These are the people that will be organising events for you. If you have any suggestions, please contact any of the comity members.

Another 2 months has passed us by and we are now into the weather that requires brews to "warm the cockels of yor heart", or as Norm said "Jack Frost is nipping at my nose and time to get Joe Beer is nipping at my liver".

In this issue we have some serious info regarding diacytyl if you want to know what diacytle tastes like lick a block of margarine. Moritz has provided an in depth look at this important flavour compound in beer. Where it is appropriate and where it is not, how it is produced and how to control the degree to which it will affect your beer.

I have added a discussion on lauter tuns for those keen to get into full mash brewing or want to upgrade their breweries to improve efficiency and reduce lauter times. Modern brewing practices have managed to reduce the cycle times of the brew house to 2 hours 25 minutes i.e. from the start of the first brew to commencing with the next in the same vessels is 145 minutes.

I have had a few comments about improving the newsletter, the most important being distribution. Occasionally members miss the meetings and up until now the newsletter has only been available to meeting attendees. As from the next meeting the news letter will not be distributed at the meeting but will be posted to members a week or so prior to the meeting. So if you are not a member join the club now so as not to miss out on all the fantastic information that if contains.

Another suggestion concerns where to get ingredients and equipment and if advertising could be included -- anybody have any suggestions who we could approach to get advertising? If you have found a good source of equipment let me know and I will either contact the company concerned or mention their name in the news letter. I would also like to compile a list of preferred suppliers.

Coming in the next issue I will be discussing malt mills with some suggestions to assist you to make your own – I have done a little development which has still not resulted in the perfect home mill – anybody have any suggestions.

If you have some suggestions to improve the news letter, comments about its content, or would like to contribute an article or have some queries you would like an answer for, send me and email, a fax or phone me my numbers are on top of this page. Any input will be most welcome.

Enjoy your brewing.

Cheers

Donald Coward

Next meetings: 3 August, 5 October, 30 November

To join the Worthog brewers please contact Ant Heys. Membership entitles you to access the club library, tours, as well as easy access to advice information on equipment and techniques which will enable you to improve your beer. Currently membership is R 50.00 per year.

1. SAB Roslyn - 23 June at 13.00 at the brewery.

2. Bavaria Brau in July on a date still to be finalised.

Arno Matthee and Magiel Bosch presented a very open and interesting view of the brewing process from the other end of the brewing spectrum. Despite the odd heckling (which did not represent the majority of the members) from the back most of us learnt a fair bit that we could apply to our own breweries to improve our brews. We would like to thank Arno and Magiel for giving up their time to discus a topic, which is obviously close to their hearts. I would also like to thank them for the encouraging letter that they sent to us:

I am looking forward to the visit to the SAB brewery in Roslyn on the 23 June ’99 at 11:00.

Moritz unveiled the poor mans keg which he is marketing a full description will be in the next news letter or contact him at the brewery in Pretoria for more information.

The "kit beer competition was not as well represented as was expected. It ended up that half the intended entrants were barred from entering because they had to judge the beers that were presented. Another competition will be coming op in the next two or three months. Congratulations to Gavin Curren for brewing a winning Stout and to the second and third place brewers.

Brew ’99 was a great success we had 2 venues; Whippel Tree Junction and at Llewellyns house. I have not had much feed batch from the guys at llewellyns place but by all accounts it went rather well. At Whippel Tree we produced about 66 litres of beer. Ant demonstrated how easy it is to produce a quality beer from malt extract and partial mashing. Myself and Tony both produced full mash beers from. Tony used a mash/lauter tun made from a picnic cooler and I used my trusty old double bucket (differences discussed later in this issue). Our recipes differed slightly Tony produces a pale ale using only pale malt I added some crystal and chocolate malt to the recipe. There were about 14 guys at Whipple tree ranging from the curious to those well skilled in brewing. It was an odd experience brewing away from my own brewery where every thing is to hand. Tony and I both found that despite careful planning and loading the equipment the day before various items of our breweries did not get to Wipple tree. The feed back we have had from the attendees was very positive and we will be planning another similar event soon.

Old Ale as described by Moritz Kallmeyer

What makes ale "Old"?

Old ales were once truly OLD. A truly authentic Old Ale has an acidic component which was greatly sought after and relished by our ancestral English pub crawlers. This provided for a sharp tartness which balanced the full-bodied malty richness of the beer - it would have been cloying otherwise. Over a period of six months to sometimes over three years, the resident micro-organisms (like lactic acid bacteria) in the wooden casks would do their job of maturing the beer.

Old Ale has evident but mellowed bitterness. A combination of various hop types (rather than one) was used. Old Ales were exclusively brewed with pale malts and were no darker than deep amber in colour.

Alcohol content most certainly would have been in the 7-8,5 % range for the run of the mill category; and 9 - 11 % for the exclusive few like Gales Old Ale (9,5%); Thomas Hardy and Commonwealth Special Old Ale.

Old Ale has its own category in the beer world and should not be confused with Strong Ale which encapsulates beers like Winter Ale, Christmas Ale, Strong Dark Mild and Strong Bitter.

Diacetyle is a powerful aromatic compound that imparts the flavour of butter or butterscotch to beer. Moritz Kallmeyer explains:

Introduction:

Diacetyle as by-product of fermentation is more characteristic of ales than lagers. Diacetyle is produced early in the fermentation and then re-absorbed by the yeast and reduced to flavourless compounds later on. Yeast strains differ markedly in their diacetyle reduction ability. Some ales and a few lagers yeast’s (such that used to brew the famous Pilsner Urquell) leave perceptible amounts of dactyl, but as a rule, modern brewers consider it a fault. This is because certain bacterial infections and other errors in brewing technique will increase diacetyle levels; and so this parameter serves as a quality check. However, it is important to remember that dactyl is a flavour that is a natural by-product of yeast fermentation, and in some beer styles it is an optional or even required flavour component.

Vicinal Diketones

Two significant by-products of fermentation are the vicinal diketones (VKD) 2,3 pentanedione and 2,3 butanedione. The latter is usually called "dactyl". Vicinal diketones have a strong aroma and flavour pentanedione has a sweet honey-perfume smell; and diacetyle resembles butter or butterscotch. Of the two, diacetyle is more significant because it has a taste threshold 10 times lower than its partner has, and most yeast strains make more of it than pentanedione. For most people the taste threshold of diacetyle is about .1ppm.

VDK are created when certain precursors are expelled from the cell into the surrounding wort. If these compounds encounter dissolved oxygen, they will oxidise into VDK. This means that diacetyle is formed only when there is oxygen in the wort It is thus inevitable, to some extent, since the wort must be strongly aerated at before pitching the yeast.

The other factor affecting VDK formation is temperature. The warmer the environment, the more VDK processors will be expelled into the wort. In practise, VDK is formed during the initial aerobic stage of fermentation. During this stage, the yeast consumes all the oxygen in the work so that there should be no further production unless air is re-introduced. However, all yeast’s can, to some extent, reduce VDK to flavourless diols. This is one of the key properties of yeast. given time and the right conditions, most yeast strains can reduce VDK to below the flavour threshold during the anaerobic (fermentative) phase of their activity.

The reason most commercial beers are essentially free from diacetyl is that fermentation is managed so as to discourage its creation and encourage its reduction. High temperatures assist this reduction and some German breweries actually raise the temperature of the beer from 1degree C to 15 degrees C when fermentation is about two-thirds finished precisely to allow their yeast’s to eliminate VDK. However, not all lager breweries do this and the famous Pilsner Urquell, the granddaddy of all pale lager beers, has a perceptible level of diacetyl. Futher more, many Belgian and British ales also have the butterscotch note of diacetyl.

Causes of diacetyle in Beer:

1. High pitching temperature > 22 degrees C even if the chilling is set at normal fermenting

temperature;

2. High fermentation temperature;

3. Pitched too little yeast (at least 1% slurry);

4. Aeration during primary/secondary fermentation;

5. Pediococcus bateria infection. This bateria is anaerobic, survive at low pH and produce,

amongst other diacetyl flavour/odours

6. Crash cooling lager beer at the end of the primary fermentation without including a

diacetyl rest;

7. Type of yeast strain used - some strains like the Yorkshire Square fermentation strains

(Old Speckled Hen) produce pronounced, but not unpleasant diacetyl levels in the beer.

Diacetyl Rest

Some lager breweries, especially those that use Weinhenstephan 308 or similar "diacetyl producing yeast’s" employ a diacetyl rest in order to minimise this by-product in the finished beer. This procedure is to allow the beer temperature to rise from the controlled primary fermentation temperature of about 10 degrees C to 15-18 degrees C when the primary fermention is coming to an end. Normally, the time is determined by the attenuation of the beer. If, for example, the wort starting gravity was 1050, and the expected terminal gravity is 1010, then the diacetyl rest would be commenced when the beer has attenuated to about SG 1023 when two thirds of the total fermentable material in the wort has been consumed. The diacetyl rest normally lasts for 24-28 hours, until primary formation is over and secondary fermentation is underway. At this time the temperature is lowered in the usual way, probably 1 degree C per day until a temperature of 0-1 degrees C is reached.

In lager yeast strains with low diacetyl production, it is common practise to employ a diacetyl rest followed by a crash cooling to 0 degrees C.

Brewed by Draymans Brewery

Only a few ales brewed around the world (especially from microbreweries in Britain and the USA) can lay claim to a real old ale authenticity. In South Africa there is only one.

At 10 % alcohol by volume, Millennium Prize Old Ale is aged for six months at the brewery before it is released for distribution. Since brewing the first batch of real ale in 1997, Draymans Brewery, a small independent brewery in Pretoria, established itself amongst the connoisseur ale drinking community. Draymans brew speciality ales true to their original style - not only in the top fermentation methods, but also in the use of hops and malt imported from the region where the beer style originated.

Millennium Prize Old ale is craft-brewed with great care; then bottle conditioned like a vintage champagne. Even the labelling is done entirely by hand. The recipe was carefully designed using old brewing ledgers of the 17th and 18th century from reputable English breweries such as McEwans, Shepard Neame and the Banks. After the initial "primary" fermentation in small fermentors (rather than the huge modern cylindorconical tanks ) the ale is transferred to old sherry oak casks for its long maturation. Trial batches brewed were very promising. The brewmaster and the brewery owner, Moritz Kallmeyer, describes it as intensely malty, with a soft vinous character. The aroma and palate provide for a feast of fresh-cooked, sweet fruit, backed by a spicy resinous hop flavour. Some tasters have picked up some nutty woody notes - perhaps originating from the yeast that has picked up some "in-house" flavours from the characterful brewery. What is certain, is that your taste buds will be begging for more.

The old building with its thick walls where the local farmer of Koedoespoort once had his barn and diary is now part of the brewery's brewhouse and fermentation room. The thatched roof over the brewhouse with its timbered beams provide a welcome haven for spiders, which I am told, are not disturbed because they do a useful job. That is catching hated vinegar flies.

The medium soft water is hardened slightly with brewers salts for fullness for mouthfeel and balance of flavour. The water comes from a 120 foot well situated next to the brewery in a stratum known as the "Moot Valley".

A small mash tun, covered with wooden slats, is where the soul of this classic beer is born. Millennium Prize Old Ale is hand mashed with a wooden mashing paddle of 16th century design. The mash rests for two hours at warm temperature before the sweet wort is transferred to the copper where it is boiled for two hours with various addti9ons of spicy Styrian Goldings, Cascades and Saaz hops. As especially long boil is required to bring the wort to the high gravity needed for this brew.

A single bottle of Millennium Prize Old ale will be packaged in a handmade wooded crate. The ale comes with a tiny booklet identifying the variety of barley used, the man who steeped, sprouted and kilned the malt, the source and type of hops, yeast and special maturing serving instructions.

This mighty brew will be marketed in 500 ml bottles at R50.00 per bottle. Being a truly noble old ale, it can be bottle matured for years in a cool cellar and will only improve with age. It will certainly increase in value with time and make for sought-after collectors item. The brewmaster reserves the rights to limit sales to prospective buyers.

Being a limited edition - only two-thousand bottles will be produced - each bottle will be individually numbered. The highlight of the events surrounding this ale will be in the week before the new millennium. True to tradition, the brewer will tap the ceremonial cask. The specially invited guests will get the chance to taste the ale fresh from the cask. Bottle number two-thousand will be auctioned to the highest bidder.

Mashing and Lautering

Here in south Africa we have do not have the luxury of being able to by our equipment off the shelf but rely instead on the technically minded to "improvise" equipment using commonly available house hold items in the strangest of ways. To get the best the best "design" it helps to understand what happens in the equipment and what has been fount to work by others and comparing this to standard industry practices. Home brewing we have the advantage of using non-perfect arangements as time and efficiency can easily be compensated for with out aggravating the been counters.

Mashing is the process in which the starches in the malt is broken down by enzymes into monosacarides and disacarides on which yeast can feed and convert into alcohol, carbondioxide and other flavour compounds which we know as beer.

Lautering is the process in which the sweet sugary solution is separated from the husks by filtration and washing.

A separate vessel can be used for each process or a combined mash and lauter tun can be used. Most home brewers use a combined mash and lauter tun which works well for single step infusion mashes. The single vessel system becomes impractical on a larger scale as the large diameter and low high required on a laughter tun makes it unsuitable as a mash tun due to the difficulty to insulate the vessel and heat the grain evenly. During the hot phase of the brewing process air must not come into contact with the mash or wort, it is almost impossible to do this during the transfer of wort from the mash tun to the laughter tun in a home brewery a single vessel is thus prefers. Another up side to the single vessel system is the capital costs are lower. Also as will be seen when we get to the calculations the grain depth to brew volume on a home brew scale requires a mash tun and laughter tun to have similar dimensions.

The effectiveness of the two systems is discussed fully in Brewing Techniques of July/August 1995 under the title of Fluid Dynamics - A simple key to the mastery of efficient lautering by John Palmer and Paul Prozinsky.

Either system will produce an adequate method to collect the wort. The main objective when designing a Lt is to prevent the formation of preferential flow. Preferential flow is affected by both the mashing method (if using a combined Mash and Lauter tun) and the design of the tun which affects the flow velocity. Dr. Narziss of Weihenstephen recommends that he velocity of the wort should not exceed 0,732 litters per min per m² (0.18 gal/min ft²). From this value we can calculate the number of holes or slots that are required. Also, the grain bed should be between 250 mm and 450 mm. This holds true regardless of the amount of beer being brewed thus if 20 l of beer is being brewed the depth of the grain bead will be equal to or deeper than the diameter. However, if the volume is a few hundred hecto litters the depth will still be between 250 and 450 mm but the diameter will be a few meters, a very cumbersome mash.

Another slightly simpler method of determining the size of a LT is to use the ratio of 170kg grist per m².

How many beers can be considered local beers. Beers that are brewed in South Africa, by South Africans for South Africans.

I was reading an article in the Sunday times a few week’s back and a columnist claimed that there was only 16 beers that could lay claim to the title. I got to 18 with out pausing and then with some thought put it over twenty. How many beers are commercially brewed in South Africa? Most will be lagers as will be the volumes but how many ales are there. Let me have your input and lets see if we can compile a comprehensive list of what beers are available that are local and "lets drink local".