire, and it has
FOR THE ON THE
ADVANCED ROAD WITH taken him a few years to get an allotment.
BREWER CHARLIE Fortunately for Lotter, there was enough
available this year for FATE to take his
recipe all the way to GABF.
Lotter started homebrewing five years ago

after a friend invited him over for a brew
day and showed him the ropes, but he has
only been competing for a couple of years.
His brewing repertoire includes a carrot
cake saison.
“Focus on the basics and get comfortable

with the process from start to finish,”
offered Lotter. “Focusing on base styles will
really help you understand why certain
styles are brewed the way they are. And
get involved with a club. Getting feedback
from other homebrewers and professional
brewers is an invaluable resource.”
Dave Carpenter is a freelance

writer from Fort Collins, Colo.
Connect with him and learn more at
davecarpenterbooks.com.

by Matt Stinchfield
WINNERS CIR CLE
2015 Sower’s Cup
E ach year, homebrewers across the upper

Midwest compete in a point series
called the High Plains Brewer. Designated
competitions in an eight-state region count
toward cumulative points, and at the end
of each year, the brewer with the most
points is crowned. The club with the most
total points won by its members is awarded
the High Plains Club of the Year.
The region includes Minnesota, North

Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Iowa,
Missouri, Kansas, and Oklahoma. Since the
High Plains Brewer circuit started in 2005,
the Saint Paul Homebrewers Club and
the Fellowship of Oklahoma Ale Makers
have won nearly all of the club awards.
Nebraska didn’t even have a signature con-
test, though brewers from the Cornhusker
State were encouraged to enter.
However, Nebraska has a very active Above:

homebrewing community of its own. The The Sower’s Cup pays homage
to the sower statue on top of the
Lincoln Lagers, the state’s largest home- capitol building in Lincoln, Neb.
brewing club, introduced the Sower’s Cup
Left top to bottom:
in 2014, partly so that Nebraska could
Scott Strain and Bobby Kros win Best
better participate and compete in the High of Show; Doug Finke takes first in the
Plains circuit. The club also hopes to qual- Smoke & Wood Aged category; Drew
ify the Sower’s Cup as part of the esteemed Beechum congratulates Tim Thommsen
Midwest Homebrewer of the Year points on a second-place finish in the No
Workaround Decoction category.
race, encompassing a 13-state region.
The Sower’s Cup is named for the iconic The first two years of the contest have been solid registration and tracking system in
statue that sits atop the capitol building held in the brewery space at Ploughshare place. To handle the load, office coordi-
in Lincoln and can be seen for miles in all Brewing Co. in Lincoln. Like any good- nator Chris Evans—an IT manager for
Photos courtesy of Lincoln Lagers Homebrew Club;
directions. The theme of the statue har- sized competition, the Sower’s Cup needs the University of Nebraska—transformed
kens back to Nebraska’s farmstead begin- a place to receive, store, and sort entries. Ploughshare’s conference room, The Hop
nings and also reminds brewers that beer It requires ample space for judging in an Room, into a command center in the days
ingredients are products of agriculture. odor-free environment. Ploughshare fits the leading up to the contest. With the help
bill with an 8,000-cubic-foot fridge in a of Brew Competition software, workflows
In its inaugural year, the Sower’s Cup 10,000-square-foot building, and is also were put into place to manage entries and
© Tom Tidball (statue)
received 229 entries and featured ample able to feed the judges, entertain side events, tabulate results.
prize packages. Fun auxiliary events sur- and host a banquet and awards ceremony.
round the competition. This past October, Building a solid prize list and sponsor
entries shot up to 338, and organizers Any homebrew competition that receives base fell to sponsorship coordinator Brian
expect more than 400 entries in 2016. hundreds of entries must also have a Hoesing. His response to the amaze-

Any homebrew
competition that
receives hundreds of
entries must also have
a solid registration
and tracking system
in place.
Clockwise top left: rye ale called Paracelsus brewed by Lagers

The banquet dessert; Ed Bannister wins member Patrick McCabe. Judges noted
the Mead Best of Show award for his that McCabe’s beer was like a roggenbier
2013 Dry Mead; Matt Stinchfield talks brewed with neutral yeast instead of wei-
to the crowd about the banquet pairings. zen yeast.
The No Workaround Decoction category

doubled as a Pro-Am competition, with
the winner brewing his or her beer at
Ploughshare for a chance in the 2016
GABF Pro-Am Competition. Brewers vying
for this prize could enter a beer from 2008
BJCP categories 1 through 5, 15, and 22A,
ment at the prizes he solicited was, “I such categories: Sower in the Rye and No but the beer had to be brewed with a cere-
am trying to own my over-committal Workaround Decoction. al or decoction mash. Common brewery
nature!” In addition, the Sower’s Cup workarounds, such as using an infusion
featured a celebrity speaker for the sec- Sower in the Rye was dedicated to beers mash schedule or adding melanoidin malt
ond straight year, with homebrew author with an “evident, significant, or substan- or pre-gelatinized grains, were not permit-
Drew Beechum making the trek from Los tial” rye character. Brewers could use any ted—Ploughshare brewers are convinced
Angeles to entertain the group. form of rye—rye malt, flaked rye, raw that the best way to get the color, aroma,
rye, or even rye bread. The Sower in the taste, and mouthfeel of these classic styles
The Sower’s Cup also offers the chance to Rye category received seven entries rang- is to go “old school.” It makes for a long
compete in special categories aside from ing from a rye witbier to a rye sahti. The brew day, but the positive results are tan-
Best of Show. The 2015 Cup had two winning beer was a German-influenced gible in the glass, they believe.
Kalyke Blonde Original Gravity: 1.051

Recipe by Scott Strain and Bobby Kros Final Gravity: 1.008
2015 Sower’s Cup Best of Show Est. ABV: 5.5% Estimated Color: 3.6 SRM Estimated IBU: 18.3
Brewhouse Efficiency: 80%
INGREDIENTS Estimated Mash Efficiency: 87%
for 11 U.S. gallons (41.6 L) Boil Time: 75 Minutes
15.0 lb (6.8 kg) German Pilsner malt (78.9%) DIRECTIONS

2.0 lb (0.9 kg) rye malt (10.5%) Mash at 152° F (67° C) for 45 minutes. Mash out at 170° F (77° C).
1.0 lb (0.45 kg) flaked barley (5.3%) Pitch yeast at 68° F (20° C) and let free rise to 72-74° F (22-23° C).
1.0 lb (0.45 kg) table sugar (5.3%)
0.93 oz (26 g) Sterling, 5% a.a. (75 min) 8.4 IBUs PARTIAL MASH RECIPE: Mash 2 lb (0.9 kg) Pilsner malt and 2 lb
2.0 oz (57 g) Sterling, 5% a.a. (15 min) 8.6 IBUs rye malt with 1 lb (0.45 kg) flaked barley at 152° F (67° C) for one
0.26 oz (7 g) Mt. Hood, 5.5% a.a. (15 min) 1.2 IBUs hour. Drain, rinse grains, and dissolve 10.75 lb (4.88 kg) Pilsner malt
Wyeast 3522 Belgian Ardennes yeast extract syrup and sugar completely in wort. Top off with RO water to
desired boil volume and proceed with recipe as above. Color will be
slightly darker (4.2 SRM) with partial mash recipe.

Judging in action during the 2015 Sower’s Cup at Ploughshare Brewing Co. in Lincoln.
No Workaround Decoction entries ranged homebrewer Clint Bruhn will be brew- the winners of the Samuel Adams LongShot
from Pilsners to bocks to hefeweizens. ing Dunky Brewster at Ploughshare this competition in 2015 (see the Editor’s Desk
Judging was a hybrid of the GABF profes- spring. Second place went to Lagers mem- on page 1 for more information). “I look
sional scoresheet and the BJCP scoresheet. ber Tim Thomssen, an award-winning forward to the opportunity to share my beer
After identification of the top three brews homebrewer who will soon become the with a much larger audience than I could
in the category, the final selection came brewmaster for the new Boiler Brewing ever reach brewing five gallons at a time.”
down to a half-point difference between Company in Lincoln.
a dopplebock and a dunkelweizen. After Scott Strain and Bobby Kros have both
it was determined that his dark wheat “For the last three years of my life it’s brewed commercially for Nebraska
beer had a deeper malt character that been homebrewing and homebrew com- Brewing, but recently the duo stepped
showcased the malty, bready melanoidins, petitions,” said Thomssen, who was one of back into homebrewing. As co-brewers,
2013 Dry Mead

Still, Dry Traditional Mead DIRECTIONS
Recipe by Edward Bannister Boil 4 gallons (15.14 L) water to remove chlorine. Cool to 100° F (38°
2015 Sower’s Cup Mead Best of Show C), dissolve honey, then top up to 5 gallons (18.93 L) in a 6.5-gallon
(24.61 L) glass carboy. Agitate must vigorously. Sprinkle yeast on
INGREDIENTS surface, fit carboy with air lock, and ferment. After four months, rack
for 5 U.S. gallons (18.93 L) to a clean 5-gallon carboy. Bottle after one year.
14.24 lb (6.46 kg) Nebraska wildflower/clover honey MEADMAKER’S NOTES: “I was the beekeeper who harvested
Lalvin EC-1118 wine yeast this honey. It was not harvested in the fall as most honey is, but
in the spring. It was some of the most aromatic honey I’ve ever
Original Gravity: 1.098 experienced. The floral notes were outstanding, and for that reason
Final Gravity: Unknown I didn’t boil the honey with the water. This and the wine yeast used
Boil time: 0 minutes – see Directions and Meadmaker’s Notes preserved those florals quite well.”

they pulled down three medals in the
Sower’s Cup, including Best of Show for
their Kalyke Blonde, a Belgian specialty Paracelsus
ale. The duo plans to open their own German Rye Ale
brewery, Kros-Strain Brewing Company in Recipe by Patrick McCabe
Omaha, in 2016. 2015 Sower’s Cup Sower in the Rye Winner
Ed Bannister of the Lincoln Lagers cap- Partial Mash Recipe

tured the Mead Best of Show with his
2013 Dry Mead. Local meadmaker Claude INGREDIENTS Original Gravity: 1.053
Denn garnered three medals, including a for 6.5 U.S. gallons (24.61 L) ABV: 5.05%
gold for his Hot Mama “capsicumel.” IBU: 27.57
Denn is also jumping into the fray, and 6.0 lb (2.72 kg) Northern Brewer SRM: 8.94
is currently searching for the right space Rye Malt Syrup Brewhouse Efficiency: 70%
to open his meadery in the Lincoln area. 1.0 lb (0.45 kg) Rahr red Boil Time: 60 minutes
wheat malt
The Sower’s Cup has rapidly become a 1.0 lb (0.45 kg) Franco-Belges DIRECTIONS
contest where emerging pro brewers and Vienna malt Mash grains until conversion is reached.
meadmakers are testing out their recipes 1.0 lb (0.45 kg) Briess rye malt Mash out at 170° F (77° C). Strain, rinse
and sharpening their skills…and we will all 1.0 oz (28 g) German Tettnang, grains, and dissolve rye malt extract com-
soon be enjoying the fruits of their labor. 5% a.a. (60 min) pletely. Dilute wort to desired boil volume
1.0 oz (28 g) German Tettnang, and bring to boil, adding hops at stated
Matt Stinchfield is the founder of 5% a.a. (30 min) intervals. Add dry malt extract at 15 minutes
Ploughshare Brewing Co. and an occa- 1.0 lb (0.45 kg) amber dry malt from end of boil. Chill to ale fermentation
sional contributor to Zymurgy and extract (15 min) temperatures and pitch the two yeasts.
The New Brewer. When he’s not imag- 1 tablet Whirlfloc (15 min)
ining crazy mash schedules or pick- 2.0 oz (57 g) Czech Saaz,
ling stinky radishes, he represents the 4.5% a.a. (5 min)
Brewers Association nationwide as its Wyeast 1007 German ale yeast and two
safety ambassador. packets of Saflager S-23 dry yeast
Dunky Brewster Original Gravity: 1.062 Final Gravity: 1.013

Dunkelweizen ABV: 6.4%
Recipe by Clint Bruhn IBU: 18.3
2015 Sower’s Cup No Work Around Decoction (Pro-Am) Winner SRM: 17.4
Brewhouse Efficiency: 74%
INGREDIENTS Boil Time: 60 minutes
for 5.25 U.S. gallons (19.87 L)
DIRECTIONS
8.0 oz (227 g) rice hulls (4.1%) Use a single decoction mash, with rice hulls to aid lautering. Mash
6.0 lb (2.72 kg) white wheat malt (49%) in with an acid rest at 111° F (44° C) and hold 15 minutes. Pull 9.5
3.25 lb (1.47 kg) 10° L Munich malt (26.5%) quarts (9.0 L) of mash and bring decoction to a boil. Add back to
1.75 lb (0.79 kg) Vienna malt (14.3%) main mash and stabilize at 152° F (67° C); hold for 45 minutes. Add
6.0 oz (170 g) 60° L caramel malt (3.1%) heat to mash out at 168° F (76° C) for 5 minutes. Fly sparge at 168°
6.0 oz (170 g) 350° L chocolate malt (3.1%) F (76° C). Boil 60 minutes. Ferment at ale temperatures. Bottle with
1.0 oz (28 g) Saaz, 3.75% a.a. (60 min) 12.3 IBUs 4.2 oz (119 g) corn sugar to achieve 2.4 vol. CO2.
1.0 oz (28 g) Saaz, 3.75% a.a. (15 min) 6.1 IBUs
0.5 tsp yeast nutrient (10 min) PARTIAL MASH RECIPE: (Extract version is not recommended
White Labs WLP380 Hefeweizen IV ale yeast due to focus on decoction mash.) Omit rice hulls, Munich, and
wheat malts. Mash Vienna, caramel, and chocolate malts at 152° F
(67° C) for 45 minutes. Drain, rinse grains, and dissolve 2.5 lb (1.13
kg) Munich malt extract syrup and 5 lb (2.27 kg) wheat malt extract
syrup completely. Top off with RO water to desired boil volume and
proceed as above.

KUDOS—Best of Show
AHA/BJCP Sanctioned Competition Program
August 2015 1st Annual Champlain Valley Fair Homebrew State Amateur Brewing Show of South Australia,
Oregon State Fair Homebrew Competition, Contest, 32 entries—Michael Vita, Jericho, VT 321 entries—Daniel Bartholomaeus, Adelaide,
279 entries—Jason Blair, Corvallis, OR Schooner Homebrew Competition, 308 entries— Australia
Beer and Sweat, 317 entries—Jack Smith, Baden, PA Matthew Lakota, Hawthorn Woods, IL Picnique Belgique, 84 entries—Jon Morman,
4th Annual Labor of Love Homebrew Competition, Independence, MO
Deutchbier! German Beer, 22 entries—
Kieran Castelli 144 entries—Richard Ward, Dallas, TX The Great Frederick Fair, 79 entries—Josh Ware,
Western Australia State Amateur Beer Frederick, MD
Washington State Fair, 124 entries—Jack Vincent,
Kent, WA Competition, 400 entries—Philip Brandenburg, Rocktoberfest Homebrew Competition,
Perth, Western Australia 69 entries—Jason Barker, Beaverton, OR
OC Fest of Ales - Brew My Brew Challenge,
189 entries—James Bray and Brittany Kester, Beer Quest SMaSH, 19 entries—Tim Oehlerking Fifty Fest Brewmaster’s Choice, 210 entries—
Santa Ana, CA and Jacob Miller, Lincoln, NE Brian Murray, Cincinnati, OH
Eastern Idaho State Fair Home Brew Competition, 3rd Annual Grace Lutheran Bier Brauen, Nez Perce County Fair, 32 entries—Pete Ruppel,
88 entries—Bill Baer, Salmon, ID 61 entries—Paul Waite, Riverton, UT Clarkston, WA
Primer Concurso Interno del Club de Cerveceros Lonerider Brew it Forward VII, 41 entries— Overmountain Brewers Club Only #16,#17, #18,
Caseros de Uruguay, 40 entries—Mariana Sosa, Kevin Moore, Fuquay Varina, NC 10 entries—Elmore Link, Abingdon VA
Montevideo, Uruguay DRAFT Brewfest, 243 entries—Ashley Whitney- Saskatoon Headhunters Brewing Competition,
Rawls, Beavercreek, OH 256 entries—Alvaro Reyes, Surrey, BC
September 2015
UK National Homebrew Competition, II Concurso Estadual da ACervA-ES, 26 entries—
Competencia Amateur - Cerveza Mexico 2015
719 entries—Matthew Dutton, Manchester Carlos Henrique Menezes E Silva, Vila Velha
(Ronda Final), 64 entries—J. Salvador Gonzalez,
Guadalajara Santa Cruz County Fair Homebrew Competition, Texas Meadfest Competition 2015, 134 entries—
86 entries—Ken Simmons, Scotts Valley, CA Jeff Oberlin, Friendswood, TX
II Concurso Sul Brasileiro de Cervejas Caseiras,
359 entries—Adriano Butzke, Joinville, SC Blue Ridge Brew Off, 602 entries—Zach Kosslow, Southeast Alaska’s Autumn Pour Homebrew
Wilmington, NC Competition, 44 entries—Grant Ficek, Juneau, AK

AHA/BJCP Sanctioned Competition Program
Tulsa State Fair Homebrew Competition, Liffey Brewers German Beer Competition, Byggvir’s Big Beer Cup, 181 entries—
85 entries—David Thompson, Tulsa, OK 48 entries—James Keane, Dublin Jordan Standish, Minneapolis, MN
LJT’s Rhymes & Vines Texas Music Festival & 2015 Maryland Microbrewery Festival Homebrew Roxtoberfest Homebrew Competition, 7 entries—
Homebrew Competition, 41 entries— Competition, 157 entries—Matt Cronin, Chevy Dan Burnip, Philadelphia, PA
Shawn Graham, Ft. Worth, TX Chase, MD 2015 Sonoma County Harvest Fair Home Brew
Queensland Amateur Brewing Championship, Pacific Brewers Cup, 458 entries—Brett Gent, Competition, 65 entries—Sean O’Conner, Glen
388 entries—Nathan Semmens, Brisbane, Newport Beach, CA Ellen, CA
Queensland SouthYeasters’ Spring Fest, 17 entries— Fresh Hop Ale Festival Homebrew, 36 entries—
Roberts Cove Germanfest Homebrew Russel Naude, Cape Town Stephanie Rodriguez, Yakima, WA
Competition, 67 entries—Ryan Speyrer and Simon Lambert & Sons Stouts & Porters Old Forge Big Beer and Odd Ale Competition,
Kevin Vincent, Lafayette, LA Competition, 40 entries—Mark Lucey, Kildare, 34 entries—Adam Kugler, Syracuse, NY
Kirkland Oktobrewfest, 108 entries—Nikolaj Lasbo, Ireland Alabama Brew-Off, 197 entries—Shawn Scott,
Seattle, WA McAlester, OK
October 2015
6 Concurso Estadual de Cervejeiros, 77 entries— Ensenada Oktoberfest, 12 entries—Samuel Ivan
Bavarian Beer Bash Home Brew, 11 entries—
Jorge do Val, Sao Paulo Gonzalez Romero, Tijuana Baja California Norte
Rodney Kibzey, Portland, OR
Keep Florence Beautiful BrewFest, 34 entries— Southern California Fair Homebrew Competition,
GTA Brew Slam, 318 entries—John Henley,
Joseph Chassereau, St. George, SC 91 entries—Sandy Banbury, Fallbrook, CA
Durham, ON
Big Fresno Fair Homebrew Competition, Members of Barleyment & Beau’s Oktoberfest 3rd
Michigan Mead Cup, 107 entries—Paul Zimmerman,
161 entries—Sean Wood, Fresno, CA Annual Homebrew Competition, 333 entries—
Ferndale, MI
HAZtoberfest, 163 entries—Robert Hemphill, Mark Pennell, Wolfville, NS
Kingsport Oktoberfest Black Forest Brewoff,
Colorado Springs, CO Orpheus Cup MeadFest, 107 entries—
55 entries—Brent Dingus, Lebanon, VA
NOLA on Tap Homebrew Competition, David Thiebault, Denver, CO
O’Zapft, 174 entries—Keith and Pam Bradley,
78 entries—Shan Guha, New Orleans, LA
Austin, TX
Modern homebrew recipes

Explor
Explore beer style development with recipes for
100+ beers, featuring some of the 2015 BJCP
of t categories.
style
ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Three-time winner of the American Homebrewers Association
Ninkasi Award, Gordon Strong is president and highest ranking
$19.95 judge in the Beer Judge Certification Program, and principal

author of the BJCP Style Guidelines.
Brewers Publications
BrewersPublications.com A Division of the Brewers Association

www.BrewersAssociation.org ®

AHA/BJCP Sanctioned
Competition Program
Brixtoberfest, 179 entries—Nick Konwerski, IL
Sower’s Cup, 338 entries—Scott Strain and Bobby
Kros, Omaha, NE
Celebrewtion, 60 entries—Christopher Norris,
San Jose, CA
Oaktoberfest, 81 entries—Keith Kost,
San Francisco, CA
Southern New England Regional Homebrew
Competition, 405 entries—Douglas Gladue and
Frank Bellonio, Guilford, CT
Big Muddy Monster Brew Fest Homebrew
Competition, 103 entries—Bryan Canavan,
Paducah, KY
TRASH XXV, 297 entries—Michael McCaffrey,
Miamisburg, OH
EduCate the Mash Heads, 26 entries—Paul
Duddles, San Diego, CA
1 Concurso CervaSerra de Cervejas, 30
entries—Jocemar Gross, Caxias do Sul - RS
Jacktoberfest, 96 entries—Rodney Kibzey,
Portland, OR
Made on American Street, 26 entries—
Josh Nacey, Philadelphia, PA
NEPA Conical Cup, 192 entries—David Richards,
Montoursville, PA
Nevada State Homebrew Championship
(NSHC) 2015, 94 entries—Jimmy Doyle, Las
Vegas, NV
Australian Amateur Brewing Championship,
342 entries—Ben Harmer, ACT
5th Copa Cerveceros Caseros de Chile, 74
entries—Verónica Carrasco and Diego Salvo,
Santiago, Chile
Ramona Homebrew Competition, 64 entries—
Michael Nelson, Ramona, CA
Oktobersbest Homebrew Competition,
207 entries—David Mangels, Loveland, OH
Nordeast Big River Homebrew Competition by
the Nordeast Brewers Alliance, 146 entries—
Adam Meyers, MN
Queen of Beer Women’s Homebrew
Competition, 95 entries—Mary Taylor, Valrico, FL
Brews in the Burg, 90 entries—Brian Bergquist,
Mineral, VA
HomeBrew Fest In West, 35 entries—
Nicholas Matulich, Bozeman, MT
Ida Grove Wine & Bier Contest, 48 entries—
Greg and Jennifer Woods, Greensboro, NC

AHA/BJCP Sanctioned
Competition Program
SFBC Harvest Homebrew Competition,
35 entries—Seth Ratzleff, Kitchener, ON
Valhalla: The Mead-ing Of Life 2015, 95 entries—
Ryan and Meghan Ludwig, Allentown PA
14th Annual Oregon Brew Crew Fall Classic,
356 entries—Derrick Risner, Corvallis, OR
Arizona Fall Classic Homebrew Competition,
248 entries—Mark Peterson, Queen Creek, AZ
10th Annual New England Regional Homebrew
Competition, 443 entries—Tim Thomssen,
Lincoln, NE
Join the SYLB network Anchor Town Invitational Homebrew

Competition, 67 entries—Thomas Spain,
and help us spread the word Anchorage, AK

Pride of Southside Homebrew Invitational,
6 entries—Joseph Parker, Irving, TX
CraftBeer.com/SYLB November 2015

2015 Barley & Hops Hoopla, 30 entries—
Mike Martel, Kirksville, MO
CraftBeer.com
Presented by the Brewers Association
BY MICHAEL TONSMEIRE
FOREWORD BY VINNIE CILURZO
American craft brewers and homebrewers

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Brewers Publications
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A Division of the Brewers Association
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AHA/BJCP Sanctioned
Competition Program Calendar
For complete calendar, competition and judging information go to
HomebrewersAssociation.org/pages/competitions
January 8 January 30 February 20

Big Beers, Belgians & Barleywines Homebrew Appalachian Home Brewers Bash Napa Homebrewers Classic
Competition Johnson City, TN. Entry Deadline: 1/10/2016. Napa, CA. Entry Deadline: 1/30/2016.
Vail, CO. Entry Deadline: 12/5/2015. https://www.facebook.com/homebrewersbash?_ northnaparotary.org/napa_homebrewers_classic
bigbeersfestival.com rdr=p
February 20
January 9 January 30 2016 Midwinter Homebrew Competition
Belle City Winter Warmer Stout Bout Milwaukee, WI. Entry Deadline: 2/6/2016.
Racine, WI. Entry Deadline: 1/2/2016. Portland, OR. Entry Deadline: 1/10/2016. midwinterhbc.com
winterwarmer.org pbcstoutbout.com
February 27
January 15 February 6 Romancing the Beer
Big Bend Brewoff 11th Annual Peterson Air Force Base Thousand Oaks, CA. Entry Deadline: 2/12/2016.
Tallahassee, FL. Entry Deadline: 1/8/2016. Homebrew Competition toaked.com/competition/
nfbl.org Colorado Springs, CO. Entry Deadline: 1/22/2016.
February 27
brewscene.com
January 16 23rd Annual Peach State Brew Off
Mardi Gras Casino 3rd Annual Homebrew February 6 Avondale Estates, GA.
Competition Domras Cup Mead Competition chs.homebrewcomp.com/chs/psbo2016.html
Hallandale Beach, FL. Entry Deadline: 1/8/2016. Savannah, GA. Entry Deadline: 1/27/2016.
February 27
mardigrascasinofl.com savannahbrewers.com/domrascup.php
The Coconut Cup
January 16 February 11 Miami, FL. Entry Deadline: 1/30/2016.
Heart of Dixie Open Great Northern Brew Ha Ha miami-homebrew.org/competitions/2016-coconut-
Birmingham, AL. Entry Deadline: 1/8/2016. Duluth, MN Entry Deadline: 2/1/2016. cup/
greatnorthernbrewhaha.brewcomp.com
January 16 February 28
Winterbrew 2016 February 13 SFBC Sub Zero Homebrew Competition
Chicago, IL. Entry Deadline: 1/4/2016. Sweethearts Revenge Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. Entry Deadline:
squarekegs.com Loveland, CO. Entry Deadline: 2/5/2016. 2/26/2016.
weizguys.com/revenge/ shortfingerbrewing.com/pages/subzero
January 29
Mad Monk Mash-Up February 13 March 5
DeLand, FL. Entry Deadline: 1/11/2016. 2016 GEBL IPA Bracket Challenge Lethbridge Werthogs 17th Annual WertContest
drinkvolusia.com/mad-monk-mash-up Everett, WA. Entry Deadline: 2/6/2016. Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada. Entry Deadline:
gebl.org/articles/2016-gebl-ipa-bracket-challenge/ 2/26/2016.
January 30
Champion of the Pint February 20 March 5
Maryland Heights, MO. Entry Deadline: 1/15/2016. KCBM 33rd Annual Competition Concurso HomeBrew ACCE M16
garagebrewers.com/champion-of-the-pint/ Kansas City, MO. Entry Deadline: 2/5/2016. Madrid, Spain. Entry Deadline: 2/28/2016.
kcbiermeisters.org/comp/
January 30 March 12
Minnesota Mash-Out XV (formerly Upper February 20 26th Annual Hudson Valley Homebrewers
Mississippi Mash-Out) El Dorado County Fair Competition
St. Paul, MN. Entry Deadline: 1/16/2016. Placerville, CA. Entry Deadline: 2/5/2016. Poughkeepsie, NY. Entry Deadline: 3/4/2016.
mashout.org eldoradocountyfair.org/brew-competition.html hvhb.brewcomp.com
March 12
Bluebonnet Brew-Off
DFW, TX. Entry Deadline: 1/28/2016.
bluebonnetbrewoff.org
March 18
6th Copa Cerveceros Caseros de Chile
Santiago Metropolitana, Chile. Entry Deadline:
3/11/2016.
minicerveceria.cl/sitio/index.php
March 19
Mazer Cup International Home Competition
Broomfield, CO. Entry Deadline: 3/4/2016.
mazercup.com
E W EB
TH
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For an up-to-date calendar

of AHA and BJCP events
go to the Events section of
HomebrewersAssociation.org

“MEMBERSHIP HAS PAID FOR ITSELF 10 TIMES OVER
WITH ALL OF THE AHA MEMBER DEALS DISCOUNTS.
DEFINITELY WORTH IT!”
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38th Annual American Homebrewers Association®
National Homebrewers Conference
JUNE 9-11, 20160• BALTIMORE

Registration opens in March
American Homebrewers Association

A Division of the Brewers Association
www.BrewersAssociation.org

COMMERCIAL CALIBRATION
One way beer judges check their palates is by using commercial “calibration beers”—classic versions of the style they
represent. Zymurgy has assembled a panel of four judges who have attained the rank of Grand Master in the Beer Judge
Certification Program. Each issue, they score two commercial beers (or meads or ciders) using the BJCP scoresheet. We
invite you to download your own scoresheets at bjcp.org, pick up a bottle of each of the beverages and judge along with
them in ourr Commerciall Calibration.
E WEB
TH
able amount of crystal malt or have a
N
>> O
Oskar Blues Brewery
malty-sweet finish. www.oskarblues.com
Port Brewing Co.
Oskar Blues G’Knight, a dry-hopped www.portbrewing.com
imperial red ale, was created in 2006 and BJCP Style Guidelines
was originally called Gordon, in honor of www.bjcp.org
Colorado craft beer pioneer and Vietnam Commercial Calibration Index
veteran Gordon Knight. Knight perished HomebrewersAssociation.org/pages/zymurgy/
in a 2002 helicopter crash while fight- commercial-calibration
ing a wildfire near Lyons, Colo. In 2013,
the name of the beer was changed at the
request of Gordon Biersch Brewery in
order to avoid brand confusion. OUR EXPERT PANEL David
Houseman, a Grand Master V level judge
T h issue, our judges
his d explored
l d the
newly created American Strong Ale
category (22B). According to the BJCP
h
G’Knight is hopped with Columbus in
the kettle, and dry-hopped with Amarillo
and competition director for the BJCP
from Chester Springs, Pa.; Beth Zangari, a
Grand Master II level judge from Placerville,
2015 Style Guidelines, American Strong (two pounds per barrel, according to the Calif. and founding member of Hangtown
Ale is “a strong, full-flavored American brewery). The beer checks in at 8.7 per- Association of Zymurgy Enthusiasts
ale that challenges and rewards the pal- cent ABV and 60 IBU. The brewery refers (H.A.Z.E.); Scott Bickham, a Grand Master
ate with full malty and hoppy flavors and to G’Knight as a “Velvet M-80 with a nose III judge from Corning, N.Y., who has been
substantial bitterness. The flavors are bold full of aroma, a sticky mouthfeel, a malty exam director or associate exam direc-
but complementary, and are stronger and middle, and unctuous hop flavors.” tor for the BJCP since 1995; and Gordon
richer than average-strength pale and Strong, a Grand Master IX judge, principal
amber American ales.” Next up was Port Brewing’s Shark Attack, author of the BJCP Style Guidelines, and
a double red ale. The brewery calls Shark president of the BJCP board who lives in
Beavercreek, Ohio.
The category is termed a “fairly broad Attack a “stronger, more robust version” of
style” that can include modern double/ the original Shark Bite Red Ale, brewed with
imperial red and amber ales and “other roasted and caramel malts. Shark Attack
strong, malty-but-hoppy beers that checks in at 9 percent ABV and 70 IBU. Centennial and Cascade. Port Brewing
aren’t quite in the barleywine class.” It founder Tomme Arthur recommends
can include many East Coast versions of Imported crystal 60 and 77 malts are pairing Shark Attack with pizza, wings,
IPA if they are brewed with a consider- used in the brew, which is hopped with and football games.

THE SCORES
G’Knight—Oskar Blues Brewery, Longmont, Colo.
BJCP Category: 22B, American Strong Ale
THE JUDGES’ SCORES FOR G’KNIGHT
Aroma: Assertive citrus and pine Aroma: Pronounced tangerine Aroma: Initial notes of caramel Aroma: Strong hop aroma, quite
hop aroma dominates with cara- zest, honeydew melon, and piney and toasted breadcrumbs, followed fruity. Moderate pine and resin
mel and two-row malt backbone. hops dominate first impression; by pine and citrus hops. Perfumey notes. Moderately strong malt with
Moderately fruity fermentation notes of cedar, with lightly sweet and light solvent alcohol aromatics. a toasty, caramel, sweet character.
esters. Noticeable but pleasant caramel malt in the background. Low level of roasted malt and light Moderate alcohol sharpness. Fruity
alcohol aroma. No diacetyl or DMS. A hint of ripe guava emerges, then tropical fruit esters. Balance is tilted esters include stone fruit and tropi-
Overall, a balanced and inviting fades. (9/12) toward the alcohol. (8/12) cal notes, with mango and apri-
aroma. (10/12) cot. Clean fermentation character.
Appearance: Very clear copper; a Appearance: Reddish-copper
(10/12)
Appearance: Bright amber color. pale yellow misty foam peppered color with excellent clarity. Perfect
Brilliant clarity. Dense, beige, long- with various-sized bubbles persists. conditioning, showcased by a low, Appearance: Moderate-sized
lasting head. (3/3) (3/3) light beige head that lasts very beige head, decent retention.
well. (3/3) Reddish-copper color. Very clear.
Flavor: Caramel maltiness up front Flavor: Toasty rich crystal malt sup-
(3/3)
with high citrus and piney hop fla- ports pronounced citrus-pine hop Flavor: Initial malt sweetness with
vor. High hop bitterness balances flavor, with an initially low, ripe, toffee, caramel, and a hint of roast- Flavor: Malty, fruity, bitter, and
the malt sweetness with lingering honeydew-casaba melon character ed malt. Pine and citrus hops with strong; nicely balanced. Clean malt
sweetness and bitterness. Mineral that becomes more prominent with a slight grassy character. Alcohol is character with toast and caramel
saltiness in flavor and aftertaste. each sip. Well balanced among not as aggressive as expected from flavors, yet not overly sweet. Dry
Moderate to high fruity esters substantial toasty malt, assertive the aroma. Fermentation character finish. Strong fruity esters are
blend well with the caramel and hop bitterness, and complementary is fairly clean, with low to moderate prominent; many of them seem
pale malts. Noticeable alcohol fla- complex, fruity, resiny hop flavor. fruity esters. (16/20) hop-derived. The fruit enhances
vor; not hot or fusel. No DMS or Clean fermentation. Finish dances the malt flavor—delicious. High bit-
Mouthfeel: Moderately high alco-
diacetyl. (17/20) between toast and complex, char- terness, medium-high hop flavor
holic warmth. Light astringency,
acterful hop flavor and lingering with citrus and resiny notes. (17/20)
Mouthfeel: Medium-full body. but not unpleasant. Moderate car-
bitterness. (17/20)
Lingering bitterness and smooth bonation helps create a creamy Mouthfeel: Full body, mouth-
malt sweetness in mouthfeel with- Mouthfeel: Medium body, creamy mouthfeel. (3/5) filling carbonation (high), with a
out astringency. Warming alcohol. texture without astringency. heavy mouthfeel. Warming alcohol,
Overall Impression: Balanced
(5/5) Warming alcohol in the finish lin- not hot. Dryness improves drink-
caramel malt and American hops
gers, with a tingling sensation. ability. (4/5)
Overall Impression: A very tasty are overshadowed by the alcohol—
(4/5)
and drinkable beer. It hits all the particularly in the aroma. Some Overall Impression: Strong malt
marks for this newly defined BJCP Overall Impression: Assertive and alcohol should be noticeable, but and hop flavors with high fruity
style while maintaining its place as vibrant hop character presents a not overwhelming in this style. notes. The hop varieties enhance
a double, or imperial, red IPA. A bit complex array of fruits—tanger- Overall, a pleasant and interesting the malt without clashing (a com-
of roasted or toasted malts would ine, honeydew, and guava—that sipping beer that has a home in the mon problem in this style). Alcohol
add to the complexity. Pairs well complements the big, toasty, sweet new American Strong Ale category. is quite high. Clean fermentation
with aged cheddar cheese. (8/10) malt profile, presenting a smooth (7/10) and malt profile. Big body, but
combination of bitter and sweet. drinkability is good. It’s a difficult
Total Score: (43/50) Total Score: (37/50)
The smooth, creamy texture masks balance to achieve but this beer
the significant alcohol content, as walks the line deftly. (9/10)
does the complex hop character;
Total Score: (43/50)
dangerously easy to sip. (7/10)
Illustrations by Terry McNerney

THE SCORES
Shark Attack—Port Brewing Co., San Marcos, Calif.
BJCP Category: 22B, American Strong Ale
THE JUDGES’ SCORES FOr SHARK ATTACK
Aroma: Citrus and resin hop Aroma: Strong Douglas fir, orange, Aroma: Hop-forward aroma, with Aroma: Sharp aroma, deep toast,
aroma up front with significant and mango aromas dominate the pine and lemon. Aromatic alcohols and grainy malt. Moderately fruity.
alcohol presence. Caramel and first whiff, followed by toasted lend perfume but also a touch of Alcohol sharpness dominates. Hops
lightly roasted malts provide bal- bread malt as a background note. solvent character. Subtle caramel are more in the background but are
ance and support the hops and Pear and dried plum esters emerge malt. Hint of roast character blends pungent, with a citrusy-resiny qual-
alcohol. Moderate fruity fermenta- on a swirl. (8/12) with sherry-like notes from oxida- ity. Somewhat grassy. Aromatics
tion esters. No DMS or diacetyl. tion. Low to moderate tropical fruit don’t seem well blended. Fruit
Appearance: Lively, rough, pale
(10/12) esters add complexity. (8/12) character grows as it warms. (8/12)
yellow foam grows to three-fourths
Appearance: Hazy and cloudy, of the glass, topping the brilliant Appearance: Deep copper color; a Appearance: Fairly hazy. Opaque.
although this settled for several burnished amber liquid. Foam per- little hazy. Creamy off-white head Frothy beige head. Deep amber-red
days before serving at cool but not sists. (3/3) lasts nicely, with a small layer of color. (2/3)
cold temperature. Amber color. Big, tight beads leaving lace on the
Flavor: Rich toasty, bready malt Flavor: Malty-sweet with deep
rocky, beige head lingers. (2/3) sides of the glass. (3/3)
dominates the first sip with notes caramel flavors and deep toast-
Flavor: Malty sweetness gives of dried plums toward the middle Flavor: Emphasis is on the hops, ed notes; a hint of roast. Sharp
way to high hop bitterness and and end. Balance dances between but malt backbone provides cara- bite in finish from dark malts and
resiny, citrus hop flavor. Caramel substantial hop bitterness and mel and toast. Light roasted notes alcohol. Strong alcohol aftertaste.
malt dominates, with low roast sweet malt mid-palate, then gives help dry out the finish. Moderately Bitterness is high but malt richness
notes. Some yeasty elements result way to a substantial bitterness. high citrus, floral, and lemon notes; offsets it. Deep flavors of dried
in a somewhat muddled character. The hop character presents with hints of mango and pineapple. fruit and burnt sugar. Hop flavor is
Finish is balanced and bittersweet. Douglas fir and citrus flavor, and Tropical fruit esters add complexity. moderately high, somewhat resiny
High alcohol flavor, but not hot or balances the toasty, sugary malt Moderately high hop bitterness. and fruity. (15/20)
fusel. Fruity fermentation esters. sweetness, reminiscent of golden (17/20)
Mouthfeel: Full body. High car-
No DMS. No diacetyl. (16/20) toasted marshmallow crust, accent-
Mouthfeel: Creaminess envelops bonation. Warming alcohol, some-
ed with a light tropical fruit and
Mouthfeel: Medium-full body. the palate. Alcoholic warmth is a what masked by the full maltiness.
dried plum character. (16/20)
Smooth, nearly creamy maltiness little harsh and solvent-like, but not Alcohol has a hot edge. (3/5)
to mouthfeel. Lingering bitterness Mouthfeel: Fluffy carbonation overbearing. Very low astringency
Overall Impression: Dark malts,
is clean without astringency. High with moderately strong alcohol from the high hop bitterness and
strong alcohol, and high carbon-
alcohol warmth. (5/5) warmth that accentuates a prickly perhaps the roasted malt. (4/5)
ation make this a bit difficult to
carbonation, and lingering, tingling
Overall Impression: Complex Overall Impression: Complex fla- drink. Age could add some smooth-
finish. (4/5)
malt profile. Pleasing hop balance. vor profile leans toward the hops. ness but the sharpness in the finish
A very drinkable, fairly balanced Overall Impression: Big, well bal- The alcohol is essential in this style, is unpleasant now. The darkness of
big beer. With a bit more bitterness anced, and surprisingly strong, this but comes across as slightly harsh. the character malts could be adding
it could just as well be an imperial beer continually dances between Could be smoothed out with aging a near-burnt flavor. Flavors seem to
red IPA, or, with its alcohol level, an bitter and sweet, with a toasted, (although there is already some clash. Seems to be more about
American barleywine. Perfect with crystal malt flavor serving as a sherry character evident in the flavor intensity than how well the
spicy wings or nachos. (8/10) foundation. Warming. (7/10) aroma). Creamy mouthfeel adds flavors work together. (7/10)
depth. (8/10)
Total Score: (41/50) Total Score: (38/50) Total Score: (35/50)

by Charlie Papazian
WORLD OF W ORTS
Visionary
Mild
B y the time you read this, more than
4,100 breweries will be operating in
the U.S. Two new breweries are open-
ing every day in this country. Those
statistics, along with the mind-bending
estimate of 1.2 million homebrewers in
the U.S., are staggering.
This past October, the Great American

Beer Festival drew more than 60,000
people over a three-day period to sample
3,800 beers from 750-plus breweries.
More than 6,600 beers were judged in the
Great American Beer Festival competi-
tion. That still pales in comparison to the
7,600 beers judged in the 2015 American Brew this one up, gaze into your glass,
Homebrewers Association’s National
Homebrew Competition.
and we’ll see what the future holds,
together as homebrewers.
“Charlie, did you ever foresee this hap-
pening?” is asked of me quite regularly. diminished my enthusiasm for beer educa- To put it mildly, the people of the world
Up until now, my standard answer has tion, quality, and diversity. I would still be want craft beer from homebrewers and
been something along the lines of, “Yes, I homebrewing, as I do now. If there were small, independent brewers, so let’s cut the
did foresee this, but only when I drank too only 50 breweries in the U.S. and 10,000 shuck and jive and get on with the recipe.
much of my own homebrew and started homebrewers, I’d probably still be labeled a
dreaming crazy dreams.” Fundamentally, raving lunatic due to my enthusiasm. I recently formulated a new beer called
I’m coming to grips with reality; there Visionary Mild. It’s a mild light brown
is now another answer I would like to But all of that brings us to now. Whatever ale brewed with a relatively new type of
reveal. That answer is a simple “No!” we say now, whatever we predict, whatev- crystal malt made by Simpsons called
er we champion—it’s all speculation. Isn’t Double Roasted Crystal (DRC) malt, 120°
Me a visionary? Well, kind of. Maybe. But, it? It doesn’t hurt to speculate—look what L. It’s a crystalized caramel malt of a
wow! Now, one of every 200 American we’ve achieved so far. The world of beer similar genre as Belgian maltster Castle
adults makes his or her own beer. I used is changed forever—everywhere in the Malting’s Special B and U.S. maltster
to lead the cheer: “A brewery in every world! It is changing one five-gallon batch Briess’s Roasted Caramel Malts. All of
town! A homebrewer in every neighbor- of homebrew at a time. As homebrewers, them add a degree of mildly sweet, dark
hood!” I said it, and it came true. Did I we continue to alter the beer paradigm. caramel along with raisin, prune, and
consider myself a visionary? No, not at dried fruit-like complexity to beer.
all. I was simply very enthusiastic about As we watch the largest brewing companies
the quality of beer we were all making and in the world get bigger and their competi- Also significant in the recipe is tradi-
about the homebrewing movement we tors disappear, the world of beer and the tional English brown malt, which lends
were all rallying behind. To others I must attitudes of beer drinkers are evolving. an unusual toasted, but not sweet, dry-
have seemed like a ranting crazy person. Something very dramatic is going to hap- ness to beers. If you are formulating beers
pen. There’s a dichotomy out there that will that tend to head in the direction of sweet
I am no more or less a visionary because it not survive. That dichotomy will be bridged and fruity, a bit of brown malt has a good
did come true. I could have just as well been by small brewers, homebrewers, and beer counter-balancing effect on the overall
dead wrong. In any case, it wouldn’t have drinking enthusiasts; not by the mighty. impression and drinkability.

Visionary Mild
ALL GRAIN RECIPE
DIRECTIONS
INGREDIENTS A step infusion mash is employed to mash the grains. Add 8 quarts
for 5.5 U.S. gallons (21 L) (7.6 L) of 140° F (60° C) water to the crushed grain, stir, stabilize and
hold the temperature at 132° F (56° C) for 30 minutes. Add 4 quarts
6.5 lb (3 kg) Maris Otter English 2-row malt (3.8 L) of boiling water and add heat to bring temperature up to
12.0 oz (340 g) Simpson’s Double Roasted Crystal 120° L 155° F (68° C) and hold for about 30 minutes. Raise temperature to
12.0 oz (340 g) English brown malt 167° F (75° C), lauter and sparge with 3.5 gallons (13.25 L) of 170° F
0.25 oz (7 g) UK Northdown hop pellets, 6.2% a.a. (1.5 (77° C) water. Collect about 5.5 gallons (21 L) of runoff. Add 60-min-
HBU/43 MBU) 60 min ute hops and bring to a full and vigorous boil.
1.0 oz (28 g) UK Kent Golding hops, 6% a.a. (6 HBU/168
MBU) 60 min The total boil time will be 60 minutes. When 10 minutes remain,
1.0 oz (28 g) UK Kent Golding hops, 6% a.a., 5 min add the Irish moss. When five minutes remain, add the five-minute
1.25 oz (35 g) wild hops, add and steep after boiling hops. After the boil is finished, add the steep-after-boiling hops.
0.75 oz (21 g) Crystal hop pellets, 5.5% a.a., dry hop After a total wort boil of 60 minutes, turn off the heat and place
0.25 tsp (1 g) powdered Irish moss the pot (with cover on) in a running cold-water bath for 30 minutes.
American ale yeast. I use White Labs WLP862 Cry Havoc yeast Continue to chill in the immersion or use other methods to chill your
0.75 cup (175 ml) corn sugar (priming bottles) or 0.33 cup wort. Strain and sparge the wort into a sanitized fermenter. Bring the
(80 ml) corn sugar for kegging total volume to 5 gallons (19 L) with additional cold water if neces-
sary. Aerate the wort very well.
Target Original Gravity: 1.040 (10 B)
Target Extraction Efficiency: 75% Pitch the yeast when temperature of wort is about 70° F (21° C).
Approximate Final Gravity: 1.009 (2.3 B) Ferment at about 70° F (21° C) for about one week or when fermen-
IBUs: about 35 tation shows signs of calm and stopping. Rack from your primary to
Approximate Color: 16 SRM (32 EBC) a secondary and add the hop pellets for dry hopping. If you have the
Alcohol: 4.0% by volume capability “cellar” the beer at about 55° F (12.5° C) for about one
week. Prime with sugar and bottle or keg when complete.
Advertiser Index
*
Allagash Brewing Company .......................................66 Coldbreak Brewing, LLC ...........................................14 MoreBeer! Homebrewing Supplies ............................66
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Anvil Brewing Equipment ...........................................4 FastRack ....................................................................16 Northern Brewer .......................................................75
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Austin Homebrew Supply .........................................22 Fermentis ..................................................................42 Pacific Merchants dba Krome Dispense .....................19
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Ballast Point Brewing and Spirits ...................... Cover 4 Five Star Chemicals & Supply, Inc. ...........................57 PicoBrew ...................................................................63
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BH Enterprises ..........................................................22 Gotta Brew, LLC ........................................................75 Samuel Adams.............................................................8
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Blichmann Engineering .............................................69 Grandstand Glassware • Apparel • Promotional .......11 Shmaltz Brewing Company ..................................31,62
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Brewers Publications ..................................74,76,77,79 Harper Collins .................................................................64 South College - Knoxville..........................................43
www.BrewersPublications.com www.harpercollins.com www.SouthCollegeTN.edu
Brewing Tools ............................................................10 High Gravity Homebrewing & Winemaking Supplies ..47 Spike Brewing ...........................................................27
www.brewingtools.com www.highgravitybrew.com www.spikebrewing.com
BrewJacket ................................................................64 Hobby Beverage Equipment ......................................62 Ss Brewing Technologies ........................................2,49
www.brewjacket.com www.minibrew.com www.ssbrewtech.com
Briess Malt & Ingredients Company..........................55 Home Brewery, The ...................................................62 Tel-Tru Manufacturing Company ..............................25
www.brewingwithbriess.com www.homebrewery.com www.teltrubrew.com
BSG Handcraft ....................................... 20,45,Cover 3 Industrial Test Systems ..............................................47 Uinta Brewing Co ......................................................49
www.BSGHandCraft.com www.sensafe.com www.uintabrewing.com
Carhartt .......................................................................5 love2brew Homebrew Supply ...................................18 White Labs ................................................................16
www.Carhartt.com www.love2brew.com www.WhiteLabs.com
Castle Malting ...........................................................39 Larry’s Brewing Supply ..............................................64 Wyeast Laboratories Inc. ...........................................65
www.castlemalting.com www.larrysbrewsupply.com www.wyeastlab.com
Cicerone Certification Program .................................52 Micro Matic USA, Inc. ...............................................23 Yakima Chief-Hopunion ............................................39
www.cicerone.org www.micromatic.com www.Hopunion.com
CMBecker International LLC ............................ Cover 2 Midwest Supplies - Homebrewing and Winemaking ....30
www.kegconnection.com www.MidwestSupplies.com

Visionary Mild
MALT EXTRACT RECIPE
INGREDIENTS DIRECTIONS
for 5.5 U.S. gallons (21 L) Place crushed grains in 2 gallons (7.6 L) of 155° F (68° C) water and
let steep for 30 minutes. Strain out (and rinse with 3 quarts [3 L] hot
5.0 lb (2.3 kg) light malt extract syrup or 4.3 lb (1.95 kg) water) and discard the crushed grains, reserving the approximately
dry light malt extract 2.5 gallons (9.5 L) of liquid to which you will now add malt extract
12.0 oz (340 g) Simpson’s Double Roasted Crystal 120° L and 60 minute hops. Bring to a boil.
12.0 oz (340 g) English brown malt
0.25 oz (7 g) UK Northdown hop pellets 6.2% a.a. (1.5 The total boil time will be 60 minutes. When 10 minutes remain, add
HBU/43 MBU) 60 min the Irish moss. When five minutes remain, add the five-minute hops.
1.25 oz (35 g) UK Kent Goldings hops, 6% a.a. (7.5 After a total wort boil of 60 minutes, turn off the heat and add the
HBU/210 MBU) 60 min steep-after-boiling hops.
1.0 oz (28 g) UK Kent Goldings hops, 6% a.a., 5 min
1.25 oz (35 g) wild hops, add and steep after boiling Immerse the covered pot of wort in a cold water bath and let sit for
0.75 oz (21 g) Crystal hop pellets, 5.5% a.a., dry hop 15-30 minutes or the time it takes to have a couple of homebrews.
0.25 tsp (1 g) powdered Irish moss Strain out and sparge hops and direct the hot wort into a sanitized
American ale yeast. I use White Labs WLP862 Cry Havoc yeast fermenter to which 2.5 gallons (9.5 L) of cold water has been added.
0.75 cup (175 ml) corn sugar (priming bottles) or 0.33 cup If necessary, add cold water to achieve a 5.5 gallon (21 L) batch size.
(80 ml) corn sugar for kegging Aerate the wort very well.
Target Original Gravity: 1.040 (10 B) Pitch the yeast when temperature of wort is about 70° F (21° C).
Target Extraction Efficiency: 75% Ferment at about 70° F (21° C) for about one week or when fermen-
Approximate Final Gravity: 1.009 (2.3 B) tation shows signs of calm and stopping. Rack from your primary to
IBUs: about 35 a secondary and add the hop pellets for dry hopping. If you have the
Approximate Color: 16 SRM (32 EBC) capability “cellar” the beer at about 55° F (12.5° C) for about one
Alcohol: 4.0% by volume week. Prime with sugar and bottle or keg when complete.
Traditional English hops are used in Statement of Ownership, Management, and Circulation
order to not overshadow malt character; (Required by Title U.S.C. 4369)
Zymurgy (ISSN 0196-5921, USPS 018-212) is published bi-monthly by the American Homebrewers Association, a division
in other words, I’m not trying to over- of the Brewers Association, with headquarters at 1327 Spruce Street; Boulder, Colorado 80302. The Editor is Jill Redding
power this beer with American citrus with address same as above. The annual subscription price is $35.00 and $43.00 with a membership to the American
Homebrewers Association. The publication is wholly owned by the Brewers Association, a not-for-profit corporation. The
and fruity hop character. I personally purpose, function and not-for-profit status has not changed during the preceding twelve months, and the average number
of copies of each issue during the preceding twelve and the actual number of copies published nearest to the filing date
have access to home cultivated trans- (September/October 2015 issue) are noted below.
planted wild hops, which with late hop- This information taken from PS Form 3526, signed by Jason Smith, Magazine Art Director, and filed with the United States
Postal Service in Boulder, Colorado.
ping lend a mild protein-like delicious-
Item No. from Extent and Nature of Avg No. Copies each Actual No. Copies Of Single Issue
ness to beer (umami). American Crystal PS Form 3526 Circulation Issue in past 12 months Publishing Nearest to Filing Date
hops or UK Kent Golding are also good a. Total No. Copies (Net Press Run)................................................... 44,739 ................................................................. 39,911
b. Paid and/or Requested Circulation
options for dry hopping. Avoid some of (1) Paid/Requested Outside-County Mail Subscriptions ........... 36,525 ................................................................. 32,437
the traditional English ale yeast strains (2) Paid In-County Subscriptions ............................................................ 74 ......................................................................... 76
that tend to create diacetyl; it will col- (3) Sales through dealers and carriers, street vendors, and counter sales
(not mailed) .....................................................................................3,010 ....................................................................2,808
lide with the malt complexity in this (4) Other Classes Mailed Through USPS .........................................1,249 ....................................................................1,277
beer. American ale yeast is a cleaner and
c. Total Paid and/or Requested Circulation
better option. (Sum of b) .............................................................................................. 40,858 ................................................................. 36,598
d. Distribution by Mail (Samples, Complimentary and other free)

A visionary? Maybe. Brew this one up, (1) Outside-country as stated on Form 3541 ................................1,241 ....................................................................1,281
(2) In-country as stated on Form 3541 ................................................... 0 ............................................................................0
gaze into your glass, and we’ll see what (3) Other classes mailed through USPS ................................................ 26 ......................................................................... 27
the future holds, together as homebrewers. (4) Free Distribution Outside the Mail
(Carriers or other means) ................................................................. 38 .......................................................................225
e. Total Free Distribution (Sum of d) .....................................................1,305 ....................................................................1,533

f. Total Distribution (Sum of c & e) ............................................................................. 42,163 ................................................................. 38,131
Charlie Papazian is founder of the
g. Copies Not Distributed ........................................................................2,578 ....................................................................1,780
American Homebrewers Association,
h. Total (Sum of f and g) 2...................................................................... 44,741 ................................................................. 39,911
the Great American Beer Festival,
Percent paid and/or Requested Circulation (c/f x 100) .................................................. 91.32% .................................................................95.98%
and author of The Complete Joy of
Homebrewing.

LAST DR OP By Andrew Luberto
Clubs are as Good as Gold

tem. Entries have ranged from a hazelnut
jalapeño Irish red ale to a wasabi maple
weizenbock. Some experiments worked
and some, well, not so much.
In June, Ebel, Sobotka, and I do a “best

of show” tasting from the pilot batches
to determine the GABF Pro-Am entry.
The 2014 Pro-Am entry was an American
IPA with basil by Chris Kelley. The recipe
came about through an annual club com-
petition that Kelley organizes based on
the TV show Chopped. Teams of brewers
are randomly assigned a style and two
mystery ingredients to use in their brew.
In addition to the monthly competitions

with Great South Bay, we have an oppor-
tunity at every meeting for feedback on
recipes from BJCP judges. We encour-
From left to right: Brian Giebel, Andrew Luberto, and Phil Ebel celebrate their victory. age club members to socialize and step
outside of their brewing comfort zone.
“W e won Pro-Am gold,” Phil Ebel,

vice president of Great South
Bay Brewery, texted me as my wife and
the homebrew club to which we both
belong. Sobotka wanted to create a run-
ning collaboration with the club using
Friendships are formed and great beer
is crafted.
I were boxing up kitchen items prepar- the brewery’s 2-bbl pilot system. He was The glue that makes all of this possible,
ing for our move. I was so wrapped up clear in his goal: “I would like to closely though, is being part of a locally-based
in what I was doing that I wasn’t really work with homebrewers so that at the homebrew club. In this digital age, thou-
sure what he was talking about at first. time of GABF, we can enter the Pro-Am sands of people from all over the world
Then it hit me: a gold medal at the Competition and bring home a medal.” can participate in brewing discussions
Great American Beer Festival Pro-Am from the comfort of home. But there are
Competition. The beer had been created LIBME has grown significantly since its so many things an in-person club can
through a program conceived to achieve inception in 2007, from eight people provide that a virtual club or forum can
gathered in a living room to current
Photo courtesy of Ethan Meyer at #ThatGuy Event Photo
this very goal. never replace.

monthly meetings of about 100. We’re a
Most people would wonder why I would fixture at local craft beer events and have I highly encourage you to attend a meet-
be ecstatic about a brewery I don’t work at become known for eclectic brews such as ing of a local club. If you don’t have one,
winning a gold medal using a recipe I did Kool-Aid beer and a ghost pepper lambic. start one! You’ll be surprised how many
not create (Brian Giebel deserves that dis- members it will attract and the experi-
tinction; see his recipe on page 59). The For the Great South Bay collaboration ences it will create—maybe even a GABF
answer to that question goes back about program, the club’s approach was to gold medal someday.
24 months earlier when Rick Sobotka, encourage the experimental nature of
brewmaster and founder of Great South brewing for which we have become Andrew Luberto is a National BJCP
Bay Brewery, sent me an email looking known, with a monthly BJCP sanctioned beer judge and the education commit-
to implement a program with The Long competition. Each month’s winning beer tee chair of the Long Island Beer and
Island Beer and Malt Enthusiasts (LIBME), is brewed on Great South Bay’s pilot sys- Malt Enthusiasts.

HomebrewersAssociation.org January/February 2016 ZYMURGY III
IV ZYMURGY January/February 2016 HomebrewersAssociation.org

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II ZYMURGY January/February 2016 HomebrewersAssociation.

Journal of the American Homebrewers Association

Business Development Manager

for Advertising & Sponsorship (East)...... Tom McCrory

HomebrewersAssociation.org January/February 2016 ZYMURGY 1

9 | FROM THE GLASS

40 | Frankenbrew: Going Pro on the Cheap

73 | KUDOS / CALENDAR 58 | Going Big: GABF Pro-Am Competition

QUICK RECIPE GUIDE

Pickelhaube Märzen ............................................................................. 22 Kalyke Blonde ...................................................................................... 68

Citra IPA .............................................................................................. 61

Find more homebrewing recipes on our website @ HomebrewersAssociation.org/homebrew-recipes

HomebrewersAssociation.org January/February 2016 ZYMURGY 3

The competition—a search for “America’s most passionate beer

January 7-9 January 22-23 January 23

>> For more craft brewing events, go to CraftBeer.com

>> YOU’VE GOTTA DRINK THIS

Reviewed by Michael Hrdlicka, Branford, Ct.

6 ZYMURGY January/February 2016 HomebrewersAssociation.org

>> GREAT PAIRING

BE you just have to tell the world about?

the beer and submitting it for our You’ve

are fixin’ to stay Thanks in advance for helping to make

additional barrier against unwanted oxygen and bacteria.

The Fermenter Bundle includes the HDP

HomebrewersAssociation.org January/February 2016 ZYMURGY 7

Mr. Glass Goes to Washington

T his past October, I traveled to our

While the AHA has been involved in

Learn To Homebrew Day

brewers around the world help introduce

HomebrewersAssociation.org January/February 2016 ZYMURGY 9

It seems strange, with more people than

With the explosion of information avail-

10 ZYMURGY January/February 2016 HomebrewersAssociation.org

February 1-7 May 7

Deadline for entry submission

Visit the Calendar on

Until next time, happy homebrewing!

Gary Glass is director of the American Homebrewers Association.

HomebrewersAssociation.org January/February 2016 ZYMURGY 11

A Fond Farewell to a Friend

Bauer was a loyal and loving friend, not

HomebrewersAssociation.org January/February 2016 ZYMURGY 13

Simcoe (left) and Saaz

More Brew Dogs Dear Zymurgy,

My wife and I got engaged in the Flanders Dear Zymurgy,

Send your Dear Zymurgy letters to [email protected]. Letters

14 ZYMURGY January/February 2016 HomebrewersAssociation.org

“In all honesty, we had two labels designed before we even

Project engineer for an aerospace components company by

Juice Boxers Double IPA is an East Coast-style India pale ale

2015 Battle of the Bottle Labels Runner-Up

Alt is a photo director of Parents magazine and stud-

See all the finalists @ HomebrewersAssociation.org/bb2015

HomebrewersAssociation.org January/February 2016 ZYMURGY 15

Bottling with a Beer Gun

Leaving less airspace is a good theoretical

It’s always a gas,

Still Prickly About Pears

Dear Professor, garage, which at times can reach 85° F

HomebrewersAssociation.org January/February 2016 ZYMURGY 17

It’s best to have them fully ripe before harvest.