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
