Feature Article in the Corner News
Thanks to Carla Merrill for taking the time Sunday to join several of Auburn Brew Club’s members, who had gathered to brew a couple of batches of beer and, of course, taste and discuss many previously finished beers. Carla, the editor of Auburn/Opelika’s Corner News, decided to write this week’s feature article on the subject of homebrewing and the Auburn Brew Club. The front page and page 8 of the September 12, 2007 edition have been uploaded as .pdf files, but the text is difficult to read, so is reproduced below:
Brewmaster
by Carla Merrill, The Corner News
Photo by Carla Merrill
Auburn Brew Club member Bob Agee tests their newest batch. The temperature is important to the end result.
Healthcare lawyer John Little and Auburn University Professor of Molecular Biology and Cancer Genetics Curt Bird are discussing what the believe to be an important issue: beer. The guys go back and fourth about the quality, taste, aroma and even color of what they consider to be excellent beer.
“I want you to try this brown porter,” Little requests of of Bird.
Little waits while Bird tastes the recently brewed beer and gives his assessment.
“It’s very astery,” Bird says. “And it’s not at the back of the tongue, it’s at the front of the tongue. There’s some acidness to it too.”
Little and Bird are doing one of the things they love best: brewing beer.Bird and Little are doing one of the things they love best: brewing beer. According to these guys, homebrewing is a trend that will only rise in popularity. They say people want better beer, and they are happy to share their knowledge and even a beer or two.
Little is such a brewing fanatic that he’s converted his basement into a small brewery. Recently, he even started a brew club for the area. When Little lived in Huntsville, Ala., he was a part of a brew club that was popular.
“There were about 45 to 50 regular brewers,” Little says. “We’d meet at least once a week and have a larger meeting once a month.”
By the time Little moved to Auburn he was brewing beer regularly and missed having others to brew with.
“There have always been homebrewers in the Auburn/Opelika area,” Little says. “Some have brewed by themselves or in pairs or small groups for many years. But until a few months ago, there hadn’t been a Web site, e-mail, lists serve, or regularly scheduled meeting to bring all the homebrewers in the Auburn-Opelika area together. Regular meetings and modes of communication can really serve to re-inspire long time brewers and give beginners easy access to knowledge and hands-on experience.”
Although this is a major hobby for Little, he’s only been brewing beer for about two and a half years. A few years ago, he and a friend got interested in trying new beer and it grew from there. He says he would pick random beers and would put them up on a Web site that discussed beer.
“Reading other people’s comments about that beer taught me what I was tasting,” Little says.
His friend suggested they try homebrewing and Little was hooked. Little almost immediately began all-grain beer brewing as compared to brewing beer from malt extract kits. Brewing beer with whole grains takes two to three hours longer than extract brewing, but Little believes it’s worth it.
“You have more control over the process and the end product,” Little says, and Bird agrees.
Bird has been brewing beer for close to 30 years. He says he brews about a dozen of one certain type of beer and changes the recipe each time.
Bird grew up in Canada where the drinking age was 18 and learned quickly that he enjoyed quality beer. American beer, he says, that’s popular with most young drinkers was not what he was looking for. He says most big beer brewers, especially the ones that print the “born-on” date, is “rubbish.”
“That’s what happens when you don’t pack your beer right and you don’t make it well,” he says.
He says that most factory beer is made mostly with rice, not barley, that’s what makes them so light.
He says Miller is even breeding a variety of hops that are more resistant to ultra-violent skunking (when beer has been exposed to strong light), so that they can market in clear bottles.
“What that tells you is what’s driving the factory beer is marketing,” he says.
Little and Bird both agreed that one of the best quality beers available for purchase in Alabama is Sierra Navada.
They also agree one nice aspect about brewing your own beer is the price. You do have to purchase kits or grains and can get most of the supplies for around $150. It usually costs around $20 to $40 to make a five-gallon batch.
One worry for some may be the legality of brewing beer. The United States remain free to restrict, or even prohibit, the manufacture of beer, mead, hard cider, wine and other alcoholic beverages at home. Alabama is one of these states.
The law states: “In all counties of the state it shall be unlawful for any person, firm or corporation to have in his or its possession any still or apparatus to be used for the manufacture of any alcoholic beverage of any kind or any alcoholic beverage of any kind illegally manufactured or transported within the state or imported into the state from any other place without authority of the alcoholic control board of the state. Any person, firm or corporation violating this provision or who transports any illegally manufactured alcoholic beverages or who manufactures illegally any alcoholic beverages shall, upon conviction, be punished as provided by law.”
In the U.S., homebrewers are prohibited to sell beer, but most states permit homebrewing, allowing 100 gallons of beer per person over the age of 21 per household, up to a maximum of 200 gallons per year.
This fact doesn’t seem to bother Little and Bird, or the hundreds of other brew clubs in Alabama. The Auburn Brew Club Little formed only three months ago has even recently won second place in national competition. Little believes the popularity of brewing isn’t going anywhere.
“Americans want better stuff,” Little says. “Whether it’s coffee, cheese, food or beer, Americans want better stuff. This craft beer movement is not going away.”
How to brew beer
1. Extract sugar from the grain. Large sugar molecules, or starch, has to be broken down into simple sugar.
2. Boil the wort, which kills bacteria. Add hops at different stages of the boil to produce either bittering, flavor or aroma. Different hops produce different flavors and aromas.
3. Chill the wort. Lower it from around 210 degrees to the 70s as soon as possible. Use heat exchangers to achieve this within minutes.
4. Fermentation - This is where you add the yeast to the wort. Yeast will convert sugars to alcohol and C02.
5. Bottle or keg beer and make sure it is properly carbonated.
6. Certain beers have to sit and ferment for different amounts of time, but when they’re ready, drink up!
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