I am a Home Brewer

Another quick post. Many of you out there have already seen these, but are always good for motivating me to make an impromptu trip the The Beer Nut.
The following video produced by homebrewers was created in response to a video produced about the craft brewing industry.

I am a Home Brewer

The original:

I am a Craft Brewer

My Bid for Nomination to the AHA Governing Committee

Below is the short written statement I provided to the American Homebrewer's Association (AHA) in my self nomination to the AHA Governing Board. I welcome your feedback or support.

"As a resident of the state of Utah I can attest to the benefit of the American Homebrewers Association (AHA) and its invaluable role within the homebrewing community. In 2006 when I first contacted the AHA to inquire if they would be interested in assisting an effort to legalize the hobby in Utah, I quickly found the AHA to be a responsive ally to homebrewers. I believe furthering the right to engage in this safe and responsible hobby, and safeguarding that right where it already exists is an important part of the AHA's mission. In the two years that I worked to legalize the hobby in Utah, I valued the efforts of AHA members and staff. As I prepare to graduate from the S. J. Quinney College of Law at the University of Utah, I continue to remain interested in the actions of local, state and federal legislators, particularly as their actions pertain to the interests of homebrewers.
Of course the AHA's core mission is not that of a lobbyist group, but in my experience in working towards legislative change in favor of homebrewing I discovered the most important factor in furthering the hobby of homebrewing, both in the law and in the community, is education. Taking the opportunity to put a positive and responsible face to the hobby of homebrewing works wonders in changing the perceptions individuals have with regards to individuals brewing beer and beer in general. And putting that positive image on the hobby is exactly what the AHA does. Every time the AHA organizes a successful conference or event in a new city they are bringing a positive public image to the hobby of homebrewing. This has the triple benefit of 1) showing local law makers not only the responsible nature of homebrewers but also the economic benefit the hobby can bring; 2) educating individuals and attracting new members to the association and; 3) providing a sense of community to those who invest so much of themselves into the hobby.
The above mentioned strong sense of community, as shaped and reinforced through the AHA, being crucial to the vibrance of the hobby in the the United States. Through sponsored events, publications, and the Tech Talk Forum, the AHA provides opportunities for homebrewers to get together and engage in the free exchange of techniques, feedback, and fellowship that homebrewers are famous for.
It is through this supportive community that homebrewers can become stronger brewers and embrace the possibility of becoming a professional brewer, either through their own entrepreneurship or by contributing to an established brewery. Ultimately it is on adventurous homebrewers that the future of U.S. Microbrewery revolution, that has captured the world's attention and imagination, relies in order to ensure future generations of beer lovers can enjoy unique offerings in their community and grocery stores.
As an active homebrewer, AHA member, soon to be law school graduate, successful homebrew lobbyist, and first person witness to the value of the AHA to the homebrewing community I believe I can contribute positively to the AHA governing committee."

Seek Out Some Local Seasonal Brews

This article is a few days old, but is a nice reminder to look to local breweries in your area for great flavor discoveries in seasonal ales.


Fall beers: A change is in the pour

I Love It When a Plan Comes Together

As mentioned in my previous post, after some persistent urging from a fellow brewer, I shall prepare for and take the BJCP exam.
My friend Eric, who has given the BJCP exam a great deal of thought has amassed a substantial amount of study material for the exam and our goal is to work together to get ready for the exam.
Here is the tentative plan. If you have any thoughts on the approach I would love some feedback.
The exam is schedule for March 20, 2010. This falls a couple of months before graduation, and a therefore a good amount of time before I have to start preparing in earnest for another important exam.
We expect that getting together one night a week, every other week, will be enough to work through the material between now and the exam date.
I have yet to take a complete inventory of the study materials, but from a first glance they appear to be pretty thorough.
Now what may be the most exciting part. The podcast.
As you may know Mike the Hop Guy and I released a podcast that released episodes in fits and starts. Our content revolved largely around Mike's efforts at growing homegrown hops and my involvement in the legalization of the homebrewing hobby in Utah. It has been some time since I've been able to release a podcast episode (over seven months). I am hoping that the story of preparing for the BJCP exam will be some compelling material for those who might be interested in the exam themselves.

Embark on the BJCP Odyssey

I have mixed feelings about beer competitions.

If I brew I beer that I think may be worth winning an award, it is safe to assume I enjoy the beer myself, and thusly am mailing away a portion of a limited batch that (given the nature of homebrewing) will never be precisely replicated again.

I don't take well to criticism in general, much less criticism I deem to be unconstructive or poorly thought out. So far all criticism I've read on judge sheets have been, in my opinion, both unconstructive and poorly thought out. I don't necessarily blame the judges however. Having judged a homebrew competition myself, I understand the time and space constraints of judging beer in large quantities. There is pressure to keep moving forward with the entries, and the spaces leave little room thoughtful criticism. So an individual beer crafted with love and attention, doesn't always get the full time and attention in judging the brewer would have liked. But that doesn't mean the judge didn't provide criticism with the best of intentions. The judges experience or time constraints may very well have been a limiting factor in providing the kind of feedback the brewer would find useful.

Furthermore, I find beer styles in general to be a crude tool. Its like making assumptions about a person based on character traits we assign to nationalities. Sometimes submitting a really creative beer in the category it is most like, would be like me, having held myself out as an American, evaluated based on how good of an American I really am. Imagine my dismay if I got my evaluation results back with a low score and a note that said "Nice guy but you would have scored higher if you submitted yourself in the Canadian category." That may have been a strained analogy, but it was intended to illustrate that what makes the American micro-brewery so special is that brewers, many having started as homebrewers, set out to bring something unique and creative to the marketplace. As supermarket shelves fill with a wider variety microbrew selections, new breweries must become increasingly creative to grab a consumers attention. You can no longer build a micro-brew dynasty on a well balanced, hoppy pale ale as Sierra Nevada did. And lets face it, as homebrewers we frequently pride ourselves on our creative brews.

So why then are we so eager to seek awards based on proscribed styles that reward textbook brewing? I don't have an answer to that question because I, almost spitefully, brew outside style guidelines.

With all this in mind it would seem incongruous for me to disclose that I am about to start studying for the BJCP exam. Yet that is exactly what I am about to do. A small (or maybe not so small) group of homebrewers in Utah have decided to use their numbers as interested test takers to draw an exam administrator into the Beehive state to give us Utah homebrewers a chance at beer judge certification without the hassle of long distance travel.

Perhaps my mindset as a skeptic will generate an interesting perspective as I work through the material in preparation for the exam. Perhaps my eyes will be opened to the beauty of the style guidelines. Perhaps there is plenty of room within the four corners of proscribed perfection. And maybe, just maybe, I'll come to realize that I shouldn't have been enjoying my off-style brews as much as I have been.

Only time will tell...

Keep it all bottled up.

With 11 carboys full in the basement, a mass bottling day was well overdue.
Friday October 30, 2009 my faithful wife and brewing assistant helped me buckle down and pull together the big project.
Two carboys went to soda kegs making the menu on the kegerator my Walden's Dubbel (Belgian Dubbel), Scrumdidlyumptious Brew (A Bavarian Amber Wheat), Barbaric Yawp (A Belgian Golden Strong Ale), and a pale ale simply titled "BEER" is carbonating on deck, for when one of the three other taps run dry.
Into bottles went the other half of the Scrumdidlyumptious Brew, and "BEER" batches, along with a chocolate coconut porter I brewed with my friend Eric, which I have dubbed Winter Beach.
In the basement are four sour ale carboys of a variety of underlying brew styles that are gradually escaping my memory. Lastly there is a slowly aging mead all by itself in the corner of the basement. It is a back to basics mead. All my previous experiments with mead have been some experiment with spices, fruit, or win bases. I thought it was high time I just made a simple dry mead. It started fermenting in the spring and I can't wait to see how it turns out...but I will.

Worthwhile Brewing Survey

Dear AHA Members,

The American Homebrewers Association is assisting an Auburn University study on homebrewing as a "Serious Leisure Pursuit" in the United States.

In the interest of getting the most representative and reliable the data we can, we encourage as many homebrewers as possible to participate in the study by filling out a brief survey. Please read this informational letter pertaining to the research and if you agree to participate, you can click through to the anonymous online survey.

Your participation is entirely voluntary. Total time commitment is approximately 15 minutes and there are no known risks associated with participating in this study. The survey delivery software will not collect email or IP addresses and/or any other identification markers.

The survey site will remain open through April 30, though we would greatly appreciate it if you could complete the survey in a timely manner.

Please feel free to forward this message on to any other homebrewers you know.

Results from the study will be posted on the AHA website and to the AHA TechTalk forum once they have been compiled.

Thank you for supporting this study.

Gary Glass

Director
American Homebrewers Association

Home Brewing Legalized in Utah (15 min. of Fame)

House Bill 51 was signed into law in Utah and will take effect on May 12, 2009.
Here is the press release and some links.

Utah Legalizes Homebrew Beer

Utah one of the lasts states to change law legalizing homebrewing

Boulder, CO • March 25, 2009 – Yesterday, Governor Jon M. Huntsman, Jr. of Utah signed into law legislation that makes homebrewing beer legal. The "Exemption for Alcoholic Beverage Manufacturing License" was sponsored by Representative Christine A. Johnson and made Utah the 46th state to legalize homebrewing. The US Government made homebrewing legal on a federal level in 1978. Since then all but four states; Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi and Oklahoma have made homebrewing legal.

From left: Jamie Burnham, The Beer Nut manager; Allen Sanderson, AHA member;
Mark Alston, The Beer Nut Owner; Christine Johnson, Representative; Gary Glass,
AHA Director; and AHA members Douglas Wawrzynski and Nicole Salazar.

"Home-brewing is a healthy and vibrant hobby in Utah as evidenced by the outpouring of support HB 51 received in the 2009 Legislature," commented Rep. Christine A. Johnson. "Many thanks to the American Homebrewers Association for thorough education, great committee testimony and association members who flooded elected officials with emails of support."

But it's not just homebrewers who are excited about the change. Jennifer Talley, brewmaster for Squatters Pub Brewery/Salt Lake Brewing Co in Salt Lake City, says the relationship between professional and amateur brewers has always been a tight one and legalizing homebrewing will allow this relationship in Utah to evolve and grow.

"Homebrewing is truly an art and most professional brewers I know were once homebrewing in their kitchen. Utah beer enthusiast will now have the freedom to express their deepest beer desires through perfecting the craft of homebrewing in their own kitchens," says Talley.

The American Homebrewers Association estimates that there are approximately 750,000 homebrewers in the United States, including 7,000 homebrewers residing in Utah. Utah is the only state to have legalized homebrewing in the last ten years.

"With the successful passage of HB 51, Utahns can confidently assemble into homebrew clubs and organize competitions," states the Utah law student Douglas Wawrzynski, who launched this most recent attempt to legalize homebrewing. "Utah homebrewers are finally free to relax, stop worrying, and have a legal homebrew."

"It has been an honor to work with the homebrewers of Utah to help legalize homebrewing in their state," says Gary Glass, Director of the American Homebrewers Association (AHA). "I can think of no greater cause for the American Homebrewers Association to take on than ensuring all Americans can legally brew at home."

There is currently an active movement to legalize homebrewing in Alabama, and the AHA has heard from homebrewers in Kentucky, Mississippi, and Oklahoma who are interested in starting movements in each of those states.

###

Based in Boulder, Colorado, USA, the Brewers Association (BA) is the not-for-profit trade and education association for American craft brewers and community of beer enthusiasts. Visit the Web site, www.beertown.org, to learn more. The association’s activities include events and publishing: World Beer Cup®; Great American Beer Festival^sm; Craft Brewers Conference and BrewExpo America®; National Homebrewers Conference; National Homebrew Competition; SAVOR: An American Craft Beer and Food Experience; American Craft Beer Week; Zymurgy magazine; The New Brewer magazine; and books on beer and brewing. The Brewers Association has an additional membership division of 17,000+ homebrewers: American Homebrewers Association.

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Links:

Brewer's Association Press Release
WikiNews Article

Inversion Bourbon Porter

Inversion Bourbon Porter

The Recipe:

Grain Bill:

13 lb Pale British Malt

1 lb Flaked Wheat (unmilled)

1 lb Chocolate Malt

0.5 lb Black Malt

0.5 lb Cara-Hell

Hops:

1 oz. Centennial (8.0%AA) 1st Wort

1 oz. Centennial (8.0%AA) 15 min

Yeast:

Wyeast 1084: Irish Ale

Additives:

Dash - Ground Cinnamin - Added to mash

Smidge - Irish Mosh - Added last 15 min of boil.

Not Enough - Rice Hulls - Added to mash

2 Oz. American Oak Cubes - Medium Toast - Added to Secondary

A pint or so of top shelf whiskey or bourbon (Maker's Mark or Knob Creek) - Added to Secondary.

The Brew Day: January 9, 2008

It was a chilly Saturday when I decided to break out the brewing equipment and do a five gallon batch. I wanted to make something that would go well when you've a good reason not to leave the house on the weekend when there is snow on the ground and the air pollution has built up in the valley reducing visibility to 13 blocks.

After milling the grain I added my one pound of flaked wheat, a couple of fistfulls of rice hulls, and the ground cinnamin. Flaked wheat doesn't need to be milled (in fact is probably shouldn't be) because it has been processed into a pre-gelatinized form. If you purchase raw wheat you'd have to do a cereal mash seperately from the main mash to gelatinize the starches, then add it to your main mash to convert the starches. Personally I haven't found a recipe in which I felt compelled to do my own cereal mash, yet. When working with wheat, since it has no husks, it is best to add some rice hulls to prevent getting a stuck mash. However, as I found out on this day, I hadn't added nearly enough.
The mash should have only take about an hour but because I had to refloat the mash not once but twice, each time adding more and more rice hulls, the mash lasted nearly three hours. Most of which was spent watching the very slow trickle of wort I got after refloating the mash twice.

Having chosen to brew on a particularly chilly day I took over the living room to setup the mash and sparge. Eventually I got the brew kettle full of enough wort to move the kettle out onto the front porch and fire up the propane burner for the 1 hour boil.

After a one our boil I chilled the wort with a copper coil immersion chiller, pitched the yeast, and let it do its thing.

Once fermentation had taken hold I moved the fermenter into the cellar where it was about 58 degrees F in an effort to control the fermentation temp.

After about 18 hours the fermentation had kicked up so much that I needed to take the airlock off my primary and switch over to a blow-off tube setup. About 24 hours of that and the fermentation had settled down enough to switch back to a standard airlock and bring upstairs into a 68 degree F environment.

Update: January 17, 2009

I moved the beer from primary to secondary fermentation and added the oak cubes.

I'll let fermentation complete and age for a couple of weeks before I add any bourbon, which will in all liklihood stop any yeast activity the moment it goes in.