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

Congratulations to Steve Olson for taking third in the Strong Bitter category of this year's Masters Championship of Amateur Brewing (MCAB)!

I also uploaded the new Titletown Open contest information. I'm looking for a way to (easily) HTMLize it. But at least you can download it and look at it in WordPad.

Thanks to a handy feature of my HTML editor, the conversion process was easier than it would have been to do it all by hand. You can see all the information for Titletown Open VI by clicking here or on the Titletown Open link in the navigation bar on the left.

I posted the AHA 2000 Big Brew recipe, a Sierra Nevada Pale Ale clone, on Racker411. My only comment is that I definitely would use the Perle in the all-grain recipe as a bittering addition and NOT as first-wort hops. Cascade should be the flavor, not Perle.

Just when you thought this whole story couldn't get any more sordid, Richard Stueven sends along this message regarding a lawsuit filed against the Siebel Institute by Alltech, the company that was to take over the day-to-day running of the Institute (see the February 11, 2000 news for more information). Here's a snip from the announcement, I've posted the rest on Racker411:

The Alltech suit alleges that "Despite the fact that Alltech has been running the Institute since then, has reinstated courses and otherwise made the financial commitment to assure its continued operations, including hiring the faculty who had been terminated by the Institute and placing it on the Alltech payroll with Mr. Siebel's encouragement, the Siebel Institute has decided to attempt to back out of its Agreement with Alltech."

"Alltech learned Wednesday, March 15, 2000, that Siebel has apparently entered into a second agreement to sell the Institute to Lallemand and that Lallemand would be taking over day-to-day operations of the Institute. Siebel has changed the locks on the doors of the Institute and refused admittance of faculty for purposes other than transporting their personal belongings off the premises."

Sorry I was unable to be at the festivities this past weekend. It was a very busy week for me. I actually could have used an extra day or two. This week there's hardly anything on the schedule! Go figure.

You may have noticed that the guestbook button at the bottom of this page is different now. The guestbook is basically the same and run by the same people. It's just that now it should be easier for me to maintain and hopefully a bit quicker. The new htmlGEAR stuff will allow me to add things like polls, etc., if I would decide to go insane and add something like that. If you haven't done so already sign the guestbook, or all your homebrews will become more insipid than Miller Lite. Remember, the chain has never been broken.

OK, this is too weird not to report. Apparently PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals aka A Bunch of People with a Lot of Spare Time) has started a campaign to urge college students to drink beer instead of milk. Obviously their "Drink Soy Milk" campaign worked REALLY well. Generally, the PETA folks are about as popular in Wisconsin as the Chicago Bears. This is particularly interesting because it involves both great Wisconsin pastimes:

1. Drinking beer
2. Consuming milk, cheese, the cows themselves, etc.

I can't wait until the MADD folks get ahold of this one.

Just some miscellaneous random thoughts. Remember the Northeast Wisconsin Homebrew Club Gathering at Egan's (Gallagher's of DePere?) on Saturday, March 18, at 1:00 P.M.! Plan to be there!

There is a new version of ProMash out (1.3c), available from the usual upgrade location. A complete list of the changes is available here.

I finally got around to updating my home page with new brewing stuff. Bet you're thrilled. BTW, someone save me some Bigfoot Barleywine or I'll have to cry like Nancy Kerrigan.

Club brew tonight! Be there!

gak sent along this open letter from Nick Egan, to clarify exactly what is going on with the brewpub. Here's Nick:

Are we Egan's? Are we Gallagher's? We are both.

No, we were not sold to Gallagher's Restaurant - Nick and John Gallagher have combined their efforts to create a new business - Gallagher's of De Pere. Nick will still own the Brewery and operate it under Richard's leadership; Tim will continue to be the manager. (Editor's note: YES!)

After all the stuff (work) is done to create Gallagher's of De Pere, and you come in, the rooms will be and feel the same. The menu's? Some changes. The staff as wonderful as ever. The beer? Those same great beers we've always have had and always will as long as Richard and Paris stay part of the family.

For you, only better. If you come in for the week's Chef Special (wasn't duck breast with three mustard sauce a few weeks ago great?), it will be there. And if you love pasta alfredo with chicken or the cheese pizza at West Mason, you'll get it here or you can have orders delivered to you.

We are only going to get and be better.

I promise. If it doesn't happen, call me and tell me.

(signed)
Nick Egan

Didja ever wonder what a "Racker" looks like? Well, put on your protective eyewear and check out some pictures from our Christmas meeting! Please note: the Rackers cannot be held responsible for dizziness, nausea, or spontaneous decapitation which may result from viewing these pictures.

OK, I've been bad about updating. Mea culpa. Weird things going on up here in the Falls lately.

At any rate, I posted an Extra Special Bitter recipe and an Oatmeal Stout recipe (both all-grain) sent in by Steve Olson. You can find the recipes on our Rackers' Recipes page. gak sent along the latest Egan Brewing News, including information on the sale of the restaurant portion of Egan's. He also wanted me to pass along this tasty tidbit:

Sierra Nevada's 2000 Bigfoot Barleywine has arrived! I picked up a case at 1st Wines in Allouez this Sunday, and Doug told me he had five more cases in stock. Yesterday, Campus Liquor received one case, and Shopko Liquor got one today. Although I've heard rumors that Bigfoot will be brewed several times a year from now on, I'd advise everyone to lay in a supply now, just in case.

Save some for me! Coming soon: some pictures from the Christmas meeting!

I'm brewing! OK, normally I wouldn't post news whenever I brew, but since I haven't since November 3, I figure this is a pretty momentous occasion. The recipe will hopefully appear later tonight on my infrequently updated homepage. It is an all-grain version of the Dead Redneck Pale Ale that Mike and I brewed in July. Tomorrow I hope to step up starters of Wyeast #1338 and #2124 that I've got going.

As promised, here's the official Siebel announcement from the latest HBD:

We have some exciting news to share with you and that is that we have formed an alliance with Dr. Pearse Lyons and the Alltech Company in Nicholasville, Kentucky. We are particularly excited by this because as you may know, that company has for the last 20 years been heavily involved in the area of fermentation as it applies to distilled beverages and fuel alcohol. The company, like ours, is firmly based in brewing.

As of today, February 9, 2000, Alltech has agreed to take over the day to day running of the Siebel Institute and you will be pleased to know that we propose to continue everything as it was before. The courses that have been arranged will proceed in the normal way and we expect to improve on these. The courses will resume their normal schedule starting March 20, 2000.

Over the next few weeks you will receive from us different press releases and announcement regarding changes, all of which will be for the better.

We are very excited now as we move into this new millennium that we do so with even more vigor. We look forward to the Siebel Institute growing for the next 128 years. Please don't hesitate to contact myself or Dr. Lyons if you have any queries.

Rackers Meeting This Saturday! Be There! 1 P.M. at Egan's in DePere. Richard wanted me to tell all of you that he will be brewing a batch of Chuck Famous Honey Ale on Saturday. Rackers members are invited and encouraged to observe, but he may just put you to work!

Richard "Sending news to Rackers.Org is my life" Stueven also sent this good news along from the IBS Forum this morning:

In answer to Jim Olen's request for infomation on correspondence courses in lieu of the Siebel Institute's Craft Brewers Certification Program, I say look no further. The Institute is reopening for regular classes starting March 20. An announcement will be forthcoming in a day or so but go ahead and sign up for classes at the Siebel Institute now! Remember, we can only run classes when people attend so don't put it off any longer!

I'm not sure how they got everything going again, but I'm glad they did! I'll pass along the official announcement when it comes.

Richard "gak" Stueven sez, "Come one, come all to the first (of what I hope will become a continuing series) Northeast Wisconsin Homebrew Club Gathering! Egan Brewing Company, home of the Green Bay Rackers, invites members of all of the area's clubs, along with anybody else who might be interested, to this major get-together at 1:00pm on Saturday, March 18."

Note that the date for this meeting is March 18, not the 4th as Mike "Minister of Disinformation" Conard printed in the newsletter :)

All kinds of goodies on this penultimate day of the month. Note that the next meeting, besides being pushed back to February 12, will now be held at Egan Brewing in DePere. I've HTMLized and posted the January 2000 newsletter. Mike also passed along this announcement of an exclusive Rackers deal on corny kegs. If you don't have a draft system already, this is the best time to get one.

Mike C. asked me to post this press release for the N.E.W. Beer Festival at Monarch Gardens in Appleton on Saturday, April 1. Check the press release for ticket information. Sorry it took me so long to get this posted. It's been one of those months . . .

Please note! Due to scheduling conflicts, the Rackers February meeting has been moved back a week to Saturday, February 12. Mark your calendars!

Other random newsy things:

• Egan's own Richard "gak" Stueven has sent along a brand-spanking new version of the Egan Brewing News. Make sure to check it out.
• The Madison Homebrewers and Tasters Guild announces their annual Big and Huge competition on Sunday, February 27. Check their site for details.
• Walt "Sir Rott" Appell humbly requests our comments on his new brewing forums (don't forget our own forum, Racker411!).
• Steve Oswald alerted us on the aforementioned Racker411 that LifeTools got a bunch of corny kegs that they are selling for $12 each. Get 'em whilst they're hot!

I faded the words "Green Bay Rackers" on the background graphic. I think it makes the text easier to read. Let me know what you think.

I saw in this issue of the Homebrew Digest that the Siebel Institute of Technology (one of the premier brewing schools in the nation) will no longer be offering courses. Rising costs and lack of industry interest are blamed. They are looking into reorganization possbilities, maybe as a not-for-profit company. Time will tell.

The Urban Knaves of Grain announce their Drunk Monk Challenge homebrew competition to be held on March 4, 2000 at Two Brothers Brewing in Warrenville, Illinois. This is a BJCP/AHA sanctioned competition and a qualifying event for Midwest Homebrewer of the Year (for those of you who aspire to that sort of thing). For more information, check out their website.

More interesting beer-related news! I got this from the latest HappyHours.com BrewsGram:

Research from two Florida State University (FSU) economics professors, challenges the belief by some that higher beer taxes reduce drunken-driving traffic fatalities.

In a recent Southern Economic Journal article, "Beer Taxation and Alcohol-Related Traffic Fatalities," FSU's David W. Rasmussen and Bruce L. Benson, say that state beer taxes have little or no effect on drunken driving fatalities. Moreover, the researchers say that more effective laws to reduce DUI fatalities are already on the books.

According to Professor Rasmussen, "For nearly two decades Florida legislatures have raised beer taxes believing that fewer alcohol-related traffic fatalities would occur." But, say Rasmussen and Benson, they found that after studying other factors that determine beer consumption, such as religious sentiment and beer market regulations, taxes simply didn't matter. "States can raise a lot of revenue by raising beer taxes, but they cannot expect a reduction in DUI fatalities from such taxes," said Professor Benson.

I've always found it ironic that states pay big bucks to try to convince people not to smoke or drink, but at the same time tax cigarettes and alcohol-containing beverages so highly that they won't be able to pay their bills unless people smoke like chimneys and drink like fish. It is even MORE ironic in states like Utah where you can only buy alcohol-containing beverages from the government!

I posted Jay Brown's Dark Lager recipe on our group-brew recipes page. Thanks to Jay for being our brewmaster!

I have planned the styles for the meetings for this coming year. The list is posted on our Meeting Times page. If you have any suggestions for changes email me. All complaints, flames, and spam may be sent to Bert or Mike.

The snow has stopped. There is a club brew tonight. Coincidence? I think not. Be there.

I successfully wrote 1/2/00 on a check today. Thought you'd like to know.

In beer-related news, I saw an article in Friday's Green Bay Press-Gazette on the first page of the Local/State section entitled: "Alcohol's influence declines." Alcohol-related car crashes have dropped 69% since 1981 and have dropped every year in the 90s. This is more good news which really deflates the gloom-and-doom arguments of many neo-prohibitionists. For some reason Kewaunee County crashes have gone up in the past five years. Let's blame Bert.

Happy New Year! I told you there wouldn't be any problhlj l45 pu0g9uf@$%&YS@A END OF LINE

Seriously though, everything is going fine here at Racker Command Central. I rang in the new year, not with a bottle of champagne, but with a bottle of 1995 Boon Mariage Parfait Kriek. Mmmmm. A happy and blessed New Year to one and all from Rackers.Org!