Niagara Association of Homebrewers
Meeting Minutes: December 22, 2015

Member Announcements

1. 14 current members were present.
2. 3 new member were voted in – Eric, Mary and Harry.
3. 2016 dues ($25/individual; $30/couple) can be paid to Eric Stellrecht.

Business Meetings/Socials

1. We had about 10 members show up for our December Social at Handlebar. It’s a neat little space with a dozen beers on tap as well as a variety of bottles. They also offer smoothies and cocktails as well as a light menu of rice bowls and flatbread pizzas.
2. Holidaze will be on Saturday, January 16, 2016 at Lakeshore Fire Hall in Hamburg. More info below…’
3. There will be no January social given the proximity of Holidaze on the calendar.
4. The next business meeting will be held on Tuesday, January 26, 2016 at 7:00 PM at Crazy Jake’s.

Holidaze

1. When: Saturday, January 16, 2016 at 6:00 PM
2. Where: Lakeshore Fire Hall at 4591 Lake Shore Road in Hamburg.
3. Map/Directions: https://goo.gl/maps/V71dXPVJ5uD2
4. Bring your best homebrew to share (or commercial beer if you have no homebrew), and a dish to pass.
5. Current members plus one guest get in free. Additional guests are $5 each.
6. We have extended a free invitation to the Sultans of Swig, who may each bring a guest.
7. Dues may be paid at the party. Rates remain the same: $25/individual or $30/couple.
8. We will be doing a secret bottle exchange once again. Bring a great bottle of homebrew or commercial beer, which will be blindly exchanged at the party. One participant will receive an extra prize!
9. We’ve received very few responses so far. Please RSVP here so we can plan accordingly: www.SignUpGenius.com/go/20F054FA5A92BA7FE3-holidaze

20th Annual Amber Waves of Grain (AWOG)

After running AWOG for many years, Todd Snyder stepped down as Competition Organizer and John Crossett agreed to take over his responsibilities. A big thank you to both gentlemen for past and future work. A call for help has been sent out for a lot of things that go beyond stewarding and judging. 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 ASAP at jpcrossett@gmail.com. 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. Because of the late start and limited availability of the Knights of Columbus, the tentative dates for Amber Waves of Grain have been pushed back to April 1-2, 2016 – soon to be finalized.

Business Topics

1. The Art of Beer will be held on Friday, March 4, 2016 at the NACC. We will be sharing a table with Niagara Tradition and assisting with the brew demo. Tim Belczak will attend and bring a keg. We could use one or two more club members to help work the table.
2. Tickets are on sale for Beerology, which is on Saturday, March 5, 2016. We will be brewing a demo in the kitchen like we’ve done in the past. Tim Belczak will bring the leftover keg from Art of Beer and we could use another 1-2 members to show up with homebrew and help with the demo.
3. Terry Felton mentioned that the 37th Annual National Homebrewers Conference is in Baltimore this year (June 9-11, 2016) and we’re starting to gauge interest in getting a caravan of members there, possibly with our club booth to exhibit.
4. A new website was developed for the club in October and will be launched as soon as we can point the domain to the new host.

BJCP Style Education

1. Marcus gave a presentation on wood-aged beers and brought Anderson Valley Wild Turkey Bourbon Barrel Stout. It was a great presentation and a fine example.
2. January’s Style Education will be Ciders, presented by Tom Piwtorak.
3. February’s style will be Baltic Porters, presented by Dan Karyczak.
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.

Niagara Association of Homebrewers
Meeting Minutes: November 24, 2015

Member Announcements

1. 22 Members/Prospects were present.
2. Rob Haag took the BJCP tasting exam in August and is our club’s newest judge! The Sultans also added two judges to the local judge pool.
3. Erik, Mary and Wes attended their second meeting.
4. 2016 dues ($25/individual; $30/couple) can be paid to Eric Stellrecht.

Business Meetings/Socials

1. We had a good turnout for our November Social at 42 North Brewing. The beers were very good and the tour was much appreciated.
2. The next social on December 8 will be at HandleBar in downtown Buffalo.
3. The next business meeting will be held on December 22, 2015 at 7:00 PM at Crazy Jake’s.

Business Topics

1. We had a date picked for Holidaze but ran into difficulties when the Knights of Columbus prohibited us from bringing our own homebrew. Alternate venues are quickly being explored so a date can be set.
2. The Sultans of Swig still need five beers for their Dears, Beers and Cheers fundraiser on December 5. There is no registration fee and a brewer may enter multiple beers. Contact Andy Urban at sultansofswig@gmail.com.
3. The Art of Beer will be held on Friday, March 4, 2016 at the NACC. We will likely be sharing a table with Niagara Tradition and assisting with the brew demo, and pouring beer.
4. Tickets go on sale December 1 for Beerology, which is on Saturday, March 5, 2016. We will likely be brewing a demo in the kitchen like we’ve done in the past.
5. The tentative dates for Amber Waves of Grain are March 25-26, 2016.
6. We drew names for the Sultans of Swig/American Homebrewers Association beer/food pairing at the Roycroft Inn. The date for the dinner will be February 4th or February 25th. Brewers representing NAH will be Alex Placito, Sean Wall, Marcus Palmisano, and Tom Piwtorak.
7. A new website has been developed for the club and should be launched shortly.
8. Albe Pilon quickly discussed the Random Trios. Some teams have already brewed and others were discussing recipes.

BJCP Style Education

1. November’s BJCP style education was presented by Mark Zambron. He gave and excellent PowerPoint presentation on Kentucky Common and brought his homebrewed example as well as Common Sense from Upstate Brewing Company.
2. December’s style will be wood aged beers presented by Marcus Palmisano.

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

Niagara Association of Homebrewers
Meeting Minutes: October 27, 2015

Member Announcements

1. 25+ Members/Prospects were present.
2. Tim Belczak is the club’s new 2015-2016 president. Marcus Palmisano was elected vice president and will become the 2016-2017 president next October.
3. 2016 dues ($25/individual; $30/couple) can now be paid to Eric Stellrecht. There are a few current members who owe for 2015 and even back to 2014. If you have questions as to your membership status, Eric can be emailed at ericstellrecht@gmail.com.
4. Bill and Harry attended their second meeting.
5. Erik and Mary attended their first meeting.

Business Meetings/Socials

1. Sean Wall recapped a well-attended social at Marcy Casino which featured beers by Community Beer Works.
2. The next Social on November 10 will be at 42 North Brewing in East Aurora.
3. The next business meeting will be held on November 23, 2105 7:00 PM at Crazy Jake’s.

Business Topics

1. Tim Belczak is finalizing a new website for the club and asked members to contribute any brewing-related photos for it. They can be uploaded to https://www.wetransfer.com/?to=tim@belczak.net.
2. The annual Holidaze party is coming up and we are still investigating the possibility of moving it to December this year.
3. Alex Placito mentioned that High Bines has local pelletized lab-tested hops for sale at $20/lb. Cascade, Nugget, and Centennial are still available.  Contact Ian Howard (highbines@yahoo.com) if interested.
4. Albe Pilon ran the fantasy brewing draft for the four teams involved this year. Each team will brew two distinctly different beers using only the ingredients they drafted.

BJCP Style Education

1. October’s BJCP style education was presented by Scott Kroon. He discussed Festbier and brought commercial examples from Paulaner and Warsteiner.
2. November’s BJCP style will be Kentucky Common presented by Mark Zambron.

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