October Minutes 2015

The October B.A.S.H. meeting was held on Sunday the 11th in half of Andrew Herzig and Sabrina Krueger‘s backyard, while three chickens held a hen party in the other half. Other than some occasional foul language, the chickens were pretty quiet. El Presidente Sabrina called the meeting to order, welcoming Micah Cole’s wife Alicia and new members Jim and Tracy Hildreth. Carroll Pate gave his usual Treasurer’s report and announced that he will be serving carnitas at the December meeting. Cory Mathews reported that 15 entries were received at the 1st annual Surftoberfest homebrew competition. Member Sean Sutherland won with his Belgian dubbel. Paul Holder told us about a movie he watched recently about the influence of beer on history.

Tom Freund and Paul reported on the new format to be tried at next months’ Iron Mash XII. The teams will brew an American porter or English porter, based on the BJCP 2015 style guidelines. The pallet of ingredients will be presented to the teams at high noon. They won’t have to use all the ingredients, but can’t add anything else (other than water and yeast). As always, the results will be judged at the January meeting. Three teams signed up.

The competition this month was for sour ales, 2008 BJCP categories 17A-F. Aggie Bill Hughen collected two points for his winning blackberry sour and one point for his second place blueberry sour. Paul’s raspberry sour came in third. Year-to-date results after 5 of 6 competitions are as follows:

• Paul - 6 points 
• Andrew/Sabrina – 6 points 
• Daniel Fearn – 4 points 
• Aggie Bill – 3 points 
• Mark Quade – 2 points 

We washed down Frito pie and fruit pies with new homebrews by Daniel (peanut butter porter), Andrew/Sabrina (pale ale), Mark Quade (California IPA/British IPA) and Clinton Schena (“Nice Trois” wild saison) A vast array of commercial beers included Craig Gann’s Sierra Nevada Summerfest, Cory’s Lazy Beach Pumpkin, Lou Needleman’s Laughing Dog Rocket Dog Rye IPA and CSB ESB/Four Corners Local Buzz Honey Rye Golden Ale, Block Party Robust Porter and El Chingón IPA and Clinton’s Jester King Mad Meg Farmhouse Provision Ale.

All humans and chickens had a good time, eggxactly as expected!

Upcoming B.A.S.H. events:

• 7-Nov-15: Iron Mash XII (B&J’s Pizza on Staples at Timbergate, multiple brewing demonstrations) 
• 8-Nov-15: B.A.S.H. meeting (Mark Woerner, Belgian strong ale competition, BJCP 18A – E) 
• 13-Dec-15: B.A.S.H. meeting (Carroll Pate, demonstration brew) 
• 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, BJCP 24 – 26) 
• 13-Mar-16: B.A.S.H. meeting (need host, brewing demonstration) 
• 10-Apr-16: B.A.S.H. meeting (need host, lager competition) 

Thanks again Andrew and Sabrina, keep on brewin’ and we’ll see you next month at Iron Mash and at Mark Woerner’s!

September 2015 Minutes

We didn’t have Kaisen and his entourage of bikini girls, but we still had a great time at the September B.A.S.H. meeting, held at Nick Nicoll’s pool. El Presidente Sabrina Krueger declared “We’ve actually got a f*@kin’ agenda!” and called the meeting to order. We welcomed new member Micah Cole of Flint Hills and received Carroll Pate’s standard glowing treasurer’s report. Sabrina reminded everyone that Surftoberfest will be Saturday, October 3rd at Executive Surf Club. The homebrew competition has been approved – get your entries (at least two 12-ounce bottles) to Cory Mathews at Lazy Beach Brewing. Texas Beer Camp will also be held on October 3rd in Plano. Cost is $40 per person. A new homebrew shop has opened in Katy. Club members allegedly receive a 5% discount at the online shop TexasHomebrewers.com by entering the code “Olivia”. The 2015 meeting schedule is now complete (see below).

We wolfed down Nick’s ribs, cooled off in the pool and enjoyed new homebrews by Bob Davis/Carroll (Tom’s Hairy Porter) and Wild Bill Lehfeld (“Dragon Beer Z” dragonfruit IPA and “Slick Willie” dragonfruit wheat). A decent variety of commercial beers included Micah’s Magic Hat #9/Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA, Andrew Herzig/Sabrina’s Saint Arnold Icon Brown Porter/Breckenridge Ophelia Hoppy Wheat, Paul Kalaghan’s Firestone Walker Pivo Pils and Nick’s Sierra Nevada Torpedo.

Upcoming B.A.S.H. events:

• 11-Oct-15: B.A.S.H. meeting (Andrew Herzig/Sabrina Krueger, sour ale competition, BJCP 17A - F) 
• 7-Nov-15: Iron Mash XII (B&J’s Pizza on Staples at Timbergate, multiple brewing demonstrations) 
• 8-Nov-15: B.A.S.H. meeting (Mark Woerner, Belgian strong ale competition, BJCP 18A – E) 
• 13-Dec-15: B.A.S.H. meeting (Carroll Pate, demonstration brew) 
• 10-Jan-16: B.A.S.H. meeting (Tom Freund, Iron Mash XII judging) 
• 14-Feb-16: B.A.S.H. meeting (need host, mead competition, BJCP 24 – 26) 

Thanks again Nick, keep on brewin’ and we’ll see you next month at Andrew and Sabrina’s!

August 2015 Minutes!

Daniel and Jessica Fearn hosted the August B.A.S.H. meeting on Sunday the 9th at their home in Corpus Christi. El Presidente Sabrina Krueger called the meeting to order, welcoming new member Sean Sutherland and guests Sarah Tilton (Texas State Aquarium), Jeff Whirty (Lazy Beach Brewing), Bear (Liquid Town Superstore on Alameda) and Will Capak. Carroll Pate gave his usual Treasurer’s report. There’s been some shuffling of the September/October meetings (see schedule below). The important thing is BRING YOUR BIKINIS AND SPEEDOS TO NEXT MONTHS’ POOL PARTY!!!

Several contributors provided an update to the local brewing scene. Rebel Toad Brewing (downtown CC) is waiting on a federal license. O’Neil and Sons Brewery in Port Lavaca is now open. Hops and Grain Brewing in Austin is a great place, as is 8th Wonder brewing near Minutemaid Park in downtown Houston. Lazy Beach Brewing will feature our own Clinton Schena’s Saison and Brent Falwell’s Ginger Hibiscus Ale the next two Saturdays. The Executive Surf Club is hosting Surftoberfest this fall. They hope to include a homebrew competition, TABC willing.

The competition this month was for session beers (ABV less than 4%). Bringing up the rear with a judges score of 125 was Wild Bill Lehfeld’s Belgian witbier. Daniel’s California common came in 3rd with 138 points, Paul Holder’s English mild was runner up with 157 points and Andrew Herzig/Sabrina Krueger’s pale ale won with 167 points. After four of six competitions the year-to-date standings are as follows:

• Paul - 6 points 
• Andrew/Sabrina – 6 points 
• Daniel Fearn – 4 points 
• Mark Quade – 2 points 

We feasted on beef and chicken fajitas with Spanish rice. In addition to the competition beers, new homebrews included Andrew/Sabrina’s Columbus pale ale (from the Big Brew), Paul’s American IPA, Cory Mathews/Drew Burkhardt’s Imperial IPA (Big Brew) and Sean’s red IPA and two pale ales. Commercial beers included Tom “Flat Tire” Freund’s Real Ale Hans Pils/Alamo Amber/Alamo Golden/Alamo Pilsner/Wasatch Devastator Double Bock, Craig Gann’s Samuel Adams Downtime Pilsner/Deschutes Black Butte Porter, Lou Needleman’s Woodstock Red Rack Ale/400 Footer, Steve Smith’s Sierra Nevada Pale Ale and Sarah’s Odell Fernet Aged Porter/Lagunitas Sucks.

Mark Woerner was heard to utter a novel recruiting pitch – “Are you ready to start homebrewing? You need another hobby besides drinking!” Amen …

Upcoming B.A.S.H. events:

• 13-Sep-15: B.A.S.H. meeting (Nick Nichols, POOL PARTY) 
• 11-Oct-15: B.A.S.H. meeting (Mark Woerner, sour ale competition, BJCP 17A - F) 
• 7-Nov-15: Iron Mash XII (B&J’s Pizza on Staples at Timbergate, multiple brewing demonstrations) 
• 8-Nov-15: B.A.S.H. meeting (need host, Belgian strong ale competition, BJCP 18A – E) 
• 13-Dec-15: B.A.S.H. meeting (Carroll Pate, demonstration brew) 

Thanks again Daniel and Jessica, keep on brewin’ and we’ll see you next month at Nick Nichols’ POOL PARTY!

July Meeting Minutes 2015

Paul Holder hosted the July B.A.S.H. meeting on Sunday the 12th at B&J’s Pizza on Staples at Timbergate. Incoming President Sabrina Krueger called the meeting to order, welcoming new members Mike De Groff and Dave Gurney. The primary order of business was collecting dues for the 2015-2016 fiscal year. Treasurer Carroll Pate didn’t meekly set up shop in the corner and allow members to queue up to pay dues. No, no – not Loan Shark Pate! He circled around the room like a vulture, pouncing on unsuspecting drinkers mid-swill, employing a fearsome glare, sharp tongue and strong arm to extract the twenty bucks. Extorted members lay cowering in his wake! You can’t argue with the results – his vicious tactics swelled the club treasury. If you haven’t yet paid, take heed – Carroll will seek and he will destroy! Special note to Travis Clapp: you can’t hide out forever with Smoky Bear!

In other news, next month will see the session beer competition. To enter a beer, you MUST provide both original and final gravity to prove your ABV is less than 4%. Paul reported on his recent experience brewing his Cubano recipe at Lazy Beach Brewing. The 10-gallon batch will be available for sampling at $3.50/pint at Lazy Beach on Saturday, July 18. Paul enjoyed the experience and encourages other members to take advantage of this opportunity. Remember – Lazy Beach provides the ingredients.

We scarfed down several delicious B&J’s pizzas provided by Paul, along with Carroll’s egg salad sliders and other appetizers, side dishes and desserts. New homebrews included a cherry cocoa porter by A-Train Almendarez/Max Klassen/Patrick Viles, Dave Gurney’s rye ale, Belgian wit, Belgian strong dark and stout, Paul Holder’s Bavarian hefeweizen, Paul Kalaghan’s “Pico D Hefe’” and Wild Bill Lehfeld’s “Free Willie!” rye IPA. For the second meeting in a row Paul showed up sporting his recently embroidered Fluorescent Lime Green B.A.S.H. shirt, searing retinas all the way to Saratoga Boulevard. What do you bet some fool shows up in a peacock green version at the next meeting?

Upcoming B.A.S.H. events:

• 9-Aug-15: B.A.S.H. meeting (Daniel Fearn, <4% ABV aka Session Beer competition) 
• 13-Sep-15: B.A.S.H. meeting (Mark Woerner, demonstration brew) 
• 11-Oct-15: B.A.S.H. meeting (Andrew Herzig/Sabrina Krueger, sour ale competition, BJCP 17A - F) 
• 7-Nov-15: Iron Mash XII (B&J’s Pizza on Staples at Timbergate, multiple brewing demonstrations) 
• 8-Nov-15: B.A.S.H. meeting (need host, Belgian strong ale competition, BJCP 18A – E) 
• 13-Dec-15: B.A.S.H. meeting (Carroll Pate, demonstration brew) 

Thanks again Paul and the staff of B&J’s, pay dues if you haven’t already, keep on brewin’ and we’ll see you next month at the Fearns!

June 2015 Minutes

Daniel Nutting and Patricia Polastri hosted the June B.A.S.H. meeting on Sunday the 14th at their home on Ocean Drive. Outgoing club President Cory Mathews called the meeting to order. The club treasury is still in good shape. Dues of $20 for the new fiscal year are expected at next months’ meeting. In a contentious election, newlywed Sabrina Krueger emerged as El Presidente for the 2015-2016 season. Mike Wojdyla will be Vice President and competition director. Carroll Pate will continue as Treasurer-For-Eons-And-Decades and Wild Bill Lehfeld was chosen as Secretary-For-The-Foreseeable-Future-And-Then-Some. Cory reported that the first two Saturday tasting room sessions at his Lazy Beach Brewing Company were smashing successes.

Sabrina issued the club competition schedule through 2018. For 2016, we will continue with the 2008 BJCP guidelines. Beginning in 2017 we will switch to the new guidelines. The updated schedule will be posted on the website. Speaking of competitions, this months’ English ESB/Pale Ale contest was won by Sabrina/Andrew Herzig, with Paul Holder’s ESB finishing 2nd. Sabrina/Andrew picked up two points in the annual standings, with Paul adding one point to his tally. Year-to-date results after 3 of 6 competitions are as follows:

• Paul - 4 points 
• Andrew/Sabrina – 3 points 
• Daniel Fearn – 3 points 
• Mark Quade – 2 points 

We had very few new homebrews to enjoy with Daniel and Patricia’s German feast. Carroll brought the Kölsch he made during May’s Big Brew and Claudio Montiel provided a raspberry “session barleywine”. As for commercial brews, Andrew and Sabrina brought Ninkasi Tricerahops Double IPA and High Hops Brewery The Power Of Zeus back from their Colorado honeymoon. Cory provided Lazy Beach Ginger Beer and Belgian Blonde Ale. Lou Needleman shared Kelly’s Amber Ale and Session IPA from Albuquerque. Tom Freund craked open some Real Ale Hans’ Pils.

Not a single ridiculous statement was overheard during the meeting, but Paul blinded several members with his recently embroidered Fluorescent Lime Green B.A.S.H. shirt. I guess they were out of Atomic Pink.

Upcoming B.A.S.H. events:

• 12-July-15: B.A.S.H. meeting (B&J’s Pizza on Staples at Timbergate, hosted by Paul Holder) 
• 9-Aug-15: B.A.S.H. meeting (Daniel Fearn, <4% ABV aka Session Beer competition) 
• 13-Sep-15: B.A.S.H. meeting (Mark Woerner, demonstration brew) 
• 11-Oct-15: B.A.S.H. meeting (Andrew Herzig/Sabrina Krueger, sour ale competition, BJCP 17A - F) 

Thanks again Daniel and Patricia, congratulations Andrew and Sabrina, keep on brewin’ and we’ll see you next month at B&J’s on Staples!

May 2015 Minutes

John and Nikki Daniels hosted the May B.A.S.H. meeting on Sunday the 17th at their home in Rockport. Early arrivals spread out on the new composite deck and watched Paul Holder drink a glass of ice water! Club Vice President Sabrina Krueger called the meeting to order. The club treasury is dwindling somewhat leading up to July’s massive dues infusion. Club elections will take place next month. All B.A.S.H. members are invited to the upcoming Lazy Beach Brewing Company grand opening. D-Day for this event is Saturday, June 6th.

Beers for next months’ English ESB/Pale Ale competition are best consumed at 50⁰F, not ice cold. Please give your competition beers to Sabrina upon arrival. For August’s session beer competition you MUST declare an original gravity upon entry of each beer.

After destroying a nice spread of appetizers, we shifted the attack to Nikki’s taco salad. New homebrews were a little sparse this month – Paul’s hefeweizen, Wild Bill Lehfeld’s “Dimwit” Belgian White and Carroll Pate’s “Tom Freund” porter. We did achieve considerable inventory reduction on previously sampled homebrews. Several interesting commercial beers were shared, including Tom’s Alamo Amber Lager, Goliad Golden Ale and Real Ale Hans Pils, Andrew Herzig/Sabrina’s Highland Brewing Company Gaelic Ale and Odell Tree Shaker Peach IPA, Lou Needleman’s Tennant’s Whiskey Oak Aged, Rio Grande Desert Pilsner, Sierra Blanca De La Vega’s Pecan Beer, Ballast Point Victory At Sea and Marble India Pale Ale, and Phil Sims’ Choc Winter Stout and Oskar Blues Dale’s Pale Ale.

NSA surveillance captured the following baffling exchanges :

• Carroll -- “Nobody’s got one as big as mine” 
• Paul – “You’ve got about one inch behind you” Wild Bill – “That’s what she said” 
• Sabrina – “I’ll bring a thermometer” Lou – “Oral or rectal? It’s a question of flavor” 

The meeting ended as it began – with a Paul Holder shocker. For the first time in 33 years, Paul was ONE OF THE FIRST TO LEAVE. The end is nigh!

Upcoming B.A.S.H. events:

• 14-Jun-15: B.A.S.H. meeting (Daniel Nutting, English ESB/Pale ale competition, BJCP 8C) 
• 12-July-15: B.A.S.H. meeting (B&J’s Pizza on Staples at Timbergate, hosted by Paul Holder) 
• 9-Aug-15: B.A.S.H. meeting (Daniel Fearn, <4% ABV aka Session Beer competition) 
• 13-Sep-15: B.A.S.H. meeting (Mark Woerner, demonstration brew) 
• 11-Oct-15: B.A.S.H. meeting (Andrew Herzig/Sabrina Krueger, sour ale competition, BJCP 17A - F) 

Thanks again John and Nikki, see a doctor, Paul, keep on brewin’ and we’ll see you next month at Daniel Nutting’s!

Big Brew 2015

B&J’s Pizza on Staples at Timbergate hosted the 2015 Corpus Christi edition of the American Homebrewers Association’s Big Brew. Three 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 and the B.A.S.H. canopy provided ample shade.

Club President Cory Mathews, assisted by Drew Burkhardt and Claudio Montiel, brewed a 5-gallon batch of “Old-School” American barleywine. This big beer had no fewer than ELEVEN ounces of hops – featuring Cascade, Tomahawk and Centennial. Vice President Sabrina Krueger and Andrew Herzig used the brew-in-a-bag technique to make a Columbus pale ale. Treasurer Carroll Pate brewed an extract version of “Killer Kölsch”.

We joined in the AHA’s global synchronized toast to homebrewing pioneer Charlie Papazian at noon Central Daylight Time, followed by toasts to latecomers Phil Sims and Travis Clapp.

All three beers were eventually completed and will be consumed by club members beginning in July. The barleywine turned out a little watery, but this years’ Chris “Boom-Boom” Edwards award goes to Carroll. After nearly overflowing his brew pot on three occasions, witnesses confirm the fourth boilover ended with a telltale wort stain on the pavement. Oops!

As we enjoyed draft and bottled beers from B&J’s ample inventory, our tongues loosened up. The following quotes were overheard:

• Sabrina (in a panic) -- “My purse and my beer! My purse and my beer!” 
• Wild Bill Lehfeld – “F*@k your purse! Save your beer!” 
• Tom Freund – “Sabrina – she’s like a bag lady” 
• Paul Kalaghan – “It was the top leg that lifted out” 
• Paul Kalaghan – “You can only hold so much between your legs” 
• Phil – “When I started A&M you had to be a high school graduate, free of venereal disease” 
• Wild Bill – “So how’d you get in?” Phil – “A lot of penicillin” 
• Phil – “I spent some on women, I spent some on whiskey, I spent some on gamblin’ and then I wasted some” 
• Claudio – “Think hoppy thoughts” 
• Doreen Kalaghan – “I don’t think that paddle’s big enough” 
• Wild Bill – “Hey Carroll, I’ve got pen in hand – don’t say anything stupid” 
• Carroll – “I don’t have to put all of it in” 
• Carroll – “After about 30 seconds it seemed perfectly natural” 
• Carroll – “The mouth recovers remarkably fast” 
• Chris Swanson – “Hey Carroll, it’s rising again” 
• Paul Kalaghan – “I know it was devious – she saw it from the get-go” 
• Claudio – “It must be French or something” 

Upcoming B.A.S.H. events:

• 17-May-15: B.A.S.H. meeting (3rd Sunday, John Daniels) 
• 14-Jun-15: B.A.S.H. meeting (Daniel Nutting, English ESB/Pale ale competition, BJCP 8C) 
• 12-July-15: B.A.S.H. meeting (B&J’s Pizza on Staples at Timbergate, hosted by Paul Holder) 
• 9-Aug-15: B.A.S.H. meeting (Daniel Fearn, <4% ABV aka Session Beer competition) 
• 13-Sep-15: B.A.S.H. meeting (Mark Woerner, demonstration brew) 
• 11-Oct-15: B.A.S.H. meeting (Andrew Herzig/Sabrina Krueger, sour ale competition, BJCP 17A - F) 

See you at The Daniels’!