October 2017 HOPS Brew Club Meeting Notes

October 2017 HOPS Brew Club Meeting Minutes
Meeting was held at American Legion in Oneonta on 10/20/17 at 6:30 p.m. with (9) members in attendance
Discussion topics included:

1. The educational presentation visit to the Hartwick Center for Craft Food and Beverage was held on October 27th.  Notes will be shared at the November meeting.
2. Next month’s beer style is going to be a Doppelbock. Also as a reminder, here is a list of the beer styles for the new few months:
   1. November: Doppelbock
   2. December: Christmas/Seasonal/Winter
   3. January: American Barley Wine
   4. February: Cereal Beer (where 25% of the grain bill needs to be a commercial cereal)
   5. March: Irish Stout
   6. April: Gluten Free (with sorghum or rice for example)

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

1. If we decide to do the next fund raiser for HOPS for Heroes at Council Rock again next May, an idea is to include a chance to win a brew kit (maybe donated) with additional chances to win sold at $5 or 3 for $10.
2. If you visit TakeCraftBack.com, a crowd funding drive is going on to buy ABinBev for $213 billion.  Though this may be a non-feasible idea, they would send you a free hat, t-shirt, or poster with a pledge that is only to be collected if they reach their goal.  Most of the free items have been claimed, but stickers may still be available.
3. A few upcoming festivals were discussed:
   1. Pumpkin Something Throwdown will be held on October 29th from 1-2:30pm at the Farmhouse Brewery in Owego, NY. Mike Duheme, with the help of some fellow brewers, concocted a pumpkin beer for this event. Come on down and show the support! More information can be found at http://www.thefarmhousebrewery.com/events/m2rybswz24bsebkk7b49jkkm98237r
4. Beers (a-c were the Beer of the Month; Oktoberfest/Marzen).
   1. Commercial example: Sierra Nevada 2017 Oktoberfest brewed in collaboration with Brauhaus Miltenberger– It was okay, maybe not as good as last year’s version.
   2. C&F’s Oktoberfest – Nice body and more what one expects from an Oktoberfest.  Even Frank’s wife likes it.
   3. Matt shared a sample of Xtra Time from New Holland in Wisconsin.  This was a light, sessionable, pale ale.
   4. Chris C.’s Irish Red aged 3 months and easy to drink.
   5. Jesse’s River Street of Dreams with home roasted Munich for flavors of toast with Burton salt.
   6. C&F’s Weiss beer including acidulated malt, Wakatu hops, 3 lbs. of whole sliced oranges – a classic Weiss beer.
   7. Matt brought a beer from Oshkosh, Wisconsin’s Bare Bones Brewery called Wolf River Revenge – Good enough to make you forget all of your most important responsibilities.
   8. Alden’s Porter – Nice color with a slight coffee flavor
   9. Wes’ I Have a Dream Porter – Can taste the cocoa flavor
   10. Todd brought an Ommegang Gnommegedon Blonde Ale – has wild yeast, but seemed to be better a couple months ago.
   11. Chris C’s Cabernet Sauvignon – Decent tasting wine
5. Next month’s meeting will be held on Friday, November 17th at 6:30 p.m. at the American Legion on Chestnut street in Oneonta.