The Brewmaster

Homebrewers of Staten Island

Providing Brewing expertise to the Staten Island Community

Welcome to the September HOSI Newsletter

Welcome to the September issue of the Brewmaster, the official newsletter of the Homebrewers of Staten Island. Due to the extensive planning involved with setting up the Oktoberfest, this publication was delayed a few days.

Inside you will find a submission on the hard playing HOSI bowlers. I am hoping that many more HOSI members will submit something to this publication. Send me your recipes, questions, and comments. We will use them all!

You can mail any articles to me @

Thomas C. Kolakowski

17 Kingsbridge Avenue

Staten Island, NY 10314

August’s meeting, which I was forced to miss, sounds to have been an interesting one. According to a certain member (who I shall not name), the turnout was light until the "defeated but far from despondent HOSI bowling team showed up." John Schulman laid out his vision for the club that takes us well into the next millennium and involves "accountants (hey that could be me!), lawyers, retained earning (ED: sorry but Non-profits don’t have retained earnings!, but we can set up a nifty Reserve Fund!), customers, UPS, drunk customers, lots of bills (for the Accountant to play with), divorced homebrewers, lots of red tape and some free grain!" We still have no idea about who will be President!

Julie & Pat Presents: HOSI’s 7th Annual Oktoberfest!

Join Julie, Pat and the rest of the gang on Saturday October 4that 6pm, as they host HOSI’s 7th Annual Oktoberfest. As with the Summer Roast, the Oktoberfest will be held at Pouch Camp’s Berlin Lodge. If you’ve never been to Pouch Camp you’ve really missed out! The site is gorgeous and a fine time will be had by all!

The menu is to consist of a selection of Staten Island’s finest home-brews (to date 8 kegs have been promised) and a true German feast (to include Wursts, Sauerbraten, Weinerschnitzel, Spaetzel, Kraut, red cabbage, salads, deserts and more)!

Prices are:

HOSI members: $25 per person, $40 per couple.

Non-members: $30 per person, $45 per couple.

There will be a Keg discount of $15.

Payment must be received by 9/24/97. For further inf. contact Ken @ East Coast, (718)667-4459.

 

 

 

The sixth Annual HOSI Summer Roast was a rousing success. Nestled in a cozy cottage on Lake Orhbach, HOSI members and their families enjoyed themselves to a veriable orgy of good food and beer (not to mention a keg of Root beer made by "Ciderboy!"). The menu consisted of the usual Burgers and Franks (hot-dogs… not Salt!), pot luck dishes plus a Roast, Fresh Corn and Clams. If you weren’t there you missed a real good time!

Frank Salt: Cidermaker of the Year

As we should all know by now, Frank won the 1997 AHA National Home-brew Competition’s "Cidermaker of the Year". Perhaps Frank will dain to write us about his experiences since winning the illustrious award (beyond getting the nick-name Ciderboy.

 

September Meeting Info…

The September meeting is scheduled to be held at Schaffer’s Tavern on Thursday Sept. 4th at 8:30pm..

Calendar of Events:

Sept. ? - Opening of the Ommegang Brewery in Cooperstown, NY. A possible roadtrip is planned. Look for details in the next issue.

Oct. 4 - Oktoberfest: Open to the public. Menu includes such German staples as Hossenpheffer, wursts, and sauerbraten. Both Commercial and homebrew will be served.

HOMEBREWER’S BOWLING TEAM: UPDATE

 

HOSI Bowlers on a Roll?

Well, with only a couple of games left to the summer league, it looks like the HOSI Bowling Team is going to finish up the second place (with nine other teams tied for first place). Actually, finishing in tenth place is the only down side, since we lead the league in best beer served, as well as having the best bowling team shirts designed and produced by Ed Blomberg.

In case you are unaware, the HOSI Bowling Team includes Ed Blomberg, as I mentioned earlier. Ed is our "eye of the tiger" man. He keeps the team focused, constantly reminding us that the object of the game is to role the ball toward the pins. Frank Salt is often referred to as "silk" because of his smooth delivery, but his real job is issuing fines for rolling gutter balls. John DeGeorge is our dependable anchor, and of course there is our captain Steve Casparie whose bowling runs good and bad (like the beer he brews!). I can’t leave out Steve Santoro, our team meteorologist. He gives us constant updates on the weather conditions inside Bowling on the Green. His most famous line is "It’s too hot, I don’t know if I’m going to make it".

I almost forgot to include myself, Philly B. I hold the distinction of not only being the worst bowler on the team, but being the worst in the whole league (if you can’t be the best you might as well be the worst).

The homebrewers will soon be playing in the winter league at Colonial Lanes on Bay St., Thursday evenings starting at 7 p.m. If you are in the area stop by and jeer for your team! Cheers!

Phil B.

 

TomKo’s Website & Snail-mail

You can reach me at my website at http://www.tomkobeer.com or at my home address:

Thomas C. Kolakowski

17 Kingsbridge Ave.

Staten Island, NY 10314-7218

You can submit any article, comment, or death threat to either address and be sure it will be received by yours truly!

Rolf's

by Thomas C. Kolakowski


 

Every now and again you find yourself lucky enough to find a bar/restaurant that has the perfect combination of good food, good beer and atmosphere. Rolf's (381 3rd Avenue at 22nd Street) is just such a place. This is an extremely comfortable restaurant where you can sit and leisurely enjoy a good meal, easily forgetting the hustle and bustle of the big city... at least for a little while. With excellent service and a rather unique menu (in a city where the unique often becomes common-place) you will find yourself coming back again and again.

The Holiday season is the perfect time of year to visit, as the entire establishment is transformed into a Christmas paradise, reminiscent of something out of a Fairy Tale set in Germany's "Black Forest". As soon as you walk through the doors you find yourself transported back in time to a restaurant celebrating a traditional 19th century Christmas. There are two beautiful Christmas trees at the front of the Bar, all decked out in what appears to be antique decorations. Pine branch garlands are draped down from the ceiling beams with lights, strings of beads, toys and nut-crackers of yesteryear... a sight so beautiful mere words do not do them justice!

The entire restaurant is done is dark wood that is old and in places worn with age. This gives character to the place. It has the feel of a restaurant that has been around for a century or more even though it has only been open for 37 years. Along one wall are a number of booths with a row of tables nearby. The back of the restaurant has a number of larger tables available for groups. The restaurant is a bit small so it is does get rather cozy. The furniture appears to have an antique quality, with richly carved tall backed chairs rather than the small plain chairs most establishments use. There is a several truly antique pieces of furniture to be found, including a gorgeous enamelled wood-burning stoves bearing a traditional German scene and a fully functional street lamp (the type that used to grace many a store front in the last century) is near the bar, which is itself a work of art. It is has beautiful carved features including animal heads and other details. The hinges on the cabinet doors look to be hand made, as are the nails used to fasten them. There is even a old clock, like a miniature Grandfather clock set into one of the bar's shelves. The entire restaurant is adorned with old paintings and artifacts which further accent the 19th century mood.

The food is as beautifully prepared as the decor. As the name implies Rolf's is a traditional German Restaurant, where you can choose from a wide selection of German dishes... some well known, others unpronounceable by this writer. Appetizers range in price from $3-6. And Entrees can run anywhere from $12.95 to $16.95. There are daily specials that include some combinations of their usual entrees, with prices ranging from $15.95 to $21.95. For those on a budget there are sandwiches that average around $8. Their Weisswursts and Bratwursts are a pure delight, unlike many store bought wursts that don't live up to their name! All their wursts are served with a boiled potato (with gravy) and German style sauerkraut. The portions are quite large, so bring an appetite! Due to the small size of the restaurant it's advisable to make a reservation for dinner or if you intend to go with a group.

While dining, be sure to quench your thirst with a nice .5L glass of beer. While they only have three taps the selection includes two brands you don't often find... Bitburger Pils and Kulmbacher Dunkel. The Bitburger makes an excellent companion to a plate of wurst. Rounding off the taps is Dinkelacker, a standard at most German bars. Their bottle selection is equally small, consisting mainly of Spaten Lager, a Dark Weiss and a Hefeweiss. For those not inclined to drink German Beer they have a fully stocked bar, as well as bottled Bud. A .5L glass of beer will run you $5. Rolf's is definitely not the place to go if you require a large beer selection. Their limited size has caused them to choose a few good beers that accentuate their German fare, rather than offer a huge supply of unrelated beers.

So if you ever get a craving for excellent German food in a setting that reminds you of days gone by, head over to Rolf's... you won't be disappointed! 

	Rolf's Bar & Restaurant
	281 3rd Avenue
	Phone: (212) 473-8718 or 477-4750
	Open 7 days a week for lunch and dinner

 

Last modified: 04/15/07