Category: Uncategorized

October meeting wrapup

Last week we had another cracking good monthly meetup themed around a show-and-tell of the best and worst brewing tech members have purchased. Facilitated by Sam, we covered all manner of items including pH (pH strips bad, pH meters good!), filters, standard gravity readers, scales and the infamous Kegland Hop Bong! See below for links to some of the recommended items.

We also had a surprise guest appearance with Jon from Yakima Chief Hops dropping in. Jon donated a bunch of hops to the club last year, so we returned the favour with a bottle of the SABC x Pirate Life Barrel Aged Strong!

Xmas brew day and case swap

We can now confirm our good friends at SA Brewing Supplies will host club members* for a Xmas Brewday and case swap on Sunday 15th December at their Maria Street Thebarton store just around the corner from The Wheaty. Jon is keen to start hosting regular brewdays at the store which is a great way to see and learn how others brew their beers.

For this inaugural brew day, we’re doing it System Wars style with a batch brewed 3 ways, specifically trying a different chilling method on each system (immersion vs plate chiller vs no chill). At the January meeting everyone we’ll have a three-way blind tasting to see which method reigns supreme.

The Brew Day will also be the location for the annual Christmas case swap. Refer to the previous newsletter and the Facebook event for swapping details. There are less than eight weeks to go so get those brews down NOW. The event is here to join.

It’s an all-day event and we’re working out the fine details including food. if you’re keen to get involved in the recipe and brewing, sing out info@sabrew.com

Summer competition

A reminder that the Summer Comp has been announced and the theme is Wheat. Refer to the competitions page for categories/dates and drop-off locations.

November meeting

Next month’s meeting, on November 20 at the Wheaty, we’re looking into the best practice of bottling from kegs and pressure fermentors. This is timely with the Christmas case swap coming and you can bottle up some of your best as gifts to your drunk uncles.

Brewing tech recommendations

From the October meeting, here is a list of products members use and recommend.

• Carbonation cap: Easily connect gas or beer disconnects to PET bottles. Useful for filling bottles or flushing beer lines. Very useful for getting that last bit of beer out of a disconnect.
• Hanna PH meter: Good quality PH meter at a reasonable price
• Milwaukee PH meter: A more expensive meter that stores the prob in a solution
• PH Storage solution: Highly recommended for looking after your probe
• Kegland Hop Bong: Initially created so you can purge dry hops before dropping them into a sealed fermenter, Mark Lehman showed us a version he uses for adding fining agents to carbonated beer. Very versatile based on what parts you add to it.

*cough cough.. renew your membership

Calendar Dates Summary

• Nov 20: 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! 

This is a reminder that our monthly meeting is happening this Wednesday at the Wheaty from 7pm.

This month we’ll be interrogating our medal-winning brewers and generally opening up the floor to questions, feedback and ideas about brewing winning beers from ABCSA.

We’ll glean tips and taste some and learn how they crafted their winning entries.

Congratulations to all the SABC brewers who placed: Percy Balls* (7 places and best brewer of show), Mark Lehmann (4), Charles Nzama (5), Lucas Veitch (3), Lachlan Johnson (2), James Edwards (2), Matthew Kennedy (4), Gary Waters (3), Gavin Pennell, John Van Der Zalm, Brendan Macey, Gus Kingston, Darren Williams, Maz Ali, Aaron Young, Russell Saint.

The full winners’ list is here enter.abcsa.org.au

Judges’ score sheets are now available in the portal for downloading as PDFs.

Thank you to everyone who helped judge, steward and administer ABCSA. It went very smoothly and we couldn’t do it without you.

Looking forward to seeing you on Wednesday! Bottles for bottle bingo swapping are encouraged.

New members are welcome to join us.

AABC entry

The Australian Amateur Brewing Championship will be judged in Brisbane on October 26th. To register, visit enter.aabc.org.au and submit your beer(s). If you are interested, SABC will organise a shipment to Qld. Drop your entries with labels affixed to bottles at the September SABC meeting or at SA Brewing Supplies by October 5th. Entries will be shipped on October 8th. Alternatively, you can send your entries directly to the competition. Good luck!

Calendar Dates Summary

• 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.
• Dec (date TBC): Christmas bottle swap
• Dec 18: End of year drinks and pizzas

*membership ‘pending’.

This Wednesday’s monthly club meeting, 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.

Formally from 7pm but the taps are open before that of course. Parking is available on site or bus 174, 176, or H33 from the city.

Reminder, ABCSA entry is open

The ABCSA Home Brewing Championship for 2024 is open for entry! ENTER NOW and don’t leave it to the last minute.

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

If you can judge or steward – get involved! Register your interest in the entry portal or talk to Competitions Director, Gerard at the meeting.

Bring a bottle to swap in the random bottle bingo.

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

A reminder the July meeting is this Wednesday and we will be holding the annual general meeting to elect a new committee. After the offical proceedings we will be announcing the winners of the Winter competition and tasting a barrel aged barleywine. The barleywine is the result of a member led barrel project that has been in works since late 2023, and base on the sample I had on packaging day its well worth coming along for!

The Annual General Meeting for the SA Brewing Club will be held on Wednesday, July 17th at The Wheatsheaf Hotel, George St Thebarton at 7pm.

All financial members of the club are invited to attend. The agenda can be downloaded here. Nominations for committee positions can be submitted by email in advance or will be accepted on the night.

The SABC BeerBQ is this coming Saturday! 6PM at ETKG tennis club. The chefs are already busy preparing the feast that awaits, which includes:

Slow cooked pulled pork
American style hot wings
Low and slow Beef brisket
Italian sausages
Kransky’s
and for the first time, Beer Barbacoa – mexican style pulled beef!

all that along with sides, salads, condiments.. and thas just the food menu.

There will be a vast assortment of member brewed beers, and a special treat from the recent TAFE x SABC collab. BeerBQ will be the only time you can try the collab ESB served through an English Handpump!

If you havn’t already, PLEASE register via the SABC shop – https://shop.sabrew.com/. We’re catering based on registrations so no rego means no food!

Mark your calendars for August 3rd, SABC are heading up to Laura to visit the recently opened Little Blressings Brewing. Gary has confirmed that Cat and Craig are happy to host us and had the following to say:

“Since starting this project they have transformed a small church into a destination , that serves its own beers.

Provided they aren’t feeding loaves and fishes , Craig could do a brewery tour .

Please organise designated drivers and or accomodation.
For catering purposes, indication of intent and numbers would be greatly appreciated .

The Mid north is a fantastic part of SA, we will leave times open so there is a chance for some to visit this beautiful part of South Australia, maybe a visit to Clare on the way up and Yorkes on the way back.

Seriously there are so many great choices…. As Lee says “ be a tourist on your own door step “

For more information on Little Blessings Brewing checkout their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/littleblessingsbrewing

Gus recently shared these great photos from last years BeerBQ. If you want to be a part of the action this year (Saturday June 1st), please regiser in the shop: https://shop.sabrew.com/product/sabc-beerbq-2024-member-ticket/ (If you have trouble registering, be sure to check your membershop status.)

SABC would like to congratulate Luke Scrivens as the very first SA National recognised BJCP judge. Obtaining a BJCP rank at this level is no short order, and Luke’s commitment on this long journey can’t be underestimated.

A few words from Gary:

“To those whom know Luke he is unassuming with a quick smile and cheeky manner, which belies his huge talent and intelligence .

Luke managed to finish the BJCP online exam in exemplary time and made the rest of us feel like the mere mortals we really are.

We were hoping for others to join him, so we can extend the opportunity for others to qualify as BJCP judges with enough proctors within SA , we were so close with Justin Murdock ( voted recently as the best distiller in Australia) just .5 away from qualifying . The March for more recognised judges go forth , your support of local competitions is not underestimated

Thank you to all. Your support in running these tastings and exams has been fantastic.”

Tickets for the much anticipated SABC BeerBQ are now up in the shop –> https://shop.sabrew.com/

Join us Saturday June 1st at the ETKG tennis club for a delicious blend of member made brews and mouthwatering BBQ. All financial members receive free entry and can purchases guest passes for their friends and family. Check your membership status before purchasing!

This year there will be two awards up for grabs – Brewers Choice – voted only by SABC members, and Peoples Choice voted by everyone else.