D.U.F.F Club: February Meeting

October 2009 Meeting notes

The October 2009 meeting was held at the Mauston Country Inn on the 13th. Randy, Jim, Clinton and his two little ones and I were there. Randy had some neat devices to show us that he had made - an adjustable sparge and volume meter. I wasn't thinking and didn't get pictures but I will. Sorry! Clinton had some pictures of the new brewing stand he's making... awesome!!! but I didn't get a copy of those. I will.

We talked some of recent club activities, the show in Racine Wisconsin and the outdoor brew at The Barn in Baraboo. We also kind of planned out the next few months meetings so folks will know in advance what we're up to.

November 2009 - We'll be meeting at the Country in Mauston, 6:00pm on November 10th. If you've brewed some extra wine over the summer and want to share, we know of a worthy guy to share it with! Contact Clinton or bring to the November meeting and we'll explain it there in person.

December 2009 - We'll once again be meeting at the Country Inn, in Mauston on December 8th at 6:00pm for a regular meeting. Nothing special planned at this time but that's subject to change. Maybe it'll be a good time to make some tentative meeting, brewing, and event plans/goals for 2010 and access where we're at and where we're going?

January 2010 - New meeting nights on Friday! Meetings will be the first Friday of the month in 2010 unless it's a holiday such as January 1st (New Year's Day) and April 2nd (Good Friday) then we'll move it to the second Friday of the month. We're going to give this a try and see if more people can make the meetings.

January 8th, 2010 will be our first Friday night meeting and we'll tentatively plan on an outing at the Barn Bar & Restaurant in Baraboo, Wisconsin (Friday night fish fry!!!) for our winter holiday DUFF Club Outing. They have about 130 differant beers there to try so line up a designated driver!

2010 promises to be an important year for the DUFF homebrew club. With the threat of a rising tax on beer, the economy in the dumps, and some DUFF members sneaking off to the liquor store to buy store-bought Schlitz and the like, we need to set up some Beer-brewing-intervention teams and help more members get 'off the grid' homebrewingly speaking!

...More to come on that subject!!!

September Meeting Notes

Items of business:

· The October meeting is a club outing to Milwaukee on October 4^th 2008 the first Saturday in October. We will be touring Miller brewery and Lake Front brewery. We will meet in the parking lot of Wal-mart in Lake Delton at 7:30 am. (anyone may join along the way. - Portage, Madison). Tentatively, we are hoping to get 15 people because if we can, we qualify for an early tour schedule. There will have to be designated drivers for each vehicle to ensure this is a safe as well as fun outing for all. Fritz will be calling to evaluate member commitment. Check DUFF Group for updated discussions.

· November - Regular DUFF meeting on the 11^th, there should be some California Common homebrew samples ready for this meeting.Check DUFF Group for updated discussions.

We had an excellent turnout at the September DUFF Brew Club meeting at the home of Mel & Sandy Smith. In addition to many regular club members that gathered, we met Weston Cyriel Pouillie, just 1 week old! A beautiful Baby!

In addition Joyce & Bud (Kurt) Ihde stopped in with some homemade grape wine and Harley Smith (a new member on the DUFF Group) brought a bottle of Onion Wine. Randy H. shared some Piesporter and Jim K. some homebrew beer. I know there were more samples on the table and I apologize for those I have missed.

We enjoyed a variety of imported craft beers, brats, Zuppa Toscana soup, grilled corn, and Carr Valley Cheese. Those that arrived early visited the vineyard and those that stayed late enjoyed the bonfire as the autumn evening ended. I thought I would win the coolest-hat-competition with my alligator hat but knew I was beaten when I saw Bud’s ‘Homer’ hat from the Homer brewery of Homer, Alaska. Now that is class!

Hope to see you all at the October brewery tour. Call 608-415-0091 for question or referral to those that know. Join the DUFF group to post questions and comments.

July Meeting Notes

The July meeting of the DUFF Brew Club was held in Mauston at the Country Inn on Tuesday July 8, 2008. It was good to see old friends and sample some homebrew after missing meeting in June. We are looking forward to meeting on the 20th for a brew session at the home of Jim Kinsman. Directions are posted at DUFF Group, so I won't repeat them here.
In addition, we are planning a winery tour on August 2nd or 3rd visiting Wollersheim Winery at Prairie du Sac, Weggy Winery at Richland Center, and Burr Oak Winery at New Lisbon. Additional information will be posted and sent to club members very soon.

more to write later....

May Meeting Notes

The May meeting was held on Tuesday evening May 13th with six members present. There were several homebrew samples offered by Jim and Clint and the group enjoyed an unofficial judging of Clint's English Brown Ale (11a Mild in the BJCP style Guidelines). American Homebrewers Association (AHA) events in Wisconsin are being added to the club calendar and some DUFF members are entering their beers. As a member of AHA Jim shared some copies of the organization's magazine, Zymurgy.

Discussion was held about the upcoming group brew and it has been tentatively planned for July 5th or 6th at the home of Jim Kinsman near Reedsburg. Final plans will be made at the June 10th meeting.

You may also order supplies at the June 10th meeting and someone from the club will pick them up in time for the July brew session. Hops are in tight supply... attend the June 10th meeting for a chance to win a free door prize - 4 oz. of Mel's homegrown Cascade leaf hops!

Work on the DUFF club by-laws will begin on-line this month, watch for posting of how you can become involved in formulating them before they are presented for adoption at a future meeting.

March Meeting Notes

The DUFF Brew Club met in Mauston, Wisconsin at the Country Inn & Suits meeting room on March 11th. The main focus of this meeting was to pick three winning beer entries that will be sent on to Wausau to represent the DUFF Club for the Golden Growler Competition in April.

Eight beers were entered into the competition in the style of an American IPA. The beer entries were all far superior to those of us that judged them, but we collectively chose three. The third place brew was entered by Jim Kinsman. The second runner up was submitted by Jason VanPee, and the winner was brewed by Dave Yardly.

Congratulations is due to all the contestants for their efforts both in brewing and in judging these beers. We all did our best in an area that is new to everyone in the DUFF Home Brew club.

The next meeting is scheduled for 6:00 pm April 8th at the Country Inn & Suits in Mauston Wisconsin. The three winning entries need to have their samples ready for Wausau by the April meeting. We will also finalize plans for those that hope to attend the Golden Growler competition so please plan to attend our April meeting if possible.

In other business, it was generally agreed that since Mid State Fermenters will be closing in another week, this Web Site will be one avenue of communication for the DUFF Home Brew Club for the present.

Please tell others about the club, our meetings, our web presence and post your comments, suggestions, and survey responses.

See you all next meeting

April 8, 2008, 6:00 pm.
Country Inn & Suits
Mauston, Wisconsin
___________________________________

How wine is really made.

I’m just finishing a hilariously honest account by a man that took a job working inside the wine industry in

New Zealand

called ‘First Big Crush’. Eric Arnold writes an informative, funny, and sometimes crude account of his 2004 experience working for the ASW winery in

New Zealand

.

Arnold’s tales of how the big wineries actually produce their product remind me of my own days working with large vegetable growers and canneries. It also makes me wonder if I should consume commercially produced foods, meats, wines or anything.

It has inspired me to think that I can plant my own vineyard and produce something as good as, or maybe better, than the products offered by large corporate growers. It has also peeked my interest in New Zealand wines from the Marlborough Valley.

Last week I bought a bottle of Crossing 2002 Pinot Noir, a Marlborough wine, and at first I thought that it tasted great. However, I limit my wine consumption to a glass or two a day and after a few days, I thought it began to taste like toilet water. Being an expensive bottle for me $19, I wondered if I just haven’t developed a taste for good wine or if it doesn’t keep well after being opened, or if my initial taste was misleading?

I liked the book, ‘first big crush’ and I learned things about wine making that I never knew.

Do you have a favorite book about brewing? Consider writing a review and posting it on the DUFF Group so others may enjoy and learn.

___________________________________

Saturday, February 7, 2009

February Meeting

Greetings D.U.F.F. members

February’s meeting will be held this coming Tuesday, 10Feb 2009, 6:00 pm at the Burr Oak Winery. The winery is 5 miles west of Mauston on 12/16 from Division street stop in downtown Mauston. It’s on the left side of the road (south) and you will pass by Rural Welding, True Gas, and the road to the Mauston-New Lisbon Airport before arriving at Burr Oak.

The Owner, Steve Kennedy, will answer questions and I’m sure tell us a great deal about his operation and experience in the vineyard. I’ve asked to tell us about pruning and things that we should be doing with grapes this time of year.

Home brew samples are welcome as usual at this meeting.

Please try to make this meeting, bring a friend, and consider trying a bottle or two of Burr Oak’s wines. This is a great opportunity to hear from a person that has planted a vineyard from the first vines to a successful local Wisconsin winery. Anyone interested in doing the same will not want to miss this meeting.

D.U.F.F. business items will include further planning on the ‘big brew’ and updates on competition.

See you all on Tuesday.

Mel

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The big Cork Question

You might think that an entire book written about what you use to close a wine bottle could be nothing but totally boring, but you would be wrong!

George M. Taber has written a fascinating account on the subject. His vast knowledge of the wine industry, the cork industry, and the love-hate relationship that exists between them is nothing short of amazing. Add to that the nearly mystical science of what goes on inside a wine bottle, the political ramifications of socializing the cork plantations in one of the only two cork producing countries in the world, and a significant increase in the problem of 'bad wine' cause by cork taint and you have a great 'who done it?'

The book, "To Cork or not to Cork" is not only a great 'who done it?' but a fascinating 'what are we going to do about it?' I so enjoyed this book that I have began reading a second book by George M. Taber "Judgement of Paris" about the 1976 Paris wine tasting that pitted California wines against French wines and revolutionized the wine world that we know today.

Cultivating a Winery, an industry, and a life.

Susan Sokal Blosser writes an account of her life as it unfolds simultaneously with the Oregon wine industry. I found both the developing Oregon wine industry and the life of Susan Blosser fascinating but I walk away from this book remembering most about Susan.

I wonder about her family and the strain that comes with having family as investors in a business. I wonder about her broken family as a price paid for success in business and her commitment to business success placed above love? I wonder about the future of finding a second successful love with an employee? I relate to her love of the land, children, and animals and anticipate the joy of walking in my own vineyard the way she does. I want to emulate her environmental practices in the vineyard and I would like to know more about the technical aspects of her operation, perhaps she will write a sequel?

I would like to find a bottle of her Sokol Blosser Pinot Noir and enjoy it as I think about this book and plan my own vineyard.

I can't help but remember and compare Susan's account of A Home in the Vineyard with another book from a guy's perspective, The First Big Crush. Not once did Susan's account even mention drunkenness that I recall, it was all about excellence, good food, good wine, and friends! Both books recounted a growing wine industry in new wine country and I found comparing them informative. I wonder if my own vineyard could be the beginning of another new wine making story although I could never imagine my life as anything approaching either author's life.

I loved the book! Thank you Susan.

Your Passport to a Brewery

I almost did not buy this book; it seemed too small (5 1/2 x 7) and too expensive $21.95, however, I finally reasoned that using a gift card for something I actually wanted was O.K., and am I ever glad I did!

After a modest introduction to beer - Ale vs. Lager, what hops do for beer, and where diacetyl and skunkyness come from, Kevin Revolinski gets down to the main focus of the book: the 72 breweries across the state of Wisconsin.

He divides the state of Wisconsin into 6 Zones and then list and maps the Breweries and Brewpubs in each zone. There are directions to each Brew place, along with information on the number of beers brewed, tour information, Samples, and whether they offer food or not. Revolinski writes another paragraph of interesting information about the establishment, gives a web address, and list other places to see within ‘stumbling Distance’ of the Brew place.

In the back of the book are pages that list each Brew place along with blank lines to fill in the date that you visited and your comments. The author lists ‘Special Offers’ and this is what the place you visit agreed to give to a patron visiting with this book.

Supposedly, 80% of the Brew places offer something, usually a free beer and the total value of give-a-ways are around $130! Not a bad return for your investment in addition to the wealth of information contained within it's 200 plus pages.

I highly recommend you get a copy of ‘The Wisconsin Beer Guide' travel companion, before you set out on your Wisconsin vacation this year and buy a copy for someone special. Help a friend find that special brew pub.

In case I have not convinced you to get a copy of this book, here is another glowing review by the mad traveler author Kevin Revolinski himself.

About DUFF.

D.U.F.F. (Dells Unified Frequent Fermenters) Homebrew Club originally began meeting in Lake Delton, Wisconsin. The group held their first group brewfest at Lyndon Station in the fall of 2006 and then began holding regular monthly meetings in 2007.

During 2007, DUFF members held two group brewing sessions. The first, June 2, near Wisconsin Dells, and the second, September 22, in Lyndon Station as part of that village's fall festival. The year 2008 began with club representatives attending Bockfest at Capital Brewery in Madison followed by DUFF's entry into the Golden Growler Homebrew competition in Wausau.

Currently, there are no membership dues nor formal structure to the DUFF club. Those attending hold a variety of interests in the home brewing hobby: making beer, wine, or mead; exploring a variety of aspects such as growing hops, maintaining a vineyard, cultivating yeast; and acquiring, modifying, or fabricating equipment.

New members are welcome. E-mail the club for information (use address at top of page), contact me, Mel, by phone 608-415-0091, or simply join in at a future meeting or event.

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