Barbecue

It was a picture-perfect day for the annual pot luck / barbecue held on Saturday, August 5th. Once again, John and Ann Pyles graciously opened their house and picturesque back yard to the gathering of the Draught Board. The style of the month was wheat, and plenty of wheat beers were available. One particularly interesting wheat was Bruce’s Anise Wheat, which had a mild licorice flavor and was quite pleasant. There were less exotic wheats and IPAs sampled, and all were refreshing.

You can’t have a picnic without food. Bryan and Lisa brought three types of homemade sausage. The buffalo (bison) sausage was flavored with juniper berries, shallots, and a little fat (because buffalo is such a lean meat). Another sausage was flavored with sun-dried tomatoes and basil. The Santa Fe sausage used spicy pork, chicken, cilantro, jalape¤ os, Anaheim peppers, tequila, and lime juice.

Ken grilled Pilsener Urquell (PU) marinated chicken and John barbecued fresh King salmon.

Tom Altenbach brought his medal from the AHA Nationals competition. Congratulations, Tom!

Bob Jones proposed that the Christmas party be held at "Wendall’s Milkweed Farm" in Danville. No, they don’t have milkweed, and it isn’t a farm. Wendall’s is an extension of "Pete’s Brass Rail and Car Wash". You guessed it ... no Pete, no brass rail, no car wash. Wendall’s and Pete’s both have a good selection of beer though. Pending any changes, Wendall’s private banquet room sounds promising.

Margie Altenbach proposed a pub crawl to the Central Valley. This is a change from the usual Bay and Coastal crawls. The good news is that there are brewpubs and micros in the valley. The bad news is that they are miles apart. Details will be worked out at the next meeting.

The next meeting will feature specialty beers and meads. Remember to bring your beers to swap. Trade some of your homebrew for someone else’s homebrew. Quality counts. The initial AHA Club Competition submissions will continue in September.

Thanks again to John and Ann for providing the Pyles Picnic Park.