Homebrew Fest Details – Sign Up Now

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We are less than two weeks away from the 2022 Southern California Homebrew Festival, which will be back live in person after a two-year hiatus due to COVID.  If you haven’t ever attended, this is a three-day camping and beer-drinking fest, with all the other clubs in the Southern California region. It will be held at Vail Lake KOA Resort, just outside Temecula, California.  If you haven’t already signed up, here is what you need to do no later than April 27th.

  • Join the California Homebrewers Association at https://www.calhomebrewers.org/ .  Cost is $10. You must do this before purchasing fest admission.
  • Purchase the Fest Admission from CHA. Cost is $60.
  • Contact Terry Molloy at schbf@pacificgravity.com and let him know you will be attending.  If you want to reserve an RV space, the cost is $130 (We have 1 left).  If you just want a space for a tent, the cost is $30.  Car pooling is recommended; there is an added fee for additional vehicles. Alternately, if you are not into the camping thing, you can book a hotel room in Temecula, in which case you are on your own.  You can get a shuttle pass from CHA, but check the hours carefully.
  • Contact Carl if you have kegs to serve at the fest, so we know how many taps to have on hand. Email him at  c136@7d.com .

So, what goes on at the festival?  Check out the complete rundown here: https://www.calhomebrewers.org/2022-schf-info/

Here are the main schedule details: Read more →

LABBC Status – Please visit our sponsors!

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Thank you for participating in the 2020 Los Angeles Belgian Brew Challenge! This year we judged 68 beers and had some really good entries.

Our host brewery Los Angeles Ale Works is open daily from 12noon-8:00 pm for pickup of cans and crowlers.  No shipping or delivery offered on beer at the moment.  Read more →

Pacific Gravity response to the Coronavirus (COVID -19)

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Dear Club Members,

Considering the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), we want to assure you that Pacific Gravity is taking every precaution to ensure the health and safety of our membership and guests. In an abundance of caution and to avoid exposure the Board has decided to suspend club meetings and events for the short term as this situation develops.

As of this moment, judging for LABBC will still happen this Sunday (3/15), but this could change, so please check for any last-minute notices. Given that this is a discretionary event, we recognize that some of you may wish to not participate. If this is the case, please contact Carl Townsend (Head judge)  as soon as possible.

We will be taking a number of precautions at the judging site to avoid any unnecessary exposure. Specifically,
1) You will be asked point blank as you enter if you are sick, or even think you might be sick, or if you have been exposed to anyone with Covid-19. (We would hope that you would refrain from even coming out.)
2) Please avoid unnecessary body contact. Do a fist-bump if necessary, but avoid shaking hands or hugs. We will be spreading you out to avoid crowding.
3) Please wash your hands thoroughly using the CDC guidelines a couple of times throughout the morning. We will provide plastic gloves for use if desired. If you have hand sanitizer, please bring some along.
4) Do not pass around cups of beer. Do not swig out of the bottles, even if they are nearly empty. We will have plenty of cups available.
5) Lunch will be served up by our chef. Please do not serve yourself. If the weather cooperates, please spread out to eat using the outdoor tables. (This also avoids food smells in the judging area.)

Other Upcoming Events:
The March meeting scheduled for March 19th is cancelled.
The Monster brew scheduled for March 28, 2020 at Smog City Brewing is postponed, tentatively until May.
AHA has notified us that the first round judging for the National Homebrew Conference has been postponed.
We are staying in contact with the CHA and monitoring their response and will provide updates about SCHBF (May 1-3, 2020) as they become available.

While there are no confirmed cases of COVID-19 in our club’s membership and public health officials assess our risk to be low, we are focused on caring for the health and well being of our members, their families and our community at large.

We apologize for any inconvenience this situation has caused.

Please maintain your focus on keeping yourselves and your families safe and healthy.

Sincerely,

Ian Fraser
President
Pacific Gravity Homebrewers

First Saturday this Weekend in the Arts District!

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Greetings,

The October First Friday occurs on the First Saturday this month!

Please join us at the Imperial Western Brewing Company at Noon on Saturday. This is an opportunity to use public transportation to an event.

The Arts district area is a short distance away if a pub crawl ensues or even trek up to Stone Brewing in Pasadena and swing by Lucky Baldwins! This central location makes all these options possible!

Come on down on the Metro, have some beer and food and pub crawl away! See you there!

Date: October 5, 2019
Time: 12 Noon – …
Place: Starting at Imperial Western Beer Co. 800 N. Almeda St. LA CA 90012

Cheers,

Ian Fraser

Pacific Gravity

Upcoming Dates:

October 17, 2019: Monthly meeting at Tortugo
Nov. 1, 2019: First Friday; Location TBD
Nov. 9, 2019: Chili cook-off and Club meeting (plus elections) at Terry Malloy’s

September Club Meeting

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Greetings,

Welcome to fall!  Our meeting this month will be held at Niel’s Duplex party pad located at Niel’s duplex 12966 Rubens Ave. Los Angeles, CA. It is the house on the corner of Alla Rd. and Rubens Ave. and is the location of our Holiday parties.

Date:  9/19/19
Time:  7:00 PM – 11:00 PM
Address:  12966 Rubens Ave. Los Angeles, CA 90066

Our style of the month is India Pale Ale (BJCP category #21) with our commercial tasting hosted by Michael and Tania.

See you There!

Ian Fraser,

President,
Pacific Gravity

 

Upcoming styles of the month:

September 2019 India Pale Ale
(BJCP category #21)		 India Pale Ale
(BJCP category #21)		 Michael and Tania Musgrave
October 2019 Smoked Beer and Wood Beer
(BJCP categories #32 and #33)		 Smoked Beer and Wood Beer
(BJCP categories #32 and #33)		 Derek Marshall
November 2019 European Sour Ale and Mead
(BJCP categories #23, #M1, #M2,
#M3, and #M4)		 Sour Ale, Wild Ale, and Mead
(BJCP categories #23, #28, #M1, #M2,
#M3, and #M4)		 Peter Moran and Robert Wilkiins

 

Dates to remember:
10/5/19:  First Saturday:  Imperial Western Beer Co. and Arts District pub crawl  800 N. Alameda St.  Los Angeles, Calif. 90012
10/17/19:   October Club Meeting @ Tortugo Brewing
11/16/19:  SATURDAY!  November club meeting, Annual chili cook-off and Elections of 2020 Board at Terry Malloy’s home

First Friday is this Friday at The Daily Pint!

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Greetings,

Please join us this Friday, 9/6/19 for the September First Friday at the Daily Pint.

Located at 2310 Pico Blvd, we will get started about 7:00 PM.

The pint is known for its beer and whisky selection but does NOT sell food, so either eating in advance or bringing food with is highly recommended!

We hope to see you there!

Cheers,

Ian Fraser

President, Pacific Gravity

Summer Party Reminder!

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We will feature different kinds of jerked meats paired with black beans, coconut rice, fried plantains and mango salsa. We will also feature your ginger ales and ginger beers to accompany our feast, so get brewing people! We will extend our theme into the decorations and music; as well as having a couple of surprises that will complement our theme just fine. So what can you do to help? I am glad you asked! As always this party is a giant pot luck, so if you have a special dish to share we want to try it! It does not even have to match the theme! We rely on our members for appetizers, desserts and side dishes and they have never let us down!Our summer party theme will be grooving to the rhythm of the Caribbean.  It is coming THIS SATURDAY, AUG. 3rd at 2:00 PM at Dean’s Pac. Palisades party pad:  1310 Amalfi Drive.

Also this party is really about the beer, we need beer, lots of beer! All kegs donated to the party will be eligible for the best beer of the fest prize and bragging rights to the brewer. We will also be judging the ginger ales and ginger beers as well and recognizing the winner of that category also! So pull out those old Bermuda shorts, weave yourself a thatch hat and come boogie down to our summer jam!

Here is a party checklist for ALL attendees to keep you in the groove!

  • Club Dues: If you haven’t paid already, please do so at the summer party!
  • Bring BEER, BEER & more BEER! Also, bring sodas or a non-beer beverage featuring GINGER for the “Best Ginger Beverage” competition!  Please email what you are bringing to Carl at Competitions@PacificGravity.org.
  • FOOD – sign up to bring Jamaican dishes to our POTLUCK party. (the club will supply some food but we need YOUR dishes too!) We need ALL kinds of food: appetizers, sides dishes, main dishes (pre-cooked), desserts, etc. All your specialty dishes are welcome! We need LOTS of food to go with all the beer so please email Ian at SummerParty@PacificGravity.org what dishes you will add to our feast!
  • VOLUNTEERS – we need YOU to help make this a successful party! We have lots of volunteer opportunities!
    • Setup on Friday night – starting at 6pm
    • Food prep on Friday – please contact Chef Ian to help
    • Cleanup on Sunday morning -starting around 10am
    • More setup and food prep on Saturday morning – between 10am and 2pm
    • Bartender shifts – 1hr. (please see Carl on Saturday to volunteer)
  • Beer Equipment (email Carl at: Competitions@PacificGravity.org)
    • Jockey boxes
    • CO2 cylinders
    • Bags of ice for jockey boxes
  • Other Equipment needed for the party. Please let us know if you have any of the following and would be willing to loan to us for the party. We will email confirmation back if we need you to bring items on Friday night during setup.
    • Tables
    • EZ Ups/Canopies
    • BBQs
    • Power/extension cords
    • Extra coolers/ice chests
  • Charity Donation Goods – Our partners at The People Concern provided us with a list of what they need most for the summer:
    • NEW underwear for men and women (all sizes)
    • Sunscreen
    • Light t-shirts for both men and women (all sizes)
    • Shorts and skirts/summer dresses (all sizes)
    • Travel size toiletries
    • Granola Bars
    • Water

Don’t forget to bring and things to know:

  • Bring BEER & other beverages
  • Bring FOOD – Jamaican themed or any food that goes with beer!
  • Fee for all adult guests is $10 per guest. Kids are free. (Current members are free.)
  • Payment for past due membership – cash or credit
  • Chairs and Blankets
  • Bathing suits and towels, if you want to use the swimming pool.
  • Sunscreen
  • Jackets & sweaters for the evening
  • Donations for Charity – clothes, toiletries, new socks/underwear, kitchen kits, cleaning supplies, etc.
  • Cash for Raffle tickets
  • PG merchandise will be available for sale at the Front Desk.
  • Note for food contributions, we will NOT have use of a kitchen for heating or cooling so please plan accordingly. Please label your food containers so that we can get them back to you.

DATE:    Saturday, Aug 3, 2019
TIME:    2:00 PM
PLACE:  1310 Amalfi Drive, Pacific Palisades

4th Horseman & Long Beach Pub Crawl – June 8th

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For our First Friday on the second Saturday in June, June 8th, we will be returning to the 4th Horseman in Long Beach!

Martin Svab will lead the group on a pub crawl of local beers, then the group will return to the 4th Horseman for Pizza and a bottle share. Any of you who attended the First Friday at the 4th Horseman saw Martin pull some serious beers from his collection but this time we will all participate with some bombs!

The plan is to meet up at Beachwood BBQ (210 E 3rd St, Long Beach, CA · (562) 436-4020) at 12:00 NOON for a light bite and starter beers, then travel by foot to Beachwood Blendery (247 Long Beach Blvd, Long Beach, CA 90802) , then Uber a short distance to 10 Mile Brewing (1136 E WILLOW ST SIGNAL HILL, CA 90755).

Then we will retire to the 4th Horseman for late afternoon pizza and bottle share! We ask that you please limit yourself to bringing only 2 bottles to share!
This will be a very long day of beer drinking capped off with our bottle share! Please be responsible and consider public transportation and plan for the entire afternoon and evening to be consumed by this event!

Hoppy Holidays! PG Holiday Party – Dec 15, 2018!!

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Hoppy Holidays – 2018 Edition!

It is time for the Pacific Gravity annual holiday event.  Mark your calendars!  This year the party is happening on Saturday, December 15, 2018 at Neil Saund’s duplex – at: 12966 Rubens Ave, Los Angeles, CA. (at Alla Road)

The party will kick off about 5:00 P.M.  If you have not attended one of the past holiday events, let us tell you this is one party not to be missed!

 

We really, really need your help with the following:

 

FOOD:

Although the club will be providing some of the main dishes, this is still a potluck party and YOUR favorite party dish will be greatly appreciated!  The menu should mostly reflect past holiday parties featuring Carbonnades ala Flamandes, deep fried turkeys, spiced ham and much more! Suggestions of what to bring would include any kind of main dish but especially all side dishes, veggie dishes, salads, desserts and appetizers. So, if you have a favorite family holiday recipe and want to share it with the rest of us, this is your chance.  Please let us know what you will bring. If you have any questions about what to bring, please contact Club Chef Ian at: masterchef@pacificgravity.com.

The dinner portion of the event will be ongoing beginning at approximately 7pm. Please note that there will be very little space available for reheating food, so please bring your food ready to serve, not ready to cook.

Crockpots and chafing dishes with sterno fuel would be a great idea of how to bring something and keep it hot.

Also, don’t forget to label your containers or anything you want back.

 

BEER:
Got beer?  We need all types of beer, meads, cider and sodas for this event.  Pull out your favorite holiday beverage, dust off the bottle or keg and bring it down!  We’ll have the Wave of Beer set up to help dispense your holiday homebrews.  If you plan to bring beer, soda or other seasonally festive beverage, please contact Carl at: Competitions@pacificgravity.com & let him know what you will bring.  Everyone who signs up in advance will have a colorful tap tag.

VOLUNTEERS needed for setup & cleanup
On Saturday, Dec 15th from approximately 10am to 12noon, we need help with final setup at Neil’s.

On Sunday, Dec 16th, starting at 10am, we need lots of people to help with clean up. The more we get the faster it goes. (probably ending around 12noon-1pm).

If you’d like to volunteer for set up or clean up contact us: PG Board at Board@pacificgravity.com

 

EQUIPMENT:

We need a few more heat lamps and fire pits so please donate them if you can.

We NEED lot & lots FIREWOOD!  If you can bring wood please do so.  December evenings can be cold so please help bring some wood so we can all stay warm.

We need more TABLES, e-z ups (canopies), and power strips.

We also need jockey boxes and CO2 cylinders and Sanke taps to help make sure all the beverages flow cold with perfect carbonation. We have more kegs than taps on the Wave, and the jockey boxes help out big time.

If at all possible, please bring your kegs and heavy stuff to setup on Friday evening or between 10am – 12noon on Saturday. This makes the last minute activities at party time go much more smoothly. The early kegs get the best slots on the Wave. Make sure all your kegs, coolers, tanks  taps, and other equipment are well labeled so they all return to their rightful owners Sunday morning.

Note, if you can’t deliver beer kegs to the Neil’s house at setup on Friday evening or Saturday afternoon, then please email Carl Townsend at Competitions@pacificgravity.com to make arrangements to drop off your kegs at his house.

4th Annual Holiday CLOTHING CHARITY DRIVE:
It’s time to clean out your closets…Pacific Gravity is having our 4th annual Holiday CLOTHING DRIVE!

We will have boxes for any donations you can bring to the party.
For clothes & other items, please see the list below which will be donated to The People Concern (formerly, OPCC). They are mostly in need of men’s clothing in large sizes. Clothing can be “gently used” and should be clean.
Monetary donations will also be accepted – checks or cash. Special donation envelopes will be available at the party. Tax receipts for monetary donations will be sent to you by mail.

Below is a list of items that we can always use:

Clothing
Sweat socks – for men, women and children
Sweat shirts and pants for adults – all sizes especially larger sizes
New underwear – men’s, women and children
Flannel and long sleeve shirts for adults

Personal & Household items
Hygiene Items: toothpaste, toothbrush, deodorant, shampoo, disposable razors, bar soap, hand & body lotion,etc.
Blankets (preferably wool)
Sleeping bags for adults

Final Party Details:

Dress warm for our winter party, bring food and bring beer!

Highlighting the evening will be the crowning of the Pacific Gravity Club Member of the Year, and awarding of the trophy for Brewer of the Year.

Santa is sure to make an appearance to give away lots of great door prizes (prize donations welcome).
All club members and their guests are welcome, so plan on joining us…Celebrate the season, good beer, good food and friends the Pacific Gravity way!

Pacific Gravity: Next Meeting, Looking Back, Looking Forward

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SEPTEMBER CLUB MEETING

One of Pacific Gravity’s signature events is the annual Monster Brew held in conjunction with Jonathan Porter, Owner, Brewer and Proprietor Extraordinaire of Smog City Brewing. Our next meeting is truly special: we are going to share our Monster Brew creations with Porter and the staff at Smog City

When: This Thursday, September 20, 2018
Time: 7:30pm
Where: Smog City Brewing Company, 1901 Del Amo Blvd, Torrance, CA.

EDUCATION HIGHLIGHT: In the first of a series, Carl will be demonstrating how water chemistry affects the taste of your homebrew, and how you can fine tune your H2O to the style you are brewing.

COMMERCIAL STYLE of the MONTH:   IPAs, hosted by Reuben.

And whatever Porter Has On Tap.

HOMEBREW STYLE of the MONTH:   Your Monster Brew, and any home-brewed IPA.

Kegs, bottles and growlers of the style of the month are encouraged. All homebrews are welcome.

LOOKING BACK AT THE SUMMER OF 2018:

We sure had an interesting summer:

  • 36 PG and WASH (West Adams Society of Homebrewers) members attended the annual Southern California Homebrewers Festival at Vail Lake in Temecula. We shared 23 kegs with home brewers from around Southern and Central California.
  • We held our last meeting at PG’s long time home, Culver City Homebrew Supply.
  • Our annual Big Brew highlighted the different methods used to make award winning (and tasty) beers, from Michael’s Brew-in-a-Bag, to Carl’s Thermo-Siphon Reboiler, to Parker’s Set-it-and-Forget-It Grainfather.
  • PG members congregated at the Casa Molloy Event Center to make jockey boxes and add to our auxiliary stock of party taps.
  • Another cozy Summer Party involving much sampling of fellow PG members home-brews, interesting commercial beers from around the country, and the culinary inspirations of Ian Fraser and his Merry Band of Sous Chefs.
  • Our combined August club meeting / Tania’s Birthday Party was held at Neil Saund’s duplex.
  • And finally, a Labor Day Weekend Downtown-LA Brewery Crawl. To kickoff the crawl, Art District’s Head Brewer Devon Randall bought everyone’s first pint, and her staff treated us to a tour of the brewhouse. We also sampled their freshest beer.

Now, let’s kick our Fall into high gear.

OCTOBER EVENTS:

First Friday:
Date: Friday, October 5.
Place: Phantom Carriage Brewing, 18525 S. Main Street, Carson, CA
Time: 7’ish pm

Phantom Carriage was started by a couple of Pacific Gravity alumni.

October Club Meeting:
Date: Thursday, October 18.
Place: Tortugo Brewing Company, 916 W. Hyde Park Blvd, Inglewood
Time: 7:30 pm

Tortugo is only a couple of months old, and was started by PG member Joe Kovach. He has some pretty tasty beers on tap, including a Belgian Wit that is right on the mark.

Hyde Park Blvd is about 2 blocks East of the intersection of Florence and La Cienega, and about 4 blocks East of Three Weavers.

WANTED: VOLUNTEER BOARD MEMBERS

After many years of outstanding service, Tim Bardet is retiring as Treasurer. At the September and October meetings, we will be taking nominations for Treasurer, and – if you are so inclined – the other elected positions (President, Vice President).

If you would like to be part of Keeping Pacific Gravity Great, please volunteer your nomination.

NOVEMBER EVENTS:

First Friday:  TBA
Date: Friday, November 2.
Place: TBA
Time: 7’ish pm

Phantom Carriage was started by a couple of Pacific Gravity alumni.

November Chili Cookoff / Club Meeting:
Date: TBD
Place: TBD
Time: TBD

We haven’t worked out all the details yet, but just wanted you to be ready for it.

Remember: Please bring some of your homebrew to the meeting and events.

 

See you Thursday!