BASH May Meeting 2013

John and Nikki Daniels hosted the May B.A.S.H. meeting at their home in Rockport. There was no competition or brewing demonstration, just food, beer and conversation. No scandals emerged, as Travis Clapp was absent.

President Jason Merry called the meeting to order and received another scintillating report from Treasurer-For-Life Carroll “Shark Bait” Pate. Vice President Erik Hinz was thanked for his outstanding work on the new website.

In new business, Paul Holder will take orders for B.A.S.H. t-shirts and polo shirts at the next two meetings. To order a shirt, you will have to pay half of the cost up front. A nominating committee of Jason, Erik and Paul will come up with a slate of officer candidates for the 2013 – 2014 fiscal year, which begins in July. If you’re interested in serving, please contact one of these gentlemen.

As we supped on pasta and fixin’s, we swilled mostly previously-tasted homebrews. A few new efforts surfaced, including Tom Freund’s dampfbier, Andrew Herzig’s “American bock”, Paul’s dampfbier and erupting bitter and Chris Swanson’s winter dark ale and two amber ales. Quite a few interesting commercial beers showed up, including Robin Baker’s Harpoon 100 Barrel Series Director’s Cut, John’s Yuengling Lager and Black & Tan, Rick Kelly’s Samuel Adams New World, Joe Reyes’ Sierra Nevada Tumbler, Sabrina’s Jester King Black Metal Farmhouse Imperial Stout and Gregory Tegarden’s Real Ale Four Squared, Hans’ Pils and Brewer’s Cut Altbier.

Not too much crazy talk this meeting, just the following gems :

• “The older I get, the better I used to be” 
• “Don’t ask, we had an incident” 
• “There’s something going on with this beer” 

Upcoming B.A.S.H. events:

• 9-June-13: B.A.S.H. meeting (Lou Needleman, English Mild competition) 
• 14-July-13: B.A.S.H. meeting (B&J’s on Staples at Timbergate, hosted by Paul Holder) 
• 3-Aug-13: Mead Day (need host, brewing demonstration open to public) 
• 11-Aug-13: B.A.S.H. meeting (Nick Nicoll, European amber lager competition) 

Thanks again John and Nikki, keep on brewin’ and we’ll see you next month at Lou’s (as always, with your own glass)!

Big Brew 2013

Kyle Hotz hosted the 2013 B.A.S.H. celebration of Big Brew 2013 on Saturday, May 4. The brewin’, drinkin’ and lyin’ kicked off at 11:00 a.m. on a beautiful, cool day. Kyle and Travis Clapp brewed the all-grain AHA recipe “More Fun” Blonde, a Belgian Pale Ale. Cory Mathews performed a rare solo brew of AHA’s all-grain “Pointon’s Proper” English Dark Mild Ale. He struggled at times without usual sidekicks Drew Burkhardt and Wayne Oakes, but somehow got the job done. The Big Brews will be available for your enjoyment at the July meeting.

Aspiring member Gary McCoig joined us at high noon for the global synchronized toast to homebrewing, led by Travis. Among the homebrews we swilled were Kyle and Travis’ 6.5 Flanders red ale and black cherry mead, Wild Bill Lehfeld’s two old ales, Vienna amber and Munich Helles, Cory’s two pale ales and Claudio Montiel’s pumpkin ale, ginger ale and “all-in” ale. “Paul the Pious” Holder set a bad example by consuming only one beer throughout the day’s festivities. Does a bear not poop in the woods? Does a fish not flatulate bubbles? There was a time when Paul was a force to be reckoned with. The horror, the horror!

As usual, a few liquid-fueled gems escaped our sudsy lips:

• “I don’t trust robots – I like ball valves and levers” 
• “Get your fermenter and just throw money at it” 
• “I used to play when I was a kid, but I sucked at it” 
• “Guitars are like women – they come in all shapes and sizes” 

Your humble and obedient scribe declared victory and slipped off about 4:00 p.m. for his daily nap, just as the post-brew party was peaking in Kyle’s garage. Another successful Big Brew in the can …

Upcoming B.A.S.H. events:

• 19-May-13: B.A.S.H. meeting (moved to 3rd Sunday , John and Nikki Daniels, no competition or brewing demonstration) 
• 9-June-13: B.A.S.H. meeting (Lou Needleman, English Mild competition) 
• 14-July-13: B.A.S.H. meeting (B&J’s on Staples at Timbergate, hosted by Paul Holder) 
• 3-Aug-13: Mead Day (need host, brewing demonstration open to public) 
• 11-Aug-13: B.A.S.H. meeting (need host, European amber lager competition) 

Thanks again Kyle, keep on brewin’ and we’ll see you this month in Rockport at the Daniels’ (as always, with your own glass)!

P.S. – Paul redeemed his honor later in the evening at the Man Shack with a solid quaffing effort. Welcome back, Paul!

April 2013 Minutes

April 2013 Minutes
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​Mark Woerner hosted the April B.A.S.H. meeting at his home in Corpus Christi. Good food and beer were plentiful, new members and guests were in abundance, a spirited competition was held and the B.A.S.H. candidate for Pope, Travis Clapp, returned from the Vatican unsuccessful but undaunted.

President Jason Merry called the meeting to order by welcoming new/old member Rick Kelley, new members Justin Haas and Jackie Di Fiore, as well as guests Giovanni and Rachel, Rudy and Jo Ann, Kaisen and Julie. Treasurer-For-Life Carroll Pate dazzled us with another eloquent and articulate report. Vice President Erik Hinz reported ongoing progress on the new website. A motion was passed to fork over funds to adopt the new site.

Competition Director Kyle Hotz will host the upcoming Big Brew. Drew Burkhardt, Cory Mathews and Wayne Oakes will brew the AHA English Mild recipe at the event. If you’re interested in brewing the American Pilsner, contact Kyle.

Paul Holder mentioned that he has a customer moving to Australia who needs to sell a two-tap kegerator and several kegs. Paul also conducted an education event courtesy of 5 Star, maker of homebrew cleaning and sanitizing products. The “Eight Rules of Cleaning/Sanitizing“ are as follows:

• Only sanitize clean equipment
• Dirty equipment will always have bacteria
• Cleaners are not sanitizers
• Sanitizers are not cleaners
• Higher temperatures and longer times lead to better cleaning
• Do not overuse cleaner or sanitizer
• Cleaner/sanitizer must be in direct contact with the equipment
• Always add chemicals to water, not water to chemicals 

The competition this month was for extract beers. Host Mark seized first place with his strong Scotch ale, earning three points. Mark’s barleywine and Wild Bill Lehfeld’s Vienna lager each earned 1 ½ points with their second place tie. Rounding out the field were Wild Bill’s Munich Helles and old ale, Mark Quade’s Belgian pale ale, Paul’s American pale ale and Mark Woerner’s IPA.

The monthly feast featured Mark Woerner’s venison backstrap rollups and stuff-that-Mark-killed chili. When asked what exactly was in the chili, Mark replied “Engineers, Park Service employees and other foraging fauna”. New homebrews this month included Drew/Cory/Wayne’s kolsch, Ruben Cantu’s hefeweizen and pale ale, Tom Freund/Paul’s New Albion pale ale clone, Claudio Montiel’s spiced mead and Kevin Ramler’s pale ale (last month’s demonstration brew). Commercial beers included Drew’s Shiner Farmhouse Ale, Kyle/Travis’ B&J’s Golden Promise SMASH ale, Jack Heim’s Ommegang Three Philosophers Quadrupel, Rick’s Liefman’s Goudenband and Quilmes and Gregory Tegarden’s Green Flash Hop Head and Ska ESB.

Travis skulked through the meeting, still bitter over his defeat last month at the Papal Conclave. After the first few votes produced black smoke, we were all hopeful that opinions would coalesce around Travis as the compromise candidate. Alas, the only thing coalescing around Travis in Rome was a bevy of campfire girls with hygiene issues. Better luck next time, big guy!

Upcoming B.A.S.H. events:

• ​4-May-13: Big Brew (Kyle Hotz, brewing demonstration open to public) 
• 19-May-13: B.A.S.H. meeting (moved to 3rd Sunday , John and Nikki Daniels, no competition or brewing demonstration) 
• 9-June-13: B.A.S.H. meeting (Lou Needleman, English Mild competition) 
• 14-July-13: B.A.S.H. meeting (B&J’s on Staples at Timbergate, hosted by Paul Holder) 
• 3-Aug-13: Mead Day (need host, brewing demonstration open to public) 
• 11-Aug-13: B.A.S.H. meeting (need host, European amber lager competition)

Thanks again Mark, cheer up Travis, keep on brewin’ and we’ll see you next month in Rockport at the Daniels’ (as always, with your own glass!