Announcements
August 11, 2001: Great Taste of the Midwest, Madison, WI. Second-largest beer festival in the U.S., and some say the best. Tickets go on sale May 1. More information online.
September 27-29, 2001: Great American Beer Festival, Denver, CO. Tickets go on sale July 1 online, August 15 elsewhere.
In the brew pot...
Congratulations to Barry Fitzgerald for winning 1st Prize in the Brew Your Own label contest!
I would like to encourage everyone to contribute to your newsletter by sending any articles, reviews, stupid-brewer's-tricks, comments, etc. to me. Thanks, and...
Happy brewing,
Glenn Hudspeth
July Seminar: Cider by Rob Dewhirst
Rob presented us with a fascinating seminar on ciders and how he makes his wonderful example. Some of the topics that Rob covered were:
Ingredients. Cider is a simple concoction made up of only a few ingredients:
* Raw apple juice. It's important to obtain a variety that is free of preservatives such as sorbate, which will inhibit (or downright PREVENT) your yeast from fermenting the apple juice. Those varieties which are pasturized and preservative free are ideal. Several members have had good luck with the Louisburg brand in the gallon jugs (the cold ones in the dairy section usually contain a preservative). Another good source of juice is the farmer's market, but it will contain wild yeasts, so you might want to sanitize your must with Campden tablets so that you can get a "controlled" fermentation.
* Sugar. Raw apple juice seldom contains enough sugar to yield a sufficient original gravity (more about this below) and some form of sugar is often needed to give that extra boost. Several kinds of sugar can be used, although common cane (table) sugar which lends fermented beverages a "cidery" taste is Rob's favorite. "Cidery" tastes do belong afterall in a cider. Brown sugar is another common sugar used but lends its own unique taste. If you go this route, look for genuine, unrefined brown sugar, rather than white sugar that has simply had molasses added back to it. Unfortunately most of the brown sugars on the grocery store shelves are of this inferior quality. Read the packages. Frozen apple juice concentrate can also be used successfully.
* Yeast. Several wine and beer yeast varieties are appropriate for cider making:
Brand No. Form Comments
Lalvin 71B-1122 dry fruity character
Lalvin 1116 dry
White Labs WLP775 liquid English cider
Lalvin EC-1118 dry
White Labs WLP720 liquid Sweet mead
Wyeast 1056 liquid American ale
Wyeast 3766 liquid Cider
Wyeast 4007 liquid Malo-lactic culture. Note: this is not a yeast, but rather a bacterial culture used to induce a malo-lactic fermentation after the primary fermentation is finished. You will still need to pitch an appropriate yeast in the beginning.
Additives. Several additives can be used in the cider-making process:
* Sodium metabisulphate, compressed in the form of Campden tablets, are used to sanitize the must and thereby suppress any present wild yeasts. Doing so and pitching sufficient cultured yeasts helps the cider maker to achieve a controlled fermentation with more-or-less predictable results.
* Potassium sorbate, also known as "wine stabilizer," is an additive which can be used at the end of the process to prevent any future fermentation activity, e.g. after adding sugar to sweeten your cider, and thus extend the shelf life of the product. Note that, because sorbate only inhibits yeast reproduction, it will not stop a fermentation in progress, only prevent any future activity. It is not a practical method for achieving residual sweetness in your cider.
* Pectolase (pectic enzymes) are added to break down the natural pectins present in apple juice. Pectins cause a haze in the finished product.
* Yeast nutrient (blend of ammonium salts and thiamine) are almost a necessity in mead-making because honey is deficient in nutrients which yeast need in order to reproduce. To a certain extent, yeast nutrient can also be beneficial in yeast starters and the production of other fermented beverages such as cider, beer and wine.
* Malic acid or acid blend. The acidity of any beverage gives it a certain "bite" on the back of the tongue and counters any cloyingness. Using an acid titration kit, the acidity of the must or finished product can be measured and adjusted to taste. The common acid blend found in homebrew shops is a blend of malic, citric and tartic acids unfortunately in a proportion suitable for wine-making. Some of the sources cited below publish recipes for a blend more suitable for cider, as well as recommended acidity levels.
* Tannin gives a beverage a mouth-puckering quality and also serves to balance any cloyingness. When using a blend of apples deficient in tannins, cider makers will often add tannin in the form of common grape tannin to add back this quality. Grape tannin is just that however, and a preferable method of achieving balance in the final product is to use the juice from a blend of apples which has enough natural tannins to begin with. Again the sources cited below are a great place to start exploring this aspect of cider making.
Fermenting -- treat similarly to beer
* The pH of fresh apple juice should be 3.2 - 3.8.
* The original gravity should be at least 1.055. Any lower and the cider will not contain sufficient alcohol for adequate self-preservation (shelf life).
* Rack at the first subsidence or 1.005, whichever comes first.
* Follow the published temperature ranges for your selected yeast. If a malo-lactic fermentation will be performed, this should be done after initial fermentation and at 60? F. Often a malo-lactic fermentation will occur spontaneously at this temperature.
Sources of more information
* Wittenham Hill Cider Page: http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/andrew_lea/
* CAMRA: http://www.camra.org.uk/cider/
* Correnty, Paul. The Art of Cidermaking. (in the LBG library)
* Proulx, Annie and Lew Nichols. Cider. Making, Using & Enjoying Sweet & Hard Cider. Storey: Vermont, 1980.
Sample recipe. Rob generously provided us with a recipe, with which to get started.
* 5 gallons Louisburg cider
* frozen apple juice concentrate or cane (table) sugar
* 3 tsp. pectic enzyme
* 3 tsp. acid blend
* 1.5 tsp. grape tannin
* 1.5 tsp. yeast nutruent
Sweeten to an original gravity of 1.055 with either apple juice concentrate or cane sugar (approx 2 cups). Pitch appropriate yeast and stand back!
Apologies to Rob for this perhaps occasionally inaccurate attempt to re-convey all of the information he presented. Summary and additional information by Glenn Hudspeth
Articles & Brewing Information
This month's tip: ascorbic acid, or good 'ole vitamin C as a beer additive
If anyone has ever made a fruit salad with apples or bananas, you are most likely aware of the problem of the fruit turning brown and unsightly after only a very short time of being exposed to air. The well-known remedy is the addition of a little lemon juice. The problem also occurs when making pesto with fresh basil, garlic, and olive oil. The pesto will turn a really unappetizing color on the top, while the minced basil underneath will remain a beatiful, fresh green. This discoloration is a result of oxidation, which also leads to gradual and thus not-so-perceptable, negative flavor changes. What most people don't realize is that this same process also occurs in beer. Lemon juice doesn't belong in pesto, so most people just live with it or eat it quickly. Nor does lemon juice typically belong in beer.
The reason lemon juice works in fruit salad is because the naturally-occuring ascorbic acid (vitamin c) which it contains is an antioxidant that obviously helps prevents oxidation and the resulting discoloration and flavor changes. Most of us never experience the following situation, but if you know you will have a beer that will be sitting around a long time (big barleywine perhaps, or other beer that you want to age a long time), the addition of 1 teaspoon per 5 gallons of food-grade ascorbic acid at packaging will help lengthen the shelf life of your beer without affecting the taste. Ascorbic acid is available at most homebrew shops and is an inexpensive addition towards a better product. -- Glenn Hudspeth
Minutes of the July meeting
Cleanup Crew: Ben
Attendance: What they brought:
Xanthippe Stevens
Ellen Jensen
Ben Johnson Bavarian wheat
Jeff Jensen 1st and only mistake ever
Dale Wheeler
Glenn Hudspeth Key West K?lsch
Pete Clouston Weizen & an apricot ale
Joe Yoder Brewfest bitter
Brian Hanks
Rob Dewhirst Cider
Ken Godwin
Apologies to anyone who got left off of this list, but it means YOU didn't sign the list at the meeting!
Barry reported (in absentia) that there are still a few Brewfest bills to pay, so if you haven't submitted any bills you should act quickly. There is currently $230.69 in the LBG account.
Jeff suggested a club-only contest to raise a quick $1000. Rob and Xan agreed and added that it should be a non-sanctioned competition with non-certified judges and blind tastings. $5 per entry per category. Jeff calls for scenarios for the August meeting, which will become next month's seminar. Bring your own suggestions/ideas for the contest. The style was decided to be pale ales.
Ben is interested in going to the GABF in Sept. Anyone else who would like to go along should make up their minds by the Sept. meeting so that appropriate plans can be made.
Brian donated 3 books to the LBG library:
o The Art of Making Wine
o Winemaker's Recipe Handbook
o From Vines to Wines
Pete reported that there is not the possibility of our own domain name at Sunflower.com. Rob will check on other possibilities.
Xan created a "Friends of the LBG" electronic mailing list. Send her an email at xan@ku.edu to subscribe or click on the link on the LBG homepage.
Barry won 1st Place in the Brew Your Own label contest.
Dale suggested using the leftover roast from the Brewfest for an Oktoberfest.
Jeff warned of the danger of carboy breakage and dear ticks on the genitalia.
The meeting was quickly adjourned.
Blind tastings: Weizen's
Home-brew example: Ben brought a great Weizen beer!
Commercial examples:
* Capital Kloster Weizen: "It's a Paulaner." "Definitely not an Ayinger." "But doesn't have that Paulaner taste." "It's Pete's Wicked Ale!"
* Capital Weizen Doppelbock: "It's a Spaten." "Definitely not an Ayinger." "It's Pete's Wicked Ale."
Recipes
Aside from Rob's cider recipe, no other recipes were brought or submitted this month.
Recent Beer News from RealBeer.com
Pabst to close last brewery
JULY 24, 2001 - Miller Brewing will make all Pabst brands
Sam Adams tests Light
JULY 24, 2001 - Boston Beer markets beer in Northeast for now
BridgePort expands
JULY 24, 2001 - Portland brewery to double capacity to 100,000 barrels
Brewing giants eye Beck's
JULY 12, 2001 - Scottish & Newcastle, Interbrew, A-B all in the running for German brewer
Guard your heart with beer?
JULY 11, 2001 - Folate in beer may help protect against heart disease
Glacier beer is back
JULY 9, 2001 - 63?N 46?W made from ice up to 250,000 years old
An independent beer
JUNE 26, 2001 - Vermont brewery honors senator with 'Jeezum Jim'
Beer tax cut proposed
JUNE 16, 2001 - Industry lobbies for return to pre 'luxury tax' levels
Australian pubs warned
JUNE 11, 2001 - Hoteliers who haven't passed on tax cuts face possible fines
Finnish bars honor Jackson
JUNE 8, 2001 - Beer writer receives first Beer Ambassador award
Copyright 2001 by Real Beer, Inc.
Discount Days at Bacchus & Barleycorn
LBG members receive a 10% discount from Bacchus & Barleycorn, August 6-11. Please show membership card or bring newsletter. Bacchus & Barleycorn is located at 6633 Nieman Rd. in Shawnee (913-962-2501).
July 2001
Moderator: Officers