Month: May 2021

All meeting notes and club information always posted without an account here.

Club Update: 

If there was ever any indication that the club needed comradery and sense of normalcy I believe last meeting was the indicator. Being the host for the first large get-together for the club since last October; many of us thirsty gentlemen were ready to break out of the feelings of an isolated winter we were wanting to leave behind. 

By cramming all 10 of us into my small basement pub we were offered a reminder of how it should be. OTMP meetings should be a bit cramped and a little loud, we need the jokes and the shit talking. We need a sense of being close to one another to share our passions, knowledge and of course a thick layer of bullshitting all served up with a frothy white head on our beers. 

I am not quite sure how it ended up being 1am before cleaning up the bar. What I do know is none of us wanted to let go. There was a real feeling of exuberance in the air. We all remember how it felt to be part of the good times and we were making new good times. We were all left thirsty for more of these connections and of course, great beer. 

Items for newsletters wanted: 

Want to share an article, recipe or write up on virtually anything related to homebrewing, send them along to the club at oldetownmashpaddlers@gmail.com

Deep Dives on Beer – Ryan Pachmayer

Ryan Pachmayer, likely the most active OTMP member and the guy that always knows what is up and coming and fresh on the Craft beer scene shares another article of his. 

ICE BEER, BEYOND BUD

Remember Bud Ice, that line of Budweiser whose label came adorned with a zippy typeface that seemed to say I’m chill without outright saying it? Most of the ’90s teenagers who made Bud Ice and its brethren (Busch Ice, Keystone Ice, Natural Ice) house party companions probably never knew why the word “ice” even appeared on the label. But that moniker denoted a method of freezing and concentrating the beer, a process known as icing (or eising, in German), to increase flavor. continue reading here

Deep Dive on Brewing German Pilsners

German pilsner is a marriage of simplicity and depth. Often using just a single type of hop and malt, these beers achieve a fairly wide variety of depth and flavor by using specific, high quality ingredients and multi-step mashing regimes. But the most important ingredient of all in German pilsners is time. The time for the yeast to do its work in the beer, for the flavors of the hops and malt to harmonize, and for the beer to clear up. The result is a crisp, generally hop forward beer with an unmistakable snappy cracker-malt flavor. The beauty of these beers starts even before the taste. This pale yellow beer is brilliantly clear. An army of bubbles marches toward a pillowy, white, fluffy head in the heavens above. This is truly a simple, yet sophisticated beer. continue reading here

The Special Sauce – Jim Spaulding:

None other than the amazing, Jim Spaulding, has offered his insights and genius to us plebeians. Sit up, and listen up, as this vetran homebrewer walks us along on his totally insane path of homebrew dominance.

A guide to Krausening your Lagers: In this write up Jim outlines what makes krausening an important feature of his brewing process and gives up a step by step guide in how he accomplishes this technique.

A Style guideline on Maibock by Jim Spaulding

Hop Rhizome Give-a-way:

Is digging around in the dirt your idea of some fun. Have you ever wanted to cover your garage floor in pollen? Does your homebrewing hobby also need a hobby of its own? Do you have a garden of old hops that have been there for 20 years and they don't produce any longer and you need to rip them out and replace them?  You might have the deal of a lifetime coming to you right now. 

For the low, low, price of free you can come pick up some hop rhizomes to start your own hop field of your very own. 

Thanks to our urban farming brew friend, Andrew Voss, he is giving you the opportunity to grow your own future. He has provided the club with tons of rhizomes to distribute. If you have interest in picking some up, contact Evan, via the club email, respond to this message, or text, 720-480-2124. Available most evenings with advanced warning. 

Varieties offered:

Chinook

Mystery X (limited quantity)

Hallertau 

Analia

Neo 1 (very limited quantity)

Meeting Info:

Where: Voss Farms

Location:

13870 West 72nd Avenue Arvada 80005 

Date:

5-26-21

Time: 7:00pm

Future Meeting Locations: (If you can offer a location for a future slot please reach out)

June 16th: Charles Bland's House

July 21st: Sam Lemons' House

August 18th: Chuck Schick's House

September 15th: Aaron Bandler's House

October 20th: Jim Spaulding's Beer Barn

November 17th: needing a host

December 22nd: Jim Spaulding's Beer Barn

January 19th: needing a host

April Meeting Recap: 

Attendants: Chris, Evan, Sam, Cody, Aarong “Young Hazy”, Robin, Chuck, Gordon, Ryan, Charles, and Gretchen

Meeting Recap:

“I have forgotten how great and exciting it is to see half the club taking a homebrew shower, all with our clothes on.”- Anonymous OTMP member

Beers:

• Colter: Instapot Kolsch – Brewed on some futuristic technology we don't understand yet; sent to us from 2029 in a DeLorean and packaged in a Franzia box wine bag this brew was in fact beer made by a robot. It conjured up such comments as “Yes, this is Kolsch”, and “Sure, I would drink this.”. Brewed on a BEERMKR this brew was done in a one gallon batch and served right out of the vessel it was brewed in. An interesting system and an interesting process to easily achieve beer at home. 
• Aaron – Keviek Pils – Some beer as last month. Highlighting a fruity nose and an early bite on the tongue. Fermented at 102° this beer rang in at 5%. 
• Chris – Brown – This beer featured a chocolaty nose which was warm and inviting. Brewed with EKG, pale chocolate and fermented on #007 at 53 days old this beer was extra smooth and silky. 
• Charles – Beire De Garde – Made with Special B., Pil and Munich Malts with Saaz and T-58Belgian Ale yeast this beer was clean with subtle peppery notes and a touch of spice. 
• Chuck – Belgian Dubbel – This Westmalle Clone was accompanied by the inspiration to complete the side by side comparison. Chuck's version was a low nose version but featured many of the highlights of the original, such as; raisin, plumbs and yummy maltiness. Chuck brewed this beer 2 years ago for the Belgian competition for the club.  In comparison the Westmalle beer – The commercial example had a much stronger nose and more fruit flavors up front, it was much more spicy and maltier. As far as a comparison Chuck's version may have passed its prime. This was a fun comparison for Chuck to do for his beer and hopefully gave him the feedback he was looking for. 
• Chris – Milk Stout – This really extra smooth beer was a homerun for a milk stout. 1 lb of lactose for a 5 gallon batch brewed with EKG and Magnum on Chicho yeast. 
• Robin – American Pale Ale – Brewed with Chinook Hops and Nugget on US05 with a 90 min boil. This beer rang in high in bitterness and spiciness. 
• Ryan – Imperial Stout with Tahitian Vanilla Bean – 5 beans used in a 2.5 gallon batch. This super rich and strong brew still came across as balanced. A real treat. Dubbed by the guys “Millli Vanilli”. 
• Ryan / Aaron – 10 Day Stout – This 10% beer was fermented out in 10 days with the ageing from the whisky oak chips. Fermented on Propagate Oslo yeast and then transferred into a Sous Vide with the whisky chips for 6 hours to age the beer then bottled on day 10. This beer featured characteristics that I wouldn't expect out of such a young beer and still came across as bright but not green. Very interesting process. 
• Aaron – Hazy – Brewed on US33 – This bright yellow beer featured Galaxy and Azaica. This beer was a little more subdued than his normal Hazy beers, a nice brew to share.  

In case you missed it:

• In the news:
• A Hard Seltzer Smoothie War Is Brewing in America's Heartland
• Mash Methods: No Sparge vs. BIAB In A Munich Helles
• Scientists “hacked” the genetic code of brewer's yeast to produce cannabis compounds
• Remember to always practice safe handling techniques, even with stockies. Keep ‘em cold