Category: Competitions

The Mash Tun October: Meetings, Xmas events and summer comp deets announced

Gus K

Thanks to everyone who made it to last month’s meeting. It was a great open-flowing discussion with members and winning brewers from ABCSA and thanks to Mark for bringing along some of his best hazy.

We all learnt secrets to success but what happens at brew club, stays at brew club ‘eh!  

It’s what you can learn from other members in person rather than anonymous ‘experts’ in forums is the reason we’re all in a homebrewing club. And, of course, it’s a bonus to go to the Wheaty on a school night.

This week’s meeting, Wednesday, Oct 16 is at The Wheaty from 7pm.

The theme Sam is running with this month is ‘Brew tech that is shiny but useless.’

We’ve all been there – caught up in the latest brewing gadgets, only to find they don’t quite live up to the hype. Have you bought something you thought was essential but barely used? Or regret a purchase because you got caught up in the hype or invested in expensive equipment that sits unused.

On the other hand, have you discovered a hidden gem? Share your thoughts and experiences at the meeting. Show and tell if you can bring it in (sell it off too!) Celebrate the wins and commiserate over the flops!

Bottle bingo as usual. Bring in a homebrew bottle to anonymously swap.  

November meeting: Nov 20 The Wheaty. Best practice tips for packaging your beer. Perfect before Christmas. Everyone loves your beer as gifts!

Christmas case swap

We’re working hard on an exciting club day on Dec 15 so keep the date spare. Also on that day, we’re doing the Xmas case swap.

This case swap has been a great success in the past. Due to popular demand, it is back.

Everyone registered brews a batch of beer and brings 12-24 bottles and goes home with the same amount but of different beers. Like a beer advent calendar. Nick McAuley is running it. Any questions ask at the meeting or in the FB group. The event is here to join.

How many ppl: 15 to 20ppl, but more would be fantastic

  • What: 6pack, 12, or 24 bottle/can swap
  • When: Sunday 15 December. (daytime)
  • Venue and time TBC

SABC Summer Competition – focus on wheat

The annual club summer competition is just around the corner in brewing terms, and in 2025 we are challenging you to showcase the best of wheat as the main ingredient. Our CD, Gerard Flynn, has selected eight BJCP categories featuring wheat as the star ingredient. The website’s competition page has been updated so you can find it there later.

Competition details at a glance:

  • Date: Sunday, 9th February 2025
  • Time: 11:00 AM
  • Venue: East Torrent Kensington Gardens Tennis Club
  • Cost: $5 per entry

Details are in the club calendar. Add it to yours via the subscription links.

Categories:

This competition will feature the following BJCP styles:

  • American Wheat (1D)
  • Weisse Beer (10A)
  • Dunkelweisse (10B)
  • Witbier (24A)
  • Saison (25B)
  • Berliner Weisse (23A)
  • Gose (23G)
  • Wheat Wine (22D)

Important Dates:

  • Portal Opens: Thursday, January 9th  
  • Portal Closes: Friday, February 8th  
  • Drop-off Locations: SA Brewing Supplies, Thebarton to COB Friday or at the venue on the day from 10am.

We encourage everyone to nominate to judge or steward.

Stay tuned for updates. We encourage all members to add this event to their calendars and slot in a wheat beer to your schedule.

Calendar Dates Summary

  • Oct 16: Club meeting, The Wheaty. ‘Best brewing kit and stuff you don’t need’
  • Nov 16: Club meeting, The Wheaty. Bottle and filling from kegs and pressure transfers
  • Dec 15: Christmas bottle swap and brew day!
  • Dec 18: End of year drinks and pizzas
  • Jan 15: At the Wheaty where we’ll be A/B tasting a certain beer.
  • Feb 9: Summer Comp
  • Feb 19: A side-by-side comparison of R1 filters and how RO works.
  • Mar 19: Frankenchillers!  

The Mash Tun August: The Suburban Brew next week, ABCSA and more

Gus K

Hello brewers, Here’s what happening next week, soon and beyond.

ABCSA is on like Donkey Kong

The ABCSA Home Brewing Championship for 2024 is open for entry! Formerly known as SABSOSA*, this esteemed event has been celebrating home brewing for over 20 years.

Key Details:

  • Entry Fee: $8 per entry
  • Entries close online: Thursday, August 29

ENTER NOW and don’t leave it to the last minute when your printer is busted. You need a new account in the portal even if you have entered previously.

If you can judge or steward – get involved! Register your interest in the entry portal.

For full competition details, including bottle drop venue and deadlines, visit the website at ABCSA.org.au

Good luck!

*seriously, this is the last time SABSOSA will ever be uttered.

Next Wednesday’s club meeting

Next Wednesday’s monthly club meeting on (August 21) is at The Suburban Brew at 26-30 Provident Avenue, Glynde (not Goodwood!). The owner and brewer, Tony will give us a tour of this brewhouse and give us the secrets to producing the Royal Adelaide Beer and Cider Awards Gold Medal-winning Sunday Session Ale.

A night not to miss. Parking is available on site or bus 174, 176, or H33 from the city.

Xmas case swap – get brewing

We did it last year and it’s on again. Members brew a batch of beer, bottle it and swap the lot for a random selection of other beers. Put 20L in, and get back 20L of Christmas beers bathed in sunshine and good cheer. Put this in your brewing schedule and we’ll get back with more info soon. Swap venue TBC.

SABC members Blessed with good beer in Laura, SA

A bunch of members had a road trip to see the newly minted Little Blessing Brewing in the old church in the small mid-north town of Laura. Completely built from the shell of the deconsecrated church hall, club member Craig Blessing and his partner have done an incredible job building their brewery. All reports are the beers are great and the atmosphere excellent.

Events and meetings

Club dates are below and in our online calendar. After next Wednesday’s The Suburban Brew meetup, we know the September meeting (18/09) we will hear from the club’s best brewers who scored great results at winter comp and ABCSA. Get the low down on their secrets to success and try their beers.

October meeting (16/10) is looking at all the brewing tools, tech, and gadgets you need, you never knew you needed and the garbage ones you wish you kept the receipt for (curse you Temu!).

Beers offered for presentation and member tasting are always welcome, drop us a line and as always, bottle bingo is always on. Bring a bottle, and leave with a bottle. Anonymous or not, it’s up to you.  

Calendar Dates Summary

  • Aug 21: Club meeting at The Suburban Brew
  • Aug 31/ Sept 1: ABCSA Bottle drop closes
  • Sept 7 & 8: ABCSA judging
  • Sept 14: ABCSA Awards presentation at the Wheaty
  • Sept 18: Club meeting, The Wheaty. ‘Best brewers reveal their secrets’
  • Oct 16: Club meeting, The Wheaty. ‘Best brewing kit and stuff you don’t need’
  • Nov 16: Club meeting, The Wheaty. ‘3V vs Brewzilla system wars, can you tell the difference?’ Beers to taste.

View the updated calendar on the website and subscribe to your Google Calendar or Outlook 365 and don’t miss an event.

Membership lapsed? To renew, head to the SABC Shop and pay to keep access to club events, meetings, competitions and knowledgebase.

Cheers team SABC: Lachlan, Sam, Leon, Gus, Nick, Chris, Julien, Gerard, Gary

Announcing the ABCSA Home Brewing Competition 2024!

Gus K

Howdy Home Brewers,

SABC Is excited to announce the ABCSA Home Brewing Championship for 2024 is open for entry! Open to all residents of South Australia, this competition is your chance to showcase your best home-brewed beer, cider, or mead. Formerly known as SABSOSA, this esteemed event has been celebrating home brewing for over 20 years, and we invite you to be part of this year’s competition.

Key Details:

  • Entry Fee: $8 per entry
  • Entries close online: Thursday, August 29
  • Bottle drop-off at supporting locations around greater Adelaide. See the website for more.
  • Drop-off Deadline: COB Friday, August 30, or at the judging venue by 1pm Saturday, August 31
  • Judging Venue: The Irish Club, Carrington Street Adelaide
  • Judging Dates: September 7 and 8

ENTER NOW and don’t leave it to the last minute

ABCSA is South Australia’s largest amateur brewing competition and a qualifying round for the Australian Amateur Brewing Championship (AABC). All 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners in the ABCSA categories will be eligible to enter the national competition. ABCSA is a fantastic chance to showcase your brewing, get feedback on your beers and win the prestigious South Australian Brewer of the Year perpetual trophy.

As ABCSA is closely linked with AABC, we use the AABC Style Guidelines, which are available on the AABC website. Please review the latest guidelines to understand what the judges will be looking for in both competitions.

ABCSA is entirely volunteer-driven. If you’re interested in entering, participating as a judge or steward, or even if you’re a business considering sponsorship, we encourage you to get involved! Register your interest in the entry portal.

For full competition details, visit our website at ABCSA.org.au

Summer competition 2022 and November meeting

Gus K

The club’s 2022 summer competition will be a banger, trust us. The only styles being judged will be: 

  • Hop forward beers (IPA, pale ales etc)
  • Dark/Stout
  • Sours

You can make anything you like in these BJCP styles below.

Tip: your beer must be able to be rebrewed, all-grain and able to be replicated and consumed within three months. Ideally not super high abv or aged. We strongly encourage you to keep detailed notes on your recipe, process and brew day. You may want to go all out to win this one. There will be limits on entries per brewer and an overall cap on entries.

Open to financial club members who are amateur brewers. 

  • Dates: Entries close: Sunday 16th January 2022
  • Drop off and portal opening details TBA
  • Judging: Saturday 22nd January 2022
  • Winners announced: Sunday 23rd January 20223 categories will be judged, with a winner announced in each of the three following categories:

Hop-Forward beers:

Dark beers:

Sour beers:

SABC Summer competition 2022 Conditions: 

1. Entries must be All-grain, with exception of adjuncts, special ingredients. All special ingredients must be listed on entry.2. One bottle per entry as per the description of acceptable bottle type and volume set out in general club competition rules.3. Maximum of one entry per major category, 3 entries in total per brewer.4. Brewers must be able to provide detailed brewing notes to reproduce winning beers. 

General club competition rules: South Australian Brewing Club (“SABC”) General Competition Rules for all club competitions:

1. Disputes concerning any competition run by the SABC will be determined by the SABC in its sole and absolute discretion.2. Any dispute should be addressed to the Competitions Director and SABC committee.3. To be eligible for any prizes, an entrant must be a current financial member to enter.4. Bottle sizes: Only glass or plastic bottles or cans larger than or equal to 500ml and no greater than 1000ml will be accepted. 700ml bottles are preferred. 330ml stubby bottles or cans will not be accepted.5. Prior to the judging of entries, the Competitions Director may declare prizes available to any and all entrants.6. Prizes offered as are and cannot be exchanged for cash or same financial value.7. The Competitions Director may vary the rules applicable to any competition by declaring the variations prior to the commencement of judging.8. Entrants must declare any conflict of interest before taking part in the administration or judging of a competition.9. SABC reserves the right to cancel, postpone or modify the competition.10. All entries must be handcrafted products, containing ingredients available to the general public, and made using private equipment by hobbyist brewers.11. The competition director reserves the right to combine styles for judging and to restructure awards as needed depending upon the quantity and quality of entries received.12. All participants in a SABC Competition shall act in good faith at all times

October club meeting

The next club meeting will be a member’s beer assessment meeting. Bring a long neck or at least 750mls of your beer and we’ll allocate it to groups for blind assessment. Don’t mark the bottle with what it is, let them guess. We’ve done it before and it’s good fun and you’ll receive sound feedback too.

Bring another bottle for bottle bingo too.

Other things

We’re planing a club barrel project. Stay tuned for that one. We’ll let you know what’s happening soon.

The Christmas event is being worked out. It’ll involve your beer in groups/teams.

SABC Winter Competition open

Gus K

Hello. The entry portal for the club’s winter competition is open for entries today, Monday 28 June.

The competition is only open to current financial members of SABC (join or renew here). Read more rules and conditions on the portal. Entries may be disqualified if not in accordance

You must create a new account for this competition — even if you have entered our summer and winter or SABCSOA comps before. We start a new database for each competition. You only need to register your information once. You will be able to return to the portal enter more beers or edit entries.

Pay your entry fees online. After payment, you can print your bottle labels to fix to your entries. Do not put any other marking or your name on the bottle. We just need a clear barcode to scan.

Seriously, no names or bottle markings.

The focus is lager. No other beer styles are being judged. Two entries per category will be permitted. See listed categories below.

The winning lager, along with coveted club “brewer of the year” points, will have a special limited edition version of their winning brewed to be on tap at The Suburban Brew later in the year.

Of course, the winning brewer will be invited to help brew their beer at Suburban.

Dates:

3 – 10 July – Bottle drop off (strictly) at The Suburban Brew, Goodwood Rd, Goodwood during their open hours. Check here.

14 July – Judging. A closed event with accredited judges only.

Wednesday 21 July – Winners announced and prizes, at the club meeting being held at The Wheatsheaf Hotel.

Categories included for entries are (BJCP 2015 style guidelines) including sub-categories:

  • 1 Standard American Beer* excluding 1C, 1D
  • 2 International Lager
  • 3 Czech Lager
  • 4 Malty European lager
  • 5 Pale Bitter European
  • 6 Amber Malty European Lager
  • 7 Amber Bitter European Lager
  • 8 Dark European Lager
  • 9 Strong European Beer

BJCP styles and more on the comps page.

Winter competition open , membership fee extension and BeerBQ

Gus K

Last weeks meeting on barrel aging beer was on Zoom again. If you missed it you can see it here. The password is 7A*6#99j. Or just the audio as mp3 here.

Next month we will be at the Wheaty and hopefully back to normal.

Winter competition open

By now you would know our winter competition is being held over the weekend of July 11 and 12 at the Irish Club.

The entry portal is now open. This time, thanks to work from Brendan and Julien, the time of entry will bear no relationship in the order your beers are presented in the flights. So enter early and print your labels well before cut off.

In good news, we can now offer bottle drop at BeerBelly, Pooraka and Goodwood Cellars.

Everything you need to know (ie the rules) are on the Competitions page on our website. https://sabrew.com/competitions/

Membership fees extension

While we managed to keep meeting, albeit online, the committee made the decision that because of COVID-19, we will extend SABC membership fees. So all members will get an extra four months on this current year’s fees. If you just renewed, you’ll get an extra four months from the date you renewed, if you are due to renew in the next few months, it’ll be pushed out an extra four months.

What this also means is that for new members, they will get 16 months membership for the cost of 12. Now’s a great time to join the club and benefit from everything we offer.

BeerBQ is on August 1

After being postponed, our annual winter get together is on August 1. More details to come soon. As usual, we put on the food, it’s free for members and $20 for guests. All we need you to do is brew great beer.

More to come soon but lock in the date….

It was a dark and roasty night

Gus K

Mid-winter is good in some ways. Dark beers take on a uniqueness that’s better enjoyed (and add some cheese!) but chilling wort is much quicker with cold groundwater.

Here’s a quickfire what’s on.

August meeting – Wednesday 21 at The Wheaty

We are going to be joined by three local brewers who ‘went pro’. The theme is upscaling and lessons learnt — Suburban, Shapeshifter and SK Beverages.

They perfected a beer on a homebrew scale that they believed in. What does a brewer need to think about when making a commercial batch of the same beer and what were some of the surprising lessons learnt?

SABSOSA – share your entry

Also, with SABSOSA entries open, we’re asking everyone to bring a bottle or two of their entries to share one-on-one or two with some of our club members who judge. It might be too late to brew again but it’s not too late to make sure the beer is entered in the right category.

One of the areas some of the best beers fall short is where it’s a great beer but wrongly entered. An IPA where maybe it could have done better as an Americal pale ale, a wild ale that’s a winning saison or an America porter that’s better categorised as a black IPA etc.

Bring your entries to share and talk about. Take a good look at the SABSOSA guidelines too.

We’re also advising on packaging. Please be aware that SABSOSA is not accepting 330-375ml stubby bottles. It was announced last year that it was going to be the last year for stubbies. Read all of the entry FAQs.

The entry portal is now open. You need to create a new account. As you’d all be aware, SABC is running the competition and we do need help. Please sign in and enter your expression of interest to judge or steward that way. It makes allocating judges and stewards to flights easier for Gary.

We also are on the lookout for bottle drop locations. If you can think of any that would work, especially in the southern suburbs, please let us know. Preferably as the venue on our behalf too. That saves us a job. Bottles are dropped off in the last week of August.

Win a 75L stainless kettle.

Every financial member of SABC is in the running to win a brand new 75L stainless steel kettle generously donated by Kieren. We’ll draw the winning entry from the kettle at the August 21 meeting.

If your membership is about to expire, needs renewing or you have a friend that is interested in joining but needs some incentive, get on it before Aug 21. Renew or check membership online here.

Win this 304 stainless kettle

All in to win a 75L kettle

Gus K

Thanks to everyone who came to our AGM/ Cheese pairing night — everyone thought it was a great night. We got through the business end efficiently, presented winter comp prizes and moved on to SABC treating everyone with wonderful Wheaty French cheese platters to pair with WBC Yeast Coast IPA, Shiploads Porter along with a beer brewed by Leon with the leftover grain from the club brewday.

Competition time – win a 75L 304 steel kettle

We’ve got a great prize to give away and SABC members need to do nothing to be in the running to win except make sure your membership is up to date. All members are in the draw to win when we pull names from the kettle at the August club meeting on Aug 21.

If your membership has lapsed, or you’re reading this and have been thinking about joining SABC or you’ve got a friend you’ve encouraged to join, as long as you’re paid up by 12pm August 21, then you’re in to win. Checking the status of your membership is easy on our website. Find out how here.

Prize value $300. Kettle offered as-is with no accessories or warranty. Cannot be exchanged for cash. SABC is not liable for any issues or damages caused by its use. Winner will be drawn at the SABC meeting, Aug 21. Prize must be collected in 14 days or it will be offered to second place.

Gawler Show homebrewing competition

Entries for the Gawler Show close on August 9. It’s a good hitout for SABSOSA to test your beers — or enter your winter competition beer. https://gawlershow.org.au/shop/home-brewed-beer/. Enquiries to Rachel Edwards who has taken over the competition this year.

The SABC committee for 2019/20

President: Gus Kingston, Vice President: Luke Moran, Treasurer: Edward Shorne Holden, Secretary: Clinton Fisher, Comms and Social Media: Samantha Wallwork, Competitions Director: Gary Waters, Website Manager: Julien Gibson, Events Co-ordinator: Lachlan Johnson, General committee members: Glen Phillis, Leon van der Linden, Mark ‘Pirates’.

AGM minutes available on request.

Gary Waters wins top judging role

Gus K
SABC Competitions director Gary Waters with his wife Lee at the 2018 ANHC.
SABC Competitions director Gary Waters with his wife Lee at the 2018 ANHC.

Congratulations to our competitions director Gary Waters on being accepted into the associate judge program for the Independent Brewer’s Awards for the next year.

The ‘Indies’ is Australia’s largest independent beer competition to showcase the best of the independent brewing industry. Gary will have the opportunity to judge at the Indies in September then follow up with the state comp, Australian International Beer Awards and the world cup.

It doesn’t come without hard work to get there and then with the role that requires compulsory training (ie beer drinking) and a trip to Texas along the way. We’re lucky to have his experience in our club.

Thanks Gary and well done.

Winter 2019 competition open now

Gus K

The club annual winter competition will be judged on Saturday, July 6 from 12pm at the Irish Club, Carrington St Adelaide. The theme is ‘all things American’ — adherence to style and not just ‘add more hops’ might just separate the winning entries from the rest of the pack.

The entry competition entry portal is open now for entries. If you’re new to SABC or have not entered one of our competitions before, you need to log in to access it. You can easily reset your password or create a new account if you need to.

Important: Please enter early, pay and print labels at the same time. The page will be closed for entries on Thursday, July 4 at 11pm and will not allow you to access your entry after that time for changes, printing or late payments. We need time to organise everything prior to judging. No exceptions.

The categories — All things American(ish) — is limited to 20 beers in seven BJCP 2015 categories.* Ensure you enter the correct category.

  • 1. STANDARD AMERICAN BEER
  • 18. PALE AMERICAN ALE,
  • 19. AMBER AND BROWN AMERICAN BEER
  • 20. AMERICAN PORTER AND STOUT
  • 21A. AMERICAN IPA
  • 22. STRONG AMERICAN ALE
  • 28. AMERICAN WILD ALE

Note: NEIPA is not recognised in the 2015 BJPC categories and will not be judged.

Bottle drop off will be available at the June meeting, BeerBelly, Country Brewer and on the day. Other drop off places possible by request. Email us.

Make it a social occasion.

Everyone is welcome to come along and judge, help or just hang out and have a beer. Winners will be announced at the end of judging and notified by email. Winners not present need to claim their prize on, or before, the next club meeting on July 17.

See SABC competition Terms & Conditions .

February news: Little Bang and comps

Gus K

In a club first, judging of the summer competition will be at the Kings Head, cnr King William and Sturt St. They have reserved the back room for us to use. It’s a space which should be a large comfortable place to enjoy the competition beers and have space for everyone who can join us for a beer or lunch.

Judging will start shortly after 12 pm on Saturday 23rd as we have allowed for drop off to be done by 12.15 sharp on the day.

We have only booked till 3.30, so we can also do the awards presentation at 3 pm. Being prompt and arriving by 12 and having a hearty breakfast (and lunch) is paramount to the success of the day. So everyone is invited to come down during the afternoon as a social gathering and for the presentation.

Feel free to bring guests along to cheer your success and hopefully you can stay for a beer or two afterwards. There is the possibility of a guest brewer doing a tasting at the attached Sturt St Cellars. They’re a great supporter of local brewing so some money over the bar will keep them happy and us in the good books for future needs.

It takes a lot to run a competition. If you can help during the afternoon either as a judge or a steward or even just help process the admin or the cleaning up let us know at the meeting or email. Any support would be appreciated.
Entries:
Submit your entry online and pay here (you have to log in) https://comps.sabrew.com/

Bottle drop off:
– At the club meeting on Thursday 21,
– Gary’s house at 103 Childers St, Nth Adelaide. There will be an esky on the porch if he’s not there.
– Beerbelly Brewing Supplies – Unit 3, 95 Research Road, POORAKA – Strictly until 1pm Friday 22.
– The King’s Head only on the day of judging between 12 and 12.15

As you are aware, our meeting this month is on THURSDAY 21 at Little Bang Brewing, at their brand new brewery on Henry St Stepney. We’ll get a ‘backstage’ tour of the facilities to see the differences between the old venue and this new one. Come prepared with any questions you have for the Little Bang team, it will be an awesome opportunity to understand the logistics around moving to a bigger location.

Club news and events: 24 members went on the bus tour to the Southern Vales breweries, despite a last-minute scramble to get a replacement bus and driver and a pretty hot day, we had a great time meeting the brewers and tasting some excellent (and tbh, not so great) beers. We’ll do it again soon.

Coming soon: At the end of March, we’re having a club brew day with a bit of a twist. If your brewing gear isn’t portable, don’t worry, you can join a team. More to come. Some of the beers will be for the club’s annual BeerBQ which is going to be on May the 4th. Put it in your diaries now and think about brewing your Light Sabre Lager now.

Has your membership lapsed? No worries, you can renew easily online at any time at sabrew.com.au to take advantage of all of the club benefits and events we host. Membership is 1 year from whenever you renew, no need to wait until July anymore.

FREE! Fringe show
Local Adelaide comedian, Ken Balnaves, has comedy gig coming up at the Adelaide Fringe. ‘You Bewdy’ is full of relatable stories on those day to day things we all experience -— with a bit on beer and brewing too!
https://adelaidefringe.com.au/fringetix/kel-balnaves-you-bewdy-af2019
Ken has kindly given us two double passes to check out his performance this week — either Friday 15/2, Sat 16/2 or Sunday 17/2. If you are keen to go for nix, tell us what night you prefer and email us info@sabrew.com – first in, best dressed.

The Best of Adelaide Brewers Festival – BOAB is happening next weekend at the Flour Shed, Port Adelaide – it’s sure to be a great weekend event, with a host of South Aussie brewers on showcase to celebrate brews from micro and nano breweries around the state.

The Craft Beer King will also be hosting the “Brewers Stage”, talking to brewers about passions, influences and more. Head to the event page to find out how you can grab your tickets.

SABC at Forktree Brewing, Carrickalinga
SABC at enjoying beers, burgers and the view at Forktree Brewing, Carrickalinga (pic: Ben @ Forktree Brewing)