Announcements
LBG Members Only Competition: Open to all Lawrence Brewers Guild members. The style is American Pale Ale. Entries can be turned in from March 14th to 17th. Entry fee is $5. Find out more information here.
Minutes of the February 14th meeting
For those of you who missed it, we had a raucous meeting. We've never seen the basement so full. A real good time was had by all.
Membership Dues: If you still haven't paid your due, now is the time. Individual memberships are $16 and family memberships are $22. Your dues go to pay for our meeting place at the ECM as well as the BrewFest.
Old Business
Meeting Place: Our group continues to be shuffled around throughout the ECM building, so, especially new members, don't give up if at first you don't find us. We used to meet consistently on the main floor. Lately, we have been in the basement several times, and we have been known to be upstairs as well. We are trying to resolve this with the folks at ECM, but I think many groups are realizing that the building is a convenient place to meet, and it is becoming more popular.
Contest: Remember, your entries are due March 14-17. Either bring them to the meeting on the 14th, or make arrangements to drop off at the Jensens by the 17th.
BrewFest: It's that time again. Plans are under way for the 7th annual BrewFest. We decided that we needed to get in gear and start selling tickets early to help pay for the costs that come up as we go along and to help promote the event more effectively. Joe is going to use the template from previous years' tickets and print this year's by March meeting. Sell, sell, sell.
Prices are as follows:
Adults: $15 advanced; $20 at the door
Age 10-20: $10
Under 10: free
We decided to shorten the time by one hour at each end as most folks don't show up until 1 or after anyway, and we've been having trouble getting cleaned up before dark, so the hours this year are 1 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Joe also reported that the Midday Ramblers are on to provide musical entertainment for the 'Fest. Yippee!
Marketing/Promotions: Barry is going to print up for flyers for distribution at local businesses (such as Jensen Liquor, Free State, and homebrew shops in KC) to promote the club and bring on new members.
Ellen Jensen
Secretary
Monthly Tasting: Robust Porter
In a strange turn of events, the voting for the blind tasting was unanimous. The first beer we tried was Black Hook, and the group voted it the best. It had a dark red/brown color, fitting for porter; good head retention, medium carbonation and a little diacetyl. Some guesses for this one were Bully Porter and Sierra Nevada.
The second beer we tried was Anchor Porter. We all voted this last hands down, which surprised us when the beer was unveiled. It sported a darker color than the first, but still with a deep red hue. The nose was almost non-existent. It tasted more astringent and had more mouth flavor and was more malty than the first one. It also had a "funky" flavor, especially in the aftertaste, which was difficult for anyone to pin down.
Third, we sampled Sierra Nevada porter, and we all voted this one 2nd place. It had lots of head and a dark reddish brown color - beautiful was the consensus. Nice dark grain flavor, and somebody commented that there was almost a gritty feeling/flavor in the back of throat.
5th Annual Free State Beer Banquet an Enjoyable Evening
Approximately forty guests, including four LBG members attended one of Free State Brewery's 5th Annual Beer Banquets on February 12. Jeff and Ellen Jensen, Ken Godwin, and Dale Wheeler were accompanied by Suzanne Wood and Lisa Weeks to complete our group of six. Head brewer at Free State, Steve Bradt was our host for the evening as we feasted on fine cuisine and world-class beers.
The first course was Cold Smoked Salmon. Even those who generally avoid fish commented that this was quite nice. Served with crusty French bread and mixed greens with pine nuts and spiced walnuts, this was a great opener to a delightful evening. The appetizer beers were Reissdorf Kolsch from Cologne, Germany, and Chouffee Golden from Achouffe, Belguim.
Next was Chipotle Corn Chowder. This vegetarian version of an old classic contained a hint of spice and did not suffer from the absence of bacon that is so commonly used in chowders. During this course we started with Anchor Steam from San Francisco, CA, and moved to Jane's E.S.B - Free State Brewing Company.
Next we were treated to another Free State beer, #1073 Prairie Stout. The Rosemary Chicken Roulade was so tender and flavorful that some of us forgot our heads for a moment and thought we were eating pork. The asparagus was a nice spring treat. Between forkfuls, we analyzed our Quinoa Pilaf for a while. "Are those cranberries in there?" Yes. "Is this couscous?" Well, not exactly. Quinoa are the high-protein seeds of the goosefoot plant. After the attentive wait staff removed our emptied plates from the table, Okocim Porter from Poland was served and our final dish arrived.
Ahh, dessert! My favorite part of any meal. Had I not known what we were enjoying before hand, I would have assumed that the fluffy white dollop next to my pear and phyllo pastry was whipped cream. But no - it was goat cheese. Poached pears with chocolate-filled phyllo and goat cheese - my - what a delicious combination of flavors with beautiful presentation. The sharpness of the cheese contrasted nicely with the sweetness of the pear and the pastry. I recommend sampling a similar style dessert in the future. With our dessert, we drank Aventinus from Munich, Germany.
By now there wasn't much interest in the final beer, J.W. Lee's Harvest Ale - Manchester, England, as we were all leaning back and groaning with pleasant discomfort. We greeted the chef with heartfelt applause when he came out to check on his guests. Many thanks to the Free State Brewery and staff for providing such a sensational evening of dining and beer. Look for the 6th annual Beer Banquet at Free State next February.
Dale Wheeler
Last Brew Pub Standing.
For those who have not heard, the Brown Bear Brewing Company has stopped brewing and has no plans to resume in the future. Not being a journalist, I didn't dig for details. I found this out a couple of weeks ago as I was there shooting pool and having a couple of their $1 beers on a Monday night. I noticed something was up when I walked in and saw "bud lite" written really large on the chalkboard next to the listing of their own brews. Later in the evening, I overheard some patrons discussing how this was the last of the beer. I asked the bartender about it and he confirmed that they had stopped brewing. When the beer they had on tap was gone, there would be no more. If you haven't been there in awhile and want one last taste, you better go soon.
Most of you know that Emerson Bigguns took the place of the Sports Page brew pub awhile back. Their brewer-to-be was kind enough to come to one of our meetings and give us the inside scoop. He had said that they planned on brewing a few months after the place was up and running. That has not proven to be the case, and rumor has it that they will not be a brew pub, but just another bar/restaurant.
That leaves us with only the Freestate Brewing Company. They were the first one in, and hopefully they are not going anywhere. While the Freestate has always been the best of the lot, I did my best to support the others. I like the idea of choice and diversity in many aspects of life, but especially in beer.
Now we are back to being a one beer town. Do your part and make sure the Freestate doesn't leave too.
Barry Fitzgerald
Kansas City Biermeisters Competition Report
The Kansas City Biermeisters held their 19th annual homebrew competition on February 15th and 16th. I volunteered to be a steward for the Friday night judging session. The position of steward is a cross between a bartender and waiter. You serve the judges the beers as well as make sure they have water, bread, score sheets and the other necessities. This is the second time that I have volunteered. Seeing how the competition is run is pretty interesting, and you get to meet some interesting people. The first year, the two judges at my table were Paul Gatza, the head of the American Homebrewers Association and the president of the St. Louis Brews.
The competition was held at the Pony Express Brewery in Olathe. The smell of wort filled the air as the brewer's were finishing off a batch. The judges and stewards were greeted with sandwiches and kegs of homebrew and Pony Express. After dinner, it was time to judge some beer. The table I was working with was judging English Barley Wines. The stewards picked up the beers for their tables. All the bottles were identified with numbered stickers. The judges at my table were Ed from High Noon, Dan Turner, the KCBM's chef in residence, and another guy whose name I don't remember.
Barley Wine is one of my favorite styles of beer, so getting to sample the brews was great. Most of the beers were pretty solid. The judging at my table moved along fairly quickly. I noticed some of the other judges really taking a lot of time to discuss each beer and its merits or faults.
The Saturday session included a breakfast, seminars, and an awards dinner. It is a pretty extensive event, and I'm sure the Biermeisters put a lot of time, money, and effort into it. Over 300 beers were entered from 22 different states.
I had two beers entered in the competition, a Belgian Ale and Coffee Stout. The Belgian Ale didn't do so well. It was overcarbonated and comparisons were made to industrial solvents (OK, I exaggerated a little!) The Coffee Stout scored a little better. Unfortunately it was judged in the Traditional Bock category, instead of the Specialty and Experimental category that it was entered in! There were some very humorous comments of the score sheets.
Pete Clouston
Recent Beer News from RealBeer.com
Real Ale winners
MAR 4, 2002 - Beer Lovers from 30 states, five countries pack Chicago festival
Quick draw Guinness?
FEB 22, 2002 - Stout brewer wants to serve those unwilling to wait
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FEB 22, 2002 - Beer Institute finds underage drinking at 20-year lows
Vitamin-fortified beer?
FEB 19, 2002 - Scots consider asking brewers to add thiamin to their products
Copyright 2001 by Real Beer, Inc.
Discount Days at Bacchus & Barleycorn
LBG members receive a 10% discount from Bacchus & Barleycorn, March 10-15. Please show membership card or bring newsletter. Bacchus & Barleycorn is located at 6633 Nieman Rd. in Shawnee (913-962-2501).
March 2002
Moderator: Officers