Home Imbrewment
Oktober 2004
The
Official Newsletter of the
The
President’s Podium – Chris “C.J.” Jones
If you participated in all of the beer-related events HRB & TS put on in the last four weeks, you may wonder “Can the future be better than the past?”
We had a fun meeting at the home of Kevin and Amy Oliver, along with their two kids and two cats. The joint was jumpin’ with some killer clam chowder, compliments of Amy, loads of fine malt beverages, and a raffle that had folks leaping, that’s right, leaping in the air with ecstasy every time they discovered a winning ticket in their hands.
Then we had a “summer” picnic that while wet, was wonderful. There we were, primarily hunkered down in Rob Sisson’s garage, just us and about eight kegs of homebrewed beer. He actually let us travel throughout the house, but the beer was in the garage, so that’s where most of us had decided to hang.
What was in the garage? Richard “The Brewing Machine” Pigeon had delivered two kegs, one a wheat doppelbock, and I’ve forgotten what the other was. Rob Purcell, a new Club member, brought two kegs, one of which was a Sam Adams clone. Diane and I brought two kegs, one of which was an Orval clone. And finally, Victor Perotti brought the one beer that makes a picnic, yes, he brought the Whale. AArrgh, Matey, thar she blows, the Gnarly Whale, one point five years in the keg, and still wowing folks. That beer was dreamy.
What was in the house?
All sorts of interesting food, including two different barbeques, and
lots of desserts. In addition, there was
a small child in a trance lying on the couch.
John Hoover refers to his son as “focused”, and that lad was in the zone
enough to have a Game Boy day par
excellence, perhaps producing the highest score on a hand held game in the
history of the
And we finally topped all of this beerchanalia with an Oktoberfest judging last week. Who won? Keep reading and you’ll find out.
I dropped into the Farm Fresh in Virginia Beach at the intersection of Princess Anne Road and South Independence Blvd and picked up a few things last week: Stone Brewing’s Barleywine, and their Imperial Pale Ale; Hart Brewing’s Mongoose, an India Pale Ale; and some other exotica. If you haven’t visited this store yet, you’re missing out.
The Taphouse has Dupont Saison on tap. Mmmm good. As far as I can tell, they are the only folks that have that beer on tap in Tidewater area.
And finally, if you are into Belgian ales, Belgian food, and all things Belgian, then think about attending the BURP homebrewing club’s Spirit of Belgium event, January 14-16, 2005, in Washington, D. C. Great food, great drink, lectures, and a homebrewed Belgian ale contest that may need judges. Go to this link (http://www.burp.org/events/sob/2005/index.html) and make plans for a trip north in early 2005.
Tom Byrnes and some other Club members are in
See you in a few weeks.
The Next Meeting Location – Will Walker
I can hear it now, “Aw, Jeez. Not ANOTHER beer club event in Chic’s Beach?!?” Well, it’s true, sports fans. The nearly-famous annual Oktober meeting at Will & Jonna’s house will take place on October 6th at 7:00 PM. We will have a tasty assortment of fine German cuisine to enjoy; things like brats, german potato salad, maybe some sauerkraut. We’ll listen to cheesy Oktoberfest music and be regaled by Tom Byrnes and his merry band’s tales, freshly returned from the hallowed grounds of the “Theresienwiese” ( the site of the original Munich Oktoberfest since 1810).
The Next Beer Judging Event – John Mitchell
[John Mitchell forwarded the following message to the newsletter editor for inclusion in this month’s newsletter:]
Greetings, homebrew
lovers.
We're back. This is a first announcement and a call for judges for the
TRUB Open
XV, which will be held Saturday October 23 in
in the Koger center. TRUB XV will be BJCP registered and it will
also count toward
the CBOY (Carolina Brewer of the Year) and CMOY (Carolina Medmaker of the
Year) standings.
More info on TRUB XV can be found here:
http://hbd.org/trub/trubopen/index.html
If you're interested in judging please contact me directly.
Bruce Pitner
bpitner@mindspring.com
Director of Judging, TRUB XV
TRiangle's Unabashed homeBrewers
This Year’s Brewing Schedule – C.J. Jones
Cut this out and tape it to your refrigerator along with those pictures drawn by your children!
|
Month |
Beer of the Month (BJCP Style #) |
AHA Club Only Contest (Yes/No) |
HBBTS Judging Date |
|
March |
Brown Ales (10) |
No |
2/18/02 |
|
April |
Mead (25) |
Yes |
3/24/04 |
|
May |
Porter (15) |
No |
4/21/04 |
|
June |
|
No |
5/19/04 |
|
July |
American Pale Ale (6A) |
No |
6/23/04 |
|
August |
Wheat beer (3B, 17, 19B) |
Yes |
7/21/04 |
|
September |
Stout (16) |
No |
8/18/04 |
|
October |
Octoberfest (9A) |
No |
9/22/04 |
|
November |
|
Yes |
10/20/04 |
|
December |
Barleywine (12) |
No |
11/17/04 |
|
January 2005 |
Spiced beers (22) |
No |
12/22/04 |
|
February 2005 |
Strong Belgian Ales (18) |
No |
1/??/05 |
|
March 2005 |
Will be decided by 2005 HRB & TS Club Officers |
||
Competition Connection- Chris Jones
We had two events that had an impact on our HRB & TS Cup competition, the picnic, and the Oktoberfest judging. First, the following folks earned points in the Cup contest for bringing kegs of homebrew to our annual picnic: Richard Pigeon, two kegs, ten points; Rob Purcell, two kegs, ten points; Victor Perotti, one keg, five points; and Diane and myself, two kegs, ten points.
Next, the Oktoberfest contest. We had four entries, and the judging panel was blessed with only four entries to evaluate, instead of the usual ten. While some judged, others stood in judgment of the judges, silently sipping beers and giving their own thumbs up, thumbs down critique of the entries.
The finalists of this contest are listed below:
First Place: Richard Pidgeon, “F”, 37.33;
Second Place: Richard Pidgeon, “H”, 33.67; and
Third Place: Mike Pensinger, 31.33.
Thanks to all who entered and helped with this contest.
If you would like to hold a judging meeting at your house, please let me know.
Here are the current HRBTS Home Brewer of the Year standings, with two events left in the brewing season:
HRBTS CUP 2004 STANDINGS through 30 Sep 2004
|
BREWER |
CUMULATIVE POINTS |
|
Richard Pidgeon |
77 |
|
CJ/Diane |
58 |
|
Tom Byrnes |
26 |
|
OVBC (Mike Q, Rob, Erin, John and Catherine) |
22 |
|
Victor Perrotti |
16 |
|
Mike Pensinger |
17 |
|
Doug Boyd |
12 |
|
Rob Purcell |
10 |
|
Phil Swanson |
6 |
|
Will Walker |
5 |
|
Corey Pettiford |
2 |
|
Joe Rainer |
1 |
|
John Pearson |
1 |
Richard is up by nineteen points, with a possible 24 plus points up for grabs in the next two months. Will he continue his absolutely torrid brewing pace and break the stranglehold that CJ/Diane have on the HRB & TS Cup? How does he do it? (Volume??) Will CJ/Diane make a thrilling comeback, and snatch victory from the jaws of defeat? Will there be an unprecedented “Four-Peat”? Stay tuned!
Since we have new members here are the rules for the HRBTS CUP: This years contest will run from January through December of a given year. Members will accrue points from entering and winning the contests sponsored by the club. The only criterion is that multiple entries in the same contest must be different recipes. Points are as follows: 5 points for 1st place, 4 for 2nd, 3 for 3rd and 1 point for entry. The entry point is not awarded if the beer places in the contest. It is intended to encourage entries. The club officers may also award points for members brewing for special events. The Competition Coordinator will keep the points. The club president will be the final arbiter of any disputes.
I would like to remind members that both Virginia Beach Homebrew Hobbies and Wine and Cake offer HRBTS members a 10% discount when you pay by cash or check. A similar discount is available at Homebrew.com. In order to qualify for these discounts you must have your dues paid up and be on the member list that Doug provides to these retailers.
Monk’s Cafe, a little bit of Belgium in the middle of
Philadelphia
– C.J. Jones
You’ve probably seen these ads in the Mid Atlantic Brewing News for years for a bar in Philadelphia, PA, called Monk’s Cafe, a “beer emporium”, “a casual, affordable, neighborhood bistro” featuring “Belgian cuisine a la Biere”. They claim to have 200 world-class beers inside, all waiting to be tasted. You’ve probably thought to yourself, “Gee, Philly isn’t that far away, maybe I could grab some friends and go up there and check the place out.”
Well I’ve been thinking about it for a couple of years, when earlier this summer all the stars lined up perfectly, and that thought became a reality. The Dead were playing on a Saturday night in Camden, across the river from Philly. My wife and a bunch of folks we know are Dead Heads, in addition to being beer aficionados. Maybe we could kill two beers with one stone, and go on a road trip. But wait, the traffic on Interstate 95 is horrible in the summer. What to do?
“De train, de train ….” We’ll let AMTRAK do the driving. Six of us, my stick girl and wife, Diane, my cousin Lisa Lee and her husband Tommy Lee, and John and Christy Jackson all climbed aboard the Amtrak train in Newport News for a very comfortable ride to Pennsylvania. We were aiming for an aural experience Saturday night, an evening with the Dead, and we were also aiming for an oral experience on Friday night, an evening at Monk’s Café.
The train ride up there was wonderful. That train goes through every little burg in Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania before it hits William Penn’s favorite town. It pokes its way through Richmond, VA, travels right through the center of Randolph Macon College’s campus in Ashland, VA, meanders through some of the more blighted real estate I’ve ever seen in Baltimore, MD, and settles nicely in a beautiful train station in Philly.
We checked into our hotel, dilly dallied a bit, and then marched smartly to the intersection of 16th Avenue and Spruce Streets, to 264 S. 16th Street, and into Monk’s Café, the most Belgian café I’ve been in outside of Belgium. I’ve been to Belgium. I know Belgium. Senator Quayle, you’re no Belgium. Dooh, wrong election. This place is as Belgian as they come. Rustic, charming, decorated with hundreds of Belgian beer trays, advertisements, and general paraphernalia.
There are two bars in the place, one by the street for the speed drinkers, chain cigarette smokers and schmoozers, and one in the back for the beer scholar, for the serious student of biere. They tried to keep us in the front. Diane mentioned that we were here for dinner and some serious beer drinking and that lead to a change in the demeanor of the concierge, and we headed to the back.
We grabbed a six top, looked at the beer menu, and were immediately frozen in place. Too many great selections, we couldn’t make up our minds. The place was swimming in Belgian ales. What to have first? We weren’t just cats in the seafood shop, we were cats in the caviar shop. Slowly, we came out of our menu-induced trances, and began to concentrate on the mission at hand – drink Belgian ales. We’re in it for the long haul, and we don’t have to drive, and it’s only 5:00 PM. We’re going in.
First up, Monk’s Café Flemish Sour Ale, a very tart, balsamic vinegar tasting delicious beer. It is similar to Duchess de Bourgogne, but not as sweet. It is brewed for Monk’s by a brewery in Ghent, Belgium.
Second round, Hommelbier, the Belgian pale ale. It is brewed in Poperinge, the hops growing region of Belgium, an area that Diane and I visited this past May. It’s interesting in that it has no hop aroma, but it does have a nice deep hop bite, thanks to the use of aged, not fresh, hops in the brewing process.
Our third choice, Ommegang Witte, a Belgian style wit beer made in Cooperstown, NY. It is a rather plain beer after the first three, but it is a pretty solid example of the style. They serve this mixed with orange juice during Sunday morning brunch as an Ommegang mimosa, and it does rock for breakfast.
Realize that this is a Belgian beer bar, and every time you switch beers or breweries, you get a new different shaped glass, designed by the brewery to draw your attention to that particular beer’s characteristics. Straight glasses, bowl shaped glasses, flutes, you name it. After three beers, we’ve run through 18 different exotic glasses, and we’re nowhere near done.
After three beers, we were ready for adventure, so we went with Orval, a Trappist pale ale. Some of the descriptive phrases bandied about to describe the taste were “cat box” and “tennis shoes”. I liked it, but Tommy and John thought it was too bitter. Babies.
Monk’s has a fat collection of Christmas beers, and we were there for their “Christmas in August” celebration, a time when they break out their hidden stash of whupass Holiday Season ales. We jumped all over the St. Feuillion Cuvee de Noel, an awesome Christmas beer that was bottled on 24 August 2002. Man, it was killer. Spicy and gingery, it was a “serious” beer that our table felt “reverent” about. Could it get any better than this?
Yes, because we then selected Fantome Saison, a delicious farmhouse ale. A fantome is a ghost figure in Belgian folklore. When we were in Belgium, I kept seeing these postcards of folks wearing white sheets and hoods over their heads and thought “Weird, the Ku Klux Klan was in Belgium?” Nah, my bad, those were friendly ghosts. Fantome is a one man operation in Belgium, and their beers are gushed about world-wide. Christy said it tasted like bubblegum, which is a characteristic flavor of the style. Sweet, playful, with an incense aftertaste, this may have been the best beer we had in Monk’s.
At this stage we needed some dinner, and this is where Monk’s kicks it up a notch. Mussels are the national dish in Belgium, and Monks combines your love of shellfish with your love of beer. They cook all of their mussels in Belgian ales, and they serve them with the quintessential Belgian side dish, pomme frittes, seasoned French fries, with a bourbon mayonnaise to dip them into. We had mussels cooked in Cantillion Gueze, with garlic and parsley. Unbelieveable. Then we moved up to Rodenbach mussels, mussels cooked with Rodenbach Red Ale, chervil, parsley and garlic. We were getting a little parched, so we jumped on some more Fantome Saison. Still hungry, we checked out the burger menu. I had a veggie burger with caramelized onions and blue cheese on it and it was one amazing.
So there you are, musseled, burgered, and Belgian aled about as well as you can get, and them you notice the music, Blues music, low down, obscure Chicago style fat blues music that seems to accentuate your ale experience. Brothers and sisters, by 8:00 PM we were having the best time we’d ever had in a restaurant. More beers followed, including Duchess de Bourgogne, perhaps one of the most distinctive beers you’ll ever taste. Tart, sweet, balsamic, woody, upside your head goodness. There were many more beers after this one, but at some point I lost interest in taking notes and focused on what was in my glass, not what was on my notebook.
That meant it was time for dessert. We selected from Monk’s ambitious dessert menu, and we shared a Key Lime tart, a hazelnut chocolate tart, and a white crème brulee’. You need beer to go with these things, so we selected Rogue Chocolate Stout and Rogue Raspberry Imperial Stout. Both of these are perfect end of the evening beverages, and they really go well with the deserts we selected.
After all these brews and all of this food, sleep is very easy to come by. Believe me, you’ll have the best dreams you’ve ever had once you spend a few hours in Monk’s Café. Go to Monk’s. Check their web site (www.monkscafe.com) or call them at (215) 545-7005. It’ll kick a Philly cheesesteak’s ass.
Oh yeah, the Dead rocked!
About the HRB & TS
The Hampton Roads Brewing and Tasting Society is dedicated to promoting the enjoyment of home brewing. The annual dues are $15 per individual and $20 per family. Members are encouraged to support the reasonable enjoyment of beer and observe the laws of the Commonwealth of Virginia, the Federal government, and the Golden Rule. Persons attending HRB & TS meetings and events are solely liable for actions attendant to their participation. HRB & TS maintains a NO SMOKING policy during all meetings so that members may better enjoy fine beers. Smoking is permitted in meetings held in restaurants in the facility’s designated smoking areas.
Visit the HRB & TS online at www.hrbts.org.