Thursday, October 16, 2014

October 2014 Meeting Agenda

ATF!

It is almost time for our October meeting.

The details:
What: Monthly meeting, tech talk, updates and sampling of all fermented libations available.
Where: The home of Dennis Overby at 760 Sea Gate Dr, Newport.
When: Saturday, October 18th, 2014 from 1pm until Dennis kick us out.  This is our annual Oktoberfest party!
Sponsored by:  Dennis Overby.

Here are some of the items on the agenda:
  1. Swearing at of our newly elected officers.
  2. Tech talk – Terry Laurie.
  3. Learn to homebrew Day - November 1st
  4. Vote for brewer of the month.
  5. Crystal Coast Hop Fest.
  6. Brew Durham.
  7. Next month’s club competition.
If there is anything that anyone would like to put onto the agenda, please email me or bring it up at the meeting's new business call.

Notes: We strongly encourage you to bring homebrew, even if you don't think it's the best beer that you have ever made (if it is then I demand you bring it!).  If you are going to sample, bring a designated driver or make arrangements to get home.  If you don't have any homebrew, try to bring some commercial beers.  

We hope to see you there,

Bryan

Sunday, October 5, 2014

September 2014 Meeting Minutes

ATF Homebrew Club
September 2014 Meeting Minutes
By Bryan Conway


Here’s the meeting minutes from the September gathering held at 1pm on September 21st, 2014 at Rob and Dawn Jones’ home.


First of all, a thank you goes to Rob and Dawn for providing the location and for supplying the refreshments.


Introduction of Officers and Guests
We introduced the officers, held a roll call and the following members and guests were present at the meeting:
Bryan Conway - President
Rob Jones - interim Webmeister
Luke Dobbs - Vice President
Dave Girard
Dawn Jones - interim Treasurer
Pete Frey
Tim Dryden
Terry Laurie - Past President
Leo Logothetis
Mike Dawson
Dennis Overby
If anyone was accidentally excluded or a mistake to the list noted, please let me know and I will correct the minutes.


Brews Available for Sampling at the Meeting
  • Rob J. - Ressurrection Rye (homebrew),
  • Rob J. - Irish Red (homebrew),
  • Tim D. - Strawberry Wheat (homebrew),
  • Tim D. - Red IPA (homebrew),
  • Luke D. - Pumpkin Ale (homebrew),
  • Luke D. - Brooklyn Sorachi Ace (commercial),
  • Bryan C. - Pumpkin Ale (homebrew),
  • Terry L. - Old Ale (homebrew),
  • Terry L. - New Belgium Shift Lager (commercial),
  • Mike D. - Oatmeal Stout (homebrew),
  • Dennis O. - Harpoon Pumpkin UFO (commercial).


Monthly Club Competition
Submitted for this quarter’s club competition was Luke Dobbs’ Sorachi Saison and Bryan Conway’s Belgian Dubbel.  After much deliberation in the midst of brewing a batch of stein beer, Luke Dobbs was selected as the winner with 16 points versus Bryan’s 14.  For his prize, Luke selected a t-shirt from the club’s prize chest.


Program Speaker/Tech Talk
Rob gave us a very nice discussion and demonstration about stein brewing, brewing with heated rocks versus direct heat.  This is a very ancient method used by our ancestors.  Especially interesting was the demonstration of how stone age cultures are also responsible for the invention of the leafblower as this device added to the authenticity and speed of the brewing process.


Scheduled tech talks:
  • October – Terry Laurie
  • November – Tim Dryden
  • December - need a volunteer
  • January - need a volunteer


Treasurer's Report
Dawn reported that we have a total of $1,634 available to the club between the bank account and cash.  For a detailed treasurer’s report, please visit the “Member’s Only” section of the website.  If you need the password, email Rob or myself and we will give it to you.


Old Business/Recent Events
Stein bier brew day.  Rob had already collected the stones necessary and had a fire pit constructed.  Pete brought his mash tun, Jeremy supplied a metal grate for the project.  We were in the midst of completing the brew day while holding this meeting.


Election of Executive Board Members for the upcoming year.  After much deliberation, the following members were elected to take the reigns for the upcoming year:
President - Bryan Conway,
Vice President - Terry Laurie,
Treasurer - Dawn Jones,
Secretary - Tim Dryden,
Webmeister - Rob Jones.
Past President - This position is an advisory position and usually defaults to the most recent serving past president not holding an office in the current administration.  This was held by Terry Laurie who has been elected to Vice President but we must now refer to the president that served prior to his administration, this would now be Jeff Brungard.


Committee updates
The Crystal Coast Brew Off Committee  - Tabled, to be resurrected later.


The Monthly Club Competition Committee Chairman, Terry Laurie, oversaw the judging and process for this month’s competition.  Next competition will be in November where we will be judging category 12 - porter, and category 13 - stout.


Homebrew Festival Committee Chairman, Rob Jones, reported that we have a willing sponsor for the homebrew festival, “Habitat for Humanity”.  This charity was started by President Jimmy Carter, who is also responsible for approving the legislation that allows us to legally enjoy our great hobby, so it is a fitting combination.  The chairman has already given us a hearty “yes” as to sponsoring our festival and we need to nail down a date and begin hammering out the details.  We are tentatively looking at May 2015.


Judging Committee Chairman, Dennis Overby, reported that he was planning and putting together some judging classes to begin in November.  Members interested in learning more about the finer points of judging beer should make plans to attend.


New/Ongoing Business
The floor called for nominations for this month's "Brewer of the Month", and Rob Jones was selected.  Go to the website to see a quick bio on Rob's brewing career.


Bryan discussed Learn to Homebrew Day 2014 to be held at New Bern Homebrew Supply on November 1st.  Anyone wishing to attend should be there at about 8-9 am.  Tim D. agreed to put together some flyers to pass out between now and then to promote the event and to drum up interest in the club.  


The Crystal Coast Hop Fest, formerly known as Crafts on the Crystal Coast, has invited us again to participate.  This event will be at the Crystal Coast Convention Center in Morehead City on November 15th.  All proceeds go to support the Crystal Coast Hospice House.  The following members volunteered to attend and will supply the regular 5 gallons of homebrew to serve at the event:  Tim D., Bryan C., Terry L., Dennis O. and Mike D.  In years past, the selection of brewers at the event seemed to be more towards the upper end of the spectrum and brought in a better selection of beers to sample than many beer festivals usually provide, it should be a fun time for all.


BrewDurham is set to take place on November 8th.  A small group of representatives are planning on attending to represent the club:  Bryan C., Rob J., Dawn J. and Tim D.  Again this will require us to bring 5 gallons each.  I have attended BrewDurham  in the past and I absloutely enjoy it.  It is pretty much what we want to model our own homebrew festival on.


A Camping trip/Homebrew Party was proposed based on what the Maltose Falcons Club in San Francisco does three times a year.  The Falcons have three major homebrew parties each year and camp out as a group.  The members walk from camp site to camp site sharing homebrew and enjoying each other’s company.  Looking into the possibility of Goose Creek on Hwy 24 unless anyone has a better idea.  Dave Girard agreed to take on the challenge of collecting a selection of candidate sites to visit and their amenities, we should hear more about this soon.


Next Meeting will be at Dennis Overby's house on Saturday, October 18th, at 1:00 pm and will be sponsored by none other that Dennis himself.  Dennis and Leslie will be supplying the meats and potato salad.  Members attending should bring a dish and some beer.


Meeting sponsors:
  • Oktoberfest 2014 sponsor - Dennis Overby
  • November 2014 sponsor – need a volunteer
  • December 2014 sponsor – need a volunteer
  • January 2015 sponsor - Tim?

Motion passed to adjourn the meeting and drink some beer!

Friday, September 5, 2014

September 2014 Meeting Agenda

ATF!

It is almost time for our September meeting.

The details:
What: Monthly meeting, tech talk, updates and sampling of all fermented libations available.
Where: Rob & Dawn Jones' home at 2008 Ridge Road in New Bern (actually Bridgeton).
When: Sunday September 21st, 2014 from 1pm until about 3 or 4 or whenever.  Pre-meeting happy hour will begin at about 12:00 while we get set up.
Sponsored by:  Rob Jones

Here are some of the items on the agenda:
  1. Stein Bier Brewing.
  2. Tech talk – Rob Jones.
  3. Club Competition judging.
  4. Learn to homebrew Day - November 1st
  5. Vote for brewer of the month.
  6. Crystal Coast Hop Fest.
  7. Election of officers.
  8. Brew Durham.
  9. Flyers for the Mumfest.
  10. Oktoberfest.

If there is anything that anyone would like to put onto the agenda, please email me or bring it up at the meeting's new business call.

Notes: We strongly encourage you to bring homebrew, even if you don't think it's the best beer that you have ever made (if it is then I demand you bring it!).  If you are going to sample, bring a designated driver or make arrangements to get home.  If you don't have any homebrew, try to bring some commercial beers. 

We hope to see you there,

Bryan

August 2014 Meeting Minutes

ATF Homebrew Club
August 2014 Meeting Minutes
By Bryan Conway

Here’s the meeting minutes from the August gathering held at 1pm on August 24, 2014 at New Bern Homebrew Supply.

First of all, a thank you goes to New Bern Homebrew Supply's Luke and Megan Henslick for providing the location and Mike Dawson for supplying the refreshments.

Introduction of Officers and Guests
We introduced the officers, held a roll call and the following members and guests were present at the meeting:
Ben Chapman
Bryan Conway
Dawn Jones
Dennis Overby
Dick Weiss
Fred Ferrell
Jeff Brungard
Jeremy Davis
Luke Dobbs
Luke Henslick
Megan Henslick
Mike Dawson
Pete Frey
Rob Jones
Ryan Stroup
Tim Dillenger
Tim Dryden
Tim Martin

If anyone was accidentally excluded or a mistake to the list noted, please let me know and I will correct the minutes.

Brews Available for Sampling at the Meeting
·         Luke D. - Imperial Pumpkin (commercial),
·         Rob J.- Ressurrection Rye (homebrew),
·         Dennis O. - Black IPA (homebrew),
·         Bryan C.- Uinta Crooked Imperial Oaked Pumpkin (commercial),
·         Fred F. - Aviator Oktoberfest (commercial),
·         Fred F. - Aviator Pumpkin (commercial),
·         Tim D. - KCCO Schwartzbier (commercial),
·         Ryan S. - Boulevard Single Wide IPA (commercial),
·         Pete F. - Southern Tier 2xIPA (commercial),
·         Megan H. - Irish Stout (homebrew),
·         Megan H. - (homebrew),
·         Luke H. - Saison (homebrew),
·         Luke H. - White IPA (homebrew),
·         Tim D. - Pepper Ale (homebrew),
·         Tim D. - Rye PA (homebrew),
·         Jeremy D. - Irish Stout (homebrew),
·         Tim M. - Shiner Rye (commercial),
·         Tim M. - Dale's Pale Ale (commercial),
·         Ryan S. - Black IPA (homebrew),
·         Jeff B. - Beer Army Coconut Porter (commercial)

Program Speaker/Tech Talk
Mike gave us a very nice discussion about oxygenation. 
Scheduled tech talks:
  • September – Rob Jones
  • October – need a volunteer
  • November – need a volunteer
  • December - need a volunteer

Treasurer's Report
Ben Chapman reported that we have $154 cash and $1162.92 in the account before adding this year's CCBO entry fees of $673.   Ben announced that he was happy to have served as treasurer but that he needed to pass on the position to someone else.  A survey of the members present revealed that Dawn Jones was willing to serve as interim treasurer for the remainder of the term.

Old Business/Recent Events
Talked about This year's CCBO and how everyone felt it went. 

Committee updates
The Crystal Coast Brew Off Committee Chairman, Ben Chapman, reported that funds from the raffle came in at about $607and entry fees brought in $673.  This year's event was better than last year's and we hope to continue growing it.

The Monthly Club Competition Committee Chairman, Terry Laurie, was unavailable for a comment. Members wishing to submit entries for next month's comp, go to the event webpage and see what we will be judging.

Homebrew Festival Committee Chairman, Rob Jones, reported no new information.

Judging Committee Chairman, Dennis Overby, reported that he was planning and putting together some judging classes to begin in November.  Members interested in learning more about the finer points of judging beer should make plans to attend.

New/Ongoing Business
The floor called for nominations for this month's "Brewer of the Month", and Fred Ferrell was selected.  Go to the website to see a quick bio on Fred's brewing career.

Bryan discussed the progress of the incorporation project.  As was discussed at the last few meetings, a vote on the bylaws was called for and unanimously approved.  Please go to the website to read the new updated by-laws.

Rob discussed the September meeting and the stein bier brew day.  Rob has already collected the stones necessary and has a fire pit constructed.  Pete agreed to lend us his mash tun, Jeremy suggested he may have a metal grate for the project.  We will meet at about 9:00 am on September 21st.  Bring rock/oyster baskets, tongs, your fermenter, immersion chillers, and get ready to have fun.

Rob brought up the idea of renting a booth at this year's Mumfest to increase membership.  After a discussion of the idea, it was agreed that flyers passed out at the festival directing interested attendees to come to the annual "Learn to Homebrew Day" on November 1st, would be the best possible use of funds.  Tim D. volunteered to look into it.

A Camping trip/Homebrew Party was proposed based on what the Maltose Falcons Club in San Francisco does three times a year.  The Falcons have three major homebrew parties each year and camp out as a group.  The members walk from camp site to camp site sharing homebrew and enjoying each other’s company.  Looking into the possibility of Goose Creek on Hwy 24 unless anyone has a better idea.

Luke and Megan announced that they now own the shop and wanted to extend a discount to all members of the club to the tune of 10%, Nice! 

Next Meeting will be at Rob and Dawn Jones' house on Sunday, September 21st at 1:00 pm and will be sponsored by Rob Jones.  Members attending the stein bier event, be there at about 10 am.

Meeting sponsors:
·         September 2014 sponsor - Rob Jones
·         Oktoberfest 2014 sponsor - Dennis Overby
·         November 2014 sponsor – need a volunteer
·         December 2014 sponsor – need a volunteer
·         January 2015 sponsor - Tim?


Motion passed to adjourn the meeting and drink some beer!  15:26

Thursday, August 14, 2014

August 2014 Meeting Agenda

ATF!

It is almost time for our August meeting.

The details:
What: Monthly meeting, tech talk, updates and sampling of all fermented libations available.
Where: New Bern Homebrew Supply.
When: Sunday August 24th, 2014 from 1pm until about 3 or 4 or whenever Travis and company kicks us out.  Pre-meeting happy hour will begin at about 12:00am while we get set up.
Sponsored by:  Mike Dawson

Here are the items on the agenda:
  1. Tech talk – Mike Dawson (don't let us skip you).
  2. CCBO 2014 debriefing.
  3. Learn to homebrew Day - November 1st
  4. Vote for brewer of the month.
  5. Voting on the proposed changes to the by-laws.
  6. Next club competition in September, at Rob’s house.
  7. Homebrewers festival - "Homebrew for the Homeless"?
  8. Homebrew party/camp out – ATTENTION CAMPERS!  We need leads on some beer friendly campgrounds where we can try this out.
  9. Upcoming elections and the election committee, come up with your nominations for next term’s board.
If there is anything that anyone would like to put onto the agenda, please email me or bring it up at the meeting's new business call.

Notes: We strongly encourage you to bring homebrew, even if you don't think it's the best beer that you have ever made (if it is then I demand you bring it!).  If you are going to sample, bring a designated driver or make arrangements to get home.  If you don't have any homebrew, try to bring some commercial beers. 

We hope to see you there,

Bryan

Friday, August 1, 2014

July 2014 Meeting Minutes

ATF Homebrew Club
July 2014 Meeting Minutes
By Bryan Conway

Here’s the meeting minutes from the June gathering held at 1pm on July 20, 2014 at New Bern Homebrew Supply.

First of all, a thank you goes to Travis Watson for providing the location and Phil Smith for supplying the refreshments.  Although Travis was not able to be there, Luke and Megan opened the shop to us.

Introduction of Officers and Guests
We introduced the officers, held a roll call and the following members and guests were present at some point during the meeting:
Jeremy Davis
Phil Smith
Tim Martin
Terry Laurie
Gregg Bergquist
Rob Jones
Megan Henslick
Luke Henslick
Tim Dryden (new member)
Mike Dawson
Luke Dobbs
Bryan Conway
Pete Frye
Ben Chapman

Guests: none.

If anyone was accidentally excluded or a mistake to the list noted, please let me know and I will correct the minutes.

Brews Available for Sampling at the Meeting
·         Jeremy - Shock Top Apple Wheat (commercial),
·         Phil - Apple cider (homebrew), Stout (homebrew),
·         Tim - Shiner Black Lager (commercial),
·         Rob - Ressurrection Rye (homebrew),
·         Terry - Shiner Pale Ale (commercial), Pale Ale (homebrew), Dale's Pale Ale (commercial),
·         Gregg - Duclaw Choco Peanut Porter (commercial), New Belgian Summer Helles (commercial),
·         Bryan - Belgian Dubbel (homebrew),
·         Luke D. - Sorachi Saison (homebrew),
·         Mike - Black IPA (homebrew), Brown Ale (homebrew),
·         Pete - Belgian Trippel (homebrew),
·         Ben - Black IPA (homebrew), Amber (homebrew),

Program Speaker/Tech Talk
Terry gave us a discussion about oxygenation and Luke D. discussed his current favorite hop variety, Sorachi Ace.  Very enlightening on both accounts. Scheduled tech talks:
  • August – Mike Dawson
  • September – Rob Jones
  • October – need a volunteer
  • November – need a volunteer

Treasurer's Report
Ben Chapman reported that we have somewhere north of the $1,000 mark before adding this year's CCBO entry fees. Exactly how much remains to be seen.

Old Business/Recent Events
Talked about Brew Bern and the impact the new tap towers had on the crowd. 

Committee updates
The Crystal Coast Brew Off Committee Chairman, Ben Chapman reported that we have 121 beers registered for the competition and a 150 entry cut off.  Set up will begin Friday night at 06:00 with a pre-judging to get some of the more oddball entries out of the way.  Everybody attending should be at the brewery at about 08:30 Saturday.  Raffle tickets will be 1$ = 1 ticket, 5$ = 6 tickets and 10$ = 15 tickets.  Larger items will be silent auctioned.

The Monthly Club Competition Committee Chairman, Terry Laurie, discussed the next comp to be held in September, covering Category 16 - Belgian and French, and Category 18 - Belgian Strong.

Homebrew Festival Committee Chairman Rob Jones talked some more about possible naming the festival for a charity for the homeless, "Homebrew for the Homeless".

New/Ongoing Business
The floor called for nominations for this month's "Brewer of the Month", and Tim Martin was selected.  Go to the website to see a quick bio on Tim's brewing career.

Bryan discussed the progress of the incorporation project.  A revised version of the clubs by-laws was posted on The Yahoo Groups page, the club website and Facebook.  The new by-laws will be voted on at the August meeting.

Pete Frey was unable to get into contact with Mark Vandersea regarding recovery of the old minutes book.  We'll try getting in touch with him another way.

Rob Jones discussed the September meeting and the proposition of conducting a stein bier brew day.  Rob has already collected the stones necessary and has a fire pit constructed.  Pete was asked about using his mash tun, Jeremy suggested he may have a metal grate for the project and Ben volunteered that he had wood.  Motion passed for the club to buy a sack of grain and it was agreed to meet at Rob's house for the September meeting.

A Camping trip/Homebrew Party was proposed based on what the Maltose Falcons Club in San Francisco does three times a year.  The Falcons have three major homebrew parties each year and camp out as a group.  The members walk from camp site to camp site sharing homebrew and enjoying each other’s company.  Looking into the possibility of Goose Creek on Hwy 24 unless anyone has a better idea.  Tentative date is likely to be in October.

Next Meeting will be at New Bern Home Brew Supply on Sunday, August 24 at 1:00 pm and will be sponsored by Mike Dawson.  With most of the members arriving for the meeting at 1:00 or close to it, it was agreed last month to try starting the meeting at 1pm instead of 12 noon.  I got a lot of good responses from it and based on the increased number of attendees, the Sunday format seems to be catching on.

Meeting sponsors:
·         August 2014 sponsor - Mike Dawson
·         September 2014 sponsor - Rob Jones
·         Oktoberfest 2014 sponsor - Dennis Overby
·         November 2014 sponsor – need a volunteer
·         December 2014 sponsor – need a volunteer
·         January 2015 sponsor - Tim?


Motion passed to adjourn the meeting and drink some beer!  18:33