Toast
“Here’s to the alchemists of flavor, the architects of aroma, and the masters of malt. As we gather tonight, united by our love for the craft, let’s raise our glasses to the magic that happens when hops, malt, yeast, and friendship come together.”
Guests/New Members
24 members plus Kenneth from Savannah Bee Co. who has not been to a meeting in a long time.
Who is Brewing?
The current club total for 2024 is 19.5-ish BUs. Kristen is working on creating an online form to submit brew day information instead of using the Facebook post.
Upcoming Events
- 20 JAN – January stammtisch, T. Cline’s house at 5 pm
- 27 JAN – Domras Cup sorting 1 pm
- Chris’ house, see FB event
- 02 FEB – Domras Cup judging, round 1
- 313 Stiles Ave (near Enmarket Arena)
- 03 FEB – Domras Cup 8 am – 5 pm
- *313 Stiles Ave (near Enmarket Arena)
- 07 FEB – February Monthly Meeting 7:30 pm at MRBC
- No Stammtisch in February
New Business
Members were reminded to pay their dues.
Committee Discussion
Pink Points/Mike’s Mentionables/Alex’s Assessment
None today
Treasurer’s Report
Gene gave his report to the members which included the general budget and the Domras Cup 2024 budget.
Barrel Committee
- Barrel 1 – Scottish Ale went in 18 NOV, it has not leaked much
- Barrel 2 – Lambic; the barrel is ready and needs beer from members
Domras Cup
This was discussed in detail during the Domras Cup meeting prior to the January monthly meeting. Sorting will take place on 27 JAN along with possible pre-judging based on the total number of entries. Pre-judging will be happening on 02 FEB. Domras Cup will be held on 03 FEB. The location is the Savannah Bee Company warehouse near Enmarket Arena. There are currently just under 150 paid entries with approximatrely another 30 unpaid. An e-mail will be sent out to people who have registered but not paid to remind them to make payments.
ReBrew
Stovall had another call regarding this and it is still on. We have the water and approvals should be finalized in February after testing is done.
ReBrew
Nothing new with this. The water needs to be tested most likely. C. Stovall will discuss later.
Merch
Discussion regarding Bridge Run shirts will be tabled until toward the end of the year. One member mentioned hoodies. The club needs to order stickers and the order will include the larger size as well as smaller sized stickers. There was also a discussion regarding sampling koozies.
Competitions
The first quarter club-only competition will be hosted by Powers. There was discussion about including ReBrew in the competition. This quarter will focus on lighter beers (opposite of 0 Dark 30). It could also include ciders.
The mid-year competition will be held at the Boucher’s house in June. The original plan was for Belgian beers but it is still open for suggestions.
Discussion ensued again this month regarding a cider competition and possibly including cider in the mid-year competition. Stovall mentioned that he has the material downloaded for cider judging classes.
Old Business
- Brewer of the year: J. Boucher, who had the most BUs brewed in 2023.
- Second place is Emmons and third place is VanPelt
- Competitor of the Year: J. Boucher with a total of 66 points
- Second place is T. Cline with 35 points and third place is J. Edwards with 16 points
Upcoming Stammtisch
- January – Cline
- February – NONE (Domras Cup) but a Superbowl party will be hosted by The Burns
- March – St. Patrick’s Day meetup in Downtown Savannah
- April – Powers
- May – Roger
- June – Boucher
Looking Forward to 2024
Members discussed the possibility of having an events calendar that would sync with their phones. Kristen will look into this.
Tech Talk
S. Burns discussed pressure fermentation with the use of a spunding valve. He is fermenting a porter at 12 PSI. Pressure fermentation leads to cleaner beers with less off-flavors and undesired characteristics. Henry mentioned that you have to pay attention to yeast selection when using pressure fermentation. Some yeasts (for example, S-04) are designed to create esters and other flavor profiles and when fermented under pressure, sometimes that ability is inhibited. Overall using the spunding valve allows you to ferment in less time and higher temperatures. Beer fermented in this manner can be served right away since it is already carbonated and this cuts down on CO2 usage. Henry also noted that there is no CO2 scrubbing with this method.