February 2000

Monthly Meeting Minutes will be posted here.

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Greenblood
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Joined: Tue Feb 14, 2006 2:22 pm
Location: Lawrence

February 2000

#1 Post by Greenblood » Fri Jul 21, 2006 10:30 am

Minutes of the January Meeting

Long Live the Yeasties: Doug and Andrew gave a wonderful talk on culturing yeast. If you missed out and would like a handout, contact Doug or Andrew.

Cleanup Crew: Chuck, Barry, Dwight

Attendees: Doug, Andrew, Robb, Dwight, Pete, Rich, Joe, Chris, Stephen, Joe, Barry, Dale, Xan, Rob, Sherry, Chuck, Ellen, Paula, John

Treasurer's Report: $518.07

Update: Our balance as of 1-25-00 is $762.07. We still owe $15 for the January meeting to the ECM.

Here is a list of members who have paid their 2000 dues:

Joseph McAfee (i); Joseph Yoder (f); Dale Wheeler (i); Dwight Burnham (i); Charles Epp (i); Peter Clouston (i); Jeff & Ellen Jensen (f); Doug & Sherry Holub (f); Bill Seibenaler (i); Stephen Fretwell (i); David Montgomery (i); Jeremy Miller (i); John Falley & Paula Wenger (f); Rob Dewhirst (i); Xanthippe Stevens (i)

(i) individual membership; (f) family membership

Old Business

Dues: It's that time again. $16 per person/$22 per family. Joe is going to do membership cards. If you haven't paid your dues, please do so. I will give you a couple of grace newsletters, but then that's all she wrote.

Library Books: The books that were out came in. See Joe to check out books.

BrewFest: Doug checked into the blues band Born Lovers. The ad that said they would play free for good barbecue was a joke. They would charge $250 mininum. Consensus was to forget about them. We already have BlueStem.

New Business
Beer Contest: The 14th Bluebonnet Brew-Off, Fort Worth, TX. The deadline for entries is March 3.

New Officers:

President: Sherry Holub
Vice President: Chuck Epp
Treasurer: Doug Holub
Secretary: Xanthippe Stevens
Biermeister: Pete Clouston

Joe will continue as Librarian, and Ellen will continue to do the newsletter.

Beer Contributors:
Barry: Barry's Pale Ale
Rob: Belgian Triple, Apricot
Dwight: Winter ale, Spaten Optimator
Joe: stout, bitter
Pete: stout, 3 bottles of Pyramid Snowcap

Meeting Adjourned.


Commercial Tasting: Porters
O'Dells Cutthroat Porter (13 votes, best to style)
Two people guessed Sierra Nevada

"Roasty nose, thin on body, no hops, but tastes good."-Barry
"Roasty flavor."-Ellen
"Robust porter then? Seems like quite a bit of black patent."-Chuck

Spanish Peaks (0 votes)
A couple of people guessed Sam Smith's and Sam Adams

"Brown porter?"
"Very Caramelly, Sam Smith's? Actually, it's too good to be Sam Smith's"-Barry

Boulevard Porter (0 votes)
Pete's, Flying Monkey were guessed

"Bandaids-I'm stuck on this like it's stuck on me"-Rob
"It's bad"-Joe
"Fire & Brimstone"-Andrew
"This isn't something the Sports Page made, is it?"-Xan
"Dr. Pepper?"-Dwight

Redhook Blackhook Porter (3 votes)
A couple of people guessed Bully Porter

"Where the hell is Derek Osborn?"-Rob
"Front end weak; back end roasty"-Barry

Ellen Jensen
Secretary


Suburban Microbrewery SUBpar

While in the Chicago 'burbs over the Christmas holiday, Doug and I had the chance to go to lunch at a brewery that we had visited before, but previously with more success.

Millrose Brewing Company is housed in several relocated barns (how charmingly suburban) that used to comprise part of Barrington, Illinois. Now the barns are part of Kountry Krap Korner at 45 S. Barrington Road, home of the brewery, a lot of hams, and cute country stuff to put in your suburban home of 8,000 square feet with not a tree in site.

You may think that I am bitter toward the suburban dream and the soccer mom sensation. I proudly answer YES! However, the bitterness with which I write is hundredfold more than any bitterness found in the watered-down, snivelly libations that Millrose dared to call "beer." The barns were more suited to housing the cattle that silently chewed their tasteless cuds than the throngs that flocked to them on a holiday break afternoon to partake in the so-called good life with equally as tasteless (yet overpriced) fare.

Our friend Larry (aka Eeyore the donkey) was coerced into joining us, since we had been there before for a special event and wanted to check it out at a more leisurely pace.

Several years ago, we went to a rehearsal dinner at Millrose for a wedding that Doug was part of, but we only had had one beer before the Dom Perignon was broken out, and I followed the server's advice and "went for the good stuff."

The decor in this place almost makes it worth the bad beer, though, just to see it. Chandeliers made of reindeer horns; bizarre chairs that look like they were made for secret rituals; heavy dark wood and leather - it all looks as though they would bring you a plate of meats and a tankard of dark ale and let you go to town without flatware.

Unfortunately, they would rather bring you a chicken breast stuffed with asiago cheese, asparagus and sundried tomatoes, sliced and fanned over a bed of bi-color fettucini with a wild-mushroom cream sauce for $17.95. It conjures up images of some orgy for me with all that STUFFING and FANNING and WILD on a BED! At least they didn't violate my most sacred pet-peeve of menus - when flavors are "married" to each other.

Bear with me a little more on the food, then I'll move on to the beer. Larry ordered the Tuna Nicoise Salad, which he said was fine, but then later admitted that he really didn't care for that kind of salad anyway. He was driving up to Milwaukee for a hockey game and didn't want to feel too full after lunch. Doug had the Meatloaf Special for $8.95. It came with some decent mashed potatoes and green beans and as he said, "It fits the bill." Free State's meatloaf is better in my opinion. I opted for the Chinese Salmon that was to be grilled rare and served with some Asian veggies with a big dollop of wasabi on the side. I have a horrible hankering at least once a week for sushi, and I am addicted to good wasabi. What a disappointment! This was the most watered-down wussy wasabi that I have ever experienced. I don't even remember my salmon - just that the wasabi was from the suburbs too.

At last, on to the beer! I had a sampler of four beers from a choice of six. Doug sampled with me, but Larry refused to drink anything lighter than the "porter" he had ordered, which we tried third.

We started with Rudolph's Red Ale, which had a hint of hops and very thin body. It really did not even taste like beer and had no nose whatsoever. It was extremely flat and Doug said, "I'd rather drink MGD." Me too. We moved on to the Panther Ale, which was slightly maltier than the Red but still had no body to speak of and was terribly flat. Two thumbs down. The porter was next, and we actually got Larry to make a comment! "Not terribly robust."

That was a lot to ask of Larry. It had no head, no carbonation, no taste that lingered; it was thin, yet it had a slight banana finish. Blech! Last, we had the Dark. This one actually had some aroma, and it was nice to boot. I thought it had a chemically taste to it, which Doug said was wet cardboard. The banana finish was present again, as was our disappointment. None of the beers were offensive, but the whole experience just left me feeling hollowed out (alcohol is a depressant ya know.)

Food: B-; Beer: C-; Atmosphere: B. If you find yourself in that neck of the woods, you might think about going to Millrose Brewing Company. I'd rather hear that you went down to the city and went to Goose Island or The Berghoff, the burbs are just too bland for my taste.

Sherry Holub

Doug wanted it to be known that I was not drinking prior to or during the writing of this review.


Baby Baroni
Tim & Jamie have an addition to their family. Maxwell Julian Baroni was born January 5 at 9ish in the evening by c-section. He weighed in at 20.5 inches and 9 pounds, 6 ounces. He's a beast! Mother, son, father, and big sister are all doing well.


Drinking Beer in Amsterdam

I was fortunate enough to spend the millennial New Year in Amsterdam with some long-time friends, all of whom are avid beer drinkers, including one who is also a homebrewer.

We did what any self-respecting beer enthusiasts would do-we went to as many different bars and tried as many different beers as possible. If you are looking for a large selection of beers in one place, the Golem is the place. It boasts 110 beers on tap and at least double that in bottles. At the opposite extreme are the "Brown Cafes." They tend to have one lager on tap, a witte, and Duvel, which is basically a high alcohol amber. What makes the Brown Cafes interesting are the privately owned casks of beer. If you can talk yourself into a glass of beer from one of these casks, don't be suprised to find yourself drinking a trippel with about 12% alcohol.

Although we were astounded by the selection at the Golem and felt very cozy in the Brown Cafes, we were disconcerted by both the bartending "skills" and drinking habits of the Amsterdammers. The locals prefer very uninspired lagers - translated, that means Heiniken, Amstel, or Oranjeboom. One would think that drinking Heiniken would be bad enough; however, they prefer to drink out of 200-300 mL glasses (12 oz. = 355 mL) - which means you have to pay a lot to catch a buzz on Heiniken.

The bartenders pouring these small beers have also done their part to further reduce the flavor of the beer (not just the lagers) and increase the number of beers you purchase. They accomplish this by taking a clean, dry glass and submerging it in the bar wash basin. Then they rinse the glass in the rinse water basin, turning the glass right side up to ensure that at least 15 mLs of rinse water is trapped in the bottom of your glass. They then proceed to pour the beer with at least a two inch head, and then proudly serve you this small desicrated nectar of the gods.

Bartending habits and local tastes notwithstanding, there are some very fine beers to be had. All of the Belgian beers are available at select establishments, and the beer is FRESH! The flavors are much more pronounced, and the smooth effervescent liquid feels alive on your tongue.

The Columbus microbrewery in Amsterdam is in a converted windmill, which gives it a great deal more character than the Heiniken brewery. All of the Columbus brews were tasty. The "End of the Year Beer" was by far the best of the bunch. They really out-did themselves brewing for the big party. When you start drinking the Belgian and microbrews, you begin to appreciate the small glasses (but not the rinsing habits) - Columbus' lowest-octane beer is 7%, and they work their way up to 10%.

There is also a brewpub in Amsterdam named Maximillian's. It is located on the edge of the red light district. If the women in the windows and the live sex shows have parched your throat, I strongly recommend Maximillian's. The decor is rather sparse; however, the bar is not very smoky, and their dubbel is excellent (8%).

Overall, the Amsterdam beer-drinking experience was very pleasant. I would recommend sticking to the brewpubs and "English" pubs to reduce the watering-down effect, but the casks in the Brown Cafes are an undeniable draw - just stay away from the lagers.

Andrew Suddith


Cooking With Beer
Onion and Stout Soup

This recipe came from the Kansas City Star back in March (I think). There was a whole series of recipes with stout. Next time, I would use provolone slices for the cheese. In high school, I cooked at a restaurant that made a good onion soup, and that's what we topped it with.

2 tbs. unsalted butter
3 large yellow onions, peeled and sliced
2 red onions, peeled and sliced
4 shallots, minced
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 bay leaves
1 tsp. dried basil
1 tsp. dried thyme
1 tbs. firmly packed brown sugar
3 cups homemade beef stock or canned low salt beef broth
1 cup Murphy's or other dry Irish stout
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
Garlic croutons
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded Swiss cheese

In a large saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add onions, shallots, garlic, and bay leaves and cook until the onions are translucent, 12 to 15 minutes. Add basil, thyme, brown sugar, stock or broth, stout, salt, and pepper and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to a simmer and cook until onions are tender, about 30 minutes. Add salt and pepper.

Preheat the broiler. Sprinkle 6 to 8 croutons in oven proof crocks, ladle the soup over, and sprinkle with cheese. Put crocks on a small baking sheet or pan and place under the broiler until the cheese melts and browns, 1 to 2 minutes.

Pete Clouston

Discount Days at Bacchus & Barleycorn
LBG members receive a 10% discount from Bacchus & Barleycorn, february 7-12. Please show membership card or bring newsletter. Bacchus & Barleycorn is located at 6633 Nieman Rd. in Shawnee (913-962-2501).

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