Hoptacular 2017 is up and selling tix. I assume we're going to compete again? They don't have the grain listed yet. I'll go ahead and sign us up!
Wed, Aug 23, 2017 - 10:10am
#1
Hoptacular 2017
Do it. This time...we win!
Even if we don't win 1st, we have always at least shown if not placed as long as we've been a club; would be nice to get 1st, of course, but would absolutely stink to lose our grip on 2nd or 3rd.
Who shall be the next to carry the mantle of responsibility (and Chuck's ire for failing to place)
"I'll be honest, winning isn't everything, it's the only thing!"
- Brandon Kessler
how does this work? As a club we only get one beer to enter?
The rules are that one event sponsor gives you a sack of a particular base grain (typically somewhere in the neighborhood of 15 pounds). You are allowed to only use this as grain for your recipe. The rules have a more detail of what you are and are not allowed to add, but specialty grains and malt extract are both against the rules.
Using this grain you have to brew a beer to submit. In the past, clubs have done things like smoked grain or using some of the base to make crystal malt etc...
We are officially entered!
SMASH NEIPA
Brew for crushable, most broadly apealing beer. Last year the judges weren't given any background on what the brewers did to modify the grains to really push the limits. I would doubt the instructions to judges would be different this year.
--james
So, Chuck received the grain yesterday! We have 15 lbs of Red X to work with for this year's competition!
Maaaarrrrzzzzzeeeennnnnnnnnn
Red X immediately made me think of the Stone Pataskula which is a fantastic IPA with Mosaic and Amarillo. And that made me think, maybe Rich wasnt so far off when he said SMASH NEIPA....but overhopping it to make it taste good is probably the low hanging fruit of the competition.
SMATH NEIPA - Single Malt/Two Hops
Full disclosure.... I'm going to be brewing the entry for CHBG again this year. I'm happy to
stay in this group discussion, or you can boot me out. No hard feelings.
--james
Considering the malt does appear to be some sort of Munich malt blend, I like the idea of a German lager too as Kyle suggested. We could try for a Bock maybe? Or a Munich Dunkel? Or a Dunkels Bock?!
No fucking IPAs please. That shit is getting old.
Or Recipe Generator:
Red X + Lager yeast + y =
Red X + 1056/1968 + y =
Red X + Kolsch II + y =
Red X + Belgian + y =
Red X + Kettle Sour + y =
Red X + Saison + y =
Y= Hops & misc kettle additions
--james
Not according to the beer consuming public...
Everyone hates the popular kid.
Altbier? Just sayin'
- Ben
If you guys decide to do a lager you better jump on that sooner than later!
... IPL?
This may be broadly outside historical styles, but what about Red X + boatload of maltodextrin + flour in the mash into a kettle sour with raspberry and passion fruit puree
If someone puts flour in this beer I'm quitting CHAOS
Before you dismiss it, James's passionfruit vanilla Berliner was easily the biggest hit of Great Lakes Fest for our, and probably all the clubs there. True story
I would think the flour would qualify as a grain, though.
Yeah, not poo-pooing flavor additions, just flour does nothing flavor-wise for a beer.
What about making a fruited Kvass style beer?
Then we would have a lot of wheaty bread crust flavor.
Hey guys, may I suggest we take this discussion over to a private Slack channel or website PM? James F isn't an issue, but every club we're competing against has access to this forum and can see our ideas; if they were so inclined.
I agree with Rich's comment concerning James' beer. Easily one of the most requested at the fest.
"Give a man a beer, and he will waste an hour. Teach a man to brew, and he will waste a lifetime!" Bill Owen
Don't feed the beast!
Who is going to actually brew/ferment this?
I believe Chuck, Rich, and Boolish on Friday. We started a Slack convo, so all the info is on there.
Include newer members
It's being brewed tonight at 6:00 pm. All are welcome to come by for the brew!
How'd it turn out?
The emperor is not as forgiving as i am
Well it definitely got sour, along with some sort of wild yeast contamination.
Boiled it, then pitched US-05. The raspberry puree is ordered and schedule do to be delivered next week, so I'll drop that in when it gets here to finish the ferment, then keg.
DId you brew a second one to compare it with?
I received this from Hoptacular:
Greetings!
For any homebrew club members who would like to attend Beer Hoptacular (Saturday, November 4th) at a discounted rate, a special promotion is available to them. By using the promo code "homebrew", the entry price is reduced to $29.00 from $49.00.
This promotional code is also good for friends and family members...for either Saturday session.
https://tix.extremetix.com/webtix/4393
Cheers!
Marty
We will be pouring at the event, so if you can, please come out to try the beer. I would say the event is worth $29.00. Also, of course, to cheer Chuck and Boolish when they receive the first place trophy!
We have a complimentary ticket for the afternoon session (12:00-3:00) at Hoptacular. First person to respond gets it. (Please note that there will be some manning of the CHAOS booth involved.)
hollahollaholla
Damn that was fast Matt
Haha! Nice work, Matt! They're emailing me the ticket info tomorrow, so I'll forward to you as soon as I receive it.
In case you haven't heard, the club took 2nd place at Hoptacular this past Saturday! Here's the email from Hoptacular with the details:
The diversity of beer styles submitted was probably the best we've ever had. Included among the entries were 2 Altbiers, 2 American Ambers, 2 Herb/Spice beers, 1 fruited Red IPA, 1 Raspberry Berliner Weisse (tough to do without wheat malt), 1 Belgian single with cherries, 1 DIPA, 1 American Strong Ale, 1 Scottish Export and 1 Flanders Red.
* A big thank you to our judges, only 5 of whom were able to make it to the judging yesterday:
- Joe Formanek, BJCP
- Steve McKenna, BJCP
- Steve Kamp, BJCP and Brewer at Evil Horse
- Jerald O'Kennard, President, Beverage Testing Institute
- Nik White, Chicago Beer Geeks
* Another big thank you to Tim Burke at Country Malt Group for again generously donating the malt for this competition -every year since 2010!
* Another big thank you to Brandon and Chris at Hailstorm Brewing for accepting and babysitting all the entries until pick-up time.
And now, ladies and gentlemen, your 2017 BHHCC winners:
3rd Place, American Amber, Spent Grain Society
2nd Place, Raspberry Berliner Weisse, CHAOS
1st Place, American Strong Ale, Brewers Of South Suburbia (B.O.S.S.)
See you all next year!
Cheers!
Marty
That's what I'm talkin' about! Congrats to all involved in making this happen! I like how we kinda got called out by saying "Raspberry Berliner Weisse (tough to do without wheat malt)." LOL. Working the system, baby!
Haha! One of the judges stopped by our table and discussed with James about how tough it is to brew a Berliner weisse without wheat malt.
Congrats James & gang, It was tasty!
--james