The Brewsletter
February 2010
The Official Newsletter of the Hampton Roads Brewing & Tasting Society (HRB&TS)
President’s Proclamations – Chris “CJ” Jones
Well, well, another month has blown by, punctuated by the sounds of the popping of caps off of bottles and drafts hitting glasses. Our Dogfish Head trip was grand – around 14 folks braved the trip up the Eastern Shore to get to Milton in time for the tour, then SchwagFest, our quality time spent buying Dogfish Head this-and-that in their retail store. The group then headed to Rehoboth Beach for dinner at the brewpub, where we received a group tour of the brewing area, and even cooler than that, their distillery, where we were able to whiff their dark rum as it waited patiently to be bottled. Man, that rum smelled righteous!
We also had a successful judging session of American Ales, BJCP Group 10 (more info about that elsewhere in this newsletter). More of you should consider participating in the judging sessions –it is a great opportunity to educate your palate, style by style.
How can February beat January? Well, beer appreciators, February brings us the opportunity to drive (or fly) to Baltimore to drift into Max’s on Broadway in Fell’s Point for Max’s Belgian Beer Fest, three straight days of Belgian ales, some of which are only in the USU of A for this particular weekend in this particular bar. As long as you stay away from the absinthe, you’ve got a great weekend ahead of you.
Soooo, it’a all good. One more thing. Left Hand Brewing of Longmont, CO, has whipped up a special very limited edition heavily hopped IPA that should arrive in Empire, located on Granby Street in Norfolk, by 1 February, called 500 Pound Gorilla, or something like that (as in “Any 500 pound gorilla can throw a pile of hops into a beer and make a big IPA…”). Twelve kegs are arriving at Empire, and we as a group need to make sure that this beer doesn’t get stale … by drinking as much of it as we can, in moderation, of course.
See you in Hampton next week,
C.J, President HRB&TS
Meeting Location – Diane Catanzaro
On February 3 the HRB&TS will meet at La Bodega Hampton, at 22 Wine Street, in downtown Hampton. The meeting begins at 7:30, but show up early (7:00) and get your sandwich order in, peruse the beer selection, and socialize with your fellow club members. We have the whole place to ourselves!
Bodega is more of a deli-gourmet-beer-wine shop with seating than a restaurant, and has a variety of sandwiches and deli-type salads that should please both your palate and your pocketbook. Luis is staying open especially for us; La Bodega usually closes at 6 pm. So, buying a tasty sandwich and a beer or two is both a nice dinner and a way to show your appreciation of Luis and his staff for staying open and letting us meet at La Bodega. You can even call ahead and place your order to save time and help them provide faster service.
http://www.labodegahampton.com/deli.asp
722-8466
On the website you will see examples of their tasty sandwiches including the King George, with country ham, brie, red onion, and house dressing, and the Navigator which has smoked turkey, sun-dried tomatoes, smoked gouda, and house dressing. The Prince Edward is rare roast beef, brie, red onion, and house dressing. They also have chicken salad, tuna salad, vinegar style pulled pork barbeque, and so forth.
La Bodega has a variety of beers; English ales are most heavily represented but they also have Legend and St. George. And...very important..... don’t forget to bring homebrew to the meeting!! No commercial beers, just homebrew! See you on Wednesday!
Directions: La Bodega is in the cool area of downtown Hampton at 22 Wine Street (722-8466). Take Rt 64 to the County St/Hampton University exit (rt 143). Merge onto Rt 60/Settler’s Landing Road. After you cross the water (there will be a bridge under you!), just before the Air and Space Museum, take a right on Wine St. 22 Wine Street is on the right about a block down the road. They have a parking lot right beside the shop.
Competition Corner – Eric Gold
Who doesn't like American Ales?!? Diane C. and Chris Jones thankfully agreed to host the February competition covering American Ales and their sub-styles. CJ volunteered to coordinate and steward the tasting and let me judge. (what a treat!) Cindy Cutler, Chip Reich, Diane C. and myself judged a sample of four beers. We had a really fun time coming to a consensus about the flavors and aromas in these brews and their scores ranged from 29.7 to 38! CJ and Diane pulled the last two bottles out of their cellar of an American Amber and took first place (38). I took second place with an American Pale Ale (33) that I had barely just finished dry-hopping. JP placed third with his American Pale (30.8). Congrats CJ and Diane!!
Updated Brewing points are listed below:
|
2010 HRBTS CUP STANDINGS |
|
|
Name of Brewer |
Points Accumulated |
|
Eric Gold |
4 |
|
Mark Johnson |
3 |
|
Chris Jones/ Diane Cantanzaro |
3 |
|
JP Messier |
2 |
|
This could easily be you …… |
If you get brewing ……. |
Beware the Ides of March! The March competition covers Braggots and will be held on Feb 17@ 7:30. I hope to announce the location during the next meeting.
IT'S NOT TOO LATE to reserve the month matching one of your favorite styles! If you are willing to host a monthly judging competition, please email me at egold@vt.edu to reserve your month. We bring beer to your house :)
Updates to the Schedule!
Below you will find our brewing schedule for 2010. I've updated the dates for each month.
|
2010 HRB&TS CUP BREWING SCHEDULE |
|||
|
Month |
Style |
Category/Sub |
AHA Event - Deadline |
|
March 2010 (Feb 17) |
Braggot |
26B |
|
|
April 2010 (March 24) |
Extract |
ANY |
May 2010 |
|
May 2010 (April 21) |
Gluten free Beer |
ANY base style OR 23 |
|
|
June 2010 (May 19) |
Wheat |
15A/B/16A |
|
|
July 2010 (June 23) |
Mead |
24,25,26 |
August 2010 |
|
August 2010 (July 21) |
Sour |
17 |
Sept/Oct 2010 |
|
September 2010 (Aug 18) |
Fruit |
20 |
|
|
October 2010 (Sept. 22) |
Strong Ale |
19 |
Nov/Dec 2010 |
|
November 2010 (Oct. 20) |
Tupper's Hop Pocket Ale Clone |
10 A |
|
|
December 2010 (Nov 17 ) |
Christmas Winter Spiced Beer |
21B |
|
|
January 2011 (Dec 22) |
Imperial Stout |
13F |
|
|
February 2011 (Jan 19) |
Belgian and French Ale |
16 A-D |
|
|
March 2011 (Feb 16) |
Bock |
5 |
March/April 2011 |
February Winners:
1st Place – HRBTS Cup February 2010, America Amber, Brewer: Chris Jones/Diane Catanzaro
2nd Place – HRBTS Cup February 2010, American Pale Ale, Brewer: Eric Gold
3rd Place – HRBTS Cup February 2010, American Pale Ale, Brewer: JP Messier
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.