Meeting Minutes – October 2015

Miami Area Society of Homebrewers
Minutes of the Monthly General Meeting
October 22, 2015

The monthly general meeting of the Miami Area Society of Homebrewers was called to order at 7:48 PM at the M.I.A. Brewing Company on October 22, 2015 by Bob Billany.

I.  Review of Previous Minutes

Reading of the minutes of the previous meeting was waived.

II.  Treasurer’s Report

Our Treasurer, Denise Graham, reports balances of $2900 and $1500 in the bank account and PayPal account, respectively.

III.  Old Business

1. Club Tax Status

We assume that Josh Hubner continues to research this issue. He was not present at this month’s meeting.  Task to be reassigned?

2.  Grovetoberfest

The annual Grovetoberfest Beer Festival was held on Saturday, October 17th at Peacock Park in Coconut Grove.  Although a bit muddy, there was a large turnout for the event and MASH brews were well received.

3.  Competitions

Commander SAAZ, the final competition of the 2015 Florida Homebrew Circuit, was held on October 2-3, 2015 in Cocoa Beach, FL.  Congratulations to Michael Moussa who scored a bronze medal with his Dopplebock. 

4.  Election of Officers

Nominations for Board positions for 2016 will occur at the next club meeting on November 19, 2015.  Elections will occur at the Winter Solstice party on December 12, 2015.

5. Beer Festivals

The South Florida Brewfest will take place at the north campus of Florida International University on Saturday, November 7, 2015.  MASH will be manning a booth at the event, spearheaded by Dan Barrett.

6.  Winter Solstice Party

The date and site of the Winter Solstice party have been confirmed.  The event will take place on Saturday, December 12, 2015 from 1:00 – 4:00 p.m. at Angelique Euro Café in Coral Gables.  The club will be subsidizing the cost of food.  Secretary, David Kirsten, will be sending a Save the Date announcement and soliciting a headcount.

III.  New Business

1.   Coconut Cup

An announcement was recently received from Mark Stober, President of Best Florida Beer.  The group is working with the AHA in an attempt to become a regional judging site for the National Homebrewers Conference.  While the event has not been confirmed, in order to avoid potential conflicts, the date for the 2016 Best Florida Beer Homebrew Competition has been moved to October 2016.  This would make our Coconut Cup the first competition of the 2016 Florida Circuit.

We are now considering hosting the competition earlier in the year.  Potential dates are February 6th, 13th or 20th of 2016.  Scheduling to be finalized at our next meeting.   

2.  Club Barrel Project

Bob Billany provided a small sample of the Russian Imperial Stout that is currently aging in an oak rum barrel.  General feedback was that, after two months in the barrel, it remains a bit “hot”.  We will let the brew sit in the barrel for another 2 months and sample once again.

3.  Brewer of the Year (BotY)

The BotY style for October was  Open/Best of Show.  8 entries were received.  The winners were . . . 

First Place:                  David Kirsten & Bob Billany (Marzen) 
Second Place (Tie):    Matt Waldron (Spice Gruit) & Daniel Kinard (Belgian Dark Strong)

The BotY style for December is Meads and Ciders.

IV.  Time/Place of Next Meeting

Thursday, November 19th @ 7:30 p.m

M.I.A. Brewing Co.
10400 NW 33 Street #150
Doral, Florida 33172

Minutes submitted by:  David Kirsten, Secretary

Minutes approved by:   Bob Billany, President