Last Meeting
July's meeting was casual at best and thankfully so. The club has been extremely busy lately with events like Rivertown, the Bar-B-Cue and the Greenmead Festival. There was no agenda and the actual meeting was brief.
Neal started with a short introduction and then talked about
the Bar-B-Q and the Greenmead Festival, while I talked about
the upcoming Rivertown Beer Festival and the Michigan State Fair.
The officers and some volunteers held a meeting just before the
actual meeting to go over some open issues concerning the Bar-B-Cue
and the menu was finalized and other duties were assigned (better
late then NEVER). I handed out T-shirts and parking passes for
the Rivertown beer fest (see review later) and made let every
one know their final table assignments. From there on in it
was a sit-back, get comfy, crack open a cold one and pass it around
kind of meeting, gotta love it!
Rivertown Beerfest
Well, what can I say, our club was asked to deliver once again this year and boy did we! A BIG thank you to all of you that volunteered your Friday evening and please pass that thank you on to your spouses, friends, and family members who came out with you.
Our club provided 68 volunteers this year and we were also joined by the Ann Arbor Brewers Guild, the Beer Nutz, the Pontiac Brewing Tribe and a member of the Detroit Carboys. A big, big thank you to everyone who was there that night. This year I actually got to be the volunteer coordinator and what fun that was, trying to line up 100 beer geeks with their table of choice was no small task. All in all, everyone was happy with their selections. The night was hectic right from the beginning (What do you mean there's no bottle openers at the tables?!) but everyone jumped right in and started icing their beers down in preparation for the onslaught of thirsty festival goers. Almost everyone got a chance to get a break at some point during the evening and tour the festival sampling the fine beers as well. The report back from the festival coordinators was an extremely positive one and a congratulations and thank you from Kim Tesmer (Strohs) and the other coordinators.
The only questionable feedback was a couple people changed out
of their volunteer shirts to wear beer/distributor shirts. Please
keep the volunteer shirts on until after the event. A few people
were seen walking out with beer, (just don't be seen!). The shutdown
portion of the evening was not as smooth as hoped, but much better
than last year. Vague directions were given and next year we
will work harder to get everyone out so that we (the volunteers)
can enjoy some beers. Kim did ask for a list of suggestions for
next years' event, so if you would carefully think of some ideas
and contact me (profs/e-mail preferred or just call me) I will
send a list from everyone.
Competitions
July's competition was a Mead competition and there was only 1 entry as not too many people in the club are meadsters. The winning mead was a tasty show mead from our own Patrick Babcock (recipe follows).
A show mead is a mead that you make with only honey as an ingredient, no other flavor ingredients. Pat's recipe is for a 5 gallon batch:
10 Lb. Michigan honey
scant handful yeast nutrient
scant handful yeast energizer
scant handful yeast hulls
Pris de Mouse yeast
Bring honey up to 170° and hold for 15 minutes, chill and
pitch yeast and other nutrients.
The competition for the rest of the year is as follows:
Aug 27 (T)-- Fruit Beers
Sep 25 (W)-- Octoberfest (AHA)
Oct 22 (T)-- Stout
Nov 13 (W)-- Belgian (AHA)
Dec 17 (T)-- Christmas Brew
Pale Ale (Jan-AHA)
Please note the meeting date for November and December does NOT
follow the 4th week rule of thumb, we compensate for the holidays,
please mark your calendar accordingly.
Michigan State Fair
The entry deadline has come and gone this year for the State
Fair and good luck to all who entered!
Taste of the Great Lakes
The 7th Annual taste of the Great Lakes competition is upon us and here's the details.
The actual competition and conference are on Saturday, November 2, the beer feast is on Saturday evening as well. The feast is $35 and the conference is $75 before Oct. 15, after that they go up by $5. The entry deadline for the actual competition is October 11 (no extensions, the entry form states that beers arriving after the 11th will be consumed and enjoyed immediately). One entry is $6.50, two are $5.75 each, and three are $5 each.
Entries go to Hal Buttermore in Ann Arbor (313-665-1236) this
year. Call Jeff Hervert (517-652-9081) for more info on the conference.
I will have entry forms at the meeting.
3rd annual Beer-B-Q
A.K.A. "Not the pig roast." Thanks to everyone who
helped in the planning and implementing of the cookout this year.
We had close to 55 adults and 20 kids at this year's cookout,
but alas, no pig (next year!)
The weather was picture perfect, the site was beautiful, a huge pavilion and private bathrooms, the menu was extremely tasty, the beer was cold, delicious and flowing (I lost count, but I think there were 8-9 cornie kegs in attendance). The food prepared by Doug consisted of ham, roast beef, and smoked Turkey drumsticks with Barbecue/ Dijon Mustard or Teriyaki sauce. The rest of the food including all appetizers/salads/veggies and desserts were provided by those in attendance (except the corn on the cob) I don't think a single soul walked away hungry or thirsty, and if you did, it's your own d**n fault!
Neal & Teri Petty had several games lined up for the little ones including a coin dig in a swimming pool full of malted barley, a piñata bash (Gee, who was that big kid who broke it open?) and a relay race filling empty miller bottles with water from a sponge (not unlike the actual Miller plant does it, but with much bigger sponges). The kids had a blast with the games as did the adults. The egg toss got kinda messy as a couple people were wearing eggs by the end of the event, yuch!
The park ranger stopped by to check on us and was duly impressed at the cleanliness of our site, the cleanup at the end of the night went really quick, thanks to the night owls that were their late and helped! The raffle was a big hit as there was an entire table full of prizes, most donated by the retailers we deal with and the distributors that we worked with at the Rivertown Festival. Some other prizes were donated by club members, Mitch Diana, myself and others. I will be sending out formal thank you letters to the retailers who donated this year, but for those who are reading this newsletter right now, thank you once again for your continued support of our annual cookout and the support of our club in general. Start thinking ahead to next year for suggestions on sites, games, events, food, etc....... We will be going back to the pig next year, but we can also do drumsticks as well if that's what you want!.
According to the figures I've seen the receipts from the door plus the money raised for the raffle nearly balanced out with the expenditures for the food and site this year, close enough to call it a break even event, thanks to all who attended and generously bought raffle tickets.
More than half the club was unable to attend due to conflicts
with that date, I would like some feedback on changing the event
to mid July or mid June, please let me know what you think on
the timing of the cookout.
New Members
Richard Hampo was the only new member last month, Richard has
been corresponding with the club almost since its inception 3
years ago, but due to scheduling conflicts with school has never
been able to attend, well, things have gotten better for him and
he was able to join our ranks, he is member number 104. (An
interesting note, we sold 2 t-shirts last month to a woman and
her boyfriend who thought our logo was so cool they just had to
have shirts, they are here at Ford as a summer intern position
and will be going back to Tulsa this fall)
FERA
Due to a mis-communication on FERA's part, we were not ratified
as an official club last month as we thought we were. Our club
was represented by Howard Klix, a new member and an officer of
the Ford Gun Club, this was done with the Permission of the FERA
president, but later in the evening he recanted and stated that
we should have had an official officer there from our club, thats
par for the course! We will (should) be ratified as an official
club in September.
Next Meeting
This months meeting will be back at Chelseas, our current favorite hangout on Tuesday, August 27. Chelseas is on Vanborn between Telegraph & Southfield, more specifically 22020 Vanborn, on the North side, just West of Monroe (Pizza hut on the corner of Monroe, Chelseas is ½ block west of Pizza Hut. Call Chelseas at 313-278-0888 for more info.
The meeting starts at 6, but feel free to show up early to eat and socialize as well!
And Mary has stocked up ample quantities of Sierra Nevada and
has just tapped a fresh keg of Paulaner Oktoberfest in anticipation
of our meeting!
Merchandise Mania
F.O.R.D. COASTERS
The coaster order is ready to go in. Richard has acquired the
artwork and the order is ready to go. If anyone else wants to
order a sleeve of 4" white coasters with our really cool
logo in it, the price is $6.50 for a sleeve of 50; no discounts
for multiple orders. After this order the club will have to wait
until it accumulates an order for at least 2,000 to meet the mimimum
requirements. So, if you are interested, let Rich know now!
TAP HANDLES
Several people have asked about the tubular taphandles
that have been brought to the last couple of events. These hand
made tap handles are made by Rich Byrnes. They are about 9-10"
long but can be made to size, and are for sale. They can be filled
with a parfait of different grains or left empty for your own
imagination. The base and cap are Oak, the tube is Polycarbonate,
practically bulletproof. The base and cap can be stained and
sealed with a golden oak color, or left unfinished for your personal
preference. Any inquiries should be directed to Rich Byrnes at
32-32613 or 810-558-9844.
BJCP Exam: Feb 8, 1997
Gabrielle Palmer and I judged the Michigan State Fair Homebrewed
Beer Competition on Sunday. It was a good experience, and the
only category that was not judged was the Barley Wine and Strong
Scotch Ales (a bit heavy after already judging two categories:
they will be judged sometime this week).
The Ann Arbor Brewer's Guild is hosting a BJCP exam on Saturday,
February 8, 1997. The exam will run from 9am - 12pm and will
most likely take place in Brighton. The exam will be the old
format of essay questions and four beers to judge. I believe
the exam cost to be $40 - $50. I would hope that several members
of the study group will sign-up for the test.
For those in fear, remember that the test is designed to be passed. I judged my first time in October 93, and passed the exam the following February. You have plenty of time to prepare, and for those who missed out on this judging, the Taste of the Great Lakes contest will need judges in October.
Please feel free to contact me with any questions about the exam.
- Neal Petty -
EXPLODING BEER BOTTLES IN CHINA
Drinking beer in China could be hazardous to your health. At
least 15 people were injured and four disabled by exploding beer
bottles in 11 Chinese provinces and cities since April. The Economic
Daily said Thursday, Consumer watch groups in the regions recorded
147 accidents involving faulty consumer products between April
and June. The figures include 16 people killed, 163 injured and
10 disabled. The accidents caused property losses of about $2.28
million. For the full story see http://hawaii.merc.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=221.ns.51341
Bo's Brewery
Bo's Brewery and Bistro opened up last night. It's the new brewery in Pontiac, on South Saginaw. I had their Brown Ale and some potato "skins". The ale wasn't clear yet, and didn't have much flavor to it. Low hops, too. The "skins" were basically a potato cut into quarters with a little parmesan cheese on top.
The place is pretty similar to the Royal Oak Brewery. Prices are similar to the Baraboo. Eight bucks for a pizza, $3.25 for a pint, $3.95 for the "skins".
- Aaron Dionne -
King Anniversary Celebration
The grapevine told me that King Brewery in Pontiac is
having a party. The timing is right for it to be a first anniversary
celebration.
The details:
Saturday, August 17 at the brewery from 2:00 pm to 8:00 pm.
For $15 you will get:
Location:
King Brewery
895 Oakland Ave.
Pontiac, MI 48340
(810) 745-5900 for more info.
Take Woodward north to Wide Track. Go halfway around Wide Track.
See split between Oakland Ave. and M24. Brewery is about 3 miles
north on Oakland. Find a big turquoise building on the west side
of street (left) and you're there!!!
Good Rumor!
The 1997 AHA National Conference will be in Cleveland, yaaaaaa!
This is the yearly conference with many notable guest speakers
and lecturers and seminars on many different topics. This is also
tied to the AHA National Homebrew Contest and you get to see the
judging process for the nationals.
Library Corner
The Summer 1996 Zymurgy is in the library and available to members. This seasons issue has feature articles on extract brewing, a history on Porter followed by several extract porter recipes. Listings of all the AHA brew Clubs in the world are in the issue (and yes, we are present and accounted for). There is an excellent article on hop basics and seven or eight award-wining recipes. For those of you who haven't reviewed a Zymurgy before, there are
always award-winning recipes present towards the back of each issue.
Another excellent publication the library receives is Brewing Techniques. In my humble opinion (IMHO) it is a little more in-depth and technical than Zymurgy, but if you are looking for that next level of information, this is an excellent source. The advertising is a mixture that is directed as much toward the micro-brewer as it is towards the home brewer. The May/June 1996 issue has articles covering putting smoke in your beer, brewing with lactic acid, troubleshooting, lagering, new homebrew gadgets, etc.
Our library is funded entirely through the occasional 50/50 raffle
that the club librarian holds. Along with the aforementioned publications
the club maintains the style series (sans a few pilfered copies)
and several of the "classics". It is a member benefit
to review these books and magazines. Basically, the rules (I am
making these up as I go along) are that you can check out up to
three publications at a time. You need to bring them in by the
next meeting or call the librarian to ensure no one else is waiting
for them. Call or e-mail me with your topic or request and I can
use inter-company mail to deliver it to you if you work at Ford
or arrange some other method. My phone is 337-1642, my profs is
cfrey. Happy reading!
Member News
Congratulations are in order for Pat & Kim Babcock on the arrival of their new daughter, Jessica Rose. Jessica was born on Aug 9th at 4:28 A.M. at Oakwood Hospital. She was a whopping 9 lbs and 20" long (Pat is known for overdoing things....) and mother and baby are doing fine. Pat on the other hand is looking a bit bleary eyed!
F.O.R.D. is a private, non-profit
organization of home brewers. Its main goal is to share information
regarding technique, equipment and skill required to brew quality
homemade beer.
Correspondence should be directed to:
Rich Byrnes,
30972 Cousino
Warren, MI 48092
Voice/Fax 810-558-9844
usfmczgm@ibmmail.com
CompuServe 75113,411
Visit our website at: http://oeonline.com /~pbabcock/ford.html
current circulation.....122
 | Another page by BabsTech Enterprises. Can we do yours? |
Last updated 10/14/96 |