HOPPY BREW YEAR!

In this Brewsletter:

Congratulation Myers Brothers, John Smith and J.P. Messier!
Hops & Grains Update
Leaf Hops Sale
Sake
Wine Kits
New Liquid Malt Extracts
Carboys
Brewing Classes
Recycle Project
Cool Finds

CONGRATULATIONS!:

B.A.R.F. (Beer and Ale Research Foundation) members Andy and Patrick Myers won “Best of Show” in the Sam Adams Homebrew Competition. You guys are the greatest! When they complete their celebrations in a couple of days, they are giving us the winning recipe to offer as a featured kit here at HomebrewUSA. You can learn more about Andy and Patrick at http://myersbrewing.com/AboutUs.html
For more information about their club, go to: http://www.barfclub.org

C.A.S.K. (Colonial Ale Smith & Keggers) member, John Smith was first runner up in the “Best of Show” at the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame Beer Blitz Homebrew Competition. Way to go John!
For more information about his club, go to: http://www.colonialalesmiths.org

B.A.R.F (Beer and Ale Research Foundation) and H.R.B.T.S (Hampton Roads Brewing and Tasting Society) member J.P. Messier had 2 beers make it to the “Best of Show” round at The Virginia Sports Hall of Fame Homebrew Competition. So maybe we weren’t shocked since J.P. has won the H.R.B.T.S. Cup the last two years! Congrats J.P.! For more information on his clubs, go to: http://www.barfclub.org and http://www.hrbts.org

HOPS & GRAINS UPDATE:

This year brings good news on the hops front! Most hops will be available without limitations and at lower prices. There are a few exceptions. Czech Saaz is looking limited and American high alpha hops did not produce as much due to weather conditions. They will be available but at a slightly higher cost than lower alpha hops. Will be also be carrying more hops varieties this year (including Warrior!).

Note: Hallertauer Hops will be available within the next two weeks.

Grain prices have also slightly decreased. More crops were planted but the prices are still high because farmers also suffered due to this past year’s extremely high gas prices. We do have great news when it comes to variety. In addition to the Briess, Dingemann’s and Gambrius malts, we now carry the entire line of Weyermann malts.

LEAF HOPS SALE

In our effect to provide only the freshest ingredients, we are selling all of last year’s leaf hops at the reduced price of $1.99/ounce. These hops have been vacuum-sealed and stored in a deep freezer all year so very minimal alpha acid lose has occurred. These hops are still fine quality hops, but we must make room in our freezers for the current crops.

SAKE

During this coming week we will be receiving Koji mold spores and White Labs Sake yeast for the production of homemade sake. We will now carry the spores year round since White Labs will be processing the yeast year round instead of their previous practice of only releasing it as a limited Platinum Strain.

WINE KITS

We have a few Winexpert wine kits on special right now at 25% off regular prices. We are making room for this current year’s releases. We try to maintain our stock with the freshest wine kits. Winexpert kits have product codes to determine the date it was produced. Look on the top of the box for two groups of numbers, seven digits, followed by four digits.

Example:

0029504 0234
Which will break down like this:
00/295/04 0234

00 These two digits are for internal use and you can ignore them.
295 This indicates the day of the year from January first, in this case October 22nd.
04 These two digits indicate the year it was produced, in this case, 2004.

NEW LIQUID MALT EXTRACTS

Over the next two weeks we will be changing brands on a number of the bulk malt extracts we currently carry. We will also be offering new extracts. We decided to make this change for economic and informational reasons. We will be moving from United Canadian malt extract to Briess malt extracts for the majority of our malt extracts. The Briess website has a plethora of information about their malts and extracts. This is beneficial for those extract brewers keeping records, designing recipes and tweaking recipes for competitions. The new malts being phased in are:

• Muntons Plain Super Light (slightly more expensive due to shipping costs from (Europe).
• Briess Pilsen Light (Lightest liguid extract available on the market (2-5L). The butterscotch color is perfect for beer styles requiring a light, delicate base.)
• Briess Golden Light (Basic extract for all light-colored, lightly flavored lagers & ales.)
• Briess Sparkling Amber (Basic extract for all darker, more flavorful beers with its roasty, rich flavor.)
• Briess Traditional Dark (Basic extract for very rich, flavored beers.)
• Briess Bavarian Wheat (65% Malted Wheat, Basic extract for light flavored beers. Use as a base for fruit flavored beers. Add 1-2 T to other brews to improve head retention.)
• United Canadian Munich Malt (80% Pale/ 20% Munich)

The Briess website is www.briess.com. Follow the homebrewing link once you are on the site for information on their grains and liquid malt extracts.

CARBOYS:

The 6½ gallon carboys are again available. As with the other carboys, they are now much more expense since they are only being made in Italy.

Brewing Classes:

All-Grain: Robert Kirkpatrick, the president of B.A.R.F. (Beer and Ale Research Foundation has graciously offered (I only pulled his hair once, I promise!) to teach an all-grain brewing class at his home Saturday, February 22nd at 11am. The cost of the class is $25 dollars per person and will include lunch. Robert and his wife, Karen, plan to donate all funds, after the cost of lunch and supplies, to a non-profit organization. (Okay, maybe now I feel a little badly for pulling his hair.) The class size will be limited so please sign up as soon as possible at the shop to reserve your spot.

We hope to offer more all-grain classes throughout the year with many accomplished home brewers so stay tuned to future newsletters for the announcement.

Extract: HomebrewUSA will be hosting an extract brewing class Saturday, February 7th at 10 am. The cost of the class is $10 and again, the class size is limited so make your reservations as soon as possible. The $10 is basically a place-holder. It will be refunded with any store purchase of $10 or more the day of the class.

RECYCLING PROJECTS:

Please help us recycle and keep your brewing cost down by reusing your bulk extract malt buckets. We will subtract $1.50 from any HomebrewUSA brew kit when you bring your bucket back for re-use.

Please return your liquid yeast vials to the shop for recyling. White Labs will bring the yeast and conduct a brewing class if we collect 5000 for recycling! You help us collect the vials and we will cover the cost of a venue to hold the class!

Bottles are also a major expense. We collect bottles from local restaurants and place them in the shop at no cost when they are available. We also have customers donating bottles when they make the jump to kegging. Please consider these recycled bottles at no cost the next time you need bottles.

Cool Finds:

Okay, I finally took a half-day off and it wasn’t even a major holiday! (Although it turned into one!) A couple that shops in the store invited me to visit their pub in Elizabeth City. It is called Coaster’s Downtown Draught House and it is located at 216 N Poindexter Street in Elizabeth City, North Carolina. I was exhausted and needed a change of scenery so I set my mind to the task of considering a 45-minute drive to Elizabeth City. I decided within 5 minutes and I am so glad I did. The owners, Debbie and Dale have created an oasis nestled in the historic downtown district of this small harbor town. Viewing their tap collection alone was worth the drive and their beer selection was incredible. They have 24 fine imported and micro-brewed beers on tap at all times, along with an extensive bottled beer offering, and might soon add five more taps to their ever-changing selections. They also have the greatest Wednesday night tradition (this is how my half day turned into a major holiday since the next day was Wednesday and New Year’s Eve). They choose a different brewery every Wednesday and offer a number of that brewery’s beers on tap. Every time you order a beer from the chosen brewery, you receive a glass from that brewery! They also told me that their bar manager, Andy (also a homebrewer and great chef) was going to be cooking a spread complete with one of my favorites, lamb, for New Year’s Eve dinner the following day. Brewery glasses, great beer and a buffet with lamb and I completely forgot the workaholic I had become the previous year! I had to extend my stay. Microtel offers inexpensive rooms that are new, clean, and again, inexpensive. I was already a fan of Coaster’s and when I learned this beautiful buffet was provided at no charge to show their customers appreciation, I knew I was now to be a life-long fan! If you need a short get away, make the drive. I promise you will not be disappointed!

Until next time,
Cheers!
The crew at HomebrewUSA