Die Oktoberfest 8: Klavs Dolmer

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

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

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!

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!

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)!

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!

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.