BARF Meeting Minutes 12/11/08

Hello fellow Beer and Ale Research Foundation members. Skip hosted this month, and his lovely wife provided much delicious food. Despite the rain, we got the opportunity to check out Skip's brewhaus, truly a facility to be proud of, with deck, tv, Bottle tree, Kegerator, and garage door.

Discussion Topics

• We had another great meeting, kicking off the next year's theme of focusing on the craft of Homebrew.  JP Messier (our esteemed VP) started us off with a Style talk on a popular but oft confused British beer, the Porter. He also put together a great Tech talk on the subject of spicing out beers, great for the holiday season. We hope to continue Tech and Style discussions throughout the year of 2009, and already have several lined up through March. Remember, if you have a favorite style, or you want to share your techniques (and perhaps the reasoning behind them) let us know and we will set you up to be our next Tech/Style Speaker!
• Club Dues for 2009 are due. They ring in at the usual $20 for the year and get you into some excellent company :). We will also have Membership Cards this year. We will get them made up for you and have your Membership Cards waiting at Homebrew USA on your next trip in, ready to get you your 10% club discount. 
• The Pub Crawl 2008 has been officially rescheduled for Saturday January 24th, 2009. Everyone is welcome, members and non-members alike. $25 gets you a ride up and back to the Hill in Richmond, filled to the top with great pubs, taverns and bars, along with the Official 2008 Pub Crawl T-shirt. The T-shirt can also be purchased seperately for $10 after the trip.
  • The Bus will be loading in the parking lot of Homebrew USA at 2pm. Don't be late!
• The official website is up and will be continually be getting content throughout the year. Check out http://www.barfclub.org for a calendar of events, meetings, competitions, and other dates of interest for the Beer Lover.
• Announcing the BARF Club Bi-Monthly Style Competitions! Starting in February, you will have the chance to enter your homebrew in a club competition run by Patti Messier.
  • Every other month, we will hold style competitions of our homebrew, judged by Beer Judging Certification Program (BJCP) Guidelines.
  • Please, only 1 entry per member per competition month.
  • 2x12oz bottles minimum are required for judging. Entries are to be turned in to Homebrew USA by 6pm the first Thursday of each competition month.
  • The Style Schedule is as follows:
    (please check http://www.barfclub.org for BJCP guidelines and exact categories for each month):
    • February: Porters! <8 weeks left, get started soon!
    • April: India Pale Ale (IPA)s. A polarizing beer, some love it some hate it. Either way, try to brew it, you'll probably learn something new.
    • June: Fruit Beer. Always popular, this category begs for your latest expirements. Go wild!
    • August: Wheat Beer. American and German, and Dunkels too.
    • October: Oktoberfest/Marzen styles. Start your lager styles early!
    • December: Belgian Strongs. They only get better with age, have your's started before June ;)
  • A point system will be used for participation and placing. See the website for additional details soon!
• The Bourbon Barrel Brew has gone well. We have 50 gallons and counting. 
  • This batch is an Imperial IPA, and will be a strong beer, meant to withstand long journeys at sea. Kits can be purchased from Homebrew USA.
  • Please send an e-mail to Officers@barflcub.org if you'd still like to participate, we could use some 2-3 more batches to top off our 55 gallon barrel, and keep it topped up as we may have evaporation.

 

Thanks Everyone, hope to see you next time!

 

-Elijah Roberts

BARF Club Secretary