Address: 4603 Colewood Circle, Huntsville Phone:

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1 July 2011 Newsletter North Alabama Chapter of the American Wine Society (AWS) Annual Beer Tasting July 24, 2011, 3:00 pm Hosted by Greg & Debbie Schumann New, more liberal, Alabama alcohol laws championed by Free The Hops, and other grassroots advocacy groups, have created a boom in local craft breweries. Huntsville is blessed to have 4 of the 5 microbreweries in Alabama. To celebrate the art of our local brew masters, we will taste seven of the best local craft beers from Straight to Ale, Yellowhammer, Blue Pants and Below the Radar. We will also have a special guest to discuss the craft beer market, brewing techniques, and a host of other beer-related topics. Address: 4603 Colewood Circle, Huntsville Phone: Directions: From South Memorial Parkway, turn east on Airport Road, go past Whitesburg Drive up the hill past Publix. On the backside of the hill, take your first left on Springhouse Road. You ll see the stone entrance to Walton Mountain Subdivision. Follow the road to the top of the mountain. Turn right on Colewood Circle (fourth house on the right 4603). AWS North Alabama Chapter Logo Our chapter logo has been digitized and is ready to have embroidered on items of your choice. You may either take or buy items at the shop. Logo can be 3, 4, or 5 inches. GREEK, Inc, 504 Jordan Lane NW, Huntsville, AL, If you are planning on attending the AWS conference and don t already a logo item, consider ordering a logo item to show you are from the North Alabama chapter. Reservation Form is on the last page of newsletter 1

2 BEER-HOPS AND YEAST (Marj McCulley, Education Chair) Two ingredients, hops and yeast, are the major contributors to the flavor, character and style of beer. HOPS Flavoring beer is the sole major commercial use of hops. The flower of the hop vine is used as a flavoring and preservative agent in nearly all beer made today. The flowers themselves are called "hops". Hops were used by monastery breweries in Germany during the first century AD though the date normally given for widespread cultivation of hops for use in beer is the thirteenth century. Before the thirteenth century and until the sixteenth century during which hops took over as the dominant flavoring, beer was often flavored with other plants. The hop plant is a vigorous climbing herbaceous perennial, usually trained to grow up strings in a field called a hop field, hop garden or hop yard when grown commercially. Male and female flowers of the hop plant develop on separate plants (dioecious). Because viable seeds are undesirable for brewing beer, only female plants are grown in hop fields in order to prevent pollination. The female plants are propagated vegetatively or male plants are culled if plants are grown from seeds. Hops contain several characteristics that brewers desire in beer. Hops contribute a bitterness that balances the sweetness of the malt. Hops contribute floral, citrus and herbal aromas and flavors to beer. Hops have an antibiotic effect that favors the activity of brewer's yeast over less desirable microorganisms that occur naturally in the environment. Hops aid in clearing the beer and in "head retention", the length of time that a foamy head created by carbonation will last. The acidity of hops is a preservative, one of the reasons they became the favored flavoring ingredients for beer. Today many different types of hops are grown by farmers around the world, with different types being used for particular styles of beer. YEAST Another major contributor to flavor and character of a beer is the yeast variety selected for fermentation. The dominant types of yeast used to make beer are ale yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) and lager yeast (Saccharomyces uvarum); their use distinguishes ale, ferments at the top of the wort, and lager, ferments at the bottom at cooler temperatures. Ale is typically fermented at temperatures between 60 and 75 F. At these temperatures, yeast produces significant amounts of esters and other secondary flavor and aroma products, and the result is often a beer with slightly "fruity" compounds resembling but not limited to apple, pear, pineapple, banana, plum, cherry or prune. Pale lagers tend to be dry, lean, clean-tasting and crisp. Flavors may be subtle, with no traditional beer ingredient dominating the others. There tends to be no butterscotch flavor from diacetyl, due to the slow, cold fermentation process. Brettanamyces is used to ferments lambics and Torulaspora delbrueckii ferments Bavarian weissbier. A point of interest, in wine Brettanamyces in more than trace amounts is a fault. Before the role of yeast in fermentation was understood, fermentation involved wild or airborne yeasts. A few styles such as lambics rely on this method today, but most modern fermentation adds pure yeast cultures. 2

3 Beer vs. Wine a debate for the ages Director s Cellar (Steve Young, Director) For me personally, I drink three things wine (of course), beer and single malt scotch. So I don t think it s really a debate, but let s look into it further. One thing that makes this conversation possible is that the past few decades have seen the craft beer movement sweep across the nation and introduce an entire generation to a world of beer flavor that their parents likely never knew existed. So let s take Bud out of the conversation, as well as Two Buck Chuck. Wine lovers argue that a good wine speaks of place. After the sun and soil have done their work, after the grapes have been hand-harvested, crushed and fermented with indigenous yeast, after the wine has been aged and bottled, after all of this, the year that the grapes grew is placed on the label and you have the essence of a geographic area. A time capsule that tastes good. Beer enthusiasts argue that beer also speaks of time and place. Though malted barley is a commodity that stores well and can easily be shipped anywhere, a good brewer can use it to reproduce a classic style of beer, rich with history, for local consumption. And it will be less expensive and easier to share at convivial gatherings. Some brewers will even craft a product, much like wine in fact, subject to the unpredictability of airborne yeasts and bacteria. So what do we have? I think we have two excellent adult beverages that can be right given the situation. Food and Wine took nine grilling recipes (after all it is summer) and challenged authors Sam Calagione, the founder of Delaware s Dogfish Head brewery, and Marnie Old, a wine educator, to a taste-off. The challenge: Who could come up with the superior pairing for the recipes? Well beer won 5 to 4 so it was close! Next which one is healthier? It s well documented that red wine has beneficial health effects, It's called the French Paradox -- the link between the low rate of heart disease among the French and their fat-laden diet was a daily dosage of red wine. Well, there's no denying the results of that study. But what the most peo- 3

4 ple don t know is that the health value of beer has been known, documented and applied for centuries. In November of 1999, The New England Journal of Medicine stated that light to moderate beer drinkers would decrease their chances of suffering a stroke by 20%. This is because beer is made from grains, water and yeast. Grains commonly used are barley and wheat (with cheaper, mass-produced beers relying on corn and rice), both of which are loaded with a variety of vitamins (especially B6) that survive the fermentation and filtering process. And the vitamin value of the yeast is conserved in the hundreds of unfiltered beers that are on the market -- both on tap and in bottles. The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas (May 1999) reported that consuming moderate amounts of beer would lower one's chances of coronary heart disease by 30-40%, compared to those who don't drink at all. (Beer contains a similar amount of 'polyphenols' -- antioxidants -- as red wine and 4-5 times as many polyphenols as white wine). So as we get together to taste local brews, remember that beer is both fat-free and cholesterol-free so we re really doing it for our health! Programs (Tracy Norman, Programs Chair) Summer is now fully upon us and I hope you are all finding opportunities to enjoy summer wines and are having opportunities to pair them with your favorite summer foods. While many people drink a lot more white wine during the summer months, remember that there are some great rose and red options that pair well with summer BBQ and grilled foods. There are also some nice local micro-brews from this area to help quench the summer thirst. We will also have the opportunity to taste some of the local beers at this month s tasting. The tasting/event calendar for our North Alabama AWS chapter appears below. The 2011 calendar is complete and we are now working on the 2012 calendar. We already have several of the eleven events set for The remaining events will fill quickly, so if you have had an idea for a theme you would like to see at a tasting, now is your chance July 24 Beer Tasting Schumann August 28 Wine Labels Caudle/Fall September 25 National Wine Tasting Young October TBD Annual Dinner Norman November 20 Sparkling Wines Collier December N/A Holidays No activity N/A 2012 January 22 TBD Codington/Lindelow February 26 TBD Núñez March 25 Uncommon Varietals Norman April 22?????? 4

5 If you have an idea for a theme for a tasting, please consider hosting a meeting if you have not signed to host this year. You can reach me at (office), (cell), (home) or see me at one of the upcoming tastings. Results of the June Wine Tasting Wines of the American Revolutionary States On June 26 th, 28 members and guest of the North Alabama Chapter meet for a wine tasting featuring the wines from Revolutionary States. The tasting highlighted wines that would have been from the same type grapes that would have been popular during the Revolutionary times and was hosted by Jay and Gisele Wilson at their home on Chapman Mountain. The weather was wonderful for a great afternoon on the deck overlooking the city. The wines where paired with food that would have also been popular in the Revolutionary period and featured roasted pork and lamb, asparagus, shrimp & grits, fresh breads, cheeses from Sweet Grass Farms in Thomasville, Georgia, and both homemade apple pie and blackberry cobbler. Following an aperitif of hard cider seven wines where presented. The first was Madeira that would have been very popular for the period. These two wines where followed by a Pinot Noir and Riesling from Brotherhood Winery in Washingtonville, NY. This winery is the oldest winery in America. The group then moved on to a Niagara and a Pink Catawba from Gold Seal Mountain Lake in Hammondsport, NY. This winery has the distinction of having Winery License No. 1. The last wines where a light red blend from Brotherhood and a Vidal Blanc Ice Wine from Caywood Vineyards, which is from the Finger Lakes area. In voting the Hard Cider edged out the Brotherhood Riesling as the crowd favorite. Wines from the tasting: Aperitif J.K Schrumpy Hard Cider $5.89 Wines Blandy s Rainwater Madeira $20.59 Brotherhood 2008 Pinot Noir (New York) $8.49 Brotherhood 2010 Riesling (New York) $12.74 Goldseal Mountain Lake- NV Niagara (New York) $6.99 Goldseal Mountain Lake NV Pink Catawba (New York) $10.99 Brotherhood Rosario Light Red NV (New York) $6.79 Caywood Vineyards 2005 Vidal Blanc Ice Wine (Finger Lakes) $

6 Chapter 2011 Board of Directors Director Steve Young, Director Elect Edwin Núñez, Secretary Susan Coddington, - Kristen Lindelow, Treasurer Chip Boling, Programs Tracy Norman, Education Marj McCulley, Newsletter - Karl Starkloff, newsletter@naaws-hsv.com Webmaster - Jay Wilson, webmaster@naaws-hsv.com Chapter Web Site (Jay Wilson, Webmaster) When you have time, check out the AWS web sites for both the National ( and local chapter ( I have added a "Link of the Month" to the home page. This link will change monthly and will point to unique web sites that our members have discovered. Also, a link was added to the AWS Educational Foundation (AWSEF) home page. Please visit the web page and send your web page suggestion to me. Why We Raffle We hold a raffle at each monthly tasting to help increase our chapter s annual contribution to the AWS Educational Foundation (AWSEF). The purpose of this fund is to assist graduate students in continuing their studies that support the American wine industry. We all enjoy the fruits of their labors! Just bring your raffle item(s) to the tasting each month and we ll raffle them off. It s only a $1 a ticket or 6 tickets for $5!! June Raffle Our June raffle consisted of two bottles of wine both, coincidentally, from Chehalem Winery in Willamette Valley, Oregon. The first was a 2007 Ian s Reserve Chardonnay from Chehalem Stoller Vineyards that Glenda Page selected. The second was a 2007 Riesling from Chehalem s Corral Creek that Karl Starkloff won. Our monthly raffles are only as good as the donations everyone brings. Please consider bringing a raffle item to our July meeting. Chapter AWS Educational Foundation (AWSEF) 6

7 Our chapter is committed to supporting the AWSEF. As most of you are aware, we add $2 to every tasting and this money is designated for the AWSEF. At almost every tasting we hold a raffle of items donated by the members. For the June 2011 tasting, $50 was raised from the raffle, $84 from the amount added to the tasting cost for a total of $134. The balance in the educational fund is $1,023. Our goal for our next (4th) scholarship award is $3,000. We awarded a scholarship this year which will be awarded at the AWSEF breakfast at the AWS conference. 7

8 (July 24, 2011) Reservations deadline Saturday, July 16th AWS member names Phone Guests names Phone (Guests, is this your 1 st, 2 nd or 3 rd time as a guest?) Total number $14. =. Attendance is limited to 24. (NOTE: $2 of this cost goes to the AWS Educational Foundation Fund and is Tax Deductible) Additional contribution to AWS Educational Foundation: (Add to amount above and include total in check; make check out to AWS, North Alabama Chapter) Please mail your check and reservation form to: AWS, North Alabama Chapter, P.O. Box 461, Madison, AL Cancellation Policy: To receive a refund, you must cancel by 5 pm on the Wednesday prior to the tasting, unless you have a compelling emergency. To cancel, call our treasurer, Chip Boling (phone number and are listed under AWS North Alabama Chapter 2011 Board of Directors paragraph). 8