February Club Meeting Notes

First of all, a big thanks to Jon and Lacey for hosting last night's meeting and for providing food and some good beers!

We almost tripled our 'membership' last night, with 11 people and we hope that our new guests will continue to join us. Welcome to TJ, Todd, Pete, Erick, Mark, Steve, and Carl and thanks for bringing a wide array of beers for us all to try.

Last night's lineup was quite varied, but considering the limited selection in town it would have been hard to stick to Belgian ales!

We sampled:
*Hoegaarden Witbier (Belgium), a Belgian white
*Victory Golden Monkey (PA), an abbey tripel
St. Feuillien Tripel (Belgium), an abbey tripel
Unibroue's Seigneuriale (Canada), a Belgian strong/dark
Southampton Biere de Garde (NY), a biere de garde
Lindemans Cuvee Rene (Belgium), a gueuze lambic
*Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA (DE), an India pale ale
East End's The Ugly American (PA), an abbey tripel
*Stone Ruination IPA (CA), a double IPA
*Stone Arrogant Bastard (CA), an American strong ale
*Guinness Extra Stout (Canada), a dry stout
Jolly Pumpkin Bam Biere (MI), a saison

*denotes beers available in Indiana; majority of others found in Pittsburgh

To find out more about these styles and their characteristics, you can check out the Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP) Style Guidelines. To find out how these beers are judged by the average beer lover, you can search for them at either RateBeer or Beer Advocate.

Many of our guests got to try some really good stuff that they probably hadn't had before. Many were surprised by the Cuvee Rene, as gueuze lambics aren't really well known around here. Some were surprised to find that they really enjoyed a heavily hopped beer, like the Stone beers and the DFH 60-Minute. Spread the word!

The only disappointment in the line up was the Southampton Biere de Garde. A couple of us felt that it was off, with a lot of DMS (dimethyl sulfide) and buttery notes. Those of us who keep notes on the beers we try didn't bother to record this one, since it would have been unfairly judged. Better luck next time.

In all, I think everyone enjoyed the evening. The company was varied by age, profession, and interests, but everyone seemed to appreciate the beer. Great side discussions on music, travel, and coffee, too! We hope to see everyone next month and we'll provide details in the coming weeks for theme and location of March's meeting.

Cheers!