Member Announcements

1. We voted in Johnathan into the club this evening after attending two business meetings and our November social at Thin Man.
2. Mike attended his first meeting.

Business Meetings/Socials

1. Holidaze: Holidaze will be at the Hamburg Fire Hall at 4591 Lake Shore Road, Hamburg 14075 on Saturday December 21st at 7pm
   1. No cost to attend. Feel free to bring significant others.
   2. In addition to the Sultans as in years past, we will be opening this to the Beer Goddesses and Das HausBrauers.
   3. There will be a blind bottle exchange as in years past, so please bring a bottle of your best homebrew for the swap.
   4. This is a pot luck style event, so please bring a dish to pass, somewhere in the range of 10-14 small servings.
   5. Holidaze Sign Up Link
2. Albe updated us on Random Trios. This year’s random trios is Partigyle Brewing. Our random trio teams must brew two beers from the same mash, submit their styles along with the beers, with extra points awarded for having the beers taste significantly different. If you haven’t started  brewing – get going!
3. John Crossett updated us on AWOG. We are currently in need of a registrar – so if you can fill this roll, please contact John! AWOG has a preliminary date of March 24/25th
4. Art of Beer will be on March 3rd at the Niagara Arts & Cultural Center. Tom Piwtorak will be brewing a beer for this – but we still need a couple more volunteers.
5. Beerology will be the following day, March 4th at the Buffalo Science Museum. Albe will be brewing for this, along with running the brew demo.
6. Our Style Education was done by Mike Conley who presented smoked beers with a smoked Marzen and Dopplebock.
7. Dues are Due! Our $25 dues go to cover all sorts of things! BJCP testing, beer education, promotional materials, the hosting of Holidaze, etc…
   1. You can now paypal dues to Eric by sending a payment to ericstellrecht@gmail.com. Please add a note saying 2017 NAH Dues
8. January’s style education will be Belgain Blonde Ales by Mike Gullia.

Enjoy your New Year with some great homebrew! Prost!

Member Announcements

1. New Members: Mike & Andy

Business Meetings/Socials

1. Our November social was at 12 Gates for the release of Lava Flow IPA, the Niagara County Fair homebrew competition winner beer brewed by Brian Meyer. This was a joint social with the Sultans & it was a great showing!
2. Albe updated us on Random Trios. This year’s random trios is Partigyle Brewing. Our random trio teams must brew two beers from the same mash, submit their styles along with the beers, with extra points awarded for having the beers taste significantly different.
3. John Crossett updated us on AWOG. We are currently in need of a database administrator to help with organizing and printing the awards and score sheets. If you’re interested, please contact John Crossett. Otherwise, start getting your beers ready for AWOG at the end of March!
4. Our Style Education was done by Kevin with Engish Strong Ales.
5. November’s Style Education will be by Dan Cassetta and the style will be Alt Bier.

Niagara Association of Homebrewers
Meeting Minutes: June 28, 2016

Member Announcements

1. 19 current members were present.
2. Wes Wright was voted in as a new member.
3. Brian M. attended his first meeting.

Business Meetings/Socials

1. June’s Social was at Pizza Plant Canalside.  There were a handful of members who made it out to the event.
2. July’s Social will be at New York Beer Project.  Unofficial start is 7:00 on July 12th PM and all are welcome.  We’re hoping A.P.E.S. IPA is on tap by then to be enjoyed by all.  Congratulations once again to Alex Placito and Eric Stellrecht.
3. The next business meeting will be held on Tuesday, July  26, 2016 at 7:00 PM at Crazy Jake’s.
4. THERE WILL BE NO SOCIAL IN AUGUST DUE TO THE PROXIMITY OF THE WNY BREWERS’ PICNIC.

Business Topics

1. The Western New York Brewers’ Picnic will be Sunday, August 7th at Sheridan Park.
2. The Dude Hates Cancer will be happening once again at Resurgence Brewing this August.  Entries are capped at 25 and each brewer should enter a 5 gallon batch whether in kegs, growslers, or bottles.  A people’s choice voting method will be use to to determine the winner who gets to brew a barrel of their recipe at Resurgence.  It was mentioned that there are only eight spots remaining.
3. NYBP will be holding a homebrew competiton and fundraiser on August 28th.  We are awaiting more details.
4. The VP election will be held in October.  You may nomimate yourself or any member in good standing to be on the ballot.  We ask that nominees have been a member of the club for at least 2 years.  Please contact Tim Belczak or Marcus Palmisano with any nominations.

BJCP Style Education

1. Greg Zorn gave a good presentation on Hefeweizen and brought two commercial examples to compare and enjoy.
2. July’s style will be Munich Helles, presented by Marcus Palmisano.
3. August’s BJCP style will be Kolsch, presented by Alex Placito.
4. If you want to present a style and perhaps brew an example of your own to go along with your presentation, contact Tim Belczak to get on the list. We’d like to fill the list up several months in advance to give members the opportunity to brew an example for the presentation if they desire.  If you’re not an expert, this is a great way to lean a style and educate others.  The club pays for the beer and you can find all the information you need on the BJCP website.  New presenters are always encouraged.

Meeting was adjourned and we shared some delicious homebrew with one another.

Niagara Association of Homebrewers
Meeting Minutes: May 24, 2016

Member Announcements

1. 17 current members were present.

Business Meetings/Socials

1. May’s Social was at Lockhouse Distillery.  We were treated to a tour and were set free on their extensive flavor library with measured amounts of fruits, vegetables, spices, nuts, etc. in a measured volume of neutral spirits.
2. The next business meeting will be held on Tuesday, June  28, 2016 at 7:00 PM at Crazy Jake’s.
3. June’s Social will be at Pizza Plant Canalside.  Unofficial start is 7:00 on June 14th PM and all are welcome.

Business Topics30

1. “Brew at the Bison” will be June 11 in the Flying Bison parking lot.  More details here.
2. The Western New York Brewers’ Picnic will be Sunday, August 7th at Sheridan Park.
3. The Dude Hates Cancer will be happening once again at Resurgence Brewing this August.  Entries are capped at 25 and each brewer should enter a 5 gallon batch whether in kegs, growslers, or bottles.  A people’s choice voting method will be use to to determine the winner who gets to brew a barrel of their recipe at Resurgence.

BJCP Style Education

1. Erv Brese gave a great overview of sours and blending.  He provided some wonderful homebrewed examples produced by him and others. He also shared some commercial examples from his cellar.
2. June’s style will be Weissbier, presented by Greg Zorn
3. July’s style will be Helles, presented by Marcus Palmisano.
4. If you want to present a style and perhaps brew an example of your own to go along with your presentation, contact Tim Belczak to get on the list. We’d like to fill the list up several months in advance to give members the opportunity to brew an example for the presentation if they desire.  If you’re not an expert, this is a great way to lean a style and educate others.  The club pays for the beer and you can find all the information you need on the BJCP website.  New presenters are always encouraged.

Meeting was adjourned and we shared some delicious homebrew with one another.

Niagara Association of Homebrewers
Meeting Minutes: March 22, 2016

Member Announcements

1. 21 current members were present.
2. Jim was voted in as a new member.
3. Vince joined us for his first meeting after speaking with us at Art of Beer and Beerology.
4. 2016 dues ($25/individual; $30/couple) can be paid to Eric Stellrecht.

Business Meetings/Socials

1. February’s Social was at 12 Gates Brewing Company and Rob Haag guided us on a personal tour.  It was also Taco Tuesday!
2. The next business meeting will be held on Tuesday, April  26, 2016 at 7:00 PM at Crazy Jake’s.
3. April’s social was recommended by Alex Placito.  We will visit Blue Monk for the last time as a group on April 12.  Should they close their doors prior to that, we’ll call an audible and the social will be at the Tavern at Windsor Park.
4. May’s social will be at Lockhouse Distillery and will include the Sultans of Swig and the Buffalo Beer Goddesses.

20th Annual Amber Waves of Grain (AWOG)

Registration for Brewers is closed and we broke 600 entries once again.  Judges and Stewards may still sign up until March 30th.

Brewers’ Night Out (our annual awards banquet) is April 2 and the deadline on discounted tickets has been extended until March 30 when our final count is due.  The Sponsors List keeps growing and we’ve got some heavy hitters on board with some serious prizes.  For tickets and more information, visit our Brewers’ Night Out page.

Business Topics

1. The Art of Beer and Beerology on back-to-back nights made for a busy weekend, but the foot traffic and interest in the club was impressive.  We brewed an American Mild (using NY Craft Malt) at Beerology that will be served at AWOG.
2. “Brew at the Bison” will tentatively be June 11 in the Flying Bison parking lot.  We’ll look into generating generate some publicity out to the general public in case they want to see homebrewing in action.
3. A good amount of discussion took place regarding BJCP exams and the associated prep classes.  There seemed to be a fair amount of interest in the classes, but we need an organizer.  A core group of judges is always happy to help guide the classes, but we need someone to find a venue, pool funds from participants, and organize beer purchases class-by-class.  Each student should be prepared to present a technical topic to the class at least once throughout the 10 sessions.  Judges will help by comparing and contrasting styles, helping with palate development and descriptors, and focusing on the following aspects of the exam score sheet:  perception, descriptive ability, scoring accuracy, completeness, and feedback.  In addition to stewarding, judging, and practicing on your own, this is the best venue to learn to become a judge or increase your BJCP rank.  Email Tim Belczak (tim@belczak.net) if you are interested in the class.  We’d like to find an organizer ASAP and start classes mid-April so it’s a relaxed (bi-weekly) pace leading up to the October 1 exam.
4. Judges are needed in Rochester for UNYHA’s competition.  We’ve sent out emails asking for help as well.  They send a fair amount of judges our way every year for AWOG and we need to do our part to reciprocate.  Judging will be April 9 at the Fairport Brewing Company.
5. It’s late notice, but the Erie County Fair just registered their homebrew competition on the BJCP website.  Entries are due at the Hamburg Farigrounds by Friday April 8th and judging will take place April 23.  If you can help judging or stewarding, you may hand-carry your entries the morning of judging as long as you arrive a little early.  More info can be found here and please contact Tim Belczak (tim@belczak.net) if you can judge or steward.  Plenty of help is needed.
6. A general reminder was given to clean up the meeting room as you leave (take bottles home to reuse or recycle if possible).  The meeting room has looked great recently and thank you to everyone who pitches in!
7. A general reminder was given to make sure you square up any tabs at business meetings or social events.  Members who stick around later at these events end up footing the bill.  It’s not a common occurrence, but something to be conscious of.
8. Three members of the Buffalo Beer Goddesses joined our meeting and were the guest judges for this year’s random trios, which was a fantasy draft theme where we drafted ingredients and brewed two distinct beers.  We did not end up with enough participants to fill 8 teams, so we only ended up with four brewers on a team and one round of judging instead of a bracket.  A big thanks to Albe Pilon for organizing this annual event!

   First Place: California Common
   Brewers: Tim Belczak, John DePaolo, Wally Kopinski, Marcus Palmisano

   Second Place: Eisbock
   Dan Baish, Matt Shotwell, Eric Stellrecht, Mark Zambron

   Third Place: Russian Imperial Stout
   Tim Collins, Mike Conley, John Crossett, Harry Odebauer

   Fourth Place: American Brown
   Jason Crossett, Albe Pilon, Alex Placito, Sean Wall 

BJCP Style Education

1. March’s style was Bock beers and Mike Conley gave a great overview of the style with examples from Spaten and Bell’s.
2. April’s style will be California Common, presented by John DePaolo.
3. No one volunteered to present a style in May.  If you want to present a style and perhaps brew an example of your own to go along with your presentation, contact Tim Belczak to get on the list. We’d like to fill the list up several months in advance to give members the opportunity to brew an example for the presentation if they desire.  If you’re not an expert, this is a great way to lean a style and educate others.  The club pays for the beer and you can find all the information you need on the BJCP website.  New presenters are always encouraged.

Meeting was adjourned and we shared some delicious homebrew with one another.

Niagara Association of Homebrewers
Meeting Minutes: January 26, 2016

Member Announcements

1. 17 current members were present.
2. 3 new members were voted in – Bill, Lisa and Greg.
3. Jerry joined us for his first meeting.
4. 2016 dues ($25/individual; $30/couple) can be paid to Eric Stellrecht.

Holidaze Recap

Holidaze was well attended and the new venue worked out great.  We all enjoyed a delicious spread of food and homebrew.

In addition to the $25 Niagara Tradition certificate we buy each year, we also raffled the following prizes that were generously donated, unprompted, by some amazing local businesses.

1. Community Beer Works – one 10-fill growler card ($120)
2. 12 Gates Brewing – two growlers with fills ($18 each)
3.  Niagara Tradition – $15 certificate and $10 certificate
4. New York Beer Project – one growler will fill ($18)

Business Meetings/Socials

1. The February 9th Social will be at New York Beer Project and the Sultans will be there as well.  7:00 is the official start time, but some members usually show up early to eat.
2. The next business meeting will be held on Tuesday, January 23, 2016 at 7:00 PM at Crazy Jake’s.

20th Annual Amber Waves of Grain (AWOG)

John Crossett is the new organizer for AWOG this year.  The event has been registered for April 1-2 and committee meetings are underway.

We need a volunteer to brew a sessionable calibration beer for the judges on April 1-2.  If there’s any left, it will also be served at the banquet on April 2.  If you’re interested in brewing something else to serve at the banquet, contact John Crossett (jpcrossett@gmail.com) so he can plan according and let Tim Belczak (tbelczak@niagarabrewers.org) know if you want to use any donated NY Craft Malt.  The club has sacks of 2-row and Munich for events like this.

The registration website should be up in the next week or so – Tim Belczak is working on finalizing it.

If you can please help with anything (bottle registration, coordinating a breakfast, lunch or dinner order, photocopying paperwork, set-up, clean-up, etc.) please contact John Crossett. If we spread responsibilities out among many members the burden will not be as great on the core group of organizers or any one individual.

Business Topics

1. The Roycroft Inn is hosting a four-course homebrew and food pairing on Thursday, February 18.  Each course will be paired with one brew from the Sultans of Swig (who organized the event) and one beer from Niagara Association of Homebrewers.  Cost of the dinner is $30 and reservations should be made by calling the Roycroft Inn at (716) 652-5552.
2. The Art of Beer will be held on Friday, March 4 at the NACC. We will be sharing a table with Niagara Tradition and assisting with the brew demo.  Thank you to those who volunteered to help.
3. Beerology is Saturday, March 5. We will be brewing a demo in the kitchen like we’ve done in the past.  Tickets sold out on January 27th.
4. Dick and Jenny’s on Grand Island is interested in offering a homebrew course.  Tim Collins offered to stop in to find out more details.
5. The club’s new website has been launched.  More features will be added as we go along, but we will be focusing on functionality and keeping things up-to-date (calendar, meeting minutes, etc.).  If you have interest in writing content for the site, please contact Tim Belczak for a login.

BJCP Style Education

1. Tom Piwtorak gave an excellent overview of ciders and perry.  He brought three homemade examples – a still, medium-dry cider, a medium-sweet carbonated cider and a perry.  We leaned at the end of the presentation that the first two were actually the same cider that he backsweetened to different levels the night before and force-carbonated one.
2. February’s style will be Baltic Porters, presented by Dan Karyczak.
3. March’s style will be Bocks, presented by Mike Conley.
4. If you want to present a style and perhaps brew an example of your own to go along with your presentation, contact Tim Belczak to get on the list. We’d like to fill the list up several months in advance to give members the opportunity to brew an example for the presentation if they desire.

Meeting was adjourned and we shared some delicious homebrew with one another.