HOPS Brew Club Meeting Notes - July 2017

HOPS Brew Club Meeting Minutes – July 2017
Meeting was held at Jim and Teresa’s house in Delhi on July 22, 2017 with 9 members in attendance.  On behalf of the club, we would like to thank them for their generous hospitality (and for the target practice!)

1. As a reminder, next month’s beer style is going to be British Brown.  We are looking for ideas for next April and May, so please bring ideas to the next meeting.  Here is a list of the beers for the upcoming months:
   1. August: British brown
   2. September: Belgian Blonde
   3. October: Oktoberfest/Marzen
   4. November: Doppelbock
   5. December: Christmas/Seasonal/Winter
   6. January: American Barleywine
   7. February: Cereal Beer
   8. March: Irish Stout
2. We discussed visiting Hartwick Center for Craft Food and Beverage at some point in the Fall.  This visit would be an off flavor/tasting panel.  Specific details still need to be ironed out.
3. Members were asked for topics that they would like to have discussed in regards to everything fermented.  Some ideas for future educational discussions included:
   1. Why are wines “whipped”?
   2. What is the purpose of step mashing?
   3. What brewing grains grow well in this area?
   4. How are grains malted?
4. There were many interesting beers sampled at this meeting, including this month’s beer style of the month, Weissbier (which were A through E below):
   1. Commercial example: Weihenstephaner Classic hefe – Wonderful banana and clove esters.
   2. Commercial example: Guinness Irish Wheat –While the label said it belong in this style, it appears we were bamboozled.  Overall not what we were hoping for.
   3. Chris and Frank’s Weissbier – Some light tartness with hints of banana.
   4. Matt’s “Westoweissen” – Also had some tartness, but could not explain why it was more pronounced than C&F, with essentially the same ingredients used.
   5. Wes’ “Sort of Weisse Funky Farmhouse Ale” – Sweet upfront and then dries out.  Special ingredients included sea salt and cracked red pepper.
   6. Alden’ porter – Extract recipe with notes of dark caramelized sugar.  Really tasty, and the giant Grolsch bottle was pretty cool too.  Has to get to work on that all grain version J
   7. Jim’s Mead – Excellent mead using very locally sourced honey (next door!).  Slight effervescence made this stand out in a good way.
   8. Frank’s Rhodomel (Mead made with rosehips, elderberries, and chamomile) – Matt commented that this would be awesome to cook with as well.
   9. Jim’s “Plumtastic” Plum Wine – Tart and very enjoyable.
   10.   Jim’s “Island Punch” wine – A sweet kit wine that was a crowd pleaser.

 
Next month’s HOPS meeting will be held on Friday, August 18 starting at 6:30 at the American Legion on Chestnut Street in Oneonta.