Organized C.H.A.O.S.
An estimated 1.2 million homebrewers reside in the United States, according to a 2013 American Homebrewers Association survey, the latest numbers available. Given the steady rise in craft beer popularity and the exponential growth in brewpubs and microbreweries, those numbers are not surprising. Yet, those numbers could be even higher were it not for the constraints endured by typical urban dwellers living in small apartments, condos, and lofts. For these folks there are, sadly, plenty of good reasons not to become a homebrewer. Space requirements and equipment needs and cost can keep many would-be brewers out of the hobby.
C.H.A.O.S. Brew Club (Chicago Homebrew Alchemists of Suds) considered all these factors when forming their cooperative brew club that includes a dedicated, fully equipped brewing space. Members have virtually unlimited access to brewing equipment — from burners and kettles, to lagering chambers and fermentation rooms. It’s everything a homebrewer could ask for without the cost outlay or space requirements.
Formed in April 2011 by Eric “Iggy” Ignaczak and Dave Williams, friends who frequently brewed together — almost exclusively on Williams’ equipment, C.H.A.O.S. eventually grew out of a shared desire to brew with other people.
“One of the things I wanted to do was brew with people, and other than a big brew day, that didn’t really happen as much as I was hoping,” Williams, now the Brewmaster at Horse Thief Hollow Brewing Company, in Chicago, explained. “The element (I wanted) was having someone look over your shoulder — or me looking over someone’s shoulder — to learn how to do something, or how not to do something. You learn a lot about a hobby through that kind of education. Having a place to brew like that was really attractive to us.”
Quickly, however, Williams’ initial cooperative homebrewing desires morphed into also providing a place where space- and financially-challenged brewers could have room to work. Williams’ concept was simple: Create an outlet where community brewing could flourish.“We had a handful of people interested in trying to make this happen,” Williams says. “We had the first meeting at my house and sort of laid out what we wanted to do. We wanted to have a place that was shared.” With a “very limited budget,” Williams and Ignaczak searched for a place to set up shop. They found a basement space in an artist co-op, outfitting their 300 square feet with recycled, borrowed and donated materials. As the initial dozen members rotated brewing schedules, artists painted and created around them. “It was a really interesting space,” Williams said with a light laugh.
Ultimately, water issues forced C.H.A.O.S. to relocate. When it rained hard, a couple inches of water would cover the floor, which they said wasn’t the best space to brew in. Membership was rapidly growing too, creating enough of a monetary cushion that C.H.A.O.S. moved to a 1200 square foot garage. “That’s where we really developed into a club,” Williams says. “One of the things I really wanted was having a good environment for yeast to grow. Part of that is being able to control temperature, so the first thing we put in was a fermentation room. It was where we really solidified into a club and took off.”
It was here that current club president Ken Getty came onboard. Recently returned to Chicago, Getty was concerned he’d have to, “spend all this money to get into brewing.” Then, Getty discovered C.H.A.O.S. just a half mile from his home. One look around and he, like many other C.H.A.O.S. club members, knew there could be no better place to learn the ins and outs of homebrewing. “I saw they had a wort chiller and fermentation room, two things that would be impossible for me to have at home, and I signed up on the spot,” Getty says. “They have 20-gallon (76-L) kettles and I figured to buy a pot that size with the right fittings, that’s about what dues would be for a year, not factoring in the amount of water and air conditioning costs. You can spend $300 on a set up before even thinking about brewing.” Hundreds of others felt similarly as the club — now in its third location, a 2000 square foot brew space in Chicago’s West Town neighborhood — continues its rapid expansion.
And who wouldn’t want to brew with C.H.A.O.S.? The club boasts four separate brewing stations complete with Blichmann Engineering burners (John Blichmann donated these after hearing about the C.H.A.O.S. approach. “He was blown away and completely set us up with burners,” Getty says.), a limited-access Blichmann Engineering Tower of Power three-tiered brewing system available only to more experienced Alchemist level members, 10- and 20-gallon (38- and 76-L) kettles, assorted spoons, mash paddles, hydrometers, mash tuns, grain mill, fermentation room, racking equipment, wort chillers, lagering chamber, bottling or kegging gear — pretty much everything one needs for brewing except the carboys and ingredients.
The club even runs a barrel program administered by “Master of Wood” Josh Smith (see the photo on 99). With five barrels, the club completed eight-barrel projects in 2014. There’s also a donated wooden bar where members can put their creations on tap. “It’s been kind of an evolution,” Getty says. “When we first existed, everything was from any donations that were given and the club kind of formed around it. Now the dues structure allows us to upgrade equipment as necessary.” C.H.A.O.S. offers a variety of membership options with varying dues, from “Friends of C.H.A.O.S.” for those looking to attending brewing classes, quarterly parties and workshops, to “Apprentice” and “Brewer” memberships for more active homebrewers. (Apprentices are supervised at all times, while Brewer-level have 24/7 access to brew, and use an online reservation system.) All told, these days C.H.A.O.S. boasts more than 350 members.
Eli Espinoza joined C.H.A.O.S. as novice, and left a pro. Now the head brewer at MARZ Community Brewing, in Chicago (http://marzbrewing.com), Espinoza is one of a half-dozen members to graduate to professional commercial brewing. Before discovering C.H.A.O.S., Espinoza worked brew-related events — tastings, promotions, etc. — but didn’t brew because he lacked the room to do so. “Space was the big issue. A friend turned me on to C.H.A.O.S. He said, ‘They have all the stuff and come in and learn.’ Everybody was so open,” Espinoza says. “The thing about this brew club is it’s not just one person’s beer. It’s, ‘What do you think about these hops? What do you think about these ingredients?’ People work together. I see it as a great community and resource to use for brewing and learning how to brew.”
Established as a non-profit 501(c)(3), education is a crucial part of the C.H.A.O.S. brew club. The club offers regular workshops for true beginners where more experienced volunteers walk members through the foundational basics of brewing, to mastering all-grain brewing. Monthly seminars and hands-on workshops are taught by industry professionals — brewers, authors, judges — zero-in on more advanced topics such as recipe formulation, yeast propagation, and kegging, Additionally, the club offers a monthly group brew session — Tuesday Brewsday — which features members and non-members working together to brew one specific beer style. (For a schedule of C.H.A.O.S. events, visit their calendar on their website at: www.chaosbrewclub.net/events/calendar.)
“It’s by far the best place to learn,” Espinoza said. “There’s a lot of knowledge to pull from and everyone’s always willing the help out. It helps you grow as a homebrewer, whether you have commercial aspirations or not.”
“It’s education, but at the end of the day, what we do is promote the hobby and get people out of their apartments and into a community space where they can build friendships. We’re a lot of things,” Williams says proudly, “community being one of them.”
C.H.A.O.S. County Brand Stout
(5 gallons/19 L, all-grain)
OG = 1.129 FG = 1.040
IBU = 50 SRM = 90 ABV = 13.7%
Since we are located one mile from ground zero of where all Bourbon County Brand Stout is produced (Goose Island’s Fulton & Wood Brewery, http://www.gooseisland.com/fulton-wood.html) it is only natural that we have a homebrew recipe of our own. This recipe has been tweaked over the last four years to produce phenomenal results . . . as long as O.G. is achieved!
Ingredients
19 lbs. (8.6 kg) British 2-row pale malt
1.62 lbs. (0.73 kg) Munich malt (10 °L)
2.16 lbs. (0.98 kg) roasted barley malt (450 °L)
2.16 lbs. (0.98 kg) crystal malt (60 °L)
1.35 lbs. (0.61 kg) chocolate malt
13 oz. (0.37 kg) Belgian debittered black malt (550 °L)
10 AAU Willamette hops (75 min.) (2 oz./57 g at 5% alpha acids)
5 AAU Willamette hops (30 min.) (1 oz./28 g at 5% alpha acids)
1 oz. (28 g) Willamette hops (0 min.)
1⁄2 tsp. yeast nutrient (15 min.)
2 sachets Fermentis US-05 or White Labs WLP001 (California Ale) or Wyeast 1056 (American Ale) yeast
3⁄4 cup corn sugar (if priming)
Lallemand CBC-1 yeast (if priming)
Step by Step
If opting to use a liquid yeast strain, make a large starter several days in advance or brew a smaller beer and use the yeast from that beer to re-pitch into this beer.
This is a single step infusion mash. Mix all of the crushed grains with 7.75 gallons (29.5 L) of 170 °F (77 °C) water to stabilize at 155 ºF (68 ºC). Sparge with enough water, about 4 gallons (15 L), to collect 7.5 gallons (28.4 L) wort. Your pre-boil SG should be approximately 1.086. Supplement with dried malt extract if your gravity reading is low. Total boil time is 120 minutes, adding the first hop addition with 75 minutes remaining in the boil. Add the remaining hops and yeast nutrient per the schedule.
After the boil is complete, cool the wort to 66 ºF (19 ºC). Pitch your yeast and aerate the wort heavily. Hold at that temperature until primary fermentation is complete. Gently transfer to a secondary vessel or bourbon barrel of your choice. If you don’t have a barrel, you can substitute oak cubes or staves that have soaked in a bourbon of your choice. Allow the beer to condition for an additional 1–6 months or until the beer is to your liking. Prime and bottle condition or keg and force carbonate to 2.2 volumes CO2. It is recommended to prime with a bottling yeast strain like Lallemand CBC-1 if the beer has been aging for several months.
C.H.A.O.S. County Brand Stout
(5 gallons/19 L, extract with grains)
OG = 1.129 FG = 1.040
IBU = 50 SRM = 90 ABV = 13.7%
Ingredients
9 lbs. (4.1 kg) extra light dried malt extract
3.3 lbs. (1.5 kg) Munich liquid malt extract
2.16 lbs. (0.98 kg) roasted barley malt (450 °L)
2.16 lbs. (0.98 kg) crystal malt (60 °L)
1.35 lbs. (0.61 kg) chocolate malt
13 oz. (0.37 kg) Belgian debittered black malt (550 °L)
10 AAU Willamette hops (75 min.) (2 oz./57 g at 5% alpha acids)
5 AAU Willamette hops (30 min.) (1 oz./28 g at 5% alpha acids)
1 oz. (28 g) Willamette hops (0 min.)
1⁄2 tsp. yeast nutrient (15 min.)
2 sachets Fermentis US-05 or White Labs WLP001 (California Ale) or Wyeast 1056 (American Ale) yeast
3⁄4 cup corn sugar (if priming)
Lallemand CBC-1 yeast (if priming)
Step by Step
If opting to use a liquid yeast strain, make a large starter several days in advance or brew a smaller beer and use the yeast from that beer to re-pitch into this beer.
On brew day, place the crushed grains in a large muslin bag. Steep the milled grain in 3 gallons (11.5 L) of water at 160 ºF (71 ºC) for 20 minutes. Remove the grain bag and place in a colander. Wash with 1 gallon (3.9 L) hot water. Add the liquid and dried malt extract and stir until fully dissolved. Top off to 6.5 gallons (24.6 L) and bring to a boil. When the wort comes to a boil, add the first hop addition and boil for a total of 75 minutes. Add the remaining hops and yeast nutrient per the schedule.
After the boil is complete, cool the wort to 66 ºF (19 ºC). Pitch your yeast and aerate the wort heavily. Hold at that temperature until primary fermentation is complete. Gently transfer to a secondary vessel or bourbon barrel of your choice. If you don’t have a barrel, you can substitute oak cubes or staves that have soaked in a bourbon of your choice. Allow the beer to condition for an additional 1-6 months or until the beer is to your liking. Prime and bottle condition or keg and force carbonate to 2.2 volumes CO2. It is recommended to prime with a bottling yeast strain like Lallemand CBC-1 if the beer has been aging for several months.
For more C.H.A.O.S.-approved homebrew recipes, search for “Red X Altbier” and “Elixer of Life,” on the BYO website’s recipe section.
