Home Imbrewment

June 2004

 

 

The Official Newsletter of the Hampton Roads Brewing & Tasting Society (HRB & TS)

www.hrbts.org

 

The President’s Podium

 

Usually this section contains clever musings from our president but at the moment he is experiencing the offerings of Belgium.  He is is not alone!! As of this writing Will Walker is in London and Mike Quanty in Puerto Rico. So that leaves the question….who’s left to write this newsletter. Placed in a position that would have made Alexander Hague very proud in fact orgasmic with power, I guess that task fall to me. The upside is that we should have some great raffle gifts in the next few months.

 

Last month was very busy for the club. We participated in Big Brew 04 at the fine establishment of Mike and Melissa Pensinger. This session featured about six brewers and some interesting beers. Looks like the gods of commerce smiled on Mike as homebrew kits, bottles, coolers seemed to fly out of his store. If you have not visited this establishment yet, Mike has the cheapest price for liquid extract on the planet. Extract brewers will save mucho dinero so it is definitely worth the drive. New to brewing get hooked up with some great recipe kits. We also survived the Town Point Park Beer Festival where we, with the help of Rob Sisson, discovered the power of the pitcher. Speaking of Rob his house was appropriately christened at last months beer meeting. In a pastoral setting by the lake, Rob took time to enjoy the fruits of his labor in the yard and hosted a fine meeting. The setting was awesome, the beer was outstanding and the company was great, all of the ingredients for a perfect meeting. Thanks to Rob and Jody for hosting. We also had our inaugural brew haikus contest and awarded bottles of Bigfoot Barleywine to each of the respective haiku gurus. In case you missed it here was one of my personal favorites.

 

 

Green bottle beer smell

Roadside skunk catches a whiff;

Friend or Heineken?

 

Doug wanted to remind us that dues are past due. We will be revising our member roster and you don’t want to be left out. . Individual memberships are $15 and Families are $20. This is a real bargain considering what the club has provided to its members over the past year. Remember you need to be paid up to get the member discounts at local establishments and participate in the local competitions.

 

The Next Meeting Location

 

Our next meeting will be in surprising Suffolk at the home of John Mitchell. All types of homebrew and commercial beer are welcome. The Beer of the Month is California Common. Looking forward to seeing you there.

 

 

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

June

California Common (6C)

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

India Pale Ale (7)

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:

 

This month we judged 7 California Common Beers. A sort of lager beer this beer style is marked by lager yeast fermented at ale temperatures with generous portions of northern brewer hops. Again the competition was fierce. All scores ranged in the 30’s. A truly unique entry was by Phil Swanson who aged his beer in an oak cask generating a unique interpretation of the style.  Again thanks to Rob and Jody for an excellent job running this competition while yours truly judged.

 

The finalists of this contest are listed below:

 

First Place: Richard Pidgeon 36.5

Second Place: Richard Pidgeon 36.0

Third Place. OVBC 33.1

 

Again thanks to all who entered and helped with this contest. Please check the BJCP guidelines prior to entering. These can be accessed at www.beertown.org.

 

If you would like to hold a judging meeting at your house, please let me know.

 

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.

 

Here is the current HRBTS Home Brewer of the Year points.

 

HRBTS CUP 2004 STANDINGS

BREWER

CUMULATIVE POINTS

Richard Pidgeon

35

CJ/Diane

30

OVBC (Mike Q, Rob, Erin, John and Catherine)

18

Tom Byrnes

16

Doug Boyd

11

Mike Pensinger

10

Victor

7

Phil Swanson

5

Will Walker

4

Corey Pettiford

1

Joe Rainer

1

John Pearson

1

 

Next month’s contest will be American Pale Ales. This is always a popular contest so expect a lot of entries. Please consult the guidelines for more information.

 

Speaking of competitions, Cameron Cuskey of Virginia Beach, VA advanced to the second round of the National Homebrew Competition with a light ale entry.  Sammy Samoluk of the HRBTS Southern Command has once again placed two entries in round two with an American lager and a Kolch/Altbier. Good luck to these members in the final round in Las Vegas.

 

The Las Vegas convention will also feature the debut of the new BJCP guidelines, which will provide a radical revision of the styles. This convention promises to be a blast with beer/food pairings at UNLV, Pro brewers night, Club Night and a pub-crawl around Vegas. Should be a blast. Editors note: any member planning on attending this conference please email me at kmstfb2@exis.net.

 

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.

 

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.