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Monthly Mash
The official newsletter of Southern Nevada Ale
Fermenters Union |
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http://SNAFU.Beers.net
March 1999 |
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Ale to the Chief
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By Jay Lefkowitz, SNAFU President |
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Greetings
fellow homebrewers!
I'm glad to say that I now feel
kind of presidential after running the February meeting. We had a great turnout and
covered a lot of business. As always, there was a great deal of socializing as well. I
hope you didn't notice, but I must admit I was a bit nervous before the meeting got
underway. I quickly got over it when I realized that I was surrounded by many friendly
faces. The agenda stayed pretty much the same as always, but I added a little thing I
like to call "Short and Sweet," which is an open forum for members to briefly
voice any ideas or concerns they might have about the club.
The Winterfest awards presentation went great, and that guy named "Myself"
(aka Steve MacMillan, the awards presenter) took the lion's share of awards. I would like
to encourage all of our members to put their minds to entering their homebrews in next
year's contest. With the size of our club membership, it should be easy to set entry
records every year, invoke healthy club competition and give other entrants a run for
their money. That keeps Winterfest successful, fun, and interesting.
SNAFU has a few upcoming events that we will cover in depth at the meeting — one
of which is the Humus & Homebrew Night set for March 21. We will be taking sign-ups at
the March meeting for an evening of Middle Eastern food paired with homebrew. It costs a
mere $5 to participate, and the venue will be the Casba Kosher Restaurant & Deli. |
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SNAFU
Club Officers |
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A full vegetarian feast
will be served including falafel, babaganoush, salad, humus, tahina, tabouli, fresh pita
bread and more. Bring your homebrew, and come on down and party. Also keep in mind two
other upcoming beer events: The Main Event beer festival at Main Street Station on April
24 and the Temecula Homebrewers Festival on May 8. SNAFU will have a booth at both events
and needs homebrew to serve at both events. Bottled beers will be accepted for the Main
Street Station fest and kegged beer for the Temecula fest. As I mentioned above, because
we are such a big and active club, we should have no problem providing enough homebrew to
serve at these events and demonstrating to all that we are a first-class club.
Just a small reminder to all SNAFU members: Although we may not see some of your
faces at all the meetings or events, you are still a member of SNAFU and are represented
when the club conducts group activities. You also represent SNAFU whenever you participate
in a beer-related activity. All members are welcomed and encouraged to participate in
SNAFU activities. You will be greeted with open arms and outreached glasses. Relax. Don't
Worry. Have A Homebrew. |
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President Jay Lefkowitz
242-8715
e-mail: Jjbrews@lvcm.com
Vice President
Mike Plinksi 396-2049
e-mail: Mplinski@aol.com
Vice President
Joe Sutton 243-7668
e-mail: GaJoe@aol.com
Secretary/Treasurer
Steve MacMillan 435-5816
e-mail: Smbrewfly@aol.com
Newsletter Editor
Sara Doersam 804-0640
e-mail: Dicepro@ix.netcom.com
Webmaster
Keith Perreault 731-5604
e-mail: Keith@Perreault.net |
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SNAFU and the
American Homebrewers Association remind you to … Savor the Flavor Responsibly.
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Noonan to Headline Fest |
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Correction
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By BOB BARNES and SARA DOERSAM |
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dance from outside of
California. Tickets are $30 and include a commemorative tasting glass. To purchase tickets
or for information about Temecula hotels, call Bob Barnes at 242-3301. He will also be
selling tickets at the March and April SNAFU meetings. Each represented homebrew
club will have its own booth. Last year SNAFU decorated its booth with Robin Ginter's now
famous "Wheel of Beer." We served most of the 30 gallons of homebrew we brought.
SNAFU will bring 50 gallons of homebrew to serve this year. Please consider brewing a
batch for SNAFU to serve this year. SNAFU will reimburse up to $25 for ingredients to any
member who brews a five-gallon batch of homebrew to be served at the fest.
In addition, SNAFU has Cornelius kegs available for use by club members for kegging
five-gallon batches. For more details on obtaining club kegs, contact Reid Harrison at
657-8550 or Steve MacMillan at 435-5816.
Fest 99 is sponsored by the California Homebrewers Association, a nonprofit educational
organization based in Temecula, Calif. For more festival details, call John Thomas at
(909) 676-2337. |
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The names
of some very
important people were omitted from the "Plaque Honors Sheldon Jackson" article,
which appeared last issue. Inland Empire Brewers members, Terry Boyles and Christy Elshof,
were instrumental in the concept and creation of the plaque. Dick Reese, friend of Sheldon
Jackson and member of the Barley Bandits Homebrewers Club, created the whimsical Dr.
Seuss-like artwork, which adorns the plaque.
SNAFU extends a heartfelt thank you to everyone involved in the project. |
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The Southern
California
Homebrewers Festival
(Fest 99) is slated for Saturday, May 8, at Lake Skinner in Temecula, Calif. In its ninth
year, Fest 99 is expected to draw some 1,300 homebrew enthusiasts. Fest 99 breaks from
traditional beer festivals because there are no commercial beers available for tasting.
But rather homebrewed beer, hand-carried and served by regional homebrew club members, is
the main attraction. Think of it as homebrew heaven, and imagine more than 1,000 different
homebrews to sample. Greg Noonan, brewmaster and owner of The Vermont Pub and Brewery
in Burlington, Vt., and The Seven Barrel Brewery in West Lebanon, N.H., will be the
keynote speaker at Fest 99. Noonan has authored Brewing Lager Beer, Scotch Ale and The
Seven Barrel Brewery Brewers Handbook. Additionally, Fest 99 will feature educational
seminars, beer tastings and entertainment.
This is an event that SNAFU members have flocked to in the past, and this year is
expected to be no different. Last year about 30 SNAFU members attended, and SNAFU was the
only homebrew club in atten |
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A Word From Our Sponsor |
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The Monthly Mash
is a monthly
newsletter published by Southern Nevada Ale Fermenters Union (SNAFU) for distribution to
all club members. Subscription is a part of club membership and may be obtained by joining
SNAFU. Membership is open to anyone over 21 years-old. Please send $12 to: SNAFU Membership
c/o Joe Sutton
3508 Bogside Way
Las Vegas, NV 89129 |
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The Monthly Mash
welcomes letters, opinions, articles, ideas and inquires. Please observe a 600-word limit.
All articles are subject to editing for brevity and clarity. To submit copy or art to the Monthly
Mash, e-mail, snail-mail or pony express your contributions before the last day of
each month to: Sara Doersam
3000 Gulls Perch Dr.
Las Vegas, NV 89128
E-mail: dicepro@ix.netcom.com
You may also bring your newsletter contributions to the SNAFU meetings. Electronic
submission in MS Word for PC and Tiff formats are preferable, but hard copy is also
welcome. Part or all of this newsletter may be copied or reprinted with the permission of
the editor. |
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Hoppy Brew Year!
See you in 1999 |
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Your beer, wine
& soda making headquarters |
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Wed.-Fri. 11-6 l
Sat. 10-5 l Sun. 11-3 l Mon.& Tues. closed
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4972 S. Maryland
Parkway, #4, Las Vegas l (702) 736-8504 |
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Pressure _ Counter Pressure |
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Beer Police Sighting
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scrubbing out the brewpot
at our next brew class. — Deputy Barney Fife |
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"Bud" guys
were only three sections away with no waiting! So I made a quick dash over to them and
sadly, purchased two 20-ounce Budweisers. On my way back to my seat Deputy Fife cited me
for weak beer and told me he was writing me up. I was extremely embarrassed at being
caught in the act of a misdemeanor. What's even sadder is I drank one of the Buds. Following
that incident, my next beer purchase was at the Gordon Biersch stand (which was closer
than I thought) where I bought two16-ounce Marzens. Since this is my first offense, I
throw myself on the mercy of the club. I ask for leniency and three months probation. I
need rehabilitation, so I can become an upstanding member of SNAFU again. Thank you for
hearing my case.
— Digger Giuffre |
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I'm sad to
report that SNAFU
member Digger Giuffre was
recently observed at a UNLV basketball game at the Thomas & Mack Center with two cups
of very pale beer in his hands. Although the yellowish suds were not sampled by this
officer, they looked very suspect. Digger's beers were in clear glass, and I surmised that
only beer made with hefty amounts of rice and corn could look that yellow. Digger
attempted to talk his way out of his embarrassing predicament by claiming he had purchased
the beer for someone else. However, the whitish foam lingering on his lips was a telltale
sign of his guilt. Digger has been referred to our beer appreciation counseling program
and will perform community service by |
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The Offender
Pleads His Case |
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Hear me! Hear me! My
cause is just! I am guilty
as charged. But guilty with extenuating circumstances. It is true that Deputy Fife caught
me yellow-handed on the night in question. However, there are reasons for my accidental
backslide into weak and tasteless beer.
I did not know exactly where the Gordon Biersch stand was. I know there are at least
two of them, but I did not feel like walking around the entire Thomas & Mack Center to
locate one. I was afraid the closest one would be half the oval away, and the game was
about to start. The |
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AHA National Conference
goes to Kansas |
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Raffle Donations |
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Gedye — Austrailian
Stout; Bob and Sue Crane — a Pyramid Brewery pint glass; Dave Otto —two Holy Cow
Growlers (one full of Scotch ale); Phil and Sara Doersam — a beer festival tee shirt;
Mike Plinski — Arrogant Bastard Ale & Marston Stout; Don Levesque — two
bottles of Sam Adams beer; Jack Tribble — two 6-packs of Ruby Mountain Amber Ale;
Dennis Minnikel/Home Brewery Riverside — 25 pounds of assorted grains; Joe Sutton
— two beer tee shirts & a Cornelius keg; Kent Bolton — a Holy Cow burlap bag
, a 6-pack of Sierra Nevada Ale, & three free beer coupons for Holy Cow; Tracy Truran
—two free beer coupons for Holy Cow; Mike Kurby — one Hoya del Flora cigar;
Ralph and Judy Goodman — one 6-pack of Sierra Nevada Ale; Justin Cooper —
Petersbrand Pils from Holland; SNAFU — 14 cases of Winterfest homebrew. |
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Thanks to the
generous
donations of SNAFU club
members and friends, February's club meeting offered ample bootie for raffle prizes. Your
many donations as well as all the raffle tickets that club members purchase help SNAFU
remain a strong and viable homebrew club. Here, then, is a list of raffle donations for
the last meeting: Jay Lefkowitz — Golden Promise Ale & Grimbergen Dubbel; Don
and Heather |
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The 1999
American
Homebrewers Association Conference is set for June 24-26 in Olathe, Kan. The Holiday Inn
in Olathe, just outside of Kansas City, will be the host hotel. Rooms will cost $75 per
night regardless of how many occupants. This year's conference is being planned and run
by AHA-registered club members from throughout Kansas City and neighboring areas in
coordination with the AHA staff and Board of Advisors.
Registration and information is available at http://www.beertown.org or the KC Bier
Meisters' website at http://kcbiermeisters.org. The AHA Conference will again coincide
with the |
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AHA National Homebrew Competition
second-round judging. Events include an opening reception, a pub crawl and an awards
banquet on Saturday night. Confirmed speakers are Steve Brandt, Ray Daniels, Charlie
Papazian, Paul Farnsworth, super beer chef Dan Turner, David Houseman and Al Korzonas. |
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Concoction Delights
Homebrewer |
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Westwood Brewing Co.
Worth the Trip |
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By BOB BARNES |
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I suppose you're
wondering, "when is he going to talk about the beer?" Indeed, there's a lot of
beer to talk about. I ordered a sample of each beer on tap which was a magnificent seven.
Samples are $1 each and pints are $3. The seven on tap were quite varied and had something
to please almost anyone who likes good beer. Here are my impressions:
 | • Blonde — Light, clean, just a hint of hops but smooth. It's listed on
the menu as a Kolsch. |
| • John Wooden Pale Ale — Excellent pale ale, similar to Sierra Nevada
Pale Ale only with a stronger and fresher hop flavor. It's dry-hopped with Cascade and has
moderate bitterness with lots of hop flavor. I hope John Wooden likes hoppy beer! |
| • Taster Wheat — An American style wheat with some spiciness from
Hersbrucker hops. I'm not a fan of American style wheat, but it was Sandy's favorite. |
| • Honey Bear Porter — Very roasty, caramely with a hint of sweetness
from the honey. Made with chocolate malt (no surprise). |
| • Smoked Scottish — A pronounced smoked flavor but not overwhelming.
This beer not only won the People's Choice at the Las Vegas Brew Ha Ha but also won a gold
(1997) and a silver (1998) at the GABF as evidenced by the three banners hanging in the
entryway. |
| • Stout — A bit thin but very roasty. |
| • Wee Heavy — A 12 percent barley wine. What a nice surprise to find a
barley wine served in a brewpub. Its malty sweetness balanced nicely with hops. Quite
delicious! |
This place is definitely worth checking out. Here are some fairly simple
directions: Go east on |
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By RON WILKINSON Palm
Harbor, Fla. |
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I recently
traveled to the Los
Angeles area to attend my
uncle's funeral. In need of some cheering up, I decided to visit the closest brewpub in
the area, which happened to be the Westwood Brewing Co. not far from Santa Monica and
UCLA. Having met the brewer, Ben Madden, last October when he was in town for the Las
Vegas Brew Ha Ha, I was particularly keen to taste Westwood's beers. In fact, Ben had won
the People's Choice Award at the Brew Ha Ha with his Smoked Scottish. Westwood Brewing Co.
has an open wood beamed ceiling and wood chairs, giving it a rustic and homey feel. I also
appreciated the large windows all around, which made the dining area bright and sunny. My
cousin, Sandy, who was accompanying me, informed me that Westwood is a very lively
area catering to a yuppie crowd as well as college kids from nearby UCLA. However, since
we were there mid-day on a holiday (President's Day), we were part of a sparse and subdued
crowd, which suited me just fine.
The menu is quite extensive with lots of salads; nine kinds of pizza, ranging in price
from $7.49-$8.79; sandwiches; burgers; several types of pasta (most at $9.99); seafood,
including Ahi for $14.99; and steaks. Being a pizza-lovin' guy, I thought I'd seen every
variety of pizza in existence, but I was quite mistaken. The San Juan Pizza was topped
with generous amounts of angus beef, pico de gallo, avocado, and a spicy pinto bean paste
instead of the usual tomato sauce. I can't believe I ate the whole thing, but it was so
good I couldn't stop. |
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By the time you read
this,
the holidays will be over
and your lights put away. The tree will be nothing more than needles still in your carpet
and the kids toys will be separated into three groups: favorites, broken, and forgotten.
You are probably getting ready for St. Patrick's Day and brewing lots of beer for the
spring competitions. Ah yes, beer… my reason for writing this. During the holidays
I read a small blurb on a 365-Days-of-Beer calendar, which my mother-in-law gave me
last Christmas (moms-in-law aren't all bad) regarding a drink consumed in the 1700s and
1800s called Lamb's Wool.
I was in a festive and nostalgic mood, and this concoction really sounded
intriguing. I sent an e-mail to several club members to see if anyone had heard of it and
might be aware of a recipe. Stan Richards responded with a recipe for glug
(pronounced gloog) or whatever name you know it by. This is a Swedish concoction that
incorporates wine, grain alcohol, raisins, almonds and spices. The ingredients are
combined and then allowed to meld for weeks or months before drinking it. Phil and Sara
Doersam make this |
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Continued on next
page |
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Wilshire and after a couple of
lights, take a left at Westwood Blvd. Then turn right at Kinross. The brewpub will be on
the left at the Glendon intersection. Tell `em Bob sent `ya. |
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Bob Barnes is the former president of
SNAFU and a contributing writer for Celebrator Beer News. |
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Concoction
Continued from previous page |
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Secretary/Treasurer's Report |
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By Steve MacMillan, SNAFU
Secretary/Treasurer |
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With Bob Barnes always
looking for a way to keep our club exciting, expect to see many other events to follow,
most notably a pub crawl. The highlight of the meeting was the presentation of
the Winterfest awards. Awards were doled out along with the winning bottle to those
winners present. For the first time in Winterfest history the club awarded prizes for all
categories and best of show. These prizes ranged from malt, hops, and yeast to gift
certificates, growlers, subscriptions, gadgets and tee-shirts. Most notably was the
best-of-show jockey box donated by Beer and Brew Gear owner Jeff Chrisman and a $100 gift
certificate donated by Paul Lachmanek of the Sierra Vista Brewing Co. A special thanks
goes out to Bill Street and Reid Harrison for rounding up the numerous prizes.
Additionally, their hard work throughout all phases of the competition made it a pleasure
for me to organize this year's Winterfest.
The infamous post Winterfest raffle yielded nine cases of leftover homebrews and three
cases worth of award winning entries, which were divided into 6-packs, all of which were
donated to the raffle. The beer along with the usual generous contributions by club
members helped bring in more than $100 in raffle contributions again last month.
As promised in the last newsletter, expenditures in the month took a good chunk out of
the budget. Here's the latest rundown: |
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during the holidays,
and I tasted theirs. While glug is very good, I was searching for something different. Thanks
to Stan I thought of Phil and Sara, so I e-mailed them in search of Lamb's Wool. They
initially sent me their recipe for glug, but that's not what I had in mind. Then they
found in one of their beer history books the recipe I had been looking for. I was elated!
The recipe called for a heated mixture of a malty, strong ale combined with apple juice,
brown sugar, nutmeg and grated ginger. I stopped by the store on the way home and bought
several types of dark ale as well as some apple cider. As I drove home in the holiday
traffic I was salivating at the prospect of a new Christmas treat.
I parked in the driveway, left my briefcase in the car and nearly bowled my kids over
as they waited to greet me by the door. I poured four ounces of McEwans Scottish Ale into
a Pyrex measuring cup along with four ounces of cider. I added a tablespoon of dark brown
sugar, a pinch of nutmeg and a pinch of powdered ginger. I heated this in the microwave
until it was simmering (I doubt that's how they did it two centuries ago) and poured it
lovingly into a festive Christmas mug. I burned my tongue as impatience got the best of
me, but it tasted pretty darn good. Perhaps a little heavy on the cider, so I tried
another batch using less cider and more Scottish ale. This was even better as the malt
came through nicely while the cider taste lingered on the tongue.
Throughout the evening and the next few days, I tinkered with the recipe every
chance I got. I tried stouts and porters of all varieties and varied ingredients and
proportions. In the end, the second recipe I had tried |
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Febuary's club meeting
lived
up to its reputation as on of
the better attended meetings of the year. A shop full of brewers and enthusiasts set the
atmosphere. Prez Jay lined out plans for the upcoming year. And what a year we have in
store. Beer festivals at Main Street Station, Summerlin, Sunset Station and Temecula,
Calif., our annual campout at Valley of Fire, and Inland Empire Brewers' homebrew contest
are events slated so far. |
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on the first night had
been the best. The whole experience had been truly wonderful, perhaps even invigorating
and I owe it all to the Central Florida Home Brewers (CFHB). The CFHB taught me about
good beer; it taught me about brewing; it showed me how to brew well enough to win some
ribbons. It provided a venue to discuss my brewing passions with people who feel the same
as I do about beer. I made lasting friendships that transcend the miles between us. That's
what our club is all about. Each of us has our own reasons for being associated with our
homebrew club, and we all benefit from the membership in our own ways. Some of us like to
participate, some like to sit back and watch, but we all have a value to the club just by
being members and having fun.
So what was the purpose of writing this, you may ask. I wanted to share a new beer
recipe that you may try and even like. I wanted to share my feelings about my club and
remind you to support your club and never take it for granted. And I wanted to help by
contributing an article to the newsletter. |
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Previous balance $1737 Newsletter
expenses $110
Winterfest ribbons/awards $574
Beer & Brew Gear equipt. $191
Contest certificates/awards $37
Winterfest copies/badges $120
Hotline & VOF campout $96
Total Expenses $1128
Cash on hand $42
Remaining Balance $609 |
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Ron Wilkinson is an
award winning homebrewer and a member of the Central Florida Home Brewers of Orlando, Fla.
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