Here is a summary of the March 24, 2010 Westchester Homebrewers’ Meeting:
Ken Hettinger, V.P., gave an excellent presentation on ‘Using CO2′. He demonstrated using a CO2 tank for transferring liquids, as opposed to siphoning; for purging air from carboys and kegs to delay oxidation spoilage; forced carbonation as an alternative to bottle conditioning; and finally bottling. Thank you Ken for a well done job demystifying an important subject!
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If you haven’t already done so, please visit The Westchester Homebrewers’ Official Web Site. Click on the forum link and register as a user. We should all start using the website on a regular basis to carry out ongoing discussions of brewing topics.
If anyone has additional content or photos to add to the Blog please don’t hesitate.
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- •The possibility of a newsletter was talked about. Back on March 9th, Richie DePalma sent around a copy of the March 2010 Newsletter of the Underground Brewers Club of Connecticut. If you haven’t already, take a look at it. We should all be thinking about possible content, artwork, logos, etc. for our own newsletter and start an online discussion in advance of the next meeting. Hopefully we’ll get something off the ground.
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- •We would like to have more advanced planning of technical topics and styles for future meetings. This will give several members a chance to brew the appropriate style in time. So, if anyone would like to speak about a specific technique, brewing issue, or style, PLEASE VOLUNTEER and send an email to the Westchester Hombrewers Yahoo Group address!!! Below is the next three month’s schedule as it stands now:
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Upcoming Meeting Schedule
April – Wednesday April, 28, Kevin Winn will discuss ‘Belgian Specialty Ales’. Mike Pollice will be bringing some hop rhizomes from his garden and discussing ‘Hop Cultivation’.
May – Wednesday May 26, Avi (last name?) will research and discuss ‘Influence of Fermentation Temperature & Temperature Control’. Richie DePalma will present ‘Hitting Your Numbers: How to Make Sure You Hit Your O.G.’ - Using a hydrometer and refractometers; Simple brewing calculations to determine how much malt or extract is required to hit your OG; Why it matters; How to fix it if you miss; Calculating pre-boil gravity etc.
June – Wednesday June 23, Dave Reynolds and Lee Jacobson will discuss ‘Yeast’. They will be sharing their knowledge of yeast cultivation, making slants, starters and more about caring for these friendly microbes.
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Notable Competitions & Events
Saturday, March 27, 2010 Hudson Valley Homebrewers 20th Annual Homebrew Competition at the Gilded Otter Brewing Company in New Paltz, NY. Several members are planning to carpool together. The awards start around 3:00pm.
Beginning Tuesday March 30th, The Lazy Boy Saloon in White Plains is having an “Extreme Beer Fest” for one week, Check their website for more info.
Saturday & Sunday April 24-25, 2010, TAP New York Craft Beer & Food Festival will be held at Hunter Mountain. Peekskill Brewery runs a bus up there on Sunday, but Saturday is the better day. If enough of us and our friends, spouses etc. are interested we could hire a bus w/(sober)driver for Saturday.
Saturday May 15, 2010 is the Captain Lawrence Brewery Anniversary-Pig Roast
May 18, 2010 (Third Tuesday in May), New York City Hombrewers’ Guild will hold their annual Mead Meeting at Burp Castle, 41 East 7th Street, NYC. This meeting gets crowded and the space is limited, so Phil says, “get there early”.
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In closing, thanks to everybody for attending, and to Randy for kicking us out and locking up. I will be following up with an updated Member List with email addresses for everybody. You may wish to consult our web site’s Our Members page and ensure that you are properly listed there.
If anyone would like to add, change or correct their name or email address, or would prefer that their address not be listed on the web site, please send an email to mfriefeld@gmail.com with ‘WHO Membership List’ in the subject line.
Thanks and see you all at the April Meeting,
Matt