Pacific Gravity Club Meeting Thursday, February 15th at Tortugo Brewery

Greetings Pacific Gravity,

Welcome to a fabulous February!

Our club meeting this week  will be at usual time and place:

February Monthly Meeting; Thursday 2/15/2024 at 7:30 PM
Tortugo Brewing Co.
916 W. Hyde Park Blvd.
Inglewood,  CA  90302
(424) 227-9963

Our Style Of The Month for February is Belgian beers – so please bring your superior singles, delightful dubbels, terrific triples and quintessential quads to share!

A good time was had by all who attended February’s “First Saturday” at Stuffed Sandwich.  Marlene was a terrific host as always, had a fun vertical tasting surprise in store (Also special thanks to the anonymous club member who helped make that happen – you know who you are!!).

Now we are looking forward to our March First Friday at Firestone Walker Brewing in Venice on Friday March 1!”

And let’s not forget the Monster Brew at Smog City on Saturday March 9! Please be sure and sign up early and often so we can make this event happen! If we fail to hit critical mass, this event may be canceled – PLEASE SIGN UP NOW!! (details below)

But wait, there’s more!  The Southern California Homebrewers Festival is coming up May 3 & 4 at Vail Lake near Temecula.  There are still some slots available for tent campers – If you would  like to attend, please let Terry know ASAP to reserve your spot.  I went for the first time last year, and I gotta say, it really lived up to the hype – a huge amount of fun camping with the club (and meeting other clubs) and attending the massive festival with more homebrew taps than I have ever conceived of!

See you all Thurs 2/15 at Tortugo!!

Parker Waechter
President
Pacific Gravity Homebrewers

Upcoming Styles of the Month

  • January – Winter beers
  • February – Belgian beers
  • March  – British Isle beers
  • April 2024 – Pale beers
  • May 2024 – Dark/black beers
  • June 2024 – Sour beers, smoked beers, and wood-aged beers
  • July 2024 – IPAs
  • August 2024 – No style of the month (Summer Party)
  • September 2024 – German and Czech beers
  • October 2024 – Alternative fermentables beers (using sugars and/or grains other than malted barley)
  • November 2024 – Fruit/spice beers, meads, and ciders/berries
  • December 2024 – No style of the month (Holiday Party)

Upcoming Events

  • February 15: Club Meeting at Tortugo Brewing Company – Style: Belgian Beer
  • March 1: First Friday at Firestone Walker Brewing
  • March 9: Monster Brew

Monster Brew 2024 at Smog City – Sign Up Now!

Porter has once again graciously offered to host a monster brew at Smog City Brewing Company.  This will be our 8th Monster Brew with Brewmaster, Jon Porter (and lucky 13th if you count the ones he hosted previously, going all the way back to his days at Tustin Brewing!).  These events are always a highlight of the year’s activities and an unreasonably huge amount of fun, so please come out and join us!

Date:  Saturday, March 9, 2024
Sign-Up Deadline: Mon March 4
Time:  ~7:00 AM Mash-In
~12pm Fermenter Filling
Location:  Smog City Brewery 1901 Del Amo Blvd, Torrance, CA 90501

If you have never participated in a Monster Brew, here is how it works:

  1. Order wort ahead of time.
  2. Purchase yeast and any ingredients desired for modification to the wort – I suggest supporting local South Bay Brewing Supply (call ahead to verify stock)
  3. Arrive at the Monster Brew with a clean plastic or metal fermenter (NO GLASS!) which we will fill with UNFERMENTED wort.
  4. Take it home and modify as desired and pitch your yeast
  5. Ferment until ready for bottling or kegging

For this year’s batch, Porter will be using a base wort based on the ever popular Little Bo Pils that will allow for maximum creativity.  Consider this your blank slate.  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.  To see the full recipe and for modification ideas, see Carl’s extensive “How Do I Modify My Monster Brew?” post.

COST and RESERVATIONS
We need a headcount WELL BEFORE the brew session, so we can plan the batch size.  You must make a reservation by Monday 3/4 if you want wort.  The cost will be $35 for each 5 gallons of wort and you can order as many batches as you like  If possible, please pay in advance.  If you want wort but cannot attend the event, you may designate a buddy who can attend to collect your wort.  (We do not have a delivery service.)

SIGN-UP
You can sign up one of two ways:

1. Pay now with Paypal with https://py.pl/2M8HyzSGODw.  If you do this your reservation is good to go.
2. Drop a line to [email protected] saying how many batches you want.  Payment will be due on brew day.  We will accept payment at the Monster Brew: cash or check and will be accepted – NO CREDIT CARDS (though of course you will still be able to pay via the paypal link/QR code with credit card).

FERMENTERS
Bring a pre-sanitized PLASTIC or STAINLESS STEEL fermenters for each 5-gallon batch you purchase.  Absolutely NO GLASS fermenters will be allowed in the brewery due to the risk of breakage. You may bring small glass vessels with yeast or other additions, however. Fermenters must have a wide opening for the filling nozzle. Plastic buckets are ideal, but Cornelius kegs are acceptable. Again, please do not bring any skinny-neck containers – we may not be able to fill it.

If there is wort left over at the end, we will hold a lottery to determine who may purchase an additional 5 gallon allotment. Bring an extra fermenter if you are interested.

WHAT IS NOT INCLUDED
Yeast and any additional ingredients you wish to add to your wort are not included. You can bring your yeast to the brewery, or pitch it at home.  We recommend getting your supplies in advance.  I suggest purchasing at South Bay Brewing Supply, which also happens to be near the brewery if you need last-minute supplies on brew day, but of course supplies may be limited, so it’s better to plan ahead!

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
We will have coffee and some light breakfast snacks in the morning.  Later on, the food trucks will be setting up in the parking lot.  In addition, Porter will be supplying tasting samples of some of his fine brews mid-morning.  Cut off time for free pours will be shortly before the tap room opens for business.
REMEMBER TO TIP YOUR BEERTENDER!!!

We hope to see you all there!

Competition Corner February 2024

  • February – America’s Finest City  https://beerawardsplatform.com/afc-2024
    • Missed the entry window – capped at 500 entries
  • February – Start of AHA NHC Process
    • Feb 27 – March 15 Entry registration and payment
    • March 29 – deadline for entry changes
    • May-June Shipping and judging of first Round
    •  July 29 – August 9: Final Round Shipping/Drop-off Window (San Diego)
    • August 17 – 24: Final Round Judging
    • October 10: Award Ceremony at Great American Beer Festival
  • April – Mayfaire Competition  No info yet, but almost certain to happen
  • May/June  State Fair.
    • See if Angel City is a drop-off again
  • May –  County Fair? Unlikely
  • Replace Co Fair with Long Beach Red White and Brews?
    • American beers, 30 different styles
  • September – Pacific Brewers Cup
    •  We are running it in 2024 – Need to get plans in place
  • October California State Competition

Copyright © 2024 Pacific Gravity, All rights reserved.

Club Meeting Thursday, January 18th at Tortugo Brewery

Greetings Pacific Gravity! Happy New Year!

I hope you all enjoyed and have recovered from your holiday festivities!

Next week will be our first club meeting of the new year at usual time and place:

January Monthly Meeting; Thursday 1/18/2024 at 7:30 PM
Tortugo Brewing Co.
916 W. Hyde Park Blvd.
Inglewood,  CA  90302
(424) 227-9963

Our Style Of The Month is Winter Beers, so break out your winter warmers and spiced what-nots for everyone to enjoy and learn from.

We look forward to kicking off the new year right!

To that end, February’s “First Saturday” will be at the Stuffed Sandwich on Feb 3 and Marlene’s theme of the month will be “Barleywines and Strong Ales”.  Details will be coming in a future email.

Also, the Southern California Homebrewers Festival is coming up May 3 & 4 at Vail Lake near Temecula.  If you would like to camp, please make sure you let Terry know by this Monday 1/15 so he can make sure we reserve a space for you when he meets with the committee next week.  I went for the first time last year, and I gotta say, it really lived up to the hype – a huge amount of fun camping with the club (and meeting other clubs) and attending the massive festival with more homebrew taps than I have ever conceived of.

See you all next Thurs 1/18 at Tortugo!!

Parker Waechter
President
Pacific Gravity Homebrewers

Upcoming Styles of the Month

  • January – Winter beers
  • February – Belgian beers
  • March  – British Isle beers

Upcoming Events

  • January 15: Deadline to Reserve your Southern California Homebrewfest campsite with Terry
  • January 18: Club meeting at Torgugo Brewing Company Style Winter Beer
  • February 3: First Saturday Stuffed Sandwich
  • February 15: Club Meeting at Tortugo Brewing Company – Style: Belgian Beer
  • Feb 16 – Feb 29th: Entries due for America’s Finest City Competition  in San Diego

Chili Cook-off – October Club Meeting. October 14th – Terry Molloy’s

This Saturday, October 14th is our annual Pacific Gravity Chili Cook-off and The Molloy’s were generous enough to host us (yet again) for the club meeting and the chili cook-off. Remember, it’s a private residence so carry-in & carry-out and be on your best behavior!

**This replaces the 3rd Thursday club meeting and the club meeting will be held at the Chili Cookoff.**

We will be conducting our annual chili cook off and all members are invited to bring a crock pot of homemade chili to enter.  Fabulous prizes (well, bragging rights and a beer) will be given for the chili voted as “best” and “most unique”.

The style of the month is IPAs and Brian will be hosting this month’s commercial tasting.

We will also be accepting nominations for Board Member positions of President, Vice President, and Treasurer and nominations for Member of the Year. The Elections will be held at our November meeting so this month is the last month to put in your nominations.

Location:
The Molloys
6738 W. 87th Place,
Westchester, CA 90045

(Please note, it is PLACE, not Street!)

PG News:

  • Board Member and Member of the Year nominations will be held this Saturday.
  • Board Member Election will be held at our November club meeting.
  • Pacific Gravity Members Survey coming this Month.
October California State Competition

  • This is the last competition of the 2023 Brewer of the Year Cycle. The winner will be announced at the Holiday Party.
  • https://castate.brewcompetition.com/ .
  • You must ship your entries to the bay area between September 30th and October 12th. Entries due by October 12.
  • Judging October 28th – Nov 5th in the Bay area.

Upcoming Styles of the Month

  • October – IPAs
  • November – Amber and Brown Beers
  • December – Holiday Party

Upcoming Events

  • October 12th: California State Competition Deadline
  • October 14th: Chili Cook-off Club Meeting
  • November 3rd: First Friday at Maple Block, Culver City
  • November 16th – November Club Meeting – Tortugo
Copyright © 2023 Pacific Gravity, All rights reserved.
You subscribed to this list by entering your email address on the Pacific Gravity Homebrew Club website.Our mailing address is:Pacific Gravity
P.O. Box 2451
Los Angeles, Ca 90066

Pacific Gravity Club Meeting Thursday, September 21st at Tortugo Brewery

Servus Pacific Gravity!

This month we are bringing Wies’n to Inglewood at Tortugo Brewing Co, located at 916 W Hyde Park Blvd, Inglewood, CA 90302. Chef Ian will be providing the classic Oktoberfest food to fill our bellies while we consume some delicious traditional fest beers. Craig will be hosting this months commercial tasting of Fest and amber beers. As always all beer styles are welcome, feel free to bring your latest homebrew to share, because how can we Oans, zwoa, drei, g’suffa! without the most important part.. das Bier!  So breakout those Dirndl & Lederhosen, come hungry and thirsty!

Prost!

We will get started about 7:30 PM.

September Monthly Meeting; Thursday 9/21/2023 at 7:30 PM
Tortugo Brewing Co.
916 W. Hyde Park Blvd.
Inglewood,  CA  90302
(424) 227-9963

As always please be responsible and ensure a safe ride to and from all our events.

Board Member Elections Information:

Board Member Election nominations will take place at our September and October meetings. Nominations will be held for

  • President
  • Vice President
  • Treasurer

Please attention the club meetings to cast your nomination. Voting will take place in November.

 October PG Events:

For October we will be moving back to a Friday evening event to be held at Upshift Brewing in El Segundo
Upshift Brewing Company
339 Indiana St,
El Segundo, CA 90245

Chili Cookoff – October 14th, 2023 – Club Meeting

Our October Club meetings will also be our annual Chili Cookoff event and it will be held October 14th at Terry Molloys. Final details to follow.

Upcoming Competitions

September – Pacific Brewers Cup (Long Beach Homebrewers)

  •  https://www.longbeachhomebrewers.com/comp/pbc/bcoem/
  • Registration open, deadline September 23
  • Dropoff at Stein Fillers in Long Beach starting September 7th.
  • You can bring them to the club meeting September 21st and Carl will drop them off at Stein Fillers.
  • Judging at La Jara Brewing October 7th in Norwalk.  Please sign up to judge or steward.

October California State Competition

  • This is the last competition of the 2023 Brewer of the Year Cycle. The winner will be announced at the Holiday Party.
  • https://castate.brewcompetition.com/ .
  • You must ship your entries to the bay area between September 30th and October 12th. Entries due by October 12.
  • Judging October 28th – Nov 5th in the Bay area.

Upcoming Styles of the Month

  • September – Festbiers and Amber lagers
  • October – IPAs
  • November – Amber and Brown Beers
  • December – Holiday Party

Upcoming Events

  • September 21st: Club Meeting at Tortugo Brewing Company Styles includes any Festbiers and Amber lagers
  • September 23rd: Pacific Brewers Cup Deadline
  • October 6th: First Friday at Upshift Brewing
  • October 7th: La Jara Brewing Pacific Brewers Cup Judging.
  • October 12th: California State Competition Deadline
  • October 14th: Chilli Cookoff – Club Meeting

Pacific Gravity Club Meeting Thursday, May 18th at Tortugo Brewery

Greetings Pacific Gravity!

Our meeting this month will take place this Thursday, May 18th, 2023 at Tortugo Brewing Co, located at 916 W Hyde Park Blvd, Inglewood, CA 90302.

We will get started about 7:30 PM.

May Monthly Meeting; Thursday 5/18/2023 at 7:30 PM
Tortugo Brewing Co.
916 W. Hyde Park Blvd.
Inglewood, CA 90302
(424) 227-9963

Style of the Month is Specialty Beer:
Brian and Parker will be hosting this month and will be providing a handful of beers from their Bruery Collection. Please feel free to dust off those big beers, strange brews and finally crack those open to share. As always, please ensure that you have a safe ride home, especially with this tasting in mind, High ABV beers await you. All styles are welcome of course but May we will be exploring Specialty beers.

Smog City Monster Brew June 3rd, 2023
Do not forget the Smog City Monster Brew is just about 2 weeks away.

IMPORTANT NOTE: WE HAVE UNTIL MAY 29TH TO GET ENOUGH BATCHES RESERVED. IF WE DON’T RESERVE ENOUGH BATCHES WE MAY HAVE TO CANCEL…AGAIN

PLEASE SIGN UP NOW.

Porter has said we should not restrict to 2 batches per person, so feel free to go nuts. Note – due to a paypal quirk, you will need to sign up multiple times if you want multiple batches.
Don’t miss out – reserve you batch (or batches) now!!
(Details below)

Dues are DUE!!
The end of this month is your last chance to pay due without penalty, so if you have not had a chance yet, please take care of it.
(Details below)

It is gratifying that we have resumed gathering in person, but as always, we encourage and expect everyone will be vigilant about their own health to ensure the groups safety! Please observe all safety precautions and stay home if you do not feel well.

We hope to see you all at our meeting!

Smog City Monster Brew June 3rd
We are just over 2 weeks away from our 8th Monster Brew at Smog City Brewing Company with our gracious host, Brewmaster Porter (and lucky 13th if you count the ones he hosted previously at Tustin!). These events are always an unreasonably huge amount of fun, so please come join us!

Date: Saturday June 3rd, 2023
Time: ~7am Mash-In;
~12pm Fermenter filling
Location:
Smog City Brewing
1901 Del Amo Blvd
Torrance CA 90501
310-320-7664
If you have never participated in one of these Monster Brews, here is how it works:

Order wort ahead of time.
Purchase yeast and any ingredients desired for modification to the wort – I suggest supporting local South Bay Brewing Supply (call ahead to verify stock)
Arrive at the Monster Brew with a clean plastic or metal fermenter (NO GLASS!) which we will fill with UNFERMENTED wort.
Take it home and modify as desired and pitch your yeast
Ferment until ready for bottling or kegging

For this year’s batch, Porter will be using a base wort based on the ever popular Little Bo Pils that will allow for maximum creativity. Consider this your blank slate. 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. To see the full recipe and for modification ideas, see Carl’s extensive “How Do I Modify My Monster Brew?”

COST and RESERVATIONS
We need a headcount BEFORE the brew session, so we can plan the batch size. You must make a reservation if you want wort. The cost will be $30 for each 5 gallons of wort. You can now order as many batches as you like (though due to a quirk paypal, you will need to sign up for each batch separately). If possible, please pay in advance. If you want wort but cannot attend the event, you may designate a buddy who can attend to collect your wort. (We do not have a delivery service.)

SIGN-UP
You can sign up one of two ways:

Pay now with Paypal. If you do this your reservation is good to go. [“Smog City Monster Brew 2023 Paypal”]
Drop a line to [email protected] saying how many batches you want. Payment will be due on brew day. We will accept payment at the Monster Brew: cash or check and will be accepted – NO CREDIT CARDS (though of course you will still be able to pay via the paypal link/QR code with credit card).

FERMENTERS
Bring a pre-sanitized PLASTIC or STAINLESS STEEL fermenters for each 5-gallon batch you purchase. Absolutely NO GLASS fermenters will be allowed in the brewery due to the risk of breakage. You may bring small glass vessels with yeast or other additions, however. Fermenters must have a wide opening for the filling nozzle. Plastic buckets are ideal, but Cornelius kegs are acceptable. Again, please do not bring any skinny-neck containers – we may not be able to fill it.

If there is wort left over at the end, we will hold a lottery to determine who may purchase an additional 5 gallon allotment. Bring an extra fermenter if you are interested.

WHAT IS NOT INCLUDED
Yeast and any additional ingredients you wish to add to your wort are not included. You can bring your yeast to the brewery, or pitch it at home. We recommend getting your supplies in advance. I suggest purchasing at South Bay Brewing Supply, which is also happens to be near the brewery if you need last-minute supplies on brew day, but of course supplies may be limited, so it’s better to plan ahead!

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
We will have coffee and some light breakfast snacks in the morning. Later on, the food trucks will be setting up in the parking lot. In addition, Porter will be supplying tasting samples of some of his fine brews mid-morning. Cut off time for free pours will be shortly before the tap room opens for business.
REMEMBER TO TIP YOUR BEERTENDER!!!

It’s Time to Do the Dues!
It’s May and that means after our meeting Late Fees kick in for dues. All club members need to pay their dues to keep their membership active until March 2024. Annual dues are $42 for individuals or $63 for couples and are prorated for members who joined the club within the last year.

Keep in mind that your dues are the primary way we fund such club activities as club parties, monthly meetings, club brews and much more. Your paid membership also ensures that you’ll continue to receive the many club benefits available, access to various brewing activities, discounts and information.

There are several ways you can renew your annual dues. Club Treasurer, Craig Corley will be collecting dues at the upcoming May club meeting and other upcoming club events. You can go old school and send Pacific Gravity a check to PO Box 2451, Culver City CA 90231. And for the ultimate in convenience, you can renew your dues online via the PayPal links below:
Individual Membership – Full 1-year Renewal
Couples Membership – Full 1-year Renewal
Prorated Membership – Partial year Renewal

Along with your dues renewal, we need all members to complete a Membership Application/Liability Waiver and in the case of couples memberships, we need this for both members. You can fill out and submit your Membership Application/Liability Waiver at the following link: https://forms.gle/f2xCjNBAp5qoJjFK8

All current club members should have gotten a renewal notice via email detailing their dues renewal amount and member information on file. This is a good opportunity to update our membership records, so please let Craig know of any changes to your member information (address, email, phone, etc) or include changes with your check/renewal form.

For any individual members who might be interested, the couples membership provides full membership status/benefits to both partners of a couple including membership cards, emails, etc. Note that the couples membership is optional, couples can continue with one partner being an individual member and the other being their guest. It’s an additional $21 to upgrade your individual membership to a couples membership and you’ll need to include your partner’s name and email along with your payment.

Have questions about your dues or how much you owe? Check with Craig at the upcoming club meeting or by email at [email protected].

Upcoming Styles of the Month

May – Specialty Beers
June – Pale Beers
July – Summer Party
August – Wheat Beers
September – Festbiers and Amber lagers
October – IPAs
November – Amber and Brown Beers
December – Holiday Party

Upcoming Events

May 29: Signup Deadline Smog city Monster Brew
June 3:: Monster Brew at Smog City! 7am to 1pm
June 15: Club Meeting at Tortugo Brewing Company Styles includes any Pale Beers
June 22th – 24th: AHA in San Diego
July 29th – Pacific Gravity Summer Party 2023 – Get Brewing!

Pacific Gravity Club Meeting Thursday, April 20th at Tortugo Brewery

Greetings Pacific Gravity!
Our meeting this month will take place on April 20th, 2023 at Tortugo Brewing Co, located at 916 W Hyde Park Blvd, Inglewood, CA 90302.
We will get started about 7:30 PM.

March Monthly Meeting; Thursday 4/20/2023 at 7:30 PM

Tortugo Brewing Co.
916 W. Hyde Park Blvd.
Inglewood,  CA  90302
(424) 227-9963

Ziggy, Zaggy, Ziggy, Zaggy, Oi, Oi, Oi
Ok, well it’s not exactly Oktoberfest, but April’s style-of-the-month is German Beer!  Please bring your German Reinheitsgebot objects of liquid art, or modernized riffs on the classics.  Of course, as always, all styles are welcome, so just bring any homebrew you would like to share!
Also, this meeting will be the awards ceremony for our legendary Los Angeles Belgian Brew Challenge competition.  Many thanks to (in no particular order – well, except for Carl, because, come on…) Carl, Eric, Tim, Ian, Craig, Joe, Torrie, Terry, Luis and Parker for making it all happen!
We will also be discussing the monster brew and the so-cal homebrew fest.

Smog City Monster Brew April 29
Do not forget the Smog City Monster Brew is just over a week away!
IMPORTANT NOTE:  IF WE DON’T RESERVE ENOUGH BATCHES, WE MAY HAVE TO CANCEL.  PLEASE SIGN UP NOW
Porter has said we should not restrict to 2 batches per person, so feel free to go nuts.  Note – due to a paypal quirk, you will need to sign up multiple times if you want multiple batches.
Don’t miss out – reserve you batch (or batches) now!!
See full details here

Dues are DUE!!
The end of this month is your last chance to pay due without penalty, so if you have not had a chance yet, please take care of it.
Renew you dues here

Southern California Homebrew Festival May 5-6
Also, do not forget the Southern California Homebrew festival is just over 2 weeks away!
We will have a sign-up sheet for kegs if you plan to serve them at the fest.  Or you can also send Carl an email at [email protected]
(Details below)

It is gratifying that we have resumed gathering in person, but as always, we encourage and expect everyone will be vigilant about their own health to ensure the groups safety!  Please observe all safety precautions and stay home if you do not feel well.

We hope to see you all at our meeting!

Parker Waechter, Vice President

Upcoming Styles of the Month

  • April – German Beers
  • May – Specialty Beers
  • June – Pale Beers
  • July – Summer Party
  • August – Wheat Beers
  • September – Festbiers and Amber lagers
  • October – IPAs
  • November – Amber and Brown Beers
  • December – Holiday Party

Upcoming Events

April First Friday, April 7th at O’Brien’s Pub

Greetings Pacific Gravity!
Our First Friday this month on April 7th, 2023 will be at O’Brien’s Irish Pub located at 2226 Wilshire Blvd. Santa Monica CA 90403
We will get started about 7:00 PM.April First Friday: Friday 4/7/2023 at 7:00 PMO’Brien’s Irish Pub
2226 Wilshire Blvd.
Santa Monica CA 90403
310-829-5303Greetings PG!
April’s First Friday is upon us and, as opposed to the last bunch, we are actually holding it on a Friday!
Come join the fun at O’Brien’s!  They have a section of the bar set aside for us near the front door for 10-15 people, and they plan on tapping a keg of pFriem IPA for us (from Hood River, Oregon).Please don’t forget the Smog City Monster Brew and Southern California Home Brewers Festival (details below).

It still bears repeating that though the plague of Covid has definitely slowed down, we encourage and expect everyone will be vigilant about their own health to ensure the groups safety!  Please observe all safety precautions and stay home if you do not feel well.

We hope to see you all there!

Parker Waechter, Vice President

Smog City Monster Brew

Don’t forget the Monster brew at Smog City Saturday, April 29, 2023 7am – 1pm is just a few short weeks away!
It is a morning of behind-the-scenes brew-geekery at Smog City with Porter and one of his brewers, then taking home 5 gallons of wort to modify and ferment yourself which is not to be missed.  Here are some suggestions on how one might modify one’s monster brew.

This is one of the premier club events of the year!

$30 for 5 gallons of wort, limit 2 batches.
Reserve your batch(es) at https://py.pl/2HGRfr :

It is a very accessible way for a new brewer to experience the process – Bring your own pre-sanitized plastic or metal fermenter (absolutely no glass!) with a wide opening which will be filled with unfermented wort when it is ready.  Take it home and modify as much or as little as desired, pitch yeast and wait for it to be beer!

Please note that this event will be doubling as an early “First Saturday” for May, since the First Friday/Saturday in May will be the Southern California Homebrewers Festival.

Southern California Homebrew Festival

The Southern California Homebrewer Festival will be here before you know it, so reserve your spot today! We still have some tent camping slots available at Camp-PG for $35 per camper for the weekend. Sign up now by contacting Terry Molloy at [email protected].

DON’T FORGET to buy your admission into the festival itself. The longer you wait, the more it costs. You must do this ahead of time – admission can NOT be purchased at the gate.

FAQs:
FAQ #1: If I pay $35 to stay at Camp-PG, am I automatically admitted into the Fest?
Answer: No!! The Camp-PG only reserves a place for you to camp with your fellow PG members over the weekend. This does not cover festival admission, food or any other expenses.

FAQ #2; How can I purchase admission to the Southern CA Homebrewers Festival?
Answer: EACH attendee must follow these simple steps:
1) Go to the California Homebrewers Association website www.calhomebrewers.org
2) If you are already a registered member of the CHA and have a password, sign in, skip to #3.
a. To Register, select “Register” on the Menu line.
b. Fill in the form on the right hand side of the page.
c. Select the “Register” button
d. Note: each attendee must sign up using a unique email address.
3) Select SHOP from the Menu
a. Select Membership / SCHF from the Drop-down menu
b. Add the $10 Membership fee to your cart.
c. Check out using the PayPal site.
4) After you are redirected to the main page, Select SHOP (again)
a. Select Membership / SCHF from the Drop-down menu (again)
b. Add Southern California Homebrewers Festival Admission to your cart ($50 through 1/31, increases $5 every month)
c. Check out using the PayPal site.
5) Check your email to confirm CHA Membership and Fest Admission.
6) Log off CHA website
7) Prepare for a fantastic weekend of sampling brews from over 35 Homebrewers Clubs from around Southern/Central California and Nevada.

FAQ #3: Will there be food available?
1) Rumor has it that Chef Ian is pondering a menu that will be available for an extra fee.
2) Food trucks will be at the Festival on Saturday, you are on your own Friday and Sunday (pending Ian’s final menu).
3) You can set up your own camp-kitchen and cook your own meals.

FAQ #4: Can I bring kegs to serve at the fest?
Yes!! but please e-mail Carl at [email protected] with the Name, Style and ABV% for each keg.  We need to plan out the tap space.  In addition, you will get a festive tap tag for each keg.

Upcoming Styles of the Month

  • April – German Beers
  • May – Specialty Beers
  • June – Pale Beers
  • July – Summer Party
  • August – Wheat Beers
  • September – Festbiers and Amber lagers
  • October – IPAs
  • November – Amber and Brown Beers
  • December – Holiday Party

Upcoming Events

Pacific Gravity Club Meeting Thursday, March16th at Tortugo Brewery

Our meeting this month will take place on March 16th, 2023 at Tortugo Brewing Co, located at 916 W Hyde Park Blvd, Inglewood, CA 90302. 
We will get started about 7:30 PM.March Monthly Meeting; Thursday 3/16/2023 at 7:30 PM

Tortugo Brewing Co.
916 W. Hyde Park Blvd.
Inglewood,  CA  90302
(424) 227-9963

Joyeuse Saint Patrick
The streams are definitely crossing on this meeting!  As our legendary Belgian Brew Challenge will be occurring just over a week later, our official style of the month is all beers Belgian.  Of course, the meeting is being held the day before St Patrick’s day so it would be unconscionable to not acknowledge it with some corned beef and cabbage prepared by our former president and perennial club chef Ian, and myself.  You never know, there might even be a PG leprechaun in attendance.Please bring your homebrews for everyone to enjoy.
The style of the month for March is Belgian Beers, though all styles are welcome.It is gratifying that we have resumed gathering in person, but as always, we encourage and expect everyone will be vigilant about their own health to ensure the groups safety!  Please observe all safety precautions and stay home if you do not feel well.Los Angeles Belgian Brew Challenge
Entry is closed, and bottles have been collected/sorted.  The judging will take place on March 25 – good luck to all!

Smog City Monster Brew
Porter has generously agreed to host the epic Smog City monster brew once again on Saturday April 29 for $30/5G.  If you have never done this, I strongly recommend it.  Basically it is a morning of behind-the-scenes brew-geekery at smog city with Porter and one of his brewers, then taking home 5 gallons of wort to modify and ferment yourself.  We will be discussing this at the meeting and as we get closer, Carl will be providing suggestions on how you might tweak your batch.

We hope to see you all at our meeting!

Parker Waechter, Vice President

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Pacific Gravity Club Meeting Thursday, February 16th at Tortugo Brewery

Greetings Pacific Gravity!

Our meeting this month will take place on February 16th, 2023 at Tortugo Brewing Co, located at 916 W Hyde Park Blvd, Inglewood, CA 90302.
We will get started about 7:30 PM.

February Monthly Meeting; Thursday 2/16/2023 at 7:30 PM

Tortugo Brewing Co.
916 W. Hyde Park Blvd.
Inglewood, CA 90302
(424) 227-9963

Oi! English Beers!
Join us for the January club meeting to kick the year off right. We will discuss upcoming events, fundraisers, brewing competitions and more!

Please bring your homebrews for everyone to enjoy.
The style of the month for February is English Beers, though all styles are welcome.

TRIUMPHANT RETURN OF SWAG!
We should have some Pacific Gravity branded items available for sale:

  • Taster Glasses $5
  • Lanyards (hold badge and have a ring for taster glasses) $5
  • We also have a couple of items if anyone is interested:
    Rice cooker (gargantuan size)
    Turkey Fryer

It is gratifying that we have resumed gathering in person, but as always, we encourage and expect everyone will be vigilant about their own health to ensure the groups safety! Please observe all safety precautions and stay home if you do not feel well.

We hope to see you all at our meeting!

Pacific Gravity Polo Shirts

The shirts are in! For all those who ordered Pacific Gravity polo shirts and have not picked them up, they will be available for pick up at the February meeting at Tortugo.

Competition Corner February 2023

Competition season is upon us, giving us several opportunities on top of each other.

First up, if you requested entries to the AHA National Homebrew Competition, you have up until February 12 to finalize your entry list. The physical entries will be due later in March. You can update your entries at https://www.homebrewersassociation.org/

The entry window for America’s Finest City Competition is now open. Entries are due by February 17th at Alesmith Brewery in San Diego. Alas, we do not have a driver this year, so you are on your own to ship them. Online registration is at https://quaff.org/AFC-2023/

Next up is our very own Los Angeles Belgian Brew Challenge. This competition focuses on the Belgian styles as defined in the 2015 BJCP guidelines. Here are the key dates:

Entry registration is open now until March 10th at http://comp.belgianbrewchallenge.com/.
Entry drop-off runs from February 25th through March 10th. Entries can be dropped off at Tortugo Brewing Company or the local homebrew shops.
Bottle Organizing will be held at Tortugo on Saturday, March 11th. Volunteers needed!
Sign-up for judging and stewards is open until March 22nd.
Main judging will be at Tortugo on March 25th. as a Pro-Am entry in the Great American Beer Festival.

All of the above are part of the 2023 Pacific Gravity Brewer of the Year Award.

Carl Townsend
Competition Coordinator

Upcoming Styles of the Month

February – English Beers
March – Belgian Beers
April – German Beers
May – Specialty Beers
June – Pale Beers
July – Summer Party
August – Wheat Beers
September – Festbiers and Amber lagers
October – IPAs
November – Amber and Brown Beers
December – Holiday Party

Pacific Gravity Club Meeting Thursday, January 19th at Tortugo Brewery

Greetings Pacific Gravity!
Our first club meeting of the year is on January 19th, 2022 at Tortugo Brewing Co, located at 916 W Hyde Park Blvd, Inglewood, CA 90302.
We will get started about 7:30 PM.January Monthly Meeting; Thursday 1/19/2023 at 7:30 PM.Tortugo Brewing Co.

916 W. Hyde Park Blvd.
Inglewood,  CA  90302
(424) 227-9963

New Year New Beer!

Join us for the January club meeting to kick the year off right. We will discuss upcoming events, fundraisers, brewing competitions and more!

The style of the month for January is winter beers, though all styles are welcome.
It is gratifying that we have resumed gathering in person, but as always we encourage and expect everyone will be vigilant about their own health to ensure the groups safety!  Please observe all safety precautions and stay home if you do not feel well.

We hope to see you all at our meeting!

 

Pacific Gravity Polo Shirts

The shirts are in! For all those who ordered Pacific Gravity polo shirts, they will be available for pick up at the January meeting at Tortugo.

Upcoming Styles of the Month

  • January 2023 – Winter Beers
  • February – English Beers
  • March – Belgian Beers
  • April – German Beers
  • May – Specialty Beers
  • June – Pale Beers
  • July – Summer Party
  • August – Wheat Beers
  • September – Festbiers and Amber lagers
  • October – IPAs
  • November – Amber and Brown Beers
  • December – Holiday Party

Upcoming Events

  • January 19th 7:30 PM. January Club Meeting at Tortugo Brewing Company. Style of the month is Winter Beers.
  • February 1:  Entry Registration begins for LABBC
  • February 3 or 4th:  First Friday or Saturday TBD
  • February 16:  Club Meeting at Tortugo Brewing Company
  • February 25:  Entry Drop-off begins for LABBC
  • March 10:  Entry Drop-off Deadline for LABBC
  • March 11:  Bottle Organizing Session at Tortugo
  • March 25:  Main Judging Session for LABBC at Tortugo