January 2012 Newsletter

In this issue…

What? A newsletter?
New Year, New WSB President
National Homebrewing Conference
Brew Gear
Brew Tips
Events

What? A newsletter

Many of you have asked, what happened to the newsletter? Well, the short answer is we stopped sending one out, and limited our notices to meeting reminders. So why the sudden change to a long form newsletter? The short answer to that question is that I found myself with a little bit of a lean-over (not a full-fledged hangover) from some delicious brew the night before. This is the best thing I could think to do with myself while regaining my strength. But seriously, it’s a new year, there are lots of good things going on in the world of beer, on the peninsula and in the region; so it’s my hope that a newsletter will help us, the homebrewers of WSB, to spread the news, have fun, and make more beer. To that end, I invite the general membership to contribute ideas (and articles!) for this newsletter. Depending on interest and content, the newsletter may be monthly, bi-monthly, or end just as fast as it started (let’s hope not though). Leave a comment on the website or the facebook page and tell us what you think. Keep Brewing! –ed

New Year, New WSB President

In case you missed the December meeting hosted by John Altman in Indianola, it was excellent. In addition to the bottle gift exchange and spit roasted leg of lamb, we also sandbagged Kenny Davis with being the WSB President. And that’s why you shouldn’t show up late to the December meeting. As Kenny’s predecessor in that position, I wish him the best of luck! Here’s the complete listing of elected officers:

President – Kenny Davis

Vice-President – Jason Glasgow

Secretary – Mike Wood & Brad Ginn

Treasurer – Vic Keranan & Alan Moum

National Home Brewing Conference

This is the main event folks, right here in our backyard (front yard? It’s Bellevue.) Jason Glasgow and Cory Shoemaker have been leading the effort so far and have some great ideas. Join the discussion on the Facebook group Westsound Brewers Club Night Planning

Brew Gear

Beer in a barrel seems to be pretty popular as of late, and those of us on this side of the sound are in luck! Our distilling friends on the other side of Agate Pass have a dearth of Wheat Whiskey barrels for sale. Long time WSB member Alan Moum writes:

They're selling their used wheat whiskey barrels at Bainbridge Organic Distillers:

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1164783486#!/pages/Bainbridge-Organic-Distillers/114252388630430

They're down to $65. These are 10 gallon barrels. We're going to get a couple for the brewery, but that size should be good for many WSBers and other homebrewers. Use them to flavor a few beers (cordials, meads, etc.), then convert them to skanky bugs for lambics.

Sure, you can get 53+ gallon bourbon barrels almost for free, and after shipping they're around that same price here in WA. But 10 gals is alot easier to play with, and wheat whiskey a bit more unique.

Brew Tips

This edition’s brewing tip comes from me, your humble secretary. I had been trying to pinpoint the cause of low mash efficiency for several batches of beer. It was getting ridiculous. I had tried everything, mill settings, pH adjustments, sparge techniques, prayer to Ninkasi; you name it, I tried it. Well, the one thing I didn’t try was calibrating my measurement device. In my case, it was a glass bulb type hydrometer. It turns out that my problem was not in my mash efficiency, rather in my measurements. The hydrometer was reading about 10 gravity points lower than it should. Calibrating my particular device was as simple as putting it in a flask of 60°F water, and adjusting the position of the roll of graduated paper inside the tube. Your device may vary, but it may be worth your time to ensure calibration of other measurement devices in your brewery. Scales, thermometers, and the like all are subject to going out of calibration over time, some more than others depending on environmental conditions, storage conditions, and measurement technology used. Heck, you may be hitting 83% efficiency and not even know it!

Meetings

January 15: Annual WSB Barleywine Potluck, hosted again this year by Mary Earl & Vic Keranen at The Clear Creek Interpretive Center in Silverdale. 1:00pm to 7:00pm January 15. See http://www.clearcreektrail.org/Interpretive%20Center.htm for directions. Please drink responsibly, or get a ride.