May 2016 Minutes

The rain fell, the water rose and Travis Clapp built his ark, stocking it with two sheep, two goats, two ferrets, two more sheep, etc. The rest of us braved the biblical deluge and ventured to Rockport for the May B.A.S.H. meeting, hosted by John and Nikki Daniels on Sunday the 15th. Amateur meteorologist John reported that this was only the 5th time in the past 30 years that it has rained on the 3rd Sunday in May. In any case, we stayed high and dry on the Daniels’ huge covered rear porch.

With El Presidente Sabrina Krueger gallivanting across the Baltic Sea, it was up to Vice President Mike Wojdyla to call the meeting to order. Carroll Pate delivered another sterling treasury report – forget Alexander Hamilton, THIS GUY belongs on the ten dollar bill! We all congratulated Daniel Fearn on advancing to the AHA finals in Baltimore with his European amber lager and semisweet mead.

Lorelei Brewing has received labeling approval and has beers on tap in eight bars in Corpus Christi. Carroll reported on an article in an online forum about stretching your yeast inventory. First, prepare a 25% solution of glycerine with water. Open your packet of yeast and divide the contents into up to ten portions. Then dilute each portion 50/50 with the glycerine/water mixture. The resulting slurries should stay viable up to 2 years in the refrigerator. Paul Holder warned of a potential yeast shortage – supplier White Labs in San Diego is at capacity. Mark your calendars – Carroll will celebrate his 75th birthday in Calallen on Sunday, August 21st. Said elderly Paul “I look up to Carroll as sort of a father figure”!

There was no competition or demonstration brew this month. We washed down our INTERNATIONALLY FAMOUS taco salad with new homebrews from John and Mike (Irish red ale), Daniel (pineapple pale ale), Paul (porter), Wild Bill Lehfeld (amber biere de garde), Carroll and Chris Swanson (American pale ale) and Mike (eisbock). In true old-school fashion, no commercial beer was present.

As usual, the conversation got a little weird near the end with Chris uttering a real gem – “He had throat cancer from all the cigars he drank”! Hmmm ….

Upcoming B.A.S.H. events:

• 12-Jun-16: B.A.S.H. meeting (Walt Crawford, Irish Red Ale competition, 2015 BJCP 15A)
• 10-Jul-16: B.A.S.H. meeting (B&J’s Pizza on Staples at Timbergate, hosted by Paul Holder)
• 14-Aug-16: B.A.S.H. meeting (Daniel Nutting, Biere de Garde competition, 2015 BJCP 24C)
• 11-Sep-16: B.A.S.H. meeting (Mark Woerner, brewing demonstration)
• 9-Oct-16: B.A.S.H. meeting (Railroad Seafood Station hosted by Sean Sutherland, Scottish Ale competition, 2015 BJCP 14A-C, 17C)

Thanks again John and Nikki, keep on brewin’ and we’ll see you next month at the Crawford’s !

Big Brew 2016!

B&J’s Pizza on Staples at Timbergate hosted the 2016 Corpus Christi edition of the American Homebrewers Association’s Big Brew. Two teams from the Bay Area Association of Homebrewers (B.A.S.H.) brewed the AHA’s selected recipes for this year in an outdoor, public demonstration. The weather was beautiful (if a tad breezy) and the B.A.S.H. canopy provided ample shade.

In a solo effort, Aggie Bill Hughen brewed a 5-gallon batch of ginger beer. Sarah Tilton and Sean Sutherland brewed a Dusseldorf alt. Our canopy was FULLY ERECT by 11:00 a.m. Aggie Bill ignited his propane burner at 11:10, followed by Sarah and Sean at 11:15. El Presidente Sabrina Krueger quit complaining about her new “B.A.S.H. Mom” moniker long enough to lead the traditional global synchronized toast to homebrewing at high noon. We got a pleasant surprise at 1:00 p.m. when prodigal son Claudio Montiel joined the festivities.

By 3:15 both beers were done. The canopy was taken down and stowed by 3:30 with little drama. No embarrassing screwups or ridiculous comments were noted this year, although during a slightly sloppy cleanup phase Sarah discovered that her phone is, in fact, amphibious! The finished beers can be sampled at the July meeting.

Upcoming B.A.S.H. events:

• 15-May-16: B.A.S.H. meeting (NOTE: 3RD SUNDAY, John Daniels)
• 12-Jun-16: B.A.S.H. meeting (Walt Crawford, Irish Red Ale competition, 2015 BJCP 15A)
• 10-Jul-16: B.A.S.H. meeting (B&J’s Pizza on Staples at Timbergate, hosted by Paul Holder)
• 14-Aug-16: B.A.S.H. meeting (Daniel Nutting, Biere de Garde competition, 2015 BJCP 24C)
• 11-Sep-16: B.A.S.H. meeting (Mark Woerner, brewing demonstration)
• 9-Oct-16: B.A.S.H. meeting (Railroad Seafood Station, Scottish Ale competition, 2015 BJCP 14A-C, 17C)

See you at The Daniels’!

April Minutes 2016

Brad Klager hosted the April B.A.S.H. meeting on Sunday the 10th. El Presidente Sabrina Krueger called the meeting to order and welcomed guest Mike Westergren and new members Steve Cook and Randy Sandifer (with wife Carla). Treasurer Carroll Pate rambled on about the club treasury and took a lot of pictures. We all congratulated Daniel Fearn on earning 3rd place in an AHA regional competition with his European amber lager.

For the upcoming Big Brew on Saturday, May 7 Sarah Tilton and Aggie Bill Hughen will brew the two AHA recipes (Dusseldorf alt and ginger beer, respectively). Heads up – the May monthly meeting will be on the 3rd Sunday (5/15) so as not to interfere with Mothers’ Day. You don’t want to miss Nikki Daniels’ INTERNATIONALLY FAMOUS taco salad. Jim Hildreth was strong-armed into being nominating committee chairman for this summers’ club elections. Daniel Fearn made us aware of the upcoming Alamo City Cervezafest. Beer competition entries cost $8 each. You can enter one beer per BJCP category in three unmarked 12 ounce bottles.

Paul Holder gave a brief presentation on fruit beers. They may contain chemicals which interfere with medication. The bottom line is to always disclose fruit presence in homebrew, especially with grapefruit.

The competition this month was for lagers. Wild Bill Lehfeld’s dopplebock captured 1st place, earning 3 points. Mark Quade’s American lager finished 2nd, scoring 2 points. Wild Bill’s Helles exportbier tallied one point for a 3rd place finish. After two club competitions, cumulative scores are as follows:

• Wild Bill – 4 points
• Mark Quade – 3.5 points
• Paul Kalaghan – 3 points
• Andrew Herzig/Sabrina – 1.5 point

We enjoyed a bounty of Southeast Asian food along with an explosion of new homebrews. Besides the scoring competition beers, we tasted new brews from Daniel Fearn (Vienna lager), Tom Freund (English porter), Jim (IPA), Paul Holder (“halfieweizen”/pale ale), Paul Kalaghan (Czech pils), host Brad (“reindeer beer”), Wild Bill (Munich dunkel) and Mark Quade (Helles bock). Interesting commercial beers made their usual appearance, including Boulevard Calling IPA (Steve), Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale (Andrew/Sabrina), Pilsner Urquell (Paul K) and Big Bend Hefeweizen/No. 22 Porter/Tejas Lager and Twisted X Premium Tex-Mex Lager/Fuego Jalapeño Pilsner/Chupa Hopra IPA (Lou Needleman).

Upcoming B.A.S.H. events:

• 7-May-16: Big Brew (B&J’s Pizza on Staples at Timbergate, multiple brewing demonstations)
• 15-May-16: B.A.S.H. meeting (NOTE: 3RD SUNDAY, John Daniels)
• 12-Jun-16: B.A.S.H. meeting (Walt Crawford, Irish Red Ale competition, 2015 BJCP 15A)
• 10-Jul-16: B.A.S.H. meeting (B&J’s Pizza on Staples at Timbergate, hosted by Paul Holder)
• 14-Aug-16: B.A.S.H. meeting (Daniel Nutting, Biere de Garde competition, 2015 BJCP 24C)
• 11-Sep-16: B.A.S.H. meeting (Mark Woerner, brewing demonstration)
• 9-Oct-16: B.A.S.H. meeting (need host, Scottish Ale competition, 2015 BJCP 14A-C, 17C)

Thanks again Brad, keep on brewin’ and we’ll see you next month at the Big Brew and the Daniels’ !

March 2016 Minutes

Jim and Tracy Hildreth hosted the March B.A.S.H. meeting on Sunday the 13th. Daniel Fearn conducted a brewing demonstration, making a pineapple pale ale while adorned in a spiffy B.A.S.H. apron. El Presidente Sabrina Krueger called the meeting to order and welcomed numerous neighbors, friends, relatives and other guests. Treasurer Carroll Pate reported that his efforts to embezzle the entire club account have failed again. He promised to pick it up just a little bit in the future.
For this years’ Big Brew public brewing demonstration in early-May, the AHA published only two recipes this year instead of the usual three. Sarah Tilton and Sean Sutherland will brew the Dusseldorf Alt, while Aggie Bill Hughen will brew the ginger beer. See Paul Holder if you want to brew a third beer.

Paul gave a presentation on dry brewing yeast. Yeast is generally recognized as the most important ingredient in beer and most people would say that liquid yeast is preferable to dry yeast. A recent article in the March/April 2016 issue of Brew Your Own magazine (available online) discusses recent developments in dry yeast. In short, today’s dry yeast is much improved over the varieties available in the 80’s and 90’s. Dry yeast only loses viability at the rate of 10-20% per year, so it stores longer than liquid yeast. You need 6 million cells per milliliter of wort, or about 114 million cells for a 5 gallon batch of ale, or double that for a batch of lager. A package of dry yeast contains about 200 billion cells. You must rehydrate it properly with water (never wort) before pitching. Sprinkle the package of dry yeast into 6 ounces of RO or distilled water at 95 – 105 F. Let it rest for 30 minutes, then stir for another 30 minutes before pitching.

Vice President and Competition Director Mike Wojdyla gave a presentation on Russian Imperial Stout, November’s competition style. You should aim for an ABV of at least 8%, use up to 8 different grains for a complex malty flavor and expect to age the beer for several months. We tasted examples of Clown Shoes Blaecorn Unicorn, Avery The Czar, Real Ale Commissar and Texas Big Beer Brewing Czar of Texas.

As we feasted on chicken pasta alfredo, we tried new homebrews by host Jim (nut brown ale), Wild Bill Lehfeld (Dortmunder export) and Jeremy Van Horn (imperial brown ale/cinnamon vanilla imperial brown). Interesting commercial beers were in abundance, including Andrew Herzig/Sabrina’s Stone Ruination/Sierra Nevada Torpedo, Brad Klager’s Lagunitas The Hairy Eyeball/Lagunitas Sucks, Lou Needleman’s Big Bend Terlingua Gold/Six Points Sweet Action and Bengali/Cow Creek Dark Tex Mex Lager/Tractor Brewing Milk Mustachio Stout.

Uncharacteristically, nothing stupid or bizarre was overheard. We’ll do better next month …

Upcoming B.A.S.H. events:

• 10-Apr-16: B.A.S.H. meeting (Brad Klager, lager competition)
• 7-May-16: Big Brew (B&J’s Pizza on Staples at Timbergate, multiple brewing demonstations)
• 15-May-16: B.A.S.H. meeting (NOTE: 3RD SUNDAY, John Daniels)
• 12-Jun-16: B.A.S.H. meeting (Walt Crawford, Irish Red Ale competition, 2015 BJCP 15A)
• 10-Jul-16: B.A.S.H. meeting (B&J’s Pizza on Staples at Timbergate, hosted by Paul Holder)
• 14-Aug-16: B.A.S.H. meeting (Daniel Nutting, Biere de Garde competition, 2015 BJCP 24C)
• 11-Sep-16: B.A.S.H. meeting (Mark Woerner, brewing demonstration)

Thanks again Jim and Tracy, keep on brewin’ and we’ll see you next month at Brad Klager’s!

February Meeting Minutes 2016

Daniel and Jessica Fearn hosted the February B.A.S.H. meeting on Sunday the 14th. El Presidente Sabrina Krueger called the meeting to order and welcomed new members Lee and Stephanie Lehman and guest Michelle (Sean Sutherland’s friend). Disgraced former president Travis Clapp wished everyone a Happy VD from his exile on the island of Elba.(He’s serving a life sentence for crimes against humanity and sheep).Treasurer Carroll Pate delivered a sterling report with his usual panache. Paul Holder related a recent article from Brew Your Own magazine, explaining why beer foams up in a frozen glass. The ice has a jagged surface which provides nucleation sites for CO2 to come out of solution, hence the foam. Sabrina urged everyone to start thinking about forming teams for May’s Big Brew public brewing demonstration. We’ll have more information at the next meeting.

The competition this month was for meads, 2015 BJCP categories M1 – M4. After the judges scrutinized nine entries Paul Kalaghan’s cranberry tangerine melomel emerged victorious, earning 3 points. Mark Quade’s pyment tied with Andrew Herzig/Sabrina’s entry for second place, earning 1 ½ points each.

New homebrews from Walt Crawford (American IPA), Bob Davis/Carroll/Chris Swanson (chocolate stout), Jim Hildreth (triple hopped pale ale/spiced Scottish ale), Paul H (prickly pear wheat ale), guest Lee (Irish red ale) and Jeremy Van Horn (coffee pale ale/blackberry raspberry pale ale) accompanied our feast of lasagna and Italian green beans and artichokes. Interesting commercial beers included Micah Cole’s Lindeman’s Framboise Lambic, Brad Klager’s Jester King Snörkel and Brooklyn Local 2, Cory Mathews’ Lazy Beach Session IPA, Lou Needleman’s Big Bend Terlingua Gold and Twisted X Cow Creek Mexican Dark and Sean’s Dogfish Head India Brown Ale and Railroad Seafood Station Red IPA and Vanilla Porter.

As usual some interesting exchanges were overheard …

• Anonymous – Can I smell it, Carroll? Carroll – You can do more than smell it!
• Paul H – I’ve got a sweet melomel. Mark Q – Sounds like a girl I knew in high school!
• Walt – I’m not sure how it works. Chris – It goes in the hole, probably!

Upcoming B.A.S.H. events:

• 13-Mar-16: B.A.S.H. meeting (Jim Hildreth, brewing demonstration)
• 10-Apr-16: B.A.S.H. meeting (Brad Klager, lager competition)
• 7-May-16: Big Brew (B&J’s Pizza on Staples at Timbergate, multiple brewing demonstations)
• 15-May-16: B.A.S.H. meeting (NOTE: 3RD SUNDAY, John Daniels)
• 12-Jun-16: B.A.S.H. meeting (Walt Crawford, Irish Red Ale competition, 2015 BJCP 15A)

Thanks again Daniel and Jessica, congratulations Paul K, keep on brewin’ and we’ll see you next month at the Hildreth’s!

January 2016 Minutes

The January B.A.S.H. meeting was held on Sunday the 10th at the home of Tom and Rocky Freund in Flour Bluff, co-hosted by Aggie Bill and Dianna Hughen. We welcomed newbie David Raymond and old timer John Cox as El Presidente Sabrina Krueger called the meeting to order. Treasurer Carroll Pate’s report wasn’t quite as rosy as usual, but sufficed in a pinch. In old business, Paul Holder and Tom reported on the test results from their Flour Bluff pale ale, December’s demonstration brew. The ABV was 5.6% and the IBU’s were 26. By Paul’s diabolical calculations, the local Cascade hops contained 2.0% alpha acids. In any case, the taste was delicious!

In new business, we found hosts for several upcoming meetings, but are still seeking homes for the April and June shindigs. Walt Crawford is looking for a 6+ gallon brew pot.

After the opening frivolity, we got down to serious bidness – judging the beers from November’s Iron Mash XII. Past winners were encouraged to wear their coveted bling medals. Poor Mark Quade was hunched over from the extraordinary mass of shiny chrome dangling from his overmatched neck, representing several past wins. Mark teamed up with Mark Woerner and Micah Cole to form the aptly named Repeat Offenders (AKA the Inveterate Miscreants). Daniel and Jessica Fearn partnered with Geoff Whirty to form Team Red Shirt. Jim Hildreth, Mike Wojdyla and Craig Gann were the Porter Waggoners. A-Train Almendarez, Patrick Viles and Clinton Schena comprised Team Thunderhunt. Each team brewed at least one American porter. (Several teams split their wort among multiple fermenters, pitching different yeast into each to create more than one finished beer). In total, eight brews faced the gauntlet of discerning judges. With a final score of 164 points, one effort by the Porter Waggoners captured third place. Runner-up went to Team Red Shirt, whose single product scored 177 points. With one of their beers scoring 183 points, the Iron Mash XII champions are the Repeat Offenders. After the traditional victory photo with their bling medals, we bundled Mr. Quade off to the chiropractor. Despite our darkest fears, Travis Clapp did NOT show up to drink from the Iron Mash trophy. Phew!

As we consumed sausage and chili blanco, we sloshed down the competition beers as well as new homebrews from Micah (Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA clone), Jim (SMSH pale ale), Mark Quade (Kölsch, or was it Quölsch?) and Jeremy Van Horn (strawberry and blackberry pale ales). Interesting commercial beers included Andrew Herzig/Sabrina’s Karbach Love Street, Wild Bill Lehfeld’s Rogue Dead Guy Ale, Cory Mathews’ Lazy Beach Bonfire Smore Stout and Belgian IPA (a homebrewer collaboration), Lou Needleman’s Six Points Sweet Action and Tractor Brewing Milk Stout and Clinton’s Real Ale Fireman’s #4 Blonde Ale and New Belgium Ben & Jerry’s Salted Caramel Brownie.

The hardcores were still surrounding the bonfire at 10:30 p.m. when your humble narrator slinked off. The most embarrassing quote again came from noted pyromaniac Mike – “Craig gives me wood!” Let’s hope he was referring to fuel for the raging inferno …

Upcoming B.A.S.H. events:

• 14-Feb-16: B.A.S.H. meeting (Daniel Fearn, mead competition, 2015 BJCP M1 – M4)
• 13-Mar-16: B.A.S.H. meeting (Jim Hildreth, brewing demonstration)
• 10-Apr-16: B.A.S.H. meeting (need host, lager competition)
• 7-May-16: Big Brew (B&J’s Pizza on Staples at Timbergate, multiple brewing demonstations)
• 15-May-16: B.A.S.H. meeting (NOTE: 3RD SUNDAY, John Daniels)
• 12-Jun-16: B.A.S.H. meeting (need host, Irish Red Ale competition, 2015 BJCP 15A)

Thanks again Tom, Rocky, Aggie Bill and Dianna, congratulations Mark, Mark and Micah, keep on brewin’ and we’ll see you next month at the Fearn’s!

December 2015 Minutes!

The December B.A.S.H. meeting was held on Sunday the 13th at the home of Carroll and Judy Pate in Calallen. Tom Freund and Paul Holder began with a demonstration brew of pale ale using Tom’s Flour Bluff Cascade hops. A sample of the finished beer will be sent to White Labs for IBU testing. Paul will then back calculate the available alpha acids.

El Presidente Sabrina Krueger called the meeting to order at about 4:30. Carroll once again reassured us on the soundness of our treasury. Tom reminded us that next months’ meeting will include judging of the Iron Mash XII beers. TEAMS – DON’T FORGET TO BRING YOUR BEERS! The judging will begin at 4:30 p.m., before food is served. Aggie Bill and Dianna Hughen will co-sponsor – the menu will include chili blanco and sausage.

Daniel Fearn reported that the AHA is wanting to hold a national conference in Texas – stay tuned. Paul reported that Lazy Beach Brewing has applied for a brewpub license (expected to take 45 days) which will allow serving beers of > 5% ABV. Rebel Toad Brewing downtown will have a grand opening on Saturday, December 26 from 4 – 6 p.m. Lorelei Brewing in Flour Bluff got their license and are currently brewing. Port Aransas Brewing has new owners. Member Sean Sutherland is the new brewmeister at Railroad Seafood Station downtown. Paul was presented with the B.A.S.H. Cup as Homebrewer of the Year for 2015. His name will hang for posterity on the B.A.S.H. plaque at B&J’s Pizza on SPID soon.

We enjoyed the Pates’ carnitas, rice and beans with new homebrews by Micah Cole (lavender cream ale), Paul (chili pale ale), Chris Swanson (pale ale/amber ale) Sarah Tilton (pumpkin pecan stout/chocolate coffee porter) and Jeremy Van Horn (coffee old ale). Interesting commercial beers included Daniel Fearn’s White Tip Lager (Cayman Islands) and Danna Sharpe’s Blue Moon Harvest Pumpkin Ale.

The best quote of the day came from Mike Wojdyla – “If Paul’s cleanin’ we gotta get some stuff dirty!” Amen !!!

Upcoming B.A.S.H. events:

• 10-Jan-16: B.A.S.H. meeting (Tom Freund, Iron Mash XII judging)
• 14-Feb-16: B.A.S.H. meeting (Daniel Fearn, mead competition, 2015 BJCP M1 – M4)
• 13-Mar-16: B.A.S.H. meeting (need host, brewing demonstration)
• 10-Apr-16: B.A.S.H. meeting (need host, lager competition)
• 7-May-16: Big Brew (multiple brewing demonstations)
• 15-May-16: B.A.S.H. meeting (need host)
• 12-Jun-16: B.A.S.H. meeting (need host, Irish Red Ale competition, 2015 BJCP 15A)

Thanks again Carroll and Judy, keep on brewin’ and we’ll see you next month at Tom and Rocky’s!