October 2016 Meeting Minutes

The October B.A.S.H. meeting was held on Sunday the 9th at Railroad Seafood Station, hosted by brewmeister Sean Sutherland. El Presidente Daniel Fearn called the meeting to order, thanking Sean and welcoming new member Gabriel Marroquin and guest Ronnie Middleton. Treasurer “Cretaceous” Carroll Pate was off on another embezzling trip, so stand-in “Neon” Paul Holder reported another ridiculous club balance.

In old business, Paul thanked Classic Brew participants. KEDT plans to have us back next year and we got a nice write-up in the Caller Times. Paul announced the style category for next months’ Iron Mash XIII – amber and brown American beer (2015 BJCP 19A-C). This category encompasses American amber ale, California common and American brown ale. Tom Freund has the team sign-up sheets. Each team can have up to four members and may submit one or two beers for judging. All team members must have paid dues for this year. This outdoor team brewing competition will be held on Saturday, November 5th in celebration of AHA’s Learn To Homebrew Day. Please don’t bring homebrew but you can enjoy B&J’s beers outside at the event.

In new business, there are still opportunities to help out at Sunday’s 1:00 p.m. Dixie Cup judging session in Houston. So far Daniel and Jessica Fearn and Steve and Erica Cook plan to attend. There are still two slots open for the BJCP test in March. Judging training sessions continue every other Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. at Lazy Beach Brewing. Vice President and Competition Director Mike Wojdyla proposed that we purchase two bound copies of the 2015 BJCP Style Guidelines. The motion was approved unanimously. Micah Cole announced that he is looking for a “brew buddy” in Calallen to split batches.

The competition this month was for Scottish ales, BJCP 14A-C and 17C. Wild Bill Lehfeld’s “Fat Bastard” wee heavy earned three points with the win, with a judges score of 163. The remaining three entries were Scottish exports, with Greg Sawyer earning two points for 2nd place with a score of 144. Vic Aguilar rounded out the scoring with one point for 3rd place with a score of 119. Bringing up the rear was Wild Bill’s foamy entry, scoring 90. After 5 of 6 club competitions, cumulative scores are as follows:

• Wild Bill – 8 points
• Mark Quade – 3.5 points
• Vic Aguilar – 3 points
• John Daniels – 3 points
• Jim Hildreth – 3 points
• Paul Kalaghan – 3 points
• Greg Sawyer – 2 points
• Andrew Herzig/Sabrina Krueger – 1.5 point

As the meeting concluded, we feasted on Railroad’s beer-battered fish and onion rings. Sean poured samples of the current Railroad beer lineup – Cerveza De La Flor, Desperado Pilsner, Red Caboose IPA, Riot Rye IPA, Texas Red v. 2.0, Vanilla Porter, Vienna Blonde, Wildlife Wheat and Witches Brew Imperial Pumpkin Stout. Besides the competition beers we enjoyed new homebrews by Paul Holder (East Coast IPA), Eric Linssen (chocolate stout/English bitter), Phil Mooney (dopplebock) and Chris Swanson (nut brown ale). Tom showed up with KCCO Resignation Golden Lager.

Mercifully, both Wild Bill and Paul Holder forgot to wear their clownish Oktoberfest outfits.

Upcoming B.A.S.H. events:

• 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 (Brad Klager, Russian Imperial Stout competition, 2008 BJCP 13F)
• 11-Dec-16: B.A.S.H. meeting (Carroll Pate, brewing demonstration)
• 8-Jan-17: B.A.S.H. meeting (Tom Freund, Iron Mash XIII judging)
• 12-Feb-17: B.A.S.H. meeting (need host, Dark European Lager competition, BJCP 8A-8B)

Thanks again Sean, keep on brewin’ and we’ll see you next month at the Iron Mash and at Brad Klager’s !

September 2016 Minutes

Mark Woerner hosted the September B.A.S.H. meeting on Sunday the 11th. El Presidente Daniel Fearn called the meeting to order, welcoming new members Terri Loe and Philip Mooney. Treasurer Carroll Pate reported a humongous club balance.

Paul Holder and Tom Freund will pick a style for November’s Iron Mash XIII and announce it at the October meeting. Tom will have team sign-up sheets. Let Paul know if you need yeast. We voted to limit entries to two per team.

Paul gave an update on the KEDT-TV Classic Brew, to be held on Thursday, September 22nd at the Museum of Science and History. Members have signed up to donate 10 keg s for the B.A.S.H. 5-tap portable bar. Donors receive free admission, a free t-shirt and souvenir glass. Paul passed around a sign-up sheet for volunteer tappers, who get half price admission with a t-shirt and glass. Keg donors and tappers need to undergo training on Wednesday, September 14th at 5:30 p.m. at the KEDT studios at Staples and Kostoryz. The night of the event, keg donors should bring their kegs at 5:30 p.m. Tappers should arrive by 6 – 6:30 p.m.

Dixie Cup regional homebrew competition entries should be turned in to Daniel by September 23rd.

Steve Cook gave a demonstration on equipment cleaning.

As the meeting concluded, we feasted on Mark’s sausage (venison, venison with cheese, Italian wild hog and elk), along with tamales and wild hog ribs. We enjoyed new homebrews by Micah Cole (Yuengling clone), Brent Falwell (marzen), Daniel (golden peanut butter pale ale/spiced ale), Paul (East Coast IPA), Aggie Bill Hughen (porter), Wild Bill Lehfeld (Ukrainian Umbilical Stout) and Sarah Tilton (oatmeal stout/ IPA). Interesting commercial beers were shared by Tom (Goliad Redfish IPA), Philip (Rodenbach Grand Cru), Lou Needleman (Goliad Golden Ale/New Belgium Session) and Jay Reining (Grand Teton 5 O’ Clock Shadow Double Black Lager/Hangar 24 Orange Wheat).

The Too Much Information Award went to Paul who announced “I’m having trouble mounting my umbrella”. Hmm …

Upcoming B.A.S.H. events:

• 22-Sep-16: Classic Brew 2016 (Museum of Science and History)
• 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 (Brad Klager, Russian Imperial Stout competition, 2008 BJCP 13F)
• 11-Dec-16: B.A.S.H. meeting (Carroll Pate, brewing competition)
• 8-Jan-17: B.A.S.H. meeting (Tom Freund, Iron Mash XIII judging)

Thanks again Mark, keep on brewin’ and we’ll see you at the Classic Brew and next month at Railroad Seafood Station !

August 2016 Minutes

The August B.A.S.H. meeting was held on Sunday the 14th at B&J’s Pizza on SPID. Kyle, Frank, Max and the rest of the B&J’s crew hosted us in a roped-off area in the back room.

El Presidente Daniel Fearn called the meeting to order, welcoming new members Mark Gonzales and Eric Linssen. Treasurer Carroll Pate reported a healthy club balance after continuing his effective dues collection for the new fiscal year.

Paul Holder gave an update on the KEDT-TV Classic Brew, to be held on Thursday, September 22nd at the Museum of Science and History. If you donate a keg for the B.A.S.H. 5-tap portable bar, you receive free admission, a free t-shirt and souvenir glass. Volunteer tappers get half price admission with a t-shirt and glass. Tappers can sign-up at the September meeting.

Daniel gave an update on the Dixie Cup regional homebrew competition. Entries must be in Houston by September 20th. Paul reported that the source for club hats and t-shirts is now Embroid Me at Carroll Lane and SPID. The first session of Steve Cook’s BJCP judging class was held last Wednesday at Lazy Beach. Those who missed the 1st class can still attend this Wednesday’s 2nd session at Lazy Beach from 7 – 9 p.m. The exam will be held here in March 2017 and in Houston in April.

In REALLY, REALLY OLD business, Carroll Pate is inviting everyone to his 75th birthday party at his home in Calallen on Sunday, August 21 from 2 – 5 p.m. He promises not to get too nostalgic about his era (the Cretaceous, we believe).

The competition this month was for Biere De Garde, BJCP category 24C. Vic Aguilar collected 2 points for his victorious “50-Deuce” amber, while Wild Bill Lehfeld’s brown picked up 1 point for second place. After four of six club competitions, cumulative standings are as follows:

• Wild Bill – 5 points
• Mark Quade – 3.5 points
• John Daniels – 3 points
• Jim Hildreth – 3 points
• Paul Kalaghan – 3 points
• Vic Aguilar – 2 points
• Andrew Herzig/Sabrina – 1.5 point

As the meeting concluded, we enjoyed B&J’s pizza courtesy of Wild Bill and El Presidente. Max and Frank supplemented our homebrew with 20 beers on tap and a gazillion cans and bottles in the B&J’s bottle cooler. Besides the scoring competition beers, we enjoyed new homebrews by Micah Cole (Belgian golden strong/Yuengling clone), Steve (Belgian single/dubbel), Walt Crawford (American IPA), Jim (American wheat/black IPA), Paul Holder (infected pale ale), Wild Bill (amber biere de garde) and Jeremy Van Horn (citra IPA).

Upcoming B.A.S.H. events:

• 21-Aug-16: “Cretaceous” Carroll Pate’s 75th birthday (The Pate residence in Calallen)
• 11-Sep-16: B.A.S.H. meeting (Mark Woerner, brewing demonstration)
• 22-Sep-16: Classic Brew 2016 (Museum of Science and History)
• 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)
• 11-Dec-16: B.A.S.H. meeting (Carroll Pate, if he makes it much past 75)

Thanks again El Presidente, Wild Bill and B&J’s, keep on brewin’ and we’ll see you next weekend at Old Man Pate’s and next month at Mark Woerner’s !

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 !

June 2016 Minutes

The June meeting of BASH was held at the home of Judy and Walt Crawford. We were lucky in that it didn’t rain and there were no mosquitoes. Walt and Judy prepared cheeseburgers in paradise and we all enjoyed a fabulous dinner. Judy led us in song to the words of Jimmy Buffet’s “Cheeseburger in Paradise” to work up our appetites. We met three new prospective members, Eric Linssen and Victor and Josie Aguilar. Treasurer for Life Carroll announced that they couldn’t join until July as that is renewal month for all and this would be their complementary meeting. All attendees were shocked to the core to actually hear Carroll turn down money. We will be working with Dr. Lou to get a diagnosis on this sudden change in Carroll’s behavior.

The Competition this month was Irish Red (Category 15A). Comp director Mike said there were 6 entries from Jim, Sarah, John D. and Wild Bill. John D. took top honors and 3 pts, Jim corralled 2nd and 3rd and also earned 3 points.

Outgoing President Sabrina called the meeting to order after the competition was tasted. Carroll reported that we are ending the year with 45 paid members. We discussed our new Facebook group page and those that had visited were lavish in their praise. It is a closed group so to get access, members have to request admission. Normally that is approved within a day as we have several approval authorities. New member, Steve, noted that he is a BJCP judge (only one in South Texas) and would put on a class for those interested in taking the test. Several folks signed up and he may have to make that 2 classes. More on that at the July meeting. Daniel announced that his AHA National entries didn’t place at the National level but placing in the Southwest Area comp is still pretty impressive. After the meeting, we found Daniel took first place with his Pineapple Pale Ale in Category 24 at the ACCF in San Antonio. Some may remember that this is the beer he brewed, extract based, at our April Meeting. We closed the meeting by electing officers for the next year. Daniel F. will be Presidente, Mike W. will continue as VP and Competition Chair, Wild Bill and Carroll will continue as secretary and treasurer also.

We were fortunate to have many new homebrews to sample. Paul H. brought a Best Bitter, Jeremy a Mosaic IPA, Carroll an English Brown (what a surprise), Mike a SMASH beer, Steve a Belgian Cider, guest Eric a Chocolate Stout, Sarah also a chocolate stout, and a mystery beer and guest Victor a Citra Pils. Of course, there were many commercial beers to fill in the blanks between homebrews.

The top comment was from outgoing Pres Sabrina who confessed her difficulty in buying Saran Wrap in Norway. We can only imagine why one would need Saran Wrap in Norway.

Upcoming B.A.S.H. events:

• 10-Jul-16: B.A.S.H. meeting (B&J’s Pizza on Staples at Timbergate, hosted by Paul Holder), Special Rules apply. You may bring homebrew but it must stay inside the cordoned area for the club. You may bring appetizers; various pizzas will be provided. NO COMMERCIAL BEER ALLOWED (you are welcome to purchase commercial beers from B&J’s and wander all over with them)
• 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)
• 13-Nov-16 Host needed.

Thanks again to Judy and Walt for a fabulous time. Hope you get rid of the tomatoes, Walt.

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’!