Category: Club Meetings

February Club Members Meeting – Topic: Dry hopping!

vortex

Our February monthly meeting will be held at The Wheaty this Wednesday 18 February, starting from 7pm. We’ll be out the back as usual.

Expect discussion of all things dry hopping – techniques, flavour and aroma impact, potential problems and more – plus the chance to try some of the best home brewed beers around. Come armed with your questions or email the club ahead of time so you don’t forget.

It’s not too late to get a tasting spot for this month – email the club at sabrewclub@gmail.com with details.

Call for Beers – Dry Hopped!

vortex

The theme for February’s club meeting (Wednesday 18 February, 7pm out back at the Wheaty) is dry hopping. As well as a discussion of all things dry hopping, we will be enjoying a few tastings on the night and in keeping with the theme would like to offer some excellent dry hopped beers.

If you would like to present a dry hopped beer on the night, please email the club (sabrewclub@gmail.com) with a description of the beer and we’ll select a few of the most interesting sounding ones. We’re not just looking for over the top hop monsters – maybe a rarely used hop variety or a style that isn’t normally dry hopped will make the grade.

As always, we only have limited slots available for tastings so please only bring your beer if you are notified by the club. 2-3 longnecks or equivalent is suggested, and be prepared to discuss your recipe and process.

There’s still plenty of time to brew a killer beer, since when dry hopping fresh is best!

Happy Brew Year 2015!

vortex

I hope the Christmas period treated you and your families well, and you sampled some quality beer over the festive season.

As you read this, the SABC committee is busily working behind the scenes preparing a number of upcoming events and meeting themes to align with suggestions and requests that we have received recently.

Please refer to our calendar outlining meeting themes for the coming months.

Some of the meeting and events include a Big Shed Brewing beer release, growing hops at home presentations and a Cargill (formerly Joe White) Maltings tour.

Finally, a big congratulations to Greg Weider, who won the inaugural SABC Brewer of the Year in 2014 beating Simon Rofe by a whisker, in the English Bitter taste off at the Barossa Valley Brewing dinner event on November 29 last year. Well done Greg.

See you at the next SABC meeting!
Cheers & Beers,
Brad Bown
SABC President

Bingle Jells…

vortex

Christmas has come early for SABC members with the SABC Christmas meeting at the Wheaty, 7pm, Wednesday December 17, 2014.

Santa (I mean  – President Brad) will reach deep into his sack to give every SABC member two Wheaty drink tokens; valued at $5 each.  The spirit of giving will then continue and Santa will place an order of pizza with his hard working elves for dinner at 7:30. Guests of SABC members (ie non-members) can also share in the pizza consumption for $10. Fear not SABC members attending the Wheaty components of beer event, a subsequent pizza order will be placed when the event concludes.

Please note, there won’t be any tastings or meeting formalities on the night.

Happy Holidays to all and don’t get caught under the mistletoe with Santa!

“My Precious!”…

vortex

…shrieked Greg Wieder as Greg was awarded the coveted SABC Brewer of the Year trophy.

Saturday, November 29, 2014 will go down in SABC brewing history as the crowning of the first SABC Brewer of the Year. Simon Rofe and Greg Wieder were locked on 23 points each for the SABC Brewer of the Year award. After 5 competitions, the SABC committee could not split these fantastic brewers. To determine the “One Beer To Rule Them All”, a brew off was decided to be held. Each brewer would brew a (Not-So) Ordinary Bitter (in accordance with the BJCP guidelines) for presentation to the SABC members. Judging was to be Subjective. Members were presented with a sample of both beers and a single vote to decide which beer they liked the most. The beer with the most votes was to win the brewer the title of SABC Brewer of the Year.

SABC members arrived to a balmy evening at the Barossa Valley Brewing for the SABC Beer Degustation event. Tension was in the air and first order of the event was to decide the SABC Brewer of the Year. Both brewers presented their beer while members eagerly awaited a Sample ‘A’ and a Sample ‘B’. When ice cold, Sample ‘B’ was thought to match the style, especially with colour and aroma. As the beer warmed up a bit, Sample ‘A’ was awoken form its slumber and released its malty notes and slight fruity aroma. The bitterness of Sample ‘B’ slightly seemed to increase, somewhat altering the balance between the hops and the malt. Sample ‘A’ beer was slightly dark for strict style guidelines but was very balanced. Both beers were very similar and excellent examples of an Ordinary Bitter. As low alcohol beers these were a great contrast to the hoppy BVB beers.

A hush went over the crowd as votes were cast, counted, checked and double checked before Brad announced the winner of the SABC Brewer of the Year 2014 was Greg Wieder. As SABC brewer of the year, Greg was awarded the trophy and will participate in a brew day at Big Shed Brewing. Greg’s advice was straightforward. His advice was to keep the brew simple and to not over complicate it.

Following the competition, head brewer at Barossa Valley Brewing James Collision lead a tour of the brewery and a discussion of the transition from homebrewer to commercial brewer. This provided an excellent opportunity for SABC members to talk to James and pick his brain about all aspects of brewing.

SABC members were then treated to a feast for the senses with the SABC Around the World Tour:
· Tomato, Basil & Anchovy Bruschetta Canape’s paired with a Pilsner

· Chicken Kransky in a Baby Bun with Mustard & Sauerkraut paired with an Oktoberfest

· Beef Rib with Chimichurri paired with the award winning Organic Ale

· Pork with Jungle Curry & Pickles paired with the Canis Majoris DIPA

· Afrogato enjoyed with the Milk Stout

All members in attendance had a good time and thoroughly enjoyed the night. Good food, good beer, good friends = good times!

Thanks to:
· Simon Jones for the fantastic trophy (can we order turned handles from you now?)

· Simon and Greg for brewing the competition decider.

· James C for the brewery tour and openly sharing with SABC members.

· All members for making the night a fantastic success!

November Members Meeting – 8pm start!

vortex

Quick reminder folks – the November Members Meeting will be held this Wednesday 19th of November at The Wheaty. This has been delayed from the normal 7pm start, due to the Components of Beer event which begins at 6pm and will finish around 8pm.

This “components of beer” event will discuss the component “yeast” and will be an informative event – get onboard and buy your tickets for the event by clicking this link! Attendance is entirely optional as this is a Wheaty event, not an SABC event. Our meeting remains FREE for members, as normal.

Also, don’t forget that club members going along to the components of beer event who let us know (so we can let the Wheaty know!) will recieve a free pint of beer!

BVB Event – Cutoff Date for RSVP – 12/11/14!

vortex

Tomorrow – 12th of November – is the cutoff date to RSVP for the BVB event! This is due to the fact that we need to finalise numbers with BVB for catering requirements.

This event is fantastic value if you’re interested in beer and food pairing; and even if you’re not – it will be a great chance to catch up with other members and enjoy some quality food and beer from Barossa Valley Brewing.

Full information is available at our previous post by clicking here.

Brewer of the Year – The Decider!

vortex

Both brewers have brewed their beers and both are currently going through fermentation as this is typed!

Both brewers have provided some notes on their beers below:

Brewer 1: There were a few dough balls. The mash was terminated by heating to 86°C. The kettle losses were high due to the size of the kettle. This meant that top up water was required.
A 90min mash was performed on my beer. The volumes after were down and gravities were up. Its up to you to judge the beer, but the brew day was a success. I was really surprised and happy that my efficiency guestimates worked.

Brewer 2: Everything went to plan. All my numbers were matched (Volume and OG). My mash temps seemed to fluctuated a bit (later in the mash), but never drifted more than 1 degree C away from my target temp. I hit my final volume into the fermentor, so I know my boil went to plan. I pitched the yeast that night and it was bubbling pretty hard by morning, It was a hot few days during the early stages of the fermentation, which worried me at the time. The temps were right where I wanted them during the fermentation, never more than half a degree C away from my target.

The countdown to the BVB event is ON! This will be a cracking final challenge and will decide our winner!

Get your tickets here Barossa Valley Brewing – Beer Degustation – Subsidised Event

Barossa Valley Brewing – Beer Degustation – Subsidised Event.

vortex

SABC Members, family and friends are invited to Barossa Valley Brewing (BVB) for the first major subsidised event of the 2014/2015 SABC calendar. The SABC committee in conjunction with Barossa Valley Brewing (BVB) have organised a 5 course Beer Degustation, matched with award winning BVB beers.

The Battle for the SABC Brewer of the Year will also be decided with Simon R and Greg W going head to head to determine the One Beer to Rule Them All.

A Pre-dinner drink will be provided and there is the option of the Full Beer Degustation or the Food Degustation for non-drinkers.

Where: Barossa Valley Brewing, 2A Murray St, Tanunda SA 5352
When: Saturday November 29, from 6pm.

SABC Brewer of the year judging 6:30pm sharp, dinner commencing 7:30pm

Costs:
Full Beer Degustation
SABC Members $30
Non SABC Members $50

Food Degustation Only
SABC Members $10
Non SABC Members $30

To book your tickets, payment in full must be made by direct deposit to the SABC Treasurer. Payment to be made November 12 so we can advise BVB of the number of people attending. Remember, members, family members and friends of the club are invited. First in best dressed. Once all tickets are sold you will miss out!

Bank Details:
Account – South Australian Brewing Club Incorporated
Account No. – 1073 8025
BSB – 06 5004

After payment, an email must be sent to sabrewclub@gmail.com detailing:

  • Your name, and partner or friends name (if attending)
  • Any dietary requirements
  • Number and type of tickets purchased (Full Degustation vs Food only)

SABC encourages responsible alcohol consumption and provides the following suggestions for this event:

Ensure you get your tickets early to avoid any disappointment!