TRASH: Three Rivers Alliance of Serious Homebrewers

The January meeting is set for 2:00pm on Sunday, January 25, 2009. The location is the Church Brew Works in Lawrenceville, PA. And if you need to map it, its 3525 Liberty Ave, Pittsburgh PA 15201. Also please note the meeting fees will be at the new $15 level.
Please plan on attending this very special meeting for the installation of the new officers, to renew your membership, and to discuss brewing problems and successes.

Another great CiderFest! OK, it was a little soggy but we still had fun! We pressed 191 gallons of cider with an original gravity of 1.052. 50 bushels of apples were pressed and varieties included were Cortland, Jonagold, Gala, Empire, Stayman winesap, Macintosh, Red Delicious and Golden Delicious. My daughter said the sweet cider was "Awesome" so I'm sure it will make a great hard cider.

We had a few no-shows I'm kind of ticked about but I would like to thank all those who did participate and take up the slack. A special Thank You goes out to David Pittman and Ted & Debbie Woycio for their help in transporting the apples to the press.

See you all next year!

Tim

Chris Dilla welcomed us to Bocktown in Robinson for a great day out on the deck for TRASH’s October meeting.

TRASH host Mark Benson welcomed all of to Bocktown. Also serving as steward, Mark brought along his dark lager featuring a specially obtained yeast. Mike Task (our November meeting host) brought along an American IPA. Jeff Bearer brought his American Bitter. Jim Bluemle brought several years’ worth of ciders to taste and many other bottled homebrews were shared.

Nominations for officers were taken at this meeting as per our club’s bylaws. All active members are asked to vote and either send in their ballot or bring it to the November meeting at The Sharp Edge Creekhouse on November 4th.

The annual TRASH homebrew competition is looking for a new venue due to the demise of the Hereford and Hops. Anyone who has any ideas are asked to contact competition chairman Mike Ameel.

The TRASH web site will soon have a new look. Member Jeff Bearer will be taking the helm. Thanks to Jeff for volunteering and a special thanks to Ralph Colaizzi who has been our webmaster since the TRASH web site’s inception!

Tony Knipling reported that the Bulk Buy Boys will be doing an extract buy soon. Orders will be taken in November with delivery coming in December or January. Keep posted for details. Tony is also looking for a themostat controller to convert his chest freezer into a beer cooler. Please contact Tony if you can help him out.

The TRASH holiday party is rumored to be at Vivo. More Details to come.

A small notice here, Comcast has been over zealous with their spam stopping. And they regularly block emails from our web hosting provider. If you are trying to register I would suggest not entering a comcast email address, you might never get the validation email.

You can call comcast and tell them to stop blocking email from bluehost.com mail servers, but in the past it only works for a few weeks before it gets blocked again.

If you don't have any email other than comcast, I would suggest signing up for a google mail account. It's a really slick webmail program.

Welcome to the new TRASH website. You may notice that it is quite different than the old site, but don't despair, it has much of the same functionality, Use the "Primary Links" menu on the top left in the brown to go to sections like the TRASH Talk discussion forum, or to find information on the TRASH Competition. On the left hand side menu you will find links for the Newsletter Archive.

New to the site is that the stories that run in the news letter will now be posted right here on the front page of trashhomebrewers.org. We have also added a Recipes section.

If you want to post to TRASH Talk or comment on a story, register using the link under the sign-in box on the left. If you are a TRASH member Contact Me And I'll grant you privileges to the members only forum. Also if you want to have access to contribute content to the site let me know and I'll set that up as well.

I hope you enjoy the new website and let me know if you see any problems.

- Jeff Bearer - Contact

By Tim Mihalek

At the August meeting I talked a little about the Cider Press. I was wondering if an earlier
date might be better for the club. What I wasn’t thinking about was giving everyone an
opportunity to participate. Besides me Jim Bluemle was the only other person to sign up at
the meeting. The picnic will be another opportunity for people to sign up. In the interest of
fairness I think I’m going to keep the ciderfest at the end of October. That way we can have
the October meeting and give people one more chance to sign up. So the new date is
Saturday October 25, 2008. Times will be about like the way the were last year. We’ll meet
up at Sally’s at 10:00 AM and start pressing. I’m going to need some help as always from
members with pickup trucks to help me transport the apples. Contact me (look to the left) if
you’re able to give me a hand. Thanks in advance!

Nothing better than sharing your homebrew! Just another reminder that the Steel City Big Pour is coming up on September 13th. TRASH rep Chris Meta is looking for TRASHers willing to share their homebrew. Contact Chris if you’re interested in being at the TRASH booth

If you would just like to attend, ticket prices per session will be $35 in advance, $40 at the door (that is, if still available). Designated driver (non-alcohol) tickets are $10. This year's Big Pour promises to be even bigger and better than last year. Purchase tickets through ProArts Tickets or by calling 412-394-3353.

TRASH members Don Tomino, Armand Houle, Chris Meta, and Keith Kost participated in the 2008 Beer and Sweat keg
only homebrew competition sponsored by the Bloatarian Brewing League of Cincinnati Ohio. These brewers combined
to have eleven entries place in the competition. Here are the results:

Brewing powerhouse Keith Kost scored first place for his Smoked Robust Porter with Jalapenos and habeneros; Second
place entries for IPA, Weizen, American Barleywine, and Classic Rauchbier; A third place entry for Dusseldorf Altbier;
and Honorable Mentions for Belgian Blond with Sour Cherries and Bourbon Barrel Belgian Dark Strong. Keith was also
the recipient of the “Corny Award”.

Armand Houle scored a first with an APA and a Second with a Belgian Trippel.

Don Tomino scored a first place with his Blonde Ale with Cherries (is this the one from the July meeting?).

Congratulations to all our TRASH winners. I asked if there were any photos from this event but I think what happens in
Cincy stays on Cincy!

A hot summer day and a cool swimming pool made for a great combination for TRASH's August meeting. Our hosts were Drew Satriano and his brother-in-law Keith Gunnett. Drew and his wife treated us to a poolside feast and TRASH members came through with some tasty homebrews. Host Drew offered his Apricot India Pale Ale. Jeff Bearer brought some of his Robust Porter and Mark Benson brought a Raspberry Ale. Chip Reich has some nice blueberry mead. there was a Norweigian Espresso Stout floating around and numerous other beers I'm sure I'm forgetting.

Future meetins were discusses as follows:
September 20 - Picnic at Bennett Acres
October 12 - Bocktown Bar and Grill in North Fayette Twp
November - The Sharp Edge Creek House

Other issues discussed were increasing meeitng fees; "Beer and Sweat" recapl The Steel City Big Pour; and the 2008 Ciderfest

At the August meeting (as reported in July’s ‘Can) the members of TRASH discussed the raising of meeting fees from the current ten dollars to fifteen dollars. The debate was very cordial I'm happy to report with both sides of the issue being represented.

In these days of higher prices it is getting increasingly difficult for the taverns, resturants, and even members' homes to provide the hearty fare historically provided at monthly meetings. To that end, a motion was put forth that meeting fees be increased. Dissenters offered that a higher meeting assessment may scare off both existing and prospective members. Proponents of the motion offered that even the proposed increase, a TRASH meeting would still ve far cheaper than a typical outing to enjoy great beer and food (not to mention the stimulating conversation!).

A vote was taken and it was decided that meeting fees will be $10.00 through 2008 (not including the Christmas Party). Starting in January 2008 the meeting fees will be $15 per person, Thanks to all who particiapted in this important club business.