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Letter from the President

Hi folx,

It’s your current Homebrew Zoo president. My name is Taylor A. Hopkins and I’ve been brewing for 10 or so years. I started out on the kitchen stove with extract and now have a 10-gallon system. My favorite thing to brew lately is German lagers.

As we progress in 2023, we are hosting two BJCP-sanctioned competitions, a BJCP tasting exam for those who have passed the online portion, multiple inner club competitions, partnering with local breweries and distilleries on projects, and some amazing educational portions planned. 

We hope you’ll join us on the third Tuesday of the month at 7:30 at the Home Brewery in Ozark.

Sincerely, 

Taylor A. Hopkins

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How I prepare for competitions

by John Huhn

Greetings fellow ZOO members!
This past weekend, October 28-30, 2022 was the judging for the 25th annual Hoppy Halloween competition hosted by the Prairie Homebrewing Companions out of Fargo, North Dakota. It’s one of the last competitions of the season; yes there is a season, for the High Plains Brewer Circuit.
https://kcbiermeisters.com/high-plains-award/
This my first year participating in this circuit and this past weekend, I picked up bronze, silver, and gold medals out of five entries. I received gold for Wee Heavy, silver for Belgian Dark Strong, and bronze for Scottish Heavy. All three medal winning entries scored 40 or higher on BJCP scoresheets. I say none of this as a way to pat myself on the back. Rather, I want to take this success and briefly talk about how I created these medal winning beers.
I’ll start with Eyebrow Beard Wee Heavy. I had retired this beer from competitions, but brought it back for the High Plains Brewer Circuit. The BJCP overall impression for this beer is: Rich, sweet malt depth with caramel, toffee, and fruity flavors. Full-bodied and chewy, with warming alcohol. Restrained bitterness, but not cloying or syrupy.
The trick I use with this beer is to pull one gallon of the first runnings and vigorously boil for 1 hour in a separate pot to reduce volume and create melanoidins but not to the point of making a syrup. This will need to be watched closely as scorching the liquid will ruin the batch. I typically use a stock pot on a second propane burner near the boil kettle so it’s easy to monitor.

Next beer I scored well with and earned a silver medal is BFD Belgian Dark Strong. BFD was the nickname of the guy who got me started on this crazy hobby in 1999. Yes, he was a Big Freakin’ Dude. BJCP Overall Impression: A dark, complex, very strong Belgian ale with a delicious blend of malt richness, dark fruit flavors, and spicy notes. Complex, rich, smooth, and dangerous.
BFD has been one of those white whales for me as I’ve brewed it countless times since I first helped Steve brew the original version in his basement. The version that I brew now is only similar in name as most of the recipe has been changed over the years. I decided years ago to make this a clone of Trappistes Rochefort #8 and while my version is a bit more phenolic than the Rochefort version, that’s what judges expect. For this recipe, it’s vital that I use the Rochefort strain, which is Wyeast Abbey Ale II 1762. The fermentation management of this beer is the trick. I pitch a large 2000ml starter at 64F and after 48 hours let the fermentation free rise up to 70F for the duration of the fermentation. I’ve found that for this yeast to produce the phenolics I want, the best method is to give it a good 2 days to complete the growth and multiplication phases of fermentation then the exothermic nature of fermentation, the thermal mass warms on its own. It’s helpful to have temperature control, but not vital. If you have a room that the temperature can be controlled without wild fluctuations, it will work fine.

Lastly, I wanted to talk about Lil Shillelagh Scottish Heavy. This beer is one of my favorites and I’ve been tweaking this recipe and its process for years. The BJCP overall impression for this beer is: A lower-alcohol, malty beer with light caramel, toast, toffee, and fruity flavors. A slight roast dryness offsets the residual sweetness in the finish, with the bitterness perceived only to keep the beer from being cloying.
The trick is building malt complexity with specialty malts that are complementary e.g. Caramunich, Munich, Honey, and Pale Chocolate each in the 5-6% of the total grist and mashing at a higher rest temperature than typical. I mash in at 160F to create the longer chain sugars that give this light beer a bigger mouthfeel than is expected for a beer that checks in at 3.3% abv as well as a small amount of dextrin for rounding out the perception of sugar without it being too sweet.

At the end of the day, everyone has to find their own path to dialing in there beers. While every so often I’ll happen on a recipe that is great the first time, I often have to rebrew multiple times until I find the right path. To me, this is a big part of the fun. Finding the path for each beer is super rewarding in it’s own right and that’s who I have to please first, myself.
Cheers,
John Huhn

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Homebrew Zoo Collaborates with Turkey Creek Brewing

Homebrewing is all about experimentation and collaboration, and the Homebrew Zoo recently had the opportunity to collaborate with Turkey Creek Brewing to create a delicious Belgian Golden Strong Ale. The recipe was originally from John Huhn and was used in the recent barrel project by the Homebrew Zoo.

Turkey Creek Brewing owner Scott Wuest and head brewer Andy Guinn decided to use the Homebrew Zoo’s recipe for their collaboration brew. On a Sunday morning, the club was invited down to the brewery in Hollister, MO for a brew day. In attendance were club members Jenn and Mike, Big Greg, Taylor, and Dave D.

The brew consisted of over 250 pounds of grain and 89 ounces of hops. The recipe was essentially unchanged from the original club recipe, with the exception of using dry yeast instead of the liquid yeast that was used in the barrel project. The beer is expected to be tapped in mid-November.

Collaborations like this are what make the homebrewing community so special. It’s an opportunity for brewers to come together and share their passion for creating unique and delicious beers. The Homebrew Zoo is grateful for the opportunity to work with Turkey Creek Brewing and is excited to try the finished product.

If you’re interested in trying your hand at homebrewing, consider joining a local homebrewing club or join. You’ll have the chance to meet other brewers, share tips and tricks, and maybe even collaborate on a brew with a local brewery. Cheers to the Homebrew Zoo and Turkey Creek Brewing for a successful collaboration!

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From the President’s Brew Board

Cheers!
This has been a long time coming! We (Club Officer’s) have been talking for months about how we can make the most beneficial use of the website as well as the internet presence we have as a club of home-brew hobbyists. Among the many things we’ve discussed is creating more content to populate the website as well as social media, as well as regular messages from the governing committee. With that in mind, I felt it was beyond time for me to write a piece about my time as the club President.
When I became President in September 2019, I certainly had no idea what was coming for the world. As many clubs, we struggled to find a path to keep the hard earned momentum we had as a club going forward into the unknown world of 2020. We tried many things to engage members and keep them interested. From virtual meetings, special guests on the virtual meetings, social media engagement, club meetings in the parking lot, meeting as distanced as possible in the shop during winter, etc… It’s impossible to know if any of those things we tried worked to keep the club alive or if it would have collapsed as other clubs had who decided to not utilize virtual meeting formats.
As of this month, August 2022, the ZOO has survived the last 2+ years and now we are focused on taking the club not back to normal, but beyond that to a more active and engaged club. A club that will bring members and yet-to-be members more value for the dues paid. Many of those efforts are currently underway, (Iron Brewer Competition, Santa Clone Competition aka ZYMUR Challenge, BJCP Competitions, Training and Exams, Monthly Club Raffles, Annual Club Picnic, High Gravity Night, Big Brew Day, Competition Calendar Updates, Club Participation at Events, Charitable work…) and many more coming.
I want to take this moment to announce that I will not be running for a 4th term as the club President. While it was hard work at times keeping everything moving, I enjoyed my tenure and have a positive outlook for the club’s future. We have a great group of talented and focused people on the governing board and I have complete confidence they will continue driving the club forward. While I will no longer be President, I’m hoping to remain on the governing committee to help and support the new leadership in whatever role needs filled.

Cheers,
John Huhn