Meeting started: 7:40pm

8 new members

Treasury Report

• $730 spent for competition

• No income (no meetings)
• $4550 in bank

Competition

Competition Shipping

• Next comp is KCBM
• There'll be a competition in March for Stouts
  • Entries are due March 17, 2012. Entry fee is $7.
  • Drop off @ Bacchus by Sat March 10th

Banquet

• Happy hour

• 3 course dinner - sausages, cheese, 2nd course TBD, dessert (cheese & fruit maybe)

• Registration is now online

Commercial kegs

• Need someone to pick up the keg in Topeka from Blind Tiger

Sponsorships

• Has anyone bought anything from Williams?

• Need someone to post on twitter - post results, need a volunteer
• Category sponsorship - talk to Amy or Steve

Maifest & other party events

• Need someone to chair Maifest organization
• Look to schedule holiday party for 2012 at the bowling alley

Bylaw Amendment Committee

• Jay, Matt Kafka, Jonathan Matthews, Neava Ford

• Committee to present amendment suggestions in March meeting

New Business

• Officer nominations - nominations in March, voting in April

• 2013 - do we want to do 1st round NHC judging?
  • Concern about the organization of the competition - it is very close to the Feb competition
  • We had plenty of people interested in helping out - got a motion, seconded and majority vote to volunteer KCBM for 1st round NHC in 2013.
  • Steve to contact Janis Gross to get KCBM for 1st round next year

• Bottle openers - Jim had a few bottle openers made and would like to know if the club should have some made for a competition or some sort of item to purchase
  • Perhaps have these for 30th anniversary volunteer gift
  • They don't bend caps

Club Funds

• Club trip to St Louis
  • Club to pay for the bus. Members responsible for their own hotel room. Leave early Saturday morning, stop in Columbia for lunch, Saturday evening party it up in St Louis, return Sunday.
  • Date is TBD - looking for late spring/early summer
  • Suggestion to do this instead of Maifest
  • Club to get information on the web about the trip and have people register. May put a poll on the website to ID the proper weekend
• Would like to open it up to other homebrew clubs and, if space is left, to friends/family at a small price

National Homebrew Comp

• June 21 - 23 in Seattle

• It's a great time - educational sessions, pro-brewer night, club night, awards banquet
• If enough people from the club are interested in attending, perhaps look at getting some club shirts to raise club awareness

Ask the Brewer

Q: Just into all-grain. Keggle with dip tube on it. Does it matter if you take all the trub out?

A: Answers vary, but you can use a stainless screen or scrubbie on the end of the dip tube to minimize the trub that goes into the fermenter. Or cut the end off the dip tube and turn it toward the side, and create a whirlpool at the end of the boil to collect trub in the middle.

 

Q: Just started doing extract to save time, beers are turning cloudy. What's happening? Steeping specialty grains.

A: Try changing extract brands to see if that makes a difference. Try steeping at mash temps to reduce cloudiness

 

Q: Ball lock beer out is leaking. What's wrong?

A: Gasket going around the top piece is missing. You can buy a similar gasket at Westlake Hardware or at McMaster-Carr. Someone on Homebrewtalk posted a list of the part numbers for the o-rings. For the liquid-out, you want part #9452K23. http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f11/mcmaster-keg-o-ring-list-233086/

 

Q: What do you recommend for a grain mill?

A: various brands are available & all similar. Several suggestions about using drills at slower speed to ensure good crush.