The Brewsletter

Octobeer 2008

 

 

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

www.hrbts.org

 

 

Silent Auction – Tom Byrnes

Bring your geld to the Oktoberfest Party for the HRBT&S Silent Auction.  Members are welcome to bring last minute contributions. To date, the following booty will be available for bids:

 

  1. Beers of Christmas Past; a six pack of Christmas beers from yesteryear, all lagered in CJ and Diane’s basement:  two Bigfoot barleywines, a 2006 and a 2008; two Anchor Christmas beers, one from 2005 and one from 2006; and two Sierra Nevada Celebration ales, one from 2002 and one from 2007.  Starting bid = $6.00.

 

  1. New Belgium Brewing Company (Fort Collins, CO) serving tray.  Starting bid = $10.00.

 

  1. An Orval gift pack:  one bottle of Orval Trappist ale, a Belgian pale ale; one Orval bar towel, hand-carried back to the states by CJ and Diane; and a flyer from the Orval monastery. Starting bid = $10.00.

 

  1. A Westmalle gift assortment: a Westmalle ashtray (no longer being made); a Westmalle bottle opener; and a bottle of Westmalle Dubbel, another fine Trappist ale. Starting bid = $10.00.

 

  1. And finally, another Belgian-themed item to bid on:  a T-shirt from the "4th Annual Max's Belgian Beer Festival 2008", XL, and to go with it, a bottle of Delirium Noel (2006). Starting bid = $10.00.

 

  1. Grape and Gourmet gift basket.  Starting bid = ?.

 

Meeting Location – Diane Catanzaro

HRB&TS 2008 Oktoberfest Party!

October 1 at 6:30 pm

 

Time to bust out the leiderhosen, feathered cap, and polka music…Oktoberfest is almost here! The HRB&TS celebration of the party originally known as the wedding reception of Konig Ludwig and bride Theresa will be at the home of Will and Jonna Walker this Wednesday! But, we rebellious homebrewers and tasting aficionado do Oktoberfest the HRB&TS way. That means stuff yer face with club-provided brats, wieners, or veggie sausage! Drink some German beers, but feel free to ignore the reinheitsgebot…..all those German hefe-weizens have been “iggin’” it for years so why shouldn’t we?! Bring some German beer, non-German beer, homebrew or commercial brew. Non-alcoholic beverages will be provided.

 

 

The festivities begin at 6:30, so there is extra time to peruse and bid on the groovy items available in the club’s silent auction. The party often spills out of the house into the lake-lined backyard, so you may wish to bring a sweater or light jacket in case we get some festive autumnal nip in the air. A thank-you beer to leave with our kind hosts is a well-deserved gesture of appreciation for Will and Jonna’s generosity in once again hosting the club Oktoberfest party.

 

Competition Corner – Patti Messier

 

This month’s judging was held at Gus Gustafson’s home!  Thanks Gus for opening your home to us.  Our thirsty panel of judges (Tom Byrnes, Doug Boyd, and Gus Gustafson) went home thirsty!  Here they were… all set to sample all of the magnificent doppelbocks that this great club had to offer and there was only a single beer to taste!  Imagine everyone’s shock!!!!   I thought you guys were trying to give JP some competition!!!  Don’t just hand it to him!  Come on guys, BREW, BREW, BREW!!!

After the deliberations, the results were as follows: 

First Place, JP Messier with his Dopplebock, good for three HRBTS Cup points; 

Second Place, no one…..:(((

Third Place, still no one……L

 

 

So the race is winding down again and the cup is still up for grabs!  Let’s have some competition!   Start brewing now!

 

2008 HRBTS CUP STANDINGS (as of September 28)

 Name of Brewer(s)

Total Points Accumulated

 

J. P. Messier

36

Tom Byrnes

14

Jason Kuller

11

Doug Boyd

6

Chris Jones/Diane Catanzaro

6

Tim Hobbs

2

This could easily be you….

…if you get brewing!

 

 

 

 

2008 HRB&TS CUP BREWING SCHEDULE

Month

Style

Category/Sub

AHA Event - Deadline

November

(Oct 22)

 

Extra Special/Strong Bitter

 

8C

 

---

December

(Nov 19)

Christmas/Winter Specialty Spiced –

Must Use Cinnamon

 

21B

 

---

2009 HRB&TS CUP BREWING SCHEDULE

Month

Style

Category/Sub

AHA Event - Deadline

January

(Dec 17)

 

Oatmeal Stout

 

13C

 

---

February

(Jan 21)

 

Scottish 60, 70, 80

 

9A, B, C

 

---

March

(Feb 18)

 

Belgian Blonde

 

18A

 

---

 

Quit throwing away your used yeast vials! – Patti Messier

 

Hey, all you brewers out there!  We need you to save your used White Lab Yeast vials HRB&TS will begin collecting your empty vials and redeeming them with White Labs to earn some great prizes for our raffles.  JP Messier will be collecting them at the monthly meetings as well as the judgings.  So gather those empty vials and hand them off to JP at the next meeting!

 

Beer Recipes

 

Due to some technical difficulties, J.P. Messier’s award winning Dopplebock Recipe will appear at a later date.

 

About the HRB&TS

 

The Hampton Roads Brewing and Tasting Society is dedicated to promoting the enjoyment of home brewing.  The annual dues are $20 per individual and $25 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.  Visit the HRB & TS online at www.hrbts.org.