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

We are now in to October Fest time and to keep in the spirit of Nikki has compiles a short article about October fest and its beers.

I have completed another stage of the malt mill development program and have devised a successful mill design which is simple to set and easy to make, see the article and drawings on page 2 and 3. We have not yet sorted out a mailing list for members as yet so although I had promised to mail this news letter before the meeting it will only be available at the meeting. The content is a little less than usual as I have been sent to the ends of the earth curtsey of the company that funds my brewing habit. The competition was a huge success, see the results in the article inside.

Enjoy.

It’s that time of year again – all over South Africa people with German origins, and even those with none at all, are getting together to plan Oktoberfest celebrations. Someone, somewhere, probably at the German School, hit on the idea that the South African tendency to booze could be milked for a buck for charity and the idea was born to bring the Oktoberfest Tradition over here.

There can be no doubt that it was a brilliant idea, bringing together a bunch of South Africans in a tent with beer flowing like water and lots of fatty sausages could not fail as a money-making exercise.

Few of the Oktoberfests are particularly discriminating about what beer they serve other than a bit of Castle draught, but nonetheless the spirit cannot be faulted. And with the Boks playing the Scots on October the third, who could ask for anything more.

Anyone who has been to the original Oktoberfest in Munich can tell you that it is an unbelievable experience. Munich is simply jollier than the rest of Germany, and more so during Oktoberfest. Traditionally the festival runs from the second to last Saturday in September to the first Sunday in October.

Although it appears as if the festival must have been going since beer was first brewed, it is in fact, a relatively new thing. (Well, new for Europe anyway.) Hundreds and thousands of Germans (and beer and party lovers from all over the globe) each year celebrate the wedding of Crown Prince Ludwig to Princess Therese von Sachsen-Hildburghausen. The fact that the wedding took place in 1810 doesn’t appear to bother anyone a bit.

Even when there is no festival taking place Munich prides itself on being the beer capital of the world. The six great city labels are Augustiner, Hacker-Pschorr, Hofbrau, Lowenbrau, Paulaner-Thomasbrau and Spaten-Franzinskaner. Each brand has its own beer hall and they are open throughout the year.

Munich’s world-famous Hofbrauhaus has been tapping barrels since 1859, but is hopelessly touristy. But there’s no harm in that most of the time. In the Forschungsbraurerei, or research brewery on Unterhachinger street, you can quaff mystery brews still in the experimental stage. And reportedly the best outdoor Stein hoisting is to be found at the Chineisischer Turm beer garden in the Englischer Garten.

Not content with all that beer drinking in September and October, Munichers go on another binge just four months later called Fasching. Traditionally all sorts of bizarre behaviour is acceptable during this festival period that proceeds Lent.

The Oktoberfest itself is not without it’s bizarre traditions. In the latest issue of the medical magazine, Lancet, the "Wad’lbeisser" or "calf-biter" tradition has been described as potentially extremely dangerous. It warns that those bitten could even lose a leg.

Wad’lbeisser arose over the years when, as the beer flowed and people danced on tables, patrons lost their inhibitions and started to bite people on the lower leg. Lancet has described the resulting infection as necrotising fascinitis, otherwise none as the flesh eating bug. Doctors have warned that a human bite is potentially deadly as humans could pass on the Group A Streptococcus virus.

So let’s hope no calf-biting or any other bizarre behaviour went on during our local versions of the Oktoberfest.

So what is Oktoberfest beer? Oktoberfests can range from golden to reddish brown. Sweet or toasty maltiness should dominate slightly over a clean hop bitterness. Malt character should be toasted rather than stongly caramel. Hop aroma and flavour should be low but notable. Fruity esters are minimal, if perceived at all. Diacetyl and chill haze should not be perceived.

During our recent visit to the Farmers’ Brewery in Hattingspruit we tasted their Oktoberfest beer. It is described in their Beer List as ": Also known as Vienna Lager of Marzen, this rich lager beer is characterised by its amber colour and creamy foam. It is made from a secret proportion of three different malts. It has a lower hops content and as a result is less bitter, with a complex malt taste predominating." The alcohol content: 5,5 per cent.

One cannot visit Munich without a brief mention of that most German of inventions involving beer – the Reinheitsgebot. It was introduced by Duke Wilhelm the fourth of Bavaria in 1516 to describe the ingredients to make beer. The original draft did not mention yeast because at the time spontaneous fermentation was used and the role of yeast was not understood. No rice, maize, sugars, syrups or artificial enhances to speed up the brewing process were allowed.

Reinheit means cleanness or purity in German. The Reinheitsgebot has done much to preserve the integrity of the product, making the Bavarian beer industry, justifiably one of the most respected in the world.

An essential part of the brewing process is crushing the malt so that the enzimes can attack the starches and sugars contained within the husks.

The soluble substances are extracted more quickly from smaller particles than large lumps. However the husks must be left as intact as possible. This is one of the examples of a situation where a brewer must decide which way is best. Large breweries use large 6 roll mills with decreasing gap sizes and sieves between them. The first roller gap is approximately 1,8mm to crack the husks with little damage to them. The second roller gap is about half the first and separates the husks from the insides. The third set of rollers are set to between 0,2 and 0,4mm and crushes the malt starches to a fine powder referred to as flour.

The above description is a very brief over view of what is done by industrial brewers with big machines and plenty of money. Home brewers and even most micro breweries can not afford the luxury of a multi roll mill. However, centuries have passed us by an acceptable results have been obtained from 2 roll mills. If you have a mill that has adjustable rollers you could try crushing the malt with the rollers set at a large gap. You can then set the gap smaller and then pass the crushed malt over a sieve to separate the husks from the flour. The flour can then be put through the mill again with the rollers set as the fine gap. Before mashing in the husks and the flour must be re combined to facilitate lautering.

We do not want to crush the husks to fine as this will result in the mash bedding down to much and a stuck mash forming.

Another method to prevent the husks being broken during milling is to wet the malt before it is put through the mill. In a process called wet milling the malt is steeped in water below mash temperature for up to 30 minutes. During steeping the endosperm is also hydrated and becomes more difficult to mill. A development of the process hydrates the malt with in a minute of the grain passing through the first rollers either using hot water (50° to 70° C) of steam in a steeping chamber immediately above the mill.

To see if the gap of the mill is correct put some malt in the mill and crush it. The husks should not be broken to more than half their length. In a good crush the husks are split longitudinally in half. A white powder with few lumps should be formed from the starches in the malt. If the husks are still whole and there is very little powder reduce the gap. If however there is plenty of white powder and plenty of straw coloured fibres open the gap. After a little playing around with a mill you will soon see what makes a good crush and what doesn’t work.

Remember that if you are getting poor yields from your mash the course could be from a too course a crush, on the other hand if you are getting stuck mashes you crushing too finely.

Thanks to all the guys that took time out to arrange the competition Danie, Ant and Moritz, and all the judges. I certainly appreciated having my beer judged by a highly qualified group of judges chaired by Morits. The judges were:

Mike O’Donovan – Bavaria Brau

Eddie Lear – SAB

10 beers were entered which put a little strain on the taste buds of the tasters. The styles ranged from mild pale ales to full blown imperial stouts, and a wide range of lagers. The small number of home brewers currently entering competitions means that the re are no category winners but the over all winner was jojo with an imperial ale, closely followed by jaja with a lager, SoSo gathered sufficient points to take 3 rd place.

For some time I have been experimenting with various ideas to crush malt.

The first time I used grains was in a partial mash porter and tried to crush the malt with a beer bottle and a rolling pin – not very successful.

I then came across a diagram in a book called Wood Working for Home Brewers and Wine Makers, which used 2 rolling pins in a wooden frame – it sort of worked but left me with acing hands and wrists.

This was followed by a mill with STEEL rollers. The roller were made by knurling 25 mm diameter round bar and machining a 16 mm shaft on each end. They were 100 mm long and mounted in a box made from 16 mm ply wood. The gap was adjusted by 2 screws pushing a slider . The gap was often uneven. This worked OK, but the nip angle was to large and both rollers had to the cranked and both had to be knurled. To have steel Knurled is expensive, and the next design had to eliminate some of the knurling. To achieve this I increased the diameter to 50mm which worked. I was still not happy with the gap adjustment and devised a cam system which has been incorporated in the latest design.

The drawings on the following page shows the dimensions that I used for the rollers and cam shaft. I used mild steel although industrial mills use hardened steel rollers to improve wear resistance – for home use the extra cost is not warranted. The shafts run in oak bearings made from 2 off 110 X 100 X 20 oak blocks and held together by 4mm ply wood side plates. The mounting block is a 110 X 60 X 50 pine block which is clamped to a table with a G-Clamp.

The crank handle is made from a piece of 25 X 5 flat bar with an 8,5mm holes drilled in end and the other taped M8. One end is screwed tightly into the driving roller with an M8 bolt and spring washer, the other end has the handle attached to it. The handle can be made by cutting 100mm off a broom stick and drilling a 9mm hole down the centre. A 110 mm length of threaded bar will work as a shaft screwed into the taped hole on the crank and locked with a lock nut.

The cam adjusting lever is similar to the crank handle but has a length of only 20 mm between centres. Use an M8 bolt to lock the adjusting lever to the idler shaft. Note the location of the cam lobes. I suggest that the lever be lined up with the lobes indicating the opposite side to the where the gap is. The adjusting bolt can be made by filling the "point" of an M8 bolt down to a diameter OD about 4,5mm. This then screws through the taped hole in the adjusting lever and into one of the 5 adjusting holes on the bearing plate on the clamping side of the mill box.

Ottawa: In new test results released yesterday, scientists for Health in Canada suggested that men should take a look at their beer consumption, considering the results of a recent analysis that revealed the presence of female hormones in beer. The theory is that drinking beer makes men turn into women. To test the finding, 100 men were fed 6 pints of beer each.

It was then observed that 100% of the men gained weight, talked excessively without making sense, became overly emotional, couldn't drive, failed to think rationally, argued over nothing, and refused to

apologise when wrong.

No further testing is planned.

Eddy Lear

Mead Master & Chairman of the South African Mead Masters’ Association

Alcoholic drinks were discovered at least 5000 years ago and they have played an important part in our culture ever since. This paper is an exploration in the art of drinking mead and the possible future scenario of this delightful tippler. I trust that it will be a paper that will sparkle to the brim with pleasure.

Compared to previous generations, most of us today are reasonably well informed about what we eat, but this is not so true about what we drink. Even the goodness of honey to the beekeeper is high on his list of propaganda. Most beekeepers will tell you why their honey is so good, some will rattle off the inherent properties. However few beekeepers look at value adding to their product, and even fewer will actually go to the extent of delving into the nutritional value of a value added product such as mead.

In all societies there are observances to certain rules and conventions. Customs which have been past down through the ages and taken as good manners. If we go back in time when the world was still young, the main occupation of man was that of hunting. What I have also come to ascertain is that man was basically a savage, and anything to have a fight to kill another was normal. The creation of different languages also spelt enmity between peoples. This can easily be observed today when you have two language groups in the same place and neither knows the other’s language, an hostility emerges where each person of the group thinks that the person of the other group is stupid. As families built up, so tribes developed and the need to actual be at peace with some close tribes became a necessity. And so the formation of etiquette developed. At first it was difficult because man was suspicious of his fellow human being. Slowly certain signs and observances were established, and so savages began to understand greetings of peace and goodwill.

This peace-greeting was the first token of good fellowship that appeared out of the primeval chaos of warfare and destruction A certain greeting was made, and matters were placed at once on a peaceful basis. These greetings formed a mutual protection and friendliness. From these simple acknowledgements, ceremonies were created where dancing and drinking became the main activity, and the need for further etiquette and good manners evolved. We now dub observers of good protocol, well-bred people.

One such formality is the custom of drinking to someone’s health, which was just as common in ancient times as it is today. The first record I know of, is where we read of the beautiful Princess Rowena wishing the Welsh King Vortigern the best health when handing him a mazer of mead. "....and from that day hath the custom held in Britain that he who drinketh at a feast saith unto another, ‘Wacht heil!’ and he that receiveth the drink after him maketh answer ‘Drink heil!’" Another ancient recital used with the mead mazer lifted high was ‘Long may ye live, Happy may ye be, And blest with a num’rous Pro-ge-ny.’ ‘Cheers’ is today the common word used when the glasses are raised; meaning ‘may you be of good cheer.’ However, individuals often have their own favourite drinking salutation.

Society, for its own protection, has built up a definite code of manners and customs which must, to some extent be observed by any one desirous of being welcomed by the well-bred people. What is known of etiquette helps to make life pleasanter, more attractive to people of every class, to the weak and to the strong. Well-bred people understand that they must not be discourteous, coarse, unrestrained in conduct, careless of the comfort and convenience of others. If someone should come into your home who is gloomy, sour-faced, complaining, lacking in good taste and making inappropriate conversation; those who come in to contact are repulsed by him. The person is ignored rather than welcomed where they might enjoy participation.

During teenage years we tend to rebel against some of these practices which results in members of families not holding the same customs. Marriage also changes protocol as each spouse introduces their favourite style into the newly formed family. Friends influence of the respective spouse also add or subtract some of the convention. I have an aunt-in-law who is totally different to my mother-in-law even though they are sisters, in behaviour. The difference is so great, that for us, it is an embarrassment to be acquainted to her in public. Hence the saying; "You can choose your friends, but not your family."

On the other hand, pleasant, refined men and woman are welcomed in almost any society, for they find something good and beautiful in all mankind. They know that evil, ugliness and harshness exist, but they also know that good things in life are brought about by kindness, courtesy and good manners.

The practise of etiquette implies more than a knowledge of the conventions but the principles of respect and kindly feelings for others. A knowledge of etiquette gives dignity and pleasant manner which draws forth what is pleasant in those we meet. Etiquette is, so to speak, the key that opens for us the portals of a broader life in which we can find greater social happiness. A knowledge of etiquette helps us to attain to the doing and saying of the right thing at the right time, to be able to keep control of oneself, no matter how exacting the circumstances. The man who knows how to behave in good society does not become over demonstrative, neither does he depress others by his cold and chilly manner. He may be enthusiastic but does not become exited, boring other people by insisting upon holding forth on subjects in which they do not appear to be interested. The man or woman who is truly well-bred tries to make everyone happy and at ease.