Editors Note: [Please submit any beer related information or articles to the newsletter editor at m@ttjarvis.com or call me at 342-2203. The ‘deadline’ is the 3rd Sunday of the month.]

Next Meeting:

Pub Crawl

Instead of a regular meeting, we will be having a fun-as-always pub crawl on Saturday April 26th. We will start at 3pm at the Steelhead and migrate over to West Bros. From there onto the Wild Duck then who knows….

Homebrew Club Benefit Dinner

Belgian Theme. Keep your ears open as the date has not been finalized yet. Wanted: 4 Volunteers to contribute hors d’oeuvres; 2 Volunteers for set-up; 2 Volunteers for serving. Seating space limited so call Rod Surcamp 915-8707© or 338-4600(h) for more info, volunteering, and reservations!

Last Meeting:

We had a great turnout for the Stout Night & St. Paddy’s Day celebration. Many thanks to Chris & Eddie for hosting at their wonderful new house. Lots of great eats, and twelve homebrewed Stouts were on tap! Somebody call the Pope ‘cause Hell hath froze over! Mark Dillon brewed up what he called “Resurrection Stout” and it was a hit. Hope you got a taste because at this rate Russ’s son will be President by the time Mark brews another…. Chris gave a very informative presentation on the history of Stout and the style guidelines, including the lore of stout as a healthful tonic (gee - wish he had told me this stuff before I tried brewing my Listerine Stout). We didn’t have any sort of judging, but I made a valiant effort to try as many as possible and they were all very, very nice… [submitted by Matt Jarvis]

And Now a Word from President Robin Chitwood:

Most of the home brewers I know would disdain any kind of fascination with fancy equipment or brewing gadgets. Their brewing systems are a means to an end, employing bare essentials so as to concentrate on technique.
I’m not sure when I became aware that I was developing a gadget habit. First came the twirling sparge arm, then the oxygen tank with the aeration stone. Of course I had to have a CO2 tank and a few pop kegs to save all that time spent bottling. Now there are two refrigerators for beer and additional cabinets for brewing supplies.
When I started to build a new brewing system over a year ago my plan was relatively simple: a gravity system with three converted Sanke Kegs. Months later after several shipments of fittings, hoses, tubing and clamps from McMaster-Carr it has morphed into a full-blown HERMS system with pumps and a mash tun that tips to dump spent grain. Somebody stop me! I am within a few hours of completing this thing if I don’t change it or add something else. Don’t tell me about thermocouples or controllers, float valves or sight glasses; I am going to finish this thing and brew!

And Now a Word from President Kent Macdonald:

KLCC is having their annual MicroBrewfest and Home Brew Competition on March 28, 29, and 30th at the Lane County Fairgrounds.  CALL FOR JUDGES - contact Chip Hardy if you are available for judging.

Dues are Due!!  Please pay Janie or send them to our address at :
25823 Tanya Ln, Veneta, OR 97487.

Proust!  Kent

Taps Around Town:

[Editor’s Note: Many apologies to the club and especially Janie…. she busted her tail to get Taps-Around-Town info into the last newsletter, and I forgot all about it. Won’t happen again… mj]

All of the Breweries have their collaboration brew on tap right now, it is a Milk Stout. All of the other taps mentioned are specialty beers -- here now - drunk tomorrow!.

High Street: Working Man's Red  (Irish Red Ale)
Milk Stout

West Bros: Dope Dog Pale Ale
Easy St. Bitter
Mad Cow Milk Stout
Coming soon:   Funky Monk Abbey Ale
 
Wild Duck: McGrumpy's Irish Ale
Default Alt
Old Growth Ipa
Milk Stout
Coming soon: Imperial Sassy

Steelhead: Emerald Irish Ale
Mother's Milk Stout

Fisherman's Market: Leavenworth Blind Pig Dunkleweisen
Fishtail Ale Organic Ipa

That is it for this month. Go hoist a few! - Janie

The Treasury Report:

We currently have $907.78 in the bank and another $245 in dues owed. We have already paid for the campout and budget for the year is an estimated $400. If you haven't paid your dues you can give them to Kent or I.  If you want to mail them our address is:  25823 Tanya Ln., Veneta, Or. 97487. If you have any ideas about the extra funds, bring them up at the next meeting. - Janie

Upcoming Club Meetings and Other Events:

KLCC Microbrew-Fest : Beer-Pourers Needed. KLCC's Microbrew-Fest, a benefit for Easter Seals, is being held March 28 & 29 at the Lane County Fairgrounds. As a volunteer pourer (21 & older) you receive free admission (for both days) to the event.  And though you are welcome to come before or stay after your shift, you are not allowed (by law) to drink prior to or during your shift. The shifts available are as follows:

Friday, March 28: 3:30-7:30 p.m.     OR     7:15-11:15 p.m.
Saturday, March 29: 3:30-7:30 p.m.     OR     7:15-11:15 p.m.

If you would like to be a volunteer for KLCC's Microbrew-Fest, please respond to Shirley Valentine, KLCC, at 463-6008, to let her know the shift you (or your group) would like to work.  A short OLCC training (10 minutes) is required.

McMenemin’s in Roseburg 4th Anniversary Party and Benefit Saturday April 19th 11am - 11pm!

Beers from Caldera (Ashland), Standing Stone (Ashland), Wild River (Grants Pass), Hawks (Roseburg), Walkabout (Central Point), Mia & Pia’s (Klamath Falls), Klamath Basin Brewing (K. Falls) and McMenamins (Roseburg). Live music - all ages welcome!

Big Brew 2003 will be here before you know it! It is always the first weekend in May. Stay tuned for further details. See Denny Conn (site coordinator) for more information.

Bus Trip

Chip had a great idea - instead of a long journey to parts unknown, how about a trip up the Oregon Coast? The bus is pretty much already paid for - we need to “use it or lose it” one of these days. Time to be announced - get in touch with Robin or Kent if you have any ideas or suggestions….

Caveman Brewing Coming Soon !!

Yes, the idea for this involved just a wee bit of consumption of alcohol…..  While talking with Russ and Robin, Robin said he had an idea and that we would call him nuts for suggesting it. But as it turns out it sounds like a heckuva fun project. “Caveman Brewing” - no instruments of any kind. No thermometers, scales, hydrometers, measuring cups etc. Just pure flyin’ by the seat of ones’ pants…. we’re thinking of picking a mainstream sort of style that we are all familiar with, then just goin’ for it…. stay tuned.

Other News:

Homebrew Supplies
One of our new members, David Pierce of Double Barrel Brewing Company in Florence, has offered club members a 20% discount on brewing ingredients and supplies. He’ll even bring your order to Eugene on a weekly basis. You can contact David at 342-8695 or better yet, davidp@cmc.net
 
 

VIRTUAL BEER [by Denny Conn]

Welcome to the first edition of "Virtual Beer", a guide to beer and brewing resources on the Internet.  In this column I'll be looking at places on the Internet where you can get advice or give advice, discuss brewing techniques and technology, order equipment and supplies, and get ideas and assistance on buying and building brewing systems and equipment.  So, grab a cold one and let's get started!

Probably my favorite place for advice and info is the rec.crafts.brewing (rcb) newsgroup.  It's a large, interactive (but not real time) group of brewers, ranging from total newbies to people who have years of experience.  It's a great place to find people who have had similar brewing experiences if you have problems or questions about a batch...and if you don't have problems of your own, it's a great place to pay back what you've learned by helping others.  Unlike many newsgroups, there's a real friendly community atmosphere here (just don't ask about which mill to buy!)  If you don't know how to read newsgroups, email me and I'll try to help you get setup.  Other good newsgroups for beer appreciation and news are rec.food.drink.beer and alt.beer.  Lots more flaming going on here, but lots of good info if you look for it.

One of the oldest and most useful resources around is the Home Brew Digest.  You can either subscribe and get it via email daily, or read it directly on their website.  Instructions for subscribibg are also on the website.  HBD generally attracts more experienced, geeky (who, us?) brewers.  This is where you can find esoteric debates on HSA, science vs. experience, optimal cell counts for pitching, and designing a RIMS or HERMS system.  There's also the inimitable "FridgeGuy", who has the REAL answers to cooling questions!  Much more advanced level of knowledge than on rcb, and usually some hilarious posts by Aussie brewers.  HBD also runs the "Brews and Views" discussion board.  There's some really valuable info here, in an almost real time question and answer format.  Participants range from total newbies to professional brewers.  I find this to be an especially useful place to run a wild idea by a bunch of brewing loonies to see if anyone's done it before or has an opinion.

Next time, we'll take a closer look at "Brews and Views", and some websites where you can pick up some cool brewing gadgets.  In the meantime, here's a link (http://www.barleys.nl/index.htm?thuisbrouwerijen) to a website filled with pictures and descriptions of some really interesting brewing systems. And if there's something you'd like to see covered in a future column or you have questions, please shoot me an email at denny@projectoneaudio.com

  ---------->Denny Conn

[Editors note: Check out the great work Denny has been doing on our club website at www.hbd.org/cascade !!]
 
 

Club Information:  For over 20 years, Cascade Brewers Society is a sometimes formal, but mostly informal club devoted to the appreciation and art of creating fine alcoholic beverages (you know; beer, mead, cider, and wine). For more information regarding the Cascade Brewers Society, please contact Kent Macdonald at 935-5711 or Robin Chitwood at 342-2397.