August 2011 Newsletter

By Member Newsletters

In this edition:

  • Blowoff from the Prez
  • Secretary’s Report
  • Birthdays
  • Next Meeting – Vintage 56, 12:30pm Starting early!!
  • Upcoming Competitions
  • Local Events
  • Beers Available in the Area
  • Cooking with Beer – Java Porter Cupcakes
  • Brewing Education – Growing Hops
  • Equipment For Sale
  • SAAZ on Facebook
  • Raffle
  • Feedback

Blow off from the Prez

Welcome to yet another edition of Blow Off from the Prez.

First of all, a big recognition to Dave Webb for representing SAAZ at the First Coast Cup; he earned a silver and a bronze medal for his meads.  A wonderful time was had by all who attended the event.  The folks at CASK did a great job with the competition as well as a wonderful pub crawl of two microbrew pubs and a great beer bar.  In case you haven’t been to a competition, it’s an awesome experience to help steward or judge and a great time to meet fellow homebrewers from throughout the state. Speaking of which…I hope by now you all know that the next competition in the state is our very own Commander SAAZ Interplanetary Homebrew Blastoff.  Read below for more details and check the SAAZ website for entry rules and regulations.

This month’s meeting will be at Vintage 56 in Rockledge.  I received a lot of great feedback after the last meeting, so I am sure everyone will have a great time again.  And in case you didn’t eat there last time, come hungry for some of their great appetizers and pizzas and such.  They will have a limited menu of items available for purchase, and I can personally verify, all the food there is great.

I don’t have much news since the last newsletter.  Just remember to get your pots out and get to brewing in support of Commander SAAZ. We will need your support for a strong showing and we will definitely need the help stewarding and judging, so come strong!

CHEERS

Sean

ALSO…Some members of SAAZ have expressed interest in a SAAZ Fantasy Football League.  Some brainstorming was done, and it was found suitable that the entry “fee” would be a 22oz or 750mL of beer.  If you are interested in joining, please email Anne at annecgregg@earthlink.net

Secretary’s Report

The club’s July meeting took place at Broken Barrel Tavern where our resident honey guru Dave Webb gave an intriguing tasting of various meads. Each of the samples that Mr. Webb allowed members to sample featured different chemicals that enhanced various flavor profiles of the mead. One variety of Mr. Webb’s mead was used for the different samples and then citric acid, tartaric acid, and acid blends were added to enhance the flavors. It was an interesting lecture and certainly allowed all members to gain an added appreciation for the development of mead flavors. Many thanks goes out to David Webb and to the Broken Barrel for making a great July meeting!
— Alex

August Birthdays – Happy Birthday!

Scott Wassmer

Dick Hahn

Dave Lawson

Dave Webb

Next Meeting – August 21st (Sunday)

IMPORTANT – Due to an unfortunate scheduling conflict, this meeting not be held at the usual time. Instead we will be starting at 12:30pm!

This month’s meeting will be at Vintage 56 in Rockledge.

200 Barton Blvd
Rockledge, FL 32955

Click here for directions

The meeting will be Sunday August 21st at 12:30 pm! As always, bringing homebrew to share is strongly encouraged, but please respect our gracious host and leave commercial beers at home.

Upcoming Competitions

Commander SAAZ Interplanetary Homebrew Blastoff 2011

Entry window: August 29th – September 25th
Early round judging: October 7, 8, and 9
Final judging, Splashdown Party, and Awards Ceremony: October 14-15
International Palms Resort and Conference Center in Cocoa Beach.

Rooms are available for early round judging and the event weekend for the low price of $69.99 (a really great rate for a beach front hotel!). I have been told that the hotel is in the process of remodeling all the rooms. One of our club members went there to see the new rooms, and they look great. All rooms should be completed by June; plenty of time before the competition.  Just call the reservation line at 321-783-2271 and mention code HBC. In addition to the standard rooms the International Palms also has oceanfront suites and lofts for $139.99 + Tax  This rate is only good until October 2nd so don’t wait too long!

For entry details, rules, regulations, and other minutia check out the Commander SAAZ 2011 webpage.

Local Events

World of Beer Cider Night – August 16

This Tuesday, August 16th come get a punch in the mouth! Come quench your thirst with nature’s natural refresher with the largest variety of ciders in WOB history. WOBs collection includes an Amber, Grannysmith, Pear, Blueberry, Raspberry, Dry and Hard ciders!  They will be unveiling a brand new concoction, the Viera Fruit Punch. Also they will be having a “Name your Woody” contest. More details to come at the event. Representatives from Woodchuck and Florida Beer will be there at 6 pm.

World of Beer Cruise to the Bahamas – Sept 23

On September 23rd, WOB will sail with Monarch of the Seas from Port Canaveral to the Bahamas; three days and nights of nonstop fun and excitement with all your friends from WOB. Call Cruise Fun Director, Jill Neuharth at 321-773-4878 ext. 4, for booking and any questions you might have about the cruise. The cabins are filling up. Don’t hesitate to secure your cabin, you can get a full refund by July 15th if your plans change. Come sail with WOB this fall!

Beers Available in the Area

Sunseed Food Coop (Cape Canaveral) – website

  • Terrapin Brewing Big Hoppy Monster – IT is back!!!
  • Ass Kisser IIPA
  • Ass Kisser Smoked Porter
  • Breckenridge Brewing Vanilla Porter
  • Boulder Brewing Hoopla
  • Swamp Head Saison du Swamp

World of Beer (Viera) – website

New Bottles:

  • Buckbean Original Orange Blossom Ale, 5.8% (Nevada)
  • Rheingold, 5% (Connecticut)

New Drafts:

  • Ace Joker Cider, 6.9% (California)
  • Breckenridge Agave Wheat, 4.2% (Colorado)
  • Breckenridge Vanilla Porter, 4.7% (Colorado)
  • Ovila Saison, 7% (California)
  • Sir Perry Sparking Pear Cider, 5.9% (England)
  • Woodchuck Pear Cider, 4% (Vermont)
  • Woodchuck Summer Cider, 5% (Vermont)

Cooking with Beer

Head on over to CraftBeer for a nice Java Porter Cupcake Recipe.

Brewing Education

Want to grow your own hops? Backyard hop gardens are gaining popularity within the club.

Read on at morebeer.

Equipment For Sale

Contact prez@saaz.org for more information on these items:

  • Dual Regulator for CO2 system with 2  ten pound bottles – like new filled once. – $150
  • Blichmann 7 gallon stainless Conical fermentor with Tri-clamp Blowoff Assembly – $350

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.

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!

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
We want to hear from you! Email editor@saaz.org.