Bubblings from the Fermenter
Mark Tumarkin

They say March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb. I don't know why they say that, or even who 'they' are, or even what I'm babbling about. It's just that kind of evening... uh, anyway, back to your regularly scheduled programming.

This has been quite a month, both good and bad. First, the bad. Hogtown Brewers seems like a family (maybe a dysfunctional family at times, but a family none the less), and this month our family suffered several losses. Both George Stone and Donna Huseman lost their mothers this month. It's always hard to know what to say in these circumstances, but we want you both to know that all the brewers feel for you. This is really a tough one to go through. I've got a favorite toast that I've used to celebrate the birth of young brewers, but somehow it seems appropriate here as well. "God Bless the mother that gives birth to a brewer." It's true that we're known for what we leave behind, and both your mothers have left the world a better place in having the two of you.

We had some good times this month as well. The Monster Mash out at Dave and Julie's house was a big success. See Fred's piece for more details. We somehow managed to squeeze 25 gallons of beer out of Dave's brewing system. He calls it the world's ugliest brewery, but it seems to work pretty well. We had a great turnout, some wonderful food (dueling turkeys -- fried and smoked), lots of beer to drink, and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. We managed to get through the day without burning down or blowing up anything. On the whole, I'd count it a great success.

I've bottled my 5 gallons, and I believe Wayne did his as well. George and Dave should be bottling the other batches shortly. So, we'll plan on a comparative tasting as part of Dave's Pale Ale presentation and tasting at the April meeting. The meeting will be held at Fred's house, by the way. I'm thinking we should enter all the different variations at the AHA Nationals coming up in Tallahassee. That may be a bit premature, I guess we should wait to see how they turn out. But we'll keep that in mind anyway.

Are you going to the Nationals? The North Florida Brewers League in Tallahassee will host the judging the weekend of May 6-7. Please let me know if you are interested in going. I think most of the BJCP judges are planning to go, but as I've said before, you don't need to be a certified judge in order to judge. A lot of you have the necessary knowledge and experience. But if you don't feel comfortable judging, they always need more stewards. It's a lot of fun, and you can gain more understanding about the judging process. The folks in the NFBL throw quite a party, they made us feel really at home the last time. They are even offering 'Beds for Brewers' where you can stay in the home of one of their members. If you would like to take advantage of these beds for brewers accommodations, please contact Errin Pichard at ke1113@aol.com or 850/942-0574. He is the coordinator for this service for the competition.

Speaking of certified judges; it's time to toot my own horn, and Robert's as well. Both Robert and I received confirmation of our status as Certified BJCP judges in the mail last week. We earned enough judging points to get fancy certificates to hang on the wall or put at the front of our brew logbooks, and also some nifty wallet cards. Along with the other BJCP judges in the club, we'll be starting Hogtown Brewers Beer School shortly. If you want to become a BJCP judge, or even if you just want to increase your knowledge and appreciation of beer, this is for you. We'll be meeting once a month starting soon (dates to be announced). So if you're interested in being part of this, please let me know.

The March meeting was a success as well. We had a slightly smaller turnout than usual. But we had several guests and everyone had a good time. We met at George and Karen Perrin's house. Karen was actually there. Several members weren't sure that George really did have a wife, so it was good to get confirmation. Just kidding.

We had several guests: a friend of Dave's who is interested in starting to brew and the wild Kelly boys who were in town visiting Greg McGann. Mark Kelly is from Miami, a member of MASH (my old brew club) and his brother Tim came down from Indiana. He brought along a case of Three Flloyd's Alpha King. The Flloyds are not afraid of hops. Too bad Dr. Bob wasn't there to try it, but then again he'd probably still say "Needs more hops."

We had a presentation/tasting on American Wheats and the style contest was on German Wheats. I took first, Wayne took second and third, and George got fourth. He entered a verrry old beer, basically to increase the numbers in the competition. Some of the rest of you really need to start brewing for these competitions. Trying to hit a style dead on, especially one you may not usually brew, really helps hone your brewing skills. Next month's style is Scottish Ales -- light and heavy. So if you don't have one ready, there's still time to do a light Scottish ale if you get right on it. It's very much like a bitter -- only maltier and using less hops. Get those fermenters bubbling.