AWS North Alabama Chapter Logo. Reservation Form is on the last page of newsletter

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1 July 2012 Newsletter North Alabama Chapter of the American Wine Society (AWS) Beer Tasting (IPAs) July 22, 2012, 3:00 pm Hosted by Greg and Debbie Schumann Nothing pairs better with spicy foods and summer heat than a cold India Pale Ale beer. India Pale Ale or IPA for short; originally brewed to withstand the long trip from England to thirsty British soldiers serving in the India colonies. While other beers spoiled, the higher alcohol and hop components in IPAs not only survived the voyage, but created a distinctive citrus and slightly bitter taste enjoyed by hop-heads worldwide. As one of the more popular beer styles, IPAs come in many variations from white to black. Come participate in the tasting that features one of the currently growing trends in popularity in the USA come taste the variety of IPAs hand-picked for your tasting pleasures, hosted by the Schumann s. AWS North Alabama Chapter Logo Our chapter logo has been digitized and is ready to be embroidered on items of your choice. You may either take or buy items at the shop. Logo can be 3, 4, or 5 inches. Stiches and Ink, 504 D Jordan Lane, Huntsville, AL, Reservation Form is on the last page of newsletter 1

2 Results of the June Wine Tasting The North Alabama Chapter held a Wine by the Bottle tasting on 24 June 2012 hosted by Jay and Gisele Wilson which was very successful. Given the high number of correct answers from the 33 members and guests, it was apparent a lot of new information was added to an already well informed group of wine enthusiasts. It was quite hot outside, so everyone opted to stay inside in the cool of the air conditioner. The afternoon tasting showcased 7 wines with no labels. With a guide sheet to go by, explaining what can be learned from just the wine bottle, everyone played detective and were able to guess the grape and in most cases the country of origin. Of the seven wines two stood out as favorites among the group. The 2010 Loosen Brothers Riesling was the favorite with the Meiomi Pinot Noir only a point behind. Several of the appetizers also received rave reviews and their recipes will be added to our web site. Bonus gifts were presented to those who answered trivia questions about wine bottles. They must have been fairly easy as you had to be quick to win. The wines tasted with retail prices are: Santome Prosecco, $12.19 Loosen Brothers Riesling, 2010, $13.39 St. Supery Savignon Blanc, 2010, $17.49 St. Christopher Gewurztraminer, 2009, $12.29 Meiomi Pinot Noir, 2010, $19.99 Shoo Fly Shiraz, 2010, $11.49 Chateau Blouin Bordeaux, 2011, $10.29 A Beer Tasting? Director s Article (Edwin Núñez, Director) This month we will have our annual beer tasting at the Schumann s. Why a beer tasting at a wine organization? Is this unusual? Not quite! A brief perusal of the major wine magazines will demonstrate that articles on beers and all kinds of spirits are common. Contrary to what many think, lovers of good wine and lovers of good beer share many characteristics. Good beer for both groups is not the insipid, boring liquid some say swill produced by most large commercial industries. For the most part, only artisanal beers produced at microbreweries meet the rigorous requirements of well-educated palates. Brew Masters at such establishments show the same dedication, care, attention to detail, and pride in their product as wine makers. Like wine, those beers have diverse complex aromas and flavors. Some of our members also belong to an organization called Free the Hops. This Alabama organization has been quite effective in changing legislators attitudes towards beer, microbreweries and brew-pubs. It has convinced legislators that this industry can prosper and generate jobs locally. In the process, the purging of antiquated laws and prohibitions has eliminated many barriers that also hindered the state wine industry, distributors and wine sellers. We are not rivals but allies. 2

3 Chapter Web Site (Jay Wilson, Webmaster) When you have time, check out the AWS web sites for both the National ( and our local chapter ( If you haven t been to the North Alabama Chapter of the American Wine Society web page, you are missing a fine opportunity to explore not only our Chapter s history but a lot more. For example, there is a Tab that can explain how to conduct a wine tasting. Here you can find out it is not as hard as you may think to host a tasting. On several other Tabs, you can see the schedule of future tastings, as well as photos of past events. There are archive Tabs for the monthly Newsletter and Education articles going back to The Recipe Tab has almost 50 delicious recipes that tasting hosts have generously provided. There is even a tab where you can contact directly any member of the Board. A lot of effort and time has gone into this website and it is recognized as one of the best in the AWS. To help you find your way, the monthly Newsletter is posted in both PDF and HTML formats, easily downloaded to your phone, to review driving directions to the tasting or re-read Marj s Education page for the month. Our Chapter web site belongs to us, take a few minutes and explore. BEER, BEER, BEER (Marj McCulley, Education Chair) What is Beer? Beer is an alcoholic drink brewed mainly from malted barley, hops, yeast and water although other sources of fermentable carbohydrate such as maize, wheat, rice and other natural ingredients may be added to create different styles and flavors. Beers fall into two major categories, Ales and Lagers. What are Lagers? A crisp, clean beer made with bottom-fermenting yeasts at near freezing temperatures for longer periods of time than ales. What are Ales? A beer brewed from hops, malt, and top-fermenting yeast. Varies from pale to dark amber in color, texture is smooth and sweet, flavor is fruity, stronger, and more bitter than lagers. What is Pale Ale? A highly hopped beer made from high-quality malt that s dry in flavor. The term pale ale originally denoted an ale which had been brewed from pale malt. The pale ales of the early 18th century were lightly hopped and quite different from later pale ales. By the mid-18th century, pale ale was mostly manufactured with coke-fired malt, which produced less smoking and roasting of barley in the malting process, and hence produced a paler beer. What is India Pale Ale? A pale ale that is stronger and profusely hoppy. There are differing opinions as to when and why it was developed but it became a favorite of the British residing in India when it was under British rule. The brewing process is along the same lines as standard ale brewing with the top fermentation method being utilized. The same dried pale malts are used as in any other pale ale. The real differential is the strength of the brew and the amount of hops added throughout the process. Different hops will be added at the start of the boil to bring out a general bitterness to the taste, and more aromatic hops 3

4 tend to be added to the finish. The flavors tend to be big strong and bold with plenty of bitterness. Flavors vary with most of the influence coming from the type of hops used. When deciding on which individual brew to select it s good to have knowledge of the flavors different hop styles will bring to the beer. What are Hops? A climbing plant that can grow to a height of over 20 feet, the hop's closest botanical relative is Cannabis! Hop cones contain a wealth of resins and essential oils which give the beer its distinctive bitterness and hop flavor. Contrary to public perception, beer is not "made from hops". Typically a barrel of beer is made from 20kg of malt and 150g of hops. Hops are used rather like a spice. Hops species differ in flavor, intensity and bitterness. In the beer industry hops are classified according by the International Bitterness Units. A system of indicating the hop bitterness in finished beer. Now just lean back and enjoy your IPAs and remember---- Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy.-- Benjamin Franklin Programs (Margaret Fall, Programs Chair) Have you MARKED YOUR CALENDAR for the July Tasting? It will be on Sunday, July 22 nd, and you won t want to miss it. We will be tasting India Pale Ale (or, as it is known in the world of acronyms and to aficionados, IPA ). IPA was developed in England around 1840 and since then it has become a very popular beverage choice there. IPA is currently growing in popularity in the USA, too come taste a few hand-picked IPAs on July 22 nd, and find out why! If your missed the AWS Tasting for June at the home of the Wilson s, you missed a great learning experience. By paying attention to the shape and color of the bottle you can actually deduce much about the type of wine it likely contains, even from across the room. We all owe a special debt of thanks to the Wilson s for a great learning/tasting experience; especially given the amount of research they had to do ;>) As you probably know by now, I am still looking for host(s) for Please look at the upcoming calendar to see what is available and let me know a month that would work for you. Hosting is a great way to increase your level of involvement in our Chapter, and I know you will find it a rewarding experience. Just ask the Wilsons! As Programs Chair, I am available and happy to answer any questions, and to help you host a tasting. 4

5 2012 July 22 Beer Tasting Schumann August 26 Pinot Noir Young September 23 National Tasting - Pinot Noir Starkloff October TBD Annual Dinner Programs November 18 Sparkling Wines Boling December N/A No Tasting N/A 2013 January 27 TBA Fall/looking to partner February 24 Virginia Wines Garay March 24 Let s Shout: Olé! Núñez April 28 TBA McCulley May 19 Open Open June 23 TBA Boling July 28 Open Open August 25 Open Open September 22 Open Open October TBD Annual Dinner Programs November 17 Open Open December N/A No Tasting N/A WOW: Wine Over Water, Chattanooga Other Wine Events Wine Over Water ( WOW ) is a fund-raising event held in Chattanooga to benefit historic preservation in Chattanooga. This year s event takes place on Saturday, October 6 from 5:00 to 8:00pm on the Walnut Street Bridge and will feature more than 300 wines for tasting. Tickets are available now through September 15 for $60 each and half the ticket price is tax deductible as a donation to Cornerstone Inc., the non-profit organization that heads up historic preservation in Chattanooga. Ticket prices go up to $65 on September 16 and, if available, will be $70 at the gate. (Last year s WOW sold out.) There will be discounts available at downtown hotels, according to the WOW website, but they are not yet posted as of this writing. Best Cellars is a smaller event of 150 premium wines, heavy hors d oeuvres, live jazz music, and a silent auction on Friday night, October 5 from 5:30 to 7:30 at The Chattanoogan in downtown Chattanooga. Tickets for this event are $100, half of which is tax deductible. 5

6 Are you interested in volunteering? I ve contacted the organizers to request information about volunteering and will share this info with anyone interested. Kristen Lindelow Chapter 2012 Board of Directors Director Edwin Núñez Director Elect Tracy Norman Secretaries Susan Coddington and Kristen Lindelow Treasurer Chip Boling Programs Margaret Fall Education Marj McCulley Newsletter - Karl Starkloff Webmaster - Jay Wilson 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. Just $10 buys 12 tickets and $5 gets you six tickets! June Raffle Four members generously made donations for our June raffle thank you! The lucky winners were: Karl Starkloff who selected the 2008 Sterling Vintner s Collection Central Coast Syrah; Marj McCulley who chose the 2010 Domaine de Mauvan Côtes du Provence; Cathy and Jim Baltar who took home the 2008 Mark West Central Coast Chardonnay; and Chip Boling who won the Venezia Studio art bottle stopper and glass tags. Thanks again to everyone who donated a prize his month! If you haven t donated something in a while, please consider bringing a prize to the July tasting. 6

7 Chapter AWS Educational Foundation (AWSEF) For the June 2012 tasting, $75 was raised from the raffle, $73 from the amount added to the tasting cost for a total of $148. The balance in the chapter s AWSEF fund is $3,154. 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. The AWSEF has raised the scholarship award amount from $3,000 to $3,500; therefore our chapter s goal for our next (4 th ) scholarship award is $3, G oal oal Funds Funds Rai Rai sed sed To To Dat Dat Reservation Form for this Month s Tasting (July 22, 2012) Reservations deadline Saturday, July 14 th 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 2012 Board of Directors paragraph). 7