This is the HOTV Brewsletter
VOLUME XXII, NUMBER 5
May 2001

PRESIDENT:
Derek Whiteside
(541) 791-5083
VICE PRESIDENT:
Scott Leonard
541-791-3291
NEWSLETTER EDITOR:
Kendall Staggs
(541) 753-6538

THIS MONTH'S MEETING

The Heart of the Valley Homebrew Club normally meets on the third Wednesday of every month, alternating between Corvallis and Albany. This month we will have no regular meeting because of the Oregon Homebrew Festival, May 18-19 at the Benton County Fairgrounds in Corvallis (starting at 9:30 a.m.). Volunteers are still needed for a variety of tasks in the days leading up to the festival. For more information, please contact Joel Rea, our festival coordinator, at 758-1674 or cbsbrew@peak.org.

LAST MONTH'S GATHERING by Derek Whiteside

Last month we met at Joel Rea's Corvallis Brewing Supply, and everyone who attended had an excellent time. Joel had many beers to offer his guests, including Fred on nitrogen, which was really delicious. Thanks again to Joel for hosting us.

We discussed the then-upcoming pub crawl, which went off without a hitch. It seems everyone involved had a good time, even though turnout was lower than usual this year, probably because we voted to have it on a Sunday. In any case, when it was all said and done, the pub crawl actually EARNED the club about 20 bucks!

The club voted unanimously to extend an honorary (free) membership to Beto Zuniga, our webmaster who recently moved to Seattle. Even though Beto lives in another state, he has remained extremely dedicated to and involved with the club: he has devoted lots of time developing web content, festival publications, and our t-shirt design. Thanks to Beto for all of his hard work; it's really top notch. Cheers.

Festival Judges: Mare Goeger, our judge coordinator for the festival, had only TWO people signed up from the club to judge: one was Kendall, and the other was her husband, Doug! Please, please register to judge ASAP! You can find the judge registration packets online at http://www.hotv.org/fest2001/fest4.html. First-time judges are welcome! If you have questions, email Mare at mdgoeger@proaxis.com.

Our June meeting will be held at Lee Smith's house in Albany. This is a gathering not to be missed, because all the leftover festival beer will be there! There will be more information (and directions) in next month's brewsletter.

ANNUAL HOTV PUB CRAWL by Mare Goeger Sunday, April 22, 2001

Ahhh, the long awaited Pub Crawl· By the time the big yellow schoolbus pulled away from the Select Market lot in Albany, there were 20 people and 2 quarter kegs aboard. A small problem with a frozen coil had us directing Milt, our driver to the first unscheduled stop at Gene's brewery for a quick thaw job. Then onward! Oregon Trail Brown Ale and Oregon Trader Hoppy Trails sloshed in our glasses as the bus bumped and swayed on its way toward Portland.

Joel Rea got to go pub crawling for the first time, and also got ăto goä at the second unscheduled stop, the Woodburn rest area. Would we make it to the first official place on time? Hence the name, ăCrawl.ä We experienced another parking lot pause as Derrick, fearless navigator and holder of THE MAP got his bearings. Then before we knew it, the Raccoon Lodge sign loomed over the horizon. With watches faithfully counting the allotted minutes, the group descended to the lower bar area which had a view of the brewery. Unfortunately, due to a miscommunication among the pub staff, we were expected upstairs instead of down, and had to spend a good portion of our time just waiting to be served. However, the beer was tasty and the couches cushy.

Back aboard the bus, our leader made an executive decision: because we were already behind schedule, the shopping stop at Horse Brass / Belmont Station was eliminated. But that was okay; we were on our way to the Lucky Labrador, a neat place situated in an old warehouse on the east side. It featured an impressive bar and some very good beers. We then moved on to a hearty lunch and plenty of pitchers of authentic German brews, such as Spaten Bock and Spaten Oktoberfest, at Gustav's / The Rheinlander.

Now with full tummies, and still with an adequate amount of bus beer, we made our way to the Laurelwood Public House and Brewery, where we were treated to a self-service tour of their brewing facilities and informal talk with the brewmaster. Then we went on to our final stop, the Alameda Brewhouse. They had quite a nice selection of beers brewed onsite, and some from our group were able to taste them all by getting a sampler. It was a great deal: 12 beers for $5! And they were good, too.

The drive back went all too fast, and a good time was had by all. (Joel seemed to be having an especially good time.) Attending were Doug and Mare Goeger, Derrick and Sara Whiteside, Scott Leonard, Lee Smith, Joel Rea, Kendall Staggs, Scott Caul, Dave and Stine Benson, Gary Terrell, Gary Ferguson, John Terenzi, Jon Boles and Alyssa, Dave Starr, Paul Jensen, Gene Gregg, and Jerry Malloy.

COMMERCIAL BEER REVIEWS by Kendall Staggs HOW NOW BROWN ALES

Have you had any good beers lately? Here are some brief reviews of American Brown Ales, the hoppier cousins of Newcastle Brown Ale and its English cousins.

1 Moose Drool Brown Ale: This is a solid example of the style, with a slightly roasted character and plenty of Northwest hops for balance. Moose Drool is brewed by the Big Sky Brewing Company of Missoula, Montana, but bottled by the Portland Brewing Company.

2 Pyramid Best Brown Ale: This is certainly not the best version. Its dark enough to be a Brown Ale, but it lacks the chocolate and roasted malt character that I like. It is thin, slightly grainy, and rather lifeless. The Pyramid Brewery is in Seattle.

3 Downtown Brown Ale: This is my favorite. It has a solid malt profile, with lots of chocolate and roasted malt aroma and flavor and the right amount of hops for a balance of flavor and bitterness. Nutty and slightly sweet, it is very drinkable on its own, but goes well with soups and sandwiches. The artwork on the label is also a delight. Downtown Brown is from the Lost Coast Brewery in Eureka, California.

4 Wolaver's Brown Ale: This ăCertified Organicä beer has lots of promise, but honesty compels me to report that I was able to drink only half a bottle before pouring it out. The beer had no real aroma or flavor notes except for alcohol. It was as if someone had poured Everclear in a huge vat of brown-dyed Coors Lite, and then bottled the result. Wolaver's is brewed and bottled by the Panorama Brewing Company of Ukiah, California.

5 Rogue Hazelnut Brown Nectar: This is one of my favorite dessert beers. It really belongs in a class by itself. It is a well-made American Brown Ale, made slightly sweet and very distinctive by the addition of hazelnut extract. It reminds me of German chocolate cake in a bottle. Hazelnut Brown Nectar comes only in 22-ounce bottles and is brewed by the Rogue Brewing Company of Newport, Oregon.

BIG BREW 2001 by Joel Rea, Corvallis Brewing Supply, Site #56

Big Brew 2001 will begin at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, May 5. As usual, Corvallis Brewing Supply will be supporting the AHA's Big Brew event. This event encourages homebrewers all over America to brew the same beer on the same day. To make it easier for folks, bring in a printout of your site registration and with the purchase of all the ingredients, I will provide the hops for the recipe, any number of gallons, any number of batches. Corvallis has done real well in years past with this event and I would like to encourage folks to join in the collective fun this year. Invite a friend who has never brewed before to see how it fares!

Here is the AHA's announcement: Help us celebrate National Homebrew Day with a day of worldwide simultaneous brewing! The 4th Annual Big Brew will kick off with a simultaneous toast at 12:00 p.m. CDT, then fire up the burners and start brewing! This year there are three recipes to choose from, a Classic American Pilsner provided by Jeff Renner (for more information on this style see the Sept/Oct 2000 issue of Zymurgy or email Jeff Renner), a Cream Ale provided by Scott Abene (AKA Skotrat), and an American Brown Ale provided by Paul Gatza. All recipes for 5 gallons. Email Joel or Kendall for the details of each recipe.

Each site participating in the Big Brew 2001 Membership Drive will have a chance to win one of two complete sets of the Brewers Publications Classic Beer Style Series books.

AHA CLUB-ONLY 2001 COMPETITION SCHEDULE from Zymurgy

Let's try to get some entries in this year's AHA Club-Only competitions.

August - Wit: Category 19b, Belgian Witbier hosted by Donna Bettencourt and the Gold Country Brewers Association

October - California Common: Category 6c, California Common hosted by John Aitchison of the Maltose Falcons

December - Mild: Category 10c, Mild hosted by Bruce Bennett and Brewers United for Real Potables (BURP)

SEATTLE BREW SCENE by Beto Zuniga

Elysian Brewing Company and Public House This brewpub in Capital Hill section of Seattle is owned by the former owner of the Big Time Brewery and Alehouse (unaffiliated now). The atmosphere is techy in a big open room in an older building - it reminds me of a Starbucks. Their brews are great, though. The beer names are Immortal IPA, Ambrosia Maibock, Golden Fleece Ale, Perseus Porter, the Wise Weizenbock, Zephyrus Pilsner, Dragontooth Stout, Cyclops Barleywine, and the seasonal was Minotaur Dark Lager. They also have guest taps with one barley pop.

Elliott Bay Brewery and Pub This West Seattle establishment has a saloon feel that fits in the neighborhood quite well. Their brews are Lunaweizen, No Doubt Stout, Dark Star Porter, Elliott Bay IPA, Loch Ness Scottish Ale, Blacktop Brown, Rockin' Organic Rye, Demolition Ale (7%), and the seasonal was El Ni–o. Guest taps were Leavenworth Dunkel, Hales Irish Nut Brown, and O'Leary's Irish from Maritime Pacific.

MORE AUSTRALIAN BEER STORIES (This is practically becoming a regular feature in our brewsletter) from Dianna Fisher

Diving for Bottles in River of Beer
SYDNEY

Residents of a small Australian town thought they had struck sunken treasure on Monday after a truck crashed and dumped thousands of bottles of beer at the bottom of a river. About 24,000 bottles of beer sank in the Tweed River, near the town of Tweed Heads, after a truck trailer lost a wheel and crashed on a highway in New South Wales, Australian Associated Press reported.

Police inspector Stan Single said local residents thought it was open season had spent the Easter long weekend diving for the beer, some fully clad in scuba gear. Several hundred people had been seen loading up their cars with one reported to have recovered 400 bottles alone.

"They obviously thought the owners had abandoned the load and they better get the rest," Single said of the treasure hunters, noting that removal of the beer officially amounted to theft.

Brew-Loving Bat Trapped in Beer Bottle
BROCKLEHURST, New South Wales

Too much alcohol will make anyone batty, but what do bats get when they are drunk? One poor little creature became intoxicated after becoming trapped in a beer bottle in Australia. He must have had one heck of a hangover because he spent a week recovering from the ordeal in the care of a local vet. No one knows why the bat chose to go into the bottle in the first place. According to Dennis Whitton, who helped take care of the bat, "It's not like beer is a natural part of a bat's diet.

Dingo Ate My Baby, II (not actually a beer story, but I couldn't resist including it)
BRISBANE, Queensland

Officials began culling dingoes near townships on Australia's Fraser Island on Wednesday after two of the wild dogs killed a nine-year-old boy. The two dingoes mauled the boy and severed arteries in his throat on Monday after he fell over in sand dunes 150 meters away from the Waddy Point camp ground in the far north of the island. The boy's seven-year-old brother was also mauled.

The 160 dingoes on the world heritage listed island, about 260 kilometers north of Brisbane, are considered the purest strain of dingoes in Australia and are protected.

It was not clear how many animals would be killed in the cull, carried out by Queensland state environment officials. Queensland Premier Peter Beattie told the state parliament on Wednesday: "What I am referring to is a limited cull of any dingo that frequents the townships and the camp grounds...any dog that stays in the bush will not be touched."

The latest attack has revived memories of the controversial murder trial of Lindy Chamberlain, accused of killing her nine-week-old daughter Azaria at Ayers Rock in 1980. Chamberlain insisted that a dingo took her baby, which many people at the time regarded as impossible. She spent three years in jail before the conviction was quashed.

The Fraser Island dingoes share the world's largest sand island with an annual population of 300,000 tourists. The state government has been criticized for failing to act after attacks on tourists in 1999. Beattie ordered a strict enforcement of a A$1,000 (US$500) fine for violating a ban on feeding the dingoes.

"The dingo is protected in Queensland in national parks by virtue of the fact that it is a wild animal," Beattie said. "It is not protected as an animal to be befriended, tamed, habituated to human contact, as has occurred on Fraser Island."