The next meeting will be held at Levagood Park in Dearborn on Tuesday, July 26, 2005.  It's located on Silvery Lane and Wilson St. in West Dearborn. We have a Park Permit, including alcohol, from the City of Dearborn. We will have the normal meeting start time of 6pm, with people arriving from 5pm on. We can stay until 9pm.

Directions: From Telegraph and Ford Road, go South to Cherry Hill. Right (West) on Cherry Hill to North Silvery Lane, the 2nd light. Right (North) on Silvery Lane 2 blocks on the right side, across from Divine Child Church and school. The parking lot is just before Wilson and we are the first Picnic area, left side.

Bring your brews and food and also bring prospective new members.

The Club will supply Hot Dogs & Hamburgers. I'm going to make my Teriyaki Chicken. Crispy is going to bring his "Same Wort - Different Yeasts" presentation.

You should bring your favorite brews and a side dish. If anyone needs to keep anything cold, just send me an e-mail or call 313-277-3865. You can drop your brews or food off at my house, Michigan & Telegraph area, that morning or earlier and I will bring same to the meeting.

WHAT WE NEED IS HELP GETTING THE WORD OUT!!! Especially to prospective new members or anyone interested in homebrewing.

A map from one of the F.O.R.D. list mailings is attached for those who view the newsletter electronically.

Since the Summer Beer Festival at Frog Island and the Michigan State Fair homebrew competition were sneaking up on me (as well as this being American Beer Month), I thought I’d get my taste buds back in judging shape by sampling a few Michigan-made beers. Some I’ve had before and others I haven’t. My conclusion... We sure are lucky to be living in a state that produces such wonderful craft beer! All of these reviews are also available at www.beeradvocate.com.

Red’s Rye
Founders Brewing Co.
Grand Rapids, MI

overall: 4.6 [ appearance: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | mouthfeel: 4.5 | drinkability: 4.5 ]

12 oz. brown bottle w/ twist-off cap; $1.79 for single bottle; no freshness date

Pours a brilliantly clear ruby color with a nice tan head of tight creamy bubbles that produce beautiful lacing right down to the bottom of the glass. Malty sweet smell with some caramel overtones followed by a citrus-like hops aroma. This medium bodied ale's flavor profile is dominated by a citrus hops flavor and bitterness, but with enough of a caramel-like malt sweetness to back up all that hops. Also some spicy notes probably from the use of rye as well as from the hops. Not typical of a lot of rye beers, but quite refreshing and enjoyable.

Tangerine Wit
Kuhnhenn Brewing Co.
Warren, MI
www.kbrewery.com

overall: 4.05 [ appearance: 3 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | mouthfeel: 3.5 | drinkability: 4 ]

12 oz. brown bottle; $1.79 for single bottle; best before 09-14-05, brewed on 04-14-05

Pours a crystal clear golden-orange color with very little head that disappears quickly. Absolutely no head retention. Aroma consists of a sweet malt smell followed by strong citrusy tangerines and some spices... coriander maybe? This light-bodied ale has a good sweet malt background with lots of tangerine flavor as well as spices like coriander and something else that I can't quite identify. The bitterness from the hops balances out what might otherwise be a cloying sweet beer. The carbonation was pretty low, but the beer is still very light and refreshing. Very enjoyable summer beer.

Bell’s Cherry Ale
Kalamazoo Brewing Co.
Comstock, MI
www.bellsbeer.com

overall: 3.75 [ appearance: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | mouthfeel: 4 | drinkability: 3.5 ]

12 oz. brown bottle; batch #6898, packaged on June 6, 2005;

Pours a dark golden color with red and orange tints around the edges and a slight haze. A thick creamy looking tan head creates lacing that lasts to the bottom of the glass. Aroma consists of a light, toasty malt and just a hint of hops spiciness. Not much of a cherry aroma at all. The flavor profile is quite interesting with a medium malt background that doesn't hide the sour/tart cherries. There is just a hint of spicy hops bitterness to round out the flavors, then ends with the sourness/tartness again from the cherries. Moderate to low carbonation keeps this unique ale soft, creamy and refreshing. Overall, not something I would want to drink more than one of at a time, but quite refreshing and enjoyable as a break from the usual ales. Recommended when you're in the mood for something off the beaten path.

Vanilla Porter
Stoney Creek Brewing Co.
Detroit, MI
www.getstoney.com

overall: 4.6 [ appearance: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | mouthfeel: 4.5 | drinkability: 4.5 ]

Pours a deep, dark brown color with ruby tints around the edges and a creamy looking tan head that dissipates fairly quickly. Roasted malts and vanilla aromas are easily noted, with just a hint of fruitiness and hops spiciness. The flavor of this medium-bodied ale begins with a bite from roasted maltiness and then the rich vanilla essence coats your mouth in a creamy sensation that you don't ever want to end. Overall, if you're a fan of vanilla then you will definitely not want to miss this one!

Bark of the Angry Tree
Fort Street Brewery
Lincoln Park, MI
www.fortstreetbrewery.com

overall: 4.4 [ appearance: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | mouthfeel: 4.5 | drinkability: 4.5 ]

16 oz. pint glass poured from cask; about as fresh as you can get; $3/pint

This is Fort Street Brewery's 9th cask-conditioned ale (a new one offered every other Thursday), tapped on July 14, 2005. According to brewer Doug Beedy, the base of this beer is their Piston Pale Ale that was taken from the fermenter and put in the cask with some Angostura bitters and then allowed to finish fermenting out in the cask.

After two pints of this wonderful concoction, I was sure I'd be back in two more weeks to find out what they came up with next.

F.O.R.D members and their spouses, Bob and Kim Barrett, Dan Riling and his wife, Don Parisot and his wife, the editor and his wife, joined Jim Racine and his wife and friends at Jim's cottage in Brighton for a 4th of July picnic. As always pictures, are a web only newsletter feature.

Next month's competition style is to be determined.

Below is Chris Frey's impressions of the 2000 AHA conference in Livonia, Michigan !...

Ah, what a blur. Three days of fun and beer and nothing but fun and beer! If you did not get a chance to stop in and participate and enjoy the AHA National Convention in Livonia last month I have to say you missed a memorable event.

Thursday Night was the Beers Without Borders evening and what seemed like two hundred thirsty, hungry brewers from around the country converged in one (too small) conference room to enjoy the libations and eats from 18 brew clubs. Perhaps it was my Beef Beerlingione in the keg, or the stout basted turkey by Marla, or the variety of various offerings, but guys and girls, we blew them away when it came to vittles. Still, there were some awesome selections available!

Thanks go to my "Guys & Dolls", the F.O.R.D. dirty dozen, who decked out in Zoot suits, gangster outfits and flapper wear. Bob and Kim Barret, Doug Geiss and Kathy Loftus, Sue Merritt, Jim Raccine, Mark Hansen, Rich Byrnes, Connie and Kathy (my personal molls), Al Czajkowski and I burst into the room shortly after the gathering started and added a "unique flavor" to the prohibition themed gathering.I gave a little thank you speech to Charlie and paul for having picked our backyard as the site of this occasion and I believe I even kept it reasonably brief.

Door prizes galore were donated and distributed that evening and probably a quarter of the room left with something. This was followed by what became a nightly event, the Hops-itality suite, where people gathered into the wee hours of the morning.

Friday brought a few blurry eyes and the convention started in earnest. Speakers throughout the day spoke on a variety of topics and for those who could not seem to leave the Hops-itality suite, a live feed piped in the speakers onto a TV setup.

Mike O'Brien (Pico-Brewing System fame) cooked up two pigs for dinner that evening and the day was a blur.

Guys, I might have this all wrong but I think it was Saturday that David Cords and I brewed Nearly Nirvana Pale Ale #21 in the parking lot with Scott Day and Jay Emerson of the Commission brewing a Honey Porter and Mike O'Brien brewing a Spruce beer, using equipment as one one have used two hundred. More speakers, more brew.

Saturday morning the club had 11 kegs for it's two hour shift and friends, collectively we brew some awesome beer! The only other major event was the awards banquet where Pat Babcock was blind-sided and given an recognition award for maintaining the HBO and I was blind-sided and given an award for outstanding party animal for National Homebrew Day (or something like that). A special toast was raised in Bill Puffer's (spelling wrong - sentimate is right) honor for all that he had contributed to the hobby. His mead was pure nectar!

Sunday morning was a comedy of errors, hangovers and beer spooge. Enough said. It was a great time

Beer Events, Meetings & Competitions