Author: Social Secretary

Greetings brewers, we hope that your seasonal change into autumnal recipes has been productive and most enjoyable. It is a jam packed week ahead for the club with the wrap up from today’s first 2016 Club Comp due over the next couple days, shortly followed by our May meeting this Thursday, and the big International Home Brew Day event over the weekend.   

This massive week for the club continues at the Harmonie German Club in Narrabundah Thursday May 7 at 7.30pm with an education session on the Solera process. Join us early as top brewers Benny, Hoggy and Gareth take us through the joys of aging sour beer with a single-vessel Solera system. They have been producing some outstanding and amazingly complex beers over the last few years out of their barrels, and this is a great opportunity to learn the ins and outs of how you can go about this too.

Competition 1 – Held May 1 2016

Competition 1 for 2016 went off without a hitch on Sunday the 1st of May. Thanks to everyone who volunteered to help on the day, it wouldn’t have been anywhere near as smooth sailing without such quality help.

Results are available on the forums, and if all things go as planned, certificates will be given out at the upcoming meeting. Big props to Lawfo’s barleywine for being the highest scoring beer on the day!

This Saturday 7th May – International Home Brew Day!

After a huge event last year, this year’s International Home Brew Day celebrations are all happening this Saturday, May 7 between 10am and 3pm. This year we’ve found an undercover location in the expansive “Hangar” at 255 Canberra Avenue, Fyshwick that will help protect us from the unpredictable May weather!

For this Saturday’s event we will have eight of our members brewing several variations on the Altbier style on their own equipment at the same venue. This really is a rare opportunity for all club members (old and new) to see several systems at the same time and find new ways to improve your beer. Brewers are to be ‘mashed in’ by 10am, and the day will be peppered throughout with great demos (kicking off at 10:20am) from members on everything from mead making to coffee roasting and even an introduction to fermented vegetables. It’s a terrific club event to invite your family members, partners, work colleagues and friends to.   

Outside of those who have already put their hands up, the committee is still looking for volunteers to help out on the day, so please post to the forum if you think you are able to help out in a general capacity. Also, for any members of the club who have always wanted to learn how to ferment cider please volunteer here to bring a sanitised fermenter along on the day for a uniquely hands-on introduction to cider making. Lastly, if anyone would like to print and and post up the IHBD posters around your workplace or local cafe you can find soft copies here.

Be in it to win it

We’ve got another great raffle lined up for this month, with the main prize of a plate chiller. Also we will have some new beer glasses up for grabs with matching beers, and some great new books. Tickets cost $5 for three, and for every three tickets you buy, you get one entry into the end of year Newcastle Or Otherwise Kind of Interstate Experience (N.O.O.K.I.E.) draw for a fantastic beer-related trip.

Get your brewing books

We’ve got a couple of new books to go into the library this month, so be sure to head to the club’s online library catalogue at https://canberrabrewers.librarika.com/ to peruse this great resource. You can reserve a copy of something and we’ll deliver it at the meeting. If the book is currently on loan, email education@canberrabrewers.com.au and we’ll arrange to have it brought back for you to borrow. Don’t have access to the library? Email us and we’ll hook you up.

Memberships are now due

As you will know from our last meeting, 2016 Club membership is now due, with costs remaining at $40 for the year. Due to popular demand, we’ve created an online membership form, Paypal payments and now have a new Paypass system available at the meeting. More information is on this renewal page here.

Updates to Canberra Brewer’s Homepage

We are currently in the midst of a review of the club homepage to add more content and add in a more dynamic RSVP functionality for the forum, but thus far you may have already noticed that we recently added an events page, set up a direct link through to our online library system, and refreshed the meetings page. Stay tuned for upcoming changes.

 

It’s back on again! After a bumper event at WestSide Acton Park last year, this year we’re checking out the ” industrial looking 1940s aircraft Hangar” at 255 Canberra Avenue, Fyshwick, which will give heaps of space to set up eight brewers under the one roof and out of the elements!

Keeping in theme with the American Homebrewers Association’s National HomeBrew Day Big Brew, we’ll be celebrating the 500th anniversary of the Reinheitsgebot and brewing eight variations of a Northern German Altbier.

It’s a fantastic opportunity to come along and see some of the many and varied different ways people can brew their own beer at home and learn more about beer styles and what goes into making our favourite drop.

There will also be a series of presentations on other similar make-it-yourself topics, including:

• Cider – see fresh apple juice pressed and learn about making quality cider
• Mead – learn how to make the ancient “nectar of the gods”, from honey
• Oher fermentaitons – Sauerkraut, kimchi, pickles, Kombucha – there are so many options!
• Coffee roasting – the other dark brew. Learn how to roast your own beans with little more than a bread machine and a heat gun.

The day kicks off at 10am, and keeps on going until 3pm. We will try to post a schedule for the different sessions closer to the day. We’d love to have you come along!

For more information, check out our Facebook event page, or email education@canberrabrewers.com.au.

See below for parking instructions:

Greetings brewers,  your new committee – as selected at the March meeting – are getting set for a big couple of months of activities, starting with our April meeting next Thursday.

The fun kicks off at the Harmonie German Club in Narrabundah with an education session at 7.30pm. Education officer Patrick will give an overview of the new IPA categories from the 2015 BJCP Style Guidelines, while we sample a few commercial examples with guided tasting from a couple of experienced (and hop-loving) judges. It will be limited to 20 places – first in, first served!

Calling for judges, stewards and entries!

Our first club level competition is all set for Sunday, May 1, and we’re looking for judges, stewards, and of course, beers! Entries are being accepted in AABC categories Low Alcohol (<4% Abv),  Pale Ale, American Pale Ale, Brown Ale, Porter, Strong Stout (>6% ABV), India Pale Ale, Strong Ale (>6% ABV) and Farmhouse Ale & Wild Beer. Make sure you fill out the entry form online, and drop off your beers before April 23 (drop off points are listed on the forum). Of course, we can’t have a competition without judges and stewards – so please if you’re so inclined add your name to the list here.

Save the date: International Home Brew Day

After a huge event last year, we’re starting to get together ideas for this year’s International Home Brew Day celebrations on Saturday, May 7. We’ll make more announcements in the forum soon but in the meantime if you’re keen to brew or help out on the day, flick an email to social@canberrabrewers.com.au to express your interest.

Memberships are now due

Club membership is now due, with costs remaining at $40 for the year. Due to popular demand, we’ve created an online membership form, Paypal payments and now have a new Paypass system available at the meeting. More information is on this renewal page here.

Greetings from your new committee

The Canberra Brewers appointed a new committee at the March meeting, with outgoing president Joel Baines give a rundown of the previous year’s highlights. Other 2015 committee members to stand down included treasurer Andrew Chek, competition secretary Stephen Lawford, social secretaries Jeremy Michael and Tony Hill, and webmaster Jay Henry. Your new committee is:

• President: Chuck Newton
• Treasurer: Darren Blackhurst
• Competition secretary: Geoff Appleby
• Social secretary: Geoff Swan
• Assistant social secretary: Rohan Lilley
• Editor: Michael O’Brien
• Education officer: Patrick Baggoley
• Webmaster: Scott Taylor

Luke Maiden (Mayds) was initially appointed as social secretary, but has had to resign because of work commitments. Geoff Swan has moved into the role, and Rohan Lilley has stepped in as assistant social secretary. Thanks for pitching in, Rohan!

Judges put to the test

Eleven of our dedicated judges ended months of preparations a couple of weeks ago when they sat the BJCP Judging Exam – the first in Canberra in more than four years and the first under the new format. Having all passed an intense online entrance exam (180 questions in 60 minutes), they had to fill out detailed score sheets for six different beers in 90 minutes. A big thanks to the brewers who supplied the beers (some of them outstanding), the proctors who came along, and the stewards who helped it run smoothly.

We’ve already booked another exam for January, so email education@canberrabrewers.com.au if you’re interested in learning more. Our BJCP tasting course for 2016 is already oversubscribed, but if you’d like to know more, check out the forum post here.

Be in it to win it

We’ve got another stellar raffle lined up for this month, with the main prize of a stainless steel pluto beer gun (including beer line and disconnect) with thanks to Full Pint. Also from them is a portable refractometer. And we’ve got Spiegelau beer glasses with matching beers, and some books. Tickets cost $5 for three, and for every three tickets you buy, you get one entry into the end of year Newcastle Or Otherwise Kind of Interstate Experience (N.O.O.K.I.E.) draw for a fantastic beer-related trip.

Get your brewing books

We’ve got a couple of new books to go into the library this month, so be sure to head to the club’s online library catalogue at https://canberrabrewers.librarika.com/ to peruse this great resource. You can reserve a copy of something and we’ll deliver it at the meeting. If the book is currently on loan, email education@canberrabrewers.com.au and we’ll arrange to have it brought back for you to borrow. Don’t have access to the library? Email us and we’ll hook you up.

 

Greetings once again brewers, we’re getting all set for our Annual General Meeting, where we’ll hold elections for our next committee! The meeting will be at the Harmonie German Club in Narrabundah, with people arriving from 7.30pm and official proceedings to start from 8pm.

Since it’s going to be a busy meeting, we won’t have a specific education component, but bring your beer along and you’re bound to find plenty of chances for a technical brewing discussion or two.

Nominations for the committee elections close today (Thursday, February 25), so if think you could contribute to your club in any of the following roles, please jump on the club forum and send a message to our Returning Officer Billy.

The office-bearers of the club are: the president; the treasurer; the social secretary;

the competition secretary; the education officer; the editor. And there are non-voting ordinary committee members of the club are:  the webmaster; the assistant social secretary.

More details are available on this thread.

National Multicultural Festival results

Thanks to everyone who helped out at the Canberra Brewers stall at the National Multicultural Festival. It was a fun weekend (see the photos above or follow this link), with lots of chances for our members to talk about and serve some great beer with the wider community. We’ll have a report on the financial result of the stall at the meeting.

Memberships are now due

Since the club voted to move the AGM from December to March, memberships were extended to match new dates. Membership stays at $40 for the year, and due to popular demand, we’ve moved to create an online membership form, and have created Paypal payments and now have a new Paypass system available at the meeting. More information will be available at the meeting.

Snaffle a raffle prize!

Of course, we’ve got some great prizes available for the next meeting, starting with a magnetic drive pump with thanks to Craftbrewer, an Oxygen Kit (as used by all the club’s best brewers) with thanks to Belco Brew Supplies, some books, two pairs of Speiglau beer glasses with matching beers, some Mangrove Jacks yeast and a Grainfather cap. $5 gets you three tickets, and an entry into the end of year N.O.O.K.I.E prize, so get amongst it!

Club library

Don’t forget to head to the club’s online library catalogue at https://canberrabrewers.librarika.com/ to peruse this great resource. You can reserve a copy of something and we’ll deliver it at the meeting. If the book is currently on loan, email education@canberrabrewers.com.au and we’ll arrange to have it brought back for you to borrow. Don’t have access to the library? Email us and we’ll hook you up.