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MONTHLY MASH THE OFFICIAL NEWSLETTER OF S OUTHERN NEVADA ALE FERMENTERS UNION
https://members.tripod.com/LVSNAFU SNAFU HOTLINE-392-1736
DRINK SOME BEER-IT’S OCTOBER! For some reason October seems to be THE time to drink beer. Maybe it’s the Germans we have to thank for their Octoberfest tradition. In any event some of the best beer drinking to be had in this town will occur this month. There’s the Renfaire on Oct. 10 and the Las Vegas Brew Ha Ha on Oct. 24 as well as several Octoberfest events at local casinos. Full details of the Renfaire and Las Vegas Brew Ha Ha are provided in this issue of Monthly Mash.........................We also have another sharing of Linda Warburton’s pub crawling during her travels out of state in Encinitas...............And Linda’s counterpart, Rick Duseck provides us with some real pearls of wisdom on the goodness of beer in Beer Words of Wisdom...................Our guest author this month is Ralph Barker of the Borderline Brewers out of El Paso, Texas. His In the Beginning is a piece with answers to questions about brewing you’ve always wanted to know but may have been afraid to ask.
BEER & PIZZA NIGHT AT BARLEY’S Our beer & pizza night at Barley’s will be this coming Friday, Nov. 6 at 7:00. We will have our own reserved area for around 30 people. Barley’s is located at 4500 E. Sunset Rd. in Green Valley/Henderson. It’s at the corner of Mountain Vista & Sunset in the Smith’s shopping center. As usual our friends at Barley’s are being extremely generous to us. The deal they have offered us is $1 beers and $1 slices of pizza. You can’t get a better deal than that unless it’s free. Barley’s beers are excellent smooth crisp, clean lagers. What goes better with pizza than a good lager? And Barley’s pizza is first rate as well. It should be a great time and the brewers will probably be there to hang out with us so bring a bottle of your best homebrew. Let’s take advantage of their kind hospitality and have a good turn out. Every club event we’ve every had at Barley’s has been a kick ass great time. If you know you’re coming call the SNAFU hotline to RSVP, but feel free to just show up too.
by Bob Barnes Coming up this month our club has two events in which we can preach the gospel of homebrew. At both the Renfaire on Oct. 10 and the Las Vegas Brew Ha Ha on Oct. 24 we will have a booth to not only talk to people about what homebrewing and our club is all about, but they’ll be able to sample some of the best homebrew in town. If you are willing to donate any of your beer (in bottles or kegs) please let me know. We can’t have too much beer. If you donate a whole batch we will reimburse you for the cost of your supplies. Typically at these events we get several new members of whom a few always turn out to be very productive and helpful members. So whether you can donate some beer or not, try to make it to either or both of these events. The Renfaire is a cool way to experience the lifestyles and culture of life before any of today’s modern conveniences had even been thought about. And we’ll be unveiling the new tent covering that Ralph Goodman made for us. The Las Vegas Brew Ha Ha is a not to be missed happening if you care anything about drinking good beer. Alex Shelton does a phenomenal job organizing a beer festival that features more beer than any other event in Southern Nevada. Where else can you have your choice of tasting over 120 different beers and all for only $20. I want to thank the Inland Empire Brewers club of Riverside, California for offering to provide our club with a Best of Show trophy/plaque to honor Sheldon Jackson’s memory. Our two clubs have had very close ties and have shared friendships for several years now and Sheldon was certainly known and loved by many of their members. We appreciate their generous gesture. This trophy/plaque will be made for our first annual Sheldon Jackson Memorial Members Only Competition. Read on for more details about this event. I also want to thank Jeff Crisman for purchasing chairs for our club meetings. Jeff also rearranged the store for our meeting so we could have an open space to hold our meeting. And Jeff is donating a jockey box for the Best of Show prize for our Winterfest. Jeff in a very short time has already shown himself to be a class act. And anyone who has spent any time with him can see that he is very knowledgeable about brewing. We have seven new members to welcome into the fold. They are: Lex Oden, Dennis & Kristina Lee, Bill Moder, Henri Kaplan, Paul Pratt, and Jay Berman. Club membership is now up to 85. Welcome to SNAFU! At our officers’ meeting last month we discussed holding a club members only homebrew competition. This is something we’ve been talking about doing for years but never have. It’s only fitting that it should be named after Sheldon Jackson who did more than anyone to promote beer judging in our club. It will be on Dec. 4 which will be a good warm up for Winterfest in Jan. It will also give some newer members an opportunity to get their feet wet in a homebrew competition. I know a lot of new brewers feel intimidated by a homebrew judging event and think their beer isn’t good enough, but on several occasions first ever batch of beers have won awards. And it’s only a buck so go for it. Read Steve’s column for more details. We’ll have entry forms in the November Monthly Mash. Here’s an acknowledgment to all who donated to our raffle last month: Bill Moder & Sean Farnsworth-a 6-pack of Grasshopper Wheat, Reid Harrison-Classic Beer Style Book #6 and a GABF tasting glass, Phil & Sara Doersam-a 1995 Vintage AHA Nadonal Conference t-shirt, Dave Miller-a carob malt liquor with an Italian Banana Chaser, Steve macMillan-a 6-pack of Sierra Nevada, Kent Bolton-a 6-pack of Sierra Nevada & a 6-pack of Buzzard Breath Ale & a 22 oz. Anchor Steam, Robert Hall-a tape of songs, Mike Curby-a Macanudo cigar, and Bob Barnes-t-shirts & pint glasses procured at the GABF, SNAFU-4 tickets to the Las Vegas Brew Ha Ha beer festival, Alex Shelton-4 tickets to the Las Vegas Brew Ha Ha. Thanks to all for your generosity. I believe last month’s raffle brought in a record amount (nearly $200). Hope to see you all on October 9th. Cheers!
SECRETARY-TREASURER’S REPORT: 9-98 By Steve Mac Millan September’s meeting was the first one that I had attended in the last two months. What a surprise for me- a new and improved clean shop with a club friendly brewer for an owner. I do believe we have us a real homebrew shop in town. Not only was Jeff very accommodating to us, but he provided a user friendly shop for the meeting including chairs. Some of the important subjects included the upcoming Renfaire on October 10th. We need your ales to give as samples to those in attendance. This is an excellent opportunity for the club to showcase our talents. As in the last two years we will be dressed as monks. If you have some brown material you can make a pretty nice robe. Those wearing costume gain free admittance, so come join us or come by for the festivities. In other news the IEB club from Riverside, California has graciously donated a Sheldon Jackson memorial trophy in his memory. After much discussion SNAFU will hold an annual club members only competition with the winner’s name placed on the trophy which will be on display at the shop. This contest will be held on Friday December 4th. The location is in the works and will be announced when those details are worked out. Like other homebrew contests this will be BJCP sanctioned and judged accordingly. This is great chance for interested judges to get some experience, as you will be paired up with veteran SNAFU judges. Entry requirements are two bottles per entry with one entry per sub-category. The cost will be one dollar per entry. As in all SNAFU competitions awards will be given for all first, second, and third place entries scoring 25 points or better .Additionally best of show, runner up, third place and best mead or cider awards will be given. If you have any questions contact event organizer Ralph Goodman at 642-9215. Our club treasury currently has $1345.00 in the bank, $138.00 cash on hand from raffle contributions, and $200.00 petty cash. Expenses include $245.52. used to pay newsletter costs, food for the Spring Mountain Ranch picnic, and Sheldon’s memorial service. Of the remaining moneys $100.00 from petty cash was used for deposit money to secure the Elks lodge for Winterfest, and $140.00 will be used to purchase the canopy from Ralph. Our total club balance is $1443.00. At the recent officers meeting a proposal was made to use club funds to purchase brewing equipment including fermenters, brewpot, tools and kegs. By purchasing this equipment club beer classes would not be hampered by teachers having to bring their own equipment. We would be able to keep the equipment at the shop and use it for both classes and for brewing club beers.
A FEW WORDS FROM OUR SPONSOR By Jeff Crisman OOPS The new SNAFU hotline number printed in last month’s Monthly Mash was incorrect. The number is actually 392-1736. The wrong number wasn’t my fault. Sprint changed it on me before we got it hooked up. So much for having a wife that works for the phone company. Give this new number a try. It will give dates and times of all scheduled SNAFU events. It will be updated whenever a new event is scheduled.
Our next SNAFU brewing class will be taught by vice-president Jay Lefkowitz on Saturday, November 21 at 12 noon. The class will be at Beer & Brew Gear. Jay will be making a Witt. Tell any new (or old) brewer that you think might be interested.
A WEEK IN THE LIFE OF A GABF BEER JUDGE CAN GO BY QUICKER THAN YOU THINK. by Phil Doersam Can you imaging spending an entire week in Denver at the 17th annual Great American Beer Festival (GABF) and only taking a few hours to sample the beers available throughout four tasting sessions? That's what happened to me last month, but I've got a good excuse, and I had a great time. I was one of 75 professional beer judges from throughout the world who evaluated the nearly 1,900 beers entered into the competition. Beginning on a Tuesday, I devoted the better part of three days sampling beers behind closed doors in the bowels of the Adams Mark Hotel prior to the festival's commencement. Each day I sampled roughly 50 beers before venturing out from my hotel in search of 85 yep, more beer. The first public tasting session was staged on Thursday night and was the only session that I spent most of its four hours actually tasting the beers available on the festival floor. The afternoon session on Saturday was a members-only event. That meant that only American Homebrewers Association (AHA) and Institute for Brewing Studies (IBS) members were invited. Event officials also invited the judges as well as the press corps. I spent my first hour sampling beers followed by listening to the announcement of winners of 52 beer-style categories. So why didn't I attend the Friday or Saturday night sessions? I was preoccupied with the hospitality events in full swing at various swanky venues around town. The special events kicked off Tuesday night with the judges' reception at Rock Bottom Brewery. Plenty of free beer and food and the opportunity to mingle with the other judges that comprise the best beer palates from around the world. Wednesday evening found me at the annual Brewers Gathering. Here, most of the participating brewers along with their entourages mingled with IBS staffers, judges, the press and other assorted industry insiders - more than 2,000 brew gurus supping, sipping and schmoozing for three hours. Thursday afternoon it was off to Great Divide Brewery for hors d'oeuvres and a tasting of its 1997 Hibernation Ale. The 1996 version garnered a gold medal in the "English-Style Old Ale/Strong Ale" category. Thursday evening found me at Rock Bottom Brewery for the annual Real Beer Page Stogie and Stout gathering - a high-class event that improves each year with free cigars, plenty of stout and cavorting on a grand style. After judging 35 beers in the morning session, my Friday continued by attending another fantastic annual event, the All Saints Brands' hospitality suite. All Saints Brands, based in Minneapolis, is an importer and distributor of fine beers. The press, judges and brewers numbering about 100 gathered at the Holiday Inn to sample three years (1995, 1996 & 1997) of Samichlaus, once the strongest beer in the world at 14 percent ABV, and three years (1994, 1995 and 1997) of Samuel Adams Triple Bock, currently the strongest beer in the world at 17.5 percent ABV. This vertical tasting was co-sponsored by the Real Beer Page and American Brewer magazine. I had the opportunity to sit across from London-based beer maven Michael Jackson, who gave his insightful thoughts on these fine beers to the pleasure of the crowd. Add to that a feast of hors d'oeuvres and samples of several other beers represented by All Saints, including the recently reintroduced to America Aass from Norway, Brasserie Le Cheval Blanc's and McAuslan Brewing's fine lines of beers (both from Montreal) and I was swooning. Saturday morning I made it to what I consider the finest lunch of the entire week - Boston Beer Company's spread at the Cruise Room, a cozy, art-deco bar at the Oxford Hotel in the trendy Lodo district. Fine fare, such as Smoked Duck Chimichangas, Phyllo Triangles with Walnuts, Mushrooms and Gorgonzola Cheese and the incredible Chocolate Truffle Cake were paired with the entire family of Boston Beer Co. beers and ciders, including Samuel Adams Triple Bock. Top that with easy access to founder and president Jim Koch, and I was in brew-topia. I'd lost track of time, when suddenly I realized I had to beat feet to Currigan Hall for the Saturday afternoon GABF session. Immediately following the session, I walked to the North American Guild of Beer Writers' annual awards banquet staged at the Tattered Cover Bookstore, which is owned by Wynkoop President John Hickenlooper. Although I'd had some great food earlier in the day, I couldn't resist another fine meal, this one prepared by Wynkoop chefs. There was still room in my beer compartment, so I filled it with beer provided by Wynkoop and plenty of single malt scotch, courtesy of Malt Advocate magazine publisher John Hansell. Then it was off to Falling Rock, a 70-tap bar in Lodo that hosted the deaf homebrewers in the basement (with their great barleywine) while I enjoyed some of the fine selections available upstairs with Michael Jackson and others. Later that night I missed a hospitality event sponsored by Kalamazoo (Michigan) Brewing Co (brewers of the fine line of Bell's beers) complete with plenty of food for noshing. By then, my beer compartment was full, and I had a plane to catch the following day. There were other smaller, intimate gatherings that I attended as well as some that I missed, like the tapping of a keg of Sierra Nevada Bigfoot Barleywine, which reportedly took place at 3 a.m. in my hotel. But I wouldn't want to bore you with the details.
FRIDAY THE 13th In case you hadn’t noticed, our next SNAFU club meeting falls on Friday the 13th. Being a somewhat superstitious person I thought a few precautions were in order. Namely: 1. Bring no beer to the meeting that was made with 13 ingredients-This should only apply to Dave Miller. 2. Bring no beer that was made with 13% alpha hops-We’ll understand when Karl Gustafson shows up with no beer. 3. Bring no beer that you’ve already entered in 13 homebrew contests-This should only apply to Steve MacMillan and Ralph Goodman. 4. Bring no beer that you’ve been trying to get rid of for the past 13 years-Joe Urcioli will not be allowed to bring his Honey Mustard Barbeque Sauce beer.
Submitted by Joe Urcioli The FDA is considering additional warnings on beer and alcohol bottles, such as: 13. WARNING: consumption of alcohol may make you think you are whispering when you are not. 12. WARNING: consumption of alcohol is a major factor in dancing like an idiot. 11. WARNING: consumption of alcohol may cause you to tell the same boring story over and over again until your friends want to SMASH YOUR HEAD IN. 10. WARNING: consumption of alcohol may cause you to thay shings like thish. 9. WARNING: consumption of alcohol may lead you to believe that ex-lovers are really dying for you to telephone them at 4 in the morning. 8. WARNING: consumption of alcohol may leave you wondering what the heck happened to your pants. 7. WARNING: consumption of alcohol may cause you to roll over in the morning and see something really scary (whose species and or name you can't remember). 6. WARNING: consumption of alcohol is the leading cause of inexplicable rug burns on the forehead. 5. WARNING: consumption of alcohol may create the illusion that you are tougher, handsomer and smarter than some really, really big guy named Kerry. 4. WARNING: consumption of alcohol may lead you to believe you are invisible. 3. WARNING: consumption of alcohol may lead you to think people are laughing WITH you. 2. WARNING: Consumption of alcohol may cause an influx in the time-space continuum, whereby small (and sometimes large) gaps of time may seem to literally "disappear". 1. WARNING: Consumption of alcohol may actually CAUSE pregnancy.
DO YOU LOVE YOUR BEER? Submitted by Lori Rosen The Wynkoop Brewing Co. is looking for "the beerdrinker of the year." The winner of this national search will receive his weight or height in beer. To enter, send your beer resume (no more than four pages) to the Beerdrinker of the Year Competition, in care of Wynkoop Brewing Co., 1634 18th Street, Denver, CO 80202. Entrants must include their personal philosophy of beerdrinking and their height, weight and T-shirt size. Three contestants will be selected to compete in the finals at 5 p.m. January 23rd at Wynkoop. People employed in the brewing industry are not eligible. The deadline for entering is November 17th. Information : (303) 297-2700.
CORNY KEGS WANTED I am looking for a couple of 3 gal corny kegs and I am willing to trade 3, 5 gal pin lock kegs each for them. I have too many kegs that I don't use that are taking up too much room. Kyle Carrel
SHELDON JACKSON MEMORIAL MEMBERS ONLY HOMEBREW COMPETITION By Steve Mac Millan In August one of Snafu's most important and well respected members passed away. In memory of his contributions and commitment to homebrewing, The Southern Nevada Ale Fermenters Union is pleased to announce a competition in his memory. The contest will take place at 7:00 p.m. Friday December the 4th, 1998 at Skip’s Gold Coin. Skip’s is located on Decatur just north of Tropicana. A FREE FOOD BUFFET will be provided for all who attend. Like all of our previous contests this will be a sanctioned event. However on a different note this competition will only be open to Snafu members. Contest rules are as follows: 2 bottles per entry with a limit of one entry per sub-category, bottles must be 10 to 14 oz. green or brown in color. Bottles must be free of labels or any distinguishing marks with a bottle label attached by rubber band identifying the brewer and information pertaining to the entry. Entry fees are $1 per entry. Recipe forms are not required to enter this event, however winning entries may be requested to provide one for newsletter publication. All AHA beer, mead and cider categories will be represented. As in all Snafu contests distinctive awards will be given for first, second, and third place entries scoring 25 points or better. All first place entries will be judged head to head to determine the Best of Show. The Best of Show winner will have his/her name placed on a memorial plaque that will be on display at the Beer and Brew Gear homebrew shop. This Best of Show Trophy has been graciously donated by the Inland Empire Homebrewers of Riverside, California. This contest will be a great opportunity to learn valuable beer judging skills. Snafu's best will be there and we will need all the help we can get. If you are interested in judging or helping out please call contest organizer Ralph Goodman at 642-9215, or Steve Mac Millan at 435 5816. Any and all assistance in setting up and getting things going will be most graciously accepted. Bring your entries to the next SNAFU meeting on Nov. 13. Thank-you and good luck.
Football season seems to be the time to get great deals on food and beer at our three favorite brewpubs-Triple 7, Holy Cow, and Barleys. Why not watch the games someplace where you can enjoy great beer. Here are their football specials. At the Triple 7 Brewpub at Main Street Station they are celebrating National Pizza month by offering personal pizzas for $2.99 during football games. And every Tuesday is Bluesday Tuesday with the Shuffleaires, a blues band, performing from 8-12. During their performances shots of Aftershock and Avalaunche are $2. Naturally, Eddie Kuehne’s special beer this month is an Octoberfest Lager. At the Holy Cow during the NFL games you can get 10 wings for $1, a bratwurst for $1.50 and a pint of Holy Cow beer for only $2. And Dan Rogers will have his pumpkin ale on tap in time to get you in the mood for Halloween. Barleys has the same specials I told you about last month so I’ll reprint them here. All during football season at Barley’s you can get a huge slice of pizza for a buck, or a hot dog for a buck, or nachos for a buck. And you can get a 22 oz. Barley’s draft for only $1.99. These special deals apply on Saturdays from 9-6, Sundays from 9-9, and Mondays from 4:40-9:30. Also on Monday nights during the game there’s "Funky Football" in which a prize is given away during every commercial. You can also enter your name to win the "Couch Potato" prize which gets you and a friend FREE beer and food during the game.
SNAFU 3301 Ariba St. Las Vegas, NV 89129
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