July 2016 Minutes

The July B.A.S.H. meeting was held on Sunday the 10th at B&J’s Pizza on Staples at Timbergate. Kyle, Hailey, Margie and the rest of the B&J’s crew had us comfortably ensconced in a large area in the back room.

Incoming El Presidente Daniel Fearn called the meeting to order, welcoming new members Vic Aguilar, Josie Aguilar and Greg Sawyer. Treasurer Carroll Pate kicked off the new fiscal year with some new dues collection tactics which can be described as the carrot and the stick. Paid members received a new nametag recognizing them as members in good standing -- the carrot. Deadbeats and holdouts were threatened with brass knuckles, cattle prods and sarcasm -- the stick. Whatever his reprehensible methods, you can’t argue with the results – a burgeoning treasury.

Paul Holder gave an update on the KEDT-TV Classic Brew. B&J’s is again the licensee and KEDT would like B.A.S.H. to return with our 5-tap portable bar. Thursday, September 22nd is the date, with the location to be determined. As this is the 25th anniversary of B.A.S.H., the theme for our booth will be Diamond Beers for the Sparkling City. In others words, brew your favorite beer. We’re looking for about eight donated 5-gallon kegs of homebrew. About four members will be needed to serve our beer. As usual, the event is also looking for volunteer tappers. For half price admission, you get a t-shirt and souvenir glass.

Steve Cook is looking to teach a BJCP judging class. A sign-up sheet was passed around with a healthy response. The classes will begin at Lazy Beach Brewing on the 1st and 3rd Wednesday in August, from about 7 – 9 p.m. About 8 – 10 total classes will complete the course. Upon completion you will take an online exam first, then take an exam in Houston in March or April. The club voted to purchase about $100 worth of supplies needed for the course.

Paul gave a technical presentation on the effect of temperature on beer flavor. We have taste cells that detect sweet, sour, bitter, salty and umami (savory). Temperature affects sweet, bitter and umami – the perception of these is directly proportional to temperature. Flavor is affected by aroma – we can detect about 10,000 different aromas. A low temperature hides flavors (good and bad). A high temperature accentuates flavors (good and bad). The optimum temperature for lagers, wheat beers and lambics is 44 – 52 F, for ales 44 – 60 F and for Imperial stouts 70 F.

Paul also mentioned he’s got plenty of Edinburgh ale yeast at Liquid Town for the upcoming Scottish ale competition in October.

As the meeting concluded, we enjoyed B&J’s pizza courtesy of Paul. Margie served up 25 beers on tap and a vast array of beers awaited in the B&J’s bottle cooler. The two Big Brew beers were on tap -- Aggie Bill Hughen’s ginger beer and Sarah Tilton’s altbier. We also enjoyed new homebrews by Vic Aguilar (cider), Steve (citra double IPA), Daniel (jackfruit pale ale), Lee Lehman (porter/barrel-aged porter), Randy Sandifer (red ale), Greg (IPA), Sarah (Russian Imperial Stout) and Jeremy Van Horn (cherry Saison).

Tom Freund allegedly uttered “Number Two is a brown ale!” OK …

Upcoming B.A.S.H. events:

• 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)
• 22-Sep-16: Classic Brew 2016 (location to be determined)
• 9-Oct-16: B.A.S.H. meeting (Railroad Seafood Station hosted by Sean Sutherland, Scottish Ale competition, 2015 BJCP 14A-C, 17C)
• 5-Nov-16: Iron Mash XIII (B&J’s Pizza on Staples at Timbergate, team brewing competition)
• 13-Nov-16: B.A.S.H. meeting (need host, Russian Imperial Stout competition, 2008 BJCP 13F)

Thanks again Paul and B&J’s, keep on brewin’ and we’ll see you next month at Daniel Nutting’s !