Tasting Schedule for the Year

[Matt]

January: Strong Ales (including Belgian Strong Ales)
February: Fruit Beer & Lambics
March: Scottish & Irish Ales
April: Pale Ales (India Pale Ales, American Pale Ales, English Pale Ales)
May: Bock (esp. Maibock)
June: Rye Beers (RyePA, Roggenbier, etc.)
July: Amber Hybrids (Alts, California Commons)
August: Brown Ales
September: Stouts & Porters
October: Oktoberfest
November: Cider
December: Spice/Herb/Christmas Beers

Brew accordingly to have each appropriately aged for tasting at it's given month's meeting. Some obviously take more time than others.

This list is intentionally ale-heavy, as many brewers do not (yet) have the means to lager, but on months that do feature lagers, it is because they are seasonal products and should really be enjoyed and discussed.

[Bill]

Nice schedule Matt. This will also be a good way for people to figure out their brew schedule, for those of you that feel you need a brew schedule.

Are we going to continue to have commercial examples as well as the donations?
How are the donations going to work?

[Matt]

I will try to have one commercial beer at every tasting, so we have a sort of "baseline" for people to judge the homebrew against.

But I'd like to see a shift to having more people contribute homebrew, so that it becomes the bulk of each month's tasting.

I'm thinking Sean could set up a new section on the forum called Tasting Donations, where two or three people can pledge to bring a six-pack or growler of that month's style for inclusion in the tasting each month. I'll pick up a commercial to round out the tasting.

I'm also wanting to move the tastings towards the front of the meeting, rather than the end, so everyone's pallet isn't blown by the time we get to it, and/or drunk so I have to yell over all you boisterous bastards.

It looks like we've already got a couple of pledges for November. Has anyone got a Spiced/Christmas beer in the fermenter that could pledge for December?

Matt

[Baron Ken]

It looks like we've already got a couple of pledges for November. Has anyone got a Spiced/Christmas beer in the fermenter that could pledge for December?

Not in the fermenter, but I've got one that has been cold conditioning for 3 months. Spice presence is still great. I'll bring a growler.

[Matt]

Awesome! Thanks a ton.

Anyone else? I'd like to have three or four different beers to try.

Matt

[Baron Ken]

...
I'm also wanting to move the tastings towards the front of the meeting, rather than the end, so everyone's pallet isn't blown by the time we get to it, and/or drunk so I have to yell over all you boisterous bastards.
...

I think we really need to work on this. We could do the tasting before the President starts the meeting while everyone is social drinking. Perhaps start around 7:15pm allowing 25-30 minutes for the tasting session and starting the meeting around 7:45pm (which is only 15 minutes later than the current schedule). Social drinking could also continue during the tasting as well (for those that don't want to participate in the tasting).

Comments welcome.

[Melonmon]

The new by-laws proposal addresses this. We moved the tasting to the beginning, so late arrivals don't interfere with the seminar (which I am confident we will begin having again next year). Our meeting is supposed to start at 7, so I would assume the tasting would start at 7. Then the seminar at 7:30, followed by a short business meeting from around 8 to 8:15 or 8:20. Then on to socializing by 8:30 if not before. That is what I envision anyway. A lot of these details will be hashed out when we pass the by-laws and with the new administration.