Announcements
Thanks to Gera and Rock Bottom, the club once again enjoyed the lovely and spacious confines of Rock Bottom’s group room in downtown Minneapolis this past Saturday. As recompense for the brewery’s hospitality, the club purchased six pitchers of varying beer styles for the enjoyment of the twenty (or so) attendees. It WAS the election meeting, so no one dared step away to the restroom for long, for fear of returning to find that he or she was now in an elected position!
It was great to see some new faces, and one of those new faces will be seen on the MHBA Board for the next two years. Dan Dugan, fresh off the bus from D.C., accepted a nomination for (and won) an at-large seat. The other at-large seat was filled by Paul Illa, who (besides assisting with the printing of the calendar cards each member will be receiving) also will be serving for two years.
The club very much appreciates Al Boyce, who had been in an at-large seat the past two years.
The other at-large seat up for election had been filled by Gera Exire LaTour, who also had been the club treasurer this past year. On Saturday she was elected to remain treasurer for another year, but vacated the at-large seat she had held so that there could be more people involved on the board. President Brett Glenna, vice-president John Longballa, and secretary Dave Royer were all re-elected to their one-year positions. Chris Smith and Matt Weide are in two-year at-large seats that will be open next February. Michael Cote is a board member as President Emeritus.
Mike Behrendt and Mike Moranz raised the question of whether the club’s cash assets are too high, and asked the board to draft a budget for the coming year, and the board will do so. One reason mentioned for having a large amount of money is that the cost of meeting space might be rising dramatically in 2015, as the CSPS Hall is no longer able to give us the fantastic rate that they have held for us for decades. They are still giving us a break versus their regular rate, but just not as much of a break.
Here is the list of brewers who brought their wares to be sampled by all. They’ll be entering (or climbing) the ranks of the club’s Brewers of Fame program.
John Vircks–Ivan and Arthur: Baltic Porter
Brett Glenna and Paul Illa: English Mild
Gera Exire LaTour: Mead with blackberries and tart cherries
Brett Glenna: Scottish 70/-
Jon Hunter: Vienna
Paul Illa: Gose
Thanks again to Rock Bottom for once again granting us some free space!
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One more reminder about the social event next week on Wednesday, March 11th. Stop out for a $3 pint and say hi to your fellow home brewers! Check out the calendar event page for all the details!
Thanks to everyone who came out to Rock Bottom Brewery this past Saturday for our annual business meeting. We took care of officer elections, had some good discussion on some important issues and had some great beer!
Your President, Vice-President, Secretary and Treasurer all stayed the same as did two of the four at-large officers. We welcomed two new at-large officers in this year for a two-year term. They are Daniel Dugan and Paul Illa. Special thanks to Al Boyce and Gera Exire La Tour who’s at-large terms came to an end.
Ledt to Right: Dave Royer, Chris Smith, Daniel Dugan, John Longballa, Paul Illa, Gera Exire La Tour, Matt Weide, Brett Glenna
Just a few reminders this week.
Meeting this Saturday
Hopefully we will see everyone this Saturday at Rock Bottom Brewery in Minneapolis for our February meeting. We will be in the private room in the dining room. This is our annual business meeting which includes officer elections. Feel free to bring your homebrew to share as well.
Social Event at Boom Island
March 11th we will have a social event at Boom Island in Minneapolis. Come join us for a beverage ($3 pints for us!) and a fun time!
March Chili Cookoff
The March club meeting is coming up on the 21st. This is our annual Chili Cookoff. This is one meeting not to miss! Bring your best chili and compete for people’s choice awards and take home the coveted “Chief Chili Pepper” award! Note for long-time attendees, the location has changed from past years. Check the event page for all the details.
St Paul Saints Game
Finally, if you haven’t purchased tickets to June’s St. Paul Saints game, do so quick. We are not expecting to be able to buy additional tickets as the game approaches so if you are thinking of coming, buy now! This will be the Saints’ first year in their new Lowertown St Paul home and it is sure to be a fun time!
It’s time for a social event! Boom Island has invited us out to their taproom for a social event Wednesday, March 11. They are offering us $3 pints all night. Put it on your calendar and swing out to chat about Belgian beers, favorite beers or to brainstorm your latest homebrew recipe.
As this is a social event at a taproom that is open, we won’t be bringing outside beer to Boom Island. Come and try their beer and bring your questions, thoughts and discussion topics!
Check out the calendar event for more details, times and location information.
Read MoreWe have a brand new social event on the books. Come check out Burning Brothers Brewing in St Paul this upcoming May 21st. Burning Brothers is a gluten free brewery with a very interesting story. The event details are available on the club calendar event. As this is a Gluten Free environment, no outside food or beverages are allowed at the brewery.
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Midwest Supplies asked us to pass on the reminder that it’s time to think about pre-ordering hop rhizomes. If you have ever considered trying to grow your own hops, now may be a good time to try it out. They are fun and amazing plants to watch grow in the spring and summer and very fun to harvest and brew with at the end of the season!
Swing over to Midwest Supplies to pre-order rhizomes for $4.99 each, or head to our Facebook group if you have questions!
Read MoreThere is a brand new benefit to being a member of the Minnesota Home Brewers Association! If you show your MHBA membership card at the Boom Island Boom Room (aka, taproom) you will get happy hour pricing all the time! Consider stopping by and saying hi next time you are in the area. A big thanks to Boom Island for extending us this discount. 
Another reminder about tonight’s meeting at Casket Cinema for the screening of “For the Love of Beer”. Details, address and timing are all on the event page on the club calendar.
We’ll also have an opportunity to discuss the homebrew you bring for the Brewers Hall of Fame. Bring at least a six-pack or keg or two-liter bottle. You may always bring a lesser amount to share informally, but it just won’t qualify for the Hall of Fame
We began this program at the November meeting, and here’s what happened there …
Quite a few folks gathered around a Barley John’s picnic table, and four brewers took turns introducing their beers and passing them around. Before we passed each beer, the brewer gave the audience a description of the recipe and process. While the group sampled the beer, questions and comments were shared.
- Jon Hunter brought a California Common brewed with Northern Brewer hops that Jon’s friend had grown.
- Heath Rhodes shared a Pliney clone. (don’t try to say that ten times quickly, and don’t confuse it with a pine cone)
- Max Brummel, who had JUST joined the club, passed around some of his very first homebrew, a dark mild.
- Chris Smith had us sample two of his creations; the first was a German Alt made with all Styrian Golding hops, and the second a wheat wine.
Each brewer will receive credit for the category of beer shared. Soon we will have a special page on the website where you can see who has received credit for which styles. There is no minimum quality requirement–just a minimum QUANTITY requirement, and that’s so that we have enough for everyone at the meeting to get a good-sized sample.
Read MoreThanks to everyone who came out to last month’s holiday party. We had a fantastic turn out with a great collection of food, beverages and people!
This year’s winners of the “Best Food” and “Best Beverage” awards went to Paul Illa and Tim Burman. Paul took best beverage with his triple IPA, brewed at Learn to Brew day at Barly John’s. Tim amazed us with “beer-amisu”, a beer version of tiramisu!
Thanks to everyone who made this past year’s party a huge success. Here is a collection of photos from the event.
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