HB: Newsletter: May 1999

Hogtown Brewers Newsletter

May 1999

Bubblings from the Fermenter
Mark Tumarkin

The April meeting went really well. George and Janice Sue Stone opened their beautiful home to us. They had planned to have the meeting on their huge wrap-around porch, but the weather turned cold (I don't know about y'all, but I was sure happy to get the rain & cool), so we were forced to hold the meeting in front of their open-front wood stove. What a shame! We had a pretty good turn out, despite the fact that the Stones live in the West Virginia part of Micanopy. Was that banjo music I heard coming down from over the hill?

We had several guests. Actually, it was sort of a mini homebrew supply convention. Judy and Jim Chamlin came over from Jacksonville from Judy's Homebrew Shoppe. They gave us a great deal on corny kegs - $10 a piece and they even brought them over to us. Thanks guys! There are more available; so if any one else wants them, let me know. You can check out their web site at http://users.southeast.net/~judy/ or call them at 904-724-BREW.

We also got a chance to meet Deena Bray. She and her husband have started a homebrew supply business here in Gainesville. They are currently operating out of their garage and on the Net at http://www.braysbrewing.com/ or call them at 472-7311. They have plans to open a storefront but are still looking for the right location. They will deliver supplies to you, at least in the Gainesville area. Deena is also planning to offer homebrewing courses through Sante Fe Community College.

Bradley gave a great presentation on German Wheat Beers, complete with instructions on proper German pronunciation. I failed to pronounce Weisse correctly, and was called on it Ð thank you, Herr Professor! He quickly moved on to a tasting with a wide selection of brands and styles, many of which I had never had before. Thanks to Ken Colson for providing the bulk of these beers. Bradley and Sue each brought some additional examples, so we had a really representative sampling. So now that we have a better understanding of the style Ð get out and brew some weissens for our style contest at the June meeting.

Speaking of contests, Judy and Jim acted as the judges for our first style contest, Pale Ales. Thanks again, guys. While Jim and Judy were doing the judging, the rest of us held an informal judging on the entries. Our choices pretty much concurred with the official judges, so I won't even try to be humble--I took first place for my IPA! Second went to Dave Williams for an English Pale Ale, and Wayne Smith took third with his American Pale Ale. We were going to do lagers for the next contest, but we have decided to save those for later (Octoberfest for the October meeting). So next month's contest will be Open Style. Bring your best brew (or at least the best you have available) of any of the AHA/BJCP styles, including mead or cider. I would hope that almost everyone will enter--so we will limit this to one entry per person. We will approach this like a Best of Show round. You will be judged by the style standards for your entry, but also against the others on overall drinkability. Should be fun, so get your entries ready!

This is starting to get overly long, but I want to mention a few other things quickly.

Bradley and Jeff have given an open invitation to join them for informal boil parties. They brew every Monday at 5:30 at Bradley and Erin's, so be there.
Also, after a slow start, we have gotten a good number of sign-ups for the May 22nd canoe trip. So the club will be supplying a keg of Sierra Nevada Pale Ale (this seems to have become the official beer of the HB). More details to come.
We have also started a sign-up sheet for the June 19th Pub Crawl. Cost will only be $10 per person, for either members or guests. You'd spend that much on gas if you drove yourself Ð plus the club will be supplying another keg for the ride over (just in case the brewpubs don't have enough beer). The bus holds 47 people, but please sign up early so we will know how many spots are available for guests.
Good luck to Heather and Howard. They are leaving for the Great NorthWest in a few weeks. We'll miss you!
And lastly, the May meeting will be hosted by Sue and Wayne.

Keep those carboys bubbling.

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