August 1998

[Greenblood]

Minutes of the July Meeting

Clean Up Crew: Derek and Chris. (Thanks guys!)

Treasurer's Report: $916.48 in Guild account.
Joe Yoder

Old Business:
BrewFest '98 went well (unanimous).

New Guild Home (the saga has ended?): Ecumenical Christian Ministries. 12th and Oread (across from Yellow Sub and The Crossing) is reserved for August. Motion passed to remain for the rest of the year, paying month by month. Motion passed to reimburse Doug for room deposit of $85.


New Business:
BrewFest glasses: $1.50 (96 left) and t-shirts: $5.00 (16 left). Blow out prices!

Motion passed to give two t-shirts and six glasses to Dwight's friend George for several years of tent usage.

Lending Library: New books from AHA will be available to check out in September (Guild Archivist will be in Ireland in August-Look for a report in the newsletter).

Community Mercantile: A committee was formed to help the Community Mercantile decide on stock for selling brewing supplies: Chuck Epp, Joe Yoder, Robert Johnson, and Dale Wheeler.


Commercial Tasting-Colorado Beers
Breckenridge Avalanche amber ale (1 votes)
"Light, crisp, clean."
"Full-Bodied? I think not."
"A glorified Bud."
"Very light for an ale, let alone an amber."

Boulder Singletrack copper ale (5 votes)
"Hoppier."
"Refreshing."
"Nice hop character."
"A fruity undercurrent."
"Spicy notes."

New Belgium Tripple (9 votes, Winner!)
"Phenolic."
"Fruity, estery."
"With a dry finish."
"Dee-licious."
"I could get in trouble in a hurry with this. Whew, high alcohol."
Banana-y, clovy notes."

Avery IPA (2 votes)
"Highly hopped, but very weak, thin-bodied for an IPA. Not balanced with malt."
"Yum, yum, yum."
"Smells like kiwi (?)."
"Good beer."

Robert Johnson-Secretary


LBG Home Report
As the delegated liaison between the ECM (Ecumenical Christian Ministries-did I spell it right?) and the LBG (henceforth known as The Guild), I feel the need to report on the latest communique. We have reserved space (main floor) through December of 1998. It would be best to notify the ECM ASAP if we want to extend the reservation. We have permission to retain possesion of the key (but we need to notify the ECM of the person that physically has possesion). $15 per meeting is acceptable and can be paid the night of the meeting by depositing a check in their drop slot (behind the fireplace).

ECM contacts: Connie Lunn-Administrative Assistant (with whom we should deal)
Thad Holcolmbe-Head Honcho, Minister? 843-4933

Doug Holub


Hops II: The Saga Continues
We all know that most sequels are not as exciting as the first version. This little story doesn't break that mold.

It is now early August, and as far as I can tell, the hops are doing fine and send their regards. The bunnies seem more interested in the other edibles in my garden of late and have left the hops alone. One thing I've done to help this situation is to trim off all low leaves and shoots around the base of the plants (6"-12") so they have nothing to nibble on. This is also good for strengthening the vine to encourage upward growth and to reduce the risk of molds and mildews. Fungus can develop in areas of the plant that do not get much air circulation. These undesirable cooties can wipe out a plant.

As a side note, I read recently that they are having a big problem with mildew in the Northwest, and it is threatening the hop harvest this year. If the worst happens, and the crops are lost, you can expect a price jump in hops this year. I would recommend stocking up now, just in case.

In my backyard, mildew has shown up from time to time. I just cut off the infected leaves, and everything has been fine. The aphids (AKA: Hungry Bugs) still keep me on my toes, but I have been able to keep them at bay with the pepperming soap spray (see July newsletter.

I'm happy to report that more than half the vines are over ten feet tall and growing 1"-3" every day. What's more exciting is that they are also developing the hop cones, too. The cones are so cute when they're little. I tell myself to savor these moments, because they grow up so fast.

Harvest is expected to be at the end of the month or early September. Stay tuned for Part III. I wish I could give you a sneak preview, but I'm not even sure what to expect.

Barry Fitzgerald


Summer Brewery Tours
While on a couple of short vacations this summer, my family and I have been checking out local breweries. The following is a short review of the breweries that we visited.

Springfield Brewing Company-Springfield, Missouri

If you want to see beautiful brewing equipment, this is the place! We were blinded by the row of stainless-steel fermenters that were visible behind the large glass windows in the dining area. The Springfield Brewing Company is owned and operated by the Paul Mueller Company of Springfield, Missouri. The Paul Mueller Company is a large manufacturer of state of the art brewing equipment. The Springfield Brewing Company is an operational showroom for their equipment.

According to their menu, "Unlike other small brewhouses, our system incorporates the same modern technologies found in much larger breweries. This design philosophy extends throughout the brewery and includes our four-roll German malt mill, wort cooling and aeration system, fermentation tanks, water purification system, and beer filter, making this brewery one of the most advanced in the world for its size."

Our waiter, Trey, noted that the Mueller regularly took groups from around the world into the brewery to show off their equipment. Trey was an avid homebrewer and answered questions about the brewing process and ingredients.

The beer were very good, especially the Marzen and Maibock. We also tried the Pale Ale (great Cascade hop flavor), the unfiltered wheat (ho hum), the Munich Lager and the Porter. The food was good but not outstanding.

Pizza and Grill Brewery (or something like that)-Boulder Colorado

There is a brewpup on nearly every corner in Boulder. We only had time to try one. The beers were good. We had a pale ale and an imperial stout that were very good. I also tried a taster of the Barleywine, which was excellent. The food was fair to good. Joan (my wife) had the vegetarian lasagna; Max (11-year old son) had pizza; and I had the ribs (pretty varied menu). I should learn not to have ribs when I am not in or around K.C. I am always disappointed.

Wolf's Tongue Brewery-Nederland, Colorado (west of Boulder on 119)

The town of Nederland has a population of about 1,000 and they have their own excellent brewpub. The 4-bbl setup in this brewery was the original basement brewery of the original brewmeister of New Belgium Brewery (Fat Tire). The beer tasted more homebrewed than most homebrew beers that I have tried. Murky and flavorful. We tried the Mt. Hoppy IPA and the Coffee Porter. Both were excellent, but the Mt. Hoppy was probably hoppier than most people would like.

Coors Brewery-Golden, Colorado

What an awesome tour! This place bottles, cans, and kegs a million gallons of beer each and every day! The tour is limited in that they just show you a couple of stages of the actual brewing and malting process and fill in the details with posters and displays. The tour guide, while friendly, was not real knowledgeable about the specifics and couldn't answer specific questions (even though she kept telling us to ask questions). The most impressive part of the tour (especially to my son) was the packaging. Cans and 12-packs of beer whizzed through machinery at a blinding pace.

The tour ended with a tasting of Coors products. The Blue Moon Belgian White (brewed in Kentucky) was not bad, but the other beers tasted like, well, Coors.

The different breweries that we toured this summer were all interesting for different reasons, but the bottom line for me is the taste of the beers produced. In this regard, I would rate the Springfield Brewing Company at or near the top of any list of breweries. The Wolf's Tongue Brewery and The Pizza and Grill Brewery both served fine beers. Coors had a very interesting tour.

Joe Yoder


Discount Days at Bacchus & Barleycorn
LBG members receive a 10% discount from Bacchus & Barleycorn, August 10-15. Please show membership card or bring newsletter. Bacchus & Barleycorn is located at 6633 Nieman Rd. in Shawnee (913-962-2501).