THE BOILER Newsletter of the Minnesota homeBrewers Association February & March, 1997 HISTORY OF THE MhBA ... as I Remember it By Michael Valentiner Here is the history of the Minnesota Home Brewers Association as I remember it. Let me start out by apologizing in advance for any omissions, inaccuracies, and blatant falsehoods in what follows. Let me start with my own beginning in homebrewing, which occurred shortly before I discovered our club. It begins on a Thanksgiving back in the late '80's. I think the year was 1987. A friend had lent me a copy of Charlie Papazian's "The Complete Joy of Homebrewing" and it had been lying around for a week or so, but that night I picked it up and read it. I was so enthralled, I read it cover to cover that night. The next morning I went to the nearest homebrew store (there were only two in town back then) and bought everything I needed. Little did I know what I was getting into and where it would all lead. I brewed many a time that winter and my interest and knowledge grew. Sometime around late winter or early spring, I heard about a small homebrew club in St. Paul. How and where I heard about it I don't recall, but one evening I found myself at the home of Marty Henschel meeting a dozen or so other homebrewers in Marty's "Bosso Subterranean Blues Basement Brewery" (or something like that). The club was small and met sporadically, but some of the people I remember back then were Kelly Kehl, Lee Kramer, Otto Baade, Jeff Donaghue, Erik Meade, and Tony Ernst. After a few meetings Bill Neuenschwander appeared. Eventually, Marty resigned as the self appointed President, Bill was elected and we moved out of Marty's basement and into the living rooms of various club members, mostly Bill's. By now the year must have been 1990, but I really can't say for sure. Our club membership was still small and we didn't have the large rooms to meet in like we do now. Homebrewing was catching on and just starting to become popular. Lee Kramer started his homebrew shop and the club started meeting at places like Summit Brewery and Jim Page's new homebrew store. In the spring of 1991, we held the first "Brewathon" at Bill's house using his 15 gallon all-grain system. In back to back batches brewed over a weekend, 27+ people brewed almost 150 gallons of beer. Wow! In the fall of 1991 Bill Burdick held the first Minnesota Brew Fest at Sherlock's Home. The events around this time are particularly fuzzy, but as I recall Bill Neuenschwander stepped down as president and John Deharnis was elected to take over and served during 1992-3. It was thanks to John that we moved out of basements and living rooms and into what has become our most consistent meeting place, the CSPS Hall in St. Paul. Club membership grew, we established by-laws, and created official club positions. The following years saw Jeff Donaghue (1994) followed by Steve Piatz (1995) as Club Presidents. Interest in homebrewing exploded. Homebrew stores abound. Club membership grew. Over the years we've toured breweries large and small, visited a malting house, had speakers of top caliber present to the club. Roughly every year or so we've organized group grain buys: first we ordered a 1000 lbs., then 2000 lbs., then 2500 lbs. of malt. That's a ton and a half of malt for one order! The club is active with the Beer Judge Certification Program. We've got a number of certified judges and opportunities continue to exist for entry into the program. The club currently is co-sponsor of two of the many local homebrew contests (the two biggest mind you). Over the years my interest in homebrewing grew from extract brewing on my kitchen stove to a 15 gallon all grain system in my basement. I learned more from the club than I could ever have learn from a book. I learned about cheap sources for good equipment and the local places to find it. I tasted superb examples of beer styles that I had only read about (and some styles I hadn't even heard of). And I got honest feedback on my own brews from "the most sophisticated beer palates in town." (Lani Hoff said that.) I have served as president over the past year and I must say I've had a great time. We've had some great events, great brewery tours, and great speakers. This club is a great resource to any homebrewer, beginning or advanced. We've seen many faces come and many go, but we're still alive and going strong. If you haven't been to a club meeting for a while, you're missing a great time. If you've never been, what are you waiting for? Come on down. Cheers, Michael Valentiner TASTING AT ROCK BOTTOM BREWERY I spoke with Todd Haug, head brewer at Rock Bottom, and we've scheduled a tasting and tour at their brewpub. Mark you calendars for Monday, February 17 at 7 PM. The event will include a tasting and a tour (and possibly a food sampling, but we'll have to see when we get there.) Your on your own if you want dinner (dinner service will be available after the tasting which should take about an hour.) In regard to the tasting, Todd says they should have 6 and maybe 7 brews on tap. We will conduct an organized (ha, ha funny word for this group ;-) tasting, where we will sample a single beer at a time and fill out BJCP sheets for the benefit of Rock Bottom. That's not a bad deal: free beer for telling them what we think. Tours and the usual mayhem will follow. -Mike CLUB ELECTIONS ARE FEB 8 This is a reminder to all members about the importance of participating in the democratic process. It is your duty and priviledge to be present to cast your vote for new club officers. Besides, if you don't show up, you might get elected. D'oh! NEWSLETTER GETS A NAME Hi. Welcome to the Boiler, Newsletter of the Minnesota Homebrewers Association.I'm Scott Christensen. You may know me by such names as: "Cider Boy", or "lucky sonofabitch#*&$%@! got 2nd at the &*%$# natn'ls with Indian @#$&%crapSummer." My wife, Maren, and I are trying our hand at producing this newsletter since the job seemed to be floating free lately. We decided to give it a name other than "the newsletter", and though I realize this might've best been a committee decision, we did it anyway, so sue us. But seriously, folksxit's your newsletter and we are just here to serve you, the dues paying members, for as long as it remains amusing to us. If you think of a better name or want more input in the process, or just generally want to put your two cents worth in, too bad. It's already done, so go*&$%# yourself. Ha ha ha ha. -Scott Well yes. Hmmm. I see Scott has been at the cider a little early today. I would just like to say that we are open to any input regarding the format or content of the newsletter. This issue was put together rather quickly, but we hope to add more artwork and other nifty bits in the future. Please send your submissions and comments to SC3216@aol.com, or Christensens, 3216 Harriet Av. S. Mpls, MN 55408 Thanks, Maren TREASURER'S REPORT As of 1/1/97 the MhBA had a cash balance of $1,532.97. Total number of current memberships was 112. The club had receipts of $122.78 more than expenses in 1996. A detailed breakdown of income and expenses is listed below. As always, complete financial details can be obtained from me at any meeting, or by e-mailing me at AKBBENSON@AOL.COM. Please check the membership expiration date on your mailing label. If your membership has expired, please renew your membership by mailing $10 to MhBA, c/o Bruce Benson, Treasurer, 6632 Clinton Av. S., Richfield, MN 55423. If your mailing label does not list an expiration date, you are receiving a complementary copy of this newsletter. Complementary copies are sent to area homebrewing retailers, breweries, and other friends of the MhBA. 1996 MhBA Income and Expense Report INCOME Door donation 31.00 Equipment Donation 56.00 Malt Auction 30.00 Membership 1,115.00 Total Income 1,232.00 EXPENSES Beer 67.50 Food 10.00 Hall Rental 315.00 Hotline 156.00 Misc. Supplies 12.80 Newsletter 547.92 Total Expenses 1,109.22 Income Less Expenses 122.78 Bruce Benson, MhBA Treasurer CLUB SCHEDULE AND EVENTS Feb. 8 (Saturday) 1-5 p.m. CSPS Hall, St. Paul. Club elections and Brewer Carl Bremmer will talk about his St. Croix line of beers and what life is like as "virtual" brewer. Feb. 17 (Monday) 7 p.m. Tasting at Rock Bottom Brewery Feb. 20 (Thursday) 7:30 p.m. Lake Fellowship West End Group Meeting Mar. 8 (Saturday) 1-5 Walker Church, Mpls. Yeast ranching, yeast propagation. Mar. 20 (Thursday) 7:30 p.m. Lake Fellowship West End Group Meeting April 17 (Thursday) 7:30 p.m. Lake Fellowship West End Group Meeting LAST TWO MEETINGS BOTH AT ST. PAUL BREWERIES The December 2nd meeting found us at Mill Street Brewing Company in St. Paul. Thanks to Brewmaster Ron Flett for giving a talk about the operation there, and leading us in many small group tours through the brewery. We enjoyed happy hour prices on beer and snacks while conducting club business, which mostly amounted to nominating candidates to run in the upcoming elections on Feb 8. A pleasant time was enjoyed by all. The January 19 meeting at Summit Brewing Company in St. Paul featured a talk by Kurt Graffunder on lager brewing. Other business included discussions of the calendar, and, of course, the upcoming elections on Feb 8. Thanks to Mark Stutrud for providing the swell meeting place and free beer. WESTIES CELEBRATE 18 YEARS OF LEGAL HOMEBREWING To celebrate the 18 years since the US decriminalized homebrewing, the West Side faction of the MhBA is planning a homebrewing competition to be judged at their Sept 18 meeting. The catch is, you'll have to use 18 different ingredients in the amount of at least 1 ounce each. Finings and water treatments don't count, for those of you planning to use an ounce of Burton salts or some such thing. For more details contact Gary Sinnen 443-2015. TIP: These homebrew Shops offer club members a 10% discount: Brew and Grow, Fridley Northern Brewer, St. Paul Wind River, Eden Prairie Brew By You, Minnetonka Midwest Homebrew Supplies, St. Louis Park Remember: Club Elections are February 8, 1997 HomeBrew Hotline: 229-5129