December 2019 HOPS Brew Club Meeting Minutes
Attendance: 18
Thank you Todd & Susan for hosting the annual December meeting/Christmas Gift exchange party. Thank you to all the participating members for all the wonderful food, treats, and fun gifts that were shared.
There were no old or new topics of discussion brought up, which led to the beer style tastings of the month.
Style was Belgian Dubbel : overall Impression: A deep reddish-coppery, moderately strong, malty, complex Trappist ale with rich malty flavors, dark or dried fruit esters, and light alcohol blended together in a malty presentation that still finishes fairly dry.
1: Matt B. : Commercial beer: La Trappe Trappist Dubbel by Koningshoeven Brewery, which happens to be one of only a handful of authentic Trappist Breweries remaining in the world. This was good, with some sour notes, maybe due to age, as it was cellared for a few years.
2. Frank W. : Commercial Beer: Ommegang Dubbel Merlau, with merlot grape juice and aged in red wine barrels. This was dry with a little oak and definitely finished with wine flavors.
3. Eric B. : Dubbel Labrador Dubbel: a mix of Pilsner, Pale, and Munich malts, with some Light DME, Caramel Crystal, and a Pound of light Belgian candi syrup, made for a very tasty beer. Eric harvested the yeast from his Brett beer which added to the complexity. Well done, excellent, its damn good, were heard across the table.
4. Chris H & Frank W. : Belgian Dubbel 14lbs of grain including Marris Otter, red wheat, Special B. and cara munich were brewed with some Dark candi sugar, then fermented with White labs 530 Abbey Ale yeast and produced a well liked brew. Good job, nice, I like it.
5. Alden B. : German Dunkle was about 1 year old. Fermented with a lager yeast. Had a nice dark color, robust aromas, with a mild mouth feel. Almost like a porter, very nice, well received.
6. Brian G. : The last of Brian's Super Mario Rye Cereal Beer. Rye Malt, Honey Malt and 4#’s of sugar, aged very well with the fruity cereal flavors predominately coming through. Nice beer, very good.
7. Tood S. : Bliss McGirr, A Scotch Ale, came in at 7%, with 10 #’s 2 row, 1.5 #’s of Brown sugar, Hallertau and East Kent hops. Brewed on Oct 6th it was a tasty Ale for a festive occasion. Very good, I like it, and well done, could be heard among the christmas clamor.
8. Topher. : Belgian Golden Strong Ale, kit beer used DME (dry malt extract) candi sugar, East Golding and Saaz hops. A relatively young beer (only brewed in September), was very nice and should age well for the style. Nice Job.
9. George M. : Commercial Beer: St. Bernardus ABT 12 Abbey Belgian Quadrupel, a very nice beer. Got good remarks around the table.
10. Eric B. : Thor’s IPA with Cascade & Chinook, A Black IPA. using wet locally grown hops, from Catskill Hops Farm, 14 #’s of Pale malt, & 1 # caramel 60. A very nice beer, and surprisingly not as bitter as one would think based on the amount of hops. 16 oz of chinook, and 8 oz of cascade. Really good.
11. Chris H & Frank W. : Mixed Berry Cider, A Cider House Select cider kit got the thumbs up. Fruity, berry, raspberry comes through. Brewed on oct 13th, kegged Oct 28th. The overall volume was reduced from 6 gallons to 4.5 to increase the ABV’s to 6.8%. This was very good, and paired well with the cobbler. Nicely done.
12. Chris H. : Mystery Beer: a bottle found in the basement with no label. Light amber color, slightly bitter, not unpleasant, alcohol prominent, astringent, with fruity/solventy aromas. Style still unknown.
So that wraps up another awesome year of Homebrewing fun. We’ve welcomed a few newcomers, shared a lot of laughs, drank a lot of good brews and ate some good food. It’s always a pleasure. I believe we are an awesome group of people, from all walks of life, who have been brought together by our common love of beer and the brewing process. We’ve created friendships, that like a fine wine, only get better with age. Cheers, and Happy New Year to all.
Upcoming styles of the month:
January 2020 is Wheat wine
February Cereal beer: It’s the annual cereal beer competition. Remember 25% of Grain bill must be cereal, Still time to make one. Have some fun and make it now. You can always make a small batch.
March is open
April is SMASH
May is Kellerbier
November is wood-aged
December 2020 is Belgian Tripel
December 2021 is Belgian Quad
Other styles mentioned: herb/spiced, rye, gruit, wine. Let us know what style you want to try!
January meeting will be on January 17th, at the American legion. There will be a Chicken & Biscuits dinner, so bring your appetite and tasting glasses.
Attendance: 18
Thank you Todd & Susan for hosting the annual December meeting/Christmas Gift exchange party. Thank you to all the participating members for all the wonderful food, treats, and fun gifts that were shared.
There were no old or new topics of discussion brought up, which led to the beer style tastings of the month.
Style was Belgian Dubbel : overall Impression: A deep reddish-coppery, moderately strong, malty, complex Trappist ale with rich malty flavors, dark or dried fruit esters, and light alcohol blended together in a malty presentation that still finishes fairly dry.
1: Matt B. : Commercial beer: La Trappe Trappist Dubbel by Koningshoeven Brewery, which happens to be one of only a handful of authentic Trappist Breweries remaining in the world. This was good, with some sour notes, maybe due to age, as it was cellared for a few years.
2. Frank W. : Commercial Beer: Ommegang Dubbel Merlau, with merlot grape juice and aged in red wine barrels. This was dry with a little oak and definitely finished with wine flavors.
3. Eric B. : Dubbel Labrador Dubbel: a mix of Pilsner, Pale, and Munich malts, with some Light DME, Caramel Crystal, and a Pound of light Belgian candi syrup, made for a very tasty beer. Eric harvested the yeast from his Brett beer which added to the complexity. Well done, excellent, its damn good, were heard across the table.
4. Chris H & Frank W. : Belgian Dubbel 14lbs of grain including Marris Otter, red wheat, Special B. and cara munich were brewed with some Dark candi sugar, then fermented with White labs 530 Abbey Ale yeast and produced a well liked brew. Good job, nice, I like it.
5. Alden B. : German Dunkle was about 1 year old. Fermented with a lager yeast. Had a nice dark color, robust aromas, with a mild mouth feel. Almost like a porter, very nice, well received.
6. Brian G. : The last of Brian's Super Mario Rye Cereal Beer. Rye Malt, Honey Malt and 4#’s of sugar, aged very well with the fruity cereal flavors predominately coming through. Nice beer, very good.
7. Tood S. : Bliss McGirr, A Scotch Ale, came in at 7%, with 10 #’s 2 row, 1.5 #’s of Brown sugar, Hallertau and East Kent hops. Brewed on Oct 6th it was a tasty Ale for a festive occasion. Very good, I like it, and well done, could be heard among the christmas clamor.
8. Topher. : Belgian Golden Strong Ale, kit beer used DME (dry malt extract) candi sugar, East Golding and Saaz hops. A relatively young beer (only brewed in September), was very nice and should age well for the style. Nice Job.
9. George M. : Commercial Beer: St. Bernardus ABT 12 Abbey Belgian Quadrupel, a very nice beer. Got good remarks around the table.
10. Eric B. : Thor’s IPA with Cascade & Chinook, A Black IPA. using wet locally grown hops, from Catskill Hops Farm, 14 #’s of Pale malt, & 1 # caramel 60. A very nice beer, and surprisingly not as bitter as one would think based on the amount of hops. 16 oz of chinook, and 8 oz of cascade. Really good.
11. Chris H & Frank W. : Mixed Berry Cider, A Cider House Select cider kit got the thumbs up. Fruity, berry, raspberry comes through. Brewed on oct 13th, kegged Oct 28th. The overall volume was reduced from 6 gallons to 4.5 to increase the ABV’s to 6.8%. This was very good, and paired well with the cobbler. Nicely done.
12. Chris H. : Mystery Beer: a bottle found in the basement with no label. Light amber color, slightly bitter, not unpleasant, alcohol prominent, astringent, with fruity/solventy aromas. Style still unknown.
So that wraps up another awesome year of Homebrewing fun. We’ve welcomed a few newcomers, shared a lot of laughs, drank a lot of good brews and ate some good food. It’s always a pleasure. I believe we are an awesome group of people, from all walks of life, who have been brought together by our common love of beer and the brewing process. We’ve created friendships, that like a fine wine, only get better with age. Cheers, and Happy New Year to all.
Upcoming styles of the month:
January 2020 is Wheat wine
February Cereal beer: It’s the annual cereal beer competition. Remember 25% of Grain bill must be cereal, Still time to make one. Have some fun and make it now. You can always make a small batch.
March is open
April is SMASH
May is Kellerbier
November is wood-aged
December 2020 is Belgian Tripel
December 2021 is Belgian Quad
Other styles mentioned: herb/spiced, rye, gruit, wine. Let us know what style you want to try!
January meeting will be on January 17th, at the American legion. There will be a Chicken & Biscuits dinner, so bring your appetite and tasting glasses.
