November-December 2000

[Greenblood]

Minutes of the October Meeting

This month?s meeting focused on a discussion of the Guild and its future. A lot of good points were made during the meeting, which resulted in setting the schedule of seminars and a new homebrew-of-the-month category. The idea is to encourage more discussion of our homebrew. The person (or people) who brewed the style of the month will say a few words on how they brewed their beer, including ingredients, type of mash, length of boil, etc. This will flow into the commercial tasting, which will be slimmed down from 4-5 examples to 2-3, which we then can compare to homebrew of that same style. This isn't meant to discourage other folks from bringing whatever style they have handy. After the "formal" tasting, we have our usual "social hour," where we hopefully will continue the trend of discussing homebrewing and the other brews people have brought to the meeting. The schedule is as follows.

Month Seminar Homebrew Style
January Hops Stout (Rob and Joe)
February Robb Hensleigh Porter (Dwight)
March H20 Chemistry & Yeast (Dwight & Jeff) Lager (Max and Glenn)
April Round Robin Discussion Belgian (Barry)
May Packaging/Storage California Common (Jeff and Joe)
June Germany (Max) Fruit Beers (Glenn, Don, and Rob)
July Big Brew Weizen (Dwight)
August Cider Pale Ale (Joe and Rich)
September German Ales (Max) German Ales (Glenn and Pete)
October Computer Software for the Homebrewer Octoberfest (Glenn)
November Round Robin Discussion Scottish Ales (Jeff)
December Holiday Party Holiday Beers (Glenn, 2000 and Barry, 2001)

Many suggestions for improvement were made including a need for more outreach and more collective brewing activities. Possible solutions to these items included public demonstrations or displays during public forums, participation in local parades and brewing at the ECM.

New Business
Brew Supplies at Merc?: The Merc is moving to a larger store front at Ninth and Iowa (former Alvin?s IGA building). They may be able to stock homebrewing supplies with this expansion. Joe will compile a list of basic supplies that are needed in homebrewing.

Free State Brewery Tour: The tour of the Free State Brewery is scheduled for Tuesday, Nov. 28. The tour will begin at 7:00 pm. We have the meeting room (capacity 20) reserved starting at 8:00 pm for discussion/eating/drinking. An approximate headcount of attendees has been requested, so please contact Doug Holub if you plan to attend.

November Seminar: The November seminar will be a discussion of homebrew and electing officers for 2001.

Meeting Adjourned.

Xanthippe Stevens
Secretary


The Rest of the Story
On a stormy Friday night last September, three friends enjoyed fine food and fresh beer in a relatively new brewpub. A new brewpub with a built in history. The beers, with names like Southbound Nut Brown, Steamboat Stout, and Colonel Park's Pale Ale, complemented the train and riverboat pictures and artifacts. Some people criticize the instant hometown atmosphere given to new chain restaurants . . . the instant lived-in atmosphere bestowed upon brand new buildings by overloading the walls with antiques, sporting goods, and local clippings. The rumble of a train, however passing less than one hundred feet away, felt in the chair and seen in ripples in the beer, suggests this restaurant and its decorations really do have a history, and in a minute, you're going to hear the rrrrrest of the story!

The river port and railroad town founded in 1849 by Colonel Parks on the Missouri river served hemp traders, fur trappers, river boats, settlers, indians, and farmers. Downtown, next to the railroad tracks at the bottom of the hill, the Park College Power Plant began providing electricity and heat to the town and its namesake school in 1918. Operated by the college students as a means to pay tuition, the power plant at Two Main Street ran continuously into the 1960s, when it was replaced by the modern facility behind the fire station.

During the 1970s and early ?80s the old power plant building housed a printing company. In the early 1980s the Missouri river, whose commerce sustained the town in the olden days, flooded much of downtown and caused the printing operation to close. The once busy building sat unused for more than a decade until 1998.

It was then that the old building downtown by the railroad tracks at the bottom of the hill, among the gift shops, ice cream parlor, bed and breakfast, and restaurants, was converted into a brewpub by the owners of the Rivermarket Brewery in Kansas City.

On the stormy Friday night last September, large, warm, soft pretzels and Belgian Ale were the appetizer. The 16oz smoked prime rib dinner was superb, as was the chicken fried steak. Both dinners were served with garlic mashed potatoes and sauteed vegetables. The huge portions were too much to eat, but too good to stop. None was wasted! Today the brewpub features four regular beers: unfiltered wheat, IPA, brown ale, and stout. In addition, they brew a seasonal beer each month. On tap this night were the Belgian Ale and Harvest Rye.

And the pictures and antiques around the restaurant really do represent the history of the building...the history of the Power Plant Restaurant & Brewery in Parkville, Missouri. Only now you know the rrrrrest of the story.

Ken "Harvey" Godwin

("The Rest of the Story" format respectfully borrowed from Paul Harvey)

The brews we enjoyed:

Colonel Park?s Pale Ale (year-round): Very tasty. Lighter than most IPAs, no head, but nice and hoppy. Wheeler thinks it?s too hoppy, but that?s why he?s not president anymore, right? Uses Munich malt and Ultra and Cascade hops. (Ken)

Belgian Ale (seasonal, our favorite): An Americanized version, but very good. A tad thick in body. Subtle hints of raspberry and clove. Definite Belgian influence: low hops, light copper color. (Dale)

Harvest Rye (seasonal): Unfiltered, creamy mouth feel, more body than you would expect for a rye. Definite mint rye background. Very dark for style: brownish copper. Good lacing. Medium balance of flavor hops, not overly bitter like the IPA. (Dale)

Iced Water (year-round): Crisp and refreshing, fits the style with a perfect balance of ice and water. Extremely light in color. No bitter aftertaste, and no perceptible aroma. (Lisa)


Festivals & Competitions
Kansas City Biermeisters Competition: Kansas City Bier Meisters 18th Annual Regional Competition

February 16-17, 2001
Entries due 1/20/01-2/3/01 with $6 fee.
Contact: Mike Porter at 913-422-8810 or
913-422-5998 or mike@dynamicanalysis.com


The Great NYC Beer Search
"Why would I have to search for beer in New York City?" you may well ask. I tell you, it isn?t as easy as it sounds (at least for an infrequent visitor like me). There is no shortage of bars. But in many, the selection is limited, and the prices are near the gouging level. Even bars touted as "beer bars" may have on tap only Guinness, a run-of-the mill British beer, a few American ales, and that?s about it.

With the help of pubcrawler.com, however, on my last trip, I found two excellent beer bars in Manhattan that I feel comfortable recommending to fellow Guildies, should you ever be in search of refreshment in that fair city. Both of these offer a very impressive array of draft beers at very reasonable (for NYC) prices, and the ambience in both is comfortable.

The first is the Blind Tiger Ale House at 518 Hudson St. (at W. 10th St.), in the western part of Greenwich Village. On my two visits there on different trips, the Blind Tiger had about fifteen beers on tap, with a nice mix of American ales of various styles, several very good British ales, several German lagers, and one or two specialty beers. Last January, they had two German doppelbocks as seasonal beers, and both were very well-kept.

The other bar is D.B.A at 41 1st Avenue, just north of Houston, in the eastern part of Greenwich Village. When I was there, D.B.A. had about twenty beers on tap, including an impressive array of British ales and some very nice American ales, mainly from the east coast, as well as some German lagers and several speciality beers. D.B.A. also has a most impressive line-up of several dozen distilled malt whiskeys from Scotland, Ireland, and Kentucky/Tennessee. Unlike Blind Tiger, D.B.A. had three ales on hand-pumps. One was Blue Bird Bitter, a wonderfully fresh British-style special bitter, with East Kent Goldings pouring out of it.

The ambience of the two bars is pretty similar: very casual and kind of dive-like, although D.B.A. is definitely more of a dive. When I was there, part of the entertainment at D.B.A. was watching the chubby, scruffy bartender trying to get the TV to come in clearly so that he could watch a play-off game.

The crowd at the Blind Tiger seemed a little more upscale. Prices at each were in the $4-5 range at happy hour (which at D.B.A. runs from 4-7 pm). Unfortunately, bartenders at both places knew nothing at all about the beers, but they offered free samples of any beer before ordering it. The Blind Tiger also keeps a beer menu that provides some information. Neither place serves food, but you can bring in food from nearby carry-out places, which are a bit more diverse near D.B.A.

All in all, I highly recommend both D.B.A. and the Blind Tiger. If you have time for only one, go for D.B.A. first.

Chuck Epp


Anything for a Freebie
Pete recently got a message from a guy who apparently searched his name-Lawrence Brewer-and found us. He suggests he could become an honorary member, perhaps get a T-Shirt. Hmm. Do we have something we can send the guy? Do we want to? Perhaps we can discuss.


National Drunk Driving Limit Nearer
October 23, 2000 - President Clinton signed a bill Monday designed to toughen the national standard for drunken driving, forcing states to lower the legal blood alcohol limit or lose millions of dollars in federal highway construction money.

Clinton said the lower limit of 0.08% will save 500 lives per year. "This is a very good day for the United States," Clinton said. He said the new standard is "the biggest step to toughen drunk driving laws and reduce alcohol-related crashes since a national minimum drinking age was established a generation ago."

Nineteen states and the District of Columbia currently have a 0.08 percent limit. Thirty-one states define drunken driving as 0.10 limit blood alcohol content or do not set a specific standard.

States that fail to adopt the 0.08 standard by 2004 would lose 2% of their highway money. The penalty would grow by an additional 2% each year up to 8% by 2007. States that adopt the standard by 2007 would be reimbursed for any lost money.

The American Beverage Institute, an association of restaurant operators, called the new law "an attack on social drinkers." It said a 120-pound woman who drinks two 6-ounce glasses of wine over a two-hour period could face arrest and mandatory jail or loss of her license.

MADD contends a 170-pound man would have to have four drinks in an hour on an empty stomach, and a 137-pound woman three drinks in an hour, to reach 0.08.

"This law will arrest people who are not part of the drunk driving problem," said ABI spokesman John Doyle. "But more, this law in a lot of ways is leaving many Americans to believe that the drunk driving problem has been addressed, and nothing could be further from the truth."

Real Beer News

Discount Days at Bacchus & Barleycorn
LBG members receive a 10% discount from Bacchus & Barleycorn, November 6-11. Please show membership card or bring newsletter. Bacchus & Barleycorn is located at 6633 Nieman Rd. in Shawnee (913-962-2501).