Bubblings from the Fermenter
By Mark Tumarkin

The April meeting at Dr. Bob's was a low-key sort of affair. Wasn't planned that way, but we ended up with just a small group. I guess the question is - where were you??? Actually, those that showed up had a terrific time. After a great dinner, we limited the business side of things (other than a unanimous vote to send those present to Belgium on a beer expedition) and moved quickly on to Pete's presentation/tasting on English and Scottish ales. We had an interesting variety of beers, including some which none of us had previously tasted. It was also interesting to hear Pete's perspective as a 'native' British ale drinker.

One thought though, from this low turnout. Perhaps we should start doing email RSVPs for meetings, events, etc. This would give us a better idea on how many to expect and we'd be able to plan better for food, beer, etc.

We had a lot of beer to drink, and only a few of us to drink it, so the meeting went on till past the time when we should have called it a day. That is, considering the fact that we had to rise relatively early to make it to High Springs for the Hogtown Navy Flotilla. Still, we managed to drag our butts out of bed and onto the river. The weather was perfect and a grand time was had by all.

With April out of the way, we can move on to May; which promises to be a busy and fun-filled time. We'll start out with Monster Mash II at the William's. Last year, with the original Monster Mash, we varied the hops. This time we'll be exploring flavor contributions that yeast makes to our beer. We'll be pitching 6 different yeasts to a 20 gallon batch of brown ale that we'll brew on Dave's system. What a great way to celebrate National Homebrew Day! My old club in Miami, MASH, is doing a similar yeast experiment. It'll be interesting to compare notes once we're done.

The middle of the month will bring the Sunshine Challenge in Orlando. This is one of the country's premier homebrew competitions and an incredible beer event. It features a Florida micro/brewpub tasting, the competition itself, a Homebrew Heroes seminar, pub crawl, Saturday dinner by the pool, and a pizza pool party on Sunday followed by the awards ceremony. Oh, and did I mention the trailer with ever-flowing beer on tap? Or the late night room-crawl? Well, it's quite a party. I know of a number of us going down to judge or steward. Are you going to be there?

The March contest style was Belgian ales, and the turnout was sparse. I guess that's one way you could describe a single entry. This month's contest covers Fruit, Spice and Vegetable, and Smoke beers. Hopefully, we'll get a better turnout than last month. The next contest includes Lagers and Bocks, another grouping that may get a low turnout. But think of these as your opportunity - if you've got something to enter you stand a better chance of winning. The next month should see higher numbers of entries with the English and Scottish ales. You've got plenty of time to brew something up for that, even if you start now. So keep those fermenters bubbling.

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