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.

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.