Since its inception in 2012, the South Australian Brewing Club (SABC) has swiftly grown to become the largest and most successful brewing club in Adelaide and the country. The club embodies a diverse membership of individuals with a broad range of brewing expertise, all coming together to share knowledge and enhance their homebrewing skills. Central to the club’s calenda is the popular monthly meeting on the third Wednesday of each month, regularly attended by over 30 participants, thanks to the generous support of The Wheatsheaf Hotel. In addition to these gatherings, the club also hosts special events and brewery visits in Adelaide and the surrounding region. Find out more on our About SABC page.
It’s that time of year folks, SABC’s biggest annual event the BeerBQ is now less then 3 weeks away – Saturday 28th June.
This year we’re going all out with a pig on a spit! It will be paired with the crowd favourite slow cooked brisket along with wings, gourmet sausages and all the usual sides and trimmings. An absolute feast!
Then theres the beer. As always members are encouraged to bring along some of their finest to share. We reguarly see the full spectrum from noble German pilsners, to big American stouts to whatever outrageous concoction Kieren has put together.
As part the new Brewer of the Year format, members will receive BOTY points simply for bringing beer to share, with even more points up for grabs in the brewers choice and peoples choice awards. Refer to the BOTY page for more details.
Dark and roasty, warm and toasty. Hello winter. A quick sprint around what’s going on.
Last month’s meeting at Crafty Robot was great. Nice to go somewhere new and support them. Thanks, Jules, for the presentation on his frankenchiller/heater, too. If you’ve got a suggestion for a meeting venue, or a topic you’d like to present on, let us know.
SABC represent at Beer & BBQ
First, we’re doing a casual catch-up at Beer & BBQ this Saturday. If you’re going along, wear some club kit and watch out for members.
A suggested meet-up spot might get suggested on Facebook on Friday, so keep an eye out, or suggest one.
If you don’t have a ticket, jump onto it now. Tickets are selling out, probably because it’s the last time (so said Johnny Farnham… we’ll see).
If you’re going on Sunday or other times, share your plans in the group so you can find a wing-person.
Hang with members this weekend at Beer & BBQ
SABC’s BeerBBQ
Not to be confused with Beer & BBQ, our annual event that is more than 10 years old and will keep going. It is on Saturday, June 28. It’s a simple concept — everyone brings beer, everyone shares beer, and the club puts on an amazing smorgasbord of food.
Tickets for members are FREE (so renew your membership now), and for guests, it’s $30. They’ll be in the shop tonight. Please get a ticket so we know how many to cater for. There’s a whole spit this year.
It means brew this weekend (for BeerBQ and July’s winter comp!
June meeting — all about pH and water
Pic: Nick McAuley knows his numbers
Our resident water biologist and water quality expert will be hosting an explainer pH meters, how to use them, test them and why pH matters. Bring your pH meters for testing.
Award-winning homebrewers say it’s one of the most important changes they made to their brewing to take their beer to the next level.
Calendar updates
June 18: The Wheaty – pH meters and water chemistry with LvdL
June 28: SABC BeerBQ (EKTG) — Tix on sale soon, so renew your membership
July 16: Club meeting: The Wheaty / AGM and more.
July 27: SABC Winter Competition (EKTG) Details here
September 20-21: ABCSA Judging (Irish Club) — You know what to do.
Subscribe to this calendar in Google (other cals available on the Calendar page)
If you know someone who is interested in the activities of the club, please forward this email. If you’re reading this and would like to find out more, please email us info@sabrew.com and come to a meeting.
We are meeting at Crafty Robot Brewing this Wednesday night.
They’re normally closed on Wednesdays but will open exclusively for us from 6pm. Head in early to buy an extra beer. It’s be great to get a huge rollup to this city brewery at 180 Grote Street. Having the full venue also allows us to run our planned presentation from Jules about his heavily modified wort chiller… the Frakenchiller!
The kitchen can offer a very limited pizza menu, however, Uber Eats/ takeaway food is welcome too.
This is a meeting not to miss. Meetings are for members, so renew now. Many members have May to May memberships, so yours might have lapsed. Also, feel free to bring a guest along too.
Reminder: SABC’s annual BeerBQ is just six weeks away— Saturday, June 28.
It’s time to think about what beer you’re going to share at the club’s best night of the year. There are BotY points for anyone who brings beer, but also the popular vote for best beer of the night gets extra points. It’s at East Torrens Kensi Tennis Club again, and of course, it is free for members. Guest price $TBC. Don’t miss out, make sure your membership hasn’t lapsed.
Top day out — Southern Vales Breweries Tour
Last weekend, 20 members toured some of the best breweries in the Vales region. It was an excellent day filled with opportunities to explore the facilities, chat with the brewers, and sample a variety of fresh, unique beers. After getting started drinking from Swell Brewing’s wide range, our bus driver Gavin took us on to Aldinga to enjoy a private lunch at Kick Back Brewing, surrounded by stainless steel tanks. Brenton, a former SABC member, now the owner and head brewer, provided us with an extraordinary experience that truly exceeded our expectations.
Next stop was Penny Red Brewing Co, a smaller outfit but no less enjoyable. They had some nice red ales and we scored a few fresh cleanskin cans to take home (and Driver Gavin benefited a few to enjoy later).
Then at our final stop, the brewer at Shifty Lizard, Brewer and owner Lee, showed us how the small Willunga main street brewery has grown since our first visit in 2018. A couple of beers and a group photo (bottom right), and it was time for the trip back to Crafty Robot (and a snooze).
Thanks to Nick McAuley for organising a fantastic day out. We’ll do it again for sure. See some happy snaps below.
Calendar updates
May 21: What’s a freakin; Franken Chiller… we’ll find out from Jules. (NOW AT CRAFTY ROBOT)
June 28: SABC BeerBQ (EKTG) — Tix on sale soon, so renew your membership
September 20-21: ABCSA Judging (Irish Club) — You know what to do.
July 27: SABC Winter Competition (EKTG) Details here
Subscribe to this calendar in Google (other cals available on the Calendar page)
If you know someone who would be interested in the activities of the club, please forward this email on. If you’re reading this and would like to find out more, please email us info@sabrew.com and come to a meeting.
Due to a scheduling clash with Pint of Science, we’re changing venues for the May meeting on Wednesday 21st. Crafty Robot will open their doors just for us – they’re normally closed on Wednesdays. Having the full venue will allow us to run our planned presentation from Jules about his heavily modified Frakenchiller!
Damo will open the doors as 6PM, so head in early if you can to buy an extra round and make it worth their while for opening on a Wednesday. Feel free to bring a guest along too.
The Crafty kitchen won’t be open on the night, however you are welcome to BYO food or have it delivered. Nearby options include:
At last week’s meeting, Darren Williams shared his experience in brewing low and no-alcohol beer. As these beverages have gained popularity, some techniques have proven more effective than others for the homebrewer. He has kindly made his presentation available for download in PDF format here, along with a helpful resource from ultralowbrewing.com. Consider giving it a try; we’re thinking about hosting a brew challenge later this year!
Winter Competition
At the meeting, we also announced the details of this year’s SABC winter competition. They are popular straight bat categories to help you fine-tune your favourites and go-to brews for ABCSA. We’ve also got a new page on the website, ‘Upcoming Competitions’, so you can easily find out the details.
This month’s regular meeting is this week, Wednesday, April 16, we’re looking at brewing low alcohol beers. They’ve definitely come a long way in recent years, as many people still want to enjoy beer but are cutting back on alcohol intake for different reasons.
They’re also very handy when you are the designated driver!
Many styles can be low or no alcohol, and Darren will be doing a presentation on the science of and brewing low alcohol beer with some tasters to try as well! Come with all your questions!
With two of the slots for tasters being taken up by the topic, there is still one free tasting slot available for anyone who has a brew they’d like to share with the group. Remember, bringing a beer for tasting will earn Brewer Of The Year points! If you are keen, contact the committee via email.
We’ll also announce the categories to brew for the club’s winter competition judged on July 27.
Bus tour
Tickets for the bus tour of Southern Vales Breweries on May 10 are still available. Tickets are $35pp and available at the SABC shop here. This cost includes bus travel only and enjoyment. Food and drinks are to be paid for on the day.
A third of the year gone already! Club members had an enjoyable meet-up at Brightstar Brewing last week, enjoying its beers on a balmy autumnal evening on the deck.
First up, the Southern Vales bus tour on May 10 tickets are available now. See below for more or grab them here before they’re all snapped up. Calendar updates
Next meeting Apr 16: Brewing low and no alcohol beer — or how not to feel dusty the day after with Darren Williams (Wheaty)
May 10: Southern Vales Bus Tour
May 21: What’s a freakin; Franken Chiller… we’ll find out from Jules. (Wheaty)
June 28: SABC BeerBQ (EKTG) — Tix on sale soon, so renew your membership
July 27: SABC Winter Competition (EKTG) Styles to be judged will be announced soon.
September 20-21: ABCSA Judging (Irish Club) — You know what to do.
Subscribe to this calendar in Google (other cals available on the Calendar page)
BJCP exam
Gary needs beer donations for BJPC training that are out of style or may have faults. A couple of bottles would be great. Drop him a line if you can help.
The club has organised a bus tour of Southern Vales breweries on Saturday, 10th May. The last club bus tour was way back in 2023, with 20 people joining the event, which toured through the Barossa region.
This tour is taking in four breweries to provide more time to relax and enjoy drinks and tours where available, without rushing to get to the next destination.
1730 Arrive Wheatsheaf Hotel Thebarton (likely include a second dropoff at Craft Robot in CBD)
Tickets are $35pp and available at the SABC shop here. This cost includes bus travel only and enjoyment. Food and drinks are to be paid for on the day.
Depending on requests we may be able to organise a second pickup/dropoff location for folk somewhere between the city and McLaren Vale. . Kick Back has generously offered to have us for lunch, and is offering a free pint with any burger purchased. Brenton and or Adam will provide a talk and tour of the brewery with some sneaky tastings apparently!
The food menu is here . If we are able to provide a list of orders before arriving this will ensure no one has a long wait for lunch when we arrive. Please send me your order when possible, preferably before the day.
Penny Red have offered to provide a chat and possibly a tour; they have a relatively small brew system. I’ve been told, but when I chatted with Craig and Jess about brew club members visiting and it sounds like it’s the perfect opportunity for brew club members to enjoy.
Shifty Lizard is the last stop on the tour, as the club managed to visit several years ago on a previous bus tour. Lee has also said he or a brewer will be available on the day, they also have Soul Bird Distilling if anyone is interested in asking about the distilling business.
Gavin from Bizzy buses is driving us again — Gavin has hosted the club on a couple of bus tours over the years, and luckily, even though his company is double booked for the day, he has managed to drive us again. He’s a very friendly chap, so be sure to say hello while on the tour.
At this stage, this event is only open to financial members, but if there are unsold tickets, non-members may be able to grab one.
March Meeting This week’s club meeting is at Brightstar Brewing, 35-37 Stirling Street, Thebarton (Map).
The Wheaty is unavailable, so we thought it’d be a good opportunity to see what Thebarton’s other brewery is doing. “…using traditional European brewing techniques, we produce a wide range of balanced beers…” is its aim.
We’ll be outside on the deck so keep that in mind when thinking about wearing your club t-shirt, hoodie or cap … coincidentally, all are available in our shop for sale and if you order before Wednesday you can wear it.
BOTY Leaderboard
The Brewer of the Year leaderboard is now live will all points accumulated to date. If you’re not yet familiar with the new format, check out the details here. Take note of the additional ways you can earn points outside of competitions.
Upcoming Events
A couple of new dates to lock in your diaries.
The Southern Vales bus tour is on Saturday, May 10th. Tickets will go on sale in the shop soon, so watch out for announcements as numbers will be limited!
Our annual BeerBQ will be back on Saturday, June 28th. This gives you three full months to plan and brew something exciting for the event. The club winter comp will follow a month later, on Sunday, July 27th. Competition categories will be announced soon.
I’m very excited to announce an overhaul to this years BOTY competition! The goal of the change is to increase the number of point scoring opportunities throughout the year, reward brewers for brewing great beer even if they don’t place in the top 3, and most importantly, reward brewers who contribute to the club outside of competition entries. The competition leader board will be published and updated throughout the year, hopefully adding to the overall excitement and providing more incentive for brewers to brew and share their beer in order to reach top of the table!
If you would like to present a beer at a meeting and earn yourself 30 BOTY points, email the club now! Tasting slots will be limited to a maximum of 3 per meeting, and beers brewed for the meeting topic will take preference. There is 1 slot available for Feb.
Feburary Meeting – Brewing with RO
The Feburary meeting is this coming Wedesday 19th at the Wheaty. We’ll be discussing all things reverse osmosis brewing and doing a side-by-side tasting of a blonde ale brewed with RO vs Tap water. If you’re already an RO aficionado (a recent poll suggests 50% of you are!) come along and share your RO knowledge with your fellow members.
Summer Competition Results
The summer competition was run last weekend with 20 entries in the wheat focused categories. The winners will be announced at the Feburary meeting, with full results and the BOTY leaderboard to be posted shortly after.
A quick reminder that the club’s Summer Competition — focus on wheat — is scheduled for this Sunday. All the details are below. Please register your entries tonight. Leaving it to the last minute leaves you at risk of being locked out or your printer running out of ink. It happens.
February meeting
Wednesday, Feb 19 is the date. We’re at The Wheaty for a deep dive into reverse osmosis (RO) water filters, using RO water and a side-by-side tasting of a recipe brewed with RO vs Adelaide metro tap.
Click attending on the Facebook event so you get reminders.
We’re off and running again this week with a meeting on Wednesday night. It might seem early, or you may have thought it was scheduled for next week, but the calendar situation is unusual this time. Since January 1 fell on a Wednesday, this is already the third Wednesday of the month. Phew. Time for a beer.
The plan was to taste the four versions of the beer brewed in December at the SABS brew day but there’s been a hiccup in the fermentation and they’re not ready yet. We’ll do that next month (TBC).
However, all is not lost. We’re cobbling together something else fun and interesting — and yes, involved beer tasting.
If you have a beer you want to present to the meeting, bring along about 3-4 litres to share. Please drop us a line if you have something. info@sabrew.com
