Author: Social Secretary

Woz & Chook at Wayward Brewery in front of a fermenter
Woz & Chook at Wayward Brewery

 

In the next week or so, Wayward brewing will have a limited release beer around town. It is their Banoffee Wheat beer and it is a result of the #mywaywardbrew competition they ran earlier this year that was won by one of our members Warwick Ferguson, AKA Woz, with a toffee malt inspired wheat beer. The focus was on the banana ester from the right yeast with a hit of rich toffee malt to give it a banoffee flavour. Banoffee pie is the classic British dessert that features banana and toffee.

Woz calls his backyard brewery Chook’n’Walrus, a combination of Woz’s wife’s and his nicknames for each other (too cute). He has been brewing since 2016 when Chook gave him the normal Coppers home brew setup. He soon hit the limits of that format and, early last year, moved up to a Grainfather.  His favourite brews are Pale Ales, IPA’s and Porters but he is not scared to get a bit out-there, hence the idea for the banoffee wheat beer.

The Walrus really enjoyed his time at the WaywWayward_Banoffee_Hefeard brewery. They looked after him every step of the way, including delaying things when he had a family medical emergency that delayed the brew day a few weeks.  Fay from Wayward was his main contact through the competition and planning and was incredibly helpful. On the brew day, good things got better. Woz worked with Shaun Blissett, Wayward’s head brewer to scale up the Banoffee Wheat beer to a commercial batch. As Woz put it “Shaun was great. Gave me an amazing run down of all aspects of Wayward brewing. Couldn’t be more helpful or welcoming.” They gave him the full brewery tour and even had him help decide some of the ingredients on their next ‘macadamia’ beer.

For Woz this was an amazing experience and something he can brag about for years. For Wayward, it was a chance to do something new and different again. Sound like a great combination but you can judge for yourself when you get to try some.

More info is here.

https://www.waywardbrewing.com.au/post/mywaywardbrew-winner

 

7:30pm Wednesday 3 July at Gorman Arts Centre

Brewers, there is plenty happening this month. The July meeting education session is all about dry hopping, great hop raffle prizes including a bunch of hop samples and hop bling. Six pack swap is on again and we are starting to plan October feast and Christmas party.

As always there will be lots of new and experienced brewers swapping beer and stories so bring some of your beer to share.

Education

How many dry hops are optimal? It’s a question to which everyone has an answer, but many answers are different. Our July education session will use a recent study undertaken by a US-based Professor of Fermentation Science, Tom Shellhammer, to explore dry hop dosage rates and also show how “hop creep” can cause your dry hops to trigger a re-fermentation and yield unpredictable results.

As always, the education session commences at 7:30pm in the education room in Gorman Arts Centre, with the monthly club meeting commencing shortly afterward in the main hall. This is a very worthwhile session for any hop-headed brewer to attend.

Raffle Prizes – Staying in the hop theme

This month the raffle will have prizes to make you very ‘hoppy’. First is many varieties of hops plus more hops stuff like a stainless Hop spider, stainless Hop bomb, dry hopping bags and more.

International Home Brew Day

More samples of our International home brew day NEIPA (New England IPA) will be there to try. You could not hop over the hop bill for this beer. There was several hundred grams for a 20l batch.

Competitions

Competition 2 closes soon and you should have your entries about ready to go.  We are calling for judges and stewards for the 28th July so please sign up soon. The comp will cover all shades of lagers as well as bitters, Belgians, wheat and rye beers, and specialities. It is time to plan for the ACT championships on the weekend of the 14th of September. The full list for comp 2 is on the forum page. https://www.canberrabrewers.com.au/forum/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=8145&sid=3bc8598000d5705cf565e79c89e295db

Membership dues

Membership fees should be all paid up by now and, if you are paid up, you should have forum access (if not, please email the webmaster). If you want renew or join, please go to the membership page.   Membership cards will be available at the meeting and can be used for special deals from out sponsors such as Mashematics and Page Bottler. As a Member, you also will be able to get forum access, Nookie tickets when you bring beer to meetings or buy raffle tickets.

Social Scene – Octoberfest and Christmas party planning

It is time to think about brewing something German for Octoberfest. There will be a German beer competition as part of the festivities.

This month we will be refining ideas to evolve the Christmas party. Traditionally it has been a family picnic but Andy Cross would like to see if that is still the most appropriate format still. Please either talk to Andy at the meeting or PM him via the forum. All ideas welcome.

Library

This month you might be interested in hops. There is ‘For the love of hops’ by Stan Hieronymus or ‘IPA: Brewing Techniques, Recipes and the Evolution of India Pale Ale’ by Mitch Steele available. Order your book online by going to the library page https://canberrabrewers.librarika.com/ and pick it up at the next meeting.

Six Pack Swap

The six pack swap is still open for July. Just bring at least six beers in 330ml or larger bottles and go home with six beers from other brewers. This way you can take time to enjoy the beers you only get a quick taste of on club night. See the forum to let the others know what you are bringing. July and August will have a dark theme so bring you Schwartzbiers, porters, stouts and dark ales are ideal but all beer is welcome.

Have a great July and Brew Strong.

 

 

CB_Logo_BKBrewers, there is a lot going on again this month. The June meeting is at Gorman Arts Center as normal at 7:30pm Wednesday 5th June. New members are welcome.

The education session is all about yeast, great yeast themed raffle prizes including a *Fermentasaurus* and IHBD first samples are ready. Six pack swap is on again and we are starting to plan the Xmas party and want some ideas.

As always there will be lots of people trying each other’s beer, mead and cider and swapping brewing knowledge and ideas.

Education

The Education Session will focus on yeast, how to harvest it, clean it, store it and get it ready for use. We will also look at the different varieties and how they affect the flavour of your beer, and how to manage both wet and dry commercial supplies.  Yeast is the fundamental ingredient of the fermentation process and can make or break your beer. This session will help you get on top of your game. Be there at 7:30 sharp to catch it.

Raffle Prizes – Staying in the yeast theme

This month the raffle will have some pretty special prizes. First is a Fermentasaurus. This is a top class fermenting vessel and a mile ahead of an old plastic bucket. Next is a Stir Plate, a critical item for upgrading your handling of yeast, new Member Cards are coming soon, flasks for growing starters and yeast packs.

International Home Brew Day

The first samples of our International home brew day NEIPA (New England IPA) will be there to try. If you saw the hop bill, it was as packed as hay cart at harvest, not sure how it all fitted in as there was several hundred grams.

There is also a rumour of some top class apple cider around for a taste.

Competitions

Our first comp of the year was on Sunday the 5th May and at the June meeting results will be

Announced so you can congratulate those who had success in the comp (and maybe try their beer).

The next club comp closes mid-July and soon we will be calling for judges and stewards. If you have never done either, you are welcome to volunteer and come and learn how to do it. Ask someone what it is about. The comp will cover all shades of lagers as well as bitters, Belgians, wheat and rye beers, and specialities so start brewing now if you haven’t already started. The full list is on the forum page. https://www.canberrabrewers.com.au/forum/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=8145&sid=3bc8598000d5705cf565e79c89e295db

Membership

Membership fees are now due and can be paid on the forum. Sorry, no cash at the meeting. Membership cards will be available soon for those how have renewed and can be used for special deals from out sponsors such as Mashematics and Page Bottler. As a Member, you also will be able to get Nookie tickets when you bring beer to meetings or buy raffle tickets.

Social Scene – Christmas party planning

This month we will be asking how you want to evolve the Christmas party. Traditionally it has been a family picnic but Andy Cross would like to see if that is still the most appropriate format still. Please either talk to Andy at the meeting or PM him via the forum. All ideas welcome.

Library

This month you might be interested in Belgian beers. There are plenty of book on the way the Belgians brew. Order your book online and pick it up at the next meeting.

Six Pack Swap

The six pack swap is still open for June. Just bring at least six beers in 330ml or larger bottles and go home with six beers from other brewers. This way you can take time to enjoy the beers you only get a quick taste of on club night. See the forum to let the others know what you are bringing. July and August will have a dark theme so bring you Schwartzbiers, porters, stouts and dark ales.

Have a great June and Brew Strong.

 

 

 

May Meeting – It’s competition season

Wednesday 1st May at Gorman House

Brewers, There is plenty happening this month. The May meeting will feature an education session on transferring beer between vessels without spoilage. The first weekend has our yearly demonstration on International Home Brew Day and our first competition. In the middle of the month our next BJCP course starts. Membership renewals are now due and for the first time we will issue cards to allow you to get discounts from our sponsors.

It is a busy month.

Education

The Education Session will focus on transferring your brew between vessels. It caters for every level of brewer and we will be performing live demonstrations from plastic drum style fermenters, kegmenters and kegs – to kegs, PET bottles and glass bottles. Oxidisation is the enemy of finished beer so ahead of competition season, this is a very worthwhile session to attend. I encourage every one of you to consider your fellow brewers in the community and invite them along to the meeting.

International Home Brew Day

International Home Brew Day is on Star Wars day (May the 4th be with you) at Capital Brewing Dairy Road, Fyshwick from 11:00am to 4:00pm. We are seeking volunteer brewers bring their brew rig along to Capital Brewing to show off your system and skills to the public. There are two IHBD recipes on offer for you to brew (club supplies ingredients), with all details available on the forum.

Please encourage any friends interested in brewing to come along. In addition to the brew demos, we like to organise a number of other craft demos like coffee, curing, cheese, pickling and ciders/mead. If you know if anyone who wants to show off these skills, send them our way.

We will finalise plans and provide details at the meeting. Thanks to those who have already put their hands up to help.

Competitions

Our first comp of the year is on Sunday the 5th May at John James hospital. Good luck to those with entries in and thanks to all the judges and stewards who are helping on the day. Even if you are not judging, come along and see how the process works and even sit in and watch how the judging apply their skills.

The entries for the next comp close mid-July and will cover all shades of lagers as well as bitters, Belgians, wheat and rye beers, and specialities. The full list is on the forum page. https://www.canberrabrewers.com.au/forum/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=8145&sid=3bc8598000d5705cf565e79c89e295db

BJCP Tasting course

If you are interested in learning to judge, there is still a couple of places left on the BJCP tasting course. With 150 beers, we will cover all styles of beer and teach you how to asses them. It is 10 sessions, once every fortnight on Wednesdays starting 15 May. Details are on the forum https://www.canberrabrewers.com.au/forum/viewtopic.php?f=22&t=8148

Membership dues

Membership fees are now due and can be paid on the forum. Sorry, no cash at the meeting. Members will get a card this year which can be used for special deals from out sponsors such as Mathematics and Page Bottler. You also will be able to get Nookie tickets when you bring beer to meetings or buy raffle tickets.

Mentoring Program

There is still room for those who would like to mentor new brewers. This will help new brewers improve quickly and learn from your experience. You will get to know some new brewers and help build skills in the club. Please check the forum if you are interested. https://www.canberrabrewers.com.au/forum/viewtopic.php?f=26&t=8136&p=67159&hilit=Mentor#p67159

Library

This month you might be interested in Yeast. Even if you are making kits, changing your yeast can completely change your beer. Read up about it in one of several books that cover yeast in the library. Order your book online and pick it up at the next meeting.

New Members please check out the forum

The forum https://www.canberrabrewers.com.au/forum/index.php is a great place to find out what’s on, get tips and info and exchange equipment. Whether you need a few bottles or want to sell your excess brewing gear, it is they place to do it.

Have a great May and see you at one of the events.