Location:
The Oslo, Salthill, Galway
Date:
Friday 27th September
Start time:
7.30pm (Entrants should aim to have their beers registered before this time)
Protocol:
All new members welcome
If you have some brews for tasting, bring along ~1 Litre of each, as this is a competition this month, we will be tasting any "non competition" beers after the competition around 9/10pm.
To show some thanks to our hosts for allowing us to drink homebrewed beers in their pub, it is customary to buy some drinks from the house. Not difficult given the great selection on offer!
We are going to get someone who isn't entering on the night to give each of the beers a number in the fridge where they are stored, only they will know what number corresponds to which beer and who owns it. As each beer is served, they will be very gently decanted into a pitcher first to ensure that the bottles can't be identified and that no one is left with dregs of yeast either.
We will hand out a couple of score sheets to everyone there, which should be enough for all the entries. Once the flight is done the numbers will go into an excel document which will take an average score for each entrant. The top beers will be selected to go though to the next round.
In terms of entry form, the steward on the night will only need two things from entrants, name and ABV. We will talk about recipes/styles/thoughts after the initial tasting which should only take two hours max. The main thing to avoid is people going "Oh this is XXXXX's beer so it must be good/bad etc.." which would skew the results.
Cost:
Free
Organiser/Contact:
St. Fursey (Enda), Kevco5 (Kevin)
Note this is not the normal beer tasting procedure and is only happening this month for the competition. We will go back to our regular format for future tastings.
Entrant Responsibilities
• This competition is for full members only.
• Your beer must be below 4% ABV before bottling to qualify for entry
• You need two 500ml or three 330ml bottles of beer to enter this round. You may have multiple entries.
• Upon arrival find the steward and get your beer registered
• Inform the steward of your name and the ABV of your beer(s)
• Ensure you have an additional two 500ml or three 330ml bottles of beer should you progress to the final (Set these aside at home just in case!)
Judge Responsibilities (Further clarification on the night)
• Record Beer number and ABV for each beer as it is distributed by pitcher
• Consult the theme and score the beer appropriately
• The "Fit theme" will allow the judge to express how well they feel the beer fits the theme
• After scoring the judge should add the scores and double check their values
• Please keep feedback constructive and don't slate anyone's pride and joy!
• If the water is low or dregs bucket full, take the initiative and fill/empty them yourself
Steward Responsibilities
• Assign numbers randomly, name and ABV to beers as they are received onto a laptop
• Put all beers in fridge assigned by staff
• Gently fill pitcher with two bottles of each
• Affix masking tape with current beer number and ABV to pitcher
• Empty and rinse pitcher between each beer
Miscellaneous Preparation - TBC: responsibility Enda
• Empty pitcher (Supplied by The Oslo)
• 10 - 15 Empty glasses (Supplied by The Oslo)
• 2 or 3 bottles of water (Supplied by The Oslo)
• Two empty mayonnaise buckets (Supplied by The Oslo)
• Space in fridge for 20-30 bottles
• Masking tape & Markers to affix "Current" number onto pitcher
• Print outs of score sheets
• Laptop with Excell Sheet for scoring, names, ABV and number
• Bottle opener for steward
• Crackers
• Tables, sizes, chairs, and a final number on the amount of people attending
We need 1 - 2 Stewards; Club members who are aren't entering the competition.
Any volunteers?
There's a fair chance I'll be working later that night so will have to sit out judging. If someone else is handling the entries on the night (and will be only person to know who's entry is being served) I'd be more than happy to check completed score cards and provide average scores etc. as well as general steward duties!
Hop_Bomb: 1 entry
kevco5 - 1
barkar - 1
drowningmanatee - 1
Hop_Bomb - 1
I can volunteer for steward for this. Don't particularly want to bring my laptop out to a beer competition though.
kevco5 - 1
barkar - 1
drowningmanatee - 1
Hop_Bomb - 1
Montofk - 1
Just curious im assuming it has to be a session beer(light in colour)? as in, could i enter a stout under 4%?
Yes it has to be less than 4% when being bottled (typo in the original post says equal to or less than 4%)
The target for the comp is:
'Summer Session Beers of <4%'. The beer should reflect the following - Summer in a glass. Light, refreshing, medium body, thirst quenching, balanced beer of low ABV (a lawnmower beer). Something to enjoy on those two days of summer we get every year.
You can enter a stout but you would probably score low in the "fit theme" category as a stout doesnt fit the theme. Still another 40 points to play for though as its scored out of 50.
nice one, i reckon ill throw it in anyway for the craic
kevco5 - 1
barkar - 1
drowningmanatee - 2
Hop_Bomb - 1
Montofk - 1
Dont have anything for this but will pop down anyway so can lend a hand
- presume its a friday not a tuesday though?
Yep Friday!
I corrected the first post:
To confirm:
Beer must be below4% before bottling
It's on Friday 27th
Guest Judge on the night is Chris Treanor - you all know him as the head brewer at the Galway Bay Brewery. He's tough, but fair!
Would it be worth asking Brian from HBW if he'd like to come along?
Quote from: Kevco5 on September 18, 2013, 11:11:25 PM
Would it be worth asking Brian from HBW if he'd like to come along?
Sure it would be the polite thing to do. I can drop him a mail
Quote from: St. Fursey on September 17, 2013, 10:31:00 PM
We need 1 - 2 Stewards; Club members who are aren't entering the competition.
Any volunteers?
Not too sure if it's kosher for non members. But I'd help out in any way if needed.
Cheers Seán
Be grand Sean. You've been to loads of meetings sure :)
What's the story with the judging so? I wont be near a printer for the score sheets. I chance bringing my laptop as I'll have a bag for yeast transport anyway.
Sticky labels too, has anyone looked into getting them?
Enda has sheets printed already. Il bring A4 paper & scotch tape incase there is no sticky labels.
Sound. See ye later!
Not going to be able to make it this time :-[
Hope ye all have the craic. Ant that the comp goes swimmingly.
Cheers, Seán.
How did the club night go lads?
Wish I could have made it but Fridays are no good for me.
Barry (barkar) cleaned up bigtime, both entries went through to the finals, i came 5th and 6th out o 7 so im delighted :) great feedback! got all our scoresheets back for perusing which is class, well into doin the scoring thing again, even just a galway club mini comp or no comp at all...
Would you have a top 3 for the final?
Top three are:
1. Barkar clifden apa 317/400
2. Kevco5 sleepless summer apa 292/400
3. Montof BeesKnees ale 275/400
Quote from: DrowningManatee on September 28, 2013, 11:13:27 AM
Barry (barkar) cleaned up bigtime, both entries went through to the finals, i came 5th and 6th out o 7 so im delighted :) great feedback! got all our scoresheets back for perusing which is class, well into doin the scoring thing again, even just a galway club mini comp or no comp at all...
I didn't have a second entry , i had left a couple bottles of stout in for tasting and you scored it up, twas good to get it scored as well ! thanks for the feedback
+ 1 for the score sheets. Great idea for future meetings. Il print out a few flavour wheels & get them laminated for the next meet too. Well done to the top three & to Shiny for the comp structure/setup. Worked really well. Thanks to Enda & Eanna for pouring/scoring.
The barrel RIS control + barrel sample were both delish & very different. Was there much more talk of the next barrel brew after I left?
We are looking to the first weekend in November to empty the barrel. The plan for the lambic so far is to brew a beer using regular yeast and to seed the lambic yeast in the barrel
Sent from my GT-N7000 using Tapatalk 2
Do we need to have it brewed & ready for when we empty the barrel?
Quote from: Hop Bomb on September 30, 2013, 10:28:34 AM
Do we need to have it brewed & ready for when we empty the barrel?
Yeah, otherwise you risk the barrel drying out.
We'd better all agree on a recipe so.
Sour brown ale? good as a base for messin around with fruit after etc...
Id look to a more classic recipe like the cantillon gueuze. May aswell try emulate the best of the best? Getting old enough hops is going to be a challenge.
How about this?
3kg Marris Otter
1.5kg Wheat
0.25kg Crystal 40
30g Saaz @60 min
Yeast: WLP-001 or US-05
Solid looking recipe. Are they fresh hops? If using stale you could use more yeah? Id add malto-dextrin powder also. The malto-dextrin is to be sure there are a few complex sugars left for the extra organisms to eat after the brewers yeast gets finished with its work. http://byo.com/stories/item/975-lambic-brewing
Would it be worth culturing the dregs from a few bottles of cantillon? (or is it filtered before bottling?) How many vials/smack packs of bugs will we need for the barrel? (one each?) WLP 665 or WYEAST 3278? (WLP can be got here in Ireland from HBC)
Can you make starters for the bug blends so we dont have to buy as many?
Quote from: Hop Bomb on September 30, 2013, 01:02:47 PM
Solid looking recipe. Are they fresh hops? If using stale you could use more yeah? Id add malto-dextrin powder also. The malto-dextrin is to be sure there are a few complex sugars left for the extra organisms to eat after the brewers yeast gets finished with its work. http://byo.com/stories/item/975-lambic-brewing
Would it be worth culturing the dregs from a few bottles of cantillon? (or is it filtered before bottling?) How many vials/smack packs of bugs will we need for the barrel? (one each?) WLP 665 or WYEAST 3278? (WLP can be got here in Ireland from HBC)
Can you make starters for the bug blends so we dont have to buy as many?
I use fresh hops. Saaz is mild enough but we could go heavy on the old aroma hops if we can get them.
I hadnt heard about malto-dexterin, it seems like a good idea. I'd say we could culture up a big starter for the barrel
For all the nerds out there;
Copy and Pasted from Wyeast page http://www.wyeastlab.com/com-lambic-brewing.cfm :
'''Wort boiling is also unique for lambic, usually lasting from three to six hours. This is done to increase the very low gravity of the wort which results from the many additions of boiling water to the mash. At the beginning of the long boil, aged oxidized hops are added. These hops are varieties out of England such as East Kent Goldings and Northern Brewer. The stale hops contribute very little bitterness to the finished beer because most of the alpha-acid has been oxidized. The main function of the hops in lambic is preservation of the beer. The aged hops tend to have a cheesy aroma, but most of this is expelled during the lengthy boil.
After the wort is boiled, it is traditionally sent to a cooling ship in an open room. Here it is naturally inoculated with the microbial flora necessary to ferment the wort. After cooling is complete the wort is sent to oak casks where it will ferment for up to two years'''
There's always hops in the bargain bin in HBW that are a few yrs old, im gonna head in this week to collect some goodies for my 'Conan' brew so ill check and let ye know on here what i could get. Im assuming if i got em now and left them out somewhere sterile they'd oxidise in time for the brew to get rid of the cheesy aroma.
BTW - there's a 'grand cru' beer in the oslo thats soured beer - its unreal, a bit pricey but well worth tryin once if ye're in there, tho i think its too dark for comparison to us.
@eanna - savage chart :)
Quote from: Il Tubo on September 30, 2013, 03:25:04 PM
Quote from: eanna on September 30, 2013, 02:19:11 PM
For all the nerds out there;
Jeez, you know who your friends are from that! ;)
Sorry Tom :(
Sent from my GT-N7000 using Tapatalk 2
Just checked there, HBW have 2008 target, tettnanger and progress if ye reckon they'd be any good for aged hops, thats 5 years!
Tube- Everyone got their scores from everyone and the comments too. If there were hurt feelings they would have come out later in the night!
Not at all lads. It was great to get feedback. We should use the score sheets going forward. No hurt feelings - at least I know how much hops is too much for dry hop.
Quote from: DrowningManatee on September 30, 2013, 06:16:36 PM
Just checked there, HBW have 2008 target, tettnanger and progress if ye reckon they'd be any good for aged hops, thats 5 years!
Oh yeah they'd be perfect. Can we get freebies/discount? :)
they're in the bargain bin so they're cheap as hell anyways but always worth a shot... we could offer some bottles down the line?
whats the plan, same as last time - ie. brew 20L batch and meet to fill barrel, or could we make a brewday out of it (if thats ok Enda :-[, dont score me down at the next meet for suggesting it or nothing :) ) where we could all meet up and brew?
And just doubling down i think we're all cool with scoring(beer :) ), there'll always be one score that stands out and we can have a bit o craic with that
Sure leave them out in a plate for a couple of days and there'll be no hop flavour left! A brew day would be cool. I can host any number of gas brewers; electricity is limited though!
Oct 12th could work...
I cant brew until Im back from tour 18th Oct but fire alway ye lot. Il play catch up.