Upcoming JRHB Events

Wednesday May 14^th

Regular Club Meeting at Legends

Intra-Club Competition

Saturday May 17^th

Tentative Club Brew Session

Noonish at Mike Lang’s

Wednesday May 21^st

BOD Meeting at Legends

Wednesday June 11^th

Regular Club Meeting at Legends

“Summer Beers !”

Sunday June 29^th

Summer Party – BBQ Carnivore Carnival

2:00 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. at Dan Mouers

For updated information and the club forum visit

http://www.jrhb.org/

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May 14^th

Intra – Club Competition

How good is my beer? How do I judge a beer? What is wrong with my beer? How can my beer be better?

Well you may be able to have some of these questions answered during the regular club meeting on May14th when we will hold our annual Intra-Club competition. Bring at least two bottles of each beer you want to have judged - preferably in a plain brown 12 oz. bottle with no labels – but we won’t be picky about the bottle style. If you are entering beers try to arrive by 6:30 p.m. so we will have time to check beers in and assign them to flights. All present at the May meeting will judge these entries using BJCP style guidelines. Each judging table will be headed by an experienced judge who can help those who haven’t judged before.

Awards for the top beers, and the best of show beer will win a nice (but still undisclosed) prize! But you can’t win if you don’t bring beers to enter!

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The 7th Annual Virginia Beer Festival

May 17th, 2008 - 2 pm-6 pm

Town Point Park, Downtown Norfolk, VA

Tasting Tickets: $25 advance, $30 day of the event

General Admission: Non-tasting Tickets: $15 (13 years of age and over)

Reserved Table for eight: $300—advance purchase required;deadline May 12.

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April Meeting Recap

The April 10, 2008 regular club meeting was called to order by President Mike Lang at 19:06 hours. Approximately 37 people were in attendance. We recognized a number of “experienced” JRHB members joining us for the meeting, several guests, and thanked Tom Martin and the Legend staff for their continued support.

Our annual Intra-Club competition will be held at the May 14^th regular meeting. [See related article]

Our summer party will be hosted by Dan Mouer on Sunday June 29^th in conjunction with the Central Virginia Wine Club. We will brew two club beers for the party, one from south of the James and one from the north of the James. Brewing dates to be determined. [See upcoming events]

The 15th Annual Dominion Cup has been scheduled for Saturday August 30th at the Downtown Capital Ale House in the music hall. Details of the event to follow shortly.

Mike asked members to please bring homebrew to meetings to share. Remember that you get a free raffle ticket if you bring beer. You also get a free raffle ticket if you donate a raffle prize. Mike also made a limited time offer for a free raffle ticket if you become a new poster in the club website forum.

Bob Henderson gave a timely and interesting presentation on planting and growing hop vines. Varieties such as Willamette and Cascade do well in this area. His tips included:

- Plant rhizomes after the last frost.

- Plant in an area where you can control growth….they spread like crazy…..use a buried container to help limit spread.

- Plant in area with at least 2/3 day of sunlight in well drained soil with a pH of about 7.

- Need space for a trellis or other support system for the vines to climb. The vines can easily climb 10 feet or higher.

- Do not over fertilize especially with high nitrogen fertilizers

- Trim back all but the strongest two or three shoots and let these run up the trellis. Trim the lower leaves from the vines to help avoid mold/mildew problems.

- Control insects with Sevin dust.

- After harvest in late October cut vines close to ground and mulch to protect plants for next season.

Thanks Bob for yet another of your interesting and thorough presentations.

Brian “Butters” Davis reported that new club T-Shirts would likely be available by the next regular meeting. Shirts will cost $ 10.00 apiece.

Steve and Pat Webb took the club only competition extract beer honors, and their California Common will be sent on to the national club only competition as our club entry.

Vice-President Robert Doucet held yet another boisterous and exciting club raffle with many excellent prizes being distributed to conclude the meeting.

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Brewers Association presents World Beer Cup Awards

The prestigious World Beer Cup awards were presented by the Brewers Association Saturday, April 19 at the close of the annual Craft Brewers conference to a crowd of 1500 excited brewers and their colleagues. The Brewers’ Association’s 2008 World Beer Cup, which was held in Boulder, Colorado, boasted 2,864 beers entered from 644 breweries in 58 countries and 45 US states. Brewers from five continents earned awards from an elite international panel of judges which announced awards to brewers from 21 countries ranging from Australia and Italy to Bolivia and Japan.

“Brewers all over the world participate in order to win recognition for their creativity and brewing ability,” said Charlie Papazian, President of the Brewers association, the U.S.-based trade association that has put on the competition every two years since 1996. “For a brewer, a World Beer Cup gold award allows them to say that their winning beer represents the best of that beer style in the world.”

The association reports that the judges, from 21 countries, awarded US brewers 185 of the 268 style category awards and four of the five champion brewery/brewer awards.

When Charlie Papazian did his annual "raise your hand if you are wanting to open a brewery" tally at the opening session, there were more hands in the air since the crazy heydays of the late 90's.

The Champion Brewery and Brewmaster (large) is Blue Moon from Denver Colorado; The mid-size champion is German brewer Privatbrauerei hoepfner and champion small brewer is Port of San Marcos, California.

Congratulations to our Virginia Brewers Sweetwater Tavern (Great American Restaurants) of Falls Church who won a silver medal in the British-Style Imperial Stout category with their High Desert Imperial Stout

And to our friends at Starr Hill Brewery in Crozet for winning a silver medal for their Virgina Dark Starr Stout in the Classic Irish-Style Dry Stout category.

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Brewer Can't Advertise 'Legal Weed'

On Bottle Caps

By Juliet Williams, Associated Press Writer Manufacturing.Net - April 24, 2008

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) -- Vaune Dillmann thought the wording on his bottle caps was just a clever play on the name of the Northern California town where he brews his beer -- Weed.

Federal alcohol regulators thought differently. They have ordered Dillmann to stop selling beer bottles with caps that say ''Try Legal Weed.'' While reviewing the proposed label for Dillmann's latest beer, Lemurian Lager, the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau said the message on the caps he has been using for his five current beers amounts to a drug reference. In a letter explaining its decision, the agency, which regulates the brewing industry, said the wording could ''mislead consumers about the characteristics of the alcoholic beverage.''

Dillmann scoffs at the notion that his label has anything to do with smoking pot. ''I've never tried marijuana in my life,'' he told The Associated Press on Wednesday. ''I don't advocate that. It's just our town's name.''

The town of 3,000, sitting beneath Mount Shasta about 230 miles north of the state capital, takes its name from Abner Weed, a timber baron who opened a lumber mill there in 1901 and eventually was elected to the state Senate. Dillmann, 61, started the Mount Shasta Brewing Co. in 2004. He said he has always used the town's name on his beers and named the company's first official brew Abner Weed's Pale Ale.

His bottle labels follow a long tradition of exploiting the town's name. Even city officials do it. A sign posted on the way out of town reads, ''Temporarily Out of Weed,''

while another says ''100 Percent Pure Weed.''

Dillmann noted those examples in an appeal letter he sent to the alcohol bureau. Once, Dillmann said, his wife, a former teacher, was delayed on a field trip to San Francisco as tourists clamored to pose next to the school bus, which said ''Weed High.''

But illegal drugs are no joke to the federal agency, which maintains meticulous rules about labeling. Drug references on alcoholic beverages were banned in 1994, agency spokesman Art Resnick said. ''We protect consumers of alcohol beverages against misleading advertising and labeling,'' he said.

He said the agency is reviewing Dillmann's appeal.

The Boulder, Colo.-based Brewers Association, which represents 1,100 craft brewers nationwide, said the Tax and Trade Bureau seems to have become more aggressive in recent years. It has gone after brewers for seemingly innocuous claims, such as descriptions that say one beer is stronger than another, said association director Paul Gatza. ''We're seeing the TTB starting to poke around at breweries' Web sites and issuing letters,'' he said. ''Our trade association is feeling like TTB is overstretching a little bit.'' Gatza said a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in the 1980s protected truthful speech on beer labels.

Meanwhile, Dillmann has placed a rush order on unmarked bottle caps so he can keep bottling while he awaits word from the federal agency on his appeal. He has enlisted the help of his congressman, Republican Rep. Wally Herger, who has asked the agency to explain why it rejected Dillmann's bottle cap labels.

The decision banning the ''Try Legal Weed'' caps came just after Dillmann had placed an order for 400,000 of them, at a cost of about $10,000. It took him four years to go through the first batch of bottle caps, but Dillmann said his sales have been increasing steadily.

Still, the native of Milwaukee said he wonders how some other brewers have gotten away with the names for their products, such as Hemp Ale or Dead Guy Ale. And he can't understand how his label has run afoul of federal alcohol regulators who must surely be aware of one of the most famous advertising slogans in American marketing: ''This Bud's for you.''

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"Well ya see, Norm, it's like this... A herd of buffalo can only move as fast as the slowest buffalo. And when the herd is hunted, it is the slowest and weakest ones at the back that are killed first. This natural selection is good for the herd as a whole, because the general speed and health of the whole group keeps improving by the regular killing of the weakest members. In much the same way, the human brain can only operate as fast as the slowest brain cells. Excessive intake of alcohol, as we know, kills brain cells. But naturally, it attacks the slowest and weakest brain cells first. In this way, regular consumption of beer eliminates the weaker brain cells, making the brain a faster and more efficient machine. That's why you always feel smarter after a few beers."

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AHA – Club Only Competition

From time to time, the American Homebrewers Association (AHA) sponsors competitions based on a particular style. These competitions are open only to AHA-affiliated homebrew clubs. Each club holds a competition on the particular style. The winner’s brew is sent off to be judged with the winners from other homebrew clubs around the country. Bring in five bottles – two for the local competition and three to send off if you win. Note that all competitions will use the 2008 BJCP Guidelines.

http://www.beertown.org/homebrewing/schedule.html

2008 -2009 Competition Schedule:

August 2008 – Mead

Minnesota Homebrewers Association of Edina, MN

Entries are due 7/25/2008

September/October 2008 Imperial Anything

Clinton River Association of Fermenting Trendsetters (C.R.A.F.T.) of Macomb Township, MI

Entries are due 10/11/08

November/December 2008

Celebration of the Hop (IPA)

Scioto Olentangy and Darby Zymurgists (SODZ) club of Delaware, OH

This competition covers BJCP Category 14 styles.

Entries are due TBD

January/February 2009

Belgian & French Ales

Silverado Homebrew Club of St. Charles, IL

This competition covers BJCP Category 16 styles.

Entries are due TBD

March/April 2009

Beers with OG > 1.080

Prairie Homebrewing Companions of Fargo, ND

This competition covers the following beer styles 5C, 5D, 9E, 12C, 13F, 14C, 15C, 16C, 16D, 16E, 18C, 18D, 18E , 20 Fruit Beer over 1.080 OG,

21 Spice/Herb/Vegetable Beer over 1.080 OG,

22B Other Smoked Beer over 1.080 OG, 22C Wood-Aged Beer over 1.080 OG, 23 Specialty Beer over 1.080 OG

January/February 2009

Belgian & French Ales

Silverado Homebrew Club of St. Charles, IL Competition covers BJCP Category 16 styles.

May 2009

Extract Beers

Knights of the Brown Bottle club of Arlington, TX

Competition covers all BJCP beer categories (1-23)

As the entry dates are set, we will include the date that our local competition will be held in the Upcoming JRHB Events listing. Winners earn Homebrew Club of the Year points for their club.

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BJCP – Beer Style of the Month

Note: The 2008 BJCP Guidelines have recently been published updating the 2004 Guidelines. The 2008 revision has some minor wording corrections, updates lists of classic examples that are currently generally available, and has updates to typical gravities and other specifications for a number beer styles. The updated guidelines are available for download at

http://www.bjcp.org/stylecenter.html

5A. Maibock/Helles Bock

Aroma: Moderate to strong malt aroma, often with a lightly toasted quality and low melanoidins. Moderately low to no noble hop aroma, often with a spicy quality. Clean. No diacetyl. Fruity esters should be low to none. Some alcohol may be noticeable. May have a light DMS aroma from pils malt.

Appearance: Deep gold to light amber in color. Lagering should provide good clarity. Large, creamy, persistent, white head.

Flavor: The rich flavor of continental European pale malts dominates (pils malt flavor with some toasty notes and/or melanoidins). Little to no caramelization. May have a light DMS flavor from pils malt. Moderate to no noble hop flavor. May have a low spicy or peppery quality from hops and/or alcohol. Moderate hop bitterness (more so in the balance than in other bocks). Clean, with no fruity esters or diacetyl. Well-attenuated, not cloying, with a moderately dry finish that may taste of both malt and hops.

Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied. Moderate to moderately high carbonation. Smooth and clean with no harshness or astringency, despite the increased hop bitterness. Some alcohol warming may be present.

Overall Impression: A relatively pale, strong, malty lager beer. Designed to walk a fine line between blandness and too much color. Hop character is generally more apparent than in other bocks.

History: A fairly recent development in comparison to the other members of the bock family. The serving of Maibock is specifically associated with springtime and the month of May.

Comments: Can be thought of as either a pale version of a traditional bock, or a Munich helles brewed to bock strength. While quite malty, this beer typically has less dark and rich malt flavors than a traditional bock. May also be drier, hoppier, and more bitter than a traditional bock. The hops compensate for the lower level of melanoidins. There is some dispute whether Helles (“pale”) Bock and Mai (“May”) Bock are synonymous. Most agree that they are identical (as is the consensus for Märzen and Oktoberfest), but some believe that Maibock is a “fest” type beer hitting the upper limits of hopping and color for the range. Any fruitiness is due to Munich and other specialty malts, not yeast-derived esters developed during fermentation.

Ingredients: Base of pils and/or Vienna malt with some Munich malt to add character (although much less than in a traditional bock). No non-malt adjuncts. Noble hops. Soft water preferred so as to avoid harshness. Clean lager yeast. Decoction mash is typical, but boiling is less than in traditional bocks to restrain color development.

Vital Statistics: OG: 1.064 – 1.072

IBUs: 23 – 35 FG: 1.011 – 1.018

SRM: 6 – 11 ABV: 6.3 – 7.4%

Commercial Examples: Ayinger Maibock, Mahr’s Bock, Hacker-Pschorr Hubertus Bock, Capital Maibock, Einbecker Mai-Urbock, Hofbräu Maibock, Victory St. Boisterous, Gordon Biersch Blonde Bock, Smuttynose Maibock

Beer Recipe of the Month

Helles Bock

Batch Size (Gal): 5.00

Total Grain (Lbs): 12.00

Anticipated OG: 1.068

Anticipated FG: 1.018

Anticipated ABV: 6.56%

Anticipated SRM: 7.7

Anticipated IBU: 21.4

Wort Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Grain Bill

Qnty. Name Potential SRM

6.50 lbs. Pilsener Germany 1.038 2

5.50 lbs. Munich Germany 1.037 8

Hops

Amount Name Form Alpha IBU Boil Time

0.50 oz. Tettnanger Whole 4.50 8.3 <60 min

0.50 oz. Spalt Whole 4.50 9.2 <60 min

0.50 oz. Tettnanger Whole 4.50 1.9 10 min

0.50 oz. Spalt Whole 4.50 2.0 10 min

( Substitute hop varieties Mount Hood or Liberty. Limit boiling bittering hops no more than 60 mins.)

Yeast: White Labs WLP833 German Bock, WYeast 2206 Bavarian Lager

Mash Schedule: Soft low mineral content water. Double decoction, dough-in 4.0 gal @122f and rest 120 min.; second rest at 149F for 60min.; mash-out at 158F. Use a third of the thick mash for decoction to raise temp to next step.

Recipe adapted from Classic Beer Style Series – Bock

By Darryl Richman

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Our Compliments to….

The WeekEnd Brewer

Homebrew & Wine Supplies

4205 West Hundred Road

Chester, VA 23831

(804) 796-9760

http://www.weekendbrewer.com/

River City Cellars

Beer, Wine and Gourmet Foods

2931 West Cary Street

Richmond, VA 23221

(804) 355-1375

www.rivercitycellars.com

(10% Discount for JRHB Members with JRHB Membership Card Only)

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