November 2018 HOPS Brew Club Meeting Minutes

November 2018 HOPS Brew Club Meeting Minutes
Meeting was held at American Legion in Oneonta on 11/16/18 at 6:30pm.
16 members in attendance
Discussion topics included:

1. Club elections took place with the following results:
   1. President – Chris Haddock
   2. Vice President – Frank Woodcock Jr
   3. Treasurer – Chris Cleveland
   4. Secretary – Matt Brown (last minute nomination)

Congrats to the Officers (new and old). Here’s to the next two years!

1. The following are the beer styles of the upcoming months (subsequent months to be discussed / agreed upon during the next meeting):
   1. December: Imperial Stout
   2. January: open
   3. February: Cereal Beer – Needs to have at least 25% of the grains from off the shelf cereals.
2. Airgas has agreed to give a Brew Club discount on their 5 lb CO2 tank exchanges ($12). Brew club officers will meet with Airgas to confirm and potentially set up an account.
3. Brew Club Member Josh Paulson is looking to get rid of some Grolsch bottles and some plastic fermenters for a good price.
4. An upcoming beer festival in the area is Cask & Crossgates which is scheduled for December 1 in Albany.  More information on the event and for tickets visit the website https://www.shopcrossgates.com/event/cask-crossgates-a-winter-beer-fest/
5. Beers (Beer of the Month entries a-f: Braggot).
   1. Brother Adam’s Braggot - A commercial example from Atlantic Brewing Company; bottles may have been a little old.
   2. Matt D. – Baby Braggot / Honey Porter. Very “herbaceous”.
   3. Eric and Kat – Six Pound Honey Brown Braggot. Should age well.
   4. C&F – Braggot. Some different spice flavors coming through due to the Angellica and Wormwood.
      
   5. Matt D. – Hibiscus Braggot. Very strong flavor of pure fruit juice.
   6. Mike brought the last bottle of Dale’s – Cranberry Braggot. Wide range of comments, including: Chewing gum, kids fake cigarette candy, and maraschino cherries. This has stood the test of time and was very appreciated.
   7. Chris C. – Coffee Stout with Ouzo. With 1 cup of Ouzo for each gallon of beer, this black licorice flavored coffee stout made us feel fuzzy. Good and Plenty taste.
   8. Eric and Kat – Thor’s Black IPA. The last bottle from the winners of the HOPS for Heroes 2018 competition. Thanks Pete for bringing this in and sharing it with everyone!
   9. C&F – Graf. A malted Cider that is aging, well…it’s doing something. Comments included: Blood (mineral taste), bananas, meat / slim jim / beef jerky, and kid’s juice box.
   10. Matt B. – Kiwi Mead. Aging well.
   11. Wes – Traditional Mead. Still very young and coming in strong with 19 lbs of honey in a 5 gallon batch. Should benefit from some time alone.
   12. Ommegang’s Adoration Ale. A Belgian Strong Dark Ale with a multitude of spices.
   13. The Bruery’s White Chocolate. A Bourbon Barrel Aged Wheat Wine-Style ale. Some coconut flavors coming through without the actual addition of coconut (all from the barrels).
6. December’s HOPS club meeting will be held at Todd and Susan Snelson’s House located at 8 Ravine Parkway in Oneonta on December 21 starting at 6:30 p.m. This meeting will once again include a Secret Santa gift exchange, so start looking for a beer related gift about $20 if you would like to take part. Matt Brown is to set the rules for this festive event. This will be a Pot Luck Dinner as well so please feel free to bring a dish to pass.