Feburary 5th

Yeah it will work for me.

Works for me. Ok, what is everyone planning on bringing?

Ya, I should be able to be there. I am unsure what I'm bringing, but I think someone should think about bringing an old rasputin just for comparison sake. That and Oak Aged Yetti are my favorite porter/stouts out there. I'd love to have a "control" somewhere in the mix of things. Well first, does anyone not like old rasputin? Maybe I'll just bring a couple of those in addition to my selection for the night. Carnes and Jim can bring their homebrewed russian stout and porter.

I am also bringing a grip of failed bq beers for judging and ridicule.

Yep, that day should work for me too, maybe just a little bit late. I will bring some of my RIS, and maybe something Belgian if I can find it (e.g. Hercule). Probably bring a couple of my BQ failed Baltics and some of my new IPA.

remind me the time again?

Okay... so I'll be bringing (2) 12 oz. bottles of Bell's Expedition Stout. Ratebeer.com lists it at #10 of the 50 best beers in the world.

Rate Beer's Top 50 List

Also, I'll bring (2) 12 oz. bottles of Bell's "Hell Hath No Fury" Ale. It blurs the lines between stout and belgian. Some might call it a Belgian Dubbel with way to much roasted barley. Others might call it a Foreign Extra Stout with a Belgian yeast strain. You be the judge!

Bell's "Hell Hath No Fury" Ale

see you all then!

---scribe

Wish I could. I work at 4:30 PM that day. Enjoy guys!

Works For me

There has been a potential kink in the plan. My wife may have an interview 3-6th. Stay tuned. If not, can y'all do the 4th? that way, the librarian can come at a decent time.

Jester

I could also do the 4th if need be. Keep us posted.

I tried my failed bq abbey dubbel again last night. It was surprisingly better than before. It's not great, but I am glad I didn't Rittenour it down the drain prematurely. I'll bring some to the meeting.

Gentle(brew)men,

I suggest that we meet on Wednesday Feb 4th at 7:30PM at 7927 S. 59th St. for Stout/Porter/BlackBeer night. If that doesn't work, we'll stick with Feb 5th, but just accept the fact that Librarian will be late.

jester

I can do the 4th.

4th works for me.. And even better I got ahold of this Great Mocha Porter we can drink.. Not sure who brews it but I have a ton lol.. But.. I will prolly bring some, for shits and giggles.. but will also be bringing something else as well

So have we agreed on the 4th then for the meeting?

Alright men,

I am officially announcing the next BMG meeting as Wednesday Feb 4th at 7:30 pm at 7927 S. 59th St. Zip=68516 (slightly in the Boonies). I picked up a couple Edmund Fitzgerald Porters during my trip to West Virginia. Should be tasty.

After this we can stick with Thursdays if they work with everyone's schedule. I just didn't want to start the meeting too late on the 5th.

As far as recruiting goes, I can't say I really have a strong feeling. The small group we have now seems ideal, based on the reasons mentioned.

My irish swills are going well. I am about to Keg Jamil's (probably tomorrow), so we should be able to try both on the night of the meeting. My impression is, that Jamil's is roasty and dry. It might be malty, but it is not sweet AT ALL, so the malt doesn't come through. Anyway, I'll be interested to see what you guys think.

Later dudes, Jester

PS -i tried to attach the BMG logo (both w/ and w/o Charleton Heston), but i don't know how to do it with this strange system, i will email them to you later

Here's what I got so far for the 4th:
Alaskan 2007 Smoked Porter
Ommegang Chocolate Indulgence
I'll probably bring some of my stout too.

Im bringing Left Hand Brew Co. Imperial Stout

I'm bringing hook norton double stout
and an
imperial stout from sweden

Hammonds, are you going to make it? Last we spoke you were uncertain due to a job opportunity thing.

Good news and bad news:

I have not heard from the University, so it looks like I will be there. Hopefully, I will still get the On-campus interview, and they running a week or two behind. Either way, I doubt if they'll fly me out with last minute's notice. I do, however, teach on Wedensday nights.. so I may not be there until 9-ish. Hope to see you all there!

Should we plan to start the meeting at 8:30 instead? Harker said this works better for him, and the Scribe wouldn't miss much if he can't get there til 9. I'm for it, too.

8:30 works for me. I am DD tonite and will be sampling the beers from my 2.5 oz winterfest taster. Belding's turn next!

I wont be DD and will be sampling beers out of my 64oz Empyrean Brewing Co. Growler.. Hope you guys brought enough for me

Thanks to the for hosting last night's meeting in his awesome basement! Here's the list, in sampling order, homebrews not included:

New Belgium 1554
Sprecher Black Bavarian
Bell’s Hell Hath No Fury
Great Lakes Edmund Fitzgerald
Alaskan Smoked Porter
Schweit & Dobee Mocha Porter
Hook Norton Double Stout
Lakefront Fuel Café
NØGNE Ø Imperial Stout
*Here’s where the Porter promised to take us on a world beer tour when he wins the lottery*
Left Hand Imperial Stout
Bell’s Expedition Stout
Ommegang Chocolate Indulgence
Victory Storm King Imperial Stout
Goose Island Bourbon Co. Stout

It was a lot of fun, thanks for hosting, Bill.
Ok, here's my rankings:
1) Victory Storm King (thanks for breaking that out, Bill!)
2) Bell's Expedition (awesome beer, was #1 until I tried the victory)
3) Goose Island Bourbon Co (It would be better if it was cut with some guiness...or zima)
4) Nogne Imp Stout (I will have to start trying some more of their beers)
5) Great Lakes Edmund Fitz (never heard of it before but really good)
6) Ommegang Chocolate Indulgence (much less belgian yeast characteristic than the bell's hhnf)
7) Sprecher Black Bavarian (has a nice milwaukee homebrew edge to it)
8 Lakefront cafe (I think I like this a lot more than most people--then again, I like Starbucks coffee)
9) Left hand Imp Stout (SOLID beer. On its own would be great, however IMHO it's middle of the road compared to some of these others)
10) Alaskan smoked porter (throw this baby on the bar-b)
11) Bell's Hell hath no fury (bazooka joe with roast barley--strangely good but I think a whole bottle would be cloying)
12) Schweit & Dobee's mocha storter (still good, but I liked the homebrewed version A LOT more)
13) Hook Nortonshire "double" stout (this is more out of principle--a 4.8% double?? really??)
14) New belgium 1554--I like it better than almost every new belgium beer I've had, but I guess I'm just not a fan of their damn olive oil flavored beers.

I'm sure you'll all be disheartened to learn that I unfortunately did not win the powerball jackpot last night. Hence, our world beer tour will be postponed until further notice.

Remember that when you close your eyes...it's dark.

--Porter

With the exception of my #1--I tried to rank the beers in an objective order if I were judging them. I know, I know.. I SHOULD have ordered them in the order that i "liked" them...but I'm doing it this way for now.

1) GI-BCS.
2) Bell's Expedition
3) Nogne Imp Stout
4) Victory--Storm King
5) Hook Nortonshire "double" stout (no way a double... but i LOVED the balance).
6) Alaskan smoked porter (not a huge fan--and wouldn't want a pint... but hands down the best smoked beer i've ever had--well balanced!)
7) New belgium 1554--(much better than previous tastings)
Schweit & Dobee's MP
9) Ommegang Chocolate Indulgence (one of Ommegang's worst--but I really respect these guys)
10) Bell's Hell Hath No Fury
11) Sprecher Black Bavarian (gotta respect roasted skunk)
12) Great Lakes Edmund Fitz (Mouthfeel a tad thin for me... but flavor was nice).
12) Left hand Imp Stout (These beer was not bad, but one of the poorest examples of an impy stout i've had--and i really like Left Hand)
14) LakeWater Cafe (stick to the IPAs, boys)


p.s. If we had included homebrews:

1. The Billsner
2. Carnes' IPA
3. BCS
etc....

Here's my list, not to style, just overall impression.

1) Goose Island BCS
2) Bell's Expedition
3) Alaskan Smoked
4) Shwobee's Mexican Chocolate Stout Mocha Porter
5) Nogne Imperial Stout
6) Old Hook Norton
7) Victory
Left Hand
9) Omegang Chocolate
10) Lakefront cafe
11) Great Lakes
12) Bell's Hell Hath no Fury
13) New Belgium 1554
14) Sprecher black bavarian

My favorite beer of the night was Carnes' IPA followed closely by the Bilsner. Also, both Bill and Shwobee's Irish Red had a good showing. Bill, I would expect that you will make it for sure with a 42. All others are on the fence. I attempted to try my irish red over the weekend. No one would ever guess it, but my beer hasn't carbonated at all. I used those sugar drops from Kirks to carbonate 4 bottles. 1 1/2 weeks later there is nothing. What?