New Faces:
We had two new visitors this month. Scott tagged along with Justin Hammer to see what the club is all about. He has prior brewing experience, but now sticks to stirring and drinking with Justin. Craig was our second new face. He’s been brewing extract for the past two years. He has an itch to start brewing all grain and hopes to find some insight from you SOB’s.
Treasurer’s Report and Dues:
Kurt reported this month that we had a big win – the Hilton Garden Inn accepted to be our Casks and Caskets venue and cashed our check. Additionally, dues were collected in June. If you were unable to be at the meeting, please see Kurt with $20 at your earliest convenience.
Casks and Caskets Report:
Casks and Caskets is full steam ahead. The Hilton Garden will once again be hosting us on
October 19th. October will creep up before you know it, so start brewing now. We’re asking all
members to donate and serve 5 gallons of beer, mead, wine, or cider to the event. If you can’t donate beer, consider donating your time. We need all the help we can get. If you know of a local business who would be willing to donate merchandise to our silent raffle, please contact one of the committee members.
Sign Ups:
The June meeting might have set a record for the most sign up sheets at one meeting. You should be receiving an email to sign up for each of the following events. If not, please contact Jeff or Logan to sign up.
Barrel Brew
Club Competition
Picnic
Lake Arrowhead
Timber Rattlers
Casks and Caskets
Barrel Brew:
The Fellowship has gathered and declared their brew – we will be brewing a wine barrel aged saison and a highland favorite, Scottish wee heavy. Our next meeting will be held on July 10th. If you are interested in this event you must attend the July meeting as it will be the last chance to be added to the official brewing list. If you are unable to attend, please contact Logan Anderson. In July we will be discussing and choosing a recipe for each style; if you have a recipe bring it with
to the meeting.
Club Competition:
Our member only competition will once again be held in July. This year we will hold the
meeting at Fox River Brewing Co. in Oshkosh and Kevin will brew the winning beer at Fox
River. Only beers will be accepted for this event. Beers will be judged by BJCP judges based on official style guidelines. Plan to drop off 4 – 12 oz. bottles (or the equivalent) to Fox River between July 10th and July 16th. Label your bottles with the standard BJCP labels that can be found in upcoming news blasts.
September Competition:
In addition to our usual club competition in, we are also hosting a competition for mead, wine,
and cider in September. This will take place during the September meeting at Rushford Meadery. Keep an eye out for more information in the coming months.
World of Beer Fest:
The SOB’s are heading down to Milwaukee on June 22nd to serve at the World of Beer Fest put on by the Beer Baron’s of Milwaukee. We will be set up at the Bavarian Bier Haus in Glendale, so stop down for a visit.
August Picnic:
Every year we hold a club picnic for the whole family. This year the picnic will be on August
21st starting at 6 pm. We once again reserved the shelter at Menominee park near the amusement park. The club will provide dinner, but we ask all attendees to sign up and bring a dish to pass.
Timber Rattler’s Game:
August 29Th is the Timber Rattler’s Brats and Brews/ Bratoberfest game. Players will be wearing lederhosen and you can get a 12 oz. beer and a brat for the low, low price of just 2 dollars! We are planning to meet at the Fox Valley Stadium to enjoy the game and beer together. The club will purchase tickets up front. There will not be a bus, but we will meet beforehand at the stadium. Contact Jeff for more information.
Empty Bottles:
Former SOB, Don Demick, is moving out of Berlin soon. He has some 500 – 12oz. bottles that he is willing to donate to the club. If you are interested in getting some free bottles, contact Mike Engel.
The Cellar Needs Help:
The Cellar is hiring a part time employee to help around the shop. If you’re interested in learning more about beer, contact The Cellar to apply.
Member Beers:
Chuck Tomsovic brought in a clone of Speckled Hen that he’s dubber “New Polka Dot Pullet.” It was a delicious beer very similar to the original. A slight hop bitterness was supported by a strong malt backbone to create smooth, sessionable beer.
Knuth Brewing Company:
This month’s Brewery of the Month was Knuth Brewing Co. out of Ripon. In 2015 the company started with a small half barrel system. Since, they have expanded to a 7-barrel system with a total of 7 fermenters. Although they’re known as a brewery, they have an incredible menu with amazing food! Maybe this is what helped them to grow. Last year they expanded by adding an attached Bier hall. Knuth can be found in 50 local waterholes in a variety of styles. We sampled three of these styles – Red ale, brown ale, and a Belgian triple. Each beer was better than the one before. Thanks to Dave for the great experience!
Grains Discussion:
Few brewing clubs are lucky enough to have someone as knowledgeable as Dave Koepke
available to teach the in-and-outs of grains. Dave stopped by the meeting to discuss exactly what went into one of the backbones of brewing. He discusses the four kinds of malts – base (2-row, pale, pilsner), highly kilned (Munich, Vienna), caramel (crystal in England), and roasted. These distinct kinds of malts are developed during the malting process depending on time and heat.
Each malt will impart a distinct color, flavor, and mouthfeel to the beer. Although some brewers insist on performing a decoction mash, all modern grains can be mashed using a single infusion with no adverse effects to sugar extraction. Malts from each company will have a slightly different flavor, smell, color. Each of these will in turn be affected by the age of the malts. The only way to find what each malt will deliver to a beer is to taste each in a grain library. With the many complexities of malt the only way to become a master is to brew time and again with as many malts as possible
