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.

February HOPS Meeting

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?

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!

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!

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

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!

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!