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BOSS Newsletter
June 2015
Scott Pointon, Editor
We are dedicated to the art of crafting
and quaffing fine beers through the
sharing of ideas and experiences, the
advocacy of brewing as a hobby, and
the responsible consumption of
beverages containing alcohol
Brewers of South Suburbia is an Illinois not-for-profit corporation
In This Month’s Issue
May Meeting at Blue Island Beer Company
June - Meeting at Argus Brewery
Styles for the Year
Meeting Schedule for 2015
Upcoming Competitions
Membership Information
BOSS Library
Contact the Officers
Newsletter Items
Upcoming Beer Festivals
Beer Quote of the Month
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May Meeting at the Blue Island Beer Company
In May we had our first opportunity as a club to visit Blue Island Beer Company, the new brewery
endeavor of longtime B.O.S.S. member Bryan Shimkos and his business partner Alan Cromwell.
We were all impressed with the initial beer offerings and the sheer potential of the space inside the
building. I have no doubt there will be great things coming from Blue Island Beer Company for
many years to come!
It was also very impressive to hear Bryan describe how fantastically supportive the City of Blue
Island was in helping to make this brewery dream a reality.
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At this meeting we also had the annual B.O.S.S. Board election. The results of the election and the
names of the 2015/2016 Board members are as follows:
Bill Goetz (President)
Brandon Banbury (V.P.)
Scott Pointon (Secretary)
Terry Frey (Treasurer)
Jim Todd (Webmaster)
Steve Sikorski (Immediate Past President)
Mike Morel (Board Member At Large)
Mark Westmeyer (Board Member At Large)
Steve Kamp (Board Member Emeritus)
Dick Van Dyke (Board Member Emeritus)
Congrats to all of the winners, especially Brandon Banbury, our newest board member.
Thanks again to Bryan and Alan for their hospitality and letting us have the run of the place!
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June Meeting
The trip to Argus
The June meeting will again be hosted by our good friends at Argus Brewery. This is a great little
southside production brewery that is located inside the old Schlitz distribution stables (in the
Pullman neighborhood of Chicago). This is an excellent meeting and the guys at Argus always treat
us well.
Please RSVP early and remember to bring a chair to sit on!
June Meeting Details
Date: Friday June 5th
Time: 7:00pm
Location: Argus Brewing, 11314 South Front Avenue, Chicago, IL 60628
RSVP: Send an email to Terry Frey at [email protected]
Driving: From whatever direction you are coming from, you will likely take I-80 to either I-57 or
I-94, and head toward the city. Argus is located between I-57 and I-94, right off 113th Street. Your
best bet is to head down 115th St. toward MLK, but turn north onto South Front St. Once on Front
St. you will see railroad tracks to the right and the Argus building will be down a couple blocks on
the left.
Meeting Dues: The cost to attend this meeting will be the $10 for BOSS members and $15 for
guests. Remember, until you have renewed your annual membership you are a “guest”.
Meeting Style: The meeting style this month is Berliner Weisse – BJCP Category 17A. Here is
what the BJCP has to say about this wonderful style:
Category 17A – Berliner Weisse:
Aroma: A sharply sour, somewhat acidic character is dominant. Can have up to a moderately fruity
character. The fruitiness may increase with age and a flowery character may develop. A mild
Brettanomyces aroma may be present. No hop aroma, diacetyl, or DMS.
Appearance: Very pale straw in color. Clarity ranges from clear to somewhat hazy. Large, dense,
white head with poor retention due to high acidity and low protein and hop content. Always
effervescent.
Flavor: Clean lactic sourness dominates and can be quite strong, although not so acidic as a lambic.
Some complementary bready or grainy wheat flavor is generally noticeable. Hop bitterness is very
low. A mild Brettanomyces character may be detected, as may a restrained fruitiness (both are
optional). No hop flavor. No diacetyl or DMS.
Mouthfeel: Light body. Very dry finish. Very high carbonation. No sensation of alcohol.
Overall Impression: A very pale, sour, refreshing, low-alcohol wheat ale.
History: A regional specialty of Berlin; referred to by Napoleon's troops in 1809 as “the
Champagne of the North” due to its lively and elegant character. Only two traditional breweries still
produce the product.
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Comments: In Germany, it is classified as a Schankbier denoting a small beer of starting gravity in
the range 7-8°P. Often served with the addition of a shot of sugar syrups (‘mit schuss’) flavored
with raspberry (‘himbeer’) or woodruff (‘waldmeister’) or even mixed with Pils to counter the
substantial sourness. Has been described by some as the most purely refreshing beer in the world.
Ingredients: Wheat malt content is typically 50% of the grist (as with all German wheat beers) with
the remainder being Pilsner malt. A symbiotic fermentation with top-fermenting yeast and
Lactobacillus delbruckii provides the sharp sourness, which may be enhanced by blending of beers
of different ages during fermentation and by extended cool aging. Hop bitterness is extremely low.
A single decoction mash with mash hopping is traditional.
Vital Statistics: OG: 1.028 – 1.032
IBUs: 3 – 8
FG: 1.003 – 1.006
SRM: 2 – 3
ABV: 2.8 – 3.8%
Commercial Examples: Schultheiss Berliner Weisse, Berliner Kindl Weisse, Nodding Head
Berliner Weisse, Weihenstephan 1809 (unusual in its 5% ABV), Bahnhof Berliner Style Weisse,
Southampton Berliner Weisse, Bethlehem Berliner Weisse, Three Floyds Deesko
2015/2016 Styles Of The Month For BOSS Guided Tastings
Style
BOSS Meeting Month
June
17A – Berliner Weisse
July
14B – American IPA
August
6D – American Wheat or Rye
September
N/A – Club Picnic
October
12B – Robust Porter
November
21A & 21B – Spice/Herb/Vegetable Beer
December
N/A – Club Christmas Party
January
6C - Kolsch
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BOSS Meeting Schedule for 2015
With the club having grown to the size that it has, the Board continues to work hard to locate
appropriate places to meet. That being the case, here is a partially completed list of 2015 meetings:
June 5th – Argus Brewery
July 10th – Possibly at BrickStone’s Production Brewery
August 7th – Hailstorm Brewery
September 19th - B.O.S.S. Picnic at Evil Horse Farm
October 2nd – Possibly at 5 Rabbit Cerveceria
November 8th – Lagunitas (to be held Sunday 11/8/15)
December 6th - Christmas party, likely at Rock Bottom
BOSS Brewers Compete!
It may not seem like it, but now is the time to start brewing big strong beers for the fall competition season.
Also, remember to let me know of any competitions in which you win awards!
Upcoming Midwest/Regional Competitions – Time to get brewing BOSS!
Entries in GREEN are participating in the 2015 Midwest Home Brewer of the Year competition.
Indiana State Fair Brewers Cup – (Indianapolis, IL)
Entry Deadline: June 27, 2015
Judging: July 11, 2015
Competition Information: http://brewerscup.org/
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
German Fest Stein Challenge – (Milwaukee, WI)
Entry Deadline: July 10, 2015
Judging: July 25, 2015
Competition Information: http://germanfest.com/german-fest-stein-challenge/
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Also, if you are interested in multi-competition challenges, here are two to consider:
Midwest Home Brewer of the Year
http://www.sphbc.org/mwhboy
Master’s Championship Of Amateur Brewing
http://www.masterhomebrewer.org
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BOSS Membership Information
Annual Dues
We only accept membership payments via PayPal! Look for more details on our website. Also, to
help the Board plan for and purchase an appropriate amount of club premium items, from now on, if
anyone joins after the picnic, new member or renewal, they won't be eligible to receive this year's
club premium.
Annual dues for Fiscal Year 2015/2016 are $32. Our fiscal year runs from May 1st to April 30th.
Payment any time between those dates constitutes membership until the following April 30th. So,
anyone who has not paid for the current year will have “guest” status at meetings. There is no
reduced rate for joining or renewing late in the fiscal year. If you have questions about paying
annual dues, you can send an email to Terry Frey, BOSS Treasurer, at [email protected]
and he will find an answer for you.
Meeting Fees
Our standard meeting fees are $10 for members and $15 for guests. Because we base how much
food to have on hand from the number of RSVPs received, if you RSVP late or show up to a
meeting without sending an RSVP by the deadline, you will be assessed an additional $5 to attend
the meeting.
BOSS Library
Steve Sikorski is the BOSS librarian. If you’re interested in a particular
brewing book, email Steve prior to the next meeting at
[email protected] . A complete (maybe) list of the BOSS
Library holdings can be found at www.bossbeer.org
Contact the Officers
Bill Goetz (President)
Brandon Banbury (V.P.)
Scott Pointon (Secretary)
Terry Frey (Treasurer)
Jim Todd (Webmaster)
Steve Sikorski (Past Pres)
Steve Kamp
Mike Morel
Dick Van Dyke
Mark Westmeyer
708-772-8234
630-631-7173
815-351-9333
xxx-xxx-xxxx
xxx-xxx-xxxx
561-426-3930
312-415-2337
815-932-9906
xxx-xxx-xxxx
312-806-0127
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
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Newsletter Items
Since this newsletter is in electronic form and as such we don’t have any space restrictions, I
encourage all BOSS members to submit items for inclusion. Visit a brewery or great beer bar in
your travels? Write up your impressions and send them to me. Digital pictures with captions are
also welcome! Did you brew an outstanding beer recently? If you are willing to share the
recipe, please do so and I will publicize it to our group. Got some news to share that affects
home brewers in the BOSS area? Let me know about it. Send all those, or anything else you
think would be interesting to me, Scott Pointon, at [email protected]
Upcoming Beer Festivals
At the request of our members, I am including a list of upcoming
local and regional beer festivals (as I learn of them). Though these
fests are not necessarily centered on the art of home brewing, we
can all surely appreciate a commercially made beer from time to
time.
American Beer Classic @ Soldier Field - Chicago, IL – May 9, 2015
http://americanbeerclassic.com/
Brew to be Wild @ Lincoln Park Zoo - Chicago, IL - June 13, 2015
http://www.brewtobewild.com/
Chicago Ale Fest @ Grant Park - Chicago, IL - June 19-20, 2015
http://chicagoalefest.com/
Naperville Ale Fest – Naperville, IL – July 18, 2015
http://napervillealefest.com/
Tribes Ale Fest – Tinley Park, IL – July 25, 2015
http://tribesalehouse.com
Great Taste of the Midwest – Madison, WI – August 8, 2015
http://greattaste.org/
Bell’s 30th Anniversary Funvitational – Kalamazoo, MI – September 12, 2015
http://bellsbeer.com/funvitational
Munster Alefest – Munster, IN – October 17, 2015
www.munsteralefest.com/
Wisconsin Craft Beer Festival – Milwaukee, WI – October 23-24, 2015
http://www.wisconsincraftbeerfestival.com
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Quote of the Month
As an avid reader, writer, brewer, and drinker of beer I am quite fond of beer-related
quotes. This month’s quote is:
“Genial and gladdening is the power of good ale, the true and proper drink of
Englishmen. He is not deserving of the name of Englishman who speaketh against
ale.” – from Lavengro, by George Borrow
Cheers and happy brewing!
Scott
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