February Club Meeting Recap

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Couldn’t make the meeting last night? Here’s what you missed!

Michael Patterson and Greg Foster were at it again on the educational side of things at the start of the meet. Michael brought with him some great [sic] sun-soaked beer to give us a solid example of skunked, a definite off-flavor unless you work at Heineken. Greg held another of his Brülosophy exBEERiments, this time having to do with the effects of dry hopping.

A lot of the usual suspects were present there at Neil’s place and quite a few members brought out their home brews. Pizza was absolutely upstaged by a shrimp, rice and stir fry dish whipped up expertly by Neil’s girlfriend. I had two bowls so… My apologies if you didn’t get to try some.

Tim Jones wowed us with the selection of beers he broke out to host the commercial tasting with. Off the top of my head (Tim pardon my short memory) there was a bottle of Anderson Valley Amber, Alesmith’s Evil Red, Sam Smith’s Brown, Port Brewing’s Brown, Smog City’s Sabre-toothed Squirrel, an Imp. Red from Lagunitas. I’m sure I missed a few but between the choices and the BJCP printouts Tim hosted like a boss!  Thanks Tim!

Parker entered his Cinnamon Porter, Tad & Ramesh their Pumpkin Porter, and Tim his Simi-Mild but in the end Scott Stout took home the win for the Best Beer of The Night competition with his Caribou Slobber clone. Congrats Scott, enjoy using that $25 CCHBS gift certificate to make more great beer.

Of course, being the 21st anniversary club meeting, we had a little something special on tap. Thanks to Terry and his rockin jockey box we had our Firestone Walker collaboration Weizenbock and the three Chili Cookoff Weizenbock’s that Carl Townsend and Dan White brewed.  All four beers were great, I hovered around that area for basically my entire night.

I missed it, but I’m told the raffle was a riot ending with Barry and Neil both owning tickets that matched the last three numbers Terry called out. You see, somehow we sold tickets from two different rolls and… Yeah, that happened. What are the odds??  😀    Anyway, it came down to who’s ticket matched the last FOUR numbers instead and Barry won. A true gentlemen, he gave Neil half the prize: a nice Firestone Walker tin sign and then took home the other half, a growler full of our FW collaboration ale.

Perfect weather, great beer, food and people. It really was an exceptional club meeting.

A few things to keep in mind…

We’ve been invited by Martin and Simon from Phantom Carriage to make and serve soda at a booth during their one year anniversary party on March 12th. Laws restrict us from bringing homebrew, as much as everyone would like to but it will be a good experience nonetheless and an excellent way to show what we’re made of. If you’re interested in providing a keg of soda and/or serving, drop me an email as soon as possible.

First Friday in March is our St. Patrick’s day celebration and it’ll be held, as always, at Irish Times. I’m told they’re putting on some great beers for the event and I hope to see you there.

That same weekend we’re brewing up a monster with Smog City!  If you’re interested and haven’t signed up yet, email Lloyd right now to get on the list.

So thank you to our educators, beer bringers, our host Neil and everyone who attended. See you next time.

_Michael

SoCal Homebrew Fest Reminders: 13 Days Left to Save $

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If you are going to the Homebrewers Festival on April 29 – May 1:

(1) Save $5 by registering for the home brewers festival by February 29.

– Go to www.calhomebrewers.org and purchase a membership in the California Homebrewers Association.  Cost is $10.  Per California ABC regulations, you must be a CHA member to attend the festival.

– Click on the MEMBERS ONLY tab on the CHA website, choose the “2016 SCBF REGISTRATION”, and buy the fest registration.  Cost is $40 before Mar-1, $45 thereafter.

(2) If you are going to stay at PG-Land, our campsite / banquet complex at Vail Lake Resort (cost: $30 per camper, excludes food):

– Reserve a spot by sending an email to me at schbf@pacificgravity.com with your name and the names/email addresses of any campers that will be joining you;

– Pay $30 to Tim Bardet, Club Treasurer.

We will send out more info as the fest gets closer.

Festival-5121-e1414202666798

 

 

 

 

 

 

February 18th, 2016 Club Meeting at Neil’s Complex

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This months club meeting is going to be a special one. Last year we celebrated out 20th anniversary in February, so this year we are turning 21. Our club’s at the legal drinking age!! Neil is graciously hosting this months club meeting at his duplex in Marina Del Rey.  12966 Rubens Avenue, Los Angeles 90066

In Celebration of us turning 21, we have some special beers pouring for the night. First off the “Pacific Gravity and Firestone Walker Collaboration Wiezenbock” will be there, only 1 of the 2 kegs we got, recipe from Carl Townsend, this will be the non-barrel aged version. As well we will have the november chili cook off big brew Wiezenbock’s, brewed by Dan White and fermented out by Carl, Michael Musgrave, and Terry all will be pouring as well. So you can compare the differences from the Firestone brew and then three different fermented Wiezenbock’s from one big brew done with the same receipt, but fermented out by multiple people. So do not miss this meeting!! Also if your up in Paso Robles the “Pacific Gravity Homebrew Club Wiezenbock collaboration” is on draft at the Visitor Center!!

Other offerings at this months February 18th club meeting, we will have more Educational learning stations going on at the start of the meeting 7:30pm. Michael Patterson will be back with more Sensory Off Flavor Testing: Papery and Skunky. As well I hear Greg Foster will be back with more challenges and test for us to try too.

We will also be doing the raffle, the commercial tasting hosted by Tim Jones and “The Best Beer of the Night” for your chance to win a $25 gift certificate from the Culver City Homebrew Shop. This months homebrewed beer’s to enter are Amber, California Common, Reds, Brown, Mild, and Porter. (Note: I added Reds, so bring them if you got them!) and if you have any raffle items you would like to donate to the club please bring them by the meeting or email us at the board.

SIGN-UP’S!!!!!!! We will have sign-up sheets for all our up and coming events and you will be able to pay us at the club meeting too. Cash, Check, or Card.
-First sign-up for the Smog City Monsterbrew going on March 5th. It has been filling up fast!!
-Second sign-up for a camping spot to the “Souther California Homebrew Festival” this year April 29th-30th. Also don’t forget to pay for a SoCal Homebrew association member ship and entry into the festival as well at http://www.calhomebrewers.org. We will have 6 campsites that can hold only 36 campers, we have around half the spots signed up so far.

Also do not forget to check out the latest Competition Corner News for all the upcoming entries that are due in the next week to the start of next month. So get those entries in!!!

See you all at Neil’s this Thursday, February 18th!

 

PG_FW Collab1 PG_FW Collab2

 

 

Competition Corner – February 2016

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OK folks, the thick of the competition season is upon us. I hope your finest is ready to go. First up is America’s Finest City competition. Registration is open at http://quaff.org/AFC-2016/. President Lloyd has graciously offered to haul the entries down to San Diego. So you can drop off your entries at the Culver City shop no later than the close of business on Tuesday, February 23rd. To avoid any entry confusion with other upcoming events, put a tag on your six-pack holders or box saying “AFC”. This is a great warm-up event for the AHA Nationals.

Speaking of which, I hope you got your entry registration reminders from AHA for the National Homebrew Competition. Read more →

Three Weavers Recap

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We had a great big turnout for First Friday at Three Weavers Brewing Company in Inglewood last night and it was fun seeing everybody. It feels good to show up and find so many of us together. In case you missed it, here are a few photos (care of Lloyd) and a recap.

Founder Lynne and the team at TW were ready for us and generously honored a special members-only discount for the whole night. Emily White, our resident PG’er at Three Weavers, gave a tour of their [giant] space and all of the beers I sampled were excellent. As I’ve mentioned before the Blood Junkie Imp Red and Kill The Lights Black Lager have been favorites of mine lately. For this visit I went for a sampler flight and I really had a tough time deciding on my growler fill when the time came.

Lloyd had a sign up sheet for our upcoming Monsterbrew with Smog City going around. Still room on the list if you want to reserve a portion, it’s a very cool event and you go home with a project to work on, I highly recommend it. Get into contact with Lloyd for more information.

We also had three new members sign up, which is exciting. Now that I’m seeing firsthand how membership dues drive the club events and benefits I have a better understanding of why growth is great. Most of us have at least one friend who is always “almost ready” to try brewing some beer. Our events are a great way to put them in front of a bunch of like minded people so bring the good ones along.

Tumby’s Pizza boxes and glasses of beer surrounded our group in the tasting room. I think at one point we had 2/3 of the inside seating completely filled with PG, and even with all of our extra people clogging up the beertender line, Three Weavers kept things moving smoothly and glasses full.  A well earned thank you to Lynne, Emily and everyone at Three Weavers for recognizing our club and for their gracious hospitality.

_Michael

 

First Friday Reminder Tonight and then some…

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Hi PG members,

Just a reminder of our First Friday tonight from 7-10pm or later at Three Weavers Brewing.  address: 1031 W. Manchester Blvd. Unit A-B, Inglwood, Ca. 90031
Three Weavers will be giving Pacific Gravity Members a 10% discount as well as our very own Emily White will be Touring us around the brewery! Hope you all can make it.

Photo credit: Thrillist

Photo credit: Thrillist

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As for other Reminders:
We will have a sign up sheet with us tonight for our March 5th, Monsterbrew @Smog City. We will also be able to take payments for your allotted one or two 5 gallons of wort. As well I will bring new member sign-up sheets if your still looking to join the club and take part in all our upcoming events!

Also Don’t forget about the competitions coming up:
Our very own LABBC entry window is now OPEN!! so start registering those Belgian beers. There is a 150 entry cut off, so register early!

Entry Deadline for the Thousand Oaks Homberbrews “Romancing the Beer” homebrew comp is this next Friday, February 12th at either Eagle rock Homebrew Supply or The Wine, Beer, and Cheese shop. (sorry No culver city homebrew supply drop off.)

As well there is the Strand Brewers with the “Jeff Sander Memorial Homebrew Comp”. Entry and drop deadline Feb. 27th at noon. Drop off at South Bay Brewing Supply.
1311 Post Ave, Torrance, CA 90501

 

Monsterbrew @ Smog City Brewing, March 5th

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Smog City Brewing Company

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On March 5th, 2016 @ Smog City Brewing Company  and its  Brewmaster, PG’s Jon Porter, will be hosting their third Pacific Gravity Monster Brew!

About the date, Yes I know its backed up to PG’s First Friday at Irish Times, but March 5th was really the best available date for PG and Smog City. So Club Member Up and make it one amazing PG event filled weekend, but make sure to plan ahead doing any Yeast starters.

Jon Porter and Dan White will be developing the base wort for this event with the theme “English”. A marris otter base, with just a small amount of carafoam and acidulated malt to keep ph in spec.  This will be a great starting point for just about any lighter beer.
Keeping with past monster brews, the recipe can be the base for whatever creative endeavor you might want to do.  For the hop heads, boost up the bitterness with your favorite English or American hop tea to make an awesome IPA, or darken it up with roasted malts to make a porter or stout. Use your imagination to make the most awesome beer ever.  Each person will need to pitch a yeast of their choice, add adjuncts to the wort, dry hop in secondary, or do nothing special to it at all.

You can always contact Carl at Competitions@pacificgravity.com for any suggestions and once we have the actual recipe values Carl can work on a “How to Modify my Monsterbrew” post.

COST

The cost will be $30 for each 5 gallons of wort.  Everybody will be guaranteed 1 batch, and if mash volume permits, a second or third batch.  Please sign up as soon as you can, by dropping an email at President@PacificGravity.com or singing up at the next club meeting on Feb. 18th.

Yeast and any additional ingredients you wish to add are not included. You can bring your yeast to the brewery, or pitch it at home. If possible, please pay in advance. You can Pay at our next Club Meeting Feb. 18th or you can drop off a check at Culver City Homebrew Supply.
Be sure to include title on an evalope “Monsterbrew Smog City” your name, telephone number, and E-mail address. All checks made out to Pacific Gravity Homebrew Club. Lastly you must pay in full at the day of the monsterbew. We take Cash, Check, and Credit Card payments.
If you paid in advance, but find you cannot attend, a 24 hour notice must be given in order to obtain a refund. On event day, all monies collected will be given to Smog City Brewing. Such notice may be sent to Pacific Gravity Treasurer, Tim Bardet at treasurer@pacificgravity.com  or to the current board members at board@pacificgravity.com.

Some of us may want to purchase more than 10 gallons. Initially, only 5 – 10 gallons may be purchased. However, if there is wort left over at the end we will hold a lottery to determine who may get an additional 5 gallon allotment. Bring an extra fermenter if you are interested.
Don’t forget to bring a sanitized fermenter for each 5 gallons you buy!

FERMENTERS

Fermenters MUST be either plastic or stainless steel. Absolutely NO Glass fermenters will be allowed in the brewery due to the danger of breakage on the tile floor. You may bring small glass vessels with yeast or other additions, however. Please make sure you fermenter has a wide opening so we can use the fire hose when it is time to pour in the wort.  Plastic buckets are ideal, but you can use a Cornelius keg if you want.  Please do not bring any skinny-neck containers.  Our aim isn’t that good!

TIME & LOCATION

The event will be starting EARLY, at 7:00AM. If that is too early, you may show up by 12 noon and still get your pre-purchased wort. Of course, you’ll not get to take part in the actual brewing. Projected ending time will be 1:00 PM.  Smog City Brewing Company is at 1901 Del Amo Blvd., Ste B, Torrance, CA 90501

PARKING

Please park on the WEST side of the building to keep the tap room lot open.
The tap room will be opening to the public at noon.

FOOD

Smog City will have coffee and other breakfast items in the morning. As well Porter will arrange for a food cart later that afternoon.
In addition Porter will be supplying tasting samples of some of his fine brews during the mid morning. Cut off time for free pours will be determined by Porter. Probably close to 11am, after that beer will be available for purchase.
AND REMEMBER TO TIP YOUR BEERTENDER!!! EVEN WITH FREE BEER.

Thank you and we will post more info about this event as is comes, also at some point we will open it up to the other clubs around the area.

Contacts:

Lloyd Johnson    President@pacificgravity.com

Carl Townsend  Competitions@pacificgravity.com

Tim Bardet     Treasurer@pacificgravity.com

The Board       board@pacificgravity.com

First Friday At Three Weavers Brewing Company

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Hey PG! February First Friday is just days away and this time we’re dropping in for a visit with our friends at Three Weavers Brewing Company. Meet there starting at 7:00pm on Friday and bring a friend!

threeweaversmap

Three Weavers has a roomy indoor/outdoor taproom with plenty of long tables and benches for seating and it’s a very short drive down Sepulveda Blvd. from Culver City. Bring out your appetite for local beer and dinner too as there are a few good dining options within walking distance. I recommend the pizza.

I also recommend that you bring along a clean growler to fill and take home at the end of the night. TW graciously pours growlers-to-go full of most of their beers and who doesn’t like fresh beer for the weekend?

Finally, [as always] bring a designated driver or take a ride service there and back. First Friday is the most fun when you get home safely.

5feb7:00 pmFirst Friday - Three Weavers Brewing Company7:00 pm

Event Details

Join us at Three Weavers for pints and table games.

Time

(Friday) 7:00 pm

Event Details

Join us at Three Weavers for pints and table games.

Organizer

Michael Musgravepresident@pacificgravity.com

Learn More

CalendarGoogleCal

Looking forward to seeing you all, Tania and I will be there by 7:30.

Michael

HomeBrew Festival Registration: Save $10 by Jan 31

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April 29 – the start of HomeBrew Festival Weekend – will be on us in no time, and now is the time to reserve your spot.  If you sign up by January 31, you can save $10 off the official registration cost of $45.  And don’t forget to reserve your spot at PG-Land, our campsite complex at Vail Lake Resort.

Attending the Homebrew Fest in 5 Easy Steps:

(1) Go to www.calhomebrewers.org and sign up to become a member of the California Homebrewers Association.  Cost is $10.  Per California ABC regulations, you must be a CHA member to attend the festival.

(2) Click on the MEMBERS ONLY tab on the CHA website, choose the “2016 SCBF REGISTRATION”, and buy the fest registration.  Cost is $35 before Feb-1, $40 before Mar-1, $45 thereafter.   Do you want to attend for free?  Choose “Volunteer Registration” to donate 2 hours of your time and save the entire cost of registration.

(3) Pay $30 to Tim Bardet, Club Treasurer, for a camping slot in PG-Land.

(4) On April 29, drive (or better yet – hitch a ride) get to VAIL LAKE RESORT in Temecula.

(5) Enjoy sampling the food and the plethora of beer that will be present throughout the weekend.

We will send out more info as the fest gets closer.

January Club Meeting Recap

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It was great seeing all of you last night and I’m very thankful for those of you who brought out your kegs and bottles of homebrew. The combination of education, competition, and comradery exhibited last night was over the top. For those of you who weren’t able to make it out, here’s a recap.

The meeting started off with education, care of Michael Patterson and Greg Foster; a tradition we’re planning to continue beginning each meeting with moving forward.

Michael hosted a sensory perception demonstration on Diacetyl, the cause of the butter flavor that is by and large considered an off-flavor in most styles and Greg ran a Brülosphy exBEERiment that sought to investigate the differences between homemade and commercial Belgian candi sugar. Both were well executed, fun and informative. Many thanks to Michael and Greg.

Pizza was served, taps flowed and the board members reviewed current and upcoming events.

Lloyd led by announcing that my wife Tania Musgrave has volunteered to fill the open Secretary position on the Board.

Terry reminds all interested parties to contact soon if they plan to attend and camp at the SoCal Homebrew Festival, May 29th and 30th. Time is running out so act fast if you want to get involved, I’m told it’s an event that is not to be missed. General info here, email the Board for more info on our club specific plans.

Carl reviewed our competition calendar including our 2nd Annual Los Angeles Belgian Brew Challenge on March 26th and the Doug King Memorial Competition held tomorrow, Saturday January 23rd at MacLeod’s Brewing Company in Van Nuys. Take a look at his recent Competition Corner post for more info.

I announced my new role on the LABBC planning board as Sponsorship Coordinator and made a call for connections to breweries and businesses that might be interested in sponsoring the event. Sponsorship starts at just $50 dollars and tops out at $250. Email me for more info.

Also, First Friday for February is on the 5th at Three Weavers Brewing Company. For me, their Blood Junkie Imperial Red Ale, Kill The Lights Black Lager, and Amburana Wood Aged Porter are real highlights in their taproom and there is also a very good pizza place within walking distance which we’ll be ordering from. Getting there is easy too, just take Sepulveda south, take a left on Manchester and then another left on Isis.

Tim Jones announced proud news that Tomm Carroll will be teaching a class at UCLA focused on the business of craft beer. For those that don’t know him, Tomm is a local beer celebrity and columnist for Celebrator magazine and Beer Paper LA and he’s also one of us! Exciting news to say the least and as more details emerge I’m hopeful that Tim and/or Tomm will keep us posted.

Later on I held the commercial tasting bringing as many British Special Bitters and Commonwealth Ales to the table as I could find (they were surprisingly scarce) and Terry and Lloyd ran a really fun raffle in which most memorably Norm won a red bottle drying rack donated and later autographed by Simon Ford of Phantom Carriage fame; also a Pacific Gravity member.  I’m still laughing at that moment, photo included in the gallery below.

Finally, our Best Beer of the Meeting competition brought out a number of great brews and to my surprise and delight my Belgian Winter Ale earned the first win of the year! Thanks again to those who entered beers and to those who participated in judging.

In closing I want to say thank you again to those who brought homebrew, those who volunteered to host future commercial tastings, to CCHBS and Greg and Michael for their effort and time. I also want to welcome our newest members Josh, Pat and Nick.

Hope to see you all at First Friday and beyond!

_Michael