12.12.11
Official Business – New Positions, Voting on Bylaws
Secretary – Matt Moon; Treasurer – Larry Johnson
Topics Covered:
- Nano-breweries: Castle Danger, Stillwater?
- Craft vs. Industrial Sales
- Group Malt purchase- Crystal 20, 40, etc
- Cider Tasting
- Trying to avoid driving stolen vehicles
Barrel Project: We will be filling a 53 gallon bourbon barrel sometime around March 1st, thanks to a donation from Mike Hoops at Town Hall Brewery. Potential recipes? Imperial Stout, Rye Porter, Baltic Porter (Smoked?), regular stout…
We are also looking for a used oak wine barrel as well to do some sort of sour beer. To get some ideas here is a great blog by a DC homebrewer who has quite a few posts on sour and barrel aged beers.
http://www.themadfermentationist.com/2010/03/sour-solera-beer-barrel.html
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November 14, 2011
We met at Zorbaz at 6 PM in Grand Rapids, due to the $2 pints. More than a dozen members attended, with a few new members signing up and paying dues on the spot. Membership cards will be handed out at the next meeting. We’re going to print annual membership cards, because some brewing supply stores want to see an expiration date on them so they know the cards are current/valid.
There was discussion on keeping the web site up to date, and making sure we know about all pertinent events and get those on the calendar. We need people to email with new events that they find which are not on the calendar. Use the “Contact Us” tab on the home page.
The Deer River BBQ and Brewfest, sponsored by the Deer River Chamber of Commerce was very highly rated by those who attended. Homebrewers and BBQers submitted entries in competition, and the public could sample all of it. The competition was AHA sanctioned, with certified judges on hand. (That’s American Homebrewers Association, something you should consider joining at the AHA Home Page.) Homebrewers were asked to bring a 12 pack of their competing beers, so the public could try small samples of each.
Since it was so fun, we’re planning on a much larger presence in 2012, with more beer and more brewers. It’s a pretty good time, and there’s all that behind the scenes brew tasting as well.
The Boreal Brewers will be part of the worldwide Big Brew again, the first Saturday in May 2012. We have a great site (same as last year) and are going to try some large scale brewing. If we can find a wine barrel, we’re considering making 50+ gallons of Belgian sour beer, and aging it in the barrel for a year or so.
Jim Rack resigned his position of secretary/treasurer, so we need to hold a vote at the December meeting.
Next meeting December 12 in the KAXE Boardroom, 6 PM as always. Apple cider tasting will be the theme, and consider bringing some potluck food. The great part about brewers is that they always seem to be good cooks as well as good brewers.
-Steve
