Tom and Rocky Freund hosted the January B.A.S.H. meeting on Sunday the 12th at their home in Flour Bluff. As usual, the first hour or so involved a lot of beer drinking and socializing. Mike “Spudmeister” Wojdyla kept up a steady supply of homemade potato and sweet potato chips. Paul Holder forgot to bring his past Iron Mash bling medals, but “Old Bullfarts” teammate Dr. Mark Quade was all pimped out with his three medals.
Club President Adam Klager eventually called the meeting to order and welcomed new member Phil Sims. Embezzler-in-Chief Carroll Pate was AWOL, so we were spared his droll treasurer’s report. Webmeister Erik Hinz requested a volunteer to babysit our Facebook page. Travis Clapp accepted the responsibility. He was promptly admonished by an anonymous club member (let’s call him “Paul”) to use the page to promote the club, not to pick up chicks. As if!
Next months’ meeting host Alex Hinojosa invited everyone to his Railroad Seafood Station restaurant and brewery. He currently has blonde ale on tap and is awaiting label approval on a chocolate stout and a peach wheat. His restaurant will be closed the day of the meeting, but we can bring in food and homebrew.
After the meeting was adjourned, an elite team of judges (four old guys) retired into Tom’s workshop to evaluate this years’ Iron Mash beers. Three teams showed up at the B&J’s Pizza on Staples the first Saturday in November for the brewing contest. The “Bashturds” consisted of 2013 Homebrewer of the Year Mark Woerner and the ubiquitous Mr. Clapp. Patrick Viles and John “Human Punching Bag” Nicely competed as “Iron Crash”. The “Lazy Beaches”were the third team -- Cory and Jess Mathews, Claudio Montiel and Drew Burkhardt. After a couple of months to ferment and finish the beers, Judgment Day has arrived.
The outcome was never in doubt this year. The “Lazy Beaches” proved that you should never ferment a beer in a refrigerator unless it’s plugged in. Their English ESP (extra strength phenolic) was plagued with a few off-flavors – think rubbing alcohol, paint thinner, fingernail polish remover and model airplane glue. Total score -- 79 points. “Iron Crash” made an oatmeal stout that scored a solid 106 points. It was good, but no match for the winning oatmeal stout of the “Bashturds”, which totaled 132 points. Mark Woerner was low key in accepting his Iron Mash X bling medal. Travis, on the other hand, went hog wild. He posed for victory photos wearing his medal, holding the Iron Mash cup, drinking from the cup and wearing the cup as a hat. In his 20-minute acceptance speech, he thanked his Mom, your Mom, Luke’s Mom, the decrepit judges and all the little people. Said Clapp “OK, I failed in my bid to become the new Pope. But with my victory today in Iron Mash X, I have secured my place amongst the Worlds’ Great Brewers”! An anonymous club member (let’s call him “Paul”) remarked that “Charlie Papazian must be quaking in his boots”!
Co-hosts Aggie Bill and Dianna Hughen provided pulled pork sandwiches. New homebrews were supplied by Drew and Cory (pumpkin ale/witbier), Ruben Cantu (amber ale/pale ale/rauchbier), Chris Edwards (amber ale), Tom/Mike/Aggie Bill (lemon weiss), Paul (dampfbier), Aggie Bill (cranberry lambic), Jason Merry (Belgian petit orange), Claudio (Belgian strong ale), Mark Quade (Belgian dubbel), Kevin Ramler (rye pale ale) and Chris Schofield (strawberry mead). Interesting commercial beers included Jackie Di Fiore’s Stella Artois Cidre, Chris Edwards’ Sierra Nevada Ruthless Rye and Chris Schofield’s The Bruery Otiose Sour Brown Ale.
Upcoming B.A.S.H. events:
- 9-Feb-14: B.A.S.H. meeting (Railroad Seafood Station Brewing, robust porter competition, BJCP 12B)
- 9-Mar-14: B.A.S.H. meeting (need host, brewing demonstration)
- 13-Apr-14: B.A.S.H. meeting (Mark Woerner, American IPA/Imperial IPA competition, BJCP 14B/14C)
- 3-May-14: Big Brew (need host, multiple brewing demonstrations)
- 18-May-14: B.A.S.H. meeting (3rd Sunday, John Daniels)
- 8-June-14: B.A.S.H. meeting (need host, German wheat/rye beer competition, BJCP 15A-D)
- 13-July-14: B.A.S.H. meeting (Paul Holder, brewing demonstration)
- 2-Aug-14: Mead Day (need host, multiple brewing demonstrations)
- 10-Aug-14: B.A.S.H. meeting (need host, Saison competition, BJCP 16C)
- 14-Sep-14: B.A.S.H. meeting (need host, brewing demonstration)
- 12-Oct-14: B.A.S.H. meeting (Claudio Montiel, bock competition, BJCP 5A-D)
- 1-Nov-14: Iron Mash XI (B&Js Pizza on Staples at Timbergate, multiple brewing demonstrations)
- 9-Nov-14: B.A.S.H. meeting (Andrew Herzig/Sabrina Krueger, barleywine competition, BJCP 19B/19C)
- 14-Dec-14: B.A.S.H. meeting (Carroll Pate, brewing demonstration)
Thanks again Tom, Rocky, Aggie Bill and Dianna, keep on brewin’ and we’ll see you next month at Railroad Seafood Station (as always, with your own glass)!
