January 2018 HOPS Club Meeting Notes

January 2018 HOPS Brew Club Meeting Minutes
Meeting was held at the American Legion in Oneonta on 01/19/18 at 6:30 p.m. with (16) members in attendance.
Discussion topics included:

1. After discussion with the Masons running the Cooperstown Winter Carnival in February, it was decided not to have a home brew fundraiser at the event this year due to minimal time for planning and making beers.  HOPS will tentatively participate next year.
   
2. The fundraiser competition for the Wounded Warrior Softball Team is in the planning stages for Sunday, May 20 (the weekend before Memorial Day) to correspond to the Rock to Rock road race at Council Rock.  IPA will be the beer of choice for this competition.  Additional details to follow at the next meeting.
3. Club dues of $5 per member are due next meeting.  These dues help pay for the club’s insurance and provide funds to pre-order glasses, shirts, etc. for the fund raisers.
4. Per our annual tradition, next month’s beer style is going to be Cereal Beer (25% of the grain bill needs to be a commercial cereal). Also, as a reminder, here is a list of the beer styles for the new few months:
   1. March: Irish Stout
   2. April: Gluten Free (with sorghum or rice for example)
   3. May: Porter
   4. June: Single Malt and Single Hop (SMASH) beer recipes

We are still soliciting ideas for the subsequent months. Here are a few styles that were tossed around at the meeting: Berliner Weisse; Cider/Mead. Any additional style ideas are welcome.

1. Many great beers were shared this month including:
   1. Chris C.’s Marzen with an unexpected strawberry flavor
   2. Brian’s Open Sesame from October 2016 has mellowed nicely
   3. Jim’s Down Under Ale – an Aussie ale with Ringwood hops and a dry finish
   4. C&F’s Creamsicle Pale Wheat Ale made with orange peels and vanilla for that excellent Creamsicle flavor
   5. Eric made an all-grain original recipe tasty dunkelbach
   6. Sierra Nevada’s Big Foot Barley wine was a commercial example of malty goodness
   7. C&F Barley Wine from November 2016 and will be even better in 4 or 5 years (if that is possible).
   8. Mike’s Barley wine from 2013 came in at a robust 14% ABV
   9. Mike also brought a Rye barrel Aged barley Wine from Raquette River Brewing
   10. Goose Island’s bourbon County Barley Wine was smoother than their stout, but can use some time to age
   11. Matt shared Central Waters 2017 Bourbon barrel aged Barely Wine
   12. Pete shared a bottle of Ommegang’s Shadow Brewer
   13. Jim also brought Great Lakes Ohio City stout
   14. Brian brought a 2017 version of the bourbon County stout
   15. Steve shared Great Lakes Christmas Ale that featured ginger and cinnamon
   16. Chris C. and Steve both made the same had a Cabernet from a kit, but they each used a different amount of oak.
   17. Chris C. also presented a Chocolate Salted Caramel Port that would be great as a reduction over ice cream, cheese cake, or life.
   18. Frank’s 2013 Graff finished up the evening with apple flavors and spices for an accidentally awesome sourness.

Next month’s meeting will be held on Friday, February 16th at 6:30 p.m. at the American Legion at 279 Chestnut Street in Oneonta.  Note that this will be Chicken & Biscuit night at the Legion, but they have plenty so you do not have to order ahead of time if you would like to have this, or any other dinner option offered, while at the meeting.