Our October meeting will be a joint meeting with the Cleveland Section and will be held on Monday October 20 at The Winking Lizard Tavern in Peninsula, Ohio. Dr. Tracy Hamilton of The University of Alabama at Birmingham will speak on Zymurgy: The Art and Science of Making Beer. Peninsula is about mid-way between Cleveland and Akron. An abstract of his talk can be found in the "read more" link below.

Schedule:
5:30 p.m. - Social Time
6:30 p.m. - Dinner ($20 for members & guests; $5 for students)
7:30 p.m. - Presentation: "Zymurgy: The Art and Science of Making Beer"

Dinner reservations: contact Ann Bolek at (330) 972-6264 or This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it by noon on Fri. Oct 17. Directions to the Winking Lizard as well as an abstract can be found on the "read"more link below.

Dr. Tracy Hamilton

Tracy P. Hamilton received his B.S. Degree from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock in 1980. After two years of graduate study and one year in a consulting laboratory, he worked with Peter Pulay in quantum chemistry at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, obtaining his Ph.D. in 1987. He also did four years of postdoctoral research in quantum chemistry with Dr. Henry (Fritz) Schaefer at the University of Georgia. Dr. Hamilton has been a professor at the University of Alabama at Birmingham since 1991. In graduate school, he had to make a difficult choice between theoretical and experimental chemistry, and chose theoretical. As a result, the urge to synthesize irresistibly manifested itself in 1996, when he started brewing beer at home. Dr. Hamilton has been very active in the Birmingham Brewmasters (http://hbd.org/bbm), a group dedicated to the appreciation of different beer styles and how to brew them. He is also a certified beer judge in the Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP http://www.bjcp.org).  

Zymurgy: The Art and Science of Making Beer

The seminar covers both the practical aspects of brewing (how to) and the chemistry of brewing. After a brief introduction of the history of beer, the steps of the process are outlined. The first step that is required is the malting of grain. This is a complex process that even breweries do not perform themselves, leaving to specialized malting companies. The second step is mashing. This is accomplished by steeping the grain (which is crushed to allow access of the hot water to the inside, but not powdered so that intact grain husks can act as a filter) in hot water. The influence of temperature and pH on the final product is discussed. The third step is lautering (sparging). Lautering is separation of the sugar solution from the grain. Temperature, viscosity from complex carbohydrates, and fluid dynamics are important variables to control. The fourth step is the boil, which serves several purposes: 1) Sterilization 2) extract the bittering compounds from hops (flowers containing bitter olefinic acids that balance the sweetness of beer), and isomerize the olefinic acids 3) precipitation of excess protein 4) browning reactions (Maillard - linking of amino acid and sugars) and 5) removal of excess water. The hot liquid (called wort) is cooled, and the final step (fermentation) is initiated. A discussion of important compounds in the final product is the final part of the talk. A side by side comparison of a homebrew or two with a commercial example may be possible after the talk.

Directions: Winking Lizard - 1615 Main St. Peninsula, Ohio 44264

The site will be the Winking Lizard Tavern in Peninsula, Ohio, which serves over 100 different beers. Directions are simple: Take I-271 (either north or south, depending on where you're coming from) and take Exit #12 (Richfield/Peninsula). Turn east on OH-303 and go about 2 miles. The Tavern will be on your left, 1615 Main Street, in downtown Peninsula. Parking lot is on the near side of the building. An alternative route from Akron is to take Merriman Rd. north into the valley. Merriman becomes Riverview Rd, which takes you to route 303 in Peninsula. Turn right on 303 and go a couple hundred yards down the hill to the Winking Lizard. A link to Google Maps is below:

View Larger Map