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No-Sparge Low-Gravity Brewing

By Mark Bilbrough

OK, I admit it, I like low gravity session beers. I can avoid the guilt of having a beer most nights, without feeling like I have a drinking problem. After spending a couple of years in Scotland, and another in England, I’ve developed a taste for Scottish Ales and Bitters.

The problem is my brew system does not work well with low gravity beers. Mashing in (even) at a very generous three litres/kg on a small beer leads to around ten litres of strike water, which is way too small in my 55-litre mash tun.

Bamberg — part one

By Stuart Whytcross

Bamberg, unlike most German cities, managed to escape obliteration during the Second World War. Because of this, its architecture reflects around 1000 years of history, and this brings many tourists to the town. In 1993 UNESCO declared Bamberg to be a World Heritage City, and in 2006 the European Beer Consumers Union declared Bamberg to be a World Beer Heritage City.

With nine breweries producing over 60 different beers, two large malting facilities in Weyermann Malz and Bamberger Mälzerei, the world’s oldest manufacturer of brewing systems, Kaspar Schulz, and the Franconian Brewery Museum, it’s a title that this town rightfully deserves. And all in a geographic area smaller than Bendigo!

Bavaria and Weizen

By Stuart Whytcross

Hefeweizen would probably be one of my all time favourite beer styles, and on my last trip overseas, it was my goal to find the best one. This of course took me to Bavaria, which is the largest German state and is located in South-Eastern Germany. Although Munich and Bamberg are both in Bavaria, I decided to write two separate articles on these places, and include the rest of Bavaria and hefeweizens in this article.

It's no wonder Bavaria is noted for its exceptional quality wheat beers, after all they have spent the past 2800 years perfecting it! However, they weren’t the first, with evidence dating back to the Stone age (8 to 10 thousand years ago) of the Sumerians brewing with wheat along the Euphrates and Tigris rivers in what is now Iraq.

Brewing, incorporated

By Darryl Barbour, President

We are into the second half of the year and what looks like being a busy time in the club. The Science Festival is now just five weeks away, Sunday 8 August. We have been provided a 45 minute talking spot at 11:30am, space for a stall, and weather permitting will also be brewing outside. We will need plenty of help on the day, so please get in touch with Craig (Brewtus) or myself — the more the merrier. We will be at the Shine Dome, otherwise known as the Australian Academy of Science.

After that we've still got two more competitions (Comp 3 and the ACTABC), Oktoberfest, a road trip to the Nationals, and at the end of it all, the AGM. We are also keen to try and have a second guided beer tasting at a club meeting a bit later in the year, following on from the weizen tasting at the July meeting, and I'd love to hear suggestions for styles or beers that people would like to learn more about, and get some tips on how to brew them well. As always, we need volunteers to help out at events, so please pitch in wherever you can.