March Meeting Minutes
The Lawrence Brewers Guild met March 9, 2006, for our regular monthly meeting. The location of the meeting was the Unitarian Fellowship located at 1263 N. 1100 Road.
The seminar was given by Kevin Prescott of Free State Brewery. Kevin showed photographs of the New Glarus and the Anchor Brewery. Thanks Kevin!
Matt and Jarrell volunteered to clean up.
The group self introduced and a sheet for names and what was brought to meeting was passed around. Twenty-two brewers signed the sheet indicating what beer they brought.
OLD BUSINESS
? Boulevard Brewery Tour
Dennis Sundermeyer volunteered to arrange transportation to the Brewery from Lawrence. He will use the list serve and the forum to make arrangements. The guild will reimburse Dennis for the rental of the van and will pay for dinner (and a six pack to drink later?) for the designated driver. Those that will be in KC or not planning to use the van are encouraged to carpool and drive responsibly.
? Big Brew?Joe Yoder?s house May 6.
? Membership cards and dues. Membership cards were given out to new members that have paid their dues.
NEW BUSINESS
? Tour of Liquid Bread, Marc Ephard would like to see about putting something together for this. Marc will come up with some dates and coordinate planning for this event. We will discuss it again in April.
? Leftover 10th Brewfest T-Shirts were presented to our guests from Free State Brewery. The remaining T-shirts were sold to members for $5.00 each. There are a few XL shirts left. They will be available at the next meeting. The remainder of the glasses from the 10th Brewfest were also sold for $5.
? Committee reports?The legal and vendor relations committee have met and have made some progress. They will meet again soon. Please check the forum for details.
? Announcements: Nate Poell and Shane Lynn took medals in the KC Beirmeisters competition. Shane for a Weizen and Nate for a cider. Shane?s Weizen also took a gold at another competition recently. This beer has won two silvers and a gold?Way to go Shane!
? KIRK RUNDSTROM RAFFLE: A raffle was held with donated items to raise money for Kirk Rundstrom?s medical bills. $275 was raised. The winners of the raffle were, Jeff Jensen, Don Josling, John Monaghan and Matt Bechtold
? A committee was formed to search for a new meeting location. It was agreed to meet next month at the Unitarian Fellowship.
Commercial Tasting. Shane Lynn the brewmeister selected Smoke Beers as the style this month. BJCP guidelines for smoke beers follow these minutes.
Comments:
Beer 1: ?Smoky!!?!!? ?Thin?, ?no body?, ?bong water?. Someone said ?good?.
Beer 2: ?Less smoky??I?ll take more?_Matt, ?O?Fallen??, Unidentified brewer: ?This is like Ad Astera with a cigarette butt in it?
Beer 3: Matt: ?That is the Marzen?, Bill: ?Sticky & Greasy?, Don: ?A lot more smoky?, John M.: ? Tastes like burnt wood? (duh?), Jeff J.: That?s the J****, I could drink it all night?, Matt: ?Bacon in a bottle?
Shane identified the beers after we had all tasted as:
1. O?Fallen
2. Smokey Hill from Free State
3. Aecht Schlenferia Rauchbier (sp?) German Smoked Marzen
Classic Rauchbier
Aroma: Blend of smoke and malt, with a varying balance and intensity. The beechwood smoke character can range from subtle to fairly strong, and can seem smoky, bacon-like, woody, or rarely almost greasy. The malt character can be low to moderate, and be somewhat sweet, toasty, or malty. The malt and smoke components are often inversely proportional (i.e. when smoke increases, malt decreases, and vice versa). Hop aroma may be very low to none. Clean, lager character with no fruity esters, diacetyl or DMS.
Appearance: This should be a very clear beer, with a large, creamy, rich, tan- to cream-colored head. Deep amber/light copper to dark brown color.
Flavor: Generally follows the aroma profile, with a blend of smoke and malt in varying balance and intensity, yet always complementary. M?rzen-like qualities should be noticeable, particularly a malty, toasty richness, but the beechwood smoke flavor can be low to high. The palate can be somewhat malty and sweet, yet the finish can reflect both malt and smoke. Moderate, balanced, hop bitterness, with a medium-dry to dry finish (the smoke character enhances the dryness of the finish). Noble hop flavor moderate to none. Clean lager character with no fruity esters, diacetyl or DMS. Harsh, bitter, burnt, charred, rubbery, sulfury or phenolic smoky characteristics are inappropriate.
Mouthfeel: Medium body. Medium to medium-high carbonation. Smooth lager character. Significant astringent, phenolic harshness is inappropriate.
Overall Impression: M?rzen/Oktoberfest-style (see Oktoberfest) beer with a sweet, smoky aroma and flavor and a somewhat darker color.
History: A historical specialty of the city of Bamberg, in the Franconian region of Bavaria in Germany. Beechwood-smoked malt is used to make a M?rzen-style amber lager. The smoke character of the malt varies by maltster; some breweries produce their own smoked malt (rauchmalz).
Comments: The intensity of smoke character can vary widely; not all examples are highly smoked. Allow for variation in the style when judging. Other examples of smoked beers are available in Germany, such as the Bocks, Hefe-Weizen, Dunkel, Schwarz, and Helles-like beers, including examples such as Spezial Lager. Brewers entering these styles should use Other Smoked Beer as the entry category.
Ingredients: German Rauchmalz (beechwood-smoked Vienna-type malt) typically makes up 20-100% of the grain bill, with the remainder being German malts typically used in a M?rzen. Some breweries adjust the color slightly with a bit of roasted malt. German lager yeast. German or Czech hops.
Vital Statistics:
OG FG IBUs SRM ABV
1.050 - 1.056 1.012 - 1.016 20 - 30 14 - 22+ 4.8 - 6%
Commercial Examples: Schlenkerla Rauchbier M?rzen, Kaiserdom Rauchbier
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22B. Other Smoked Beer
Aroma: The aroma should be a pleasant balance between the expected aroma of the base beer (e.g., robust porter) and the smokiness imparted by the use of smoked malts. The intensity and character of the smoke and base beer style can vary, with either being prominent in the balance. Smokiness may vary from low to assertive; however, balance in the overall presentation is the key to well-made examples. The quality and secondary characteristics of the smoke are reflective of the source of the smoke (e.g., peat, alder, oak, beechwood). Sharp, phenolic, harsh, rubbery, or burnt smoke-derived aromatics are inappropriate.
Appearance: Variable. The appearance should reflect the base beer style, although the color of the beer is often a bit darker than the plain base style.
Flavor: As with aroma, there should be a balance between smokiness and the expected flavor characteristics of the base beer style. Smokiness may vary from low to assertive. Smoky flavors may range from woody to somewhat bacon-like depending on the type of malts used. Peat-smoked malt can add an earthiness. The balance of underlying beer characteristics and smoke can vary, although the resulting blend should be somewhat balanced and enjoyable. Smoke can add some dryness to the finish. Harsh, bitter, burnt, charred, rubbery, sulfury or phenolic smoky characteristics are generally inappropriate (although some of these characteristics may be present in some base styles; however, the smoked malt shouldn't contribute these flavors).
Mouthfeel: Varies with the base beer style. Significant astringent, phenolic smoke-derived harshness is inappropriate.
Overall Impression: This is any beer that is exhibiting smoke as a principle flavor and aroma characteristic other than the Bamberg-style Rauchbier (i.e. beechwood-smoked M?rzen). Balance in the use of smoke, hops and malt character is exhibited by the better examples.
History: The process of using smoked malts more recently has been adapted by craft brewers to other styles, notably porter and strong Scotch ales. German brewers have traditionally used smoked malts in bock, doppelbock, weizen, dunkel, schwarzbier, helles, pilsner, and other specialty styles.
Comments: Any style of beer can be smoked; the goal is to reach a pleasant balance between the smoke character and the base beer style. IF THIS BEER IS BASED ON A CLASSIC STYLE (E.G., ROBUST PORTER) THEN THE SPECIFIC STYLE MUST BE SPECIFIED. CLASSIC STYLES DO NOT HAVE TO BE CITED (E.G., "PORTER" OR "BROWN ALE" IS ACCEPTABLE). THE TYPE OF WOOD OR OTHER SOURCE OF SMOKE MUST BE SPECIFIED IF A "VARIETAL" CHARACTER IS NOTICEABLE. Entries that have a classic style cited will be judged on how well that style is represented, and how well it is balanced with the smoke character. Entries with a specific type or types of smoke cited will be judged on how well that type of smoke is recognizable and marries with the base style. Specific classic styles or smoke types do not have to be specified. For example, "smoked porter" is as acceptable as "peat-smoked strong Scotch ale" or "cherry-wood smoked IPA". Judges should evaluate the beers mostly on the overall balance, and how well the smoke character enhances the base beer.
Ingredients: Different materials used to smoke malt result in unique flavor and aroma characteristics. Beechwood-, peat- or other hardwood (oak, maple, mesquite, alder, pecan, apple, cherry, other fruitwoods) smoked malts may be used. The various woods may remind one of certain smoked products due to their food association (e.g., hickory with ribs, maple with bacon or sausage, and alder with salmon). Evergreen wood should never be used since it adds a medicinal, piney flavor to the malt. Excessive peat-smoked malt is generally undesirable due to its sharp, piercing phenolics and dirt-like earthiness. The remaining ingredients vary with the base style. If smoked malts are combined with other unusual ingredients (fruits, vegetables, spices, honey, etc.) in noticeable quantities, the resulting beer should be entered in the specialty/experimental category.
Vital Statistics:
OG FG IBUs SRM ABV
- - - - -
Varies with the base beer style.
Commercial Examples: Alaskan Smoked Porter, Spezial Rauchbier, Stone Smoked Porter, Schlenkerla Weizen Rauchbier, Schlenkerla Ur-Bock Rauchbier, Rogue Smoke, Arcadia London Porter, DeGroen's Rauchbock
March 2006
Moderator: Officers
