January 2006
“News About Brews”
A Night with the Scots
Another January meeting brought us to Bob's barn once again, this time to talk about and sample Scottish ales. The weather was much more agreeable than past years have been, although that has never seemed to affect the attendance nor the attitude of the members.
Jim Bowser told us about the Scottish Ale style, and 5 entries were judged using the BJCP guidelines for 60, 70 and 80 shilling sub-categories. This was followed by a raffle and a lot of socializing. All in all, it was a great meeting, as they all are.
Finally, a great big thanks to Bob for having us over, not only for meetings but for the yearly group brews and Brew Off competitions. The location is central for members and the barn accommodates even a large meeting turnout. Give that man a beer! I also should say thank you to Bill for securing the airport for us for the Nov. meeting. That location has the same excellent qualities as Bob's barn. So, thanks to both of you!
Brew On!
Jimmy B
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At
A Glance…
Things
You May Want To Know, Or Not
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Club Events
Feb 15th – SSBC monthly meeting (note this is a Wednesday. Apparently a brew club meeting on Valentine's day is verboten).
Check the club calendar for more details on these and other upcoming events. |
Area Events
Feb 18th – Wort Processors Boston Homebrew Competition (details) |
Next MeetingDate: February 15th Location: Steve Gravel's Directions: click here (note the fancy maps!) Agenda: Specialty grains presentation, by Francois |
Beer Quote and Trivia"All right, brain, I don't like you and you don't like me - so let's just do this and I'll get back to killing you with beer." - Homer Simpson
Which US state has had more breweries in it's history than any other state?
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Sip
by Sip
Minutes
of the Previous Meeting
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Date: January 10th, 2006
Location: Bob Collin's barn
Number of Members Attending: 17
Business
 | There is no location for the February meeting yet. Steve G offered his place and the members agreed (or didn't complain to loudly, at least :-). |
| The March meeting is a Food and Beer presentation by Kevin, at Kevin's (assuming he still lives there...). |
| April 1 is the SSBC BrewOff, to be held at Bob's barn. Get your entries brewing! |
| We need to plan the bottling and distribution of the 'Scotch' ale from the barrel at Francois' house. Will need to discuss with Francois. |
| Two pins of Lee's Harvest Ale are on order, in different types of casks (scotch and another?). These are for a cask party at Francois' in the late winter or early spring. |
| The Boston Homebrew Competition is coming up on Feb 18th. Entries are due by Feb 3rd. (Details) |
Scottish Ale Presentation by Jim Bowser
| The 60, 70 and 80 shilling categorizations were based on the cost of a barrel of the beer, with bigger beers costing more. |
| Scottish ales differ greatly from their English ale cousins. They historically underwent a shorter boil (1/2 the time), theoretically because of the use of fewer hops and the desire to not boil off as much of the hop character. They were fermented much cooler and therefore at a slower rate, based on the lower temperature in Scotland. Temperatures are around 50° in the winter. |
| Scottish ales are malty and smooth with a caramel-like flavor, and have little apparent hop bitterness. |
| Samples distributed included: Belhaven Scottish Ale (an 80 shilling), Grant's Scottish Ale (a hoppy, American version of the ale) and Gritty's Scottish Ale. |
Scottish Ale Club Competition
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There were 5 entries for the competition. All were enjoyable. | ||||||
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Results:
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It’s
All in the De-t-Ales…
Articles,
Reviews and Information
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Contents:
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Beer
Trivia Answer
Which US state has had more breweries in it's history than any other state?
Answer: Pennsylvania