The varieties of colors, flavors and kinds of beer are as vast as the sky is wide. Beer-brewing is a test of patience — while some beers can take just an hour to brew, others can take up to six months to reach full flavor. Members of the Upper Cumberland Mashers, a local homebrewers club, find satisfaction in creating their own one-of-a-kind brews and sharing their beer, recipes and stories with other members at brew days and sampling parties. Herald-Citizen Photo/Elizabeth Ayres |
Elizabeth Ayres UPPER CUMBERLAND -- Beer is definitely an acquired taste. Either you love it or you hate it. But, for those who fall into the former category, there are certain degrees of love. Some love a nice, frosty mug after mowing the lawn on a hot summer day. Others love to throw one back while dining on the perfect bratwurst straight from the grill. Then there are those who love their suds so much that they take the brewing process into their own hands to create their own one-of-a-kind beer to sample and to share with friends and family. For brewski aficionados such as these, that's where the UC Mashers home-brew club comes in. The Upper Cumberland Mashers was formed after an event was held to raise money for the TrailBlazers, an organization which was formed to raise money for the support of hiking trails along the railroad tracks between Cookeville and Monterey, better known as the Rails with Trails project. "Approximately seven to nine local home brewers attended the event and provided samples of their homebrews," said Tim Hadlock, founder of the group. "The idea was to ask the community to donate money for the trails by acquiring tickets to the event where they would receive tickets they could redeem to sample the different beers. There were approximately 15 different kinds of beers available to the event. The patrons were given 13 tickets with one being the ticket they voted with. The home brewer with the most 'voting' tickets was awarded the title of 'Ale of the Trail.'" "During the event, many of the brewers were talking and thought it might be a good idea to start a club that was local to the Upper Cumberland," Hadlock continued. "There are various other clubs in the Middle Tennessee area but are a bit too far to travel after a 'sampling' party, meeting or brew day. The idea was to organize something the brewers around the Cookeville area could attend without having to travel long distances or give up an entire day to participate." Hadlock, who works in Nashville, attended various events at Nashville brew clubs and picked up some useful tips along the way. A lot of information was to be found on online forums as well as some of the members of the clubs. "It was quite often very helpful to speak directly to someone that had been brewing for a long time and even those who had been brewing for a shorter period," he said. "Home brewers are usually very eager to share their knowledge and experiences." Still, the commute was inconvenient, with clubs only located in the Nashville, Knoxville, Murfreesboro and Chattanooga areas. Hadlock found interest in forming a local homebrew club after the TrailBlazers event, so he acquired a "UC Mashers" URL address and placed advertisement of the club in the Herald-Citizen. There are currently 14 members of the UC Mashers, who have an online forum on their Web site to communicate with each other. And it's good that the lines of communication are open between members, because home-brewing can be somewhat complex if you don't know what you're doing. Equipment needed includes a "kettle," which can be anything from a stovetop kettle to a turkey deep fryer; a fermentor, an item that stores the beer as it matures; bottles or kegs to store the beer; and other supplies such as glass carboys, bottle cappers, carboy bungs, airlocks and a hydrometer, which determines how much alcohol is in the beer. Ingredients can vary from batch to batch, but the basics include barley, hops and yeast with the option of different flavorings, such as fruits (oranges, lemons, grapefruit, etc.), different types of sugar, and spices such as nutmeg or cinnamon. Aside from the more optional flavorings, additional flavor comes from the type of barley used. Styles of barley include names such as Canadian Two-Row Pale Malt, Chocolate Malt, Black Patent Malt and Crystal Malt, among others. The type of barley also determines the color of the brew, depending on how much is used and how they are mixed together. "Brewing beer all depends on what kind of beer you are brewing, the process being used, such as All Grain or Extract, and the equipment used," said Hadlock. "Extract brewing can take as little as one hour, while All Grain brewing can take six to eight hours. Once the beer is in the fermentor, it can take one week to six months to mature, depending on the beer chosen." Hadlock also said that the batch size is just as individual as the brewer him- or herself. "Some brewers like to try out a new recipe and brew only a gallon at a time," he said. "Most brewers brew between five and 10 gallons at a time. A five-gallon batch will provide enough beer to fill approximately 48 to 52 12-oz. bottles of beer. Also, many home brewers use old soda kegs, which hold five gallons of beer." "There are many different kinds of beer out there, and more and more pop up each day as home brewers get more creative," Hadlock said. While most of the members stick with brewing beer, some do dabble in fermenting wine, mead and even hard cider. Hadlock is currently putting together a peach mead recipe on his first try at mead-making. While home brewing is viewed as an individually driven activity, Hadlock said that the UC Mashers do find time to meet to sample new recipes and talk about brewing, even though the club is still in structuring phase. "At this point, the UC Mashers is still in its infancy, so we are not quite sure what the future holds for the club," he said. "The desire is to grow the club into one that is more structured, organized and well attended and helps to support the various businesses in the area through events and donations. The club is an opportunity for those interested in getting into brewing, learning more about brewing or just meeting other brewers in the area. Quite often home brewers are very excited to introduce someone to their craft and enjoy helping someone get started brewing on their own." Currently, there is no fee to become a member of the UC Mashers, and the club wishes to remain that way for as long as it can. In order to contribute to the club's online forum, one must sign up for a free forum account. All club meetings, brew days and other communications as well as additional information on the club or membership may be found on the UC Mashers Web site at www.ucmashers.com. |
