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The first meeting of the North Idaho Homebrewers, held July 22, 2006, turned out to be a lot of fun. I'd like to give special thanks to Fred Colby at Laughing Dog Brewing for not only hosting the event, but providing an interesting tour, great information, and homebrewing tips.
We had a small turnout, but I guess that just meant more beer for the ones who were there! Joining the meeting were:
James Byrd (Sandpoint)
Mark Logan (Bonners Ferry)
Casey Brooks (Newport)
Sam Brooks (Newport)
And Fred Colby, of course. Fred's brewing compatriot Jerry was with us for most of the meeting as well, and he provided additional brewing expertise.
We kicked off the meeting with introductions and traded information about our home brewing systems. We had both extract and all-grain brewers present, and an impressive number of years of brewing experience (the most notable exception being me at only a year and a half).
Fred gave us a full tour of the facility, explaining his brewing process as we went and answering questions.
Then we reached the bright tank that holds his anniversary ale. Fred gave us each a sample of this triple-IPA, which is still in progress, but it already knocks your socks off. We will await that particular release with great anticipation.
We all got a break from the heat when Fred brought us into the refrigerated bright room where his non-jacketed bright tanks are kept along with certain supplies, like hops. Fred passed around several bags of different kinds of hops to give us all a sniff of how they differ in aroma.
Back in the tasting room, we took over a table and broke out some samples. Fred gave us a taste of his huckleberry ale and a wonderful two-year mead that had everyone smacking their lips. Mark broke out his IPA sample, which was quite tasty and didn't last long in that crowd. Finally, I poured my porter.
In the end, the consensus was that everyone had good time and would like to do it again. I've summarized the sequence of events here, but the reality was that the meeting ran for almost 3 hours total.
I'm up for suggestions from the membership regarding what we'd like to do for our next meeting. Casey suggested that we consider visiting the mini-brewery that he uses, which would have the advantage of showing the all-grain brewing process from a home brewer's perspective. I know that many extract home brewers consider the move to all-grain at some point, but would like to know more about what's involved first.
So, here's your big chance. When would you like to meet next? After Labor Day, when the summer activities have quieted down? On the weekend or during the week? What time? What would you like to do? Visit an all-grain homebrew setup? Have a sample meeting where you can have your beer critiqued by professionals? Have a workshop where we actually brew a batch of beer?
Use the contact form on this site to let me know!
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