The first winter edition – ironically writing in the 19C sun of today (Monday 12th)! Anyway, this month’s happenings in your club below. Email info@sabrew.com or contact Mark W via Facebook for any submissions.
June Meeting – The Wheaty.
Wednesday, June 21st at 7PM. This month fresh from his success at the Australian International Beer Awards, we have special guest Brenton Schoemaker to talk about Kick Back Brewing. Following the great presentation from Russell regarding his equipment, Nick McAuley will follow up with a part two on his system. Other topics will be the Winter Competition and any ABCSA and AABC updates.
As always bottle bingo – Please bring a bottle to swap and sample other brewers beers… at home.
SA Brewing Supplies will be at this month’s meeting again and will bring any orders down freight free. Just order via the website, click pick up and add a note for Jon or Josh to bring Wednesday night. Nick M and Mark W.
Stop! Fun Police.
It’s been brought to the Committee’s attention there was an issue of the consumption of BYO alcohol at a recent meeting. The serious side to this, is it could not only ruin it for the club, but in extreme cases cost The Wheaty or our hosting venue their liquor license. The other side is The Wheaty has supported the club for many years, the least we could do is buy a pint. Sometimes a small sample with The Wheaty’s blessing and under RSA requirements will be provided to support presentations. Bottle bingo must be taken home and enjoyed. Thanks, The Committee.
AGM.
Our AGM will be held on Wednesday, 19th of July 7pm at The Wheaty. Most of the current committee members are happy to renominate for their roles but we do need a couple (at least) of fresh faces. Everyone that feels they have something to offer is encouraged to nominate in early July via the email info@sabrew.com or contacting a current Committee member. One of the spots that will be vacated will be Clinton Fisher’s. Clinton has not only been an invaluable member of the committee over many years but a real asset to the club helping members personally. He was Brewer of The Year 2017 and we look forward to continue to see him around the judging table and tasting his beers. The Club and Committee sincerely thank him for his service. Mark W
AABC Facebook Page.
The Australian Amateur Brewing Competition facebook page has been set up. Aside from the website and entrant emails, it will be the primary source of up to date information for the national competition. While its still under construction somewhat, head over and give it a follow. Search for the full name or head to this link: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100092356732937 Mark W and Gary W.
Judge Registration.
A great question was raised via email about volunteering for judging at our competitions. It is important to register as a judge in the competition portal once it is open, primarily for two reasons. The system will automatically not assign you to a judging flight that you have entries in and it enables the competition organiser to assign the less experienced judges with a head judge in advance. Hopefully this is a clear step by step.
Go to www.sabrew.com. Log in with your details created when you became a member. Top menu in the middle is the competition tab, scroll down and click on competition portal. Portal open dates will be announced closer to the competition. Once open, this will take you to the current comp and you can enter your beers (if any). Click the judging box, don’t forget to add your BJCP judge number if applicable and save.
Even if you think you lack judging knowledge or ability, from personal experience I highly recommend jumping in! Beer judging is based on perception so there is no wrong answers and the head judge is there to guide you. You get to taste some awesome beers that some styles are not available commercially and learn about faults that will improve your brewing. Mark W
Winter Competition.
As previously communicated this will held on Sunday, 9th July at ETKG Tennis Club and a great prep for ABCSA. The portal will be open in early July and the categories are… Clinton F and Gerard F
- 1 LOW ALCOHOL (≤ 4% ABV)
- 23A. Berliner Weisse
- 14A. Scottish Light
- 14B. Scottish Heavy
- 1A. American Light Lager
- 27. Historical Beer: London Brown Ale
- 13A. Dark Mild
- 5A. German Leichtbier
- 3A. Czech Pale Lager
- 11A. Ordinary Bitter
- 27. Historical Beer: Piwo Grodziskie
- 14 BELGIAN ALE
- 25B. Saison
- 24C. Bière de Garde
- 26B. Belgian Dubbel
- 26A. Belgian Single
- 26C. Belgian Tripel
- 25C. Belgian Golden Strong Ale
- 26D. Belgian Dark Strong Ale
- 15 STRONG ALES & LAGERS
- 4C. Helles Bock
- 6C. Dunkles Bock
- 9A. Doppelbock
- 9B. Eisbock
- 17C. Wee Heavy
- 17A. British Strong Ale
- 17B. Old Ale
- 17D. English Barley Wine
- 22B. American Strong Ale
- 22C. American Barleywine
- 27. Historical Beer: Sahti
- 18 SPECIALTY BEER
- 32A. Classic Style Smoked Beer
- 32B. Specialty Smoked Beer
- 33A. Wood-Aged Beer
- 33B. Specialty Wood-Aged Beer
- 31A. Alternative Grain Beer
- 31B. Alternative Sugar Beer
- 34C. Experimental Beer
- 34A. Commercial Specialty Beer
- 34B. Mixed-Style Beer
- 19 MEAD
- M1A. Dry Mead
- M1B. Semi-Sweet Mead
- M1C. Sweet Mead
- M2A. Cyser
- M2B. Pyment
- M2C. Berry Mead
- M2D. Stone Fruit Mead
- M2E. Melomel
- M3A. Fruit and Spice Mead
- M3B. Spice, Herb or Vegetable Mead
- M4A. Braggot
- M4B. Historical Mead
- M4C. Experimental Mead
AABC and ABCSA
Date reminders for brew scheduling this month:
ABCSA: Irish Club – Bottle sort Saturday, 19th August and judging Saturday, 26th and Sunday, 27th of August. AABC: The District SkyCity Saturday, 21st of October.
Mead Day and Crafty Robot Brewery Visit.
On the 20th of June, a smaller group made a different style of mead from the first lesson under Raf’s guidance. Raf’s knowledge on mead is well known and many thanks for volunteering to share this knowledge with the group.
The mead day was followed on with a club visit to new kids on the block, Crafty Robot. Damian and Tim (head brewer) were incredibly welcoming and showed us around. Both the guys were happy to share all aspects of the business and the beers were very well made indeed. Drop in for a pint if you haven’t! Mark W
Pirate Life Brewers Shout.
The first Brewers Shout was held 1st of June at the district. Unfortunately most of the committee were unable to attend due to GABS and family etc. Hopefully the talk was valuable for our club members. Pirate Life are another great supporter of the club and the next Brewers Shout will be held on Thursday, 29th of June on the subject of dark beers.
Brightstar Dark Lager Fest
For those who joined on Friday 2nd June it was a fantastic event! Steve Brockman from Brightstar hosted the event and even with tech issues plaguing the presentations, managed to pull through and talk about the other 7 breweries and beers on tap, in a fabulous effortless way. The festival was aimed at dark lagers, although Burnley had a Festbier of EBC around 20 and there was also a Vienna DDH Lager that was the opposite of dark!
The star beer of the show was the SA Dark Lager that club member Raf was involved in brewing on behalf of AMSAT. They provided the specialty malts for the beer, and Raf’s colleagues were there talking about where their grain is sourced – all from SA! The beer is only approximately 4 weeks old, and it was noted this will clear up plenty over the next few weeks while on tap and will be on tap for Beer & BBQ.
The festival was open to the public, but the way Steve presented almost made it feel like the event was an SABC event, as he talked through grain bills, yeast styles, aroma; even throwing some facts in for the smoked beer with 0.5% of the grain bill.
SABC have previously visited Brightstar, and Steve has offered to host us again for a club event or meeting in the near future. Stay tuned! Nick M
GABS Sydney.
What an epic couple of days! A few members travelled over to immerse themselves in the craft beer culture of GABS and the Inner West Beer Trail. Many new friendships formed and way out beers sampled it was kinda like a candy shop! Rumour is there is already a few permission slips in for Brisbane and Surfers trip next year. Join us!
