THE FERM

Number 106
December 2006
ISSN: 183 3-
3-829 1

Fermenator’s Blow Off

G reetings brewers ,
Sadly I can’t make my last meeting as
Ferm editor, other duties call, but with
help I ’ve left you with a final Ferm for
the year.
Many thanks to all the c ontributors
throughout the year that have helped
make our newsletter the fines t
brewing journal in the ACT – without
doubt!
There’s a bit of a break til the next
Ferm in February so I ’ve prepared a
s ummer treat for you - just a little
something to fill in the quiet moments
during the mas h and the lauter when
you should be cleaning but would
rather relax with a c old one.
Hope your s ummer is a fine one and
you have a perry Xmas and a hoppy
new year.
Tony , Bro Mash
t hef erm@gmail.com

IN THIS ISSUE
President’s Sparge 1
Tr eseasurer ’s Repor t 2
2006 M alt Coop RAG Repor t 2
Social Secs’ Dr ibble 3
Club Competition Krausen 3
Brew er o f the YEAR! 4
President’s Sparge The Rise and Rise and Rise o f RIS! 6
The Ro ad to Recognition 8
Well, it seems to be that time of year again. T his Two Brew s So uth o f the Border 10
coming meeting is our AGM so a new committee will
No -Sparge=No -Idea 12
be elec ted. I will not be standing for election this time
as I have too many other demands on my time and Summer Cro sswort – The Mash 14
feel this would prevent me from serving the club Summer Cro sswort – The Bo il 16
properly. I believe there are other c ommittee
members who are in a similar position and will thus This meeting:
look toward others to s tep up and take on their c urrent 7.45 pm, Thursday, 7
res ponsibilities . I am confident however that we have
plenty of members who are up to the ask and able to December 2006
perhaps bring a fresh approach and new ideas so the Venue: The Harmonie German
club can continue to prosper and grow, not just in Club, Narrabundah
numbers but brewing knowledge and expertis e as well.
Next meeting: Thursday
(Continued next page) 1 February 2007
President’s Sparge conti nued
I n parting, I wis h to thank the c urrent
committee for all their efforts and congratulate
them on a job well done. We have left the club
in a strong position, financially and otherwis e. I
also thank the Canberra Brewers members for
entrus ting us with the running of the club this
year and your ongoing s upport and involvment.
All the best for the fes tive seas on, safe travels
for thos e who brave the roads and may the next
year bring some great new brews .
Cheers
Chris toph
Treasurer’s Report
It's been a busy but relatively pain- free
year for the T reasurer. We've had a lot of
transactions , with unprec edented interes t
in c omps and social events , but the
Committee and members have made my
job pretty easy by using electronic
transactions when they can and by
doc umenting all their purchases clearly.
I'm just in the proc ess of turning the
general ledger (whic h details every single
transaction) into s omething a little more
readable for members , with a s ummary of
inc ome and exenditure for major items
like memberships , c omps , soc ial events
and raffles . O nc e some last minute
transactions have been sorted out (like
renewing our domain name and web
hos ting for another year), I'll pop a report
on the website.

Thanks to members for paying your

s ubsc riptions promptly, and for s upporting
the club financially through raffles and
comps , and thanks to the Committee for
not making me think too hard about
anything. I won't be standing for
Treas urer in 2007 , so good luck to the
next one, and I hope you're lucky enough
to have Comp and Social Secretaries as
organised and thoughtful as they were this
year.

Cheers
Bro Google

2006 Malt Coop RAG Report

With the c onstant influx of new members it is often diffic ult to know who knows who and who
knows what. T hus for the benefit of the “N ewbies ”..
We run a c o-operative malt buying s ystem.
Members of the club profit by having quality malt available at the right price and the club benefits
by adding funds to our already s wollen coffers .
The Coop came about some years ago when we were all of a s udden without a spons or for our
various c lub events (holidays in Bermuda for committee members and the like), from a pers onal
point it was on “my watch” s o off I went in search of a new sponsor..not that easy.
I was lucky enough to know Aus tralia’s major malt importer, David Cryer through a mate of mine
(and previous member of Canberra Brewers ), M r Scott M organ and between us we worked a plan
where we would buy malt in pallet lots at wholesale (ish) from David, add a “retail” margin for the
club and there-by generate the $350 per annum we needed for those s punky medals and s uch !
O f c ourse s ince then Craig from T rojan Hospitality has stepped forward with some fantas tic prizes
(and great deals for c lub members ) and of c ourse Shoppe from BYOAH continues to offer a discount
to club members .
E nough of the Brazilian..time for ac tion .
By my RAG reporting (a full reco will be s ent to the Tres ) we have (c ounting the “November” order
bought some 175 bags (nearly 4 .5 tonnes) and returned to the c lub around $750 …

Kolectiv Kuller Kurtz

Social Secs’ Dribble
Hey All,
Well another year has come and gone, and
what a year it was!! . Soc ially we had
brewdays , a trivia night, and the fabulous
O ktoberfest. N ot to mention the great
atmos phere that s urrounded all of these
events .
But s adly, it has also come too the time of
the year when the old will be replaced with
the new, the AGM of course.
Firstly and foremost Bro Stagger and I would
like to thank all of you for the opportunity to
be soc ial event organizers on the committee.
The time has just flown past and I felt that
we both performed well in the position. There is a couple of BBQ ’s there for people to
We would also like to thank those of you that cook with and plenty of s pace to kic k the
res ponded with all the pos itive c omments footy around.
and helped out throughout the year on these It s tarts off at 11am on Saturday the 9th of
events . I t’s the members that make the December. Both myself, Bro Stagger, and our
events work, and the organizers just get all
families will be in attendance. T he idea is to
the glory…..whic h of c ours e is the way it bring whatever food you want, jus t to make it
s hould be ☺. easier on us . In previous years this event
But it is n’t all over yet !!!!....O hh N o……. We has n’t been well attended, mainly because of
still have the Canberra Brewers Christmas the time of year I think, wot with work xmas
party to go. We have booked Lennox party’s and an open bar this isn’t s urprising ☺.
gardens , behind the Hyatt, on the lake. This is one of the main reas ons we are not
catering. However it would be fabulous if
people can attend, s o I won’t have to talk to
the gorilla all the time…..hahaaha. Bring your
family, I ’m s ure I will bring more beer than ‘I ’
s hould drink, s o come and have a good time
in a relaxed environment.
So finally to conclude my las t write-up as
soc ial s exatary, its been a great ride and if we
don’t catch- up with everyone at the meeting,
or the xmas party, from us both, have a safe
and merry Xmas and a happy new year.

Cheerio
G orilla and the G oose (HO NKing out) (which is
which? – Ed)

Club Competition Krausen!

This is my last c ontribution to the Ferm, as I won’t be s tanding for re- election at the AGM . So I
would like to send a big thank-you to everyone in the club this year for the support they have
given the c ompetitions and me this year.
We have judged over 300 beers between the 3 club c ompetitions and the ACT competition, whic h
I believe s hows how healthy our competitions are. T his then in turn leads to the results that the
club received at the nationals . For those who have being hiding under a rock we have another
national c hampion in Craig Webber, Dan Rayner won ‘Beer of the Show’, and the club won ‘Best
State of Show’.
Finally there are some individuals I es pecially like to thank, G eoff Bailey for s etting up our online
entry form, our out going president Christoph Zierholz for the use of his brewery and finally Mark
Bailey (Brother Yoda) for his help and support throughout the year.

E njoy Your Brewing

Matt
Brewer of the YEAR:
Brother Stagger
Well, we had to really, although you c ould be
sick of reading about him in various (and
inferior) media. Nonetheless we are very proud
of C raig “Gorilla’ Webber … and we want to know
all his secrets …s o here’s yet another profile of
Craig, with a brewer’s foc us on his bits and
pieces (ooer).
Finest brewing disa st er?
Walked passed my fermenter with 48L of
fres h APA and kicked the tap, and watched it
all go on the floor, the dog liked it. I f s ome
one knows a good welder let me know.
A ny f avourit e brewing ingredient s?
No, not really, I like 2042 & 1098 yeast
though.

Experiences wit h compet it ions wit h your

beers?
I was lucky from the s tart. I had a lot of
s uccess with my beer and was the joint
winner in my first c omp with Mike D ay for the
brewer of the year in 2005 and had a little
s uccess this year.

If you had t o choose one commercial

beer, what would it be?
Don’t drink a lot of c ommerc ial beer but when
I do I am a little boring, I tend to go for Boags
or any APA like Little Creatures .

Biggest challenge in brewi ng?

That’s easy: “c onsistency”

Best bit of advice f or new brewers?

How long have you been brewing and how
L isten to other brewers and ask questions ,
did you get int o it?
there is not a week that I don’t ask someone
I have been brewing s inc e J uly 2004 , I got into a ques tion that I am not sure of.
brewing when Bro Alt c ame into my workshop to
as k if I would modify some of his brewing
equipment. A fter I modified his kit he gave me 2 Ot her hobbies?
bottles of his “home brew” to try, I was totally L over
blown away with the flavour. N ot being one to
stand around I as ked him to teac h me the finer Favourit e beer joke?
points of brewing and I would repay him by
Gazza
making him some brewing equipment.

First brew? Best f ood/beer combo?

I started with a ESB extrac t brew and then
straight into all grain.
Do you have a best beer produce d si nce you
st art ed brewing?
I think my D ortmunder export that won BO S last
year was by far my best beer I have made.
BBQ and beer (I am an Aussie)
The perf ect beer – what , whe re and how
is it ?
Sitting on the beac h with my wife and kids
fis hing, drinking anything.

Brew oft en?

I try to brew fortnightly but with a young family
I don’t get to brew as much as I would like to.

What st yle of beer would you conside r t o be

your f avourit e (house st yle)? Ot hers you
enjoy?
Lagers , love a clean soft lager to snuggle up to
at night.

Favourit e bit of kit ?

I would have to say it’s my new brew sculpture
mmmmmmmmmmmm stainless steel.
But how does he do it ?
Being a mac hinis t and fitter of prac tical
bent, C raig has s ome useful skills for the
brewery.
The mill, to Bro Crus her’s design, was made
by him, and it gives a good c rush by the
looks . He has c onverted an old s /s grain bin
into an HLT - a mate added elements and a
thermostat that heats the liquor to 780C ,
just right for mas h- in. E nough water there
for mash, s parge, s terilising the c hiller and
clean up (about 100 litres).
Mill, a la Bro Crusher Mash tun, a la Coleman

The kettle Craig’s latest project - the brew stand Ex-grain bin (s/s of course) now HLT

The mash tun is a 38 litre Coleman esky with a c opper manifold - Craig made up the bulkhead for the tap.
He also made the 100 litre kettle from scratc h, all s /s with a copper bottom s oldered in place. I t has a dam
for filtering hops and break and works well as a whirlpool. Fired by gas .
All this kit s its on C raig’s newly made up brew stand - naturally it’s on wheels s o he can brew outside in
s ummer.
O nce the wort is chilled via a Therminator it’s into a 50l s /s fermenter - open fermenting, no airloc ks . The
fermenting fridge is c ontrolled by a neat thermostat that takes care of heating AND cooling, made for him
by a mate.
Craig kegs almost exc lus ively, as can be seen by his lagering fridge - those are 18 litre kegs , s horter and
fatter than us ual, so he c an get 2 layers in the fridge - handy.
The only bottling he does is for c omps , s urpris e surprise, and he us es G rolsc h bottles via a c ounter-
pressure filler he and Ross designed. This obviously works reas onably well.

While this might look like a picture of a cunningly

devised fermenting fridge thermostat it may
actually reveal the comp-winning secret ingredient
of Brother Stagger. Look closely at that bottle on
the right…

Lagering fridge Counterpressure filler

The Rise and Rise and Rise of RIS!
Well as my final article for 2006 and my final article
as E duc ation O fficer I figured that some little piece
on Russian Imperial Stout might be the go, especially
given that the assistant editor this month is none
other than the brewer of the C hampion Beer at 2006
AABC Nationals , Dan Rayner, and for pos terity, his
c hampion beer was indeed a RIS.
First a word about Imperial Beers , it seems to the
observer that G od O il Americ a the Blessed is
c hockers with I mperial Styles , and these are a
modern marketing movement. I n fact this is
inc orrect, Randy Mosher, in his excellent tome
“Radical Brewing” points out that the century before
last and early last century it was popular for Beer
Barons to brew special, s trong batches of beer
reserved for their s pec ial c lients and these were
generally called “I mperial”
There is now even a special comp for I mperial Style
Beers , the basis being that the beer must exceed the
BJCP top opening gravity by 20 points or more and
that the base beer must be mentioned. I nterestingly
as there already is an I mperial Stout Category you
may only enter an I mperial Russian I mperial Stout,
that is to say that the s tarting gravity must be
above 1115 …do I feel a challenge coming up !!
I n the late 18th century Brittania ruled the waves
and London ruled the market for Porter, in fact it is
mos t likely that strong black ales exported to Court
of Catherine the G reat were described in London at
leas t as Porters .
L ittle is known of these huge beers bar that they
were very s trong, very black and very highly hopped.
We c an get an inkling though if we look at the
pedigree of last traditional London Imperial
Stout..C ourage, last brewed in 1993.
Back at the turn of the 19th century one of the
biggest producers of export porters in London was
the Anchor Brewery , in Southwark, owned by a M r
Henry T hrale. His porter was reputably a favorite of
the Empress of Russia, Catherine the G reat and said
to be good for 7 years .
When Mr T hrale died the brewery was bought by a
Scots-Americ an banker, M r Barclay and another
banker, M r Perkins . Soon Barclay –Perkins was the
largest producer of Porter in L ondon and remained s o
for many years .
The brewery was bought out Courage in 1955 and
moved a few kilometers up- river. Here it c ontinued
to be brewed to sometimes in the dreadfull 1980 ’s
when the Courage Anchor Brewery c eased production
and a c ons iderably milder version was produced by
another Courage s ubs idiary John Smiths in Y orkshire.
Well lets make a fairly simple RIS, but trying as best
we can can to emulate those 10% or more ABV and
120 + IBU beers that floated their way to Mother
Russia.
Some sources I have read state that the hop us ed
was Target, but this was only released in 1972!
G oldings may be s uitable as well though I would
probably Target Fuggles as my c hoice. Fuggles and
G oldings are around the same alpha (say 5 .8%) s o I
will give you a c hoice, mix and match as required
(Continued next page)
What are you looking for? What better place for
descriptors than the B JCP guidelines..
13F. Russian Imperial Stout
Aroma: Rich and complex, with variable
amounts of roasted grains, maltiness, fruity
esters, hops, and alcohol. The roasted malt
character can take on coffee, dark chocolate, or
slightly burn t tones and can be light to
moderately strong. The malt aroma can be
subtle to rich and barleywine-like, depending
on the gravity and grain bill. May optionally
show a slight specialty malt character (e.g.,
caramel), but this should only add complexity
and not dominate. Fruity esters may be low to
moderately strong, and may take on a complex,
dark fruit (e.g., plums, prunes, raisins)
character. Hop aroma can be very low to quite
aggressive, and may contain any hop variety.
An alcohol character may be present, but
shouldn't be sharp, hot or solventy. Aged
versions may have a slight vinous or port-like
quality, but shouldn't be sour. No diacetyl. The
balance can vary with any of the aroma
elements taking center stage. Not all possible
aromas described need be present; many
interpretations are possible. Ag ing affects the
intensity, balance and smoothness of aromatics.
Appearance: Color may range from very dark
reddish-brown to jet black. Opaque. Deep tan
to dark brown head. Generally has a well-
formed head, although head retention may be
low to moderate. High alcohol and viscosity
may be visible in "legs" when beer is swirled in
a glass.
Flavor: Rich, deep, complex and frequently
quite intense, with variable amounts of roasted
malt/grains, maltiness, fruity esters, hop
bitterness and flavor, and alcohol. Medium to
aggressively high bitterness. Medium-low to
high hop flavor (any variety). Moderate to
aggressively high roasted malt/grain flavors can
suggest bittersweet or unsweetened chocolate,
cocoa, and/or strong coffee. A slightly burnt
grain, burnt cu rrant or tarry character may be
evident. Fruity esters may be low to intense,
and can take on a dark fruit character (raisins,
plums, or prunes).
(Continued next page)
The Rise a nd Ri se and R ise of RI S! con’d
RIS Recipe f or a Palt ry 25 lit res
Mariss O tter 9 kg
Crystal 1 kg
Chocolate 1 kg
Melanoidan 1 kg
Cane Sugar 1 kg (add to boil)
Treat mash with a c ouple of teaspoons of gyps um
Mas h at the lower end say around 64C
At boil plus 10 minutes Target 150gm
At boil plus 60 minutes Target 50 gms
At boil plus 70 minutes flame out
Or
At boil plus 10 minutes Fuggles 250 gms
At boil plus 60 minutes Fuggles 100 gms
At boil plus 70 minutes flame out
Any good ale yeas t but lots and lots of it,
oddly thes e beers do well with dried yeas ts so I
s uggest 40 gms minimum of re- hydrated in 45C
water or 20 minutes say Nottingham.
Use a big fermentor..or even two.
Fermentation may take more than a week.
E njoy in 12 months .
Kurt z
BJCP RIC Guidelines con’d
Malt backbone can be balanced and supportive to
rich and barleywine-like, and may optionally show
some supporting caramel, bready or toasty flavors.
Alcohol st rength should be evident, but not hot,
sharp, or solventy. No diacetyl. The palate and
finish can vary from relatively dry to moderately
sweet, usually with some lingering roastiness, hop
bitterness and warming character. The balance and
intensity of flavors can be affected by aging, with
some flavors becoming more subdued over time
and some aged, vinous or port-like qualities
developing.
Mouthfeel: Full to very full-bodied and chewy,
with a velvety, luscious texture (although the body
may decline with long conditioning). Gentle smooth
warmth from alcohol should be present and
noticeable. Should not be syrupy and under-
attenuated. Carbonation may be low to moderate,
depending on age and conditioning.
Overall Impression: An in tensely flavored, big,
dark ale. Roasty, fruity, and bittersweet, with a
noticeable alcohol presence. Dark fruit flavors meld
with roasty, burnt, or almost tar-like sensations.
Like a black barleywine with every dimension of
flavor coming into play.
History: Brewed to high gravity and hopping level
in England for export to the Baltic States and
Russia. Said to be popular with the Russian
Imperial Court. Today is even more popular with
American craft brewers, who have extended the
style with unique American characteris tics.
Comments: Variations exist, with English and
American interp retations (predictably, the American
versions have more bitterness, roasted character,
and finishing hops, while the English varieties
reflect a more complex specialty malt character and
a more forward ester profile). The wide range of
allowable characteristics allow for maximum brewer
creativity.
Ingredients: Well-modified pale malt, with
generous quantities of roasted malts and/or grain.
May have a complex grain bill using virt ually any
variety of malt. Any type of hops may be used.
Alkaline water balances the abundance of acidic
roasted grain in the grist. American or Englis h ale
yeast.
Vital Statistics:
OG 1.075 - 1.095+
FG 1.018 - 1.030+
IBUs 50 - 90+
SRM 30 - 40+
ABV 8 - 12+%
Commercial Examples: Samuel Smith Imperial
Stout, Courage Imperial Stout, Brooklyn Black
Chocolate Stout, Rogue Imperial Stout, North Coast
Old Rasputin Imperial Stou t, Victo ry Storm King,
Bell's Expedition Stout, Dogfish Head World Wide
Stout, Thirsty Dog Siberian Night, Stone Imperial
Stout, Avery The Czar, Founders Imperial Stout,
Newport Beach John Wayne Imperial Stout, Great
Lakes Blackout Stout
The Road to Recognition
or: t he road more (or less) t ravelled
A wrap up of t he 2006 BJCP journey
by Sist er Hot st uff

Februray 2006
It didn’t take any arm twisting, just a bit of elbow
bending, to entice Dan Rayner, C harles Newton,
Bec L etc her, Paul Kelly, G raham Hayward and
myself to embark upon the gruelling road that
leads to BJCP recognition. There were mumblings
from D r Kurtz and Brother Solstic e about c oming
along to tastings and resitting the exam...but
more on that later. T hus the Canberra 6 , for
2006, were formed.

Bright eyed and enthus iastic about the s tudy c ourse ahead, (apart from me who knew what to
expect and hoped the fear wouldn’t s how in my eyes ), we s et out to work our way through the
numerous beer styles over the c oming months . We met regularly, about every two weeks , to taste
the styles for that session and to discuss various brewing practices and how to formulate recipes .

The study sessions lasted a couple of hours depending on the beer styles involved – we tried to get
commercial examples of eac h style but that proved difficult for some. Many of the club’s brewers
generous ly donated their beer for us to try and we s imulated a judging session on these beers and
returned the evaluation s heets to them.

O ver the months thes e tasting sessions become, how s hall I s ay it, less formal than the earnest
and studious approach we took in the early days . I think the turning point was the Pale Ale session
whic h c ons isted of E nglish Pale Ales , American Ales and India Pale Ales . Now the astute reader will
already have put two and two together and realised that there are a lot of beers in this category
and many (many!) examples available…need I go on?

Another highlight of the study journey was the

final s ession – the Belgians . As this was
another large category we had a bar- b-que at
my place and made a day of it. Apart from the
vast array of samples and alcohol volumes so
high you were over the limit with one s ip, the
highlight of the day would have to be giving
Charles his fraternal name – Brother G ravity –
I ’m not at liberty to say how he got that “what
happens on the BJCP journey s tays on the BJCP
journey” but I ’m s ure he’d tell you if you
as ked.

J uly 2006
Study over, the next step was to prepare for
the exam. We had the c hoice to sit in August
in Sydney but we opted to sit with some of the
NSW candidate’s up in the Hunter Valley at
Potter’s Brewery in late O ctober. Reas ons for
that dec ision was a long lead time to the exam
– more time to c ram, it coincided with the NSW
State comp judging, and we got to go on a
road trip. T he month’s ticked by…

And then there were two!

Well a few of the Canberra 6 dropped off along
the way.
(Continued next page)
 The roa d to recogni ti on con’d

G raham’s daughter was giving birth over in

D ubai (what a conundrum that mus t have been
for G raham), D an’s brother picked the only
weekend of the year that D an’s dance c ard had
anything on it to vis it from overseas , Bec and
Paul high-tailed it outta here and headed for
Tasmania – hopefully they’ve finally s et the
brewery up and are brewing up fantastic beer
for when we all go and s tay. D r Kurtz was still
keen to res it the exam but by the time exam
day c ame he’d been tethered to various beer
equipment for over a week and was heard
saying “I jus t can’t take anymore” – yes , that’s
right, Dr K saying no more beer, I ’m still
rec overing from that one…and Br Solstice, well,
where is Solly anyway?

So, bravely, the Canberra 2 marc hed into the

exam room. Now, I might just back track here
and say that personally, I had planned to do
quite a bit of study this year so I could improve
my score, after all, there was plenty of time.
You can see where this is heading c an’t you?
Suffice to say that, yet again, it was a last
minute cram. L uckily Chuck and I were able to
study the guidelines on the way up in the car –
and Chuck really knows his stuff (big girly
s wat), I was left pondering where all that time
went exac tly.

Now where were we? Ah yes , the exam room.

A deathly hus h fell over the trembling
candidates …nah, we were all composed but I
think I think, deep down, just a little bit
nervous , or anxious , about what was to c ome.
As usual the majority of questions were on
beer s tyles , comparing and contrasting them.
There were a couple of questions on technical
things , one rec ipe formulation, filling out a
judging s heet for a commercial s tyle (no
ac tual beer in front of you) and 4 beers to
judge and sc ore. T he exam was long but fair
apart from a foc us on Bocks …bloody boc ks , I
don’t like them, I didn’t study them! D r K did
make an appearance at the exam – but it was
dressed in his red kimono and s erving the 4
exam beers .

There were about 12 of us sitting the exam and we were all relieved when it was over and, had it
not been for too many beers over the prior c ouple of days , we would have gone s traight to the
pub.

It was a great journey once again, even if not everyone s at the exam it was still great to spend
time with them all doing what we love...talking about, and drinking, beer. The journey will
eventually end in a beer but not until we get our res ults and that wont be till about March next
year, ok, there’ll be many a beer between now and then.

Catc h ya post Beermas

Sister H otstuff
Two Brews South of the Border
By Dan Rayne r
T wo weeks ago the Red Menace and I drove to
Geelong for a job interview and dec ided it was an
excellent opportunity to inves tigate some of the
Victorian mic robreweries that I had heard so
muc h about. I had planned a complic ated route
up through the state’s high country visiting
several out-of- the- way loc ations and maximizing
the numbers of breweries visited but with just a
couple of afternoons (one in G eelong) to attempt
this it became obvious I wouldn’t do just to them
justice if I tried to visit more than two.
We arrived in Geelong in the early evening and
discovered our hotel was only a s tone’s throw
away from the city’s (and apparently the
country’s ) oldest working brewery s ite. The
Scottish Chiefs Tavern Brewery is a pub with an
independently run 1200L/batc h brewery that
operates under the name What’s Brewing
Company. I was unable to s peak with Brewer
Damian Nippard but the RM and I did speak with
the Scottish Chiefs publican, Andy, while we
s upped the pub’s brews . Andy and his partner
had only rec ently purc hased the business but
have worked in Geelong hos pitality for many
years . He explained that the Sc ottis h Chiefs pub
had opened in 1848 next to an old brewery,
eventually becoming the brewer’s residence and
it wasn’t until the 1980 ’s that it was refurbished
and reopened as a s ingle brew pub. T he “pub-
within-a- pub” des ign is fairly unique (if, just a
little bit, tacky), upon entering from the outs ide
you walk into a two storey atrium with glass
ceilings and, facing the entrance, the pub bar has
been des igned to look like the front of a
traditional country hotel with a function room
situated above it on the sec ond level verandah.
The brewery itself is in a tiny glassed- off corner
next to the covered outdoor area, the greater
part of which is the tastefully c onserved remains
of the old, s tone, brewery.
After taking my tour we tried their hous e brews ,
all s old for $3.30 /pot. I started off with the
brewery’s Pale ale which had a fres h, s weet
malty aroma and an initially s weet, honey
flavour balanced with a mild bitter finish. T he
use of Cascade hops is quite apparent but
certainly not overwhelming. T he Amber Ale
(5 .5% ) was quite s weet by comparis on, and
nowhere near as amber in c olour as I expec ted
- more like a very fresh British real ale, quite
full- bodied with a pleasant Goldings hop finish.
I finished off with their Porter (6 .2% ) which was
dark and quite hazy with a great head, fairly
light bodied with a slightly ac rid, roasty (burnt? )
bitterness but tempered with mild c hocolate and
coffee flavours , overall quite s harp but very
drinkable.
After knocking back an excellent rendang dinner
at a local Balinese res taurant with a few Peronis
I decided to buy a mixed six- pack of What’s
Brewing’s beers for the c lub to try at the next
meeting. I had to open one the other night and
found myself more than a little disappointed
with the porter, it was so overpowered by a
tangy green-apple acetaldehyde it was virtually
undrinkable – although the draught beers at
Scottish C hief’s were really nothing that special,
they are a far c ry from their no-longer-spoken-
of/dirty-little-sec ret/illegitimate-sister in the
bottle. I ’m beginning to think s mall- batch,
commercial (hand? ) bottling is rife with
problems as I seem to be often frustrated when
I purc hase s ix- packs of cool, funky-looking,
new, mic ro- brewed beers only to find them
s uffering faults I wouldn’t abide by in my own
brewing (I ’m talking about beers like you
Hargreaves Hill Pale... Enjoying your permanent
res idency in my fridge are you?!? Well, lemme
tell you this: your Wes tinghouse Visa has
expired and you’re about to be “repatriated” to
the recycling. O n second thought, bugger it,
I ’m going to let you experience the shame of
s haring you around at the next CBC meeting as
an example of a terrible failure in bottling).
(Continued next page)
 Two B rew South of the B order con’d

O k. Enough rant. At midday after the RM ’s interview

we started our journey back to Canberra, interrupted
by a night in Beec hworth. I was keen to check out
the Bintara Brewery in Rutherglen, Buffalo Brewery in
the Boorhaman Hotel, Boynton’s Brewing Company in
Porepunkah and the Bright Brewery in, well, ...
Bright. As it was it seemed like we would only
manage to get an hour and a half all up so decided to
spend it all at the Bridge Road Brewers in Beechworth
(what’s with all this crazy alliteration?!? ). An
excellent choice!

Beechworth is a lovely s pot for a brewery, a green, leafy town over a river and ravine, an eclectic
population, fantastic little restaurants everywhere and a good range of accommodation (we s tayed at
the main s treet pub, Tans well’s Commercial H otel, not too flash but c lean and very c heap). T he
Bridge Road Brewers is right outside the back door of the pub and is loc ated in an old brick cellar
looking building. I nside, the brewery equipment s its oppos ite an open and airy bar (s ervic ed by the
brewer’s Austrian wife Maria – how very authentic ), s ituated in front of a large glassed- in cool- room.
Patrons can purchas e off-licenc e six- pac ks and cas es or sit at several tables inside or out and order
glasses or samplers of the five draught beers or c hampagne bottles of the brewery’s s pecialty
“C hevalier” range. P rices range from around $3-4 per glass to $7 for five 125mL samples . The
Chevalier range is c urrently advertised as being a Hefe- weizen and a Bier de Guarde, both of which
had run out recently but after c hatting with Maria about how muc h we wanted to try the new s eason
brew, the brewer Ben Kraus was called and he delivered to us two freshly bottled Saisons one to try
on the s pot and a take home bottle (both on the house! ).

The beers were, unsurprisingly, excellent. We tried all five draught beers , the Wheat Ale, c loudy with a
s weet banana aroma, a big s pic y banana flavour and a mild bitter finish. Followed it up with an
Australian Ale, which, although well balanced and an easy session beer, is c learly made for rec ent
converts to mic robrews . The Pale Ale was a real standout- clean, c ris p, APA-style beer using American
Crystal hops and two others that were kept sec ret, certainly not as in-your- face as brews made with
Cascade but fruity none- the- less . Next up we tried the Celtic Red Ale (Irish red), whic h was relatively
light but with a nice roasty, toffee, malt complexity and we finished on the D ark Ale (porter) very
pleasant with a medium c reamy body, mild toasty, coffee notes and warming bitters weet finis h.

While trying the beers we had the opportunity to as k the brewer about how he got into the business.
After traveling across E urope working, unpaid, in various breweries (where he met M aria) to learn the
c raft Ben came home to establish the Bridge Road Brewers which has only been operating for the las t
18 months or s o. O riginally from Beechworth, he had been working for a few years at wineries in
Wes tern Australia before deciding to take up brewing, and seems to be well aware of what is needed,
in terms of marketing and sales , to open a success ful brewery. When I c ommented upon how like his
brewery was to many American mic robreweries , with their walk-through brewery tours and open
counters to both try and buy brews , Ben merely remarked that he based his brewery design on the
cellar-door approach that most s uccessful Aus tralian wineries have always employed. Beec hworth and
the Bridge Road Brewers are the bes t exc uses to break up a trip to M elbourne, well worth a stop.

Bridge Road Brewers

Scottish Chiefs Tavern Brewery
2 Bridge Road,
Corner of Corio and O’Connell Streets
Beechworth, Victoria 3747
Geelong, Victoria 3220
03 5728 2703
03 5223 1736
kraus101@hotmail.com
whatsbrewing@fastmail.fm
www.bridgeroadbrewers.com.au
 No-Sparge=No-Idea
By St eve Lloyd

I have never sparged in my life. When I s ay this in front of normally mild mannered brewing friends ,
some get visibly unc omfortable. Some less res trained brewers can even bark out a “jus t sparge like
normal people”, or something s imilar. I have to confess that I really enjoy thes e reac tions – it’s an
unexpec ted benefit of the “abnormal” practice of no-sparge. Still, after no-sparging for over a year now,
it’s probably time to grow up, and try to provide s ome constructive points of discussion on this topic . So,
the following article c ontains a mix of dry research, personal experience, and pure biased opinion in no
particular order.

Where do I come from?

No-Sparge
His toric ally, the no-s parge tec hnique is where it all s tarted - brewers s imply drained the wort at the
conclusion of the mas h. This is wasteful because there are still plenty of fermentable s ugars trapped in
the “spent” grains when they are discarded.
Sparging
To state the bleeding obvious , the aim of s parging is to was h as much of the good stuff (s ugar) out of
the grain as possible, making it a more efficient process . I n the “olden days ” ;- ), the dec ision to s parge
was therefore a no- brainer.
It’s interesting then, that high profile brewers like John Palmer (“H ow to Brew”), Jeffery D onovan
(“P romas h”), and the late George Fix (“Principles of Brewing Science”) have recently revis ited the
traditional method of no-sparge. Perhaps the decision to choos e sparging is not as s imple as it was once
thought to be.
Fact ors t o conside r whe n choosing no-spa rge.
There are good bits to converted mas h, and there are bad bits :
Sugar = good,
Tannins = bad.
To extract s ugar from the grains , you was h the grain with hot(ish) water. T he problem is that the more
you wash (s parge), the closer you get to extracting noticeably high levels of tannins into your wort.
Tannins can lead to haze and as tringent flavours in the final beer.
For good brewers with a good work ethic , these iss ues are non-iss ues .
The sparging process can be monitored and
adjusted s uch that no noticeable effec t of tannin
extraction takes place. A growing number of (less
fas tidious ) brewers however, are starting to say
“why bother with sparging? ” - grain is cheap, and
life is s hort! Brewers generally weigh up the
following pros and c ons before making a decis ion
about choos ing a sparging technique.

The Pros a nd Cons of No-spa rgi ng:

PROS:
Richer sweet er wort / Less risk of ext ract ing
t annins (arguably).
For the reasons discussed above. I n theory, you
are draining off the very best frac tion of the mas h
at the expense of economy.
Quicker brew day.
There are fewer steps , and you don’t have to
worry as much about s etting up a modest
sparging rate.
More preci se ma sh t emps.
The mash is so thin that it’s much eas ier to get an
exact mash temp (as opposed to getting different
temps from different locations in a thicker mas h)
Lower cost of equipment (arguably).
There’s no need for a HLT, s parge arm or mas h
tun. I use a big (massive, really) aluminium pot
to mas h in. I don’t even insulate it, as the mass Check out my kettle! Being a guy, and owning a kettle
this big, it’s diffic ult to resist t he urge to draw parallels
of grains + water is s o signific ant, that the temp between the size of one’s kettle, and the size of one’s
stays pretty c ons tant. genitals. Fortunately, I have been mature enough to
(Continued next page) resist this u rge so far.
No-sparge = no-idea? con’d

CONS:
Highe r cost of ingredient s.
For no-sparge, the quoted increase in grain bill size c an vary depending on who you listen to. John
Palmer s ays a scale- up factor of about 1 .1 to 1 .25 (4). J effrey D onovan says about 1 .3 to 1 .5 (3). I bank
on a scale up factor of about 1 .35 for an ale on the strongish s ide (about 1 .055-1.060). Light beers c an
be as low as about 1 .15 , and very strong Belgian ale (O G = 1 .090 +) is almost a factor of 2 .
So, to work out how much more expens ive it is to no-s parge, take your current cost of grain and
multiply it by about 1 .35 for a s tandard beer. I f your current grain bill for a s ingle batch is 6kg, then it’s
very roughly about an extra $4 to go no-sparge (us ing our c lub’s prices ).
A free no-sparge grain bill calc ulator is available at http://home.elp.rr.c om/brewbeer/files /nbsparge.xls
(unfortunately, it uses American units )
Less experience of t his t echnique a mong t he brewi ng communit y.
I don’t know of another no-s parger among the local brewing community. T his c an be diffic ult when
seeking people’s opinion, as sparging people don’t know if a thin beer (for example) is attributed to
fac tors they are familiar with, or something to do with the no-s parge process . This leads to an
interes ting irony – although no-sparging is by far the easies t way to brew from a process perspective,
perhaps it’s best for beginners to start with sparging just to be able to have access to good feedback.
A recent example is where my beer has been a touch on the thin s ide recently. T he cause of this is
possibly that no-s parge leads to “more fermentables in the wort” (5), and needs to be combated with a
slightly higher mash temp than what is recommended in sparging recipes . The point is that this took me
a little while to find out (and a few brews ), where if I was s parging, there’s plenty of expertise to sort
something like this out pretty quickly.
*NOTE: “batch spargi ng” is a middle ground between spargi ng and no-spargi ng, a nd seems to be a really attractive option for brewers.
It’s more efficient than no-sparge, has some of the equi pment cost savings, has a low risk for ta nnin extraction, a nd only marginally
adds to the le ngth o f the brew day. I ha ve no e xperience with this techni que though, a nd have decide d not to include it in the scope o f
this article.
What are f amous people saying about no-spa rge?
It’s c onsidered that George Fix introduced the no-sparge technique to the home brewing public in
September 1992 (1). Some of the things he s aid in his brief description of this “experimental” technique
are, “some of the world's great ales and lagers have been brewed this way, and I have found it works in
homebrewing as well for s pecial beers .” But he also says “Clearly this is not the way to brew our
standard beers .”(2)
George didn’t elaborate on why he did not think that no-sparge was appropriate for “standard beers ”,
but he talks about the extra expense earlier on in the article, s o it could be assumed that this is the
reason.
I n any cas e, George’s thread was revived by the slightly less famous (but s till reasonably active brewing
artic le writer) Louis K. Bonham in H BD in Sept 1996, and discussion continued on and off until at least
Feb 1997 (1). People’s individual res ults in using this technique are disc ussed in these postings , with an
emphasis on debating the presenc e of “enhanced maltiness ”. There is still debate today about this
possible “enhanced maltiness”.
Jeff rey Donovan (P romash author) has conducted “many no-sparge mashes [as the] benefits (while
still being debated) include a richer, maltier beer”. He claims this richer wort would “seem” to be due to
“fewer tannins leac hed from the mas h due to the lack of s parging”. But, he also says that “...while no-
sparging may produce a better beer, it is als o less economic al, requiring from 1 /3 to 1 /2 additional grain
in the mas h grist.”(3)
John Palme r (H ow to Brew) “finally got on the bandwagon with a couple of methods that several of
[his ] friends have been
using for years : batch s parge and no-s parge brewing” between the first and s econd editions of his book.
He c laims that “these
methods c an produce a richer, s moother tasting wort with the same gravity as a s tandard recipe, but
use a s impler lautering proc ess that is more robust and pH stable.” H e then, however, points out that
“continuous sparging methods are more economical”, and that “everyone learns about continuous
sparging first and mos t all- grain recipes you will s ee (s uch as thos e in brewing magazines ) are based on
the efficiency of this method.”(4)
Paris Hi lt on dec lined to comment on the no-sparge technique, but did want to point out that she was
not wearing underpants .

(1) Ken Schwartz, A Formulation Procedure for No-Sparge and Batch-Sparge Recipes, 1998 (updated Oct 2005)
(2) George Fix, “Yummy Malt Flavour”, Home Brew Digest #977, Sept 1992.
(http://hbd.org/hbd/archive/977.html#977-3)
(3) Jeffrey Donovan, Mechanics Of No Sparge Brewing, from
http://www.promash.com/TipsNTricks/CommonTasks/MechOfNoSparge_Article.html
(4) John J Palmer, “How To Brew, 2nd Ed.”, 2002, Defenestrative Publishing Co.
(5) John J Palmer, “Skip the Sparge”, 2002, BYO Magazine, May-June.
 Summer
crosswort
the mash

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www.CrosswordWeaver.com
 Summer crosswort – the mash
ACROSS DOWN

1 to store (Ger.) 2 where the best Goldings come from

4 ethanol is but one 3 billygoat beer
6 beer bottle glass 5 strainer for whole hops
7 electrically charged particle 7 simplest mash
8 double goat 9 barley part used for filtering
12 dark ale for fatties 10 sprout
13 dark (Ger) 11 what brewers do
16 the vinegar bug 14 good with colours
20 vapour named after a beer 15 faucet
22 bitterness unit 17 a fine publication of note and gravity
23 famous English hop 18 barrel stopper
25 ten thousand hectolitres 19 mmm...boiled polenta
29 measures specific gravity 21 resentful Pom
33 UK dark beer, now rare 24 go wild with this beer
34 smoky and the beer 26 this process is a strain
37 door opener 27 nice brew honey
39 rinse 28 what a brewhouse produces
42 presidential brewery 30 thick brewer’s cup
43 the foam on top of fermenting brew 31 what keeps us from floating away
45 small horse you drink 32 hot liquor temperature
47 milk sugar 35 what a bunny does
52 a change to the malt 36 barley shoot
55 beer from Cologne 37 required for good head (not jewellery)
56 English hops make me giggle 38 stretching or decanting
57 citrus waterfall 40 add junk
59 cool quickly 41 polyphenols from hops and husk
61 stubby grenade 44 smartarse wheat beer
64 good for bones and beers 46 of high pH
67 of the empire 48 where barley enzymes come from
68 part of hop flower 49 club patron and industry leader
70 monastery of beer 50 measure of density
71 barley baby 51 brown and tasty substances
72 mug (Ger) 53 mmm...green apple
73 big glass lad 54 of low pH
74 Aussie hop 56 beer with strawberries
75 the home of opera 58 the art and science of brewing
76 biochemical catalysts we love 60 pig cranium barrel
62 philosopher of sugar
63 making bottle bombs
65 protein/polyphenol complex post
chilling
66 Timothy Taylor rents his house from
this bloke
69 ya shed/kitchen/ongoing project
 Summer crosswort
the lauter
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www.CrosswordWeaver.com
 Summer crosswort – the lauter
ACROSS
4 cold gold
6 brewing enzyme
7 type of monk
9 barley grain part that becomes the
husk
11 crud in your beer lines
14 50kg of hops
15 unclear
18 hurling the yeast in
20 90%+ of beer is this
22 mmm...vegemite
24 large boat you drink
27 tops your glass and shoulders
28 this year's Cascade
29 festival beer
30 corn by any other name
32 brewing vessel that weighs a lot
33 type of egg, or beer
34 C aSO4
35 farmhouse ale
37 what happens to hop acids in the
boil
38 extra special bitter (Abr)
39 unfermentable long chain sugar
41 old brewer with altitude
43 traditional German mashing
46 device for making tea
48 I'm Parched Auntie
49 beer from Pilsen, if only
55 C 2H6O
57 orange liquer
58 barley spike
59 main bittering compounds in hops
64 healthgiving beverage
66 a chiller that goes both ways
67 place of the first
68 type of lock
69 pre-hops beer flavouring
70 a witty spice
71 German wheat beer
DOWN
1 of malt
2 this court is now in...
3 strong beer indeed
5 beer to store (Fr)
8 to make beer porridge
10 measure of yeast activity
12 stewed malt
13 brewhouse implement for kinky brewers
16 9 gallon cask
17 mmm... fish bladders
19 homemade fountain
21 more than stubbies
23 not quite sterilised
25 A smoooth beer
26 paddy's fungus
27 light (Ger.)
31 smell
32 polyphenol complexes and spent hops
34 for the mill
36 mmm...buttery
40 an aquatic armament
42 hop pollen
44 do it in a bottle
45 cloudy wheat beer
47 smelly yeast byproducts
50 used to be on Aussie glasses
51 a delightful cereal
52 gather in a clump (like a monthly
meeting)
53 nearly a duck reaction
54 white stuff on beer
56 have a chuck
60 measure of acidity
61 bugs we hate, or love
62 brewer’s best friend
63 That goat might
64 home of 700+ beers
65 a noble hop
 This month’s meeting is at
7.45 pm, this Thursday, 07 December, at the
Harmonie German Club, Narrabundah.

This year’s Canberra Brewers Christmas Party is

this Saturday 09 December, 11am ‘til cold/dark, at
Lennox Gardens (behind the Hyatt). BYO
everything ☺ See You There!