April, 1996 Volume 19, Issue 4 Out of Steam
by Charlie Webster
March's
Draught Board meeting was quiet and uneventful. The style
was Lager Ales, and no one brought one. Not even a bottle
of the ubiquitous Anchor Steam, much less one of St.
Stan's Alt, or something more ambitious. Steam beers were
once a popular category for homebrewers, I wonder why
it's popularity has faded?
Only about
eight members showed up, sharing only a few (four I
think) beers. One highlight of the tasting was a
side-by-side comparison of Bruce's Barley Wine. One
sample of which was "as brewed," the other had
additional bittering added using a hop tea made in the
pressure cooker. The BW with the additional bittering was
judged to be much better than that without, but the
flavor was definitely influenced by the lack of
carbonation in the first sample.
The highlight
of the meeting was Bob Jones' presentation of a letter he
is sending to the Dept. of Std. Measures in Sacramento
regarding the "pint of beer should be 16 oz of
beer" issue. Bob has written a description of the
issue so that the State Dept. of Std. Measures can
investigate. In my personal opinion, the most likely
solution will be that pubs stop advertising
"pints" of beer and start advertising them only
as "glasses."
The meeting
broke up early.
Next
months meeting will be held at The Brewmaster on
Saturday, April 13th, 2:00 pm. The Style of the month is
Dark Lager so bring your examples to share!
Grain will be
the subject of next meeting. Charlie will bring many
different roasted barley samples to see, smell, and taste
the differences. You wont want to miss this
experience!
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