The Barley Whispers

Official Newsletter of the Forest City Brewers 

May 2005 Edition

Next meeting will be held at The Olympic Tavern  -   Wednesday May 18^th,  2005 at 7:00 PM 

 

Table of Contents:

President’s Notes –                Page 1

Wisdom of Homer –               Page 1

Vice President’s Notes –        Page 1

Meeting Notes  -                    Page 1

Club Event Notes –                Page 1

Competition Corner –            Page 1

Random Beer and  -               Page 1

Brewing Notes                               

President’s Notes:

 (Sorry Charlie…)

 

The Wisdom of Homer:

“I would kill everyone in this room for a drop of sweet beer.”

 

Secretary’s Notes:

Vice President’s Notes:

Though I usually refrain from politics, this month I am going to join the Abolishionist party. It turns out as the only member, it is exceedingly easy for me to create and pass legislative decrees without opposition. Furthermore, majority votes are a cinch. So, my first act is to abolish the position of “Secretary” of the Forest City Brewers. All in favor? Aye! Well the ayes have it. Too easy. My second act is to create the post of “Vice President” of the Forest City Brewers and appoint the former “Secretary” to this position. All in favor? Aye! Again, a landslide margin of victory! And they say one person cannot effect change in government. Bah! As my final act , I hereby disband the Abolishionist party. All in favor? Aye!

Veep sez: Watch your email for FCB meeting reminder next week!

 

Meeting Notes:      

The April meeting was help on the 20^th at the Olympic Tavern. We welcomed some new attendees, then briefly discussed some upcoming homebrew competition news. Our very own Pat Cunningham and Ken Schultz are entering brews into this year’s AHA National Homebrew Competition. On a more local scale, it was decided to feature upcoming regional contests here in our newsletter each month. We start this month by looking for support for the BUZZ club’s contest in June. We should all try to enter some of the these Chicago regional club contests and get some rivalry going! It was also decided that there will be no Octoberfest brewing get together. Rather, our Octoberfest party this year will likely feature a keg of delicious microbrewed Octoberfest Lager. Lastly, someone said (Steve, I think?) that they had some Kent Golding and Willamette hop rhizomes available. Grow your own tasty hops. Then we all sampled the brews in our monthly competitions, and I posted the results below.

 

Style Competition   “Brown Ale”                                  Open Competition

1. Ken Schultz                                                                  1. Steve and Anita - Braggot

2. Lynn Foster (tie)                                                          2. Ryan Cooper – Chocolate  Stout

2. Alan Novak (tie)        

We will select our styles for the Fall ’05 and Spring ’06 very soon.

Sit on the edge of your seats and wait for the announcement!

 

Club Event Notes:

Bus Trip is imminent! Remember to meet at the Kmart at 8:30 AM!

Bus trip to Great Taste of the Midwest is sold out as usual. You can try to get on the bus with Chicago Beer Society or something I guess. Good luck!

 

Competition Corner:

Eleventh Annual B.U.Z.Z. Boneyard Brew-OffWhen:    Saturday, June 4, 2005

BJCP 2004 Style Guidelines for beer and mead will be used to

judge entries. Prior to judging, categories may be expanded or

collapsed for ribbon determination at the discretion of the competition

staff, based on number of entries in each category/subcategory.

Additional special category: No One Gets Out Alive High Gravity Brew-Off

Sole Requirement: Any beer, mead, or cider with a starting gravity

over 1.070. Entries will be judged hedonically on potency, flavor/aroma,

and overall drinkability. Winner will not be eligible for Best of Show,

but a separate award will be given.

Send entries to arrive between May 23 and June 1:

Piccadilly Beverage Shop

ATTN: Boneyard Brew-Off

601 S. First Street

Champaign, IL 61820

NOTE: Entries accepted May 23 through June 1, 2005!

Judge entry walk-ins allowed with prior notice if entry forms and

fees are received during the above-listed period.

Fee: $6 for the first entry; $4 for subsequent entries from the

same brewer(s). Two (2) bottles per entry; common requirements

apply, e.g., 10-16 ounce bottles, no identifying marks on the

bottle or cap. The sole exception is that for High-Gravity

Brew-Off special category entries, only one (1) bottle is

required and the fee is $3 per entry.

 

Random Beer and Brewing Notes:

Meet Saint Obnoxious!

http://www.saintobnoxious.com/

Saint obnoxious is a bungling, but well-intentioned, beer drinking calligrapher and aspiring T-shirt magnate with a great sense of humor who tries to use his creativity to put a smile on your face. Whew! Enjoy innocent and sometimes naïve quotes,* original and those of others. Sit back, have a laugh and don't take any of my beer T-shirts, baseball caps or thongs too seriously. Anyone offended by any of my products should take the time to calmly sit down and have a nice big glass of Kool-Aid.

*It isn't easy being a 16th century monk in a 21st century world, okay?

 

'Beer goggles' not necessary - it's the thought that counts

The mere thought of beer or wine can influence a person's sex drive, according to a study of university students. Alcohol has a range of effects on dating behaviour: enough booze can wipe away inhibitions and act as an aphrodisiac, or it can dampen sexual performance, the scientific journal Addiction reports in its May issue. Alcohol can even produce what are jokingly called "beer goggles" meaning potential sexual partners are judged to be more attractive in proportion to how drunk a person is. But scientists now say that some of the effects that people expect from alcohol can be produced by simple exposure to flashes of alcohol-related words on a computer screen. Ronald Friedman, a psychologist at the University of Missouri, Columbia, and his colleagues tested the idea on 82 male undergraduate students. The researchers first questioned the men about how they felt alcohol affected their libido, and then presented them with rapidly flashing words and jumbled letters on a computer screen. One group was exposed to cue words that suggested alcohol, including beer, whisky, martini and malt; the other, control group was exposed to words such as smoothie, espresso and ice. The men then rated 21 female high-school graduation photos on a scale of 1 to 9 in terms of attractiveness. The men who expected alcohol to boost their libido rated photos more favorably after subconsciously viewing alcohol cue words. Those who expected alcohol to reduce their performance actually rated the girls as less attractive after boozy words. "What is most surprising is that mere expectancy can influence perception," said Markus Denzler, of the International University Bremen, Germany, and a co-author of the report.The men were also asked to rate the girls' intelligence based on their pictures. In this case the flashing words had no impact on the results, which researchers suggested indicated that "beer goggles" failed to make the world seem smarter than it really was. The findings shed some worrying light on our vulnerability to subconscious cues, said Dr Friedman: "These expectations about drugs or alcohol can be activated without your awareness." He stressed that other studies had shown how simple words can sway human behaviour. One noted study found that after university students were subconsciously exposed to phrases such as "old age" and "bingo" they walked more slowly down hallways. Jack Darkes, of Tampa, a clinical psychologist at the University of South Florida, who has studied assumptions about alcohol, said the research was another link in a chain of research results. He said that appreciating the difference between psychological and chemical effects might help people with alcohol addictions to face up to their problem.