Author: Social Secretary

Howdy folks, and warm greetings from your new committee.  The March AGM was a success, with nominations received for all committee positions.  Here follows a recap of the dream team for 2017, elected under the watchful eye of Returning Officer, Chris Duffy (‘Duffbowl’).  (The new editor proceeded to instantly fail at organising a committee photograph; apologies.)

• President: Charles ‘Chuck’ Newton (‘Charles Newton’)
• Treasurer: Darren Blackhurst (‘Spaz’)
• Education Officer: Stephen Lawford (‘Lawfo’)
• Competition Secretary: Paul Main (‘Hen and Hound’)
• Editor: James Gilbert (‘jamie’)
• Social Secretary: Nicole Coombe (‘Nicname’)
• Assistant Social Secretary: Michael O’Brien (‘Brettanomikies’)
• Webmaster: Scott Taylor (‘ScottyT’)

All nominations were unopposed and all were elected unanimously.  Many thanks once again to last year’s committee for steering the Canberra Brewers ship with aplomb.

2017 competition schedule

Full info on the 2017 club competitions has been announced on the forum.  Dates are:

• Comp 1 – Sunday 30 April 2017
• Comp 2 – Sunday 23 July 2017
• ACT Championships – Weekend of 9-10 September 2017 (TBC)

Note that a new style guide has been released by the Australian Amateur Brewing Championships, which means the competition schedule differs a little from previous years.

There’s still time to get a batch on for Comp 1, so what are you waiting for? 🙂

And speaking of competitions…

April’s education session

With the first club comp of 2017 just around the corner, our education session this month is all about competitions. Comps are one of the best education tools the club provides. This month we’ll have a panel of members with varying levels of experience, poised to give their view on the whats, whys and hows of entering and participating in a comp.

This year the committee is keen to broaden comp participation across our membership, so we’d like to know what we could do to encourage first time entrants.  We’d like to remind members that, even if you know your beer isn’t wonderful, some constructive feedback from experienced judges might be all you need to instantly improve one or all of your brews.

We’ll conclude this month’s education session with our new CompSec, Paul Main (‘Hen and Hound’), giving an update on Comp 1 and summarising the recent changes to the AABC Guidelines.

And speaking of beer styles…

BJCP course 2017

This year’s BJCP course, originally due to start last month, has been rescheduled to begin in May.  This means there’s still time to sign up on the forum for this excellent (and subsidised) education opportunity.  Remember that there’s no obligation to become a judge and you’re not signing up for any sort of exam; this is a chance to learn how to taste and evaluate beer, which is a vital stage in the path to homebrewing nirvana.

Patrick Baggoley (‘PatrickB’) has kindly volunteered to host the course again this year, so you’re guaranteed an experience at least as good as last year.  Which was bloody good.

See you on Thursday…

April’s club meeting will again be held at the Harmonie German Club in Narrabundah.  7.30pm sharp for the education session, followed by usual club shenanigans.

 

 

NOTE: CHANGE OF VENUE FOR THIS MEETING – THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2017

As the embers of 2016 slowly smoulder with the Trans-Pacific Partnership … we inaugurate 2017 with a club night on Thursday, February 2 augmented (or should that be trumped) with a brew day starting at 3pm, and a talk from Peter Symons, the king of Australian beer history, from 7.30pm!

If you can’t make it in early the meeting, which will be at BentSpoke Mitchell and NOT THE HARMONIE GERMAN CLUB, will kick off and run as normal (so please bring samples of your latest brew to share). When you arrive at Mitchell, please park in the carpark out the front in Baillieu Ct, and come in through the front door (not around the back). See the map below.

BentSpoke Brew Day

Starting early at 3pm, we will be mashing in with Richard at the BentSpoke Mitchell facility (79 Lysaght St, Mitchell) as he resurrects the “Malty Cultural” specialty brew for the upcoming festival.  Cost is $10 (pay when you arrive) to cover nibbles and dinner. Add your name to the forum post or email president@canberrabrewers.com.au if you aren’t able to access the forums.  We need numbers before 5pm Wednesday to give Richard a good idea of numbers, and so we can get the catering right.

If you aren’t able to make the early start, don’t worry, just let us know when you plan to be there – the brew day will run from 3pm until pretty much the end of the meeting.

And have you ever wondered if your alcohol calculations are off? Richard’s going to let a few brewers test their (bottled) beers with his fancy ABV testing tool.

Raider of the lost brew logs

We’re very pleased to say we’ve got brewing historian Peter Symons coming along to the meeting this month to talk about his research in writing Bronzed Brews and the research he’s been doing since. We’ll have a copy of the book in the raffle, and Peter will be able to sell a few copies at $25 each.

Pitch in for Multicultural Festival

It’s that time of year when we’re looking for helpers on our stall at the Multicultural Festival, February 17-19. We need people to sign up for shifts and help pour beers, work the register, do keg runs and talk to punters about beer and homebrewing. Thanks to the support of Canberra breweries, this is a major fundraiser for our club, and it’s also a great social way to get to know other club members. Please add your name to the forum here.

Your club needs you

The club’s annual general meeting will be held at the March meeting, so we’ll be calling for nominations for committee elections. Have a think about whether you’d like to step up and do a little more for the clcub, consider nominating.

The Canberra Brewers committee consists of: President, Treasurer, Social Secretary, Competition Secretary, Editor and Education Secretary. There are also to non-executive members of the committee (who are involved in everything anyway, it’s more of a constitutional thing): Ordinary committee member (currently designated as Assistant Social Secretary)  and Webmaster. If you’ve got any questions about the roles, send the incumbent member and email and have a chat.

Library books

Have you made a New Year’s resolution to read more about beer? Don’t forget the club’s has an extensive library for you to borrow from. Check out the online 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. Don’t have access to the library? Email us and we’ll hook you up.

We’re all set for the last meeting of 2016, with some great education, great prizes and great beer to be had!

But before we get to that, don’t forget we’ve got our family Christmas barbecue on Saturday, December 10 – with a barbecue, bouncy castle for the kids and a visit from Santa – details below!

Our meeting on Thursday, December 1, at the Harmonie German Club in Narrabundah from 7.30pm with a talk on measuring pH and how that relates to brewing. Education officer Patrick will get the ball rolling with a quick summary of where and why we’re interested in pH during brewing, and then water scientist Amanda Brown (wife of club member KarlB) is going to give us an expert talk to us about how to take measurements right.

Club Member of the Year

On Thursday night club members will present the Canberra Brewers Club Member of the Year award. Will be awarded the Craig Robinson Memorial Trophy is named after a club member who passed suddenly in 2009. The trophy is awarded each year to a Canberra Brewer who best demonstrates the traits Craig was known for: a passion for brewing, generosity and devotion to the club, and being an all-round champion. The previous three trophy winners, Andrew Blencowe, Chris Duffy and Tom Dixon, have taken nominations for the award from members and will select the winner.

Ultimate raffle draw – the N.O.O.K.I.E!!

The December meeting is also where we draw the winner of our annual Newcastle Or Otherwise Kind of Interstate Experience prize! For every three raffle tickets financial members have bought during the year, they get one draw in the NOOKIE prize. This year, the prize is a trip for two to the Gold Coast, where they can head to Currumbin for a personalised tour of Balter Brewing Co with the legend himself, ex-Canberra Brewer Scott ‘Cougar’ Hargrave! There will also be a day spa activity or similar for the winner’s spouse/partner/special friend.

Voyager returns – take some home!

After a sensational talk from Stu Wycross about the remarkable journey of Voyager Craft Malting, we’ve had four talented brewers go away and brew four batches using Voyager’s Latrobe Atlas pale malt and a different Voyager specialty malt each. Those beers will be at the meeting for tasting, and as well as more Voyager malt up for grabs in the raffle, brewers will also have the chance buy some of the extra malt from the club – with proceeds going to the John James Foundation. More info on the forum here.

Christmas Party

Don’t forget to RSVP for the club family Christmas party! This is the day where brewers bring their partners and children along for a great day out. We’ve got a bouncy castle and a visit from Santa lined up, with gifts for the kids! Jump on the forum here to RSVP and get the details – we need numbers by Friday 2nd December 2016 (for gifts) Thursday 8th December (for catering).

Your club needs you! Multicultural festival helpers needed

The Canberra Brewers have booked a stall at the 2017 National Multicultral Festival on February 17-19 and President Charlie is looking for some helpers for the planning phase. Events like these always go better with a bit of help from a few people, so step up and help out the club that helps you! More details here on the forum.

Raffle

The last raffle of 2016 is set to be another great one, with a specially picked ‘Best of the BJCP’ beer pack up for grabs. Education Officer Patrick is heading to Plonk at the Fyshwick markets to pick out the best 20 beers from this year’s BJCP course – each one from a different category! We’ve also got a sack of Voyager pale malt, specialty malt packs and other swag, and some clothing from BentSpoke.

The best Christmas reading

Make sure you check out the club library account att https://canberrabrewers.librarika.com/ to peruse this great resource and reserve a book or two to read over the Christmas break. 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. Have you had a book out for a while? Please bring it back so someone else can get in on the learnin’.

*Note, there’s no January meeting, the first catch up in 2017 will be Thursday, February 2.*