NH Brewers

AHA Rally @ Smuttynose Brewing Co, May 29

2009-05-20T12:02:00.001-07:00

As you may have heard, Smuttynose Brewing Co. is opening their doors to American Homebrewers Association members on May 29, 2009 for an AHA Membership Rally. I hope you and your friends can make it!

The brewers of Smuttynose Brewing Co. will be in attendance. There will be a brewery tour, a chance to meet other brewers in your area and me, AHA Membership Coordinator, and the opportunity to join the AHA or renew your current membership for a discounted rate. Furthermore, if you'd like to represent your club and recruit more members, we can set aside table space for you – just let me know!

Here's a link to all the information about the upcoming AHA Rally at Smuttynose Brewing Co: http://www.beertown.org/email/aha/rallies/smuttynose09.htm

If you can, please forward this email to your club mailing list, brewing buddies, friends in or near Portsmouth, NH, online chat groups, blogs, and anywhere else you can think to send it. Smuttynose Brewing Co is offering an awesome chance for any beer lover to spend the evening enjoying fine brews – so bring your friends! I guarantee this will be a party to remember!!!

Please RSVP: http://www.beertown.org/events/rally/rsvp.aspx if you think you'll be able to attend. And be sure to let me know if you plan to bring materials to promote your club!

Mead Free or Die...

2009-03-19T19:59:00.001-07:00

While Mead Free or Die has quite a bit of prizes, such as 660lbs of honey from Black Cat Honey of Winchester NH, to 1.5 gallons of Lahua honey from Big Island, to a 7 year old bottle of raspberry mead from Redstone Meadery, to a case donated from Pissacasic Pond Winery, to a $75 gift cert from Northern B rewer, toss in the prizes from Five Star Chemical, or the great prizes from Got Mead, to the All About Mead gift certificate, to the numerous other prizes... and you have your self one heck of a competition. Additionally, custom laser etched woods (maple), have been made to order for the competition.

Learn more, and enter... www.meadfreeordie.com

A Barleywine of a time

2009-03-08T05:31:00.000-07:00

Background

Barleywine is a style of strong ale that originated in England back in the 19th century, the first beer to be marketed as a Barleywine was Bass No. 1, around 1900.

A barley wine often reaches an alcohol strength of 8 to 12% by volume and is brewed from specific gravities as high as 1.120. It's called a barley wine because it can be as strong as wine; but since it's made from malted barley rather than fruit, it is in fact a beer. Here in the United States, barley wines are required for this reason to be called "barley wine-style ales."

The sweetness is most often balanced with a substantial amount of hop bitterness, though the traditional English barley wines often have a far less bitterness than their American counterparts.

These beers are meant to be enjoyed from a snifter glass, allowing for the sipping and savouring of its fruity, high-alcohol and well-aged character. It is often brewed for special occasions/events the high amounts of hops and alcohol allow this beer to be aged for quite a long period of time. The complexity of the aroma and flavor mature and become exceeding more complex over the years.

The Host: Michael Hogan, grand master of barley wine collecting
The Event: 13th annual barleywine sampling
Unique Barleywines: 81 including professional, and homebrewed vintages
Number of vintages: 247

Now I am not positive but I am pretty darn close to thinking this might have been the largest single collection of barley wine to be offered up for sampling in the world! I am a beer hound, I do a fairly good amount of collecting of beer, but to see barley wines spread across 3 tables, taking 2 pages on a menu, and finally counting the number of vintages.... all I can say is that I was stunned. I missed the 12th anniversary last year, but I can tell you I will not be missing any more that I get lucky enough to get invited to.

When I asked Mike what I could bring he recommended a snack. Now I was thinking that seemed like a odd request as he's seen my beer collection. In hind sight yes exactly... he has seen what I had to offer and it was nothing in comparison.

So Mike my hats off to you and your wife for sharing and providing such a wonderful evening.

Patriot Hombrew Contest Winner...

2009-03-03T11:45:00.000-08:00

HOMEBREWER SCORES TOUCHDOWN IN SECOND ANNUAL SAMUEL ADAMS(r) PATRIOT
HOMEBREW CONTEST

Winning Homebrewer Looks Forward to "Chance of a Lifetime" When His Beer is Served at Gillette Stadium

Boston, MA - March 2009 - David Rosenbaum just scored big, trumping nearly 200 opponents as the winner of the Samuel Adams Patriot Homebrew contest. His winning brew, an Oatmeal Stout, will be sold at Gillette Stadium during the upcoming Patriots season. The homebrewer from Andover, Massachusetts beat out entries from all six New England states.

"David's Oatmeal Stout is a delicious beer," said Jim Koch, Founder and Brewer of Samuel Adams. "Its full-bodied, roasty character is complemented with a slight sweetness that will make this beer a perfect choice for the chilly Patriots games that we New Englanders attend during football season." David will brew his winning beer with the brewers at the Samuel Adams Boston Brewery. It will be served at the
Samuel Adams Brewhouse(r) in Gillette Stadium during the entire 2009-2010 football season.

Almost 25 years ago, Jim Koch brewed the first batch of Samuel Adams Boston Lager(r) in his kitchen. At a time when high-quality, flavorful beer was unavailable in the Boston area, Jim dreamed of bringing fresh, flavorful beer to local beer lovers. That first brew, Samuel Adams Boston Lager, went on to help start the craft beer revolution. Now Jim wants to help other aspiring homebrewers realize their brewing dreams.
"I'm looking forward to working with David and brewing his recipe," said Jim. "For many homebrewers, having their beer on tap for thousands of football fans to try is a lifelong dream. For David, it's a new reality." Nationwide, the brewery holds the Samuel Adams(r) American Homebrew Contest(r) and the Samuel Adams(r) Patriot Homebrew Contest gives a nod to the Company's Boston roots.

The Samuel Adams Patriot Homebrew Contest, now in its second year, kicked off in August 2007 encouraging New England football fans to brew their own beers and submit them for judging. The preliminary judging took place at Gillette Stadium, where five finalists advanced to the final round. The final judging was hosted by Jim Koch at the Samuel Adams Boston Brewery. The judging included the fine beer palates of notable beer tasters Mike Adams of WEEI-AM, Brian Bell, Wally Brine, and
Loren Owens of WROR-FM, Kerry Byrne of The Boston Herald, Gail Ciampa of The Providence Journal, Ann Cortissoz of The Boston Globe, Carolyn Faye Fox of The Improper Bostonian, Dan Hausle of WHDH-TV, Jeff Howe of Boston Metro, and Norman Miller of the MetroWest Daily News.

David brewed many batches of the Oatmeal Stout before submitting his winning brew to the Samuel Adams Patriot Homebrew Contest. "I started brewing a few years ago after spending a lot of time traveling in the UK and Ireland and trying traditional stouts in the local pubs. It took me a few batches before I was able to brew the beer I was aiming for, but when I did, I decided to give it a shot and submit it to the contest," David said. Luckily for David, he'll have the chance to enjoy his beer
all season long. "I'm a Patriots season ticket holder so I can order my own beer while watching my favorite team play on the field! It is the chance of a lifetime to have two of my passions collide."

THE BOSTON BEER COMPANY BACKGROUND:
The Boston Beer Company began in 1984 with a generations-old family recipe that founder and brewer Jim Koch uncovered in his father's attic. After bringing the recipe to life in his kitchen, Jim brought it to bars in Boston with the belief that drinkers would appreciate a complex, full-flavored beer, brewed fresh in America. That beer was Samuel Adams Boston Lager, and it helped catalyze what became known as the American craft beer revolution.

Today, the Company brews more than 21 styles of beer. The Company uses the traditional four-vessel brewing process and often takes extra steps like dry-hopping and a secondary fermentation known as krausening. It passionately pursues the development of new styles and the perfection of its classic beers by constantly searching for the world's finest ingredients. While resurrecting traditional brewing methods, the Company has earned a reputation as a pioneer in another revolution, the "extreme beer" movement, where it seeks to challenge drinkers' perceptions of
what beer can be. The Boston Beer Company strives to elevate the image of American craft beer by entering festivals and competitions the world over, and in the past five years it has won more awards in international beer competitions than any other brewery in the world. The Company remains independent, and brewing quality beer remains its single focus. While Samuel Adams is the country's largest-selling craft beer, it accounts for only about one-half of one percent of the U.S. beer market.
For more information, please visit www.samueladams.com.

And the winner is???

2009-02-25T10:59:00.000-08:00

As organizer for the first round of judging for the Patriot Homebrew competition. This youtube video caught my interest...

Mead Free or Die gets mention in Brew Your Own

2009-02-20T05:05:00.000-08:00

What a great way to start the morning, saw that Mead Free or Die competition was mentioned in the latest issue of Brew Your Own, who's also happens to be a sponsor (thanks guys!).

One massive prize pool

2009-02-19T18:13:00.001-08:00

Well, given the generosity of Black Cat Honey, it's looking like Mead Free or Die will have the largest prize pool of any of the mead only competitions! See http://www.meadfreeordie.com for details.

Don't tread on Mead

2009-01-29T09:14:00.000-08:00

Mead Free or Die, is a national mead only competition, scheduled for April 25th 2009, in Manchester NH. This is a AHA & BJCP registered event, using the 2008 BJCP style guidelines. So far we have been very successful at getting sponsors, and hope you will enter. All entries must be received at one of the drop off locations or shipping address, between 04/01/2009 and 04/17/2009. All entries must be registered on line the entry fee is $6 per entry, please send two 6, 8, or 12 oz bottles OR one 750 ml to:

Mead Free or Die
4 Sheridan Drive
Londonderry, NH, 03053

Awards

(1) First-, second- and third-place winners in each category will receive a prize package.
(2) First-place winning entries in each of the categories will compete in a best-of-show judging. The winner will be awarded Best of Show.
(3) At the discretion of competition organizers and/or judges, awards may not be given if the quality of an entry is deemed undeserving of an award

For more additional details on entering, or to help with the competition, please see www.meadfreeordie.com web site. If you are an experienced mead judge and are in the area, I would welcome your participation.

Michael Fairbrother
Organizer Mead Free or Die

Patriot Homebrew Competition

2009-01-25T15:40:00.001-08:00

Ah, the 2008/2009 Patriot Homebrew Competition is now over, in a nut shell we judged 171 entries for Boston Beer Co. New England homebrew competition.

I was very honored to be the organizer for the 2008 Patriot Homebrew Competition which was held on January 24th at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro MA. Here's a photo of the judging in action... lots of Brew Free or Die, Boston Wort Processors, and other local homebrew clubs in attendance....

The mission to pick 5 of the best beers from the 171 entries for further evaluation by the brewers at Boston Beer Co. and others. The team of 43 judges, stewards and other staff were able to evaluate the entries in the aloted time.

It's great to have this project behind me... as it was just about 3 months of work from my side, from when I was engaged on the project.

The only really downer was the post party held in my hotel room... it would seem that most "gentleman" who are engaging in drinking... have a challange on hitting the target (aka. toilet), so while I enjoyed the 30+ people and the beverages... the end results weren't so pretty. At least I had a spare towel or two to clean up and place on the floor.

Beer style, what's your favorite?

2009-01-02T18:33:00.000-08:00

What's my favorite style of beer?

Mine is a Russian Imperial Stout. It's an amazing complex beer, that if made right will linger on the taste buds long after the last sip. I am enjoying Santa's Little Helper, from Port Brewing Company. It's by far one of the best Russian Imperial Stout's that I have ever had.

The aroma has a dark chocolate/coffee/malt notes, very clean, some hints of vanilla, the roast is clean and fragrant, little hop aroma. The color is pitch black, with a light tan head. Belgian lace lines the glass, the head persists well after the first few sips. The flavor is rich, and bold, the show case is the roast malt, accented by the chocolate and smooth alcohol notes. What's great about this beer is how well everything blends. The hops are a just enough to support the massive body, the alcohol is surprisingly hidden, considering it's 10.5 ABV. The mouth feel of this beer I feel is full, but the finish is so smooth... it's like velvet! This is an A+ beer

Tomee Author is a master of his craft, if you ever get a chance to try his beers... please do, it's worth it! As a past Lost Abbey Patron Saint I had access to quite a number of the beers that Tomee produced, not a single beer failed to exceed expectations.

Tomee, if you are ever in NH, the beer is on me, thanks for making my New Beers Eve party such a wonderful event!

New Beers Eve

2008-12-22T11:57:00.000-08:00

Twas the week before Christmas when the final keg arrived... now all beers are in hand and ready for New Beers Eve, it's my version of a New Year's Eve party:

Draft Beer Menu

Fedeltá 8% Belgian blond ale brewed with pale, pilsner, wheat malts, and vanilla beans, brewed by Allagash collaboration with De Struise Brouwers. See the story on this beer here.
Black Orchard an unfiltered, keg conditioned Belgian-style black wheat, from The Bruery
Captain's Reserve Imperial IPA, from Captain Lawrence Brewing Co.
Santa's Little Helper Russian Imperial Stout, from Port Brewing Co.
Furious, IPA 6% alcohol and around 100 IBUs, from Surly Brewing Co.

Oh, I can't wait... 9 more days and it's tapping time!!!

Beer Karma

2008-11-23T12:11:00.000-08:00

I was asked to run a few competitions this past year by Boston Beer Co. both of which I was extremely happy with, as I thought they went great and I had very positive feedback from the judges and the staff at Boston Beer Co.

Running a homebrew competition is a labor of love, I don't get paid put in tons of hours ahead of time, and if all goes well you sit around the day of the competition wondering if you have forgotten anything. I really enjoy running competitions, and now have 3 under my belt.

I asked if it might be possible to get a Utopias barrel... from my contact with Boston Beer Co. Well I was quite surprised to get not one but two barrels. My fellow homebrewers and I are planning on aging two different beers in the barrels. Here's the two barrels, on the barrel rack that I built.

Here's another view of my basement, at capacity with 3 barrels:

New England Regional Homebrew Contest Meadmaker of the Year

2008-10-30T12:23:00.000-07:00

While beer is a pretty major part of my hobby, mead has a near and dear place as well. A few years, back I set out on a mission to make as many single variety honey meads as possible. I made close to 28 different batches, in addition to the number of batches that I enjoy playing around with.

Well this past Saturday, I was quite pleased to be honored with top mead honors from the 3rd Annual New England Regional Homebrew Competition. Thanks to some very generous sponsors, including Maine Mead Works , and Mclure's of New England I now have two bottles Maine Mead Works ever to be bottled, and a 60lb bucket of wild flower honey.

Traditional Mead had 3 meads finish in the top 4 out of 8 entries
Melomel (Fruit Mead) 1st place with my 2006 pyment out of 16 entries
Other Mead 1st place with Buck Cherry

The Pyment made it to honorable mention in the Best of Show... and got the boot from that table as the bottle that I thought should have been carbonated like the others wasn't.

Here's the winning recipe for the Buck Cherry mead:

Black Cherry, Blueberry & Pomegranate
 19 lbs Orange Blossom Honey
  4 qts  Blueberry & Pomegranate juice
  3 qt   Just Black Cherry Juice
  3 tsp DAP & Fermaid-K blend
 10 g Lalvin Narbonne Yeast (71B-1122)
  fill with water to 5 gallons

Ginger Mead

2008-10-07T15:00:00.000-07:00

A friend of mine shared some Ginger Mead with me about a year back...

Here's my recipe for a 6 gallon batch:

25 lbs Orange Blossom Honey
2.6 lbs Fresh chopped Ginger (steeped for 20 minutes at 160 F)
Fill to 6 gallons.

OG: 1.150

Pitched 2 packets of D-47 yeast, after re-hydrating. Using Curt Stock's yeast nutrient addition schedule.

Beer, who's brewing up for the NERHBC?

2008-10-07T14:54:00.000-07:00

The entries continue to climb for this year's New England Regional Homebrew Competition, with over $3000 in donated prizes, and currently entries from 18 states... It's looking like it's going to be a record breaking year for the competition.

As a reminder, Brew Free or Die and The Southern Maine Homebrewers use this event as a fund raiser for charities in our communities. This year's charities are: The American Cancer Society, and The Good Shepard Food Bank of Maine.

See the web site to register to enter, or help with the competition.

Re: Does it matter who makes the beer you buy?

2008-09-30T12:34:00.000-07:00

I think the quality of the beer needs to speak for it's self. I will often pass on a beer when my only choice is one of the Light Lager's, it's just not a style that I prefer. I try to put my support for the local brewers first, we have a great bar here in NH, Strange Brew Tavern, that offers a $2 draft night on Tuesdays, and a small group of us homebrewers, from Brew Free or Die, meet rather regularly to have a pint or two and talk. The selection is about as good as it gets here in the state, is $2 a fair price, likely NOT but it sure does help give people a chance to try a beer for a good price.

I understand the dynamics of trying to run a business and generating a profit. It would appear to me that business people, for the most part, haven't pulled the plug on some traditional beers/brands that I enjoy. However the opportunity exists and I think isn't far from happening where classic examples will get canned by the bean counters. However I think the void is rapidly being filled with the exceptional craft brewers in this country and others.

So for me, brewing my own, supporting local brewers and craft brewers (with exceptional product), and then mass produced brewers with a beverage that I enjoy is where I put my beer dollars.

Nothing like a wonderful shot of tequila

2008-09-20T14:52:00.001-07:00

While taking my wife out for her birthday... I was feeling very pleased with a recent investment... so I splurged.

I ordered a shot of Gran Patron Burdeos... I know it's not beer. However it's one of those things in life where it's worth it.

A while back, I was out in California on business, I was on the advisory board of a company, that had lots of money and it was time to spend some... the CEO ordered not 1 but 2 bottles of 1790 Madeira, my guesstimate these were $10,000 a bottle and he shared them with the room.

Ever since that time, I have taken opportunities as they approached to enjoy the finer things in life, well as long as I wasn't going to go broke in the process.

So last night, it was the most expensive shot of Tequila I have had, but the enjoyment was exceptional. I asked for a brandy snifter, none to be had... I did get a glass where I could slowly enjoy the magnificent aroma, with hints of vanilla from the oak, tobacco, leather... hmm I could enjoy this all night. The flavor was smooth, no hot alcoholic notes. It clearly is an exceptional tequila.

So the price tag is steep, but so is the tequila!

Beer... who dreams of beer?

2008-09-16T13:04:00.001-07:00

After spending the last several months, studying for the Beer Judge Certification Program, exam. I can now say I dream about beer. The test is this Saturday...

I have been drinking beer for a long time... took me until my mid-20's to appreciate that beer had more to offer than just a buzz, who knew... Well some 20 years later, I have been to various parts of the globe for the sole purpose to enjoy locally brewed beer. Trips to Canada, Belgium, Scotland, England, Germany, and while I was in France on work, I did enjoy a beer or two, but if you are going to France, the wine is pretty hard to beat. I wrote the first Google beer mashup, based on my desire to find good beer when travling.

Anyway I digress... so last February several members of Brew Free or Die, a homebrewing club to which I belong, talked long time member Dan Hall, who's a Grand Master at judging, to organize an exam. I hate taking tests, have put off taking this exam for well over 10 years. I have flown about the country to judge beer, and mead on numerous occasions.

I think I know my way around the pint glass... you found this blog... see for your self.

So I joined a study group, we met for several weeks to talk about making beer, and to of course sample and discuss various beer styles. Very enjoyable and quite a learning experience. While the study sessions have ended, I have really ramped up my own studying for the exam.

My goal, to get a B or higher. It's going to be difficult, I speak about beer all the time, but now I have to know facts, and prove it with my ability to communicate with pencil and paper. Like... what's a traditional example of a American Light Lager... easy: Bud Light, ok what's the style range... OG: 1.020 - 1.040, FG: 0.998 - 1.008, IBU: 8 - 12, SRM: 2 - 3,
wow I have that to memory, only 70 more... and it gets harder, LOTS harder than this.

Thankfully I have sampled quite a number of the beers that are on the list over the year. Many of which aren't surprising are favorite examples of the style. That's why they are considered classic examples by the BJCP after all.

My beer library is fairly exhaustive, I subscribe to 3 different beer magazines. Other than increasing my natural ability to exceed on tests... I think I have this one as prepared for as possible. So bring it on.

And a special thanks to Dan Hall for all he's done to get this exam put together!!!

3rd New England Regional Homebrew Competition

2008-09-08T09:12:00.000-07:00

Fellow brewers,

I would like to take a moment of your time to talk about the 3rd Annual New England Regional Homebrew Competition, to be held on October 25th in Acton Maine. This competition isn't limited to New England residents, as last year we had over 250 entries from 18 states. This competition is a AHA/BJCP sanctioned and registered homebrewing competition.

Brew Free or Die and Southern Maine Homebrewers use this competition as a fund raiser for charities... last year we raised $2000 for the American Cancer Society, and we are trying to do it again this year. This year we are working to raise money for American Cancer Society, and The Good Shepard Food Bank of Maine.

We have a very impressive list of sponsors, currently at 38, who have donated prizes valued over $3000. Special thanks to Gritty's for their continued competition level sponsorship. For a complete list of sponsors, and to register for the competition please see our web site... http://www.bfd.org/NERHBC/

Hope you consider entering!

BJCP Judges... needed.

Michael Fairbrother
NERHBC Organizer
AHA Lifetime Member
Londonderry, NH

1988 J.W. Lees at twenty years.

2008-08-10T04:08:00.001-07:00

How old is too old for a beer, well it depends! Last night I opened up a bottle of 1988 J.W. Lees Harvest Ale, to share with my good friend Kurt. That's right it's 20 years old! I wasn't even a fan of great beer back in 1988, I was just 22 years old.

A beer like JW Lees is much stronger than most average beer, weighing in at 11.5%. To age a beer for 20 years and have any hope that it's going to be decent you need to find a nice cool place to store the beer, with no direct sun light. My beer celar makes such a perfect location. This beer has been in my possession for at least 10 years, possibly longer! I don't keep track of when I add beers to my beer cellar, hmm... maybe I should.

So enough about that, let me tell you about the beer. I used cognac glasses to serve the beer, at cellar temperature. As this is a beer to be savored!

Aroma... wow complex stone fruit, malt, caramel, brandy like notes, a hint of tobacco, very clean and complex. No noticeable oxidation, really something to just savor.

No carbonation, still, no head, although the cap did phift when it was opened. Dark brown in color, clear. I did get some floaters (sediment) as I wasn't as careful as I could have been when I poured the beer.

Flavor... oh the smooth blend of malt, hops, very drinkable. Very surprised with how well this beer has held up for the last 20 years. Medium mouth feel, appropriate to style. No off flavors, very well crafted! Raisin, plumps, figs, bread, hint of caramel. The warmth of the alcohol folds in to the mix.

A beverage of tremendous flavor, well worth the wait.