Next meeting: FRIDAY May 17th, 7:00 pm - 10:30 pm
At this month's meeting we will be sampling German Mai Bocks in preparation for judging homebrewed versions next month. I have mine lagering, do you?

May 2002 Issue
Buy an Alers t-shirt!

By Brian (I'd increase the gravity) Thatcher

Greetings Alers!

Saturday May 4th was National Homebrew day and many of us gathered at Larry’s to brew, consume roasted animal flesh, and enjoy beers. I arrived about 9 in the morning to find that several members were well into their brew day already. My younger brother came along with me and we put in his first batch of beer, an extract American Pale Ale. While his beer was boiling I was mashing my beer, a Maibock. Both beers look like they will turn out nicely.

At the last meeting, some of our members had discussed brewing an American Pale Ale. I didn’t get a count of how many people took part, but it seemed that there were several of these being brewed. Kevin of course brewed an IPA. He was also the last to arrive, having family business in the morning.

Kevin was the only one brave enough to set up outside and barely escaped getting rain in his beer. My brew session had a slight technical difficulty as it seems my homemade counter flow chiller can’t handle the water pressure at Larry’s and it sprung a leak. I kept having to turn the water down until it stopped. It looks like my next upgrade needs to be a new chiller.

Belgian Dubbel Judging Results

At last month’s meeting, we held the first of the beer style brew off, the Belgian Dubbel. There were a total of seven beers to be judged, although two were the same beer from Terry, one from a keg and the other bottled. For some this was their first time attempting the style or even anything Belgian. All beers were very drinkable with no glaring flaws. Please congratulate all on a job well done, especially Don on his winning beer (which beat mine that scored first place in category at Cascadia Cup.

Here are the results:

1. Don Johnson
2. Brian Thatcher
3. Terry (Kegged)
4. Darren Brown
5. Bill Shockley
6. Terry (Bottled)
7. John Steiben

Club Campout

The date for the club campout has been set. It will be July 19, 20 and 21st at Buck Lake. Mark your calendars. More information will be forthcoming as the event draws closer.

Robot Opens Beer Bottles
From www.realbeer.com

APR 26, 2002 - A University of Florida engineering student has created a robot that opens beer bottles. He calls the robot Abor, which stands for Autonomous Beer-Opening Robot.

The robot operates by rolling along a bar, taking the bottle, steadying it, putting the opener under the cap and lifting it before backing away from the bottle.

The robot is built from 150 parts, has 60 feet of wiring and took four months of work.

Jean-Philippe Clerc, a master's candidate from the French Caribbean island of Guadalupe, said he went through 134 beers for calibrations and testing purposes. However, he admitted, he prefers wine and champagne to beer.

"I was trying to do something that was unusual and had never been done before," he said.

Oops!

Lid blown off giant Philadelphia moonshine operation, literally. http://www.philly.com/mld/philly/news/3273103.htm

Washington Summer Microbrew Festival
Father's Day Weekend: June 15th &16th

The Washington Summer Microbrew Festival is coming! It is held Father’s Day weekend at Saint Edward State Park on Lake Washington. Admission is $15 which includes a 6 oz tasting glass and 4 tokens. Additional tokens are available for $1.25. Advance tickets are $12 and are available at Larry’s or at local microbreweries.

From the website: http://www.washingtonbrewfest.com/

The Summer Microbrew Festival has become one of the premier summer festival in the Northwest and features two days of food and hand crafted beer tasting, craft and import booths, live music and exciting festival activities. Picturesque St. Edward State Park will again provide a gorgeous tree lined park where an estimated 20,000 guests, consisting of families, beer enthusiasts and business professionals from Seattle and throughout the Eastside, can enjoy a picnic in the park and partake in the many family activities.

This is another of the many festivals I attended last year and had a fun time. It is a beautiful setting. The live music and food help to break up the drinking. Don’t miss the brewer’s keg toss both days at 2 pm for some extra entertainment.

Monthly Meeting schedule:

Club Events Calendar

These are this year's club events.
More information and exact dates will be added as they get closer.

Upcoming Events

Washington Summer Microbrew Festival, June 15-16
St. Edward State Park, Kenmore. www.washingtonbrewfest.com
Larry's will be selling tickets.

Portland International Beerfest, July 12 - 14
Holladay Park at Lloyd Center, Portland. http://www.portlandbeerfest.com

Oregon Brewers Festival, Portland, July 26-28
Tom McCall Waterfront Park, Portland. www.oregonbrewfest.com

Great British Beer Festival, August 6-10
Olympia, London. www.gbbf.org

Seattle International Beerfest, August 23 - 25
Mural Amphitheater at Seattle Center. http://www.portlandbeerfest.com

Fremont Oktoberfest, September 20-22
Under the bridge in Fremont, www.washingtonbrewfest.com

Great American Beer Festival, October 3-5
Colorado Convention Center, Denver, CO. www.beertown.org