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WORLD’S BIGGEST BREW- have to be freed from its tie or sold. As
a result, Scottish will have a more geoERS BID FOR CZECH PRIZES graphically diverse estate of mostly
A heated bidding war looms for the two
leading brewers - including theprestigious Pilsner Urquell - in the Czech
Republic that Japanese bank Nomura
has put up for sale. Although the suitors haven’t been officially announced,
among the names mentioned are Bass,
Scottish & Newcastle, South African
Breweries, Anheuser-Busch and Heineken. Pilsener Urquell is the last beer
with Pilsener on the label to still be
made in the Czech town of that name.
It has been brewed there since 1842 and
is the biggest selling beer in the country
and a top-selling import in many countries. Radegast, the second brewer for
sale, is the No. 2 two brewer in the republic. The bidding has just begun and
Nomura officials expect the results to
be announced in November or December.
SCOTTISH & NEWSCASTLE EXPANDS PUB CHAIN
Scottish & Newcastle, the United Kingdom’s biggest brewer, plans to buy Greenalls Group pubs and restaurants, thus
becoming a truly nationwide pub chain.
Scottish currently runs a 2,650-pub estate while Greenhalls has 821 pubs.
Because it is legally prohibited from
having a beer supply agreement with
more than 2,739, 664 of its pubs will
Brew Free or Die
larger pubs. Just over half the pubs
Scottish will acquire are in Greenalls’
heartland of north west England, and
the rest in the Midlands and across the
south of England. Scottish is strong in
Scotland, northeast England and southern England.
http://www.newcastlebrown.com
INTERBREW WINS TRADEMARK
BATTLE WITH CORONA
Belgium’s Interbrew, which brews
Sibirskaya Corona beer in Russia, won
a trademark dispute with Mexico’s
Grupo Modelo over the use of the word
Corona in Russia. Russia’s patent office
rejected Modelo’s complaint that Sibirskaya Corona, which means Siberian
Crown, violates the trademark of Mexico’s Corona brand. Made in the Siberian town of Omsk,Sibirskaya Corona
is packaged in a dark brown bottle with
a light green label decorated with a
golden crown and fir-tree branches.
The Siberian pilsner is darker than its
Mexican competitor. When Modelo
entered the Spanish market a decade
ago, a sherry bottler already held the
rights to the brand Corona, forcing
Modelo to change its brand name to
Coronita, or Little Crown.
November 1999
US SALES BOOST HEINEKEN’S
FIRST HALF NUMBERS
Heineken, the world’s second largest
brewer, announced first half profits
are up by 11%. Much of the credit
goes to increased sales in the United
States, which are further helped by
rising prices. "(Heineken is) benefiting from trading up in most of the
world and the real jewel in that improvement is the US market," said
John Wakely, an analyst at Lehman
Brothers. Heineken raised prices 1%
in three US regions, keeping pace
with rival Anheuser-Busch. Further
increases totaling 3% are expected by
the year’s end.
http://www.heineken.com
EXPORTS BEHIND BELGIAN
BREWER’S GAINS
Duvel Moortgat, a highly respected
Belgian Brewer, announced first-half
(Continued on page 7)
:KDW·V,QVLGH
Boston Beer Co. Takeover? ...
Brewing Hempen Ale .............
Ciderfest Pictures...................
Map to the November Meeting
Brews From The Orval Office
Upcoming Competitions .........
Greg Kushmerek Ties the Knot
More News and Tidbits...........
Page 1
2
2
3
5
6
6
7
7
Boston Beer Company Takeover?
submitted by Michael Fairbrother
%
oston, MA - Jim Koch, cofounder of the Boston Beer
Company, Inc (BBC), sidestepped Miller Brewing takeover reports, by intimating
none of the macro
brewers know how to
handle or market "a
high-end beer," in a
Reuters interview yesterday.
does that mean? Only Jimmy’s stockholders and current employees
hairdresser knows for sure.
sh oul d a h ost i l e takeover try
Sam Adams moles tell HappyHours. materialize. I remind you that neither
com, that BBC is trying to better its Boston Beer Company, nor Philip
bargaining position and protect itself Morris’ Miller Brewing Company, will
from a possible hostile takeover bid at confirm or deny these reports.
the same time. Word is there are other
Jim is currently traveling the
concerns and possible problem areas country, spreading the word about his
associated with a takeover as well.
3,000 hand numbered, cobalt blue,
Sources say worries have cropped 750ml bottles of Samuel Adams’ 40
up on how the sale of Boston Beer to proof "Millennium." Like his Samuel
Miller could affect the "tradition, Adams Tripel Bock, Millennium is a
reputation and cache" of Samuel still beer, more like a heavy cognac
Adams brands. Questions have been than a Budweiser. A little more
raised on how any possible deal would expensive than Bud as well - a six-pack
affect the brands positioning, pricing of Millennium will set you back US
$1,200.
and marketing.
Reuters quoted Koch as
saying, “Miller bought
Shipyard and AB
bought Redhook and
neither has really seen
a boost. I think the way
we
grow is by
Koch, is reportedly concerned about
continuing to appeal to advertising and management teams,
those who want a and is "especially worried," sources say,
quality beer." What about the positioning of BBC’s
reprinted from www.realbeer.com
,
t has been two years since Frederick Brewing Co. introduced the
first commercially available hemp
beers in North America, Hempen Ale
and Hempen Gold. Many, many volumes could be written of the quest to
develop, get ATF label approval for,
and launch
these two products, and
as the brewer who developed them, I
have answered the "why hemp" question a thousand times. In a brewing industry today where fruits, chocolate,
coffee, nuts, hot peppers, and even garlic are finding their way into the brew
kettles and bottles of some of the finest breweries in the country, I say: Why
not hemp?
Frederick Brewing Co. was not necBrew Free or Die
essarily pioneering brewing with hemp,
just doing it legally. Over the years
hemp has made its way into a few
brews. An early attempt was made in
the 1960s at an underground brewery
on the island of Oahu, Hawaii. The
brewers produced an oil from the leaves
and blossoms of marijuana plants and
added it to the beer, rumored to have
sold illegally for as much as $45 per
case. Another brewer began brewing
Hi-Brew in 1979 using the leaves and
trimmings of the marijuana plant to
"dry hemp" — like dry hop — the beer
prior to bottling. Obviously, neither of
these strategies would hold up in the
real world of the ATF, FDA, DEA, and
the rest of the acronym agencies.
November 1999
Hemp is a fabulous natural resource,
and when I began doing some research
on how I could incorporate it into the
brewhouse, using the seeds as a portion
of the grain bill in the mash became an
obvious choice. Hemp seeds are a grain
of sorts, like oats, rye, and barley, all of
which have found their way into other
recipes here at Frederick Brewing Co.
However, being a very close relative to
marijuana, industrial hemp does still
contain minimal quantities of THC
(tetrahydrocannabinol), the active ingredient in marijuana. This makes it a
controlled substance and illegal to cultivate in the United States.
(Continued on page 8)
Page 2
What a Beautiful day
for a Cider Picnic!
Photos Courtesy of Scott Baker
Brew Free or Die
November 1999
Page 3
Brew Free or Die
November 1999
Page 4
Directions to the November Meeting
The November meeting will be held at the home of Scott and Mary Blais (5 Cross St., Merrimack, NH, (603) 4240292) at 3:00 pm on November 13. As always, please bring a tasting glass, some homebrew, and something to snack on.
From the South:
Take the Everett Turnpike north to Exit 11, Merrimack (Continental Boulevard). Pay $0.50 toll and turn left at end of
ramp on Continental Boulevard. Take first right on Amherst Road. Turn right on Cross Street (about 1 mile up Amherst
Road). It’s the third house on the right (white split with gray shutters).
From the North:
Take the Everett Turnpike South to Exit 11, Merrimack. Turn right at end of ramp on Amherst Road. Take the first
right on Amherst Road. Turn right on Cross Street (about 1 mile up Amherst Road). It’s the third house onthe right
(white split with gray shutters).
Brew Free or Die
November 1999
Page 5
Brews from the Orval Office
By Scott Baker
1
ovember is here, and that
means it’s time for nominations for elected club officers.
Nominations for President, Vice President, and Treasurer will open at the
club meeting on November 13 (see
page 5 for details). Nominations will
remain until just before we vote at the
holiday party on December 11. If
there’s someone you want to nominate
and you can’t make it to either meeting, feel free to contact me and I’ll
take care of it.
Speaking of the holiday party,
we’ve had a slight change of venue.
In late October, owner Peter Telge
slapped some rather restrictive condi-
tions on the planned Stark Mill Brewery site (we wouldn’t be allowed to
bring in food, and quantities of homebrew would be limited to “a few samples.”) Rather than forgo our annual
tradition by agreeing to these conditions, I opted to find an alternate
meeting site.
As luck would have it, just a few
days later Steve Friedman, owner of
Red, White, and Brew in Manchester,
graciously offered to host a meeting at
his BOP and homebrew store. We’ll
be working out the details over the
next week, and I should have more
information for you at next week’s
meeting.
Steve is also trying to put together
a “Battle of the Brews” (see below for
details). If you’re interested in representing Brew Free or Die in this
event, please contact me either via
email at <sbaker@intrinsix.com> or
by phone at 483-8720.
Finally, thanks to the multitude of
people who worked to make the cider
picnic a success. The weather was
perfect, the food was plentiful, and the
keg of Octoberfest was dead before
sunset.
Upcoming Competitions
First Ever "Battle of the Brews"
by Steve Friedman
5
ed, White & Brew is looking to
sponsor/host an event in January. This event will feature a
brew-off between six NH homebrew
clubs using our equipment and site for
the brewing with your recipe formulated to 15 gal's. It is our intent to have
Paul Davis of Lucknow's Castle Springs
Brewing Co., JB Smith of Stark Mill &
Scott Watson of Nutfield serve as
judges. All clubs will brew the same
style of beer (likely IPA for our first
brew-off).
We'll hold subsequent
events interpreting different styles in
the future. I hope to line up sponsors
for prizes and get AHA sanctioning.
this as we are!
competition!
It should be a fun
Steve Friedman
Red, White & Brew
Manchester,NH
We are targeting the third Sat. of
January for the brewing.
Judging
would occur 3-4 weeks later (after we
bottle). I hope you are as excited about
Quest for the Ultimate Winter Warmer
7
he Niagara Association of
Homebrewers in Buffalo, New
York is hosting an AHA club
only competition in December. The
Quest for the Ultimate Winter Warmer
will be held on December 11th,
1999. The beer style is Category 10,
Brew Free or Die
by Keith Curtachio
Old Ale, Strong Ale and Scotch
Join the quest and send us the best
Ale. Complete information and entry from your club!
forms are available on the Niagara
Association of Homebrewers web site at
Keith Curtachio
http//www.niagarabrewers.org.
Competition Coordinator
keith@niagarabrewers.org
November 1999
Page 6
&RQJUDWXODWLRQV*UHJDQG-HQQLIHU
Former BFD president Greg Kushmerek and Jennifer McCarthy
were married on October 3, 1999. The wedding photo below is
courtesy of Jim Snow, who attended the festivities held at the RitzCarlton Hotel in Boston. Bride and groom currently reside in Dallas,
TX.
2002 to cut costs. Five percent of its
workforce will face the axe over the
next five years. Asahi makes Super
Dry, Japan’s most popular brand, but
has ignored the increasingly lucrative
low-malt market and has fallen off in
sales. The recession in Japan has fueled
growth for the less expensive low-malt
products which sell for a third as much
ASAHI WILL CUT WORKFORCE
as regular brews due to a tax loophole.
Asahi Breweries Ltd., Japan’s No. 2 Asahi operates nine plants in Japan, of
brewer, will close a Tokyo facility in which its newest, in Kanagawa, has an
(Continued from page 1)
operating profits for 1999 to have increased by some 31% added by favorable exports and domestic sales. Sales
to its four main markets, the Netherlands, France, the U.S. and the U.K.
were all up at a time when worldwide
beer sales were flat.
Brew Free or Die
November 1999
annual production capacity of 150,000
kiloliters, twice the Tokyo facility’s capacity.
WINE HEALTHIER THAN BEER?
Cancer-fighting compounds in wine
may make it healthier than beer, according to a study of over 36,000 middle-aged Frenchmen. One to three
glasses of wine per day can reduce the
levels of cholesterol in the bloodstream
(Continued on page 9)
Page 7
(Continued from page 2)
The hemp seeds imported into the
United States must be sterilized to render them nonviable. Although the seeds
themselves do not contain any traceable
THC, planting them produces a plant
that contains THC. In fact the seeds
must be thoroughly cleaned and free of
virtually all — in government speak —
"extraneous vegetative material." When
the seeds are harvested, a bit of the
leafy greens generally ends up among
the seeds. If this is not properly cleaned
out, traceable quantities of THC can
exist in the seeds.
This has never been a problem with
Hempen Ale and Hempen Gold since
our seeds are always thoroughly
cleaned and THC is not water soluble,
so it won’t carry forward into the finished product.
I still remember quite vividly the
first phone calls when I began the
search for hemp seed. The first person
laughed and referred me to another,
who chuckled and referred me to another. This continued for a dozen calls
over many days, but eventually the guy
who laughed the loudest and the longest sent me a 50-pound bag free of
charge. It turned out to be a pretty good
speculation, since we have purchased
more than 200,000 pounds of seed from
his company over the last few years.
This all sounded like a great
plan until we had to try to cool and
separate what had become five different batches of 450° F seeds. The
whole process was not exactly
OSHA friendly, but I got what I
was looking for.
In formulating a product like
this, I wanted to make sure that the
hemp could be used in a significant
proportion to make a legitimate
contribution to the character of the
beer. We were prepared for the fact
that many people would be looking
to tear the product apart, claiming
every reason to cry "gimmick." We did
not want them to infer that we were just
waving a few hemp seeds over the kettle so we could say it was brewed with
hemp. I never even attempted to determine what the minimum proportion of
hemp would be; I actually started with
the maximum amount I thought we
could realistically use and backed up
from there.
Experimenting
The varying degrees of roasting did
not yield much variation in color, and
there was very little overall difference
in the seeds that were removed after
one, two, and three minutes. The seeds
that roasted four and five minutes were
almost too acrid to use. The first dozen
Preparation
five-gallon pilot batches focused on using the seeds from the first three minutes in proportions varying from 15
During my first attempt at a pilot
percent to 40 percent. We also brewed a
batch, I wanted to lightly roast the
batch with no hemp at all for compariseeds to get a nice character. I took
son.
about 15 pounds of seed to a local cofBecause the primary focus at this
fee shop that has a small roaster. Once
convinced that she was not going to be point was to discover what the hemp
arrested for her efforts, the owner was was contributing to the wort, I used a
more than willing to help in the quest. single hop variety contributing 15 to 20
The seeds were roasted at 450° F, and I bitterness units. The results of the first
took about three pounds out every min- batches of Hempen Ale were very excitute to get some varying degrees of color ing to say the least. There was a pleasand character. The last few pounds that ing nutty character and a nice thick and
came out of the roaster were not par- creamy character from the seed, which
ticularly dark, but a few had exploded has a protein content of nearly 33 percent. However, the brews with more
like popcorn.
than 20 percent hemp did not end up
Brew Free or Die
November 1999
with enough malt character and got a
little oily on the palate.
Once I determined that there was
definitely an interesting character and
flavor contribution from the hemp, a
couple of our other brewers and I began
to put the finishing touches on the recipe. We were aiming for a finished
product with a floral hop character to
complement the earthy qualities of the
hemp. After a few pilot brews using
what we had determined to be the ideal
grain bill and changing the hop variety
and target bitterness units, we really
enjoyed the qualities of Cascade hops.
We decided to use them from kettle to
whirlpool.
Big Batches
Having finalized what we thought
was the perfect formulation for Hempen
Ale, we began the difficult task of trying to acquire, handle, and roast the
thousands of pounds of seed we would
require to produce at a commercial
level. We were just relocating to a new
facility and would be brewing in 50barrel batches (1,550 gallons). Sales
projections were calling for at least 600
barrels (18,600 gallons) of beer necessary for the product rollout. It was becoming painfully obvious that using
roasted seed would be a huge logistical
problem.
(Continued on page 9)
Page 8
anxious to begin production on what we beers of their own. Imitation is the sinI met with two regional coffee com- all knew would be an exciting and con- cerest form of flattery — right?
panies about doing some contract roast- troversial beer.
ing, but their equipment was not able to
Steve Nordahl is a brewing conhandle the small size of the hemp
sultant to and co-founder and former
First Out
seeds. I even had a meeting with a barhead brewer of Frederick Brewing Co.
ley malting company about the feasibilin Frederick, Md.
ity of the company roasting and hanThe motivation behind spending
dling the seeds for us. However, after a years of research and development and
few tests the company had to decline many thousands of dollars in attorneys’
due to the possibility of cross- fees to make these products and get the
contamination of the hemp seed into label approval was tremendous. We had
their products.
the excitement of blazing the trail, a
We went back to the drawing board chance to shake up the brewing indusand many pilot brews later, we had for- try a little, and the desire to prove all Editors Note:
mulated a new version of Hempen Ale. the "you can’t do that" people wrong.
Rich picked their coaster for coaster
It was brewed using raw seed that had But if we were going to do this product,
we
were
going
to
do
it
right.
of
the
month; as one of the few in our
been prepared for us by another comcollection
that is not from New Engpany. The product was very similar to
All of these concerns were put to
land.
We
picked
it up at the May 1998
the original and the raw seed contrib- rest with the bronze metal Hempen Ale
GABF
in
Baltimore,
MD. The beer
uted a good hemp quality to the beer, received at the 1997 Great American
itself
was
certainly
drinkable!
but I was a little disappointed. I saw it Beer Festival in the herb/spice category.
as a compromise to the product I had Since then many other breweries have
originally developed. Still, I was very jumped on the bandwagon with hemp
(Continued from page 8)
(Continued from page 7)
and lower blood pressure, studies have
concluded, and can lessen the chances
of a heart attack. The French study concluded that drinkers of moderate
amounts of wine had a death rate from
heart attack between 45-48% lower
than those who do not drink. Red wine
in particular contains antioxidants
which may prevent heart disease. Beer
drinkers were found to have a 42%
lower rate of fatal heart attack than
non-drinkers do, but not as low as wine
drinkers. Wine drinkers were found to
have lower death rates from cancer or
other diseases due to substances such as
resvaratrol which are present in wine,
but not in beer.
by Daleside Breweries in Harrogate,
has been officially blessed by the Dean
of Ripon in a special ceremony. A procession then carried the beer through
the streets of the city for a civic toast
and tasting. The brew will be sold in
presentation packs in the cathedral
shop and in supermarkets throughout
the country. Ripon Diocese communications officer the Rev John Carter
said: "The church is against alcohol
abuse, but it recognizes that a drink in
moderation is a gift from God, and is in
many ways central to Christian worship."
Brew Free or Die
http://www.magichat.net
Call for Articles
See your name in print! Brew Free Or Die
is always looking for beer related articles to
publish in this newsletter. Why not become an
author?
Articles can be about any beer related
topic. There is no length requirement, so from
a short blurb to a multiple issue story, anything
goes! Pictures are welcome too!
ENGLISH CHURCH MARKETS ITS
OWN BEER
The Ripon, England, Cathedral church
claims to be the first in its country to
launch and bless its own brand of beer.
The Cathedral has been granted a license to sell Ripon Jewel in its shop.
The bottled beer, which is being made
well, a psychedelic experience. Visit
the Magicsphere and the greeting sets
the tone: "Visit now the Magisphere.
But be aware if you should enter here.
There's more afoot than simply beer. So
banish fear and plan to steer through
things both strange and wondrously
queer." It's a trip, and it begins at:
MAGIC HAT BREWING CO.
To submit an article, contact Scott Baker
at (603) 483-8720 or send email to
<mla@topdown.com>. Articles may also be
sent to the club post office box.
Magic Hat Brewing Co. is one of the
fastest growing breweries in the Northeast, offering customers great beer and,
November 1999
Page 9
The BFD is a publication of the Brew Free or Die homebrew club
of New Hampshire, a society dedicated to good beer and the art of
homebrewing.
The opinions expressed are those of the editor, secretary and contributors and do not necessarily reflect those of Brew Free Or Die.
Membership in Brew Free or Die is $12.00 (US) per year for an
individual membership or $18.00 (US) per year for couples with a
single newsletter subscription.
Meetings are held in member’s homes, typically on the second Saturday of the month at 3 PM. Check within this publication for location and directions.
All articles contained herein (except those taken from other
sources) can be republished without approval provided proper credit
be given to the author and Brew Free or Die and a copy of the publication containing the reprinting is sent to our P.O. Box. Brew Free
or Die welcomes letters, opinions, suggestions, articles, beers, etc.
from our members and our readers. Correspondence should be
addressed to Brew Free or Die, P.O. Box 1092, Hudson, NH
03051-1092. Check us out on the internet at
http://www.bfd.org.
Club Officers
President
Scott Baker
Vice President
Jeff Gottschalk
Treasurer
Janet DiPalma
Yeast Rancher
Lee Menegoni
Competition Coordinator
Jeff Gottschalk
Paraphernalia Person
Joe Brulotte
Publisher
Dan Hall
Webmaster
Michael Fairbrother
Newsletter Editor
Melissa Abato
Newsletter Authors & Contributors
Scott Baker
Michael Fairbrother
Jim Snow
Jim DiPalma
News on pages 1, 7 and 9 are (c) copyright, Real
Beer, Inc. and BEERWeek (http://www.beerweek.
com), a joint publication of The Celebrator Beer
News and Real Beer, Inc. 1999.
“Give an Irishman lager for a month and he’s a dead man. An Irishman’s stomach is lined
with copper, and the beer corrodes it. But whiskey polishes the copper and is the saving of
him.”
Source: Mark Twain
®
Brew Free Or Die
P.O. Box 1092
Hudson, NH 03051-1092
Brew Free or Die
First Class Mail
November 1999
Page 10