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

Fenolicks ? Phenolics - Keith Thomas
Puzzled by the extra spiciness in your beer? Concerned over reports of woodiness or extra astringency? Look closely in your microscope. You may be suffering an attack of wild yeasts delivering POF – Phenolic Off flavour. Alternatively are raw, chlorinated liquor or cleaning agents leaking into your wort, or has, perhaps, the odd bag of whiskey malt appeared amongst your delivery ?

Few of us can ignore phenolic off flavours at even moderate levels. At their worst POF's can be a highly distinctive beer fault , which it is worth training all your production staff to recognise. If you don't pick it out it is pretty sure that your customers will. Even relatively inattentive drinkers are likely to respond to medicinal character in beer and return such faulted beer to the bar.

Not all POF's are so offensive. Less distinctive or offensive phenolic flavours include non chlorinated phenolic compounds such as 4-methyl guaicol which provide more of a spicy flavour to beer. As such their character can provide a positive balance to some styles and is even essential to an authentic wheat beer. To obtain this in your wheat beer it is necessary to use a POF positive yeast rather than rely on a chance contamination.

For standard UK beer styles, however, strong POF flavours, particularly chlorophenolic ones, are as undesirable as the staling flavours, which develop on oxidation. Low levels of non chlorinated phenolics may be tolerated in beers with dark malts, particularly stouts and porters but would be untenable in a light crisp bitter or summer ale.

Chlorinated phenolics are the most offensive POF flavours with the coincidence of chlorine and phenolics in liquors and contaminating microorganisms in the wort allowing the production of chlorinated phenols.

Threshold levels of POF's are very low and generally in the 20 to 100 parts per billion ranges as shown below. Such levels are equivalent to one drop of pure compound in 300 barrels. Chlorinating a phenol reduces the threshold by up to 1000 fold – just imagine the damage a spillage of pure TCP could have into an open fermenter. Even a contaminated finger would provide enough flavour to spoil a whole brew.

POF's can have a variety of origins in waters, worts and beers. Identifying these origins and maintaining your beer quality depends on conducting regular checks during the brewing process so you can identify the point at which they become apparent.

Strict chemical analysis is complex and expensive.

Basic flavour identification by tasting is simple and effective but does require training to ensure that you have the best identification. Check, however, that your tasters are sensitive to the flavours. Some of us are flavour blind in certain areas. If possible select super sensitive tasters using very dilute concentrations of TCP in water.

The following list of sources is a good reference for your checks.

- Chemical contamination of brewing liquuors. Waste materials leaching into water supplies are a prime cause. - Contamination of brewing liquors with particular bacteria or algae able to produce phenolic metabolites. - Accidental contamination with cleaning compounds or disinfectants. - Contamination of raw materials from pesticides. - Breakdown or digestion of tank or cask lining materials. - Residual phenolics in bottle or cask rinse liquor.

Tasting incoming brewing liquor before it is used in mashing or cleaning will indicate the presence of phenolics at an early stage. Water companies should be providing you with pure and potable water but accidents happen and you may not be uppermost on their list of sensitive users to inform. Having your own water source or borehole does not guarantee purity. Agricultural run off in floods or accidents may also put flavours into your beer so check your source daily.

Contamination of waters with microorganisms is not uncommon. This occurs in large reservoirs, in waterways and in smaller holding tanks at individual premises. Leakage into tanks and pipework is particularly common in older installations and may result from shifting soils or compaction due to vehicle movements over pipe-runs.

Regular flavour checks should pick up effects but a microbiological analysis is a worthwhile insurance as some heavy contaminations may only have effects when they reach the mash itself. Seasonal variation is especially evident with microbial causes of POF with algae growth requiring light and being most prevalent in warmer, sunnier weather. A quarterly check should show whether this is a systemic problem.

Chlorine and phenolic character need not be a direct consequence of having microbial contamination. Microorganisms, can produce the phenolic part of the flavour but the presence of chlorine is needed to achieve the truly distinctive chlorophenol character. Sources of this are commonly from residual cleaner or from chlorinated water supplies.

Cleaning agents should be thoroughly rinsed from all brewing vessels, casks and bottles but occasionally mistakes occur. Minimise these by adapting a checking procedure. Only admit beer into vessels if the rinsing can be confirmed and marked on your log sheets. An extra moment taken to consider the position gives reassurance and a record of your processing. Using a terminal sterilant such as peracetic acid may provide an additional buffer step towards separating a chlorinated cleaner from your product.

Chlorine can also be released from old materials as they break down. Rubber hoses and tank linings are both implicated in past experiences and need to be regularly assessed. In small brewery operation second hand equipment is regularly used and although cheap on initial viewing should be considered in the light of refurbishment to be secure against flavour problems.

Recent lining materials are much more resistent to the release of phenolics and chlorine materials but overuse in harsh and caustic conditions may still result in a gradual increase in problems. Look to standardise your cleaning to its optimal efficiency rather than overdosing just to be on the safe side. Look too at dispense conditions. Beer line in pubs and residual line cleaner may result in problems in one pub rather than all. Don't Discard a whole gyle of beer because of complaints in just one outlet.

Are all phenolics undesirable? Certainly not when authentic wheat beers are considered but possibly not for some versions of standard styles. Chlorophenolics certainly indicate contamination but the more metabolic phenolics may provide an interesting dimension to beer character.

Some of these flavours are produced by brewing yeasts naturally, particularly 4-vinyl guaiacol and 4-methyl guaiacol. Both of these flavours can arise from malt components present in the mash, ferulic acid for 4-vinyl guaiacol and vanillin for 4-methyl guaiacol. The metabolism of these conversions is inherent in the yeasts' genetics and can be assessed by growing the yeast in wort with high concentrations of vanillin or ferulic acid. Distinctive aromas are produced from very positive strains.

Such phenols are less offensive to beer flavour and can be incorporated at low levels, even providing a spicy background to stronger flavoured beers and old ales. Traditional brewing with multiple strain yeasts would be likely to have incorporated some POF positive yeasts and it is interesting to speculate how evident their contribution would have been. A survey of culture collection stocks would be a useful indicator of this for identifiable brewery strains.

Few microbreweries would be confident enough to include such as strain in their own portfolio for regular beers but with increasing interest in specialist beers a trial mixture would be a potentially useful development. Herb or fruit beers could be particularly compatible to such flavours. If you do trial such yeasts in your beers check whether a high ester character will also be of advantage. Wheat beers are typified by high levels of iso amyl acetate to give a banana flavour to compliment the spiciness. Check whether this will suit your needs to whether a more neutral POF positive yeast would work best.

A third source of phenolics is also available to microbrewers – that from wood, wither exposed during the fermentation or in casking.

Wood contains a wealth of flavours, not all of which are suitable for brewing and many of which can easily ruin a delicate beer. In suitable levels and with suitable maturity wood can add a subtle edge to produce a pungently memorable beer.

Whisky has known this for centuries and uses carefully selected wood to provide just the right release of phenols (and adsorption of other flavours) to mature an already pungent product.

How easily will beer take up phenolics from wood? Certainly very readily from fresh wood. Just one fresh stave in a mature wooden cask can provide a strong and even excessive change in character. More subtle flavour arises from using already leached wood, sherry or whisky casks, steamed staves or chips. In some cases the continual re-use of some samples may result in more adsorption effects than flavour release with the result that your beer is actually less flavoured than before.

Using wood in fermentation requires more consideration than purchasing the cheapest rough cut timber from a DIY store or firewood from an farm, interesting though the effects may be. Indeed a number of woods are poisonous and must be excluded.

The use of wood during primary fermentation is likely to differ from that in secondary. Burton Unions for example will give more background character than that from dispenses casks. Wooden conditioning vessels are likely to have more effect and may easily upset a carefully balanced recipe.

Wood also provides tannins so look for an increase in dryness and after palate astringency. Too much of this can affect re-purchase so moderate exposure to minimise putting your customers onto soft drinks to recover their taste. Finally remember that wood carries microbiological hazards. Bacteria and yeast easily permeate the many fissures and cracks within the wood structure remaining hidden but ready to appear and contaminate your beer. Ensure that your preparation includes a thorough steaming to minimise this prospective.

Phenolics in beer do introduce an additional diminution and direction of character. Too far along their road and beer character becomes unrecognisable and extreme. A carefully crafted touch, however, can give you the unique character worthy of interest and acclaim. Certainly an area for the competent brewer to consider.

We use all five of our senses when we evaluate beer. That is because the appearance (sight), aroma (smell), taste, mouthfeel (touch), and even the sound (hearing) beer makes when you pour it in the glass are all key components of the sensory quality of beer.

There's a sixth sense, too. Sometimes called the "common chemical sense," the trigeminal nerve (found in the mouth and nose) responds to irritants. It is also stimulated by components in beer such as carbon dioxide and astringent tannins. In fact a significant portion of the "flavour" of beer can be attributed to sensations associated with mechanical, thermal and irritating properties.

The taste sensation is confined almost entirely to the taste buds on the tongue. The 4 basic tastes are sweet (tip of tongue), salty (edge of tongue), sour (edge) and bitter (back). The papillae for bitter are especially deep, and so this sensation takes longer to perceive but tends to linger.

In order to smell a compound it must be volatile. The olfactory sense is incredibly sensitive to trace amounts of volatile odorous substances. The region is about the size of a postage stamp and is located in the upper part of the nose. Odours are directed to the olfactory region by inhalation of the volatile compounds emerging from the beer.

In general, human sensitivities to chemical stimuli - the compounds in beer with a taste or smell or the ones that act as irritants - are normally distributed. That means most of us have more or less the same sensitivity to the bitter taste of the hop resins or the floral aroma of the Saaz hop.

A few people have particularly low or high sensitivities. And there are compounds for which some individuals may be anosmic (can't smell them) or agueusic (can't taste them), in the same way as some individuals are colour blind. But these compounds are relatively few and are not typically found in

beer. So relax, because on average when it comes to tasting or smelling most of the compounds found in beer, we all pretty much play with the same (sensory) deck of cards.

What makes a person a good taster is experience ­ the size of the sensory database accumulated in memory. In other words, how many beers did that person "taste" - not "drink" - over the years? Once you have tasted several beers with off-flavours such as the skunky character of sunlight damaged beers or the apple/cardboard smell of oxidized beers.

Also important are the ability of the person to concentrate and the person's motivation. . Train yourself to become an objective taster, and don't be afraid to get a second opinion every once in a while. The comments and suggestions of others can help make you a better (more objective) taster. In fact, sitting in on an experienced taste panel is one of the best ways to train a taster.

There is a simple way to train yourself to use your senses. The technique is called descriptive analysis or flavour profiling. It produces a sensory ID for each beer by identifying the key sensory attributes in the beer and quantifying them on an intensity scale. At SAB each beer has a particular profile. This relates primarily to the ratio of sweetness: bitterness: body, on a 10 point scale. Thus Castle’s profile is 2:5:5 and Lion’s 3:4:5. Castle and Lion therefore have the same body (fullness) but Castle is more bitter and less sweet than Lion. We then assess the other flavour components of the beers, such as hoppy, grassy, fruity, tart etc on a 1-5 scale. The beer is then compared to a standard profile and rated accordingly.

How should you "taste" beer? . Do it in a relaxed environment, free from distractions. The beer should ideally be served in concave tumblers (to retain volatiles better), 100-200 ml at serving temperature, with water and crackers close by to cleanse your palate, and with rest between samples.

• Observe the beer first. Check its colour, clarity, and foam structure and stability.

• Smell the beer. Swirl the beer gently to release volatiles. Take brief sniffs (the CO2 can hit you rather hard, so avoid big, long whiffs) and concentrate! This is the step when most of the sensory information is collected. That's because the most important (and telling) characteristics of beer are olfactory notes. Do not overload your olfactory sense – wait 15-20 sec. between sniffs

• You can now taste the beer. Take a large enough sip. Concentrate on the areas of the tongue where the 4 tastes are easily sensed. Move the beer in such a way as it touches all parts of the tongue - no need to swirl and swish the stuff around. Yes, you should swallow the beer. The taste buds (properly called taste papillae) at the back of your tongue are sensitive to bitterness, so you won't get the full bitterness in a beer unless you swallow it (and flush those papillae in the process). Also, trying to expectorate beer can be embarrassing (it gushes). And with a third of the alcohol of wine, beer does not get to you as quickly as wine does. But in time it will, so consume limited amounts when you taste and do a lot of sniffing.

German Beer Purity Law from 1516

"Herewith, we decree, order, express and wish, together with the Privy Council, that from this day forth everywhere in the Principality of Bavaria, in the countryside as in the towns and marketplaces, wherever no other specific ordinance applies, from St. Michael's Day until St. George's Day a measure or head of beer shall not be sold for more than one pfennig Munich currency and from St. George's Day until St. Michael's Day a measure shall not be sold for more than two pfennigs of the same currency, nor a head for more than three haller. Violators of this decree shall be punished as prescribed below.

Whoever should brew a beer other than Maerzen, is forbidden, under any circumstances, to serve or sell a measure for more than one pfennig. We especially wish that, from this point on and everywhere in the countryside as well as in the towns and marketplaces, nothing is to be added to or used in beer other than barley, hops and water. Whosoever knowingly disobeys this decree will be severely punished by the court having jurisdiction over him by having his barrel of beer confiscated whenever this offense occurs. Whenever an innkeeper buys beer at the prescribed price from any brewery in the countryside as well as in the towns and marketplaces, he is allowed to resell it privately to the lowly peasantry for one haller more than the price of the measure or head of beer stipulated above."

only be added to the wort before or during the simmering phase.

Only materials which act mechanically or by absorption and are thereafter removable, leaving no, or only such residue in the beer which is of no health, taste or odor concern may be used to clarify beer.

Upon request, in individual cases, such as the preparation special beers and beers intended for export or scientific experiments, exceptions to the requirements of paragraphs 1 and 2 can be made.

The requirements of paragraphs 1 and 2 are not applicable to brewing for personal consumption (home brewing).

For the production of top-fermenting simple or very low original extract content beer, according to the Additive Authorization Regulation (...)

Not even a decision of the European Court dated 12 March 1987 has been able to change this. This decision can be summarized as follows:

"To ensure the free movement of goods within the European Union, beer may also be sold in Germany that does not conform to the German Beer Purity Law.

Non-German beer may contain other raw materials, such as unmalted barley, corn, rice or millet, or perhaps additives, but if so, this must be clearly stated on the label."

Such beer, however, has not been able to make a dent in the German market because the consumer is not willing to buy much of it, but some beers imported into Germany do still contain maize or rice. Most big international brewers, however, have orientated themselves to the desires of the German consumer by brewing according to the Beer Purity Law, at least for the German market.

"We could be happy if the air was as pure as the beer"
Richard von Weizsaecker, former President of the German Federal Republic

German beer, brewed in accordance with the Purity Law, is made from natural raw materials, without additives, which are not technically necessary anyway. Apparently, German consumers prefer a beer made from natural raw materials, because beer not brewed in accordance with the Purity Law has only a negligible market share.

Whether or not there is interaction between the various additives present in what people eat, or between these additives and the alcohol in what we drink, does not present a problem for German brewers: Their beer will continue to be made from malt, hops, yeast and water.

Another aspect is of great importance: The almost exclusive function of unmalted grain (such as Rice, Corn, Millet, Manioc, etc., and the flakes and semolina made from such grain), in beer is to increase the carbohydrate and alcohol content

Brewing malt contains many nutritionally and physiologically important compounds which are carried over into the beer. Beer brewed exclusively from malted grain has, in comparison to unmalted grain beers, a much higher nutrient content and lower amounts of fermentation by-products such as fusel oil which contains amyl alcohol.

The German Beer Purity Law is still today a very good answer to the consumer's fears about additives in foods and beverages. Many nutritionists and physiologists believe that even today, consumers are still not well enough protected from the side-effects of untested or incompletely tested additives.

This is even more true for beer because the finest quality beer can be brewed with no additives at all.

German brewers have given their word to the beer drinking public that there will be absolutely no deviations from the Beer Purity Law.

London – South African Breweries gulped down the two top breweries in beer-loving Czech Republic on Thursday and said it would propel the famed Pilsner Urquell brand into premium export markets. In a deal worth up to $630 million by 2001, the world's fourth largest brewer edged out its rivals to take control of Pilsner Urquell and Radegast. It was SAB's biggest acquisition since its listing on the London Stock Exchange in March and made it the leading brewer in central Europe, doubling annual production.

PILSNER BRAND STRONG IN EUROPE

The prize was Pilsner Urquell, a golden lager cherished by Czechs as a national treasure since 1842 and copied by brewmasters around the world. Analysts and investors liked the look of SAB's Czech buys and said the strategy to promote "the first Pilsner on earth" would probably succeed, at least in Europe. "I think it will work in certain markets," said Colin Davies, analyst at Goldman Sachs. "The brand is known reasonably well in the UK and particularly in markets like Germany, Hungary and Poland." SAB will pay $321m for 51% of a joint venture with Nomura Securities, the Japanese investment bank which bought the two breweries over the past two years and is merging them.

Put and call options will enable SAB to achieve 100% ownership by June 2001for a further $308m. At 1310 GMT SAB's stock price was up 2.4% in London at 563 pence. SAB said the latest acquisitions meant the group's earnings split was about 70% from inside South Africa and 30% from outside. SAB wants to lessen its dependency on the domestic market and its goal is a 50-50 split. SAB's group corporate finance and development director, Malcolm Wyman, said the Czech buys had certainly not exhausted its warchest. "This is the first significant step since we came to London and is not the end of what we were intending to do," he said.

NOMURA MAY STAY FOR THE BEER

The South Africans already have operations in Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Russia. Pilsner Urquell and Radegast give it 44% of the Czech market. The country has the highest annual per capita beer consumption in the world - 160 litres (285 pints). Analysts said SAB had paid a full price due to competition in the auction process from Dutch brewer Heineken NV. Nomura has the option to keep a minority stake in the joint venture after it helps SAB settle in at the breweries and obtain approval for the sale from the Czech authorities. But Davies said it was almost certain Nomura would yield its 49 percent stake to SAB. "Ultimately Nomura's a bank rather than a brewer," he said. Pilsner Urquell has been made in the same brewhouse in Plzen (Pilsen) since its birth. SAB promised to keep standards high and not to undermine Pilsner Urquell's "traditional heritage". Randall Dillard, the chairman of Pilsner Urquell and managing director at Nomura International, said "hand on heart", there was no risk to the 750 jobs at the two breweries. "(They) already operate to European levels of efficiency per employee but their labour costs are one quarter of those of Germany," he said.

Gypsum is not the same as plaster of paris.

According to the institute of brewing, plaster of paris is totally insoluble and usless in the brewing process. Gypsum is partially soluble and should be used in the boilling copper only. For calcium in the mash, soluble calcium chloride is the prefered source.