The Brewsletter
September 2010
The Official Newsletter of the Hampton Roads Brewing & Tasting Society (HRB&TS)
Presidential Pontifications – C. J., aka. Chris Jones
OK, here’s a question for you: When is it a good time to hear the phrase “J.L.’s got gas!”? Pick from (a) when you are at band practice; (b) when you have a gig; or (c) when you’re at the annual HRBTS picnic and you’ve discovered that your CO2 bottle is empty. If you answered (c), you picked correctly.
Saturday, 28 August, was our annual picnic, held at Erin and Phil’s, and there I was, sans carbon dioxide. J.L. Lyon, perhaps a former Boy Scout, had a multiple outlet thing-a-ma-jig on his bottle that allowed him to push not just the two beers that he and Eric Gold brewed, but mine, too. I believe there were around ten kegs at the picnic (earning three first place HRBTS Cup points for each brewer or brewing team), with a wide variety of styles represented, and the Randall made an appearance. That’s right, the Randall that Diane and I bought from Dogfish Head was “in the house”, or more appropriately, in the yard. Filled with two ounces of fresh whole leaf Cascade hops, it was the source of a very late hop addition to multiple kegs. It was also the source of multiple hours of frustration to multiple folks who were distressed to see that there was an air bubble in it, and multiple hours of amusement to me watching them try to do something about it. Egad! An air bubble! I tried to tell them, “Just drink it”, but nope, they were obsessed. I watched half a dozen folks, pick it up, put it on the ground, shake it, turn it upside down, curse my multiple fittings, and howl at the injustice of it all. Diane and I may have to bust that thing out more often …. The picnic was great. The beers were top notch, the food too, the pool was wonderful, and the band, the J. L. Lyon Project, accompanied by Jason Kuller on mandolin and Mike Connell on bass, ruled. Plus no exploding keg carbonators, and no trip to the Emergency Room for me or anyone else. All in all, a great time. Many thanks to Erin and Phil for letting us have our soiree at their place.
I did hear a very disturbing phrase at the picnic, from Jonna Walker; brace yourself: “If Will ever brews again ….” If? Not when, but if! Brothers and sisters, Jonna’s husband, Will Walker, has not brewed in a year and a half. Eighteen months! How long must she suffer! How long must she toil under the cruel yoke of commercially produced malt beverage? OK, maybe it isn’t that bad, but folks, Will needs … an intervention! That’s right, we need to help Will come back to brewing. I plan on finding a weekend soon when the Walkers are at home without plans. We’ll get Jonna to secretly buy extract and yeast and dust off their brewing equipment, then we will show up, en masse, corral Will in his kitchen, and facilitate his brewing a batch of beer. Keep an eye on your email. The time will come, soon, when you can help Will come back to brewing, so when the call comes, answer it. See you on Wednesday!
Meeting Location – Diane Catanzaro
Did somebody say “pool party?”
The HRB&TS’ August meeting will this Wednesday, September 1th, at 7 pm., at the Chesapeake home of Matt Murphy and his wife Heather. Fresh from the summer picnic we need not rest on our laurels too long.....if there is leftover beer we should probably help drink it, and rumor has it that there are tasty brats and burgers still hoping to be eaten.
So, heed the call from the Sherwood Forest subdivision of Chesapeake and join the HRB&TS band of merry men and women who are 'robbing' the rich macrobrewers of their hegemony by brewing our own beer, and by supporting the 'poor' independent craft breweries, whose profit margins are leaner because they are not selling you watery light beers whose ingredients cost about a penny per ounce.
The Murphy's in-ground swimming pool invites you to take a dip as we enjoy the HRB&TS' last pool party of Summer 2010. Bring a towel and ye swimsuit to cover ye bum lest ye inherit the nickname of "Little John" and convince Maid Marion to join ye nunnery. Children are welcome, however the Sheriff of Nottingham warns that parents must closely supervise them as the swimming pool is filled with water! Water is much more dangerous than beer. You’ve never heard of anyone drowning in beer, have you? (Or, maybe you just never hear people complain about it).
Lots of tasty burgers, brats, and veggie burgers will be provided by the club. Your side dish or munchie is welcome. Friar Tuck asks you to tithe our much-appreciated host and hostess, Matt and Heather, with an extra homebrew or nice commercial brew to thank them for their fabulous hospitality in hosting the HRB&TS. Fruit beers are the beer of the month…yum…. but bring any type of homebrew or interesting craft beer to share with HRB&TS' merry men and alewives.
If you are a taster, or have not been brewing, we only have a couple more meetings where commercial beers are allowed, because in cooler weather we’ll be meeting in restaurants. In restaurant meetings homebrew is allowed but we can’t bring in commercial beers purchased elsewhere. So, if you don't brew, be sure to treat the kind homebrewers who share their beer with you each month to some of the interesting craft beers that you’ve been discovering. Or, a beer that you’ve been meaning to try but you didn’t want to be responsible for drinking that entire 750 milliliter by yourself! Your homebrewing friends in the HRB&TS are here to help!
Competition Corner – Eric Gold
Ron and Jeannine Jones were awesome hosts and had the club to their house for the August Meeting and turned right around and hosted the Fruit Beer competition as well. Big thanks to you guys! We had a good variety of beers that were entered in this competition. Although the main style requirement includes any beer with fruit or fruit flavoring; there is a lot of leeway granted to the brewer for the base style of beer. First place went to CJ and Diane with their Cherry lambic. Second place went to JP for his blueberry Kolsch. Third place went to Ron and Jeannine for their Cranberry Kolsch!
Thanks again to Ron and Jeannine for having us; If anyone else is interested in hosting a future competition, remember we bring the beer!
Updated Brewing points are listed below! I may have missed someone who brought 5 gallons of homebrew to the picnic. If you would let me know, we'll be sure to keep track of the points that were earned!
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2010 HRBTS CUP STANDINGS |
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Name of Brewer |
Points Accumulated |
|
Chris Jones & Diane Catanzaro |
23 |
|
JP Messier |
20 |
|
Eric Gold |
15 |
|
Tom Byrnes |
9 |
|
Chip Reich |
5 |
|
Jason Kuller |
5 |
|
JL Lyons |
5 |
|
Mark Johnson |
3 |
|
Ron & Jeannine Jones |
1 |
IT'S STILL 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 :)
Below you will find our brewing schedule for 2010/2011.
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2010 HRB&TS CUP BREWING SCHEDULE |
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Month |
Style |
Category/Sub |
AHA Event - Deadline |
|
October 2010 (Sept. 22) |
Strong Ale |
19 |
Nov/Dec 2010 |
|
November 2010 (Oct. 20) |
Tupper's Hop Pocket Ale |
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 |
September Winners:
1st Place – HRBTS Sept 2010, Cherry Lambic, Brewer: Chris Jones & Diane Catanzaro
2nd Place - HRBTS Sept 2010, Blueberry Kolsch, Brewer: JP Messier
3rd Place – HRBTS Sept 2010, Cranberry Kolsch, Brewer: Ron & Jeannine Jones
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.
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