SSBC Newsletter

Past Newsletters

April 2009

Business:

Meeting Minutes: 4.14.09

Members attending = about 31 (stragglers kept coming in so maybe more)

• Brewoff is this weekend. 156 entries (plus some delivered at meeting). Have 12 judges and 4 stewards, Need more judges and maybe more stewards. Kevin's got the ribbons, cups, food-ware, etc. Looks like we have a decent amount of prizes. Judges and stewards should be at Bob's barn before 8:30, start at 9:00.
• Braggot bottling is on May 2nd. We need bottles. Will need to get an e-mail going to figure out what we've got. Plus, we can clean the bottles from the Brewoff to use.
• May meeting is the Yeast Experiment, presented by Jason Colby. The location was decided to be Brian Shurtleff's house.
• June meeting will be at Frank White's house. It is the annual food and beer meeting. This year's focus will be on pairing beer with foods. Given the size of the club, we may need to assign courses or specific dishes out to groups of people rather than have Kevin and a couple of helpers prepare all of the food for everyone. Need to get an e-mail going on this.
• Summer cookouts - Fred and Mary Anne won't be having their yearly cookout for the Wort's as they will be away. Also, Dan cannot host the SSBC cookout this year. Brian S. offerred to make his yearly pig roast into the club cookout (July 18th). We need an e-mail thread to discuss this and decide if that's what we want to do or if we want to have it another time and place.
• Brian is still working on getting together a new club web site/hosting solution that will centralize the various pages we currently have hosted in various locations.
• Pub crawl - Brendan wasn't at the meeting so couldn't really discuss this, but if we want to have one this year we had better get planning.

Presentation:

Growing Hops by Mary Anne Mary Anne had a slide show on a laptop to show hop plants at various stages and other visuals.

• There are a couple of books on growing hops: Using Hops by Mark Garetz and Homegrown Hops by David beach
• Hops need lots of sun. Prep the soil by loosening it fairly deeply and using a potting mix, but not one with fertilizer in it.
• Hops are perennial - they stick around. Cascades grow very well in this climate/area.
• Hop rhizomes (thick, woody root bits) survive through the winter, and the shoots start to grow up from them in the spring.
• Hops need to grow 'up' (vertical) in order to get a good harvest.
• The lateral shoots that grow from the bines are where the hop cones grow. By mid-July you should have flowers growing.
• Female plants flower. You don't want any male plants around as they will cause the female's cones to produce seeds which is undesirable.
• The cones/flowers start to open up and feel papery when the hops are 'ripe'.
• You can harvest the hops by cutting down the bines and picking the hops, rather than climbing a ladder to reach them.
• Mary Anne brought a big bag of hop rhizomes for anyone who wanted to take some home and plant them.

• The shape of a glass directly affects head development and retention.
• Carbonation being released from the beer carries the aromatics to the drinker's nose, impacting the enjoyment of the beer.
• The appropriate glass shape for a given beer is a function of the beer's carbonation level, among other things. The width of the bottom and top affect the release of carbonation, and thereby the aroma (and flavor).
• Some glasses have etchings in the bottom to cause bubble formation, providing a constant stream of small bubbles to deliver continuous aroma.
• Highly carbonated beers like Pilsner benefit from a narrow botopm and wide top (i.e. a Pilsner glass). Bubbles dissipate quickly form the wide top, releasing lots of aroma.
• Glasses with larger bottoms are better for beers that are less carbonated, as more bottom area helps to release more carbonation (which these beers won't do without the proper glass). Think of a brandy snifter for barleywines.
• Curves and 'bubbles' in the shape of the glass, especially near the top, can help to collect and concentrate aromas, effectively magnifying the beer's character.
• Glass also affects the appearance of the beer in terms of color and clarity (for example, beers look lighter in a thinner glass). This has an indirect affect on the drinker's enjoyment of the beer, as it sets up expectations of what is about to be imbibed (albeit maybe subconsciously).

1. Hoegarden White (Witbier)
2. Czechvar (Bo-Pils - unfortunately it was skunked)
3. Rogue Shakespear Stout
4. Opa-Opa IPA
5. Celebrator Doppelbock
6. Lagunitas Gnarlywine (Barleywine)
7. Schlenkerla Rauchbier

If there are any updates or corrections, please contact Rick Rodriguez