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!