September 2002

 Home Imbrewment

 

The Official Newsletter of the Hampton Roads Brewing and Tasting Society
Newsletter Editor:   Pat Dabbs   mailto:dabbsp@cox.net

 

The President's Corner – Mike Pensinger

Hello all!  What a great time to be a home brewer.  The people are showing more and more interest in the craft each day! 

I have been working at Virginia Beach Homebrew Hobbies for the last few weeks and have just been amazed at the number of people that come in for advice and supplies.  I have even had requests for beers without hops in them!  I am not sure what it would taste like but it might be something we should try out one day.  I know we had some interest in the Historical Beer month last year…. What about a Hop Alternative month?

Well, I made my Tuppers Clone and have been following the directions diligently.  It will be very interesting to find out how they all come out next month.  This month netted some great Belgian Strong Ales for the contest and I look forward to tasting them at the meeting.

I wanted to address the contest issue from last month.  In case anybody did not understand what went on here is a brief synopsis.  When we set up the brewing schedule we put BJCP category numbers by the styles on most of the months.  Apparently we neglected to specify which wheat categories we were including. Since that was omitted, someone questioned the validity of Belgian Wit beers in a wheat category.  In the past the HRBTS wheat contest has included all Wheat related categories and since the Brewer of the Month signed up to bring a Wit. I have decided to let the judging stand as judged.  To rectify this situation we will specify the exact BJCP categories included in a club competition from now on.  I hope that this works for everyone and will have Tom present the ribbons at the September meeting.

Some events upcoming…

The Summer party is on the 28th of September and Kevin and Amy Oliver’s house.  Remember to bring 5 gallons of beer and get extra credit Briess Points.

Breiss Cup Steering Board…  We have asked for volunteers to compose a Steering Committee for the Briess Cup.  Basically this committee will be in charge of making modifications to how the Briess Cup is run.  Here is you chance to step up and help run the club!

Elections…  They are not far off!  If you would like to run for a position please let us know soon.  We will be holding the elections in accordance with the bylaws this year so election month will be in January to facilitate turnover by the February General Meeting.

National Teach a Friend to Homebrew Day!  We need to get together for this.  CJ will be working to get this set up for November 2nd.  I think this will be a great opportunity to show off the club and interest some more people in brewing.

Brew Together day… I will be hosting a group brewing session on the 7th of September at my house.  It will start at around 10:30 and go till whenever.  Please let me know if you can make it!  There will be plenty of room for anyone who wants to come.

That is about if for now.  See you at the meeting!

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The Meeting Place  - Diane Catanzaro

The September 4 meeting of the HRB&TS will be at the home of Chris Jones and Diane Catanzaro. Contact one of the Officers for directions.

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Competition Connection  - Tom Byrnes

 

This month we judged the Strong Belgian Ale with the winner going to the AHA Club Only Competition This contests featured 5 entries in a variety of sub styles. The scores were close with most winners being in the Very Good to Excellent category. Our club members continue to brew quality beers. The winners are listed below:

Strong Belgian Ale Category 18

First Place: Victor Perrotti. Tripel

Second Place: Wes Mc Gibney, Strong Golden Ale

Third Place. Tom Byrnes, Strong Golden Ale

Victor’s beer will be shipped to the AHA Club Only next month. Good luck Victor!!!!

In other Club Only News, Doug Boyd’s entry “Dougweiser” in the American Lager Contest came back with a score of 24.5. Gary Glass of the AHA has responded to mine and other club’s concerns about the IPA Club Only contest, the AHA will be revising guidelines regarding the qualifications of judges and the type of feedback received.

You will notice that the BRIESS CUP continues to be close. Six points separate the top three candidates. Remember our club picnic is approaching and the club gives 4 Briess points to all members brewing the equivalent of 5 gallons of beer (kegs or bottles). This offer is limited to 2 brews per member for an 8 point maximum for 10 gallons of beer. I apologize for the error in the last newsletter regarding picnic points. To help plan your brewing the Bitter Pale Ale contest, to be judged, December 18,2002 will be the final contest for this round of the BRIESS Cup. This leaves 3 contests and the club picnic to acquire points.

Last year our president directed me to solicit feedback about possible rule changes for the BREISS CUP to be reviewed by the club officers in October. Any member having suggestions regarding rule changes can email me (kmstfb2@exis.net) prior to the October 23rd officers meeting and contest.

The club recipe contest is rapidly approaching and will be judged on September 25,2002. This contest features the recipe for Tupper’s Hop Pocket Ale; a popular Virginia Beer brewed by Dominion Brewing. The recipe was in a past newsletter and can be found on the club website under Newsletter Archives. It is also listed in Scott Russell’s North American Clone Brew Book, available from our Libeery. Let me or another officer know if you have any questions.  Future competitions include Fruit Spice Beer, Stout, and Bitter/Pale Ale. Also I wanted members to know that the Stout Contest will also include Imperial Stout.

BRIESS CUP 2002 STANDINGS

BREWER

CUMULATIVE POINTS

CJ/Diane

28

Doug Boyd

22

Victor Perrotti

22

Tom Byrnes

14

Mike Pensinger

9

Pat Dabbs

5

Wes Mc Gibney

5

Dodge Hickman

5

Will Walker

3

Mike Marshburn

2

Sammy Samoluk

2

Tony Miller

2

Doug Hollingsworth

2

Jennings Lyon

1

Mike Allain

1

Your Name Could Be Here

Start Brewing

 I know we are behind in the awarding of contest ribbons but fear not we will catch up at the next meeting. You can say it will be a triple-header. Tom

 Remember any member is welcome to come to the judging’s. This is a way to learn about the styles and help your brewing. Besides you get to drink good homebrew two days per month. We do, however, ask members to be sure their entries conform to the BCJP guidelines. These can be accessed at www.beertown.org. If you would like to hold a judging meeting at your house, please let me know.

 You will notice that the BRIESS CUP continues to be close. Nine points separate the top three candidates. Remember our club picnic is approaching and the club gives 5 Briess points to all members brewing the equivalent of 5 gallons of beer (kegs or bottles). This offer is limited to 2 brews per member for a 10 point maximum for 10 gallons of beer. This cup is up for grabs and could be in your home by January. Want to win, enter the contests.

 The club recipe contest is rapidly approaching and will be judged on September 25,2002. This contest features the recipe for Tupper’s Hop Pocket Ale; a popular Virginia Beer brewed by Dominion Brewing. The recipe was in a past newsletter and can be found on the club website under Newsletter Archives. It is also listed in Scott Russell’s North American Clone Brew Book, available from our Libeery. Let me or another officer know if you have any questions. The August competition will be Belgian Strong Golden Ale.

 We are in need of shipping boxes to ship beers to AHA club competitions. Any member, who gets beer in the mail and would like to donate the box, please let me know or give them to me at a meeting. We had to buy the box to ship Doug’s beer to AHA. Tom Byrnes

 BREISS CUP RULES

 The cup, sponsored by Briess Malting Company, will run from January through December of a given year. Members will accrue points from entering and winning the contests sponsored by the club. The only criterion is that multiple entries in the same contest must be different recipes. Points are as follows: 4 points for 1st place, 3 for 2nd, 2 for 3rd and 1 point for entry. The entry point is not awarded if the beer places in the contest. It is intended to encourage entries.  The club officers may also award Breiss points for members brewing for special events. The Competition Coordinator will keep the points. The club president will be the final arbiter of any disputes.

 Briess Malting has been kind enough to sponsor this award, so please look for their products at your local homebrew retailer.

http://www.briess.com/

Upcoming Beers of the Month

Month

BOTM

AHA Style Category

Judging Date

AHA Club Only Date

BOTM

Brewer

September

Strong Belgian Ale  *

18

August 21

September/October

Tom Byrnes (G)

October

Tuppers Hop Pocket Ale (Club Recipe)

 

September 25

 

Pat Dabbs (G)

November

Fruit/Spice Beer  *

21/22

October 23

November/December

Mike Pensinger (G)

December

Stout

 12C/16

November 20

 

Rich Sens (X) (Imperial Stout)

January

Bitter & English Pale Ale  *

4

December 18

January/February

 

 * Winner goes to AHA Club  Only Contest                    ** Wheat Beer Club only Competition
(X) Extract Brew                     (G) All Grain Brew

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Visit our website, www.briess.com, to see our new, fresh look

For the first time since its launch in 1997, our website will be sporting an entirely new look. The updated website is scheduled to launch in May and we invite you to visit .

While its appearance will change,  the content will remain essentially the same—lots of it! All of the previous issues of Brewing' With Briess will remain on the site; product information will be available for every product in a printable pdf format; and fun features like our photo gallery remain intact.

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Editor's Notes – Pat Dabbs

 

 

We welcome all news items, original articles, business notices, and letters to the editor. Submittals for publication in the Home Imbrewment must be send to us as an e-mail or an e-mail attachment in any version of MS-Word or WordPerfect. Mail to dabbsp@cox.net.

Deadline for October’s Newsletter is Monday September 29th

 

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About the HRB&TS

 The Hampton Roads Brewing and Tasting Society is dedicated to promoting the enjoyment of homebrewing. The annual dues are $15 per individual and $20 per family. Members are encouraged to support the responsible enjoyment of beer and observe the beverage laws of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Persons attending HRB&TS meetings and events are solely liable for actions attendant to their participation. HRB&TS Maintains a NO SMOKING policy at all meetings so that members may better enjoy fine beers. Smoking is permitted during restaurant meetings in designated smoking areas.

 Visit the HRB&TS on-line at: http://groups.hamptonroads.com/hrbts