Special Vote for Brewer of the Year Rules

On Thursday, February 18th at the Club meeting, we will hold a special vote for the Brewer of the Year Rules.  The ballot language is included below.  Please review the issue now, so that you are prepared to vote. Voting at the club meeting will be conducted by written ballots at approximately 8:15 PM and results will be announced by 9:30 PM.  If you cannot attend the meeting, you have the option of voting on-line.   You can vote at any time by sending an e-mail to [email protected] .  Place the word “Vote” in the Subject line and either “Yes” or “No” in the body of the text.  On-line ballots must be submitted by 7:30 PM on Thursday February 18th.  If you vote on-line, you cannot vote at the meeting. Read more

Beer Tasting Schedule for 2010

The beer tasting schedule for 2010 club meeting has now been released.  The list has three sets of beer to keep in mind.  The most important is the club meeting homebrew keg styles of the month.  Kegs of homebrew are the basic fuel that keeps our club meetings running, so we need several every month.  Take a look at the list now to see what you can brew for the club this year.   Each keg of beer brought to the monthly meeting in this set of styles will be eligible for “Best Beer of the Meeting” award.  We’ll have a voice vote just before the raffle.  The winner gets a gift certificate from the Culver City Home Brewing Supply Company.   Note that we don’t have a keg style of the month for the summer party (which will be in August this year) or the Holiday Party in December.  The reason for this, of source, is that we need kegs from everybody of all styles.

PACIFIC GRAVITY HOMEBREW CLUB

Styles of the Month 2010

Month Homebrew Kegs Styles
of the Month
Judging of
Club-Only
Competition Entries
Commercial Styles
of the Month
Leader of
Commercial
Tasting
January
2010
English Pale Ales
and Scottish/Irish Ales
English Brown Ales
(BJCP Cat. #11)
English Pale Ales
and Scottish/Irish Ales
(BJCP Cats. #8-9)
Reed & Mike
February
2010
Belgian and French Ales N/A Belgian and French Ales
(BJCP Cat. #16)
Jon Porter
March
2010
American Ales
and Stouts
American Ales
(BJCP Cat. #10)
American Ales
and Stouts
(BJCP Cats. #10, 13)
Ian Fraser
April
2010
Extract Beers
(all categories)
Extract Beers
(all categories)
Smoke-Flavored/
Wood-Aged Beers,
and Specialty Beers
(BJCP Cats. #22, 23)
Nathalie Caldwell
May
2010
Lager Beers N/A Pilsners and Bocks
(BJCP Cats. #2, 5)
Peggy Robinson
June
2010
Fruit Beers,
Spice/Herb/Vegetable Beers,
Smoke-Flavored/
Wood-Aged Beers,
and Specialty Beers
N/A Fruit Beers and
Spice/Herb/Vegetable Beers
(BJCP Cats. #20, 21)
Need a volunteer
July
2010
German Wheat/Rye Beers and Mead Mead
(BJCP Cats. #24-26)
German Wheat/Rye Beers and Mead
(BJCP Cats. #15, 24-26)
Need a volunteer
August
2010*
N/A Sour Ales
(BJCP Cat. #17)
N/A N/A
September
2010
India Pale Ales N/A India Pale Ales
(BJCP Cat. #14)
Need a volunteer
October
2010
Strong Ales Strong Ales
(BJCP Cat. #19)
Strong Ales
(BJCP Cat. #19)
Need a volunteer
November
2010
Hybrid Beers N/A Hybrid Beers
(BJCP Cats. #6,7)
Need a volunteer
December 2010** N/A English Pale Ales
(BJCP Cat. #8)
N/A N/A

*The club’s summer party will be held in August 2010. No styles of the month will be designated.
**The club’s holiday party will be held in December 2010. No styles of the month will be designated.

The next column shows the Club-only Competition entries that will be judged each month.   We will run a small judging panel with BJCP judges to select the best beer to send on to the national level.   Quite often, this is the same list as one of the kegs of the month.  If this is the case, you can use your keg to supply samples for the evening judging, but you’ll need to have at least 2 twelve-ounce bottles that can be shipped off.   Bring 3 bottles if you don’t have a keg.   Let the Competition Coordinator Carl Townsend know that you brought an entry.  If you can, please remember to fill out the entry forms before the meeting, which you can download from the AHA website at: http://www.beertown.org/homebrewing/pdf/entry_recipe.pdf.  The club picks up the entry fees and shipping for this one, so it is free to you.

The third column in the schedule shows the commercial style tasting that we’ll do at the club meeting.  We are actively looking for volunteers to lead the monthly tasting sessions.  The session volunteer gets to select which beers to buy and gets to espouse his or her knowledge of the styles during the pouring.  The club has a budget set aside to buy the beers.  Based on past experience, it is a good idea to go buy the beers a couple of weeks in advance.  And of course, the more rare and exotic you commercial selections are, the better.  Dean Sussman is our Style Tasting Coordinator, so drop him a line if you are interested in volunteering.

November 2009 Club Meeting

The November club meeting will be on Thursday, November 19th from 7:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. at Culver City Home Brewing Supply. We’ll be featuring Brown Ales and Porters as our style of the month and as always; we’ll have some homebrewed examples on tap to complement our monthly commercial style tasting (volunteer kegs are welcome).  Lee and Andrew Bakofsky will be guiding us on a tour of Brown Ales and Porters for our style tasting.  Please remember to bring some of your homebrew to share with us.  While you’re at it, bring some of your friends and maybe some new members.  As always we’ll be giving away lots of club swag and beer/brewing related goodies (donations welcome) in our monthly raffle.

The November meeting will feature our annual election of club officers and the club member of the year. We will be voting for President, Vice President and Treasurer.  In addition, we will be voting for the prestigious honor of Club Member of the Year with the results of this ballot to be announced at our Holiday Party on December 12th.  See Annual Club Elections for more details.

We’re planning on having the new club tee shirts with our new club logo on hand.  If you pre-ordered a shirt we’ll have yours set aside for you to pick up and if not, we’ll have extras available, but you’ll probably want to pick one up before we run out of your favorite size/style.

With this being the last meeting before our annual Holiday Party, we’ll be actively seeking volunteers for food and homebrew.  Plan on showing up and signing up to let us know what food and homebrew you’re planning on sharing with us.  We’ll also be collecting entries for the upcoming Belgian Strong Ales (category 18) AHA club only competition (see Competition Corner for more info).  Of course we’ll also have the latest info on all upcoming club events, plan on joining us…

Annual Club Elections

Nominations were accepted at the October meeting and we’ll be holding our annual elections for the Club Board and the Club Member of the Year award at the November club meeting on Nov 19th.

The 2010 Club Board will have a slightly different look since Club President, Craig Corley has decided its time to take a break from running the club.  Drew Butler and the team of Peggy Robinson & Nathalie Caldwell were nominated to replace him as club president. Dan Hakes was re-nominated as Vice President and Craig Corley was nominated for Treasurer. The remaining board positions are appointed and will include Carl Townsend returning as Competition Coordinator, Mike Steinberg returning as Activities Director, Ian Fraser rejoining as Club Chef, Thomas Lee Bakofsky & David Stickel returning as Webmasters, Terry Malloy joining as Fund Raiser, Dean Sussman joining as Style Tasting Coordinator, Josh Jensen returning as SCHBF representative, and Tomm Carroll returning as a newsletter columnist. While this is an impressive roster of club members, we’re always looking for new faces to get involved, contact Craig Corley at [email protected] if interested.

Six club members were nominated for the 2009 Club Member of the Year award. This award recognizes and honors significant contributions and involvement by club members.  The members nominated at the October meeting include Lee Bakofsky, Craig Corley, Dan Hakes, Jon Porter, Neil Saund, and Dean Sussman.  Selection of the Club Member of the Year will be done by secret ballot and the results will be announced at our annual Holiday Party by last years winner, Larry Caldwell.

November 2009 Club Events

  • Thursday, November 19, 2009 – November Club Meeting @ Culver City Home Brewing Supply
    • Style: Porters & Brown Ales – keg volunteers welcome
    • Elections for Board & Member of Year
    • AHA Club Only Competition – Belgian Strong Ales (cat 18)
    • Contact [email protected] for more info

Online and subscribe-able club calendar available at: http://ical.me.com/cgcorley/PacificGravityEvents

For more info on upcoming events, check for related articles herein or contact [email protected]

October 2009 Club Meeting

The October club meeting will be on Thursday, October 15th from 7:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. at Culver City Home Brewing Supply. We’ll be featuring All Lagers as our style of the month and as always; we’ll have some homebrewed examples on tap to complement our monthly commercial style tasting (volunteer kegs are welcome).  Carl Townsend will be guiding us on a tour of Lagers for our style tasting.  Please remember to bring some of your homebrew to share with us.  While you’re at it, bring some of your friends and maybe some new members.  As always we’ll be giving away lots of club swag and beer/brewing related goodies (donations welcome) in our monthly raffle.

The October meeting marks the beginning of our annual election season.  We’ll be accepting nominations for the elected positions of the 2010 Club Board (President, Vice President and Treasurer) with the election to be held at our November meeting.  The remaining board positions are appointed and we’ll be recruiting club members to fill those positions as well.  We’ll also be accepting nominations for the 2009 Club Member of the Year award, which recognizes and honors significant contributions and involvement by club members.  Elections for this prestigious award will also be held at the November meeting with the winner being announced at our annual Holiday Party in December.

We’re planning on having the new club tee shirts with our new club logo on hand and will be selling them for $15 each.  If you pre-ordered a shirt we’ll have yours set aside for you to pick up and if not, we’ll have extras available, but you’ll probably want to pick one up before we run out of your favorite size/style.

With several club events upcoming, including the Teach a Friend to Homebrew Day and Holiday Party, we’ll have a number of sign ups and details to finalize.  Of course we’ll also have the latest info on all upcoming club events, plan on joining us…

2010 Club Board Elections

Fall is here and its time for our annual elections for the Club’s Board of Directors.  We’ll be accepting nominations for the 2010 Club Board at the October club meeting and will hold an election at our November club meeting. Club President, Craig Corley has decided its time to take a break from running the club, so we’ll be selecting his replacement.  And depending on his replacement (we have a few who have expressed interest), we’ll have a couple of other positions to fill as well.  The rest of the current club board members have expressed an interest in serving for another year.

Beyond the open board position(s) we need to fill, we’re always looking for new members to get involved.  To make it easy for club members to get involved, we have part-time positions as well as the full-time positions. The full time board includes the elected officers (President, Vice President and Treasurer) and the appointed officers (Competition Coordinator and Activities Director).  The part time positions include the Webmaster, Publisher, Club Chef, Fund Raiser, Ladies Events Coordinator, Road Trip Coordinator, Style Tasting Coordinator, So. Cal Home Brew Festival Coordinator and more.  The part time positions tend to focus on one event or task and do not require regular attendance at the board meetings. We’ll even tailor part time positions to utilize the skills set of anyone who volunteers.  If you’re interested in the joining the club board, contact Craig Corley at [email protected].

October 2009 Club Events

Online and subscribe-able club calendar available at: http://ical.me.com/cgcorley/PacificGravityEvents

For more info on upcoming events, check for related articles herein or contact [email protected]

October First Friday- 10/2

Fall is here, and so is our next First Friday. Once a year, PG Veep, Dan Hakes hosts the event, and this year is no exception.

Unlike other FF’s, beer is not for sale. It’s a BYOB night, and anything goes.

Some snacks will be served, but more are always welcome.

Dan always has great homebrew on in the Taproom, and the darts will be flying in the lushly planted back yard.

If it’s cool, the fire will be lit, as will those who show up to imbibe the Nectar of the Mash Gods.

Event commences at 7pm, ends when the last person leaves.

Dan’s address is 2379 W. 21st. Street, L.A. 90051.
Take the 10 to Arlington, go North to Washington. Right on Wash. 1 block to Cimmaron and make a right to 21 St.

Find a spot and walk less than a block to Dan’s.

If you have questions, contact me.

September Club Meeting

The September club meeting will be on Thursday, September 17th from 7:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. at Culver City Home Brewing Supply. We’ll be featuring Belgian and French Ales as our style of the month and as always; we’ll have some homebrewed examples on tap to complement our monthly commercial style tasting (volunteer kegs are welcome).  Yours truly will be guiding us on a tour of Belgian and French Ales for our style tasting.  Please remember to bring some of your homebrew to share with us.  While you’re at it, bring some of your friends and maybe some new members.  As always we’ll be giving away lots of club swag and beer/brewing related goodies (donations welcome) in our monthly raffle.

We’ve finally finalized the design for the new club tee shirt and we’ll be taking pre-orders for the shirts at the club meeting.  We’re targeting $15 per shirt and plan to deliver them at the October club meeting.  Plan in letting us know how many, what size and style of shirt you want and if you can’t make the meeting, please email your pre-order to me at [email protected]

With several club events upcoming, including the Chili Cookoff and Club Brew, we’ll have a number of sign ups and details to finalize. The Pacific Brewers Cup judging is on the Saturday following the meeting and we’ll be recruiting members to sign up to judge or steward at the competition.  We’ll be collecting entries for the upcoming European Amber Lagers (cat 3) AHA club only competition.  Of course we’ll also have the latest info on all upcoming club events, plan on joining us…