Last Wednesday the February meeting was held at Sam W’s house. The theme of the month was high gravity, proving that big beer makes for a big time. There was a good turnout that easily filled Sam’s living room to capacity. New faces abounded, as well as regulars.
A beer blogger, Michael Kuykendall, also attended his first meeting, recording an episode for his podcast/website: East Coast Beer Cast. Check for it on Friday. There are two new additions to the recipes page, the 2-year Anniversary Smoked Honey Stout from the club brew session this month and Brian B’s Black IPA that he brought to the meeting last week. Black IPA is a variation on IPA that has been popping up relatively recently around the country, sometimes called Cascadian Dark. Stone has a commercial example, as does Southern Tier. As always, if you sample a beer at a meeting and want the recipe, make sure to notify the brewer and Sam and they’ll get it on the Web site. Next month is the Cherry Blossom competition, so come ready to judge your favorite entry!
Mike T was kind enough to host about a dozen or so DC Homebrewers for a brew session at his house Sunday. A moderately-strong stout was produced all-grain. The all-grain part of it was new to some members. And on that note, here is Rob — normally an extract brewer — taking part in the mash. This is probably the most exciting homebrewing video ever made to date. Make sure to watch it all the way ’til the end!
Now aren’t you glad you watched the whole thing? The recipe of the stout will be posted to the Recipes section.
The February meeting will be this Wednesday, Feb. 24, at 7 p.m. at Sam’s house. Check your e-mail for directions. If you don’t get DCHB e-mails, then join the Google group here.
The theme of the month is high gravity, so bring your homebrew with OG of 1.070 or greater and we’ll shake off the cold and snow. As always, if you’ve kept your heating bills low by already drinking all of your brew, bring some commercial beer or snacks (homemade snacks a plus!).
There is also a club brew session this Sunday, Feb. 21, at Mike T’s house. For directions join the discussion group here. The beer will celebrate the two-year anniversary of DCHB. The brew of choice for the session is a moderately strong stout, using as many local ingredients as possible. Look for the beer to show up in a few months at the monthly meeting before it is stowed away for future anniversaries. The final recipe will be posted in the Recipes section here at DCHombrewers.com.
Mike Dolan was kind enough to host the first meeting of 2010, and there was a great turnout. It was fitting that Mike’s brother, Brian, was in town as well, because two years ago he and Mike started DC Homebrewers! By my count — and I’m using the word count loosely — there were at least 30 members attending, with lots of new faces.
The theme of the month was holiday beers, indicating a slightly higher gravity, spicy brew. But alas, maybe the theme was announced too late, for there not a holiday beer in sight — at least on the homebrew front. Some Delirium Noel and Clipper City Yule Tide was on hand on the commercial side.
A new tradition emerged as well. Two members had both expressed interest in hosting the February meeting. To decide who would host, there was to be a coin toss — but who gets to pick heads or tails? Bang, a new tradition is born. To determine who gets to pick, a drink-off was held. The host, Mike D, chose a Rouge Hazelnut Brown for the drink-off brew and decided the two members would fill their tasting glasses for the amount. The two would quaff the beer as quickly as possible and then place (or slam) their cups down on Martin and Mike’s outstretched palms.
So the rules have been established. If there is a “dispute” among club members, there will be drink-off/coin toss. The host gets to pick the beer and the amount of beer in the drink-off.
Please feel free to add any details of the night in the comments. Hope to see everyone at the February meeting, which is themed “High Gravity.” Happy brewing!
I hope you all had a nice Thanksgiving. The next meeting is this week, scheduled for Thursday, December 3, 2009 at 7:00PM. Details should be in your email. If you aren’t getting member emails, sign up with the box on the sidebar! This meeting will be hosted by Dave S. Thanks Dave!
Feel free to wear your favorite holiday sweaters and wassail with your fellow DC Homebrewers! Same rules as always, bring a few bottles of your homebrew to share. If you can’t, bring a snack or some craft beer.
If anyone pre-ordered ingredients for pick up at this next meeting, Dave and Martin will be sure that they will be available for pick up at Dave’s on December 3rd.
Welcome to DC Homebrewers. After a long time of having our website being inactive and somewhat useless, we’ve decided to revamp it. Stay with us while we fix this place up. In the meantime, we still have the email list which has always been the best way to find out what is going on with the club. So, if you haven’t signed up for the list, do so now so you don’t miss the next meeting!
DC Homebrewers
