Reminder: Pacific Gravity January Club Meeting

/in , , , /by

Don’t miss our first club meeting of 2019, headed by our new president, Ian Fraser.

When: Thursday, January 17, 2019
Time: 7:30
Where: Tortugo Brewing, 916 W Hyde Park Blvd, Inglewood, CA.

Hyde Park Blvd is a few blocks East of Three Weavers, and just North of the iconic Randy’s Doughnuts. From La Cienega and Florence, go east on Florence about 1/4 mile, turning left at the first street. Go under the metro rail tracks, proceed to the big orange building on the East side of the street.

Commercial Style of the Month:   English Bitters. Dean will lead us in the commercial tasting

Homebrew Style of the Month:   English Bitters.

Please bring some home-brewed beer to share.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

Club Meetings:
February 21: Tortugo Brewing Company, 7:30 pm
March 21: Tortugo Brewing Company, 7:30 pm

First Fridays:
February 1: Santa Monica Brew Works, 1920 Colorado Ave #c, Santa Monica
March 1: Irish Times, 3267 Motor Ave, West Los Angeles

Annual Smog City Monster Brew:
Saturday, March 9, 6-ish am

See you there!

.

Competition Corner – January 2019

/in /by

Rain, Rain, while you’re here,
Keep things cool to lager my beer.

With a new year upon us, I hope you are taking advantage of the cool winter weather to get some fresh batches of beer going.  I’m currently working on a “garage lager”.  At some point, it will need to go into the beer fridge, but in the meantime, the garage is holding it at a steady 54 degrees.  Also in the works is an “aquarium heater ale”, kept at a comfy 72 degrees, despite a rather chilly house temperature.

Last year, Kingsley Toby had a bang-up year and walked away with the coveted Pacific Gravity Homebrewer of the Year award. Who will win this year?   Here is a rundown of the competitions eligible for point awards in 2019: Read more →

First Saturday at The 4th Horseman

/in , /by

Pacific Gravity’s first “First Friday” of 2019 is moving to SATURDAY for January. Please join us on Saturday January 5 as we travel to Long Beach to check out Martin Svab’s new venture; The 4th Horseman, located at 121 W 4th St, Long Beach, CA 90802.

We will be hosted by Martin and Ryan, who have 12 beers on tap and over 50 more in bottles to choose from plus some righteous good pizza! I have been told they will put some epic beers on for us and club member Martin will be in attendance!

All Pacific Gravity members who show up will also receive a club discount on your purchases!

So start the New Year off right with some good pizza and beer.  We’ll be starting at 12 noon.

Cheers,

Ian

 

Up Coming Events:
Club Meeting, Jan. 17 at Tortugo Brewing
Monster Brew at Smog City, March 2nd

LABBC, March 24 (Get brewing!)

 

Hoppy Holidays! PG Holiday Party – Dec 15, 2018!!

/in , , , , /by

Hoppy Holidays – 2018 Edition!

It is time for the Pacific Gravity annual holiday event.  Mark your calendars!  This year the party is happening on Saturday, December 15, 2018 at Neil Saund’s duplex – at: 12966 Rubens Ave, Los Angeles, CA. (at Alla Road)

The party will kick off about 5:00 P.M.  If you have not attended one of the past holiday events, let us tell you this is one party not to be missed!

 

We really, really need your help with the following:

 

FOOD:

Although the club will be providing some of the main dishes, this is still a potluck party and YOUR favorite party dish will be greatly appreciated!  The menu should mostly reflect past holiday parties featuring Carbonnades ala Flamandes, deep fried turkeys, spiced ham and much more! Suggestions of what to bring would include any kind of main dish but especially all side dishes, veggie dishes, salads, desserts and appetizers. So, if you have a favorite family holiday recipe and want to share it with the rest of us, this is your chance.  Please let us know what you will bring. If you have any questions about what to bring, please contact Club Chef Ian at: [email protected].

The dinner portion of the event will be ongoing beginning at approximately 7pm. Please note that there will be very little space available for reheating food, so please bring your food ready to serve, not ready to cook.

Crockpots and chafing dishes with sterno fuel would be a great idea of how to bring something and keep it hot.

Also, don’t forget to label your containers or anything you want back.

 

BEER:
Got beer?  We need all types of beer, meads, cider and sodas for this event.  Pull out your favorite holiday beverage, dust off the bottle or keg and bring it down!  We’ll have the Wave of Beer set up to help dispense your holiday homebrews.  If you plan to bring beer, soda or other seasonally festive beverage, please contact Carl at: [email protected] & let him know what you will bring.  Everyone who signs up in advance will have a colorful tap tag.

VOLUNTEERS needed for setup & cleanup
On Saturday, Dec 15th from approximately 10am to 12noon, we need help with final setup at Neil’s.

On Sunday, Dec 16th, starting at 10am, we need lots of people to help with clean up. The more we get the faster it goes. (probably ending around 12noon-1pm).

If you’d like to volunteer for set up or clean up contact us: PG Board at [email protected]

 

EQUIPMENT:

We need a few more heat lamps and fire pits so please donate them if you can.

We NEED lot & lots FIREWOOD!  If you can bring wood please do so.  December evenings can be cold so please help bring some wood so we can all stay warm.

We need more TABLES, e-z ups (canopies), and power strips.

We also need jockey boxes and CO2 cylinders and Sanke taps to help make sure all the beverages flow cold with perfect carbonation. We have more kegs than taps on the Wave, and the jockey boxes help out big time.

If at all possible, please bring your kegs and heavy stuff to setup on Friday evening or between 10am – 12noon on Saturday. This makes the last minute activities at party time go much more smoothly. The early kegs get the best slots on the Wave. Make sure all your kegs, coolers, tanks  taps, and other equipment are well labeled so they all return to their rightful owners Sunday morning.

Note, if you can’t deliver beer kegs to the Neil’s house at setup on Friday evening or Saturday afternoon, then please email Carl Townsend at [email protected] to make arrangements to drop off your kegs at his house.

4th Annual Holiday CLOTHING CHARITY DRIVE:
It’s time to clean out your closets…Pacific Gravity is having our 4th annual Holiday CLOTHING DRIVE!

We will have boxes for any donations you can bring to the party.
For clothes & other items, please see the list below which will be donated to The People Concern (formerly, OPCC). They are mostly in need of men’s clothing in large sizes. Clothing can be “gently used” and should be clean.
Monetary donations will also be accepted – checks or cash. Special donation envelopes will be available at the party. Tax receipts for monetary donations will be sent to you by mail.

Below is a list of items that we can always use:

Clothing
Sweat socks – for men, women and children
Sweat shirts and pants for adults – all sizes especially larger sizes
New underwear – men’s, women and children
Flannel and long sleeve shirts for adults

Personal & Household items
Hygiene Items: toothpaste, toothbrush, deodorant, shampoo, disposable razors, bar soap, hand & body lotion,etc.
Blankets (preferably wool)
Sleeping bags for adults

Final Party Details:

Dress warm for our winter party, bring food and bring beer!

Highlighting the evening will be the crowning of the Pacific Gravity Club Member of the Year, and awarding of the trophy for Brewer of the Year.

Santa is sure to make an appearance to give away lots of great door prizes (prize donations welcome).
All club members and their guests are welcome, so plan on joining us…Celebrate the season, good beer, good food and friends the Pacific Gravity way!

Pacific Gravity: November Recap, Holiday Party, Club Member of the Year Voting

/in , , , /by

November Meeting Recap

Our Annual Chili Cookoff at Tortugo Brewing Company was a rousing success. Parker W (2), Robert W, Neil S, Luis D.S., Ian F, and Dean S (2) submitted chilis for consideration by fellow PG members and guests, with voting in the usual 2 categories: Best Chili and Most Unique Chile.

And the winners were {drumroll, please}:
Best Chili: Ian
Most Unique: Parker
Ian and Parker each won a growler of their choice from the Totugo tap list.

Q: What is a Chili Cookoff without some tasty homebrews? A: Not a PG chili cookoff. Our homebrew selection included:
– Pumpkin Spiced Marzen (Parker)
– 10% Apple Cider (Parker)
– Holiday Spiced Ale (Carl)
– Porter (Carl)
– Monstrous IPA (Ian)

Brian W. brought us an interesting array of commercial version of Spiced Beers (BJCP 30), including a vertical tasting of Anchor Specials.

Congratulations: 2019 ELECTED BOARD MEMBERS

By popular vote, the 2019 PG Board is:

President: Ian Fraser
Vice President: Elijah Barone
Treasurer: Terry Molloy

2018 CLUB MEMBER OF THE YEAR – VOTING OPEN UNTIL DECEMBER 6

If you are a member in good standing and were not at the chili cookout meeting, you can still vote by email. Send your choices to me at: vicepresident @ pacificgravity dot com (standard email address, spelled phonetically to prevent phishing).

The nominees:

Parker Waechter  (brings multiple kegs to every meeting and PG event)
Carl Townsend (organizer of competition submissions, font of brewing information, education coordinator)
Michael Musgrave (outgoing president, sponsor acquisition specialist, lots of stuff you don’t see that keeps the club moving)
Tim Bardet (outgoing treasurer, storage unit organizer, and event supply hauler, tireless volunteer)
Elijah Barone (beer sharer, story teller, club cheerleader)

You can vote for up to 2.

HOLIDAY PARTY NEWS!

When: Saturday, December 15, 2018
Time: 5:00
Where: Neil Saund Duplex, 12966 Rubens (at Alla), Del Rey, 90066

Plan to bring some beer to share, and a dish for the pot luck. Details to follow.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

December 7: First Friday at The Doughroom, Culver City

December 9: Initial Party Set-up at Neil’s duplex. 12 Noon – 4:00

December 15: P.G. Holiday Party
Details about set-up dates will be forwarded soon.

December 16; Party Clean-up. 11a – ? The more hands we have, the faster it will go. Last year only took a couple of hours.

January TBD, 2019: Annual Trip To Rob Ruben’s Distillery, El Segundo

 See you Soon!

.

PG Update: Next Meeting, Voting, Chili Cook-off

/in /by

Our next club meeting is right around the corner, and it is an important one: it is time to elect next year’s board!

When: Saturday, November 17, 2018
Time: 12:00 Noon
Where: Tortugo Brewing Company, 916 W Hyde Park Blvd, Inglewood, CA.

Hyde Park Blvd is a few blocks East of Three Weavers, and just North of the iconic Randy’s Doughnuts. From La Cienega and Florence, go east on Florence about 1/4 mile, turning left at the first street. Go under the metro rail tracks, proceed to the big orange building on the East side of the street.

Commercial Style of the Month:   Spiced Beers.

Homebrew Style of the Month:   Spiced Beers.

Ballot # 1:  2019 BOARD MEMBER ELECTION

The nominations we have received so for for the 3 elected positions:

President:  {Open}

Vice President: Elijah Barone

Treasurer: {Open}

As we advised previously, Tim Bardet is retiring as Treasurer, and Michael Musgrave recently started a new position that will be taking up significant amounts of his time.

We will accept nominations until November 15 at: board @ pacific gravity . com

Ballot # 2:  2018 CLUB MEMBER OF THE YEAR

The nominees:

Parker Waechter  (brings multiple kegs to every meeting and event)
Carl Townsend (tireless organizer of competition submissions, font of brewing information, education coordinator)
Michael Musgrave (outgoing president, sponsor acquisition specialist, lots of stuff you don’t see that keeps the club moving)
Tim Bardet (outgoing treasurer, storage unit organizer, and event supply hauler, tireless volunteer)
Elijah Barone (home-brew sharer, story teller, club cheerleader, VP nominee)

We will accept nominations until November 15 at: board @ pacific gravity . com

Ballots # 3 & 4:  CHILI COOKOUT: BEST CHILE & MOST UNIQUE CHILI

Come to the meeting, taste chilis, vote. Ya gotta love that.

Prizes will be awarded (and pre-chilled for immediate sharing if winner desires).

Chili Cook-off Timetable:

12:00:  Tortugo will be open for set-up, chili delivery, etc.
12:30:  Tortugo opens to public
1:00 – ?:  Chili Tasting
3:00:  Call for ballots, club business
3:15-ish:  Commercial Tasting.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

December 7: First Friday at The Doughroom, Culver City

December 15: P.G. Holiday Party
Details about set-up dates will be forwarded soon.

January TBD, 2019: Annual Trip To Rob Ruben’s Distillery, El Segundo

 See you Saturday!

.

Pacific Gravity Reminder: Meeting This Thursday, Board Nominations Needed

/in , /by

Our next club meeting is right around the corner. We have some important club business to discuss with all members (see below), so please attend if you can.

When: Thursday, October 18, 2018
Time: 7:30pm
Where: Tortugo Brewing Company, 916 W Hyde Park Blvd, Inglewood, CA.

Hyde Park Blvd is a few blocks East of Three Weavers, and just North of the iconic Randy’s Doughnuts. From La Cienega and Florence, go east on Florence about 1/4 mile, turning left at the first street. Go under the metro rail tracks, proceed to the big orange building on the East side of the street.

Education: In the second of a series, Carl will be demonstrating how water chemistry affects the taste of your homebrew, and how you can fine tune your H2O to the style you are brewing.

Commercial Style of the Month:   European Pale Ales.

Homebrew Style of the Month:   European Pale Ales, and any home-brewed IPA.

CLUB BUSINESS:  BOARD MEMBER VOLUNTEERS/NOMINATIONS REQUESTED

Nominations are being accepted for all three (3) elected positions: President, Vice President, and Treasurer

As we advised previously, Tim Bardet is retiring as Treasurer. Also, President Michael Musgrave recently started a new position that is sure to take up significant amounts of his time.

That is one firm opening (Treasurer), and a potentially provisional opening (President).

We will solicit nominations at the October meeting, or you can present our nomination via email to the board (board @ pacific gravity . com).

MORE CLUB BUSINESS: P.G. CLUB MEMBER OF THE YEAR

Nominations are being accepted for the Pacific Gravity member that you think has gone above and beyond helping P.G. be the great home brewers club that it is. Please raise your nomination at the October meeting, or by email to the board (board @ pacific gravity . com) .

Voting will be held at the November meeting.

 

 See you Thursday!

.

Pacific Gravity Update: October Meeting, Etc

/in , , , /by

OCTOBER CLUB MEETING

This is no Trick, but definitely a Treat .. our next club meeting will be held at an exciting new venue: PG Member Joe Kovach’s “new” brewery, Tortugo Brewing Company. Joe has some tasty beers on tap, and has some pretty interesting plans for future beers and expansion.

We will also be finalizing the board member election slate of the 2019 P.G. Board (see below for nomination info).

When: Thursday, October 18, 2018
Time: 7:30pm
Where: Tortugo Brewing Company, 916 W Hyde Park Blvd, Inglewood, CA.

Hyde Park Blvd is a few blocks East of Three Weavers, and around the corner from iconic Randy’s Doughnuts. From La Cienega and Florence, go east on Florence about 1/4 mile, turning left at the first street. Go under the metro rail tracks, proceed to the big orange building on the East side of the street.

EDUCATION HIGHLIGHT: In the second of a series, Carl will be demonstrating how water chemistry affects the taste of your homebrew, and how you can fine tune your H2O to the style you are brewing.

COMMERCIAL STYLE of the MONTH:   European Pale Ales.

And whatever Joe Has On Tap.

HOMEBREW STYLE of the MONTH:   European Pale Ales, and any home-brewed IPA.

IMPORTANT!!!  BOARD MEMBER NOMINATIONS REQUESTED

As we advised previously, Tim Bardet is retiring as Treasurer. Also, President Michael Musgrave recently started a new position that is sure to take up significant amounts of his time.

If you are keeping score, that is one firm opening (Treasurer), and a potentially provisional opening (President).

Please consider volunteering your nomination, either by emailing the board (board @ pacific gravity . com) or by voice at the October meeting. Nominations will be accepted for all elected board positions.

Voting will be held at the November meeting.

NOMINATION REQUEST #2: P.G. CLUB MEMBER OF THE YEAR

Do you think one of your fellow Pacific Gravity members has gone above and beyond helping P.G. be the great home brewers club that it is? If so, please be sure to nominate him/her at the October meeting, or by email to the board.

Voting will be held at the November meeting.

NOVEMBER EVENTS:

First Friday:
Date: Friday, November 2.
Place: Yorkshire Square, 1109 Van Ness Avenue, Torrance
Time: 7’ish pm

Yorkshire Square is on Van Ness, just North of Torrance Blvd..

November Chili Cookoff / Club Meeting / ** Board Member Election **:
Date: TBD: Nov. 10 or Nov 17.
Place: TBD
Time: 12:00 Noon

As has been our practice in the past couple of years, we will combine the Chili Cookoff with the November Club Meeting. It will be on either the 2nd or 3rd Saturday of November. We haven’t worked out all the details yet – get your chili recipe ready!

AND!!  WE WILL BE ELECTING FOR THE 2019 PACIFIC GRAVITY BOARD!!

DECEMBER EVENTS:

First Friday:
Date: Friday, December 7.
Place: The Doughroom, Culver City
Time: 7:30 pm

 

2018 Holiday Party:
Date: TBD
Place: TBD
Time: 5:00 pm

As has been our practice in the past couple of years, we will combine the Chili Cookoff with the November Club Meeting. It will be on either the 2nd or 3rd Saturday of November. We haven’t worked out all the details yet – get your chili recipe ready!

Remember: Bring some of your homebrew to the meeting and events.

 

See you next Thursday!

 

California State Homebrew Competition Drop-off Info

/in /by

The deadline the California State Homebrew Competition is rapidly approaching.  This is the final competition for the 2018 Pacific Gravity Brewer of the Year Award.

Thanks to an offer to drive from Michael Ritchie, we will have personalized hand delivery of our entries San Francisco.   You can drop off your beers at one of two places:

  1. Bring them by my place (3621 Redwood Ave, LA 90066) no later than this Thursday evening, Oct 4th.
  2. Bring them to our First Friday gathering at Phantom Carriage this Friday, October 5th. Phantom Carriage is at 18525 South Main Street, Carson, California 90248.

Registration is open at https://castate.brewcompetition.com/ .  If you miss the Friday deadline, you can still get your beers in if you ship them Read more →

Pacific Gravity: Next Meeting, Looking Back, Looking Forward

/in , , , , /by

SEPTEMBER CLUB MEETING

One of Pacific Gravity’s signature events is the annual Monster Brew held in conjunction with Jonathan Porter, Owner, Brewer and Proprietor Extraordinaire of Smog City Brewing. Our next meeting is truly special: we are going to share our Monster Brew creations with Porter and the staff at Smog City

When: This Thursday, September 20, 2018
Time: 7:30pm
Where: Smog City Brewing Company, 1901 Del Amo Blvd, Torrance, CA.

EDUCATION HIGHLIGHT: In the first of a series, Carl will be demonstrating how water chemistry affects the taste of your homebrew, and how you can fine tune your H2O to the style you are brewing.

COMMERCIAL STYLE of the MONTH:   IPAs, hosted by Reuben.

And whatever Porter Has On Tap.

HOMEBREW STYLE of the MONTH:   Your Monster Brew, and any home-brewed IPA.

Kegs, bottles and growlers of the style of the month are encouraged. All homebrews are welcome.

LOOKING BACK AT THE SUMMER OF 2018:

We sure had an interesting summer:

  • 36 PG and WASH (West Adams Society of Homebrewers) members attended the annual Southern California Homebrewers Festival at Vail Lake in Temecula. We shared 23 kegs with home brewers from around Southern and Central California.
  • We held our last meeting at PG’s long time home, Culver City Homebrew Supply.
  • Our annual Big Brew highlighted the different methods used to make award winning (and tasty) beers, from Michael’s Brew-in-a-Bag, to Carl’s Thermo-Siphon Reboiler, to Parker’s Set-it-and-Forget-It Grainfather.
  • PG members congregated at the Casa Molloy Event Center to make jockey boxes and add to our auxiliary stock of party taps.
  • Another cozy Summer Party involving much sampling of fellow PG members home-brews, interesting commercial beers from around the country, and the culinary inspirations of Ian Fraser and his Merry Band of Sous Chefs.
  • Our combined August club meeting / Tania’s Birthday Party was held at Neil Saund’s duplex.
  • And finally, a Labor Day Weekend Downtown-LA Brewery Crawl. To kickoff the crawl, Art District’s Head Brewer Devon Randall bought everyone’s first pint, and her staff treated us to a tour of the brewhouse. We also sampled their freshest beer.

Now, let’s kick our Fall into high gear.

OCTOBER EVENTS:

First Friday:
Date: Friday, October 5.
Place: Phantom Carriage Brewing, 18525 S. Main Street, Carson, CA
Time: 7’ish pm

Phantom Carriage was started by a couple of Pacific Gravity alumni.

October Club Meeting:
Date: Thursday, October 18.
Place: Tortugo Brewing Company, 916 W. Hyde Park Blvd, Inglewood
Time: 7:30 pm

Tortugo is only a couple of months old, and was started by PG member Joe Kovach. He has some pretty tasty beers on tap, including a Belgian Wit that is right on the mark.

Hyde Park Blvd is about 2 blocks East of the intersection of Florence and La Cienega, and about 4 blocks East of Three Weavers.

WANTED: VOLUNTEER BOARD MEMBERS

After many years of outstanding service, Tim Bardet is retiring as Treasurer. At the September and October meetings, we will be taking nominations for Treasurer, and – if you are so inclined – the other elected positions (President, Vice President).

If you would like to be part of Keeping Pacific Gravity Great, please volunteer your nomination.

NOVEMBER EVENTS:

First Friday:  TBA
Date: Friday, November 2.
Place: TBA
Time: 7’ish pm

Phantom Carriage was started by a couple of Pacific Gravity alumni.

November Chili Cookoff / Club Meeting:
Date: TBD
Place: TBD
Time: TBD

We haven’t worked out all the details yet, but just wanted you to be ready for it.

Remember: Please bring some of your homebrew to the meeting and events.

 

See you Thursday!