Blue Ridge Brewers Association July 2014 Meeting at the New Market Collective

Blue Ridge Brewer’s Association

          Meeting Summary July 2014

 This month’s meeting was held at the Market Cooperative in Luray, Va., the new home for the group’s meetings. Visiting from Spain were Alex Rios and Pablo Garcia.

 Discussed was the development of a strategic plan to be later upgraded to a business plan; a tasting survey and brewing demonstration booth at the Heritage Festival in October; for the September meeting, having members bring the last of their summer’s brews, then, mixing them and lastly, in place of tasting meetings, occasionally visit local breweries, such as 3 Notch Brewery in Harrisonburg and Licking Hole Creek Farm Brewery.

The following brews were presented:

Tim-Belgian Wit

Similar to Blue Moon, this brew was light, crisp and clear. Orange “cutie” were added to the end of the boiling phase that added a slight citrus taste.  Drinking this with a slice of orange in the glass adds a pleasant sweetness. Pair this with green salad, grilled veggies(no tomato), grilled fish or chicken and mango sherbet. Great summer meal.

Kevin-Blackberry Red Ale

This all grain IPA with blackberry syrup added to a basic Irish Red Ale recipe was crisp, slightly tart with a mild creamy aftertaste. Drink this with a chicken avocado green salad, crusty Italian garlic bread and frozen custard.

Chris -Wild Cat from Old Bud Head Brewery

This brew had a medium amber color with a sharp presenting taste-a true pizza and antipasto beer. It would also pair with peppered coated grilled meats, Mediterranean style veggies followed with fruit and cheese.

Dan-Green Cap IPA and Red Cap IPA

Both had a crisp, pleasant malt taste that was also sweet. Red cap had an additional caramel taste. Both brews will pair with anything tomato, especially gazpacho and BLT’s. Add French Vanilla ice cream for dessert.

Kevin-3 notch Brewery IPA

This brew had a medium, clear amber color and a slight sharp but mellow presenting taste, smooth after taste. Pair this with minted lamb and Mediterranean spiced veggies-yellow squash, spinach for example. Add fresh fruit for dessert.

Rische- 90 minute IPA

90 minutes was the length of brewing time for this beer. It had a clear, medium amber color, creamy malt taste. This brew is a definite partner to juicy, hamburgers with any variety of condiments and favorite cookout dishes. Don’t forget watermelon for dessert.

Kevin-Chocolate Maple Porter

This porter had maple syrup and Belgian candy sugar added to the processing and resulted in a slightly rich chocolate taste with a smooth, slight black coffee aftertaste. Besides the obvious pairing with chocolate and raspberry desserts, this will also pair with caramel and butterscotch desserts.

Dan- Casteroides – Imperial Stout

 This brew was bottled aged for almost a year resulting in a smoother and mellower presenting taste and pleasant spicy aftertaste. Besides sipping this beer, add it to frosting for a German chocolate cake, orange duck glaze and homemade BBQ sauce.

Chris- Mead/Beer

Braggot yeast and malt were added to this honey mead. The presenting taste was slightly tart, changed to sweet and ended with a peppery aftertaste. This brew will pair with Creole dishes, especially blackened fish and meat. It will also pair with marinated figs and apricots.

The group discussed mixing styles of crafted beers for different flavors.  Casteroides and Braggot/Mead combined gave the Imperial Stout some sweetness, and reduced the strong/sour flavor of the Braggot Mead.

Personal note- As the group’s experiences grow, their experiments are quite successful.

Sharron Burgess,

Recording Secretary

 

February 1st Meeting and Craft Beer Tasting

Blue Ridge Brewer’s 

Association

Summation for

February 1^st,2013

This month’s meeting was held at Kevin and Elisa Crisler’s home in Luray and was different from previous meetings. A one hour business session followed the tastings. Future meetings will continue to have business sessions prior to regular group brew tastings.

Discussed was the following;

 Joining the American Home Brewers Association as individuals or as a group

Obtaining the Beer Judge Certification Program- Final test is in Lynchburg, Va. On May31st and volunteer to judge various contests

Pursue grants for educational purposes

What was decided, by a unanimous vote, was to create a formal structure for the group and decide what direction the group would then follow.

Various suggestions for directions were;

Community Education about brewing by selling home brew kits, beer brewing demonstrations at local events, joining Page County Locally Grown, working with local beer brewing hobbyists by offering classes, growing and selling barley and hops, creating specialties of each grain, entering competitions and eventually start a local brewery (brew coop).

Research that is needed;

What are the State and local regulations concerning alcoholic beverages in various scenarios.

Start developing a more formal group structure and group approved direction.  Establish By Laws.

Presented Brews;

Chris- Timberville  Cider Makers Barrel

  Wild fermentation is used to create this locally made cider that had a fruity, dry taste. Light in color, this brew has a tart taste similar to Granny Smith apples. It would pair well with a Prima Vera pasta, sharp cheese and mustard glazed ham.

Kevin-Schafley White Belgian IPA

 This smooth, creamy brew uses a combination of Australian hops. It has a medium ,clear amber color and would pair well with favorite comfy dishes such as, vegetable soups and various baked apple or pear desserts.

Dan- Pilsner

 Aged for 7 months, the brew was made with a lager yeast that gave it an earthy taste. This is a mushroom and garlic based pizza beer. Serving it cold will improve the flavor.

Josh-Wheat IPA

 This bright colored brew has a combination of white wheat, bitter hops, toasted malt and flaked wheat and was filtered with rice hulls. The complex taste, creamy with a slightly dry after taste is similar to wine as it has a slight plume note. Pair this brew with simple pork or veal dishes that include plums.

Dan- Flat Tail IPA

 This clear colored brew has a pleasant, malty, tropical fruit taste due to the Maris Otter, Cascades and Citra blending. The bittering agent is Columbus hops. Pair this with baked brie and apricot chutney and a rail mix of nuts and apricots. It’s a snack brew.

Josh- Dubbel Belgian Style

 This brew has a German pilsner malt, some hops as a bittering agent and Belgian Candy Syrup to increase gravity. The result is a slight raisin taste. It will pair well with Boston styled Baked beans and Beef Stroganoff.

Tim-Smoked Porter

 This porter uses Brewer’s Best Grained Smoke that gives it a medium, smoky taste. It has a clear color and slightly hoppy taste. Pair with any recipe using cranberries and/or oranges. This will decrease the smoky taste, while increasing the cranberry/orange taste.

Kevin- Vanilla Porter

 This clear colored porter has Myer’s Rum added to the brew, resulting in a mild, bright tartness for a porter. This will pair well with baked ham minus the usual, pineapple/cherry topping. Use apples instead and add sweet potatoes and/or winter squash to the meal.

Kevin- White House honey Porter

 A local honey (Paw Paws) is used in this porter. It gives the brew a slightly, green fennel taste. Just sip this brew and enjoy.

Tim-Oyster Stout

This brew from Licking Hole Brewery has a slight bite as well as a sea water taste and a slight, sea food after taste. It’s an “okay” brew.  Had to be tried and gets high point on the originality style scale.

Dan-Whiskey Barrel Imperial Stout

Introduced at a previous meeting, this brew has been aged. The result is an enhanced version that is still excellent.

Kevin-Traditional Honey Mead

This mead that has been aged for 3 years is smooth and light, with an apple, clover, wildflower taste. A Missouri honey is used as the base. Although the presenting taste is dry, the after taste changes to a slightly sweet taste. Pair this with cream pasta dishes.

Combination of brews-

A new experiment that Dan and Josh presented, using Casteroides and whiskey barrel IPA. It has a smooth, chocolate and caramel creamy, beginning taste that lingers with a slight whiskey taste. This is a chocolate lover’s combination.

The group also visited Kevin’s hop garden, discussed growing hops, then toured Kevin’s cellar brewing room.

Additional combination will continue at future meetings.

Sharron Burgess,

Recording secretary



New Concept that's Catching on - Simpler Brewing with 1 Gallon Batches

http://www.thekitchn.com/5-reasons-why-i-became-a-1gallon-brewer-beer-sessions-189903

After struggling this COLD winter with setting up and moving 10 gallon kettles and burners outside when the weather is perfect and then back in-doors, and 5 gallon carboys (oy, my achin back!).  I stumbled across the above link and the light bulb definitely went off! So, I wanted to pass on the new trend of 1 gallon batch brewing to anyone who wants to create smaller batches, more variety, allow for more creativity & experimentation.  Of course, I purchased the book "True Brews" and it has recipes for everything, from many styles of home brew beer to, Mead, fruit Kombucha, fermented cider, sodas....you name it.  The creativity floodgates have opened!  My back is saved!

Chinook Barlely Wine with homegrown centennial hops

Also, for anyone just starting out, it's easier to start small and build from there, and you can immediately start with all grain brewing because it's MUCH simpler in smaller batches (no big kettles, can cook on your stove (no massive propane burners needed).  So far, this method suits me to a "tea" (kombucha tea, that is).

There are also some fun 1 gallon recipes on the internet:

http://brewmasterstore.com/recipes.aspx?category=onegallon