If you want it done right, you have to brew it yourself!

AHA Administrator Brian Rezac responded to my note on the Homebrew Digest about the use of flaked barley and oats in the extract recipe for the Big Brew. A new note will been added to that recipe recommending the use of enzymatic malts. He is also looking for suggestions on how to design an easy-to-use extract version of the stout recipe. Check out the recipe at the Big Brew '99 site then email him with your (constructive) suggestions!

If you plan on brewing for the Big Brew '99, I would strongly suggest that you NOT use the extract-based recipe that the AHA gives on the Big Brew site. It tells you to steep flaked barley and flaked oats (which will add nothing but starch haze) as well as Carapils (which is OK to steep if you're using DeWolf-Cosyns Carapils, but not if it's Briess). These grains need to be mashed with a few pounds of pale ale malt, two-row, etc. I'm rather disappointed that the AHA would suggest a recipe with obviously bad brewing techniques.

If you still want to try that recipe, I suggest you drop the Carapils, flaked barley, and flaked oats and replace them with about a pound and a half of plain dry malt extract. It won't be the same thing, but it also won't have starch haze, not to mention all the other problems that can come from starchy beer.

This just in. Saturday, May 1, is National Homebrew Day. To celebrate, the AHA is once again organizing a Big Brew. Basically, they just want everyone to brew on the first and send the info to the AHA. Alternately, you can use the official Big Brew '99 recipe (a milk stout) and start brewing at exactly the same time (Noon, Mountain Time) as everyone else. For more information, check out the Big Brew 99 Homepage.

The entry forms are now online! Snag them on our Titletown Open V page.

The latest edition of our newsletter, The Strange Brew Review, is now online!

I found out today that Kinko's can convert documents into Adobe Acrobat PDF format. That way, we can get the Titletown Open V entry forms online! Stay tuned for further updates . . .

Hey kids! It appears that Cascade rhizomes are available again this year. Check out Freshops selection or find out what varieties LifeTools, Homebrew Market, Galaxy, and Lakeshore will be getting in.

The official rules for our competition, Titletown Open V, are online! Also online is the style colors chart, which lists all the beer styles and the proper category in which they should be entered (PALE, AMBER, DARK, WEIRD). Check out our official Titletown Open page for more information. Get brewing! The contest is May 15!

HUGE turnout for our club brew session last night! It looks like our next meeting will be held at Legends in Howard.

I finally got a chance to meet Richard Stueven, the "new" brewmaster at Egan's. I enjoyed talking with him and his significant other (yes, I hate that term too), Paris Cunningham. They even said they like Northern Wisconsin better than Hawaii! Wow! Here's hoping they stay for a good long while. Make sure you stop by Egan's and sample their latest wares when you are in DePere.

It was brought to my attention that the main "problem" at the establishment I mentioned in the February 6 news has been, ahem, dealt with. This place should be substantially more Racker-friendly (and, in general, patron-friendly) than it was. I said it before and I'll say it again: support the Rackers! We're your best salespeople!

Join us at the Musicians' Union Hall for the club brew tomorrow night!

Yes, I am still trying to get the new Titletown Open V rules online. We have a handy-dandy chart so you can determine exactly which of the categories to enter your beer in. While the chart is both handy and dandy, it is a rather enormous pain to convert to HTML. Hopefully I can set aside a bit of time tomorrow to get it done.

I got my Brewing Techniques yesterday! Woohoo!

Did you ever wonder how big a mash your mash tun can hold? Now you can find out! I added a new calculator to our mash calculators page called "Can I Mash It?" Give the calculator your grain weight and mash thickness and it will give you the amount of space that mash will take up. It works for both American and Metric units. I made it because I wanted to know if my seven gallon Gott can handle the grain bill for the Doppelbock I'm going to brew on Sunday. Mmmm, Doppelbock . . .

I'm also in the process of HTMLizing the rules for Titletown Open V (insert trumpet fanfare). If everything goes well, I'll get that done tonight.

Sorry it's been so long since I updated--I got a case of the Martian Death Flu for my birthday, so I was out of commission for a while. I called Brewing Techinques back today and they assured me that the Jan/Feb issue is in the mail and should be reaching us soon. Naturally that means that the Mar/Apr issue will be following it rather quickly.

I stopped in at LifeTools yesterday and Brian said that they were getting in some DeWolf-Cosyns Pilsner malt. That's good news for us fans of continental lagers (and Belgian Ales, and Kölsch . . .). I suggested they add a quality German munich malt to their selection too.

While I'm giving shameless plugs to our sponsors, I must add that Lakeshore Hobby Homebrew (aka Mike Conard) has Weyermann Dark Munich malt. It's a real German munich, around 9-11.5 Lovibond. I used it in an Alt recently and the results are VERY promising. I plan on making a Dunkel and/or and Doppelbock with it too.

Happy birthday to me . . .

I called Brewing Techniques to extend my subscription for two years (it runs out with the Jan/Feb issue). I was told that there were some "technical difficulties" with the Jan/Feb issue, but they should be mailed out this week. The Mar/Apr issue, though, is on schedule.

Please note that March's Club Brew will start an hour earlier than usual because Dale will be doing either a partial or full mash. See ya there!

I added the January club brew recipe to our Group Recipes page. Thanks to Jeff Rogers and Bob "Barley" Bultman for brewing it and giving me the recipe! If anyone has a recipe they would like to share send it to me!

Dale Dean has volunteered to be the brewmaster for March's Club Brew. Thanks Dale! In other news, plans are afoot for the Rackers to do a brewing experiment a la the Palexperiment. We will all brew the same recipe from the same ingredients and see how things turn out. Stay tuned to this very website for further information!

I also found out at the meeting that two year subscriptions to Brewing Techniques are discounted for club members even further than one year subscriptions. The going rates are $26 for one year or $48 for two years. Can't beat that with a big stick. You mean you haven't joined yet? What are you waiting for?

It's come to my attention that a certain local establishment is becoming less than supportive of the Rackers (you know who you are). Don't forget that the best publicity you can get is from people who know what they're talking about, not to mention free publicity on this website and in our newsletter! Support the Rackers! It makes good business sense. 'Nuff said.

If you want to find out more about why the Rackers are so cool, email me, your faithful webmaster. As usual, complaints should be sent to president@whitehouse.gov. I'm sure President Gore will be quick to respond . . .

Whew! Long time, no update! I just got back from Minnesota, where I acquired a non-adjustable JSP MaltMill. Gotta brew so I can use my new toy! Remember, everybody, the next meeting is February 6 at ye olde Musicians Union Hall. We also need a brewer for March's Club Brew. Any volunteers? Email Me!

I added the water analysis for Green Bay, thanks to Dale Dean. I would like to get more water analyses from local communities, especially DePere and Kewaunee.