November Minutes!

Claudio and Jennifer Montiel hosted the November B.A.S.H. meeting on Sunday the 10th at their home in Corpus Christi. President Adam Klager called the meeting to order and welcomed guests Roberto Vela, Chris Edwards and Sonny (Claudio’s neighbor). Treasurer-Of-The-Nanosecond Carroll Pate reported another healthy checking account balance. Paul Holder shared judges comments on the two beers he entered in last month’s Dixie Cup regional brewing competition. His Belgian strong golden ale was deemed “lacking in fruitiness” (not that there’s anything wrong with that). His Kölsch was “too dark” and “had no pils flavor”.

Speaking of competitions, we decided on robust porter for February’s club competition. Vice President and competition director Cory Mathews solicited suggestions for the remainder of the schedule. The gist of the comments was to mix ales and lagers, mix American and European styles and save high alcohol brews for the end of the year. In other new business, Travis Clapp, Chris Swanson and Bob Davis volunteered to conduct the demonstration brew at the December meeting.

The final club competition of 2013 was for American brown ale, BJCP category 10C. Paul Holder scored three points for 1st place, Wild Bill Lehfeld earned two for 2nd place and Mark Woerner got a solitary point for 3rd.

As John Milan showered us with Italian tuna mousse, escargot and jumbo-shrimps-on-fire, we dug into Claudio’s brisket and all the side dishes. Besides competition beers, we enjoyed Robin Baker/Christyn Overstake’s “Red Nose” rye, Drew Burkhardt/Cory’s witbier, Ruben Cantu’s porter and rauchbier, Paul’s Belgian strong golden and Cubano, Jason Merry’s American hefeweizen, host Claudio’s “gluten-free experiment with honey”, Carroll’s American IPA, Chris Swanson’s nut brown and amber ales and guest Roberto’s two IPAs, ESB and “mistakes”. Interesting commercial beers included Andrew Herzig/Sabrina Krueger’s Saint Arnold Icon Biere de Saison, Karbach Weekend Warrior Pale Ale and No Label Black Wit-o, Adam’s Laughing Dog Sneaky Pete’s Imperial IPA and Lou Needleman’s Sierra Nevada Tumbler.

Randomly overheard quotes:

• Travis – “I’m going to pay my dues, Carroll!” Paul – “For which year?”
• Claudio – “I lost something in my pants!”
• Travis – “Wayne, did you get your passport? We’re going to deport you!”

Upcoming B.A.S.H. events:

• 8-Dec-13: B.A.S.H. meeting (Carroll Pate, brewing demonstration)
• 12-January-14: B.A.S.H. meeting (Tom Freund, Iron Mash X judging)
• 9-February-14: B.A.S.H. meeting (need host, robust porter competition, BJCP 12B)
• 9-March-14: B.A.S.H. meeting (need host, brewing demonstration)

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

Brewer Of The Year!

Mark Woerner has earned the honor as B.A.S.H. Homebrewer of the Year for 2013, amassing 8 1/2 points in club competitions. Paul Holder totaled 6 points, Wild Bill Lehfeld earned 4 1/2, Drew Burkhardt/Cory Mathews scored 4 and Mark Quade tallied two. Said Mark W “Just schedule barleywines and Scotch ales every competition and I’ll win it every year!” Yeah, with the same old recycled brews!

The fiend Woerner earned a 3-point 1st place finish and a 1 ½ point 2nd place tie in April’s extract competition and a 2-point 2nd place finish in October’s American pale ale contest. Rounding out his scoring were a 1-point 2nd place finish in February’s barleywine competition and a 1-point 3rd place in November’s American brown ale contest.

Runner-up Paul collected a 3-point 1st place in November, a 2-point 1st place in February and a 1-point 3rd place in October.

Two time defending champion Wild Bill collected a 2-point 2nd place in November, a 1 ½ point 2nd place tie in April and a 1-point 2nd place finish in August’s European amber lager contest.

The dynamic duo of Drew/Cory collected 3 points for 1st place in October and 1-point as the only entrants in June’s English dark mild competition.

The good Mark earned his 2 points for a 1st place finish in August.

The 2014 competitions are expected to be wide open slugfests, with young punks giving the old fartknockers a run for their money! Stay tuned for the competition schedule. Congratulations, Mark, and thanks to Competition Directors Kyle Hotz and Cory, their ever-shifting horde of judges and to all who entered beers in the contests.

Iron Mash X

Iron Mash X was held on Saturday, November 2 at B&Js Pizza on Staples at Timbergate, under sunny, windy and gang-infested conditions. After fists flew, knives flashed, the police were called and the intruders fled, we got down to business.

Three teams competed in this years’ outdoor brewing demonstration. The “Bashturds” consisted of the unflappable Mark Woerner and the impetuous Travis Clapp. Team “Iron Crash” was made up of the irrepressible Patrick Viles and nefarious John Nicely. The indefatigable Cory and Jess Mathews, theunfermentable Drew Burkhardt and the always-industrious Claudio Montielcompeted as “Lazy Beaches”.

Each team received a box of ingredients and were given 30 minutes to concoct a recipe and declare a beer style. Grains included unmalted wheat, flaked maize, oatmeal, roasted barley, crystal malt and carafa. Light dried malt extract (DME) rounded out the sugar sources. Four types of hop pellets were included. Possible flavoring adjuncts included lemongrass, coriander and chipotle peppers. The teams supplied their own yeast.

One team chose to make an oatmeal stout, one selected chipotle oatmeal stout and the third opted for chipotle English pale ale. The propane burners were then fired up and the brewing commenced. Which team made which beer? Which beer will win the coveted Iron Mash Cup and secure bling medals for the winning team members? You’ll have to attend the January B.A.S.H. meeting to find out (and to drink the beers). See you then!

P.S. – Two weeks after pumpkins were smashed outside B&Js in celebration of Oktoberfest, a volunteer pumpkin patch has sprouted. The questions remains, whofertilized the seeds, Travis?