The HOPS! Blog

Meeting Today! - May 17, 2011

2011-05-17T13:14:00.002-05:00

Just a reminder for all of you that our monthly general meeting is tonight at 7:30 PM at the Bridgeport VFW Post 5079 at 3202 S. May! The board of directors meeting begins promptly at 6:30.

Big Brew 2011!

2011-05-06T10:21:00.002-05:00

Big Brew is tomorrow starting at 10 AM. Last year the club brewed 140 gallon, 70 of Dunkelweizen and 70 of American Rye Amber. This year a single 120 gallon batch of English IPA will have to suffice. Beer and bbq will be enjoyed by all.

See you there!

How to brew mauby

2011-04-20T08:50:00.002-05:00

Those of you who showed up to last night's meeting sampled a new beverage I recently discovered called mauby. It's a Caribbean soft drink that was originally fermented, if only for carbonation, though I'm sure you can let the gravity drop a few more points to make things a bit more fun.

The following recipe I obtained from an old book about native Haitian plants and vegetables used for medicinal purposes. Maby, as the Haitians call it, was implanted from Jamaica and was one of the earliest fermented beverages drank in Haiti, before the importation of English beers in the late 1800s under the administration of President Boisrond-Canal. Similar in flavor to a ginger beer or root beer, maby can be occasionally served with white rum or gin.

The units of measurement in the recipe were rather arbitrary, so I'll list the measurements the recipe called for and what I actually measured out are in parentheses.

Mauby bark - 6 finger-length pieces (approx. 5 grams)

Chewstick - 3 pieces the same length (approx. 25-30 g)

Ginger - 3 grated legs/branches of the root (approx. 3 TBSP grated)

Melegueta leaves - 1 TBSP

Lime peels - 3 whole peels

Cinnamon - a strong pinch (1/2 tsp)

Star anise - a strong pinch (1 tsp--the star anise wasn't ground so after pulverizing it a bit, I settled on 1 tsp rather than 1/2 since most of the scoop was still empty space)

Raw brown sugar - 1 1/2 lbs to 2 lbs (I used 2 lbs)

1 gal water

This recipe makes a 1 gallon batch. Just dump everything into the pot and boil for about half an hour. There are plenty of solids from the spices so I definitely recommend using a mesh bag as it'll make filtering at the end easier. The recipe shows that maby was traditionally bottle fermented, so I just used a simple rehydrated dry ale yeast and let ferment at room temperature for a day or two in 22-oz bottles or larger. As this is being bottle fermented, I wouldn't recommend using 12-oz bottles as they may not be able to withstand the pressure.

Finding the ingredients can be tricky, but thankfully Chicago's wonderfully diverse with plenty of ethnic grocers and markets. Most Caribbean and West Indian markets will have the mauby bark and chewsticks available. I found mine at Rogers Park Fruit Market on Clark St. between Touhy and Howard. Raw brown sugar can be found at any Hispanic grocer sold as piloncillo.

The only ingredient I couldn't find during my hunt were the melegueta leaves. Aframomum melegueta, produces the spice more commonly known as grains of paradise. However, this recipe doesn't require the seed, but rather the leaves. I was fortunate enough to have family in Queens who mailed over a couple packets of the leaves for me. If anyone knows where to find this in Chicagoland, please let me know!

UPDATE: Same time, different location for tomorrow's meeting

2011-04-18T14:27:00.001-05:00

This meeting's going to be a bit different. Since the VFW was double booked, the Board of Directors is meeting at Maria's Community Bar on 31st & Morgan at 6:30 PM. From here, those of you taking mass transit can meet and carpool with some of the drivers to The Plant for the general meeting.

The general meeting will be at The Plant, located at 1400 W. Bishop, near the corner of 46th & Bishop. It's just behind the Super Mas Market visible from 47th St.

Several members checked the place out on Saturday and recommend those of you who have them to bring your own lawn chair. The location's still undergoing development and there wasn't much furniture around.

Details for this month's meeting up in the air...

2011-04-14T07:50:00.000-05:00

We recently received word of a potential conflict with the Bridgeport VFW (where our monthly meetings are held) for this month's general meeting, currently scheduled for this upcoming Tuesday, the 19th. As such, there's a strong possibility that the location (and perhaps even the date) of the meeting could change. We'll post the time and location of the meeting as soon as we get everything worked out, so please check back here before heading out to the VFW on Tuesday. However things shake out, we hope to still have a regular meeting with Homebrewer's Corner, the monthly tasting, etc. Thanks for your understanding.

Congrats to Tom Saldana--Binny's/Sam Adams Homebrew Champ!

2011-04-10T21:18:00.000-05:00

We're very excited to announce that current HOPS! member and former HOPS! president Tom Saldana won the Binny's and Sam Adams Long Shot Homebrew Contest! After waiting in line on a cold Tuesday morning to make sure he was one of the fifty contestants, Tom emerged as the victor on Saturday. His winning entry was a Russian Imperial Stout which has aged for two years. His prize? A trip for two to the Great American Beer Fest that includes tickets, airfare, and hotel. Now that's a prize.

Congrats to Tom for showing us mere mortals how it's done. We look forward to trying some of the beers you bring back from Denver in the fall (hint, hint)!

HOPS! represents at the BOSS Chicago Cup

2011-03-29T08:15:00.001-05:00

A guest post from our competition guru, Michael:

The BOSS competition results are up [in PDF form here] and the club made a very strong showing, taking home 17 ribbons! These included a number of 1st place beers! Brian Keyes took first with his Dortmunder Export and Matt & Meg took 2 firsts with their American Stout and their Barleywine. Nate Baker took a1st in Spice/Herb/Vegetable, and Brian Eich took home top marks in the always difficult IPA category. Bob, Klavs, Russ & Leah, and myself all took home assorted seconds and thirds; the people mentioned above took a number of other awards as well.Having 8 brewers take home 17 ribbons completely tops our 5 club ribbons last year. If you are keeping score, HOPS! took home about 20% of the total ribbons up for grabs. Check out the scoresheets for a full breakdown of who won what: http://www.bossbeer.org/BOSS_2011Winners.pdf

A number of us went down to judge including Bob, Tom, Noel, Brian Eich, Nate Baker, Lovey, Klavs, Matt, Meg, Gary Gulley, and myself. We had a great time and the guys from BOSS continue to be the most gracious and awesome of hosts, as does the mighty Maple Tree Inn in Blue Island. We had a number of great beers during the comp and a ton of great beer at their amazing bar. The Muffuletta sandwiches were still amazing and Charlie Orr's memory was justly celebrated throughout the day. Our good friends from Iowa, Scott and Karen Schaar, came out to judge and it was nice to see them and the usual cast of BJCP characters from around Chicagoland. The multi-award-winning Rod-K even shared some homebrew secrets with us all as the beer flowed freely over lunch and afterwards.

I'd like to send a heartfelt congratulations and thank you to all the brewers who have entered, participated in club meetings, and were on the competition team this year. This was a great result and we will build on it in years to come. Back in October we set up the comp team to have members brew widely to get beers into as many categories as possible and have people brew styles they haven't brewed before. Happily this worked and we look forward to doing the same thing next year. Anyone is welcome to join in the comp team as long as they agree to try and enter at least 5 beers into BOSS, have a few of those cover empty spaces in our line-up, and bring beer to the comp team get togethers.

Most importantly, I'd like to thank everyone from the club for being such eager, engaged, and vocal homebrew connoisseurs during the meetings and especially the homebrewers' corner that Steve, Noel, and Brian run each and every month. It can be thankless organizing that but they do a great job getting everyone to focus on a beer and help our brewers get better. These sorts of successes are only made possible by drawing on the knowledge of everyone in the club, be they novices or homebrew hoarders with all the newest toys, theories, and avant-garde hops.

Thanks again to everyone. Now get brewing for Nationals, The Puget Sound Pro-Am, and The Sam Adams Longshot!

Thanks, Michael, for the summary. I'd like to also give a big thanks to Michael for leading the push to put our best brewing foot forward at the BOSS competition, and also thank the folks at BOSS for putting on a great competition (as they do every year).

Getting your blend on

2011-03-21T19:41:00.002-05:00

Yesterday I posted on my personal blog about my recent experience with blending beers. If you want to read the whole thing you can check it out here, but for purposes of this blog I wanted to briefly discuss the various purposes of blending (at least the ones of which I'm aware).

Blending has probably been around as long as people have been brewing beer. Historically, brewers blended old sour beers with fresh, non-sour beers to dial in the exact level of sourness (or simply make them palatable). Similarly, partigyle brewers would sometimes blend the various gyles; rumor has it that Newcastle is still a blend of an older beer and a newer beer. And for the record, I'm no expert, so feel free to correct any of this in the comments if I've been mislead or am not telling the whole story.

For those who like to win medals in homebrew competitions, blending can allow you to create new entries from your existing stock (is it cheating? sounds like the kind of pointless debate that Beer Advocate is known for!). While this is most commonly done with British beers, I tried it with German lagers. Did it work? I'll know after this weekend!

For the average beer drinker, blending should bring to mind the ubiquitous black and tan, though there are plenty of other blends out there that are simply intended to create something new and exciting (not to mention commercial examples like Ommegang's Three Philosophers).

Anyway, I was curious to see if anybody has experience with blending. If you have, please post in the comments what you blended, why you blended (competition? an experiment? you were drunk?) and how it turned out. My personal results with blending a Helles with a Dunkel (50/50 blend for a Vienna lager and 2:1 Helles:Dunkel for an Oktoberfest) has got me thinking about how I can get three different styles out of two brew days. More variety is never a bad thing, right?

Monthly HOPS! Meeting - March 15, 2011 @ 7:45 PM

2011-03-14T13:52:00.003-05:00

Just a reminder that tomorrow is our monthly HOPS! meeting @ the Bridgeport VFW Post 5079 at 3202 S. May!

We're going to have a lot of business to cover so the meeting will start promptly at 7:45 PM.

Style of the Month - 3 a Vienna Lager

2011-03-08T18:59:00.002-06:00

So, to keep you on your toes, this month we're going to do a lager that is far more ubiquitous than meets the eye. If you were to ask a random person what a Vienna lager is, you'd probably just get a blank stare. The style is really something of an anachronistic name, relying on the fact that the whole lager brewing craze began with Anton Dreher after the isolation of S. pastorianus (formerly S. carlsbergensis) in Denmark. Curiously, the story goes that he studied at Barclay & Perkins in England and fathered the adoption of lager brewing in continental Europe. However, as a result of his studies in England, he also brought with him the English malting processes and adapted English pale ale techniques to his lager brewing, resulting in the copper-colored beer that we know as Vienna lager. Originally, it was called Märtzen by Dreher because it was brewed in March, when the weather remained cool enough for the fermentation and ice remained available. Eventually, it came to be known as Vienna style due to Dreher's proximity to Vienna, Austria.

So, what is Vienna lager and where can I find it? Oddly enough, it is all around you and goes by curious names such as Negra Modelo and Victoria (the Mexican one) because of the influx of Austrian immigrants into Mexico (and Latin America) in the late 1800s, led by Santiago Graf. Unfortunately, the vast majority of amber lagers in Mexico tend to be heavy in the adjunct department and get away from (quasi) traditional aspects that made this a desirable style. There are also a ton of great American craft-brewed examples that are available from a wide breadth of brewers as lager brewing among craft breweries has become more commonplace.

Ultimately, what make a great Vienna lager is the use of Vienna malt, which falls somewhere between Munich and English Pale malt in terms of character. It tends to have an increased sweet melanoidin character but preserves and nice and biscuity toast character. Utilization of this robust malt lends a certain richness while maintaining enough of a soft hop balance to keep it quite refreshing. The beer should finish dry and be medium bodied. Think of this sort of as Oktoberfest light. It should have no roast or caramel character and a very clean lager fermentation. And, in a nutshell, that's Vienna.

HOPS! t-shirts are on the way; pre-order yours now!

2011-03-02T21:07:00.005-06:00

ZZ Top once sang, "Every girl's crazy 'bout a sharp-dressed man." We suspect sharp-dressed women get their fair share of action as well. So in an effort to keep everybody as fashionable as possible, HOPS! is excited to announce that we are in the process of ordering two brand new t-shirts which will be available for the low cost of $15 for non-members and the extra low cost of $10 for members.

The first shirt we have to offer is our Classic Black T:

The second shirt we have is our South Side Heritage T:

Both shirts are available in size S-XL (XXL may be available for a few bucks more; email for details). For the time being, you'll have to either pick up your shirt in person at a HOPS! meeting or have a HOPS! member pick one up for you... in other words, we're not shipping. (Hey, we're a homebrew club; not UPS!) To reserve yours today, send an email to hops.shirts (at) gmail (dot) com with the following information: name, which shirt(s) you would like (Classic Black or South Side Heritage), what size, and whether each shirt is for a member or a non-member. You can also send any questions you might have to the address above. We only plan on taking orders through this month's meeting (March 15) so hurry up and get your emails in now. It's time to look sharp!

BJCP Exam Class is AWESOME!

2011-03-02T15:15:00.003-06:00

Photo was taken at the most recent BJCP exam class on Mar. 1, led by BJCP instructor, Steve McKenna (shown in photo). Yesterday's class covered German/Czech styles in the tasting portion.

Brewing Education - Call for Volunteers

2011-02-16T15:14:00.002-06:00

In the past year, we have seen a significant increase in the quality of the beers being brought in by fellow homebrewers and I feel that a large part of that has been due to increased education among the membership, not just in terms of the Commercial Examples Tasting portion of the meeting, but in having the group evaluate the beers brought in for Homebrewers' Corner. I feel that continued education and research will breed better beers and with that, I have an invitation to announce.

Historically, the Commercial Tasting has been secondary and somewhat passively approached by a single person leading the tasting. One of the goals over the next year plus is to have this portion of the meeting become more educational and more focused on getting a feel for the style and techniques that go into specific styles. As such, at this time I would like to invite fellow members to volunteer for future Commercial tastings. The process is quite simple, I'd ask that you shoot me an email letting me know you have a particular style in mind. If we haven't done the style in the last 12-18 months or so, I'll give the go ahead and ask that you do a bit of research into the style, see if you can come up with some interesting facts and either you can write a blog post and forward to me or you can send me a basic outline and I'll put it together as a post. You also will be able to choose what beers for the tastings, we only ask that at least one of the beers is a classic example per the BJCP style guidelines. The club has budgeted for reimbursement as well. So please, send me your thoughts and let me know what you think would be a good style for the next tasting!

Meeting tonight!

2011-02-15T11:55:00.003-06:00

Just a quick reminder that tonight's meeting will start with the homebrewer's corner at 7:30pm. As usual, our meeting will be at the Bridgeport VFW at 3202 S. May. See you there!

Style of the Month

2011-02-09T15:45:00.003-06:00

So I thought I'd start a new tradition with the style of the month being handed over to me by our President and give a little history of the style, as well as outlining what differentiates this style from other styles. I'd also like to send an invitation to all brewers to let me know if you have a beer that you feel fits this style that you've brewed that you'd like included in the horizontal tasting.

To start things off, I thought we'd start this with BJCP Category 13E. - American Stout.

Per the BJCP Guidelines, which can be found at http://www.bjcp.org/2008styles/catdex.php, this style falls into a bit of a nowhere land between Foreign Extra Stout (which is an odd ball category all its own, but I'll save that for another time) and Russian Imperial Stout. It will have a moderate to strong roasted aroma, leaning towards coffee and cocoa and away from ashy. The hop character runs the gamut from medium to very low and tends toward American hops. There are a lot of optionals in this category, from ester and alcohol derived aromatics to the variances in hop flavor. Suffice it to say, this is a very flavorful beer with a wide berth of interpretation.

The primary defining character in these beers tends to be a moderately to moderately high OG and a distinctly American character. Commonly American hops and malts are used, as well as clean American yeast. I like to think of these beers as being the bigger brothers of Dry, Sweet and Oatmeal stouts, but not as big and burly as the Russian Imperial Stouts.

This is a style that has no real historical provenance and seems to have been the result of these types of beers showing up in the other stout categories but not really fitting into the historical guidelines of world classics such as Sam Smith's Oatmeal Stout or Guinness. As such, as with many other styles that are now considered classically American, a variation was born. The BJCP guide lists beers from most of the forerunners of American craft beer as brewing classic versions, namely Rogue Shakespeare Stout, Sierra Nevada Stout & North Coast Old No. 38.

Regarding next week's, and future, meeting(s), I intend to showcase the style and the variation within and hopefull will help to demonstrate how, even though there are definitions to each style, each brewer has a lot of options in terms of how (s)he can produce a beer "to style."

Cheers,

Brian

New Board of Directors

2011-02-09T11:17:00.002-06:00

At last month's Jan. 18 meeting, we held our annual election for the board of directors. After the results were tallied, the newly elected board convened and appointed new officers:

Bob Brown (President)

Patrick Bowles (Treasurer)

Noel Wessely (Secretary)

Lovey Bissett

Klavs Dolmer

Brian Eichorn

Steve Marsala

Please wish us and all of HOPS! in having another successful year in 2011!

Ferm Wrap

2011-02-09T11:00:00.001-06:00

I was over at Matt and Meg's blog and found this post that describes how to make a really inexpensive Ferm Wrap. There is a link to the company that supplies the parts, and they will even put it together for you. It's a nice solution when you want to raise fermentation temps. You could take advantage of the cold weather and use the wrap to make a lager. A temperature controller is required which they also sell.

Anyone interested? We could save on shipping.

Drinking and Writing at the Haymarket!

2011-02-09T07:28:00.000-06:00

First, apologies for our extended absence here at the blog... Rest assured we're still brewing and meeting; we just sort of let the blog fall to the wayside. We're doing some retooling and adding some fresh faces to the blog so we hope you'll be back for regular postings from here on out.

Apologies aside, I wanted to let everybody know about a couple cool events going on at Chicago's newest brewpub, Haymarket. Haymarket is home to the Drinking & Writing Brewery (which puts on the annual Beerfly Alleyfight in which several HOPS! brewers participate), and they've recently announced that their awesome post-holiday show, To Cure A Hangover, has been extended until March 5th. It plays every Saturday at 4pm and I can't stress enough how great it is. You can get your tickets here.

Also, this Monday (which just happens to be Valentine's Day) at 7:37 pm is the inaugural meeting of Local 737, Haymarket's Mug Club. What's particularly cool about this mug club is that the Drinking & Writing Brewery will be curating an art performance at every tapping. This particular meeting will feature a cornucopia of artists including Christopher Piatt, Dr. Chloe Johnston, Rachel Claff, Rawson Vint, Jamie Budzick and Dina Walters as well as the tapping of their Agitator Double IPA. Oh, and the cost is a whopping $1, so hope you're ready to splurge.

Here at HOPS! we like to support all of our local breweries and brewpubs, and we'll try to post events here are we learn of them. Cheers!

Oktoberfest TODAY plus a triple-shot of Oktoberfest 8 with Brian Eichhorn, Chuck McCoun and Noel Wessely

2010-09-25T09:13:00.009-05:00

Oktoberfest is here! Folks are busy getting the VFW ready (I myself will head down as soon as I post this) and in a few hours the taps will start pouring. Hope you already ordered your tickets because we've sold out YET AGAIN! Thanks to everybody for their support!

To get you in the Oktoberfest spirit, we've got three brewers to profile for our final edition of Die Oktoberfest 8(I meant to save one for today, but discovered two others in by inbox that I had previously missed). But enough excuses... let's see what Brian Eichhorn, Chuck McCoun and Noel Wessely have to say!

1. Where do you live and what do you do (when you're not brewing, of course)?

BE: I live at Irving Park Road and California (South of Devon though!) and work in Insurance in the real world.

CM: Canaryville, the ugly step-child of the 11th Ward. Master Carpenter/ Handyman, if I can't fix it, it's broke!

NW: I live at 36th & Halsted and I'm a metallurgist at a local forge.

2. How long have you been in HOPS!?

BE: I joined hops this past spring after meeting some of the members at Rock Bottom and judging a couple of comps with them.

CM: Almost 1 year.

NW: Joined HOPS in November 2009.

3. What got you into homebrewing?

BE: I started homebrewing as the next logical progression after exhausting myself and my wallet chasing down every craft beer I could get my hands on. Started all grain from the beginning and never looked back.

CM: My friend Nada got me into brewing back in 1990 in Oakland CA. Her future husband had all the equipment we needed to get started and was not using it, so we did.

NW: My brewing buddy, Patrick, asked me if I wanted to brew beer. Being unemployed at the time and having nothing else better to do, I figured why not?

4. What did you brew for Oktoberfest this year and why should people try it?

BE: I brewed a multi-grain saison & Biere de Garde for Oktoberfest and people should drink it because it will make you happy.

CM: I brewed 2 beers for Oktoberfest. Canaryville Creme Ale and Bronzville Black IPA.

The Creme Ale has been my go to party beer this summer because it's cheap and quick to produce, plus it taste awesome! The Black IPA or Cascadian Ale is a beer I brewed just for the Oktoberfest because I wanted to do something unique that people may not have tried before.

NW: Patrick and I brewed our latest American pale ale, which placed 3rd in its flight recently in Mundelein this past Independence Day weekend. We'll also have our spiced apple ale, a refreshing, yet warming, autumnal seasonal which will be perfect for this year's Oktoberfest, regardless of the weather. Everyone should try our beers out because we love brewing beer for others.

5. What's the weirdest ingredient you've ever used in a beer?

BE: Nothing really weird has been used in any of my beers aside from Piloncillo (raw Mexican Sugar) and orange peel.

CM: Last Fall my former brew partner, Bryan (R.I.P.) and I decided to use pumpkins as a mash tun (pumptunkin) and as fermenters (Fermunkins; see picture above--Bryan's on the left, Chuck's on the right). We used a Irish Red Ale recipe. As un-sanitary as this sounds the beer came out awesome!

NW: Nutmeg's probably been the weirdest thing I've used so far.

6. What do you like to listen to while you brew?

BE: I tend to listen to NPR when I brew. Usually, This American Life is on or Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me! If not, I tend to listen to whatever is on XRT.

CM: Black Metal or Hardcore Punk!

NW: Metal. But I also listen to that when I'm not brewing.

7. What's your favorite local beer?

BE: Asking what my favorite local beer is like asking which kid I like the best. Though my first love was Alpha King...

CM: Bells Two Hearted Ale.

NW: I'd say it's a tie between Three Floyd's Alpha King and Half Acre's Daisy Cutter.

8. If I put you on a charter plane that would take you anywhere in the world to drink for 24 hours, where would you go and why?

BE: I'd go to Franconia in Northeast Bavaria. It is one of the last bastions of the rustic German beers, from Rauchbier to Landbier. Every town has a brewery and every brewery has a town.

CM: Munich's Oktoberfest! Why? Because it's Munich's Oktoberfest!

NW: California. I really like hops.

Thanks to Brian, Chuck and Noel for taking the time to answer our questions. And now, on to Oktoberfest!!!

Die Oktoberfest 8: Matt Mayes

2010-09-23T20:01:00.004-05:00

A mere 48 hours from now we'll be cleaning up from the HOPS! Oktoberfest fundraiser (this Saturday, Sept. 25th--more info, including how to get tickets, here). But before that we'll have enjoyed well over fifty beers, including one from the subject of today's Oktoberfest 8, Matt Mayes. Here's what Matt had to say in response to our eight questions:

1. Where do you live and what do you do (when you're not brewing, of course)?

I live in Humboldt Park (er, "West Bucktown") in Chicago.

2. How long have you been in HOPS!?

This is my first year in HOPS!

3. What got you into homebrewing?

My wife Meg bought me a Coopers beer kit, and while the beer wasn't so great an obsession was growing.

4. What did you brew for Oktoberfest this year and why should people try it?

I plan on bringing a Schwarzbier, an IPA and maybe a Pale Ale too. You should try them because you'll need something tasty to wash down all the delicious food being served :)

5. What's the weirdest ingredient you've ever used in a beer?

Grains of Paradise - not too weird, they add a peppery/lavender-like flavor to the beer. They're from Africa, where people chew them because it makes them feel cooler in the hot weather.

6. What do you like to listen to while you brew?

I'll listen to anything from Jazz to Iron Maiden. One time I brewed a beer for a friend who played in a band, and I played his CD the entire time for inspiration. The beer became one of our house brews, but the band broke up - whatever that means. ;)

7. What's your favorite local beer?

That's a tough one. My favorite one-off has been Shewolf by Half Acre/Three Floyds - but my go-to beer tends to be GI's IPA (I have a hop-tooth).

8. If I put you on a charter plane that would take you anywhere in the world to drink for 24 hours, where would you go and why?

My gut reaction would be Portland, I was there once and loved it, and didn't get to try everything I wanted to. Incredible food as well. But I would also love to go to some off-the-beaten-path places in the Czech Republic, but a day wouldn't cover that. So I'd probably go back to San Diego and drink Pliny all day.

I'm going to go ahead and add that, in addition to being a great brewer, Matt is a great drummer... AND the only drummer I know who can play his brewing equipment. If you want to try any of Matt's beers, purchase your Oktoberfest tickets here. We had less than twenty tickets left as of 6am!

Die Oktoberfest 8: Klavs Dolmer

2010-09-22T23:38:00.003-05:00

We're down to less than five days until this year's HOPS! Oktoberfest fundraiser (Saturday, Sept. 25th--more info, including how to get tickets, here) so I better get to our next installment of our pre-Oktoberfest feature, Die Oktoberfest 8. Today we talk with Klavs Dolmer. Here's how Klavs answered our eight questions:

1. Where do you live and what do you do (when you're not brewing, of course)?

I live in Wicker Park, Chicago, and I am a Research Assistant Professor in Biochemistry at UIC.

2. How long have you been in HOPS!?

I have been a HOPS! member for about 5 years, after a few years as a hang-around.

3. What got you into homebrewing?

I had been interested in beer (good beer) for some time, going to beer school at The Map Room and beer academy at Goose Island with my friend Gregg. In 2003, when Gregg's wife's colleague's husband, who was a HOPS! member, was showing Gregg how easy homebrewing was, I tagged along. I brewed my first batch, an American Pale Ale, two weeks later.

4. What did you brew for Oktoberfest this year and why should people try it?

This year, I brewed five beers. I was trying to show some of the differences ingredients make.
I brewed two saisons, using the same malts and yeast, but hopping one with traditional European hops and the other with fruity American hops. I brewed two American wheat ales, and fermented one with an American ale yeast, and the other with a French Saison yeast.
And I brewed an American Pale Ale, because I felt playing around with that recipe (I changed the mash schedule to get more fermentable sugars, and added less (and fewer), but darker caramel malts).

All my beers brewed for this year's Oktoberfest are on the lighter side in color and alcohol, and at the same time fairly hoppy, refreshing and flavorful.

5. What's the weirdest ingredient you've ever used in a beer?

Raisins in a dark, Belgian inspired beer a few years ago. It ages well, but was more "interesting" than "good".

6. What do you like to listen to while you brew?

It changes, but Metallica, Motörhead, and Stevie Ray Vaughan has been on recently.

7. What's your favorite local beer?

That is a difficult question. When grilling, I like to have a bottle of Flywheel or Dynamo (from Metropolitan) in my hand. I like hops, and Half Acre's Daisycutter is a big hit at home, as is Goose Island's IPA. But if my house caught fire, and I could only save one case of beer, it would be some of the aged Goose Bourbon County (brand) Stout. That beer is amazing.

8. If I put you on a charter plane that would take you anywhere in the world to drink for 24 hours, where would you go and why?

To Belgium. Exactly where in Belgium, I don't know for sure, but Brussels would be part of the trip. I am fascinated by the myriad of different beers brewed in Belgium, so 24 hours would probably not be enough...

Thanks to Klavs for taking time to answer our questions. If you want to try any of Klavs's beers, purchase your Oktoberfest tickets here. Tickets are going fast!

Die Oktoberfest 8: Bob McHale

2010-09-14T21:56:00.002-05:00

For the second installment of our pre-Oktoberfest feature, Die Oktoberfest 8, we're talking with Bob McHale. Bob's one of the newest members of HOPS!, and I believe he's the first member who actually owns a bar--the Skylark between Bridgeport and East Pilsen. As a reminder, this year's HOPS! Oktoberfest is Saturday, Sept. 25th (more info, including how to get tickets, here). Let's see how Bob handled our eight questions:

1. Where do you live and what do you do (when you're not brewing, of course)?

We live at 37th and Hoyne. I own and operate the Skylark (bar/restaurant) at Cermak and Halsted.

2. How long have you been in HOPS!?

I joined HOPS this past January.

3. What got you into homebrewing?

I started brewing about two years ago after shooting the breeze with the brewmaster-owner of a place called Back Road Brewery
in LaPorte, Indiana. Also, when I bought the building where the Skylark is, I inherited a few cornie kegs and a walk-in cooler.

4. What did you brew for Oktoberfest this year and why should people try it?

For Oktoberfest, I hope to have a keg of American IPA ready. Hope it's drinkable.

5. What's the weirdest ingredient you've ever used in a beer?

The weirdest ingredient I've ever used is orange peel. Not too weird.

6. What do you like to listen to while you brew?

The last time I brewed, I think I was listening to a Steve Dahl podcast.

7. What's your favorite local beer?

My favorite local beers, when you can get it, is Three Floyds Lord Admiral Nelson ESB.

8. If I put you on a charter plane that would take you anywhere in the world to drink for 24 hours, where would you go and why?

Portland, Oregon. Also known as Beervana.

Thanks for stepping away from the bar long enough to answer our questions, Bob! If you want to try Bob's beers, purchase your Oktoberfest tickets here.

Die Oktoberfest 8: Tom Saldana

2010-09-09T14:51:00.009-05:00

Today we kick off our pre-Oktoberfest feature, Die Oktoberfest 8. Simply put, we posed eight questions to HOPS! brewers whose creations will be available for sampling at his year's HOPS! Oktoberfest on Saturday, Sept. 25th (more info, including how to get tickets, here). We're excited to start with former HOPS! president Tom Saldana:

1. Where do you live and what do you do (when you're not brewing, of course)?

Bridgeport (non-political side). I am employed by the City of Chicago (Living in Bridgeport and a City Worker??) as the Chief Microbiologist. I make sure that the drinking water is safe to drink.

2. How long have you been in HOPS!?

I have been brewing for 17 years and have been a member of HOPS! for 14 years (1996).

3. What got you into homebrewing?

Old room mate bought me a basic homebrew kit and said we are going to brew. The first batch was an absolute disaster. That sparked my interest. I had to find out why it was a failure. The rest of my beers have been great. I brewed monster beers with big alcohols and hops galore. Currently, I have noticed that I have been becoming more stylistic (sticking to the Style Guidelines). On a side note: I am currently a BJCP Certified Beer Judge. I am a few judgings away from becoming a National Beer Judge.

4. What did you brew for Oktoberfest this year and why should people try it?

I brewed an English IPA and an English Extra Special Bitter (both with Thames Valley yeast). I also have an American Pale Ale ready to go. I brewed lighter style ales to hopefully attract the session beer drinkers. There will be a lot of beer to try at the Oktoberfest party. I want the people who really don't know the big beers to have a quaff-able beer that will not destroy their taste buds or get them inebriated too quickly.

5. What's the weirdest ingredient you've ever used in a beer?

The combination of cranberry and raspberry. The reason why it was weird is because it made my wheat beer taste just like Fruit Loop cereal.

6. What do you like to listen to while you brew?

Either WXRT or my I-pod. If there is a baseball game on, that's what over rules the music.

7. What's your favorite local beer?

Tough question! It is a harder question to answer than picking out your favorite finalist for a Miss Universe contest! I can say this though.... I have been blown away by some of the pump engine beers at the Rock Bottoms ( Downtown and Orland Park), Flossmoor Station and Goose Island! Metropolitan's I - Beam Alt was a favorite too! The Iron Fist Pale Ale at Revolution is mighty tasty!! Favorite local canned beer has to be Daisy Cutter from Half Acre. See what I mean? Too many great beers!

8. If I put you on a charter plane that would take you anywhere in the world to drink for 24 hours, where would you go and why?

That's easy! Vegas Baby! Vegas!! Las Vegas has a pretty good number of breweries : Big Dog's, Tenaya Creek , (the very shady) Ellis Island (behind Bally's), Triple 7's ( Main Street Station), Sin City Brewing, ect. All of them are pretty good. If I'm going to be up for 24 hours... there's no other place I'd like to be!

Sounds great, Tom... I'm getting thirsty already! If you want to try Tom's beers, purchase your Oktoberfest tickets here.

Oktoberfest is just over two weeks away!

2010-09-08T09:03:00.003-05:00

Our annual HOPS! Oktoberfest party is just over two weeks away! If you've never been to one of our Oktoberfests, here's what you can expect:

1.) Well over FIFTY handcrafted beers from the award-winning brewers of HOPS!

2.) Additional award-winning beers from local breweries including Flossmoor Station, Goose Island, Gordon Biersch, Half Acre, Metropolitan and Rock Bottom!

3.) Food, food and more food! and...

4.) More Gemütlichkeit than you can shake an Alpenhorn at!

Here are the details... The event is from 2-7pm on Saturday, Sept. 25th at the Bridgeport VFW (conveniently located near the 8 Halsted bus and accessible via the Red and Orange lines). Tickets are $30 each (plus service charge; must be 21+ to enter) and available via Brown Paper Tickets. Keep up on the latest news via our Facebook page. And if you want to see what you missed last year, check out our recap.

To get everybody excited, we'll be doing brewer profiles between now and the event. But hurry up and get your tickets now. Last year's event sold out the day before so don't count on tickets being available at the door!

Beerfly Alleyfight is this Saturday!

2010-05-20T17:46:00.003-05:00

What happens when you mix homebrew, food and art? BEERFLY ALLEYFIGHT!

This Saturday the Drinking & Writing Brewery will present its fourth annual Beerfly Alleyfight. In a nutshell, they get ten homebrewers and ask them to brew with some similar base ingredients. Then they're asked to prepare food to pair with the beer. They they're paired with an artist who interprets their pairing. Sound crazy? It is. Sound awesome? It is.

This year nearly half of the brewers are HOPS! members, so go check it out. It's from noon to 4pm on Saturday at the Rock Bottom on State and Grand just north of downtown Chicago. The price of admission includes samples of each pairing as well as performances from each artist. You can buy tickets and get more info here.

For a teaser, you can read about what my wife and I brewed over at my personal blog. If you're too lazy to click on that link, I'll offer you two words as a hint: Cocoa Puffs. You gotta be there!

May meeting May 18th (tomorrow)!

2010-05-17T07:25:00.000-05:00

Sorry, I know we've been a little lax with the updates around here lately, but the good news is tomorrow (Tuesday) is our monthly meeting! It's at our usual haunt (the VFW Hall at 32nd and May in Bridgeport) but a new time (sort of)... If you want to sample some homebrew (or have yours sampled/critiqued) please arrive at 7:30 instead of 8pm.

At 8:00 we'll commence with our normal business and get to our monthly tasting. This month it's Doppelbocks and Eisbocks. I've got two traditional German Doppelbocks (Weihenstephaner Korbinian and Ayinger Celebrator), one American take on the Doppelbock (Bell's Consecrator) and two Eisbocks (Kulmbacher Reichelbräu Eisbock and Schneider Aventinus Eisbock--which is a top-fermented, iced Weizenbock and thus not technically an Eisbock according to the BJCP, but it's so good that I promise you won't mind). I've posted some tasting notes for the Celebrator on my personal blog here, and I hope to post tasting notes for the Bell's Consecrator tonight. Hope to see everybody tomorrow!

Meeting Time!

2010-04-19T14:35:00.003-05:00

No posts for the March meeting, so let's get to April. This month we will be sampling American Wheat and Rye, BJCP category 6D. This style should have a noticeable wheat or rye aroma and flavor without the clove and banana of a German Hefe or Roggien. Hopping can be low to moderate. Bell's Oberon is a classic example of this style. Although the BJCP also lists Three Floyd's Gumballhead, it's aggressive hopping would most likely be dinged in a competition. But its still an awesome beer. Which examples will we try? Come to the meeting and find out.

Do you extract brew? Have any in a bottle? Bring some for the club only competition. The winning beer will be selected to represent HOPS in an upcoming BJCP contest. All entries will get completed score sheets with feedback from BJCP judges.

As always there will be plenty of homebrew! See you there.

February HOPS Meeting

2010-02-12T10:49:00.003-06:00

The next HOPS meeting is Tuesday the 16th at the Bridgeport VFW hall on 32nd and May.

This month we will have the second club only competition of the year, so bring your American Ales. These include BJCP styles 10A American Pale Ale, 10B American Amber Ale and 10C American Brown Ale. These ales generally exhibit higher hopping rates and cleaner yeast character than their European counterparts. Don't fear the hops! This is a great opportunity to have your beer evaluated by certified BJCP judges without spending $7 to enter a competition. Judge volunteers are also welcome. The winning beer will represent HOPS in an upcoming AHA club only contest. Entry fee and shipping paid for by the club.

Style of the Month is Robust Porter. I'll try to get some great classic examples. Rich and roasty brew will be on hand for everyone to sample.

Last meeting was GREAT! Tom Saldana's Northern English Brown was picked as the club's best English Brown. Lots of Old Ale was sampled. Some better than others, depending on your horse blanket threshold. And the most exciting part was all of the homebrew. Some real standouts were brought by both veteran HOPS members and some new faces. We hope to see you there.

Where does Illinois rank in the craft beer world?

2010-02-11T22:46:00.003-06:00

There are few things in the beer world that generate more controversy than RateBeer and BeerAdvocate. Some love 'em. Some hate 'em. Some (many?) love one and hate the other. Regardless of your personal feelings, there's no doubt that--much like Pitchfork does for music--these sites can really boost a beer or brewery with their ability to drum up hype.

Every year RateBeer comes out with their annual RateBeer Best list. The excellent site Michigan Beer Buzz recently profiled how Michigan breweries did in the Best competition, both with respect to top beers and top breweries. There's no doubt that Michigan has some awesome breweries, and the results bore that out. However, being the proud Chicagoan that I am, I figured I'd take a look at the results and see how the Land of Lincoln did.

And how did we do? Well... it could have been worse. We've certainly got bragging rights over North Dakota, but we've got a ways to go before we catch up to the likes of Michigan, California and Colorado. In the Best Breweries list, we only came away with three recipients: Goose Island (#26), Flossmoor Station (#75) and Piece Brewpub (#96). As for the Best Beers list, Goose Island's Bourbon County Stout came in at #11, and, well, that's it. The only other Illinois shout-out went to Chicago's own Half Acre, which took fourth-place honors in the American pale ale category of the Best Beers by Style list with its Daisy Cutter.

The good news is that the Chicago beer scene seems to be growing every day. Half Acre is turning out more seasonal/specialty releases. Metropolitan has started rolling out their seasonal offerings. Revolution Brewing just opened its doors (as picture to the right).

However, I think there's one interesting thing to note in reviewing RateBeer's lists. There are some clear style biases that may work against Chicago's beer scene. Seventeen of the twenty top beers in the world are imperial stouts. And while I'm too lazy to count all the rest, most of the top 100 that aren't imperial stouts are either hop bombs, sours, or other "extreme" beers.

Now, we certainly have some innovative brewing going on here in Chicago, but I also think that we have a Midwest vibe here (possibly tied to the German heritage of our old-school breweries?) that turns out incredible session beers. Goose Island's flagship Honker's Ale is incredibly drinkable, and their IPA--one of my favorites--is in the more modest English tradition. Half Acre's two main offerings are its Lager and the aforementioned pale ale. Metro is devoted to German-style lagers (and the occasional German-style ale). Revolution is starting out with its Workingman Mild at 3.5% ABV.

Now I wouldn't be surprised if the beer geek's pendulum of "in" beers swung back towards session beers in the next few years, but until then the Chicago area's breweries may continue to be overlooked. Fortunately, those of us who live here know what great beers we have at our disposal. And if you're looking for a little kick in the teeth, you can still grab a Half Acre Big Hugs or a Two Brothers Hop Juice. It's the best of all worlds here.

Monthly meeting tomorrow!

2010-01-18T21:22:00.003-06:00

We'll have our monthly meeting at 8pm tomorrow (Tuesday) at the Bridgeport VFW (32nd and May). Bring yourself; bring a friend; bring a homebrew! The tasting will be Old Ales, so don't miss it. Oh, and if you're curious, the best Old Ale I ever had was a Bell's Third Coast Old Ale that had been cellared for two years. Incredible stuff!

A hot time in Andersonville this weekend!

2010-01-12T20:34:00.002-06:00

We may be Homebrewer's Pride of the SOUTHside, but we're certainly willing to head up north when the right opportunity presents itself, and this Saturday is such an opportunity. For starters, at 4pm I highly recommend you head over to Hopleaf for the Drinking & Writing Brewery's "To Cure A Hangover." Those of you who saw "The 12 Steps of Christmas" back and December know how funny these guys are. And as an added bonus, it's at Chicago's Mecca of Belgian beer, Hopleaf. Tickets (available here) are a mere $15, and if you can't make it this Saturday it's just been extended two more Saturdays (January 23 and 30, to be specific).

Later on, Transistor will be hosting "Refrigerator Art," a fundraiser to help local artists Alaric Rocha and Ren Velarde produce "Winter in Louisiana," a film about a prisoner who escapes a Louisiana chain gang with the help of Santa Claus. (I know what you're thinking... hasn't that been done a million times? Yes, but this one has an M. Night Shyamalan twist at the end!) If you've attended either of the last two Beerfly Alleyfights, you should know Ren; he's won best artist two years running! Anyway, $20 gets you drinks from 8-11pm, as well as what promise to be some hilarious short films.

So there you go. If you find yourself sitting at home Saturday night watching reruns of Mama's Family, you've got nobody to blame but yourself.

"12 Steps" to a beery meery Christmas

2009-12-02T22:27:00.003-06:00

If you're not in the know about the Drinking & Writing Brewery, well, you better do something about that and do it soon. The Drinking & Writing Brewery is the brainchild of Sean Benjamin and Steve Mosqueda (of Too Much Light Makes The Baby Go Blind fame) and Pete Crowley (of Rock Bottom Chicago brewmaster fame). Exploring the connection between creativity and alcohol, the folks at D&W have a monthly radio show/podcast (which has recently featured yours truly being interviewed to promote our Oktoberfest party and our own Tom Saldana being interviewed AT our Oktoberfest party) and host all sorts of wacky events around Chicago including Beerfly Alleyfight and the Drinking & Writing Festival.

So why am I bringing this up now? Well, each of the next three Saturdays you can get into the holiday spirit as Sean and Steve perform Drinking & Writing Volume IV: The 12 Steps of Christmas. If that's not enough, it's being held at one of Chicago's (and the world's) premiere beer bars: Hopleaf. And if THAT'S not enough, this Saturday's performance will be followed by a Doppelbock tasting courtesy of friends of HOPS! Metropolitan, Goose Island and Rock Bottom.

Shows are at 4pm, tickets are $15, and you must be 21 or older to enter. For tickets or to get more info, follow this link. I'll be there this Saturday... hope you will be too!

AHA club-only competitions... let's get brewing!

2009-11-21T11:04:00.004-06:00

Different people have different strategies for brewing. Some brew clones; others brew crazy stuff they make up. Some keep tweaking the same recipe until it's just right; others jump from style to style trying something new. Some map out their brewing schedule months ahead of time; others wake up on a Saturday morning, look at what grains and hops they have in stock, and throw something together on the spot. Different strokes for different folks (and we all know it takes diff'rent strokes to move the world, yes it does).

Well, this year the folks at the American Homebrewers Association are running a series of club-only competitions.
Here's how it works. They pick a style. Our brewers each individually brew to that style. We then pick the best beer Survivor-style (well, maybe not Survivor-style, but we pick the best beer) and submit it to the national competition. In the process, brewers are challenged to broaden their brewing horizons, and our club's members get to really pick a part a style and see how different recipes and processes produce different results.

Anyway, enough on the process... let's talk beer! We're a little too late for the first competition of the season (Belgian strong ales are due Nov. 27th), but we'd like to get on board for the rest of the schedule. Here are the styles and relevant deadlines:

January/February 2010

The Session Challenge – English Brown Ales

Entry deadline is Tuesday, February 16, 2010. Judging will be held Saturday, February 20, 2010.
Hosted by Tim Hayner and the Impaling Alers of Kent, WA, this competition covers BJCP Category 11 styles. For more information, contact Tim Hayner at president@impalingalers.org.

March/April 2010

American Ales

Entries are due Saturday, April 3, 2010. Judging will be held Saturday, April 10, 2010.

Hosted by Bill Lynch and the Carolina Brewmasters of Charlotte, NC, this competition covers BJCP Category 10 styles.
For more information, contact Bill Lynch at brewcnc@yahoo.com.

May 2010

Extract Beers

Entries are due Saturday, May 1, 2010. Judging will be held Saturday, May 22, 2010.
Hosted by Ric Cunningham and the Niagra Association of Homebrewers of Buffalo, NY, this competition covers all BJCP beer categories (1-23).

So there you go. If you wanna get in on the action, plan your brew days accordingly. And stay tuned for more info on how we'll be determining our entry and relevant internal deadlines. Happy brewing!

Style of the Month: Oud Bruin

2009-11-16T13:11:00.003-06:00

Oud Bruin or Flanders Brown is a reddish brown ale originated in East Flanders. It is significantly more malty and bitter than a Flanders Red. Oud Bruin is aged in stainless steel tanks, this prevents oxygen contact that contributes the acidic character associated with Flanders Red. Try some tonight!

HOPS get a few new judges

2009-11-12T12:27:00.004-06:00

The wait is over and the unofficial results have arrived. Tommy, Michael and Bob are now Recognized BJCP judges. Michael and Bob both scored a very respectable 77. With the necessary experience points they are both on track to be Certified judges. Tommy having years of beer drinking experience was the high scorer with an awesome 81. 20 experience points and he will be a National ranked judge. Congrats to all!

Three beers I'm looking forward to this winter

2009-11-10T22:26:00.007-06:00

As the days grow shorter and the wind colder, it seems appropriate to turn our thoughts to that which warms us up. No, I'm not talking about Snuggies; I'm talking about beer! The Oktoberfests and pumpkin beers are slowly giving way to barley wines and winter warmers, so I thought I would briefly discuss three beers I'm looking forward to trying this winter.

1. Friend of HOPS! Metropolitan Brewing has had its beers out on the market for almost a year now, and most Chicagoland beer geeks have tried their three regular offerings: Dynamo, Flywheel and Krankshaft. Well, this winter Doug and Tracy will be releasing their first seasonal: Generator Doppelbock. I had the pleasure of trying a test batch, and if the final product is even tastier than what I sampled this is going to be one delicious Doppelbock. The first batch will be draught only, so all the more reason to meet up at your local watering hole for some holiday cheer! [Full disclosure: Doug and Tracy Hurst are former (maybe even current?) members of HOPS! and several members are investors in Metropolitan, though I am not.]

2. Lakefront Brewing often finds itself in the shadow of New Glarus when it comes to Wisconsin breweries (and that's more a testimony to New Glarus than a slight to Lakefront), but their Holiday Spice Lager is second to nobody. I generally don't like my holiday beers too heavily spiced, and feared that a clean lager would only further accentuate the spices, but I was wrong. This is one smooth beer, and deceptively smooth at 11% ABV. Want to be the hero of the holiday party? Bring a sixer of this stuff and you won't need any stinkin' mistletoe.

3. Okay, this is really five beers in one, but Dark Horse Brewery just released the first of its five seasonal stouts. To be honest, I missed the first two last year and only got to enjoy Tres (a blueberry stout), Fore (a smoked stout) and Plead the 5th (an incredible Russian imperial stout). However, given how great each of those were, I'm looking forward to trying One (an oatmeal stout) and Too (a sweet stout) as well this year. Together these five beers really showcase the range of flavors that fall under the general term "stout."

So those are a few of the beers on my radar this late fall/winter. What are you looking forward to cracking open in front of a roaring fire?

FOBAB this Saturday; tickets still available

2009-11-03T22:28:00.002-06:00

So I'm not sure how we neglected to post about it before, but this Saturday is the seventh annual Festival of Wood and Barrel Aged Beer (or FOBAB if you're into the whole brevity thing) sponsored by the Illinois Craft Brewers Guild. FOBAB is one of those events where if you go there once you end up returning every year. You've got everything from imperial stouts to double IPA's to sour beers to smoked beers aged in everything from wine barrels to bourbon barrels to cedar.

And the breweries involved? Well for starters you've got local favorites such as Goose Island, Rock Bottom, Flossmoor Station and Metropolitan. Then you've got regional craft brewers such as Three Floyds, Bell's and Lakefront. But that's not all... Several highly-respected breweries that don't even distribute in Illinois will be there, including Firestone Walker, Russian River and Stone.

So how much would you pay to try barrel-aged brews from the breweries listed above, as well as 41 additional breweries? $60? $50? Lower. $40? Keep on going. That's right, you can buy your FOBAB tickets for the low, low price of $35. The afternoon session is sold out, but tickets are still available for the 6-10pm session. Buy yours here and I'll see you there!

We don't call ourselves the AWARD-WINNING brewers of HOPS! for nothing.

2009-11-02T22:00:00.002-06:00

Congrats to our very own Michael Corey, who took third place in the English Brown Ales category of this year's CBS Spooky Brew Review. Perhaps we'll all get to try some of his Special Dark Mild at this month's meeting (hint, hint)?

Old Style Brewing

2009-10-28T10:13:00.004-05:00

I have to share this video of a German brewery from the 1930's. The level of automation is amazing and the decoction mash procedure is cool. Some parts of the brewing process remain unchanged, while others like the wort chiller in this video are completely abandoned. Enjoy!

Join the AHA

2009-10-27T09:55:00.003-05:00

The American Homebrewers Association educates homebrewers and promotes the homebrewing hobby through its publications, programs and events. Members benefits include discounts at brew pubs across the country, daily homebrewing advice emails, Zymurgy magazine and access to the members only session at the Great American Beer Festival. Membership costs start at $38 per year.

Each year HOPS members participate in the AHA Big Brew. This year as a club we brewed 60 gallons of English Mild. If you were at Oktoberfest, you might have tried it.

If there weren't enough reasons to join the American Homebrewers Association, here is one more. You can get a free copy of John Palmer's How to Brew. Just enter promotion code TAF2009 when you join and the book will arrive for free in the mail in just a few days. Join today!

Rock Bottom goings on

2009-10-21T08:01:00.000-05:00

The picture to the left is what your table will look like at the end of a Rock Bottom Brewer's Dinner. Why do I bring this up? Well, Rock Bottom Chicago brewmaster and friend of HOPS! Pete Crowley will be hosting another wonderful Brewer's Dinner this Monday, October 26th. Ready to drool? Here's the menu:

First Course: 12 Hour Smoked Short Ribs with Blackeyed Pea Butter Sauce and Tomato Coulis
Paired with our Smoked Porter - brewed with 65% Beechwood Smoked Barley

Second Course: Grilled New Zealand Mussel Salad with BBQ Curry Butter, Smoked Tomato Vinaigrette, Arugula and Grilled Flatbread
Paired with our Northwest Amber Ale

Third Course: BBQ Shrimp Bisque with Jalapeno Cornbread Croutons
Paired with our Golden Ale

Fourth Course: BBQ’D Flap Steak with White Truffle Mac N Cheese, Roasted Garlic Spinach, Spicy BBQ Hollandaise and Stout Worcestershire Sauce
Paired with our Dry-hopped Oatmeal Stout (Gold Medal Winner GABF ’08 and WBC ’08)

Fifth Course: Bananas Foster Bread Pudding with Jim Beam Crème Anglaise
Paired with our Belgian Style Abbey Dubbel brewed with Molasses and Raisins

For more details and information on how to reserve a spot, go here. Assuming I can line up a babysitter, I'll see you there.

In the meantime, you can help Pete celebrate Rock Bottom's 14th Anniversary by attending tomorrow's tapping of their Anniversary Ale, an American-style ordinary bitter. We're talking free beer for Mug Club members (and you can join the Mug Club for free!) from 6-7pm; how can you pass that up???

Wet Hops

2009-10-20T07:33:00.006-05:00

What do Three Floyds Broo Doo, Sierra Nevada Estate and Harpoon Glacier Harvest Ale have in common? They are all brewed with wet hops and you'll be able to give them a try at tonight's HOPS meeting.

Wet hopping is the use of freshly picked hops during the brew. Hops are picked and go into the brew kettle the same day. They can be used at any point from mash hop to dry/wet hopping (wet/dry hopping?) Generally wet hops are added closer to the end of boil to showcase their fresh flavor and aromatic qualities. They are used less frequently for the bittering addition because the Alpha Acid content is unknown, making for unpredictable IBU's in the finished beer.

Wet hopped ales are only available seasonally after the late summer/fall hop harvest. They should be enjoyed very young, as the hop flavors and aromas fade over time. Try some tonight!

HOPS members become WIMPS for a day?

2009-10-16T14:47:00.000-05:00

No, our HOPS members did not suddenly lose their ability to lift a carboy or stir a 1:1 mash. They did get together at John Rak's annual grape crush. HOPS members were manning the crusher, toting must and filling demi-johns. Everyone pitched in under the watchful eye of John Rak. Our home brewing brothers and sister unofficially became WiMPS, the Wine Makers Pride of the South Side (or is it Southside?) at least for the day.

Tommy, Scott and Lovey proved that HOPS members can be versed in many forms of fermentation. Each were pouring their excellent homemade wines. Everyone's thirst was quenched with free flowing Rak of Ages 2008. A little hard work and a lot of great wine made the day a success.

Tuesday's tasting will be...

2009-10-16T07:34:00.000-05:00

...North German Altbier.* Don't get it confused with Düsseldorf-style Altbier, which is actually quite different. You can read the BJCP's style guideline for North German Altbier here.

If you're interested in sampling some North German Alts, as well as (hopefully) plenty of homebrewed libations, join us for our monthly meeting this Tuesday (Oct. 20) at 8pm at the Bridgeport VFW at 32nd and May. Visitors are always welcome.

*I should note that North German Altbier is a fairly difficult style to track down Stateside, and at this point I've failed to find any examples at two of the usual suspects, so there's a chance we may substitute a different style at the last minute. Sorry, but them's the breaks!

Picture courtesy of flickr user AugustGarage.

R.I.P. Greg Noonan

2009-10-14T18:39:00.002-05:00

I never met Greg Noonan, but I feel like I did. His seminal book, Brewing Lager Beer, is probably the most valuable brewing resource I own. His contribution to the Classic Beer Style series, Scotch Ale, likewise has a place in my brewing library. Noonan's contribution to homebrewers and craft brewers alike (Noonan also founded the Vermont Pub and Brewery) is immeasurable, and as such I'm sad to report that Noonan passed away this past Sunday at his home in Vermont. I encourage you to read Charlie Papazian's tribute to Noonan here, and also to check out his books if you have yet to do so. Rest in peace, Greg; I look forward to raising a pint of Scotch ale in your honor tonight.

Time to bring home some hardware

2009-10-12T18:25:00.003-05:00

I had some incredible beers at Oktoberfest, and I know most of you who brewed for the event still have a little left in the keg. So here's my challenge to all of you: enter your beer in the Chicago Beer Society's Spooky Brew Review and bring home a medal or two.

Full details are here, but the basic facts are as follows... You have to submit two 12-oz. bottles per entry, along with a $7 entry fee, by October 24. Unfortunately, the only drop-off location is the Brewer's Coop (the homebrew store attached to the Two Brothers' Taphouse) which is a hike for those of us on the South Side and collar suburbs. If you're willing to make the trek out there, your reward is some incredible beer and food at Two Brothers. However, if you're not up for the drive, feel free bring your entries to next Tuesday's meeting and I'll drop them off when I submit mine. I won't even charge you for gas!

Oh, and for those of you who are BJCP-certified, they're looking for judges. Even if you're not, they may be looking for novice judges, as well as stewards, to help out. The event itself is on October 31st at Emmett's Ale House in Palatine.

Beer and Baconfest!

2009-10-11T15:58:00.005-05:00

Just saw John Manion, the Executive Chef At Goose Island in this YouTube where he raves about two of my fave craves. Great Bacon and Great Beer!

Check out the latest & more videos on Chicago's Baconfest 2009 Pro Cookoff at the Publican coming up on 10/24. Bacon Fat is where it's at!!

Le Sam's est mort, vive le Sam's

2009-10-09T12:45:00.005-05:00

The Trib broke news last night that local liquor giant Binny's will buy out Sam's Wine & Spirits. Sam's had clearly fallen on hard times lately, closing its South Loop and Highland Park outposts in the span of a month. But, who knew things had gotten this bad? Unfortunately, this does not bode well for local craft beer enthusiasts as Binny's loses its only real competitor in the city (at least in terms of sale volume). There were already rumblings about stale product and high prices at many Binny's locations, and this turn of events surely won't help matters.

Half Acre tap room open for business!

2009-10-08T18:41:00.000-05:00

Breaking news from our friends at Half Acre: their store/tap room is now open to the public! Word on the street (by which I mean, beermapping.com) is that they're filling growlers with all of their regular offerings, plus a guest handle or two. Also, they have a 7% Schwarzbier called Magnus in the works. Mmm... Schwarzbier. Anyway, you can stop by between noon and 7pm, Tuesday through Sunday. If you do, be sure to get an extra growler filled for me.

Fermenting in a garbage can?

2009-10-06T21:32:00.000-05:00

No, I'm not talking about Oscar the Grouch homebrewing (though that would technically qualify as fermenting in a garbage can... sorry, bad joke). Adam over at the Beer Bits 2 blog is actually fermenting 26 gallons of beer in a food-grade garbage can. Is he crazy? Part of me thinks so, but at the same time fermenting in open vessels was the norm not-so-long-ago. I'll give him props for thinking outside the box, and I'll definitely keep an eye on how his brew turns out.

2009-10-06T19:15:00.000-05:00

At Rock Bottom in Downtown Chicago

Oktoberfest Party! Only $25!Saturday, October 10, from 1 pm to 6 pm

• Sample Over 20 German Style Beers From Over 10 of Chicagoland’s Favorite Microbreweries
• Live German Music 1:pm – 5pm
• Homemade Brats Available for Purchase
• Tickets Available at Brownpapertickets.com $25+Service Charge One West Grand Avenue, Chicago, IL 60654 312/755/1677 or rbchicagoparties@sbcglobal.net

An Oktoberfest to remember

2009-10-05T21:19:00.001-05:00

Thanks to everybody who came out for Saturday's Oktoberfest party! It was our first sell-out ever, and we have all of you to thank for that.

Many members worked hard and thankless hours--and brewed gallons upon gallons of beer--to bring you the South Side's premiere Oktoberfest party. However, we also have some important people outside of the club to thank as well. The Chicago Bridgeport VFW Post 5079 was an awesome host as always. The Polkaholics put on one hell of a show (as you can see to the right). And the icing on the cake was the incredible generosity of Flossmoor Station, Goose Island, Gordon Biersch-Bolingbrook, Half Acre, Metropolitan, Rock Bottom-Chicago and Rock Bottom-Orland Park, all of whom donated some great beers for our guests to enjoy.

Couldn't make Oktoberfest? Here's some of what you missed:

Hope to see you next year!

Welcome to the new HOPS! blog

2009-10-05T21:02:00.001-05:00

If you asked any member of Homebrewer's Pride of the Southside (or HOPS! for short) to define the club in just two words, 95% of us would go with "beer" and "Chicago." (The other 5% would probably go with "beer" and "Sox," just to piss off the few Cubs fans in the club.) We're starting this blog to address those two very topics--especially where they merge. Members and visitors alike can find the latest information on club meetings, Chicago-area beer events, homebrewing techniques, and other fermented thoughts. In an effort to keep things fresh and diverse, we'll have several different members contributing their thoughts here. Hope you find our posts worthwhile; you can find each contributor's profile in the right sidebar and we'd love to hear any thoughts you have as to how we can improve the blog. And if you'd like more information on HOPS! in general, you can email us here. Cheers!