Blow off from the Prez
Welcome to the first “Blow off from the Prez” of the New Year. For those who may not be familiar, each newsletter starts off with an article from the president, named “Blow off.” The title is in reference to the blow off tubes used in fermentation of beer to allow carbon dioxide and krausen to blow out of the vessel (carboy) without the risk of clogging a bubbler. If you’ve never clogged a bubbler with krausen, knock on wood; if you have, then you know what kind of mess it can cause.
In case you missed the Christmas party, we do have a few new officers. First VP (Commander SAAZ dis-organizer) is Matt Backus, Second VP is Kip Cadoret, Treasurer is Anne Gregg, Secretary is Alex Hansen, Librarian is Robert Bennett, and Newsletter/Webmaster is Josh Landin.
I think we have a great year on the horizon as things are already starting to shape up in terms of location competitions and events. Josh has already started on updating our website, and the preview I saw looks great! I scheduled a BJCP for interested club members and have already begun communicating with them about the schedule and classes. Matt Backus and others are already putting their heads together to think of how we can improve this year’s Commander SAAZ Interplanetary Homebrew Blastoff. All in all, I think we have a great team of Officers and I am really looking forward to a great 2011 brewing year!
Cheers,
Sean
In this edition:
January Birthdays – Happy Birthday!
Jack Bragg
Vince Ramos
Next Meeting – January 16th
This month’s meeting will be held at:
Cocoa Beach Brewing Company
150 North Atlantic Avenue
Cocoa Beach, FL 32931-2960
(321) 613-2941
Chris is happy to have us back, and this should be a good time.
As always the meeting will be Sunday on January 16th at 2:00 pm. View the calendar for more information.
Chris does not serve food at the brewery, so if everyone could please bring a dish to pass and share with the club for food that would be great.
Dues are Due
Since it is now January, you may pay your dues now (hint, hint). Tell your interested friends to join as well! 2011 Membership cards will be available at the meetings.
Individual Membership = $15
Couple’s Membership = $25
Lifetime Membership = $150
Dues can be paid to the Treasurer (Anne Gregg) at any club meeting or online at www.saaz.org via PayPal (it’s on the right side of the homepage).
You don’t want to miss out on the benefits of membership! Currently, SAAZ members get 15% off regular and happy hour prices at World of Beer Viera and 10% off regular priced beer at Broken Barrel in Palm Bay! It’s like free money!
Upcoming Competitions
AHA Club-only Competition
Get to brewing ASAP for the January/February AHA Club-only competition. The first event of the year will be “Battle of the Bitters” (English Pale Ales). We will need to pick which member’s entry we send at the January meeting, so get to brewing now!!
MEADllennium
Meadllennium is one of the nation’s premier, mead-only competitions. They are also very fortunate to have lead-crystal wine-tasting glasses are available for judging.
MEADLLENNIUM 2011 will be held on January 29th in Orlando, FL
Deadline for entries will be January 22nd. Check www.cfhb.org/mead for more info.
Upcoming Florida Competitions
These are very rough dates and are subject to change, but…
The Miami Area Society of Homebrewer’s will be hosting the MASH Coconut Cup. Tentatively scheduled for the weekend of February 11th and 12th. More information to come soon
The Best Florida Beer Competition for homebrew hosted by Dunedin Brewer’s Guild will be the weekend of February 25th and 26th. Expect Entries to be due by the first of the month to give them enough time to sort and pre-judge.
SAAZ on Facebook
Check us out on Facebook! We’re just getting things rolling there but Like our page and stay tuned for exciting things to come. Check it out here.
Raffle
Do you have some homebrew supplies that you don’t use anymore? Maybe you upgraded or maybe you prefer another product? Consider bringing your dusty supplies to the next meeting for the raffle. We have brewers of all experience levels, so I am sure we can put any brewing supplies to use!
White Labs QC Day
Have you ever had the chance to see your actual IBU’s, attenuation and alcohol percentage? Do you wonder how your beer compares with professional brews around the nation? How effective is your sanitization regime? How close is your beer to its intended style?
Find the Answers to These and Other Questions with White Labs Big QC Day!
This year White Labs is opening Big QC Day up to homebrewers! By participating in White Lab’s 5th Annual QC day you will have a better understanding of the state of your beer. We all love our beer and the best way to show your love is to send your beer in for a check-up! QC Day provides you with an enormous savings by offering a bundle of testing services ($500 normally) on two of your beers for only $139! You’ll get test results for such things as Diacetyl and IBU’s, as well as alcohol, calories, color, real and apparent attenuation, and microbiological contaminants and you’ll be able to compare your results to the results of craft beers from around the world!
If you’re interested in signing up call 1.888.5YEAST5 (593-2785) to order or visit http://www.whitelabs.com/qcday-2011.html Please order by February 4th!
Coasters Pub Belgian Beer Fest
The date for Coasters’ second annual Belgian Beer Fest has been set! Join them for an amazing weekend with 35 taps of Belgian beer and Belgian food specials! The dates are February 11th, 12th and 13th, 2011. That’s the Friday, Saturday and Sunday following the Super Bowl. Rare and obscure Belgian kegs are already on order, and while I don’t want to spill the beans on what will be offered until they arrive safely in the cooler, rest assured that you will not be disappointed.
Shortly after the start of the year, Coasters will be introducing an excellent rewards program to give loyal customers an extra thanks for coming in. Buy a Coasters VIP card for just $3 and then receive $10 in Coasters Bucks for every $100 you spend! That’s pretty much it; your card will track your receipts, and each time you hit another $100 you get a $10 Gift Card!
Local Events
January 18th – Terrapin Beer Class at Florida Wine and Spirits
Florida Wine and Spirits (Viera) will be hosting a class focused on beers from Terrapin Beer Company (Athens, GA). There are just a few seats still available for this class. If you are interested, please call (321) 504-7588 for reservations. Seats are $15 per person.
For more information please visit http://www.floridawineandspirits.com
January 25th – Left Hand Brewery Night at World of Beer
Our sponsor, World of Beer (Viera) will be featuring Left Hand Brewery from Colorado. They will have an extensive line up of great beers. Keep checking their website for the complete line up when we get closer to the date!
For more information please visit http://viera.wobusa.com
January 28th – Shipyard Emporium Grand Opening
The Shipyard Emporium will have their grand opening on January 28th in Winterpark. This event is located at:
200 West Fairbanks Ave.
Winter Park, Florida
Phone: 321-274-4045
For more information please visit http://www.shipyardemporium.com
January 29th – Jupiter Beerfest
The Jupiter beerfest is coming up January 29th at 1PM. There will be live music, a silent disco, contests, and lots of local craft beers. This event is located at:
Roger Dean Stadium
4751 Main St
Jupiter, FL 33458
For more information please visit http://www.jupitercraftbrewersfestival.com
Also, two employees from white labs will be giving a talk at the brew shop in Jupiter on thursday January 27th.
Beers Available in the Area
Sunseed Food Co-op (Cape Canaveral) – website
- Cigar City Brewing – Warmer Winter 750ml
This is an English style Barley wine for these cold Florida winters - Cigar City Brewing – Cubano-Style Espresso Brown Ale 4 pack
This is an American Brown ale with Cuban-style espresso beans. One of thier bbest beers!! - Cigar City Brewing – Jose Marti 4 pack
This is an American style porter with big chocolate taste with a big hop profile to match. - Stone Brewing Company – Lucky Bastard
This is a blend of all three of the Bastard beers: Oak-aged, Double, and Arrogant Bastard. - Terrapin Brewing Company – Side Project 13: Big Daddy Vladdy
This is a big, ready to drink now Imperial stout. It has great smooth flavors of an imperial stout. - The Bruery – 3 French Hens
This is the third in the 12 days of Christmas series from The Bruery. This beer is 25% Ale aged in French oak and 75% Belgian style dark ale. Get one to drink and one to collect.
Florida Wine and Spirits (Viera) – website
- Lagunitas Cappuccino Stout
Here’s their winter release. From coffee to malt are the aromas that fill the nose as you begin to pour. This is Ale is brewed with cappuccino coffee. The boys at Lagunitas have a crazy side and this is their winter output. - Highland Brewing Company Black Mocha Stout
This is Highland’s most robust beer, having a very malty body with a large roasted chocolate flavor, all achieved solely through the use of special roasted barley grain. It is black in color with a very clean finish and a moderate hop flavor. - Great Divide Yeti Imperial Stout
Yeti Imperial Stout is an onslaught of the senses. It starts with big roasty malty flavor that gives way to rich caramel and toffee notes. Yeti gets its bold hops character from enormous quantity of American Hops. It weighs in at a hefty 75 IBU’s. 25 oz Bottle - Dogfish Head My Antonia
The Dogfish Head show has made it one of the hottest brewers in the country. This reintroduction is a lagerific departure for their ale-centric brewery. This is a marriage of old world tradition and new world innovation. My Antonia is brewed with pilsner malt and continually hopped with a blend of Noble and West Coast hops. 25 oz Bottle - Left Hand Chainsaw Ale (double Sawtooth)
Many times you heard “More is not always better.” Invariably the person on the receiving end of such a statement scowls at the ramifications. At Left Hand they realize that life can neither be reduced to nor understood in absolute terms. They take exception with such broad statements about human condition. Chainsaw is a connoisseur version of their award winning Sawtooth Ale, designed to befuddle silly generations about life. 25 oz Bottle
Cocoa Beach Brewing Company (Cocoa Beach) – website
Current tap line-up:
- Von Braun Ale
- Cocoa Beach Dirty Blonde Ale
- Not Just Some Oatmeal Stout
Beer Education
This months education is more of an information sharing. People are always looking for a specific style or commercial example to brew. I thought I would take a minute to share with everyone one of the best podcasts I have found on iTunes. It is called “The Jamil Show.” For those of you who don’t know him, Jamil Zainasheff started homebrewing in 1999, and was awarded the prestigious Ninkasi Award in 2004 and 2007. He hosts the internet radio show “The Jamil Show” on The Brewing Network. He co-authored Brewing Classic Styles: 80 Winning Recipes Anyone Can Brew with John J. Palmer and Yeast – A Practical Guide to Beer Fermentation with Chris White. He also has been the Style Profile columnist for Brew Your Own magazine since 2007. Zainasheff is Assistant IT Director of the Beer Judge Certification Program, and has been the Representative of the West Region (Hawaii and California) since June 2008.
With all that being said, I found the podcast extremely helpful. When it first started in 2006, each episode covered a specific BJCP style, the history of the style, and a recipe along with tips to brewing it. After 3 years, they had covered every BJCP beer style (as well as a batch of mead and cider). After that, they solicited letters from listeners to challenge them to brew a specific commercial beer. They would invite brewers from commercial breweries in to give them tips and tricks, and then sample the homebrewed version right next to the commercial version.
If you haven’t checked out this podcast, I recommend you do. It is completely free and very informative. (It is also very helpful if you are learning or reviewing BJCP styles, say, for a BJCP Exam in November, HINT, HINT).
Equipment For Sale
These items are typically offered for sale by club members. If you are interested in a particular item, please email prez@saaz.org and we will put you in contact with the seller of that item.
- Brew-magic RIMS Brewery Professional (asking $1,600)
- Blichmann Top Tier Modular Brewing Stand (asking $700)
- Brew-magic RIMs Wizard (asking $1000)
- Brew-magic Chill Wizard (asking $550)
- Brew-magic Fermenter (asking $400)
- Two Brew-magic Select Sankey Vessels (asking $500 for both)
If you have equipment you’d like to sell, give away, trade, or even find, email editor@saaz.org and we’ll try to list your offering/request in the next newsletter.
Feedback
We need your help! We are very interesting in improving the club and we’d like to hear what you think. If you have comments or suggestions about the Newsletter, Website, Activities, or the Club in general, please send an email to editor@saaz.org.
All feedback is welcomed! For example you can:
- Share a topic for Beer Education
- Share your Review of a Beer
- Correct something in the newsletter or website
- Express a criticism about anything related to the club
- Offer a suggestion to improve the club