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| Stroke of Guinness: Last Call |
May, 2008 |
| by Alex Garofalo and Ben McCartney • Newark, Delaware |
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| The next generation of homebrewers emerge with an A+ science fair project we can all applaud.
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"What is this wort?” It would be safe to say our teacher had absolutely no idea what we were talking about when we first presented her with the idea for our one-of-a-kind science project. If she did, “The Beer Project,” as it became known by the students in our class, would have likely been put down before it even had the opportunity to flourish. As it was, two kids, only 15 and 16, pulled off possibly the greatest science fair project ever.
The idea behind our project was relatively simple: create an original project that no one else would ever match. Alex’s dad owned a home brewery, opening up the opportunity to use beer as the subject of our investigation. In order to adapt this topic to the regulations of the science fair, and to remain on the right side of the law, we had to test something that didn’t involve drinking the beer, and did not involve us handling alcohol.
We thought we were dead in the water until we hit the idea of utilizing that wonderful, magical, non-alcoholic liquid we all know and love as wort. We simply tested the influence of the water used on the color of the wort. And, by using the word “wort” rather than “beer” in our proposal, our cheerfully unsuspecting teacher couldn’t turn us down.
The next few months were spent pouring through books and magazines about brewing and brewing several different 5-gallon (19-L) batches of a Guinness clone using several different water profiles. We even used a recipe straight out of Brew Your Own. Homework had never been so enjoyable.
Once finished, we discovered that the water did in fact have a distinct influence over the color of the wort. Water that possessed a high pH and alkalinity levels, based on the mineral content, produced a darker beer than water with a low pH and low alkalinity levels due to its effect on the speed of Maillard reactions that
produce color.
After another month, it was finally time. The first person to view the finished project in all its glory was our teacher, who candidly remarked, “Wow, I didn’t think this was going to be any good.” We had a reputation for being slackers, but we had exceeded everyone’s expectations.
Our school, the Charter School of Wilmington, is ranked 41st in the nation by US News and is riddled with would-be geniuses. They could not believe that the “Beer Project” could hold up against their standard, boring projects on cell growth, alternative energy or water quality. Despite this, we moved on fully expecting to dominate the opposition. On the day of the fair, it appeared that we would do just that.
We were swarmed with masses of judges and spectators alike, ogling our project with intense fascination. One judge came just to say, “I’m not judging your project, but as a homebrewer, I think this is great.” We had a teacher come to us who had finally realized what our project was and stayed to talk to us for 15 minutes laughing at and praising us for our achievement (and for passing it through the approval process).
As the night wore on, the real judges of our category stopped by with much to say on the content of the project. Some loved it, but the majority of the chemistry professors and teachers were just too set in their ways to accept it for what it was: a glorious masterpiece.
The biggest criticism of the project was that it didn’t help the community. They just didn’t understand, and to our dismay we didn’t win. We eventually accepted it as the conspiracy it was. It was just another chapter in craft brewing’s continual struggle to be accepted as the art form that it truly is.
In the end we both gained a keen understanding of the brewing process, but arguably more important, we came to appreciate quality beer. Though we may not be able to enjoy beer as a beverage yet, we are future “beer snobs” in the making. We are already disgusted by less superior offerings. Those sorry excuses for a drink will never touch our lips.
Our parents can also find comfort in the fact that we will never end up binge drinking under their noses — if for no other reason then it would be far too expensive. Both of us can not wait to enjoy the quality work of masters such as Dogfish, Stone and Rogue. We may even be interested in working in the brewing industry once we are old enough.
In the end, we believe our project was a (s)mashing success. No, we didn’t win, but we did get an “A.” In addition, no other project has reached the level of fame within our school. Also, no project could have been more entertaining and satisfying. As Ben’s dad remarked, “Beats anything I did in high school.”
Finally, we must mention Alex’s dad Eric Garofalo, the homebrewer, and the reason this project was able to happen. I don’t think he has ever been more proud, and it is part of his dream to have his Fairfield Brewing Company documented in this magazine.
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Past winners of our annual contest