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About 24 Star City Brewers Guild members gathered at Doug and Kel's on a beautiful sunny Saturday afternoon for the August meeting. We also welcomed two guests to our gathering. Buren, one of Doug's neighbors, joined us, as did Thom who has brewed quite a few brews, but it has been a while. VP Chris lead the meeting in the absence of President John who was unable to attend.
Treasurer Will reported total paid membership at 53 members and we currently have about $650 in the bank. Several people had good reports about Microfestivus. There was plenty of beer, but some had no relief at the end of the later volunteer shifts. There was some discussion about a donation to the club for volunteering, but nobody knew anything specific. Was that something associated with Microfestivus or could it have been another opportunity? Teach a Friend to Homebrew Day is November 7th and will be held at Blue Ridge Hydroponics and Homebrew Supply on Williamson Road. We received tentative commitments from 3-4 brewers who would represent extract, partial mash, and all grain batches. An update on the ABC license from Chris and Fran would be appreciated. We should get more business cards and make sure we have plenty brochures on hand. There was some discussion of give away items that we should further discuss with Chris and Fran. Someone suggested an ingredient kit or starter kit that may generate additional business for them. Ross reminded us that the club will strive to encourage a healthy interest in the history and culture of craftbrewing through lectures, demonstrations, educational activities, and competitions. This should be our main focus at the event and not necessarily to increase membership. Although the two compliment each other. BOTY T idea was deferred until next month since nobody brought any sample graphics. Keep looking and bring anything interesting for the group to consider. Blacksburg Brew Do is a first year festival in Blacksburg on October 24th that will include a home brew competition. The club expressed an interest in some participation particularly the homebrew competition. Some members have contacted the organizer, but they were not present. We should have further discussion and hopefully more information will be available at our next meeting. http://nrvnews.com/Blacksburg/10/24-Blacksburg-Brew-Do.html http://www.firstandmainblacksburg.com/events/index.aspx A discussion of road trips was held and there was some interest in Bull & Bones, The River Company, and Shooting Creek. Although of interest, there was less discussion of a Devil's Backbone and Blue Mountain trip. Possibly the most interest was in a trip to Bramwell on October 10th. If anyone has connections that may get us a reduced rate for a van, it would be helpful and more folks may be interested. It was suggested that we continue the discussion through e-mail. Future meeting sites and discussion: September: Bryan & Jenny - 19th - Oatmeal Stout competitionOctober: Jeff & Cindy agreed to change the date to the 17th to avoid conflicts with Bramwell and Brew Do - Imperial tasting (Bryan S.)November: Carrie & Justin - 21st - (Chris to present info on Siebel Sensory kit and AHA Flavorist for club decision)December: Will & Jen - TBA - Imperial anything competition After a break, Doug and Jeff provided an informative presentation on specific gravity and instruments to measure it. Specific gravity is usually defined as the ratio of the density of a given solid or liquid substance to the density of a reference substance, nearly always water, at specified temperatures and pressure. http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/density-specific-weight-gravity-d_290.html Using calibrated samples made from sucrose (table sugar), they demonstrated the use of a hydrometer, a hydrometer with an expanded scale for easy reading, a refractometer, and a digital refractometer. Although there were slight variations, the instruments were very close. What became very clear was that, despite claims of ATC (automatic temperature compensation), samples should be brought to the calibration temperature for the best accuracy. Many of us toured Doug's hop yard and found one plant in particular that had some very nice size cones. The Cascade variety rhizomes were transplanted within the last year from a well established plant. Most members would agree that a big highlight of the evening was earlier when Doug popped the top off of his "Beers wot I drunk" #1000, Westvleteren 12 and shared it with us. http://www.flickr.com/photos/shyzaboy/3826715020/ http://www.sintsixtus.be/eng/brouwerij.htm What an explosion of flavors! This beer had flavors that ranged from chocolate, plum, raisin, toffee, etc. With each sip many of us discovered more complex flavors. What a treat! Thanks for sharing, Doug! |
