Bubblings from the Fermenter
By Mark Tumarkin

Fall is here; the air is getting cooler, and brewing season has arrived! Not that there really is a specific season, but it certainly is harder to brew in the summer. The high temperatures make some sort of fermentation temperature control a must (speaking of which, Wayne is still #1 with his walk-in cooler, but Robert now has five fridges in his tiny apartment!). Here in Florida there seem to be a million nasty life forms just waiting to suck up your beer (and spoil it along the way) in the summer. Now, with cooler fall weather we're all going to get those brew kettles fired up more often.

Our September meeting was held out in the wilds of Newberry at Dave & Julie Williams' house. We had a relatively small, but respectable turnout this month. I was surprised; I had thought the Old Ale and Barleywine tasting/presentation would draw a good crowd. I'd say that only left more beer for we'uns that showed up - but we weren't able to finish the selection put before us! There was truly an amazing selection of wondrous nectars. When all was said and done there were still a good number of unopened bottles. (See Hogtown Barleywine Festival for more info)

This meeting also saw the unveiling of the new Hogtown Brewers banner, a beautiful 3' x 8' vinyl masterpiece. I'd intended to unveil it at the Tallahassee club's Oktoberfest, but as you all know by now, that wasn't meant to happen this year. Hopefully, they'll have things worked out and back on track for next year.

We also debuted the new Hogtown glassware. We now have both tasting glasses and pints. The pint glasses are emblazoned with the oval Hogtown Brewers logo, while the tasters have a simpler design consisting of the HB with the Hog above it (taken from the center of the logo). Both came out really well. Every dues-paid member will receive one tasting glass. Both the tasters and the pint are available for purchase at $3 ea (or $60 for a case of 24 pint glasses). Keep them in mind for the holidays; a couple of pint glasses and a 6-pack of homebrew would be a great gift for anyone on your list.

We had some additional business and decisions to take care of at the meeting. First of all, a couple of scheduling issues. The November meeting will be held Friday, December 1st (location to be determined). In lieu of a December meeting; we will have a Solstice Party to be held Saturday, December 16th at Wayne and Sue's. We're scheduling this now so you can pencil it in on your calendars before you accept any other holiday season invitations. We'll do a combination of potluck and catering - and start planning your beer contribution now. This should be quite the bash! You may want to bring your tent, sleeping bags, etc rather than drive home. I've already staked out the futon bed in the brewery!

Another issue is that the time has come to choose new officers. I think it would be good for the club to have new people and energy involved in the leadership. So the first thing is to see if anyone is interested in being an officer. If so, we're easy, nominate yourself. I am willing to be Primary Fermenter for another year if no one else is willing to do it. One office that we really need filled is Secretary. We need some one to take minutes (at least an informal version) of the meetings and write them up for the newsletter. I'd also like to get some more active committees going, especially an Events Committee. There are a lot of fun things we could be doing but it needs someone (other than me) to organize them and get things going. Anyhow, think about whether you're willing to put in the necessary time and energy to be involved as an officer or on a committee, and let us know.

Next month's style competition will be Meads and Ciders. The tasting is Munich Dunkels & Schwarzbier. These are hard styles to come by in Florida, so any help in finding examples will be appreciated. Going on a trip, got friends or relatives who'll send you beer from out of state? Call in your favors and let's find some beer! Robert will be doing a presentation on yeast, with an assist by George Perrin (with further info on the yeast ranch). Hope to see you all at that meeting, and until then; keep those fermenters bubbling.

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