Mystic Krewe of Brew                         January 17, 2002

    Our 1st meeting of 2002 was located at LA Grill in Mandeville.  We began the meeting at 7:33 pm with the traditional, yet recently debated toast to Reinheitsgebot.  We toasted nonetheless.  For more info on Reinheitsgebot, visit these web pages…
hbd.org/brewery/library/ReinHeit.html
www.xs4all.nl/~patto1ro/reinheit.htm
    3 guests were identified.  Curt was Jean’s guest and word has it he is of German descent.  Kim and John were reported as Larry’s guests and I’m not sure what area of the world they derive from…  But all 3 seemed to have a great time.  Please encourage them to visit and brew!  They’ll make great members also!
    Calvin was not able to be with us due to a family illness, but he reported to Ron that the club’s bank balance was $1402.52.  Dues collected tonight were $140.00, and the Raffle brought in $56.00 for a total of $1598.52 by my calculations.  If you have not paid your $20.00 dues, please write out a check today and put it in your wallet for the next meeting!
    The only Old News item that was discussed was the fact that the Christmas Party was a blast!  In fact, I think a little left over Dead Guy Ale showed up early in the meeting.
    The floor was then open to New Business.  The new officers were introduced.  They are as follows…

President   Ron LaBorde
Vice President  Jack Shugg
Treasurer   Calvin Moorman
Secretary   Al Cavalier
    Ron requested an update of the club web site’s member list.  I will work with Mike to keep the site fresh and active.  I noticed recently that the “Sign the Guest Book” option is no longer functioning.  Mike, I don’t know how to fix that, do you???  Here is the address.  Keep an eye out for changes…
WWW.MKOB.COM
     New meeting places were discussed.  One being the Boiling Point, the other, Heidleburg.  Both in Slidell.  There is no food available at Heidleburg…
    The next meeting was verified to be on Feb 21, 2002, but I don’t remember a location being discussed.  Does anyone know?
    Sunday Feb 10 there will be a social gathering at Elvis’ Brew Haha, 4505 Magazine St., before, during, and probably after the Krewe Of Toth rolls nearby.  Something about 4 or 5 kegs………
    The Crescent City Competition 2002 will be held on the 12th and 13th of April.  It’s touted as being a “great experience”!  The deadline for entries was not known but they did know that judges are still needed.  The address for the Crescent City Homebrewers web site is… hbd.org/crescent/
    Larry brought a motion to the floor that the club should pay this year’s entry fees of $6.00 per entry into the competition.  Limits of 5 entries were voted on and the motion was passed.
    Brenda Hagstette was announced as the new President of the Crescent City Homebrewers Club.  Congratulations to you Brenda!
    Peter had a unique show and tell item.  It was a “Brewmaster” game.  It’s a card game for 2-5 people based on micro brewing.  It can be had for $20.00 at www.whitelabs.com
    Larry showed off a couple of his collectable Ritzenhoff crystal pilsner glasses.  They come with coasters and cost $25.00.  Try www.ritzenhoff.de  Follow the “Collections” link…
    It was put to motion that our winingest member brewer in the Crescent City Competition would be awarded one of these collectable glasses.  The motion was passed.  Someone please define winingest.  If I win two 2nd places, does that beat your one 1st place?  Or did they mean only the most 1st place beers?  Just asking…. (and someone answered... that the 2nd place winner is the 1st loser!  So that explains that!)
    Larry also showed us a picture from his wall of shame where he gets naming ideas for his beer.  Great shot!
    The raffle tickets were pulled and a few people walked away with some great prizes.  Mark got a t-shirt, John got the bottle of scotch, and George took home the socket set.  Another t-shirt or 2 was awarded, but I just didn’t get your names.  Congratulation to all winners!
    Larry confirmed orders for Chimay glasses and a couple of last minute items were that Larry would check on bottle openers and that George is wanting to have an instructional session on Beer Tasting & Judging.  Contact George to get on the list.
    We drank a lot of beer from a large array of members.  Some were yummy.  Some tasted like last year’s leftovers!  Sorry for the brutal honesty!  Let’s get the new year off right by brewing yourself a fresh batch of your favorite style.  Don’t forget to add your own touches to already awesome member recipes.  Don’t forget to bring us a large sample and pick your best to enter into competition!  See you all at the next meeting!