Big Brew/Jockey Box Day/Chili Cook-off Saturday Oct 20th

Join us the Saturday, October 20th for the combined Jockey Box/Chili Cook-off and Big Brew Day, at Carl Townsend’s house.

We have a busy schedule of events, so come by early and spend the day.  First on the schedule is flame-on for the all-grain brewers.  We’ll get going around 10:00 AM.  Extract brewers can stop by a bit later.  We still have a bit more room for brewing, so if you want to bring your kettles come on by.  This is an excellent time to get your Holiday beer going, if you haven’t already brewed it.

Next up is the jockey box build.  See my Brewmaster article for all the details of this event.  We still have a bunch of tubing available, so if you are on the fence for this one, feel free to jump in.  We might run out of other supplies, but at least you can bend your tubing and make up a parts list, which you can pick up at the Culver City shop later on.  Remember to bring your cooler.

And, don’t forget the chili cook-off.  Read more

How do I build a Jockey Box?

This Month’s Question:  How do I build a Jockey Box?

 Answer:    The simple answer to this is to join us on Jockey Box/Chili Cook-off and Big Brew Day, Saturday, October 20th at Carl Townsend’s house.   You bring a cooler, and we’ll bring a bunch of supplies, so at the end of the day you can head home with a new portable beer serving system.

The critical thing from a planning standpoint is to let us know ahead of time how many taps you want, so we can plan accordingly.    I need to place the order for tubing in advance, so if you haven’t already signed up at the August or September club meeting and want to join the construction project, please send me an email at Competitions@PacificGravity.com by Oct 1st.   Each line will get a ten-foot piece of 3/8” stainless steel tubing, and you can buy as many lines as you want. Read more

Mead Day August 11th

Mead Day

It’s that time of year again… Mead Day! We missed the official AHA national Mead
Day (August 4), but that is not going to stop us. Pacific Gravity will be celebrating
it’s own Mead Day on Saturday August 11 at the home of Dan & Anne Hakes. We
will be brewing, tasting and talking about mead. If you have some mead to share,
bring it along.

This is a club potluck event, please bring beer and food to share. The Carriage
House Taproom will be open, but Dan has been slacking off and the taps will not be
full.

Drop by, socialize, and watch how easy it is to make mead!

Saturday August 11, 2012

10:00 AM

2379 W 21st Street, Los Angeles, CA 90018

323-203-5089

Big Brew Reminder – Saturday May 26th

Hey folks:

Don’t forget that this Saturday, May 26th, is Big Brew day.  At this point we have four brewers and room for one or two more.

If you ever wanted to learn the ropes of all-grain brewing, this is the perfect opportunity.  I’ll be brewing up a batch of ultra-dark Read more

Big Brew on May 26, 2012

Bring out your kettles and burners and join us for a Big Brew on Saturday May 26th at the home of our Competition Coordinator and Brewmaster, Carl Townsend.  This will be a perfect opportunity to whip up something for the Summer Party.

Carl will be unveiling his brand new brew stand and bolting on the amazing thermosiphon reboiler.  Read more

Big Brew @ Neil’s: Saturday, January 28th

What’s up, my fellow club members?  I’d like to remind you all that we’ll be holding another Big Brew at Neil’s palatial duplex on Saturday, January 28th.

For those unaware, a Big Brew is simply a multiple-brewer event, usually held outdoors.  If you’re new to homebrewing or want to make the jump to all-grain, these events are great opportunities to observe some of the myriad processes, equipment, and techniques our legion of club homebrewers employs to create the fine fermented beverages we consume at our meetings and parties.  Or in garages.

Neil will likely be brewing an all-grain cauldron of something hoppy or strong (or both), I’ll probably brew something weird extract-style, and there’s plenty of room for more brewers.  If you’d like to brew with us, please shoot me an email at communications@pacificgravity.com and inform.  Remember to bring your own “brewing rig”, ingredients, fermenter, etc.  Neil will have filtered water available.

Here are the details:

  • When:  Saturday, January 28th.  Brewing should begin around 10am and we’ll finish up around 6pm or so.
  • Where:  Neil’s Duplex: 12966 Rubens Ave, Marina Del Rey-adjacent, 90066
  • Beer:  As provided by those in attendance, so feel free to bring a keg, a growler, bottles, or any other vessels of brew.
  • Food:  We’ll have a gas grill available if you’d like to bring something to sear.  We may also order some “community” pizza for those willing to pitch in a few duckets.  Potluck stuff to share is always welcome too.

Here’s a link to a recap I wrote of our last Big Brew in November for AHA “Learn To Brew Day”.

Thanks, and hope to see you at Neil’s on the 28th.

— Victor

Learn To Brew Day – where were you, ay? (with photos)

In spite of the ever-so-slightly inclement weather the day before, Saturday morning greeted us with about as clear a sky as you’re likely to see in a metropolis such as our own.  Learn To Brew Day, hosted by the ever-generous Neil Saund at his palatial duplex , would go on.  Carl arrived just before I did and was unloading a stripped-down version of his all-grain system – sorry kids – no thermosiphon reboiler.  I followed suit and in no-time, water was on the fire.  Neil was already set up, and we were soon joined by the brewing trio of Dave, Kurt, and Anthony.  Rives Borland, our resident double-agent, arrived a bit later and got going right out.  It’s OK, Rives – only a matter of time – just ask Dan!  On tap was Neil’s “Norm-influenced” hoppy Amber ale, and a while later, our host’s amazingly-aged Imperial Stout with lots of residual nitro made its presence known – and boy, did it.

Carl brewed an all-grain Amber ale, Neil made a giant vat of “Teach Wheat”, I cranked out an extract Dunkelweizen, the 3 Brewsketeers suffered through a partial-mash-process Porter as a base for adding vanilla later, and Rives, if I’m not mistaken, brewed a low-gravity base beer which will grow up to be a Jolly Pumpkin Bam Biere clone.  Audrey reprised her role as Grill-Mistress and satiated the brewing masses with sausages and hot dogs.

In the days leading up to the brew, Carl and I had discussed toasting LA “good beer bar” pioneer Dave Farnworth, co-founder of Lucky Baldwins.  So we gathered everyone up, silenced the boombox, and raised some fine Belgian beers high in his memory.  It bears repeating that without Dave, Los Angeles’ beer bars might’ve taken a lot longer to escape the post-prohibition dark ages, continuing to serve megaswill to the unenlightened and indifferent hordes.

Although “learner” turnout was low, from a “Big Brew” standpoint, the ratio of brewers to attendees was quite high, so chalk-up another successful PG multiple-brewer session.  Collectively, we brewed about 40 gallons, and some of those gallons will be enjoyed by the membership at our upcoming Holiday Party on December 10th.  Thanks again to Neil for hosting us and to Audrey for organizing the event.

Here are a few pics from the occasion (courtesy Audrey and yours truly):

Our gracious host Neil, in chill-mode.

Carl and his brewing rig.

Awaiting the inevitable Big-Brew-boilover with my imaginary squirt gun.

Kurt, Dave, and Anthony - the 3 Brewsketeers.

Some serious learnin' goin' on here.

Neil enjoys the breakfast of champions.

"What the heck is Mauceli doing?"

Ken and I are Wyeast's new spokesmen. You wanna buy some yeast?

Neil enjoys a good round of "peek-a-boo".

Some of the Belgians consumed in Dave Farnworth's honor. That's right - a '99 Chimay Blue. Again I say - where were you?

Tim assists Carl as he utilizes another of his mad scientist gadgets - the PVC Racking Tubery.

Rives brought a selection of Jolly Pumpkin 750s and the sour pours just kept comin'. Thanks Rives!

I'm Neil Saund, and I approve of this Learn To Brew Day!

Big Brew & Annual Chili Cook-off August 27th

We will be conducting our annual Chili Cook-off and club Big Brew on Saturday August 27th at the home of our Competition Coordinator and Brewmaster, Carl Townsend.

BIG BREW: Carl will be brewing on his all grain system and we’re also looking for a member interested in doing a partial mash to help demonstrate that process as well. There is room for other brewers too, just make sure to bring your own equipment and supplies, though Carl will have water available. Please let Audrey & Mimi (activitiesdirector@pacificgravity.com) or Carl (competitioncoordintor@pacificgravity.com)  know if you are planning to brew.

CHILI COOKOFF:  The competition is simple. Make your best chili, bring it in a crockpot or any other vessel which can be heated.  We will do a tasting, followed by a vote, and then the  winner will be announced!   All serving utensils, bowls, garnishes, and other chili fixings will be provided by the club.  Just label your entry!

BEER: Is always welcome, so please bring kegs, bottles, commercial beers and anything else you’d like to share.

TIME: Brewing will begin at 10am and Chili serving and voting will start at about Noon.

LOCATION: 3621 Redwood Ave, L.A. 90066. It’s just a few blocks west of Beethoven, north of Venice.

 

Bring your best Chili!

-Audrey & Mimi

Activities Directors

Spring Club Big Brew Saturday May 28th New Location

Our Spring Big Brew has a new location thanks to Neil Saund!  It will now take place at his town house, same as the Christmas Party, in Marina Del Rey right near Culver Blvd and the Marina Freeway.

Address: 12966 Rubens Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90066

All other details about the event are the same as before so if you are interested in brewing, learning to brew all grain batches outside, or would just like to enjoy some beer with your fellow PG members please come out and join us.

For those of you interested in participating in the single hop IPA’s for the summer party, Scott Burnell will be bringing his 55 gallon brewing system to get a jump on this.  If you are interested in using his system please contact him at: sburnell@earthlink.net

Any questions about the event or to reserve a space for brewing please contact Audrey or Mimi at: ActivitiesDirector@PacificGravity.com

Looking forward to seeing you all there!

-Audrey & Mimi

 

Spring Club Big Brew May 28th at Michael Steinberg’s House

This event will be a multi brewer Big Brew with room for about 8 brewers to brew at a time outdoors on Michael’s driveway. Those planning to brew should bring their equipment but water is available on site.  Reservations are a must if you intend to brew.  Anyone not planning in brewing, but interested in watching the process or just hanging out with fellow PG members are encouraged to come as well!

The event officially begins at 10am and ends when the last brewer is finished, which is usually around 6pm. As usual, anyone who would like to show up earlier is welcome to do so, since Michael will be up and brewing by 7am.

Food: We will be grilling up sausages, chicken and veggies but feel free to bring anything else you would like to toss on the grill.  Some snacks will be provided but more are always welcome.

Beer: As with any PG event the beer will be supplied by whoever shows up. Bring kegs, bottles, or growlers.  For the early comers breakfast beers are also encouraged!

Address: 10754 Barman Ave, Culver City, 90230. That’s across the street from Vet’s Park, between Overland and Coombs. Look for the massive RV in the street.  (310) 991-0824

Sign-up: Please send an email to ActivitiesDirector@PacificGravity.com or sign-up at the club meeting on Thursday May 19th.

Hope you can make it!

-Audrey & Mimi