The Broken Seals Monthly Meeting - March Recap

Maybe if anyone really starts following this blog I would be more inclined to update it in a more timely manner, and more often. Oh well, until then, here's last month's recap:

The Broken Seals last met on March 18. We had six members in attendance and two guests. Here's a rundown of the beers:

Emily    English Pale Ale               Monty Python's Holy Grail Ale
Eric      Belgian Strong Pale Ale    Brooklyn Local 1
Giles    Hefeweizen                       Weihenstephaner Hefeweissbier
Jared   Czech Pilsener                  Měšťanský Pivovar Rebel
Jason   American Strong Ale         Lagunitas Hairy Eyeball Ale
Will     Wheatwine                        Boulevard Harvest Dance

Our guests brought Flying Dog Raging Bitch Belgian-Style IPA, Breckenridge SummerBright Ale, and Summit Maibock.

Jason won Best Beer of the Night (as voted on by members) and won a $5 Spec's gift card.
I had worst beer of the night. Yay me!

We went to No Label Brewing on April 9. Jason, Emily, Giles and I were in attendance. We met Hobie, the marketing manager for Pub Hub, who gave us some free pint cards and invited us to have a field trip there. I also invited Brian, the head brewer/owner of No Label to an upcoming meeting. Also of note was the Black Wit (can you say oxymoron?) that they had on tap. Very good! Yum!

Saint Arnold released Divine Reserve 11 on March 29. Several members were able to acquire a few six-packs.

The next meeting will be at Giles and Emily's house on Saturday April 16.

Here is the list from last meeting's spin on the Wheel O' Beer:

David - American Porter

Emily - Belgian IPA

Eric - American Double / Imperial Stout

Giles - Pumpkin Ale

Jared - American Porter

Jason - American Double / Imperial Stout

Rob - English Pale Mild Ale

Will - Black & Tan

Emily also incurred the Broken Seal Penalty.

We have already had the following beers from the specified categories:

American Porter - Tommyknocker Cocoa Porter Winter Warmer

Belgian IPA - Flying Dog Raging Bitch Belgian-Style IPA

American Double / Imperial Stout - Great Divide Espresso Oak Aged Yeti Imperial Stout, Lagunitas Cappuccino Stout, Southern Star Buried Hatchet Stout

Pumpkin Ale - Dogfish Head Punkin Ale

If anyone is having trouble finding a beer in their category, check this site: http://beeradvocate.com/beer/style

If you can't find a beer representative of your style, you can go up or down one category. Please note that I have removed the following from our list of styles:

• American Wild Ale
• Bière de Garde
• Flanders Oud Bruin
• Gueuze
• Lambic-Unblended
• Sahti
• Gose
• Roggenbier
• Kvass
• Low Alcohol Beer
• Rauchbier
• Happoshu
• Smoked Beer

And don't forget, the first to "break their seal" once we start drinking will incur a penalty.

I'll try and get better at updating this.

Prost!

The Broken Seals Monthly Meeting - February Recap

The Broken Seals last met on February 19. I know, I know... I'm really late updating this. Especially considering the next meeting is next Friday. Whatever. I've been busy with German houseguests and drinking lots of beer. By the way, sign up and check me out on http://www.untappd.com/.

In addition to the five members in attendance, we also had three guests join us for our beer tasting. Here is a list of what everyone brought:

Bill	Oatmeal Stout	Independence Convict Hill Oatmeal Stout
Eric	Chile Beer	Twisted Pine Billy's Chilies Beer
Jared	Scotch Ale / Wee Heavy	Oskar Blues Old Chub
Jason	American Amber / Red Lager	Brooklyn Lager
Rob	English Pale Ale	Boddingtons Pub Ale

Our guests are homebrewers, and we invited them to join on the spot based on their enthusiasm and knowledge of beer. Welcome Giles, Emily, and Will! Needless to say, they brought some homebrews for their first meeting.

Bill will be taking a leave from the club. He has several other obligations that are limiting his personal time, so he will let us know when he will join us again

Reminder: the penalty beer should be a single 750 mL bottle

We discussed and decided to vote on the best beer of the night. Whoever brings the best beer will win a $5 Specs gift card. We will start this at the March meeting.

The next meeting will be at Jason's house on Friday March 18 @7pm.

Here is the list from last meeting's spin on the Wheel O' Beer:

David - American Porter

Emily - English Pale Ale

Eric - Belgian Strong Pale Ale

Giles - Hefeweizen

Jared - Czech Pilsener

Jason - American Strong Ale

Rob - English Pale Mild Ale

Will - Wheatwine

Giles also incurred the Broken Seal Penalty.

We have already had the following beers from the specified categories:

American Porter - Tommyknocker Cocoa Porter Winter Warmer

English Pale Ale - BoddingtonsPub Ale, Old Speckled Hen, Samuel Smith's Old Brewery Pale Ale, Wychwood Scarecrow Ale

Hefeweizen - Paulaner Hefe-Weissbier Naturtrüb

American Strong Ale - Lagunitas Brown Shugga'

Wheatwine - Boulevard Harvest Dance

 

If anyone is having trouble finding a beer in their category, check this site: http://beeradvocate.com/beer/style

If you can't find a beer representative of your style, you can go up or down one category. Please note that I have removed the following from our list of styles:

• American Wild Ale
• Bière de Garde
• Flanders Oud Bruin
• Gueuze
• Lambic-Unblended
• Sahti
• Gose
• Roggenbier
• Kvass
• Low Alcohol Beer
• Rauchbier
• Happoshu
• Smoked Beer

And don't forget, the first to "break their seal" once we start drinking will incur a penalty.

Prost!

Homebrewing!

One of the other members (Jason) and I have been homebrewing on Mr. Beer. I have been doing it for about 5 years, and about a year for him. We decided to go in on some 5 gallon equipment together and make the leap to bigger batches.

We picked up most of our equipment and two recipe kits at Austin Homebrew Supply. On Friday, February 11, 2011, we brewed our first beer - a Deschutes Black Butte Porter clone. The process was much different than what we were used to with Mr. Beer, but I think it was more satisfying. It was still an extract batch, but now we steeped grains and added our own hops. All in all, it took about 4 or 5 hours, much longer than Mr. Beer.

We should be racking it from the primary to a secondary fermentor this weekend, and bottling in about another two weeks. It would be nice to come close to the Black Butte, but I will be happy if it just tastes good.

Here is a picture of my homebrew/fermentation cabinet.

On the top left shelf is Saint Arnold Divine Reserve 9 & 10, and on the top right is my last Mr. Beer brew - a chocolate stout.

We'll probably brew the next batch - a coconut porter - in early March.

Prost!

The Broken Seals Monthly Meeting - January Recap

The Broken Seals met last Friday night for our monthly meeting. In addition to the six members in attendance, we also had two guests join us for our beer tasting. Here is a list of what everyone brought:

Bill	Lambic - Fruit	New Belgium Lips Of Faith Transatlantique Kriek
David	Herbed / Spiced Beer	Rogue John John Ale (Spruce Gin Barrel Aged)
Eric	American IPA	Rogue Yellow Snow IPA
Jared	Seasonal	Deschutes Jubelale
Jason	Winter Warmer	Redhook Winterhook Winter Ale
Rob	Foreign / Export Stout	Coopers Best Extra Stout

All in all, it was a good night of beer drinking tasting. The only one that the majority of the group did not care for was the New Belgium Lips of Faith Transatlantique Kriek. Bill brought three bottles, but we only opened one. The rest were somewhat of a mixed bag between those that liked and didn't like each beer, but the one that came out on top was Lagunitas Brown Shugga followed closely by Coopers Best Extra Stout.
(Note to self: take better tasting notes during the meetings.)

Our guests were not really beer enthusiasts like the rest of us, but they brought some good beers and I think we made some good recommendations to them as well as got them thinking about craft beer more than BMC.

We discussed possible field trip destinations for the coming year, primarily local breweries in the Houston-San Antonio-Austin-Dallas areas. No confirmed dates yet, but we will make a trip to the Houston Flying Saucer in late February.

We also talked about upcoming beer festivals in the Houston area. Jason and I have already purchased our tickets for the Texas Beer Festival in Humble on May 7. Go here for more info and to purchase tickets. Other festivals that we discussed include the Houston Beer Fest, Brewmasters International Beer Festival, and Monsters of Beer.

The next meeting will be at Rob's house on Saturday February 19 @7pm.

Here is the list from last meeting's spin on the Wheel O' Beer:

Bill - Oatmeal Stout

David - American Porter

Eric - Chile Beer

Jared - Scoth Ale / Wee Heavy

Jason - American Amber / Red Lager

Rob - English Pale Ale

Dave also incurred the Broken Seal Penalty.

We have already had the following beers from the specified categories:

American Amber / Red Lager - ZiegenBock Amber

American Porter - Tommyknocker Cocoa Porter Winter Warmer

Chile Beer - Rogue Chipotle Ale

English Pale Ale - Old Speckled Hen, Samuel Smith's Old Brewery Pale Ale, Wychwood Scarecrow Ale

Oatmeal Stout - Samuel Smith's Oatmeal Stout

 

If anyone is having trouble finding a beer in their category, check Beer Advocate. If you can't find a beer representative of your style, you can go up or down one category. Please note that I have removed the following from our list of styles:

• American Wild Ale
• Bière de Garde
• Flanders Oud Bruin
• Gueuze
• Lambic-Unblended
• Sahti
• Gose
• Roggenbier
• Kvass
• Low Alcohol Beer
• Rauchbier
• Happoshu
• Smoked Beer

And don't forget, the first to "break their seal" once we start drinking will incur a penalty.

Prost!

Prost!

I'm taking the leap into the blogging world, and surprisingly enough, I did it while sober.

I'm creating this page with the intention that I will write about different activities and events that my beer club - The Broken Seals - participates in. It will be a place that I can better communicate with club members as well as others that express an interest in the club.

That's enough for now. Time for a beer!