Club Meeting Notes: December, 2008

News/Announcements

• Fred Morrisette, outgoing club president, welcomed the new officers.
• Sign Up forms were circulated to solicit volunteers for 3 subcommittees (20th Anniversary, Special Events, Bulk Purchasing). Contact us if you would like more information or would like to volunteer.
• The new website is now live. Since news can be easily distributed to club members via this website, an RSS Feed is available, and a calendar has been set up for scheduled events, the monthly newsletter will be discontinued.
• Chad’s Club Brew on December 7th was successful (but the yeast-to-fermentables ratio may have been a little high).
• We need to add beer styles and technical presentations of the month for the upcoming year to the calendar.
• On December 1st, the club had $1,378.62 in the bank account.
• Medici has agreed to keep our sample glasses and wash them for us. But, due to the increased participation in the club, we rarely have enough glasses for each member to have more than one glass. We may purchase additional glasses and storage/dishwasher racks. Please feel free to bring your own sample glasses in order to maximize your enjoyment of each beer sample.
• Some members expressed an interest in creating a Pretzel Boy position.

Reminders/Upcoming Events

• January’s Beer Style will be French and Belgian Ales (which includes Wit, Farmhouse, Saison, and Beer de Garde). Please bring a few dollars to help cover the costs of the commericial beers and any home-brewed beer of this style. Home-brewed beer of any style can always be shared at the end of the meeting.
• January’s technical presentation will be on flavor profiles.
• Evan, the new chef at Medici, distributed the menu for their New Years Eve Capital Brewery Beer Dinner. He has a psychological gastronomic manipulation meal planned. Contact the restaurant at 309-452-6334 for reservations. Cost is $60 per person.
• The next Steering Committee Meeting will be held on Wednesday, January 7th at 7:30 pm at Medici. Subsequent Steering Committee Meetings will be held on the last Wednesday of the month to allow additional time to prepare for the upcoming Club Meeting. Steering Committee Meetings are open to all club members.
• A gift exchange activity has been added to Saturday’s Holiday Party. A reminder to club members has been distributed. Contact us if you are a member and have not received an invitation.
• Chad is planning a Club Brew on January 31st (his birthday).
• Dues are now being collected for 2009. Members that have not received their official ‘Abnormal Brewers’ bottle opener may request one when they pay their dues.

Meeting Activities

• 26 people were present at the start of the meeting.
• 6 people brought a total of 9 different beers for the style of the month (home brew with an emphasis on holiday beers). We had Cider, Kolsch, Harvest Fresh Hop Ale, English Style IPA, Stout, Spiced Holiday Ale, Russian Imperial Stout, and 2 Belgians. The brewers had an opportunity to explain their brewing process which ranged from kits to all-grain (and some combinations of the two). One beer was brewed using only home-grown hops, another was brewed with his father.
• There was no technical presentation this month.