Homebrew Club June 25 Meeting

It's a little dark, but Brian's hops are already climbing vines above our heads!

Saturday, June 25th, we met at Brian's house for our monthly meeting.  Larry, John, Jason and Brian were in attendance.  We sat on the backporch under Brian's already impressive hop-leaf trellis.

Squall IPA.

We started with a 9% abv Dogfish Head "Squall" 90 Minute IPA.  "Unfiltered and bottle conditioned," said the label.  Interesting how something all homebrewers do is "special" when a brewery does it!
This was a very nice, strong, IPA.  Heavy in body and you can certainly taste the alcohol.

Weissbier.

Jason's extract Bavarian Weissbier, made with the Wyeast Weihenstephan yeast, is clear in the bottle with a nice haze when you poor in the yeast.  The banana aroma is just right and it pours nicely.

Brian's Helles.

Brian's other Helles.  I think.

Brian's all-grain Helles continues to lager nicely in the bottle and tastes great.  We compared it to his extract version of the same beer, and we think that beer tastes a little sweeter, perhaps from the malt extract. 

Jason's all-grain American Pale Ale tastes a little dry, and is very hoppy.  It's a better ale than his previous all-grains, with more body.  Definitely a step in the right direction.

John's American Wheat extract beer is very good, with a hint of flower or pepper.  Very drinkable and a great summer beer!

Larry shared some tasty home made bread and and a white table wine from a recent trip to Pennsylvania to round out the evening.

We discussed Brian's techniques of cultivating yeast from a carboy to a growler, and adding some boiled DME to grow the yeast. 

The next beers we may try and do as a group are Oktoberfest lagers to be ready for the fall.  Any suggestions on recipes?  I would love to do something a little darker.

Finally, we still don't have a name.  Chicago Beer Machine came up again as an option; John suggested looking for acronyms.  I'm beginning to like CPM more and more.   Any other suggestions would be welcome at the next meeting.

The third Tuesday this month is July 19th, and I'll be out of town.  Any suggestions on another night?  I could meet the following Tuesday - the 26th - or the following weekend.