Meeting Newsletters

2000 January Meeting

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Written by Gary Weston
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WHALES Newsletter and Minutes         January 20, 2000
Recording Secretary: Kenny Schrader

 

The WHALES Club meeting took place in JJ Bittings Brewpub at 7:30 PM in the main dining room.
Members in Attendance: Mike McCormick, Luke Kostu, Keith Seguine, Kenny Schrader, Tom Paffrath, John Mazzoca, John & Pat Fox, SPECIAL GUEST Dave Hoffman (owner and brewmaster of Climax Brewery), and a SPECIAL WELCOME to ERIC and DAN!!
Keith (WHALES President) officially opened the meeting at 7:40. The agenda from last month did not follow through. Due to other matters at hand, Tom Paffrath's session on hop utilization and recipe formulation will be conducted at a future date.
The Club was especially happy to see two potentially new WHALES members. Brewing buddies Eric and Dan were welcomed and we soon were sampling their very FIRST homebrew! They were so generous as to bring samples of their American Pale Ale. Bottle 1 was unfortunately diagnosed as having a sanitation problem, although it was drinkable. Bottle 2 of the same batch was a gusher. (Nothing to be ashamed of as everyone will experience a gusher at one time or another.) Eric and Dan have Batch #2 underway, and are having some problems the Club tried to help out with. Eric has not seen any signs of fermentation yet, after a week. The Club tried to diagnose this problem as well, with too many suggestions and opinions to go into detail here. We all wish them luck with Batch #2, and hope to see more of Dan and Eric in the future. No doubt they will join the Club, and will be making -G R E A T- beers in short order! ;-)
Tom Paffrath (WHALES Treasurer) brought up the subject of creating a new WHALES web site and registering the domain name of "whalesclub.org". WHALES' current web site seems to be unchanging and basically dead on content. The current URL is rather tedious:
http://pw1.netcom.com/~d.d-mick/WHALES.htm The NEW URL would be much more memorable, although at a price. The cost of registration is $150 for 2 years. An additional maintenance charge of $12 per year might incur. The initial $150 would be deducted from the Club Account, which has enough in balance to cover this charge as of this date.
These costs demanded that a vote be called for. The vote from Paying Members in attendance is as follows:

 

Keith
Tom P
Kenny
John M
John F
Pat
Mike M
Luke
(George) 		- yes
- yes
- yes
- yes
- yes
- yes
- yes
- yes
- assumed yes (not in attendance)

 

 

 

In all fairness to other Paying Members NOT in attendance, Kenny volunteered to gather their votes should they have one. Kenny has phoned the absentee members and the results are as follows:

 

Paul S
Joe B
Mike T
Julie
Baloo
DaveMc
Harry
Bob R
Paul M
Rich
Lou 		-yes
-yes
-yes
-yes
-left message on machine (assumed yes)
-left message on machine
-left message on machine
-rings but no answer or machine
-not reached
-not reached
-not reached

 

 

 

It seems UNAMINOUS from those polled, that the Club wishes to change web sites. Let's proceed with it, and promptly.
Hey -My B A R L E Y W I N E don't whine COMPETITION- !!! This is fun! As mentioned previously, the club-only barleywine competition is just around the corner and will take place in Arizona, deadline Jan 31. We held a blind taste testing of the Club's barleywines, and voted on our best entry (the brewers did not vote themselves). Results as follows:

 

Bumzbrew Brewery (Tom P)  
1 vote		 Divorce Court Brewery (Kenny)
6 votes

 

 

 

........so, looks like Y2K Barleywine is headed west. Wish us luck!
A major concern of entering in a competition is to get your beer into the right beer style and category. Kenny passed out style sheets on English vs. American barleywines. About the ONLY difference in the spec was the hops used. English styles should have English hops such as Northdown, Target, East Kent Goldings, and Fuggles. On the other hand American barleywines should have American hops such as Cascades and Centenial. (Centennial hops is the same as Cascade on Viagra! ...Kenny says)
Well, the Y2K barleywine was made with Northern Brewer and Tettnanger hops, which are basically German but also grown in America. However, Dave Hoffman was INSISTANT that this beer be entered into the ENGLISH style, so that's what we will do. Second day UPS, (to be on the safe side) here we come. For details, please check out the Barleywine Homepage for AHA Club Only Competition.
When Dave Hoffman is in the group, rest assured the beer conversation is LIVELY! Sometimes this divides the Club meeting into little bits of discussion. Here's what Dave had to say, as best as could be gathered:
Dave Hoffman is BACK in the Homebrew Biz! If you need ingredients be sure to give him the option of your business. Dave has grain and hops for sale. Most all grains are $1 per pound. Special price for 2 row 50 lb bag is $32. Dave has approx. 10 kinds of hops for sale, but LEAF only! They include Willamette, East Kent Goldings, Phoenix, Centennial, Mount Hood, Chinnook, Pearl, Northern Brewer, Cascade, Nugget, Columbus... hmmmm, that's 11! Thank you CLIMAX!
Keith reminded us of the homebrew competitions coming up in 2000. Take pride in your beers, and please enter them for expert criticism. We all strive to make better beers. Competitions are a great learning platform. Club only comps are fun! Here are a few, please plan ahead so we can compete.

 

Lambic
Pale Ale
Octoberfest
Historical beers 		- late March
- late August
- mid October
- early December

 

 

 

Other competitions to consider are: War of the Worts, Best of Brooklyn 2000, 9th Annual Spring Regional SI, WHALES Gold Metal <---------- (do it), and National AHA. Call for deadlines and additional info if interested.
Dave Hoffman of Climax Brewery spoke of Scotch and Scottish Style Ales as some were passed around for consumption. Dave rated our Scotch Ales in Schillings. History tells us that taxes were paid on Scotch Ales based on Original Specific Gravity. Therefore, a lower specific gravity Scotch Ale would be taxed lesser. While a higher gravity Scotch Ale would be taxed higher. (Dave complained that all of his beers are taxed when they leave his door , no matter what gravity!) Mr. Hoffman thought highly of Keith's and Kenny's Scotch Ales. Ranking them between an 80 and 90 schilling. BIG WEE HEAVY Scotch Ales check in at 120 Schillings!
Some bad news: Jersey Jims had the best dang Porter Float in the world! Great Porter, chocolate ice-cream, whipped cream, cherry, and syrup. This beer/float was better than sex in my humble opinion. Jersey Jim's brewpub in Hillsborough, NJ is now closed. Damn shame.
Should the Club register as a Not-for-Profit organization? Treasurer Tom Paffrath thinks so and passed out information on the subject. No doubt this needs further discussion.
Beer SAMPLES! Our Club makes some of the finest beers in the world. (ok, maybe the best on the block?) In any event, HATS OFF to Keith's STOUT! Such a treat at this time of year. Mike's Munich DUNKEL! LUKE'S BROWN ALE! Oh man, the brews keep on coming. Here's wishing all a very hoppy and healthy brew year.

CHEERS!
Kenny/Divorce Court Labs Brewery