August 2nd is National Mead Day. The recipe this year is for a cherry mead. If you don't wish to make a mead, get together with some friends and drink mead. All of the information is on the AHA's website.
The National Convention was a blast! The location was great, the sessions were informative, the people were friendly, and the beer was incredible. I highly recommend attending at least one conference. Next year's is going to be held in Las Vegas. The chief coordinator is a realy nice guy and it promises to be a great time. Make your plans now - you won't regret it.
We need to start thinking about and planning for the Coconut Cup. Our main coordinator and our judge coordinator have relocated to Galveston (where they are doing fine and had minimal damage from the hurricane), so we need some people to volunteer for those posts. It's not too soon to brew and set bottles aside for the competition. Let's make sure we keep the Coconut Cup in Miami!
Congratulations to Denise and Scott Graham, who took a first place with a California Common, and Bob Beard, who took a third place with a California Common, at the 2003 Commander SAAZ Interplanetary Homebrew Blastoff in Melbourne.
Congratulations to Bob Beard, who took a first place with a Brown Ale in the 2003 Spirit of Free Beer competition. With the win, he became the first MASH member to qualify for the MCAB competition!