June 2018 Minutes

Lou Needleman hosted the June, 2018 B.A.S.H. meeting on Sunday the 10th at a house he owns in Corpus Christi. El Presidente Mike Wojdyla called the meeting to order and thanked our host after we ate.  Treasurer Tom Freund gave his report and reminded everyone dues for the 2018-2019 fiscal year are due next month.

In old business, the officer nominating committee(Paul Holder, Aggie Bill Hughen and Tom) developed a slate of candidates to serve during the next year – President, Mike Wojdyla; V.P. for Plans and Programs, Elizabeth Ackman; V.P. for Competitions, Kyle Hotz; Secretary, Wild Bill Lehfeld and Treasurer, Tom Freund. The officers were voted in unanimously, despite scattered boos, hisses and inappropriate gestures. Elizabeth reported on the B.A.S.H. Hooks outing on May 24th. Another club outing is planned for the game on “Thirsty Thursday” June 21st. See the B.A.S.H. Facebook page for your ticket discount code and stay tuned for a possible July outing.

In new business, Tom presented the brewing education topic – a short history of hops and his experience with growing hops in Corpus Christi. Cascade grows pretty well if it’s in the sun, sheltered from the wind, well watered and in sandy soil. Fungus is a threat in winter. Rhizomes can be cut in early March. Hops appear with the 2nd year crop. After 5-6 years you will need to plant a new root ball.

We congratulated Kyle on the upcoming opening of his homebrew supply shop in Habeeb Square. Phil Sims announced his retirement from United Airlines.

The Homebrewer of the Year competition this month was for Czech lagers, BJCP 3A-D. The Best of Show competition was open to any style. Kyle collected competition beers for judging offsite. Results will be announced at the July meeting. Our upcoming August competition will be AHA sponsored.
Before the meeting began we feasted on Lou’s amazing Indian food, washing it down with new homebrews by Walt Crawford (Hop Head Double IPA), Paul (Belgian strong golden ale) and Rusty Keyes (ESB). Commercial beers included Tom’s Real Ale Axis IPA, Adam Klager’s Stone Tangerine IPA, Brad Klager’s Jester King RU55 Barrel Aged Sour Red and Dogfish Head Sea Quench and Lou’s Goose Island Green Line Pale Ale, Santa Fe Pale and Nut Brown Ales.

Upcoming B.A.S.H. events:
21-June-18: Corpus Christi Hooks game, 7:05 p.m.
8-Jul-18: B.A.S.H. meeting (B&J’s Pizza on Staples at Timbergate, hosted by Paul Holder)
12-Aug-18: B.A.S.H. meeting (need host, competition: BOS open/HBOY >51% extract challenge)
9-Sept-18: B.A.S.H. meeting (Mark Woerner)
14-Oct-18: B.A.S.H. meeting (need host, competition: BOS open/HBOY amber and brown American beer, BJCP 19A, 19C)
3-Nov-18: Iron Mash XV (B&J’s Pizza on Staples at Timbergate, team brewing competition)
11-Nov-18: B.A.S.H. meeting (need host, competition: BOS open/HBOY spiced beer, BJCP 30A-C)
Thanks again Lou, congratulations Phil, keep on brewin’ and we’ll see you at the Hooks game !

May 2018 Minutes

The May, 2018 B.A.S.H. meeting was hosted by John and Nikki Daniels on Sunday the 20th at their home in Rockport. El Presidente Mike Wojdyla called the meeting to order, thanked our hosts and welcomed guest  Dave Heim, Jack’s brother. We all wish Vice President for Competitions Daniel Fearn a speedy recovery after his recent hospitalization. Treasurer Tom Freund reported a healthy club balance after recent expenditures for two canopies and Big Brew supplies.

Speaking of Big Brew, Larry Sommers brewed the stout and Rob Sullivan brewed the honey lager. We can sample the finished beers at the July meeting.

In new business Paul Holder, Tom and Aggie Bill Hughen will nominate a slate of candidates for officer elections in June. They will meet at 9:15 p.m. Friday, May 25 at B&J’s Pizza on SPID. All club members are welcome to participate. Our club outing to the Corpus Christi Hooks baseball game is this Thirsty Thursday, May 24. Buy your tickets online using the promo code “BASH”. The game is at 7:05 p.m. vs. Springfield. Zymurgy Magazine has agreed to publish Steve Cook’s article about our club collaboration jalapeño blonde ale brew with Lazy Beach Brewing.

Our AHA sponsored club-only competition last month drew a total of 9 entries, four of which qualified for Homebrewer of the Year points (California and Kentucky common). Wild Bill Lehfeld’s California common earned two HBOY points for 1st place and Larry’s earned one point for 2nd. After two of six 2018 competitions, cumulative HBOY points are as follows:

Rob Sullivan – 3 points

Wild Bill Lehfeld – 2 points

Larry Sommers – 1 point

In the best of show competition (open to all 9 entries) Larry captured 1st place and will be named in an upcoming issue of Zymurgy. Overall, Larry earned a total of 20 points, Wild Bill 14 points, Carroll Pate 4 points and Paul Holder 3 points. After two of six 2018 competitions, cumulative BOS points are as follows:

Wild Bill – 39 points

Rob – 20 points

Larry -- 20 points

Mark Quade – 10 points

Aggie Bill – 8 points

Carroll – 4 points

Paul – 3 points

Our upcoming August competition will also be AHA sponsored.

After the meeting adjourned, we washed down Nikki’s INTERNATIONALLY FAMOUS taco salad with new homebrews by Chris Ackman (IPA), Tom (hoppy American amber) and Paul (dry stout/American brown). Commercial beers included Brian Cook’s Stella Artois, Jack’s Karbach Rodeo Clown Double IPA and Carroll’s Real Ale Fireman’s No. 4 Blonde Ale.

Upcoming B.A.S.H. events:

24-May-18: Corpus Christi Hooks game, 7:05 p.m.

10-Jun-18: B.A.S.H. meeting (Lou Needleman, competition: BOS open/HBOY Czech lager, BJCP 3A-D)

8-Jul-18: B.A.S.H. meeting (B&J’s Pizza on Staples at Timbergate, hosted by Paul Holder)

12-Aug-18: B.A.S.H. meeting (need host, competition: BOS open/HBOY >51% extract challenge)

9-Sept-18: B.A.S.H. meeting (Mark Woerner)

14-Oct-18: B.A.S.H. meeting (need host, competition: BOS open/HBOY amber and brown American beer, BJCP 19A, 19C)

3-Nov-18: Iron Mash XV

11-Nov-18: B.A.S.H. meeting (need host, competition: BOS open/HBOY spiced beer, BJCP 30A-C)

Thanks again John and Nikki, get well Daniel, keep on brewin’ and we’ll see you at the Hooks game !

Big Brew 18

Every year, the American Homebrewer’s Association celebrates National Homebrew Day with the Big Brew.  Again, this year, BASH joined with hundreds of other clubs’ worldwide to celebrate the day. Recipes were provided by, and in honor of, Charlie Papazian, the “father” of homebrewing in the USA.  Charlie will be retiring from the beer industry this year, hence the nod from the organization he founded back in the 1970’s.

The day kicked off with the traditional toast to homebrewing at noon Central (observed worldwide).  Then we got down to business. It was all grain in our exhibition that day. Our intrepid brewers, Rob and Larry, broke out their big pots (it was the big brew) and got down to mashing.  Larry brewed Charlie’s Rocky’s Racoon Honey Lager while Rob took on Charlie’s Dusty Mud Irish-style Stout.  We will all get to sample these at the July meeting so don’t miss it.

Notable events during the brew.  Members Walt, Mark Q., Eric L., Tall Paul, Yankee Paul, Carroll, Gabriel M., all stopped by.  Several others visited to see what we were doing including former member: Martin Rupp.

We christened our new tent.  Stuck in the habit of taking 30 minutes to erect the tent, Mark Q and Paul didn’t hit the advertised time of 2 minutes to erect the new one (it took us 5).  But we are anxious to work on it and bringing that number down.

The first beer was spilled at 12:39.  I promised Rob I wouldn’t mention his name in that sentence.  

Finally, although the weather was very cooperative, Larry expressed a desire for his fully electric, computer-controlled rig so he could go inside and enjoy the A/C. Rob noted that he had everything he owned out there and didn’t mind the heat.  

See you at the Daniel’s on Sunday, May 19th (one week later than normal).

April 2018 Minutes

The April, 2018 B.A.S.H. meeting was hosted by Walt and Judy Crawford on Sunday the 8th. El Presidente Mike Wojdyla called the meeting to order, thanked our hosts and welcomed his neighbor, guest  Mike Gutierrez. Stand-in Cretaceous Carroll Pate gave a slightly dyslexic treasurer’s report.

Vice President for Competitions Daniel Fearn collected entries for this months’ contest (Homebrewer Of The Year – California and Kentucky Common/Best Of Show – Open). Judging will take place on Thursday, May 3rd with results revealed at May’s monthly meeting. June’s contest beers can be dropped off at Liquid Town on Airline near Toys ‘R Us from 6/4 – 6/9 or brought to the June meeting. For regional/national competitions, see the B.A.S.H. website for the Lone Star Circuit and the BJCP website for national contests.

Vice President for Other Stuff Jessica Fearn gave an update on our planned outing to a CC Hooks baseball game. The date is “Thirsty Thursday,” May 24. Check the Facebook page for details.

In new business, Paul Holder reported that B&J’s Pizza on S.P.I.D. will host a cask party on Friday, April 13 in honor of Sabrina Krueger achieving 1000 beers in the B&J’s Imported Beer Club. All B.A.S.H. members are invited. The AHA Big Brew public brewing demonstration will be held on Saturday, May 5 at B&J’s on Staples at Timbergate. Two favorite recipes of retiring Charlie Papazian are featured this year – Rocky Raccoon’s Honey Lager/Ale and Dusty Mud Dry Irish Stout. The club will buy the ingredients and we will drink the results at the June meeting. See Paul if you’re interested in brewing.

Paul also reported that B&J’s can no longer store our 10’ by 20’ canopy. A motion was made, seconded and approved to authorize Tom Freund to purchase two 12’ by 12’ pushup canopies. Cory Mathews agreed to take the old canopy. Wild Bill Lehfeld gave this months’ education event on the iodine test for mash completion.

After the meeting adjourned, we washed down lasagna with the Lazy Beach/B.A.S.H. club brew (Hot Cubana Jalapeño Blonde) as well as new homebrews by Paul (hefeweizen) and by Rusty Keyes (tripel). The most interesting commercial beer was shared by Mark Quade – Karbach Dopplebock Aged In Armagnac Bottles.

Upcoming B.A.S.H. events:

5-May-18: Big Brew (B&J’s Pizza on Staples at Timbergate, multiple brewing demonstrations)

20-May-18: B.A.S.H. meeting (John Daniels, NOTE: 3RD SUNDAY)

24?-May-18: Corpus Christi Hooks game

10-Jun-18: B.A.S.H. meeting (need host, competition: BOS open category - all beer styles welcome/HBOY Czech lager, BJCP 3A-D)

8-Jul-18: B.A.S.H. meeting (B&J’s Pizza on Staples at Timbergate, hosted by Paul Holder)

12-Aug-18: B.A.S.H. meeting (need host, competition: BOS open category - all beer styles welcome/HBOY >51% extract challenge)

9-Sept-18: B.A.S.H. meeting (Mark Woerner)

Thanks again Walt and Judy, keep on brewin’ and we’ll see you at the Big Brew !

March 2018 Minutes

Brad Klager hosted the March B.A.S.H. meeting on Sunday the 11th at his home in Corpus Christi. El Presidente Mike Wojdyla called the meeting to order, thanked our host and welcomed three guests – Sean Clair (nursing school), James Fowler (NAS Kingsville contractor) and Logan Swan (Coast Guard).  Tom Fruend’s treasurer’s report was beyond reproach.

Vice Presidents Daniel and Jessica Fearn reported on last months’ contest, in which 11 total beers were entered by four brewers. In the Homebrewer of the Year contest for European Sour Ales, BJCP 23A-F, Rob Sullivan earned 2 points for his 1st place framboise and 1 point for his 2nd place pineapple guava sour. In the Best of Show competition (open to the HBOY beers and all other entries) points were awarded for all entries as follows – 1st, Rob Sullivan, 23F framboise (11 points), 2nd, Mark Quade, 10C weizenbock (10 points), 3rd,  Rob, 23F pineapple guava sour (9 points), 4th, Wild Bill Lehfeld, 11C strong bitter (8 points), 5th, Wild Bill, 13A dark mild (7 points), 6th, Wild Bill, 11B best bitter (6 points), 7th, Aggie Bill Hughen, 23D blackberry lambic (5 points), 8th, Wild Bill, 26B Belgian dubbel (4 points), 9th, Aggie Bill, 23D watermelon lambic (1 point), 10th, Aggie Bill, 23D blueberry lambic and 12th, Aggie Bill, 23D blue raspberry lambic (1 point). After 1 of 6 club competitions Rob has all 3 awarded HBOY points. Cumulative BOS points belong to Wild Bill (25), Rob (20), Mark Q (10) and Aggie Bill (8).

In new business, Paul Holder reported that B&J’s Pizza on Staples will propose a plaque to honor our annual Best of Show winners. Steve Cook read the excellent Lazy Beach club brew article he submitted to Zymurgy magazine.

Steve conducted the education event about the three uniquely American beer styles – cream ale, California Common and Kentucky Common.

After the meeting adjourned, we wolfed down garoo and hot brown sliders. Besides last months’ competition beers, we enjoyed new homebrews by Paul (tripel) and Jeremy Van Horn (cider). A bazillion good commercial beers included guest Sean’s Oskar Blues Dale’s Pale Ale, host Brad’s Petrus Aged Pale/Twisted X Chupahopra/Freetail Rye Wit/Pedernales Lobo Hefe/Four Corners El Chingon IPA, Eric Linssen’s Real Ale Devil’s Backbone/Lakewwod Hop Trap and Jeremy’s The Alchemist Focal Banger IPA.

The quote of the night belonged to Eric – “My gastrointestinal self changed after homebrewing!”

Upcoming B.A.S.H. events:

8 –Apr-18: B.A.S.H. meeting (Walt Crawford, competition: BOS open/HBOY CA and KY common, BJCP 19B/27B)

5-May-18: Big Brew (B&J’s Pizza on Staples at Timbergate, multiple brewing demonstrations)

20-May-18: B.A.S.H. meeting (John Daniels, NOTE: 3RD SUNDAY)

10-Jun-18: B.A.S.H. meeting (need host, competition: BOS open/HBOY Czech lager, BJCP 3A-D)

8-Jul-18: B.A.S.H. meeting (B&J’s Pizza on Staples at Timbergate, hosted by Paul Holder)

12-Aug-18: B.A.S.H. meeting (need host, competition: BOS open/HBOY >51% extract challenge)

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

February 2018 Minutes

Chris and Elizabeth Ackman hosted the Mardi Gras-themed February B.A.S.H. meeting on Sunday the 11th at their home in frigid Portland. Wild Bill Lehfeld passed out beads to female attendees. Uncharacteristically for such a known pervert, he asked for nothing but homebrew in return. Go figure! El Presidente Mike Wojdyla called the meeting to order and thanked our hosts.  Tom Fruend’s treasurer’s report was superlative.

In new business, VP for Policies Jessica Fearn announced a brewing education schedule: 2/18 Improving Extract Beers (Paul Holder), 3/18 Hops (Tom Freund), 4/18 Lambics (Aggie Bill Hughen), 5/18 Iodine Mash Conversion Test (Wild Bill Lehfeld), 6/18 ?, 7/18 Fermentation (Cory Mathews), 8/18 ?, 9/18 ?, 10/18 Yeast and History of Beer (Mark Quade). Paul gave us four tips to improve extract beers:

1. Use water with no minerals (such as Windmill or Glacier RO machine water) because extract already contains needed minerals.
2. Hops need to be boiled for at least one hour to get the flavor, but extract does not. Only add 1/3 to ½ of extract at the beginning of the boil, with the remainder added during the last ten minutes.
3. Dark, crystal and caramel malts added to extract beers for color and flavor do not need to be mashed because their starch has already been converted to sugar. They just need to be steeped in 100 – 150F water. Other grains (2-row/pilsner/Munich/etc.) must be mashed.
4. Extra light DME contains no crystal malt. Light, amber and dark DME contain increasing amounts of crystal malt.

We feasted on jambalaya and enjoyed new homebrews from host Chris (porter/brown ale), Paul (best bitter) and Mark (weizenbock).  Interesting commercial brews were provided by Aggie Bill (Lindeman’s Faro Lambic), Brad Klager (Dogfish Head Sea Quench Session Sour) and Cory ( Lazy Beach Kombucha/Crawfish Ale).

This month marked our inaugural dual competition format. Beers were collected for Best of Show (open category) and Homebrewer of the Year (European sour ale, BJCP 23A-F). VP for Competitions Daniel Fearn announced that the judging will take place at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, 2/22. Results will be revealed at the March meeting.

Upcoming B.A.S.H. events:

25-Feb-18: Club brew event at Lazy Beach, 10 a.m.

11-Mar-18: B.A.S.H. meeting (Brad Klager, “grain tea” brewing demonstration)

8 –Apr-18: B.A.S.H. meeting (Walt Crawford, competition: BOS open/HBOY CA and KY common, BJCP 19B/27B)

5-May-18: Big Brew (B&J’s Pizza on Staples at Timbergate, multiple brewing demonstrations)

20-May-18: B.A.S.H. meeting (John Daniels, NOTE: 3RD SUNDAY)

10-Jun-18: B.A.S.H. meeting (need host, competition: BOS open/HBOY Czech lager, BJCP 3A-D)

8-Jul-18: B.A.S.H. meeting (B&J’s Pizza on Staples at Timbergate, hosted by Paul Holder)

12-Aug-18: B.A.S.H. meeting (need host, competition: BOS open/HBOY >51% extract challenge)

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

January 2018 Minutes

Tom and Rocky Freund hosted the January B.A.S.H. meeting on Sunday the 14th at their home in Flour Bluff, co-hosted by Aggie Bill and Dianna Hughen. El Presidente Mike Wojdyla opened the meeting by thanking our hosts and co-hosts and welcoming new member Ryan Goodhew (USMC) and guest Tatiana (Brian Cook’s friend).  The treasurer’s report was glowing for a change.

In new business, Paul Holder reported that member Sarah Tilton is now the head brewer at Railroad Seafood Station. Psi Brewing is opening at Garrett’s Barbecue on Ayers and Port. A brewery license application has been submitted for South Water Street at the maintenance shop of the old Cadillac dealership.

Vice President for Competitions Daniel Fearn asked for a topic for the February meeting education event. There is an upcoming contest in Houston for BJCP category 11C British strong bitter ale with no entry fee. Cory Mathews proposed a once/year club brew at Lazy Beach. We settled on Sunday 2/25 at 10 a.m. Steve Cook announced the first competition on the Lone Star circuit is the Bluebonnet in Dallas-Fort Worth with 1525 entries. Drop off your beers at Liquid Town on Airline near Toys ‘R ‘Us by 1/27 after paying the entry fee online. The next competition is an AHA event with 12 or 13 sites nationwide. See Steve if you’re interested in entering beers in one of these competitions. Paul gave an education on “puffy” hop bags, which no one has seen until recently. His puffy bag of UK Challenger hop pellets definitely had an off-odor compared to a normal bag of the same hop. The beer made with another puffy bag of Challenger lost much of the off-flavor but Paul advised NOT buying a puffy bag.

We feasted on tamales, chili blanco and bratwurst which we washed down with some of the Iron Mash beers and new homebrews by Steve (Irish red), Paul (hefe), Aggie Bill (Blackshoe Hefeweizen) and Larry Sommers (Holiday Cheermeister brown barleywine/imperial red IPA). Interesting commercial brews included Brad Klager’s Lagunitas WTF/Real Ale Black Quad/North Coast Old Rasputin and Cory’s Lazy Beach Brunette Dark American Wheat/Feeling Hazy IPA.

Speaking of Iron Mash XIV, the judges awarded Repeat Offenders’ American pale ale an average score of 37. JEB’s English porter scored 33, Tilted Keg’s peanut butter porter scored 32 and Motley Brew’s red IPA scored 27. Winners Mark Woerner, Phil Mooney, Brad and El Presidente donned their bling medals and performed a victory dance.

The following exchange was overheard during the meeting:

Brad – “This one’s only 8.1% ABV”

Wild Bill Lehfeld – “So it’s a session beer, then!”

Upcoming B.A.S.H. events:

11-Feb-18: B.A.S.H. meeting (Chris Ackman?, competition: BOS open/HBOY European sour ale, BJCP23A-F)

11-Mar-18: B.A.S.H. meeting (Brad Klager, brewing demonstration)

8 –Apr-18: B.A.S.H. meeting (need host, competition: BOS open/HBOY CA and KY common, BJCP 19B/27B)

5-May-18: Big Brew (multiple brewing demonstrations)

20-May-18: B.A.S.H. meeting (John Daniels, NOTE: 3RD SUNDAY)

10-June-18: B.A.S.H. meeting (need host, competition: BOS open/HBOY Czech lager, BJCP 3A-D)

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