A nice article on mead, featuring some MASH members was published in the November 20, 2003, Miami Herald. It will be available online for about a week.
It's the hectic, holiday time of year, which means it's also time for the Solstice party. This year's party will be on Saturday, December 13th, at the home of Scott and Janice Ross. Festivities will commence at noon. Please contact Mark Kelley to coordinate food offerings. We will hold an official meeting during which we will present the 2003 BotY, decide on the 2004 BotY calendar, and elect officers for next year. Be there or be appointed!
There are many upcoming events and competitions to consider. On December 5-7, the folks in Dunedin will be hosting the Walk the Line Barleywine Festival. Scott and I attended the first one and it was great. Check it out.
The Big Bend Brewoff is scheduled for January 24th. Keep checking the North Florida Brewer's League site for more information.
The Central Florida Homebrewers are holding their Meadllenium competition on January 31st. Entries are due by January 26th. Check the CFHB site for more details.
The first annual Hogtown brewoff was fantasic! The Hogtown Brewers put on quite an event. There were lots of judges there from across the state and beyond, including someone from Belgium. The folks in Gainesville threw a nice party the night before the judging and the hospitality was warm and generous the whole day of the event. The one pub pubcrawl was great fun. The staff at Stubbie's was knowledgable and friendly and the beers were great. I hope more of us will be able to attend next year's event and lend even more support to our expatriate MASHers Mark and Richard.
The Coconut Cup is moving right along. We have a date (February 7th) and we're working on securing Kevin's good will to hold the competition at Titanic. Notification of the contest has been posted on the AHA website and the Coconut Cup website has been updated. Start brewing now so we can keep the Cup where it belongs. We're thinking about a trip to the SoBe Fest beer festival or a pub crawl in conjuction with the competition. Any suggestions or offers of assistance will be most welcome.
It's time to start a new cycle for the Brewer of the Year competition. By general agreeement at the October meeting, we decided to make the first beer for the 2004 BotY a winter warmer/spiced/strong beer. Bring some liquid Christmas cheer to the Solstice party.
- Denise