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June 2014 Club Meeting
The Merri Mashers gathered for our June 2014 meeting at the iconic Gertrude Hotel. It was another dreary winter’s day with rain aplenty, but thankfully the deluge lifted in time for most members to walk, tram, train or cycle their way to the venue. A few of us arrived early for delicious (and enormous!) $14 parmas, and soon after members retreated upstairs to the Gertrude’s private rooms to start the meeting proper.
The venue was impressive and our thanks go to the pub for putting us up. Leather bench seats and a very welcome open fire produced the perfect atmosphere for club business. There were many excellent beers on tap at the Gertrude, with discussions ensuing on their various merits (this member was a huge fan of the Brewcult American Brown Ale). Under the Secretary’s excellent direction the club discussed the imminent purchase of the FlavourActiv taint kit, the looming stout and pale ale competitions, possible judging opportunities at the Bayside Brewers upcoming Oktoberfest, and progress on purchasing custom Merri Masher club shirts.
After official business the real meeting began, as members proudly served their latest brews. Several delicious (and one not-so-delicious!) dark beers dominated in one corner of the room, with American Pale Ales and a Belgian SMaSH doing the rounds also. Things became blurry for many members after this, but not blurry enough for the three intrepid Mashers who decided to push on at the Gertrude after meeting’s end. With the all-important midnight pint and discussion about the politics of Scotland under their belts the last of the Merri Mashers then cruised from the venue.
The brew club gained a few new paying members during the meeting, and welcomed some fresher faces also. We look forward to seeing them again. And finally, thanks again to the Gertrude Hotel – a marvellous and efficient venue and one definitely worth keeping our merri eyes on going forward.