Greetings Fellow Fermenters!
Spring is around the corner; the hops should be surfacing soon, and crisper brews are making their way into each of our carboys. For those interested, our April meeting will be held next Friday April 22nd at 6pm at My Father’s Place Bar & Lounge. (Click Here for Directions)
March Meeting Re-Cap
For those of you who weren’t able to make our March Meeting, my oh my–what a selection! Brewers Ed Spencer and myself brought a pair of Vienna Lagers and Munich Lagers, respectively. With special thanks to Roger Davidson for the style-specific literature, we learned about the country of origin, water profiles, and hop/malt ingredients that went into this style as we sipped on these malty, crisp lagers. From there, I must admit, I lost track on the overflow of brewed goodness. We sampled some of Andy and Stephanie’s fantastic Porter and delicious Spruce Tipped Pale Ale; as well as Joe’s robust and well-balance Black IPA (great blend of roast and cascade). The surprise star of the fleet came from Wes and Mark’s stash as they introduced the Gose (pronounced “goes-uh”) to the group. This german style beer is typically wheat-dominant, with the addition of several spices, herbs and salt. Typical flavors in Gose include a lemon tartness, an herbal characteristic, and a strong saltiness. This description, however, does not do this beer justice. It was a pleasantly delicious surprise for all of us–and an educational experience to boot. Good ol’ Jolly Roger Davidson, however, couldn’t let the night finish without a bang. Saving his secret ale (I think we can still call it an ale) for last, this high ABV beverage had a light malt base with a large portion of muscat grape concentrate, spiced with chrysanthemums petals, an assortment of other herbs/spices, all the while fermented with a Sake Wine yeast strain! My oh my. I don’t think many of us had tasted anything quite like it. After cellaring over a year, many of us were picking out flavors from apricots to anise — and everything in between.
Big Brew Day
For everyone involved in the Big Brew Day on Saturday 4/2–I think it goes without saying… It was indeed .. A Big. Brew. Day. A Special Thanks to Roger Davidson for donating his time, energy, residence, equipment, and Boar’s Head Lunch Meat! to the brew club. Roger–we all owe you one. And a special special thanks to every single person that was involved for donating all of your time and energy, too, as the 11.5 hour event had each of us a bit more content with our “smaller brew systems” haha! Details of the day and future scheduled tastings will be discussed at this month’s meeting. Stay tuned for announcements on future big brew days.
HOPS Officers Elected
Also, last month we held elections for President, Vice President, and Treasurer. Congratulations to Josh Hammonds (President), Wes Nick (Vice President), and Kathy Bilz (Treasurer) for their honest campaigns and victories in this year’s elections. The Secretary/Communications Officer position nomination/election will be held this next meeting.
Hope to see you all next Friday.
till then,
happy brewings.
—josh
Spring is around the corner; the hops should be surfacing soon, and crisper brews are making their way into each of our carboys. For those interested, our April meeting will be held next Friday April 22nd at 6pm at My Father’s Place Bar & Lounge. (Click Here for Directions)
March Meeting Re-Cap
For those of you who weren’t able to make our March Meeting, my oh my–what a selection! Brewers Ed Spencer and myself brought a pair of Vienna Lagers and Munich Lagers, respectively. With special thanks to Roger Davidson for the style-specific literature, we learned about the country of origin, water profiles, and hop/malt ingredients that went into this style as we sipped on these malty, crisp lagers. From there, I must admit, I lost track on the overflow of brewed goodness. We sampled some of Andy and Stephanie’s fantastic Porter and delicious Spruce Tipped Pale Ale; as well as Joe’s robust and well-balance Black IPA (great blend of roast and cascade). The surprise star of the fleet came from Wes and Mark’s stash as they introduced the Gose (pronounced “goes-uh”) to the group. This german style beer is typically wheat-dominant, with the addition of several spices, herbs and salt. Typical flavors in Gose include a lemon tartness, an herbal characteristic, and a strong saltiness. This description, however, does not do this beer justice. It was a pleasantly delicious surprise for all of us–and an educational experience to boot. Good ol’ Jolly Roger Davidson, however, couldn’t let the night finish without a bang. Saving his secret ale (I think we can still call it an ale) for last, this high ABV beverage had a light malt base with a large portion of muscat grape concentrate, spiced with chrysanthemums petals, an assortment of other herbs/spices, all the while fermented with a Sake Wine yeast strain! My oh my. I don’t think many of us had tasted anything quite like it. After cellaring over a year, many of us were picking out flavors from apricots to anise — and everything in between.
Big Brew Day
For everyone involved in the Big Brew Day on Saturday 4/2–I think it goes without saying… It was indeed .. A Big. Brew. Day. A Special Thanks to Roger Davidson for donating his time, energy, residence, equipment, and Boar’s Head Lunch Meat! to the brew club. Roger–we all owe you one. And a special special thanks to every single person that was involved for donating all of your time and energy, too, as the 11.5 hour event had each of us a bit more content with our “smaller brew systems” haha! Details of the day and future scheduled tastings will be discussed at this month’s meeting. Stay tuned for announcements on future big brew days.
HOPS Officers Elected
Also, last month we held elections for President, Vice President, and Treasurer. Congratulations to Josh Hammonds (President), Wes Nick (Vice President), and Kathy Bilz (Treasurer) for their honest campaigns and victories in this year’s elections. The Secretary/Communications Officer position nomination/election will be held this next meeting.
Hope to see you all next Friday.
till then,
happy brewings.
—josh
