The Brewsletter
May 2009
The
Official Newsletter of the
From The Vice President’s
Stool – Mark Johnson
Greetings to HRB&TS members,
Well Jonna has gone back to the home country and left me in charge of providing wisdom for this month’s newsletter (Big Mistake!), she’ll be back next month to expound on beer related happenings in her elegant prose, in the meantime pop open a brewski and kick back in your favorite chair – let’s see how this turns out...
Warm weather is finally upon us, it’s time to set down your heavy ales and stouts (at least until after dark) and pick up a crisp, refreshing lager to quench your thirst. For all you Summer beer fans you can once again hold that bottle with pride, no more quizzical looks from the bartender as he desperately tries to dig out the leftover orphan from last Summer out of the back of his cooler. Myself I prefer a nice cold Bell’s Lager of the Lakes (works with any meal)...but I digress.
April turned out to be a busy month for club events; we kicked the month off with our traditional spring visit to St. Georges Brewery in Hampton. Thanks again to Andy and the staff for hosting a bunch of thirsty beer geeks. Those of you lucky enough to attend were treated to good pizza pie and great beer on tap (a heavenly combination). I was a big fan of the porter, but all five beers Andy was sampling that night were top notch. Show your appreciation to our hosts by grabbing a six-pack of St. Georges (or two) the next time you find yourself at the local mega-mart.
Mid-month some in the club went to see the ‘One Night Only’ showing of Beer Wars at MacArthur Center. Mixed reviews on the film, but by and large most folks seemed a bit surprised at the cutthroat attitude and ruthlessness of the commercial beer industry. From what I gather the film was very informative and well worth seeing when it eventually makes its way to DVD/Cable.
To round out the month we had the Virginia Beer Festival in Norfolk. Unfortunately with the ongoing renovations to Towne Point Park the festival was held in the parking lot of Nauticus this year, so those of you who did attend most likely baked like a lobster sitting on an asphalt parking lot during one of the hottest April days on record. Fortunately CJ and Dianne were gracious enough to provide an alternate Virginia Beer Festival location in their Ghent backyard. All reports indicated that the AVBF was a smashing success, with nary a person dropping out due to heat stroke.
May looks to be busy month as well, kicking off of course with Cinco de Mayo. Help our struggling neighbors to the south and kick back with a nice cool Negro Modelo or two to help wash down those fajitas. There are a couple of interesting festivals being hosted in the Raleigh area and tastings in Richmond. Check out www.Beeradvocate.com for more information. Savor is coming up at the end of May, for those of you lucky enough to have tickets.
Cheers,
Mark Johnson
Meeting Location – Diane Catanzaro
Rob & Jodi
Sugar Magnolia, beer suds
blooming
Kegs all empty but I don’t care…
Sippin homebrew down
by the river
Macros and yellow fizz
can’t compare…
Ales and azaleas will be the theme of our first outdoor meeting of
2009 at Rob and Jodi Sisson’s paradise on the lake in Chic’s Beach. This is the
fifth year that Rob and Jodi have hosted the HRB&TS May meeting in their
bucolic backyard. Sip some suds as you unwind under the pines. Lap up a lager
as you lounge by the lake.
The HRB&TS will provide burger basics to cook on the grill.
Side dishes or a nosh to share are welcomed. Note that you can arrive as early
as 7 pm! Also, dress for outdoor weather…a light sweater or jacket is often
needed this time of year once the sun sets. You may wish to bring a lawn chair.
Family-friendly….kids are welcome. Plenty of space for kids, and grownups, to
run around and play.. Of course bring some beers to share….homebrews and/or
commercial beers….all good. Black IPAs are the beer of the month but bring any
beer you think would be fun to share with fellow HRB&TS-ers.
Please bring an extra homebrew or nice craft beer for Rob and Jodi
to thank them for their great hospitality in hosting the HRB&TS for the
fifth year in a row! Whoo Whoo!!!
HOBBS-FEST
SPRING 2009 - Tom Byrnes
Recently Gus and I ventured north to visit Tim Hobbs and once again explored the world of German Lager beer and hookahs. Despite working long hours the night before, the flavor of the pacaderm helles (Tim’s house specialty) and the aroma of fruit shisha quickly reenergized Gus. Both of us were surprised to see that Tim had a British bitter on tap along with an Oktoberfest, Wit, and of course the Pacaderm. His bitter was lager clear with a subtle hint of caramel, kissed ever so slightly with a british hop presence, in a word, delicious. Tim tasked us with the responsibility of emptying two of his kegs to make room for future beers and we were happy to comply. Saturday started with the traditional 7:00 AM mash in and a mere 4 hours latter lemongrass wheat was born. The afternoon brought a trip to Maryland and the BURP lager meeting. I have always heard many good things about this beer club and yes they are all true. Judging consisted of 18 lager entries while the meeting featured many kegs, delicious food and a lively beer conversation. It didn’t hurt that both Gus and myself won a raffle gift. Many thanks to Allen, June and the BURP members who made us feel as if we were long time members of this organization. Think I’ll be attending another meeting very soon. Nightfall brought us back for some commercial beers, hookah and a chance to reflect on our day. I was really amazed by the number of brewers and the quality of the feedback offered on our homebrewed beers. Sunday brought the usually early mash-in and Tim was brewing an Irish Red. What another ale; is the king of all things lager converting; only time will tell. Hobbs-fest also had official hats courtesy of Eva but unfortunately the pictures did not arrive in time for this newsletter. On the way home we discussed how much we missed Tim and Mini but looked forward to our return trip. Members going to SAVOR will get to see them and maybe attend a Sunday brewing session at the house of Hobbs. Thank you to Tim and Mini for your hospitality.
Competition
Corner – Tom Byrnes
During our last judging, six brewers discovered the dark side of lupolin, where the darkest wort is pierced by the alphas acid and hop flavor. Yes the black IPA was created, when we became captivated with Stone’s Anniversary XI and gripped with a desire to brew a clone of this unique beer. Our 5 judges: Tina, Mark, Diane, Doug, JP were treated to 6 worthy example of this style. There scores ranged from 27.6 to 32.6. First place went to Tom (35.0) with a beer called lupolin luau and crafted after many pleasurable years of drinking Jason’s lupolin series of beers. Second went to Jason with another incredible IPA (30.6); Third place was captures by JP (28.4) with a beer that garnered much discussion from the judges. If you love the flavor of hops you are in for a real treat at our upcoming meeting.
Brewing points are listed below:
|
2009 HRBTS CUP STANDINGS |
|
|
Name of Brewer |
Points Accumulated |
|
Tom Byrnes |
11 |
|
Doug Boyd |
8 |
|
Jason Kuller |
5 |
|
Gus Gustafson |
3 |
|
JP Messier |
3 |
|
This could
easily be you…. |
…if you get
brewing! |
This contest remains close and wide open with only an 8 point difference between the contestants. There is also time for new brewers to get in on the action as we have 6 beers left in the current brewing cycle. The next competition will be Wit Beer to be held May 21@ 7:30. The location will be determined later. This has become a favored style in our club so we should have many entries.
Below you will find our brewing schedule for 2009. I think you will find something for every type of brewer. New brewers can jump in immediately with the extract competition while beers near the end may require extensive aging.
|
2009
HRB&TS CUP BREWING SCHEDULE |
|||
|
Month |
Style |
Category/Sub |
AHA Event - Deadline |
|
January (Dec 17) |
Oatmeal Stout |
13C |
--- |
|
February (Jan 22) |
Scottish 60,
70, 80 |
9A, B, C |
--- |
|
March (Feb 19) |
Belgian
Blonde |
18A |
--- |
|
April (Mar 19) |
Extract |
All |
Yes May 2 2008 |
|
May (Apr 23) |
Black IPA Clone |
Loosely based
on 14 A, B |
|
|
June (May 21) |
Wit Beer |
16A |
|
|
July (June 18) |
Mead |
24, 25, 26
A,C |
|
|
August (July 23) |
Fruit Beer |
20 |
|
|
September (August 20) |
Unique
Spice/herb in aroma and flavor |
Loosely based
on 21 A, B |
|
|
October (Sept 24) |
Saison |
16C |
|
|
November (Oct 22) |
Belgian
Strong |
18 A-E |
Nov/Dec 09 |
|
December (Nov 19) |
Smoked Porter |
22B with base
style in 12 |
|
|
2010
HRB&TS CUP BREWING SCHEDULE |
|||
|
Month |
Style |
Category/Sub |
AHA Event - Deadline |
|
January 2010 (December 17) |
English Brown
Ale |
11 A,B,C |
February
16, 2010 |
|
February 2010 (Jan 21) |
American Ales |
10 A,B |
March/April
2010 |
|
March 2010 (Feb 18) |
Braggot |
26B |
|
We are also looking for members who would be willing to host a judging at their home. Judging will be held on Thursday’s two weeks before each HRBTS regular meeting. The dates will be: May 21 June 18 July 23 Aug 20 Sept 24 Oct 22 Nov 19 and Dec 17 (3 weeks prior due to Christmas). If you are willing to host please email me at tombyrnes@verizon.net to reserve your month.
Beer Recipes
1st Place –– Lupolin luau - HRBTS Cup April 2009, Brewer:
Tom Byrnes
14-B India Pale Ale, American
IPA
|
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2nd Place –IPA – HRBTS Cup April 2009, Brewer: Jason Kuller
*** Not Available***
3rd Place – IPA - HRBTS Cup April 2009, Brewer: JP
Messier
*** Not Available***
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