The AABC is getting closer

By Darryl Barbour, President

The big event that is now getting close for amateur brewers Australia wide is the Australian Amateur Brewing Championships (AABC). As the Canberra Brewers, we have been one of the most successful clubs outright – according to the results summaries, in the 15 years of the AABC, Canberra Brewers members have taken out 7 of the 13 “Best Beer of Show” awards and 7 of the 8 “Champion Brewer” awards. Add to that two of the four awards for “Champion State”, which appears to have only been awarded since 2006.

Now pride may come before a fall, and we should recognise that we’ll all be winners in the pursuit to brew a better beer, but it would be great to continue our hugely successful run at Nationals and bring back a bit more glassware for the cabinet.

Dusseldorf’s Alt Bier

By Stuart Whytcross

History

Situated beside the Rhine river, Düsseldorf is the capital of North Rhineland. It is an important international business and financial centre, and is also renowned for its fashion, trade fairs and, of course, Alt Bier. Alt bier (pronounced 'ullt bier') is said to be one of the oldest beer styles still in existence, and it's going strong in Germany.

Düsseldorf is the centre of one of the most interesting beer regions of Germany, because the pre-19th Century top-fermenting tradition has been kept alive. Traditionally in southern Germany, brewing beer was restricted to the cooler months, as fermentation temperatures during the summer months were too warm to produce quality beer. This winter-brewed beer was stored in Kellers in the sides of the mountains, at cooler temperatures for the warmer summer months. These biers were known as lagers, as 'lager' means 'to store' in Germany. In the late 1800’s, refrigeration meant that brewers could now control the temperatures of their beer all year round. This was when Europe’s lager revolution began.

Sydney bus tour – part one

By Sam Highley, Editor

The Canberra Brewers Sydney bus tour kicked off early on the morning of Saturday May 15. Collective thoughts of suffering the wrath of our illustrious leader, Dicko, had club members all over Canberra struggling out of bed, long before even the keenest Passer domesticus had uttered a single waft of wind from their avian backsides.

The time was 7am, eyes were bleary, and Richard Watkins, brewmaster and all-round fantastic supporter of the club, opened the doors of the Wig & Pen early for us. Not only did this provide a suitable meeting place, but also the first stop on the brewery tour. Mindful of the early hour and the potential of 16-hours of beer consumption ahead, most of us kicked the day off with a light English or Belgian ale.

Cold-weather brewing beckons

By Darryl Barbour, President

We've made it to May, and with winter just around the corner, remember that filling your hot liquor tun the night before the brew risks that layer of ice and a stark reminder how much warmer it is in bed … But we are brewers, we're tougher than that, and the cold weather makes for great stout and bock weather. Oh, that and easy lagering.

I trust that everyone heading off on the Sydney trip in just over a weeks time will have an absolute blast. Two great breweries and, I expect, even more great beers. For those of you sticking around, i'm scheduling a Presidential Brew Day for Saturday 15 May (Ed: now Saturday 22 May, with details to come in the forum).