Present: Jan, Heidi, Joan, Lisa, and Mariana.

The meeting on this Sunday afternoon was both a rating and brewing meeting. There was so much going on at all times that it is amazing we kept it all straight – well all of us except the last ones left brewing, the "spacey" beer boys. Thank God it wasn’t us, they’d never let us forget it, instead, they forgot (tee hee). Anyways, we had a good time and are hoping for a tasty homebrew. We were missing our ratings-keeper, so I filled in the blanks. Joan had an early departure so was not able to participate in pitching the yeast but she was present for the rating of samples. The malt aroma from the boiling wort was wonderful and enhanced our tasting and rating event. Lisa’s picks were very new, having snatched them from the truck at delivery. We were thirsty and enjoyed each and every one, all being of different variety. We then went on to sample the grain "tea" that Rick extracted from the remains of the boil. Quite tasty, that it was.

The brewing we began that day consists of 2 varieties. One is a nut brown ale and the other is Nestles Chocolate stout. We initiated the boil around 1:30 and pitched the yeast around 5:30. Mike the brewmaster assisted once again with the hydrometer readings: specific gravity, alcohol and balling.

Several days later, Lisa informed me that the stout had to be recharged. That is, the yeast did not respond for some reason. The yeast used was liquid yeast. After pitching the yeast (a different batch) again, the fermenting began (yea). Hopefully the beer will turn out despite that.

There was some discussion of a field trip. The Blessing of the Bock was brought up as a possibility. Joan also informed us that son Ryan is the now a buyer for a Chicago health food store, procuring (believe it or not), BEER! He has invited us down for an overnighter and beer tasting – sounds like fun! We’ll have to arrange a date. Beyond that, there was no plan or decision made. We’ll have to come prepared with calendars to the next meeting.

Next meeting – March 14, Friday, at 7:00ish pm

We will begin the St. Patrick’s Day partying a few days early, so wear your green.

Respectfully submitted,
Mariana