Of CRABS and Clone Wars
Clone Wars is here people
Ever thought of joining a home brew club? There are obviously a lot of benefits for homebrewers of every “skill” level, from the beginner to the veteran. What better environment in which to develop your techniques than amongst like minded, dedicated enthusiasts. Your peers will gladly share their experience and the veteran homebrewers have the gratification of acting as benefactors to those of lesser experience (although, truth be told, after 16+ years as a professional brewer, one thing I have come to learn is that there is always something to learn!) One benefit that may not be immediately obvious is the chance to participate to some degree with local brewpubs and breweries. It is commonplace these days for breweries to run competitions with local homebrew clubs to produce one-off seasonal brews, for example the recent Heavy Seas “Letter Of Marque” (http://www.hsbeer.com/letter-marque-hop-rye-porter ). Many other smaller breweries run similar competitions including DuClaw, Ellicot Mills and of course, ourselves. Last year we ran a competition (see blog post http://www.prattstreetalehouse.com/2009/09/home-brewing-but-not-at-home/) in which we invited homebrewers to submit entries for a new seasonal beer to be brewed here. The winners were invited in to oversee brew day and the subsequent beer was served at the Ale House and at festivals and bars around the area throughout Baltimore Beer Week and beyond. Of course we will be running this competition again this year (details will be posted in August). Another interesting competition is run by the Chesapeake Real Ale Brewers Society (CRABS http://www.crabsbrew.org/) who run a “Clone Wars Competition” annually in which one of our ales is selected to be reproduced by club members. I supply the club with the recipe and brew protocol and yeast (if required) and they try to clone the brew at home. This year the club selected our Ironman Pale Ale (last year was Best Bitter). There is an interesting post by club president Brandon on his blog post http://huskyrunner.blogspot.com/2010/04/ringwood-yeast-chroniclesthe-ballad-of.html. This competition is particularly dear to me as I enjoy the opportunity to “get my pom-poms out” and do some cheerleading for the much maligned Ringwood Yeast, that is our house yeast strain (see Brandon’s post for his thoughts). The winner of the competition is judged by a select panel here at the Ale House and the winner not only gets to bask in the glory of his/her victory but also a $50 gift token to Wells Discount Liquors and this year will also be invited into the brewery for an Ironman Pale Ale brew day. So, if you’ve been sitting on the fence with regards to joining a home brew club take a leap of faith, you won’t be sorry.
Here’s a few helpful contacts
Tags: clone wars, Homebrew, Homebrew competition
I thank last year’s CRABS clone competition for introducing me to the Ringwood yeast. I’ve now used it 4 times and am beginning to really like it. Its high flocculation makes for a really clear beer and the yeast adds some nice ester characteristics that are a welcome break from the typical chico strain homebrews. Unfortunately, I haven’t yet been able to make anything as delicious as Steve – but I’ll keep working at it.
Wish I knew about this one in time to brew it for the competition… not sure if it was announced to us at CSI or if I just wasn’t paying attention.
I’ve read all about Ringwood and its love of open fermentation and oxygen, but I’ve never tried using it. I’m thinking I’ll do your Ironman sometime soon as an intro. I already ferment most of my Belgian styles in a large, square plastic fermenter that is only loosely covered. Thanks for the recipe Steve.