The Brewsletter
July 2011
The Official Newsletter of the Hampton Roads Brewing & Tasting Society (HRB&TS)
Presidential Musings on Malt - C.J., aka. Chris Jones.
I had big plans of brewing beer this weekend, and right now it’s Sunday afternoon and I haven’t started……dang!! As soon as I finish this I’m going to think about brewing.
We had our first HR Cup judging, of wheat beer, in June. The HRB&TS took 2 out of 3 places (yay, us!). See the article elsewhere in this newsletter. We STILL need a competition coordinator, so I am hoping someone steps up to the plate on Wednesday. It’s not rocket science! It’s just ‘coordinating’! There are only TWO contests left in the year, so this is a short-term commitment that would be easy to fulfill, as well as a way to ‘give back’ to the club that hopefully has enhanced your quality of beer-life.
This past Wednesday marked the debut of O’Connor Brewing’s “El Guapo,” an IPA made with agave nectar. Cogan’s, in Ghent, sold 350 glasses of El Guapo in 3 hours, a new world record. (Ok, a local beer world record). A tasty, moderately hopped ale of 7.5% alcohol, with a honey-floral aroma that is quite a treat.
Recall again that the HRBTS Summer Picnic date is 20 August 2011, at Erin and Phil’s pool side estate in the Mt. Trashmore section of Virginia Beach. Beer, food, the J.L. Lyon Project, probably Mike Connell on bass, more beer and more food; put that in your Droid or iPhone and plan on attending.
See you in a few days unless I win the lottery. Actually, if I win I’m coming anyway ….
C.J., HRBTS President
Meeting Location - Diane Catanzaro
Hope your Fourth of July 2011 weekend enjoyment-relaxation-fun can be reprised and continued through this Wednesday, as the HRB&TS meets at the Va Beach home of Ron and Jeannine Jones. Come and enjoy homebrew and commercial brew tasting, fellowship, and for those of us whose desire for wetness is all-encompassing, a splash in the in-ground swimming pool. Ride a noodle, challenge your fellow HRB&TS-ers to a game of Marco Polo, or just enjoy the meeting from waist-deep waters.
Of course all types of homebrew and commercial beers are welcome. Those who don't have homebrew, please bring a commercial beer that you'd like to turn folks on to. Grape & Gourmet in VA Beach and Total Wine should have some interesting beers to discover! Lots of new beers are available in our beer marketplaces, so why not take the plunge and choose a brew you have not had before? Or a favorite of yours that you think others may not have tried? A great way to discover new beers and raise our collective beer-wareness.
The meeting will commence at 7:00 pm. Please bring an extra brew to bestow on our hospitable hosts, Ron and Jeannine. We are fortunate indeed to have such a great location for our August meeting! Bring a towel and swimsuit if you want to take a dip in the pool. Kids are welcome as long as the parent(s) will watch them in and around the pool. As usual at our summer meetings the club will provide fixins for dinner. A side dish or munchie to share is nice if you are so inclined.
Competition Coordinator Corner – JP Messier
Brewing Competition
We had our second joint competition for the Hampton Roads Brewers (HRB) Cup between HRBTS and BARF on Wednesday, June 15th! This was a showdown of Hefeweizens, BJCP Category 15A. This monumental event was held at the home of HRBTS member Tom Byrnes. Thanks to Tom for hosting us and being such an awesome host!
Another fierce and competitive competition was had by all. It was a balanced match up of home brewers from each club coming out to judge and also from the entries themselves. We started off by sampling a few calibration beers amongst the group and discussing our views on the parameters for the Hefeweizens against that sampled beer. Our group was then divided into two (2) teams to judge the 16 entries. Team A was comprised of Tom Byrnes (HRBTS), Dan Tully (BARF), and Bryan Garrett (BARF). Team B was comprised of Doug Boyd (HRBTS), Chris Knight (BARF), and Justin Crandall (BARF). Both teams sipped, gazed upon, sniffed, and analyzed each of the entries. A Best of Show was conducted with the Top Two entries from each team, along with two judges from each team. After a short throw down in the cage, the Hefeweizen infused judges chose the winners!
In 1st Place and a proud member of BARF is Chris Knight! 2nd Place was taken by Chris Jones and Diane Catanzaro of HRBTS, and 3rd Place went to Paul Hutchings also of HRBTS. Great effort by all our home brewers from both clubs.
Thanks for everyone’s efforts and entries. We are off to a great run on our new joint competition and look forward to the coming events. Our next event is on September 21st with the celebrity beer being American IPA’s. A superior categorical beer, somewhat complex to brew, and enjoyed by most all of our home brewers and tasters out there. So bust out your brewing equipment and brew up your award winning entry.
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2011 Hampton Roads Brewers Cup Standings |
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|
Brewer |
Club |
Robust Porter (12B) March 2011 |
Hefeweizen (15A) June 2011 |
American IPA (14B) September 2011 |
Belgian Tripel (18C) December 2011 |
Points |
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|
Chris Knight |
BARF |
4 |
6 |
|
|
10 |
||
|
Lee Dodd |
HRBTS |
6 |
1 |
|
|
7 |
||
|
Chris Jones & Dianne Catanzaro |
HRBTS |
1 |
5 |
|
|
6 |
||
|
AndrewJackson |
BARF |
5 |
1 |
|
|
6 |
||
|
Paul Hudgins |
HRBTS |
1 |
4 |
|
|
5 |
||
|
Doug Boyd |
HRBTS |
1 |
1 |
|
|
2 |
||
|
Jennings Lyon |
HRBTS |
1 |
1 |
|
|
2 |
||
|
JP Messier |
HRBTS |
1 |
1 |
|
|
2 |
||
|
Dan Tully |
BARF |
1 |
1 |
|
|
2 |
||
|
Jason Kuller |
HRBTS |
1 |
|
|
|
1 |
||
|
Rob Pearson |
BARF |
1 |
|
|
|
1 |
||
|
Steve Clark |
BARF |
1 |
|
|
|
1 |
||
|
Justin Crandall |
BARF |
1 |
|
|
|
1 |
||
|
Joe Graves |
HRBTS |
1 |
|
|
1 |
|||
|
Skip Sharp |
HRBTS |
1 |
|
|
1 |
|||
|
Elijah Roberts |
BARF |
1 |
|
|
1 |
|||
|
Corey Basely |
BARF |
1 |
|
|
1 |
|||
|
Thomas Wright |
BARF |
1 |
|
|
1 |
|||
|
Ben Powell |
BARF |
1 |
|
|
1 |
|||
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This could easily be you |
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If you get brewing ……. |
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Below is the schedule for the year. Plan ahead and brew with us. There are many great brewers in our ranks and we need you to make this competition successful.
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2011 HAMPTON ROADS BREWERS CUP SCHEDULE |
||
|
Month |
Style |
BJCP Category and Sub Category |
|
21 September |
American IPA |
14 (B) |
|
21 December |
Belgian Tripel |
18 (C) |
Commercial Beer Judging
Step up and actively help us out with our Club and make it what we all want!
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.