May 2008

[Bill]

I?d like to apologize for posting these so late.

Seminar
There was no seminar this month. Chuck discussed the upcoming Maifest and its connection with the National Big Brew Day which is on the 1st Saturday of May. Big Brew used to be held over at Joe and Joan?s back yard.
Food. Burgers brats, things like that. If you are bringing guests please be sure to accommodate their needs. There was a call for sides and Chuck discussed the forum thread discussing the sides and beer donations for Maifest.
The forecast for Maifest is cloudy with pm showers.

Tasting
There was no tasting this month.

Announcements
Seth Wiese, a LBG member was beaten while trying to help someone down on Massachusetts street.
He works at the Replay and Jensen's liquor store. While working at the Reply the night KU won the championships game he pulled up front of the Reply, a car stopped asking for directions, a guy got out of the car, walked up behind Seth and punched him from behind and Seth ended up hitting his head on the cement planter. He was taken to KU Med and a scan found a dark spot which was a blood clot in his brain. Seth has no insurance.

It was announced that the Guild would match all donations up to $500 total. June 1st
Thee was a call for a vote on LBG matching the member contributions made to Seth before June 1 - up to $500). If you have already made a donation, get your receipt to Xan so she can keep the running total current.

Jeff Jensen announced that for Splitlip Rayfield, there was a "beer raffle" and asked if there was support for doing this for Seth as well. Jeff will start a forum thread.

Old Business

Maifest
When: Saturday, May 10th. 10am - Till you close your eyes.
Where: Bloomington West Campground
Driving Directions from Lawrence.
Large Area Map -> http://tinyurl.com/eted7
Detail Map -> http://lawrencebrewers.org/gfx/bf2k4map2.jpg yes, I know it says Brewfest

Joe and Ian have bagged 16 bags 50# bags of ice, complements of SJ Zimmerman with Scott Temperature Equipment Co.
72 glasses for Maifest were purchased for Maifest. John Monoghan brought a sample and the art was displayed. There were ooooohs and ahhhhhhs. Great are again Barry.


Maifest is the second weekend in May. We do have the campground starting Friday night until Sunday afternoon. We are going to need to get some coordination of tasks on this. Remember, this is a club-only gathering, our private party before Brewfest. We discussed whether non-members would be able to attend, and the final decision was to keep this a club only event. If you feel strongly against this, please be sure to attend the next meeting so it can be discussed further.

We will also be participating in the Big Brew National Home Brew Day on Saturday the 10th. Big Brew day is always the first Saturday of May so it is technically the week before, but its the thought that counts, right?

Everyone needs to bring a side dish. A sign-up sheet will be started on the forums.
Maifest Side Dish Sign Up

Here?s a little background on Maifest:
Every year "Maifest" is celebrated throughout Germany, to welcome the arrival of spring.
Traditionally, a few days before the first of May, a group of young men go into the local forest to select a tree to bring back to the village. All the branches are removed and only the top (crown) is left. The crown symbolizes fertility and is an important part of the tree.
The tree is then placed upright near the town square, where it is decorated by the local women. Wreaths, garlands, local crests and carvings will adorn the "Maibaum" to show off the history and craftsmanship of the village. On May 1st, people celebrate "Maifest", while singing and dancing around the "Maibaum".

2007 Brewer of the Year
The forum votes are in and there were some air of Florida-style voting, but VP Shane Lynn was the unanimous winner. Congratulations Shane!

Treasury Report
$4081.11
Memberships: there are currently 64 paid members.
$16 for single and $24 for family (two adults and yer kids).
Contact Xan (treasurer@lawrencebrewers.org) to pay and/or pick up your laminated membership cards (courtesy of Zach Staats. Thanks Zach!) Check out his site at www.peaceloveart.com.


New Business

Club Brew
New VP Shane brought up that he wants to push a club brew this year. Sounds like we need to start on the details and get things rolling.


Tall Grass
The trip to Tall Grass brewery in Manhattan has been confirmed for June 28th (last Saturday in June). Sean Belden has been in contact with Jeff Gill via email and a date has been set.

Odds & Ends
Jeff Jensen suggested splitting up the snacks by month so the same people are not bringing the great snacks that we have at our meetings. I know I?m guilty of rarely bringing food. This should be thrown into the Forums to get a larger community input.

New Faces I always slaughter names in this section so forgive me.
Teresa Hill, here because she likes to drink and party.
Rick Finely, here to learn how to brew better beer. Also here for the cheap grain buys.

Clean up
Joe Yoder
Sean Belden
Ian Wood