We now have a Paypal option (small fee applies) for payment of your Southern California Homebrew Festival camping fees:
Camping for 2 nights with 4 meals
OR
Camping for 2 nights only – you feed yourself
For more info, please read my January article or check out calhomebrewers.org
Thanks!
Raise a toast to Timothy Golden, who earned the first point in the 2011 hunt for Brewer of the Year. His Special Bitter beat out a field of two other entries to win our Battle of the Bitters. His beer was submitted to the national Club-Only Competition taste-off.
Speaking of COC’s, don’t forget to bring your entries to the Club meeting on March 17th. This month’s style is Bocks, BJCP Category 5, which includes Maibock, Traditional Bock, Doppelbock and Eisbock. Read more →
Come out and celebrate PG’s April Fool’s Day First Friday with your fellow Gravitiers at newly opened Steingarten LA.
Steingarten has opened to glowing reviews for their 20 taps of mostly Craft and German beers as well as their array of hand-picked bottles of German, Belgian & Sour beers. Food offerings range from various sausages, tapas, burgers, sandwiches and salads.
We’re kicking off this First Friday a bit early thanks to Beverage Manager Dave Watrous who has kindly helped to reserve a private room for us from 5-9pm. Complimentary appetizers will be served from 5:30-7pm and 2 specialty kegs he has been cellaring will be tapped during the evening. For those of you who are tempted to delve into your own private selections, corkage fees (within reason) will be waived from 5-9pm, as long as you thank Dave for his hospitality by sharing a pour with him as well!
There is free street parking and meters available in the surrounding area. Most meters end at 6pm and take credit cards either on Pico Blvd or on any of the surrounding side streets. There is also a lot available on Prosser just north of Pico.
Steingarten LA is located at:
10543 W Pico Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90064
(310) 441-0441
You can check out more about Steingarten LA as well as their menu at: www.steingartenla.com
Looking forward to a wonderful and fun evening & see you all on April 1st!
Club member Chris “Cosmo” Briles, has recently begun to brew commercially, and has graciously agreed to bring a keg of his flagship brew, Hellhound Brown, to our March meeting. Those of you who attended the February 1st Friday, at BarFood in West LA, may have had a pint. I did, and it was a great treat. Chris is currently brewing at Bayhawk, in the O.C., and is marketing the Hellhound Brown on the Westside. Give it a try, ask questions, and if you agree with me that it’s worthy of drinking, ask for it at your favorite saloon.
See you all on Thursday, March 17-St. Patrick’s Day.
Greetings, all. This Thursday the 17th is our next club meeting, and if you’re planning on going to the Brewfest with us but haven’t paid your camping fees yet, the meeting would be a great time to do so. The festival is just around the corner (less than 7 weeks away!) and your confirmed attendance will help us set our budget and move forward with the “meat” of the planning and organization. Remember also that your spot isn’t reserved until you’ve paid your fees.
This year we’re offering two camping fee tiers – $50 / person for camping plus 2 breakfasts and 2 dinners, or $25 / person for “camping only”. With the latter, you’ll need to provide for your own nutritional requirements. Checks are best (make them payable to Pacific Gravity and write “Ojai Camping” on the memo line), but cash is fine too.
Lake Casitas will be charging $60 per car to park for the weekend, so if you’d like to carpool, please try to coordinate that at the meeting – the signup sheet already shows some folks doing it and others who would like to. Talk it up!
Finally – if you haven’t yet brewed for the festival, you can still sneak in a lower-gravity beer in time if you do it soon (perhaps an entry for the BRO competition – Session Ales).
For more info, follow this link to my January article and please disregard the “volunteer” information, as that is now closed.
Thanks again for your support. See youse Thursday – and please feel free to ask myself or any of the other past attendees about the fest.
— Victor Macias
SCHF Organizer, 2011
April Prezadent’s Mess(age)
Michael Steinberg
At this writing, Daylight Saving has begun, giving us all more time to brew. Spring is nigh, and PG has had a very successful Monster Brew at the Tustin Brewery, thanks to Jon and Jason. As the year progresses, we have a number of exciting events coming up. So, here goes:
Some of you may have heard that St. Patrick’s Day will be held on the same day as our monthly Pacific Gravity meeting Thursday, March 17. As in the past, I’ll be cooking up a Corned Beef and Cabbage dinner which will be served starting at 6:30 (donation to help defray the cost are welcome). The Styles of the Month are Stouts (duh!), and Bocks (March AHA Club Only Competition style). If you have a Stout, bring it to share. Bottles or kegs are equally appreciated. Bocks brought for the AHA COC will be judged on site. Winner goes to the AHA COC, all fees paid for by Pacific Gravity.
On March 26 we’ll be going on our first O.C. Road Trip, thanks to the efforts of Road Trip Coordinator, Kurt Periolat. TAPS Fishouse and Brewery, and The Bruery will welcome us and our friends for a day of eating and drinking a number of their award winning beers. There are still a few seats available on the bus if you want to go. Price is $20, a small price to pay in order to avoid a DUI. See Kurt’s articles for details.
A few members have reported that there’s a new saloon on the Westside, Steingarten. Located at 10543 Pico Blvd, in the Rancho Park area, Steingarten boasts 20 taps, and a variety of sausage, as well as other bar food. We’ll be going there on April 1st for First Friday. See the Activities article for additional information.
Last, but not least, the Southern California Homebrew Festival will be held on Saturday, April 30. The camping gang will be headed up to Ojai on Friday (4/29), for a weekend of fun, frolic, drinking, and for some, debauchery. There is room for a total of 40-45 people, so make you reservations soon, before all the slots are taken. This event is a MUST, if you enjoy camping, food and beer. Read Vic Macias’ articles for info, or talk to him at the March meeting if you have questions. Cost is $25/person if you bring your own food, or $50, if you want 4 meals. Look for more details from Vic, as they develop.
March is Annual Dues month, so don’t forget to ante up the $30 for your membership. All club events are supported by you, and we need members to pay their dues in a timely fashion, in order to keep putting on events. Treasurer, Craig Corley will gladly accept your payments at the March Meeting.
Lastly, if you have any suggestions, questions, or gripes, please feel free to send an E-mail to the appropriate Board Member. We need feedback in order to keep things moving forward.
Have a beery April. See you all real soon.
HAPPY ST. PATRICK’S DAY-MARCH 17
In honor of St. Patrick’s Day the Pacific Gravity Homebrew Club will be celebrating the event by holding its monthly club meeting on the 3rd Thursday of the month.
“Oh”, you say. “Isn’t the meeting always on the third Thursday of the month?” Well, yes it is, boys and girls. But since it’s March, and Stouts along with BJCP Category 5-Bocks are our styles of the month, we’ll be celebrating Patrick’s life and good works at the meeting.
Those of the Roman persuasion can also celebrate the day of another great man’s death, Julius Caesar “Beware the Ides of March [15]”. No orgies, please, and leave your daggers at home. Church keys are permitted, however.
As usual, this humble leprechaun will be cooking our annual corned beef and cabbage meal, to be served on site, beginning at 6:30pm. There is no charge for the meal, but donations to defray the cost are more than welcome. The official meeting will begin at 7:30.
We will need beverages for the meeting, so anyone who has a stout waiting to be drunk by an appreciative PG membership is urged to bring it. The more we have, the better the meeting. As we do every month, the beer judged the best, or at least, most popular, will bring the winner a $25 CCHBS gift certificate. Commercial tasting will follow announcements. Commercial tasting will follow the announcements.
If anyone has brewed a Bock, please bring it for onsite judging. The winner of the judging will have the beer entered in the AHA Club Only Competition. PG will pay for the entry and shipping.
We will also be accepting payment of annual club dues ($30), and collecting money for the March 26 O.C. Road Trip to TAPS, and The Bruery on March 26. Seats are going fast, so sign up and pay up soon.
See you all on the 17th.
ERIN GO BRAGH!
If it’s March, it MUST be Irish Times! PG tradition is to start celebrating St. Patrick’s Day at Irish Times on 1st Friday which is THIS Friday, March 4th! So, please come out and join us for a pint or three!
For those of you who have never been there, Irish Times is one of the premier Irish bars on the West Side. They have been recognized for their “Perfect Pour” of Guinness. It takes a 2 full minutes, and the wait is well worth the time. The food menu is moderately priced, with the usual pub grub…fish & chips, burgers, sandwiches, salads, etc.
Official start time is 7pm, but if feel free to get there earlier to participate in their newly announced Happy Hour from 4pm to 7pm. Food and drink specials/discounts available during happy hour, including $3 bottles, $4 drafts & $5.50 Guinness.
Irish Times is conveniently located at 3267 Motor Ave, just North of the corner of Motor Ave & National Blvd.
Street parking or, if you are lucky, they have a small parking lot.
Hope to see you all on Friday at IRISH TIMES!
Beannachtam na Feile Padraig!
Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
Mimi & Audrey
PG Activities Directors
Looking forward to seeing you all at our February PG meeting – rain or moonlight!
UPDATE: El Rincon Criollo, our club’s local Cuban & Spanish restaurant, will be selling food at our meeting! Food service will begin at 7pm. They will be offering plates of rice, beans, plantains & a choice of 1 meat (chicken or pork) for a discounted price of $7.50. Sandwiches will also be available at a discounted price of $7.00.
You will want to make sure you have a good meal before our PG Anniversary meeting with many strong Belgian & French Ales being served.
The meeting officially begins at 7:30pm. See you Thursday.
Cheers,
Mimi & Audrey
PG Activities Directors
The February PG Monthly Meeting will feature Belgian and French Ales, so eat a good dinner before arrving, in order to soak up this month’s Magic Elixer. PG Treasurer, Craig Corley, will be hosting the commercial tasting, and he’ll have some fine examples of the styles.
As usual, anyone who brings a keg of Belgian or French Style Brew will be in the running for a $25 CCHBS gift certificate if his/her beer is chosen the Best of the Night.
This month’s announcements will be made by Vice President, Reed Wilson.
Raffle Tickets can be purchased from Terry Molloy, the Raffle Guy, and Fundraiser.
We always need raffle prizes, so if you have any used equipment you want to donate, it is much appreciated. Glasses, “excess” commercial beers in the monthly style, and gift certificates, are always appreciated.
IMPORTANT NEWS: We still have space for the upcoming Tustin Monster Brew which will be held on February 26 at the Tustin Brewery. See the postings on the PG Website for details, or speak to Reed or PG Brewmaster, Carl Townsend, about the details. Signup sheets will be available, but more importantly, you must pay for the wort. This can be done at the meeting by check (preferable), or cash. See Craig Corley if you are going to pay at the meeting. PayPal is also available, and a lot easier than in person for most of us. The price is $27/5 gallon pour, limit 2 pours ($54). The deadline for payment is February 24th, unless there are extenuating circumstances. The organizers DO NOT want to be scrambling to collect money at the event, if all possible.
ROAD TRIP MARCH 26: See Kurt Periolat’s article about the O.C. Road Trip to TAPS, and The Bruery.
If you have questions, talk to Kurt, or send an E-mail to him.
Lastly, don’t forget to BREW, BREW, BREW. We have a lot of events coming up this year, and will need lots of homebrew to serve (Southern California Homebrew Festival, AHA Conference in San Diego, PG Summer Party, and entries for the Pacific Brewer’s Cup, which we are hosting. Stay tuned for details on those events.
Sorry I won’t be at the February meeting, but I hope you all have a great, and sober, time.
Michael Steinberg, President
