Upcoming Events

: Jan. 10^th – Club meeting; AHA Club-only competition Jan. 10^th. For Low gravity; / Session Beers.

**************************** December Meeting Recap

Decembers meeting was all about the raffle. Thank you Bob and Jean for the absolutely awesome donations. If you missed it, well you missed it! The club raised an amazing $---. A new record!

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The Raffle Still Needs Your Help You can bring you donations to the next meeting.

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AHA Club-Only Competitions

From time to time, the American Homebrewers Association (AHA) sponsors competitions based on a particular style. These competitions are open only to AHA-affiliated homebrew clubs. Each club holds a competition on the particular style. The winner’s brew is sent off to be judged with the winners from other homebrew clubs around the country. Bring in five bottles – two for the local competition and three to send off if you win. Note that all competitions will use the new BJCP Guidelines – go to www.bjcp.org for complete descriptions.

When the entry dates are set, we will include the competitions in the Upcoming Events listing. Winners earn Homebrew Club of the Year points for their club.

Upcoming competitions:

March 2007 – Scottish Ale

April 2007 – Extract Beers

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BJCP Style of the Month

Low Gravity/Session Beers (OG < 1.045)

This competition covers BJCP beer styles with original gravities less than or equal to 1.045. Categories accepted for this competition include: 1. A, B, D (Light Lagers); 2. A, B, C (Pilsners); 4. A (Dark American Lager); 6. A, B, C, D (Light Hybrid Beers); 8. A, B (English Pale Ales); 9. A, B, C, D (Scottish and Irish Ales); 10. A, B, C (American Ale); 11. A, B, C (English Brown Ale); 12. A (Porter); 13. A, B (Stout); 15. A, B (German Wheat and Rye); 16. A (Belgian and French Ale); 17. A, C, D, E, F (Sour Ale); 20. (Fruit Beer); 21. A, B (Spice/Herb/Vegetable Beer); 22. B, C (Smoke-Flavored & Wood Aged Beers). Please refer to the BJCP Guidelines for a complete description of the styles listed.

Each month the BrewsLeader will be featuring one beer from the new BJCP style guidelines. This months selection is a good one for those long winter nights.

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2006 Samuel Adams American Homebrew Contest Winners

Bruce Stott of Cape Cod, MA, and Don Oliver of Hilmar, CA, are the two homebrewer winners in the Sam Adams LongShot competition. Their beers will be part of a mixed six-pack available in February 2007. The third beer in the pack will come from a competition of Samuel Adams employees' homebrews. Stott's beer is a "Dortmunder Export." Oliver's beer is an "Old Ale" called Little Beast. There were over 1,500 entries in the competition.

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A follow up from last months news. Maine says no to Santa Label.

Maine Gives OK for Bare-Brested Beer

By CLARKE CANFIELD, Associated Press Writer
January 05, 2007


A Massachusetts beer importer has been granted permission to sell beers in Maine with labels showing Santa Claus and bare-breasted women.
The decision to let Shelton Brothers sell Santa's Butt Winter Porter and two other European beers reverses a decision last fall to deny the company's application to sell the beers in Maine.
After the denial, the Maine Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit on behalf of the Belchertown, Mass., company in U.S. District Court in Portland accusing the Maine Bureau of Liquor Enforcement of censorship.
While welcoming the decision, owner Daniel Shelton said it's too late to sell the seasonal Santa's Butt beer because the holiday season is over. He said the lawsuit will go forward unless the state changes its rule allowing it to deny applications for beer labels because they contain 'undignified or improper' illustrations.
'You can't have a law based on propriety and dignity. It's too vague,' said Shelton.
By law, the state reviews between 10,000 and 12,000 applications annually for beer and wine labels. It typically denies about a dozen a year because they contain inappropriate language or nudity, or might appeal to children.
The label for the English-made Santa's Butt beer features an illustration with a rear view of a beer-drinking Santa sitting on top of a beer barrel.
The state also denied applications for Les Sans Culottes, a French ale, and Rose de Gambrinus, a Belgian fruit beer. Les Sans Culottes's label is illustrated with detail from Eugene Delacroix's 1830 painting 'Liberty Leading the People,' which hangs in the Louvre and shows a bare-breasted woman. Rose de Gambrinus shows a bare-breasted woman in a watercolor painting that was commissioned by the brewery.
Zachary Heiden, staff attorney for the Maine Civil Liberties Union, said the lawsuit will go forth. While the state has reversed itself on the three label applications, it hasn't changed the rules that allow it to deny labels it deems as 'undignified or improper.'
'We believe that's unconstitutional on its face,' he said.
Chris Taub, an assistant state attorney general, said after a review of the case his office determined that a court would likely find the beer labels in question would be protected under the First Amendment.
Taub said his office is also looking at the rule about undignified or improper illustrations, but he denied further comment because the issue is in litigation.

The WeekEnd Brewer

Homebrew & Wine Supplies

4205 West Hundred Road

Chester, VA 23831

(804) 796-9760

www.weekendbrewer.com

We are now building brewing equipment to order

15 Gallon Convert Beer Kegs with

1/2" Stainless steel full drain nipple.

25, 45 and 65 Gallon Stainless Steel kettles, Mash tuns.

Also Full Stainless Steel false bottom.

Call for more information on in-stock items

New Items

1)Wyeast ‘Rogue Pacman’ activator in stock

2) Extreme Brewing

Extreme Brewing is a recipe-driven resource for aspiring home brewers who are interested in recreating these specialty beers at home, but don't have the time to learn the in-depth science and lore behind home-brewing. As such, all recipes are malt-syrup based (the simplest brewing method) with variations for partial-grain brewing. While recipes are included for classic beer styles -- ales and lagers -- Extreme Brewing has a unique emphasis on hybrid styles that use fruit, vegetables, herbs and spices to create unique flavor combinations. Once their brew is complete, readers can turn to section three, The Rewards of Your Labor, to receive guidance on presentation, including corking, bottle selection and labeling as well as detailed information on food pairings, including recipes for beer infused dishes and fun ideas for themed dinners that tallow the reader to share their creations with family and friends.

3) 150 Classic Clone Recipes ‘The best of Brew Magazine’ 150 clone recipes in one great special issue! Now you can replicate your favorite commercial beers at home featuring the best clone recipes collected from the last ten years of Brew Your Own issues. This special issue includes 150 recipes provided for both extract and all-grain brewers plus an introduction on how to clone commercial beers at home. Recipes are cross-indexed by brewery, style, and country so you can easily find your favorite.

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River City Cellars

Beer, Wine and Gourmet Foods

2931 West Cary Street

Richmond, VA 23221

(804) 355-1375

www.rivercitycellars.com

10% Discount to Members of

James River Homebrewers

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The BrewsLeader is the official e-publication of

James River Homebrewers

PO Box 486

Richmond, Virginia 23218-0486

Monthly Meetings

All meetings are held on the second Wednesday of each month at The Legend Brewery, 321 West 7th Street, Richmond, Virginia. Homebrew tasting at 6:30, meeting at 7:00. We are grateful to Tom Martin and the rest of the Legend staff for their gracious hospitality.

Officers and Board of Directors

President:

George Hatchell xxx-xxxx

Vice President:

Frank Hoffner xxx-xxxx

Treasurer:

Mike Hinkle xxx-xxxx

Secretary:

Brian Dowd xxx-xxxx

Member @ Large:

Denise Pierce xxx-xxxx

Competition Coordinator:

Tony Brock

Asst. Competition Coordinator: William Spiesberger

Webmaster:

Joe Moore

Directors

Mark & Darleen

Bob Henderson

Eric Shelton

Robert Duce

Denise Pierce

Web Site

www.jrhomebrewers.org

Submit Articles

Articles or other items of interest from the membership are welcome and should be submitted to the Secretary. Email to Brian Dowd @ xxx@xxx.xxx

Dues

Membership dues are $20 per calendar year. Dues will be prorated on a quarterly basis.

Inclement Weather Policy

If the Richmond city Schools are closed due to inclement weather on the day of a regularly scheduled Club meeting, the meeting will be cancelled, and re-scheduled for the following Wednesday – this will be confirmed by e-mail.

Remember

Drink Responsibly -

Don’t Drink and Drive!

Members and guests at James River Homebrewers meetings and events are individually and solely liable for any and all actions attendant to or resulting from their participatio