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

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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 →

August First Friday at Four Points Sheraton Poolside Bar

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Celebrate this Summer First Friday enjoying great beers by the pool with your fellow PG members next Friday, August 3rd.  For those of you who have not discovered the treasure that is Brewster’s Bar & Grill at the Four Points Sheraton LAX, this is a great way to check out their extensive beer selection, tapas, & other bar food.  In appreciation of Pacific Gravity coming to the poolside event, the amazing management will be offering us 25% off on food and $2.00 off on all of the poolside bar’s draft beers – please bring your Pacific Gravity membership card to receive the discounts, which will be in effect from 4pm to 7pm.  In addition, if you’d like to take a dip in the pool, you’re welcome to.

Through their Best Beer Program & Beer Advisory Board, which our own Tom Rierson is a part of, “Brewster’s has 16 tap beers and more than 100 bottles of beer.  The six poolside taps are 100-percent dedicated to small local breweries“.  Check out their website for more info at: www.fourpointslax.com/BestBrews

Currently On Tap: Here are the beers currently on tap at the pool bar – and lucky for us, due to the beer tasting event last weekend, there are some excellent and hard-to-get Belgian Beers on!

  • Bavik Premium, Petrus Aged Pale Ale, Dogfish Head Tweason’ale, Dogfish Head Chicory Stout, Gulden Draak, & Smog City Saison

Time: This First Friday will kick off at about 5pm, and there will likely be more than a few early arrivals enjoying the late afternoon sun.  The pool area closes at 10pm, but the inside bar is open late for you night owls.

Location: Four Points Sheraton LAX, 9750 Airport Boulevard, LA, 90045

Directions:

  • From East: Take the 605 Freeway to Interstate 105 West and exit at Sepulveda Boulevard. Proceed through the tunnel. Turn right onto 98th Street and continue to Airport Boulevard. The hotel is located on the corner of Airport Boulevard and 98th Street.
  • From North: Take the 405 Freeway and exit at Century Boulevard. Turn left onto La Cienega Boulevard, then right onto Century Boulevard. Turn right onto Airport Boulevard. The hotel is located on the corner of Airport Boulevard and 98th Street.
  • From South: Take the 405 Freeway to the Century Boulevard Exit. Turn left onto Century Boulevard, then right onto Airport Boulevard. The hotel is located on the corner of Airport Boulevard and 98th Street.

Parking: Remember to get your ticket validated at the bar to receive 3 hours free.  We may also be able to get a few “all day comp” passes for those wishing to stay longer.  Click this link for alternate transportation options.

 

Cheers & hope to see you next Friday!

-Audrey

 

Now that the Summer Party has come and gone…

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Woooo!  Great party, huh?  I hope that everyone who attended had a nice time and got home safely and without incident.  I’d also like to take a moment to reflect on all that had to come together to make this shindig possible:

  • Special thanks to our creative and tireless President, Audrey, for coming up with the “Oktoberfest In July” concept and for the significant amount of planning and organizing she took on to pull this massive event off.
  • Extra-special thanks to our ever-gracious and generous host, Neil Saund, for once again allowing the club access to his Palatial Duplex for our party, and for everything he does for the club behind the scenes.
  • Thanks also to the members of the PG Board of Directors who took time out of their busy lives to help in their respective capacities.
  • To the volunteers who answered the call: thanks so much – especially to all of the very new members who showed up and did their part – your example is to be commended.   As you witnessed and experienced, the sheer amount of work and time involved to put on a party of this size is no small thing.  I’d like to encourage those of you who didn’t volunteer this time around to consider stepping up and getting involved next time – the Holiday Party will be here before we know it!
  • To those who made food and beer contributions to our grand event – yuuuummmm…and thanks, as always.  No food, no beer, no fun!
  • Finally, to YOU – for behaving like civilized folk and adhering to the rules (well, most of you, at least…wow).

I’d asked previously that you snap some pix at the party for our collective enjoyment, and PG member / up-and-coming pro-brewer, Kip Barnes, did just that, and wrote a nice little article about it, too.  You can find it here.

Alrighty then – hasta la proxima!

— Victor Macias, Communications Director

 

 

FINAL REMINDER: The Summer Party is this Saturday, the 21st! Are you ready?

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Hello again.  I wanted to post one final reminder reiterating some important points and also introducing a couple of new topics to the mix:

  • If you haven’t already done so, please RSVP as soon as possible by replying to the separate email you should’ve already received.  You can also specify what volunteering you’d like to do, as well as noting your potluck contribution and / or the keg(s) you plan on bringing.
  • After much discussion and effort, we finally have new Pacific Gravity tasting glasses and more beer glass leashes!  The glasses are a different style / shape than we’ve had in the past, and they look great with the red and black oval PG logo.   If you’re interested in purchasing one (or more), we’ll have them on sale in a combo with a leash for $10, or you can buy them individually at $7 for a glass and $5 for a leash.  Bring cash for ease of transaction.
  • Remember also that we’ll be conducting our massive raffle for all manner of beer related prizes, such as bottles of fine ale, homebrewing equipment, and gift certificates for great local watering holes.  Raffle tickets can be purchased for $1 each.
  • We’ll be holding a silent auction for PG’s 3-tier club brewing system.  This is a “turnkey” 10-gallon system consisting of a brewstand with burners, 2 converted keg-kettles, and a “gott-style” mash tun.  You won’t need to fork over the cash on-the-spot for this; we’ll arrange for the winner of the auction to pay for and transport this large item during more sober circumstances.
  • Finally, there’s one thing that I’ve forgotten to mention along the way – take some pictures at the party!  Bring a camera and capture the moments…  I’ll collect photos from you afterwards and put together a recap / photo essay for all to enjoy.  Just don’t get all creepy with those zoom lenses, K?  You know who you are….

Alright kids – that’s all I’ve got.  I leave the rest to you.  Let’s make this year’s Summer Party one to remember!  See you all this Saturday.

REMINDER: More Summer Party Setup @ Neil’s this Friday, RSVPing, & KEGS.

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I wanted to take a moment to thank all of the fine PG members that came out to help with the Summer Party setup this past Saturday – we had a great turnout and got a lot done.  We couldn’t have done it without you, so thanks!

We’ll be over at Neil’s again this Friday afternoon doing more setup, decorating, food prep, and last-minute stuff, so if you have yet to do your part, please come on by when you can and pitch in.

I also wanted to remind all of you to please RSVP for the Summer Party if you haven’t already done so.  Deadline for RSVPing is this Wednesday, the 18th.  Please RSVP via the separate email that you should’ve already received.

Finally, remember that you can drop your kegs off at Culver City Homebrewing Supply for convenient transportation to the party.  Please do so by 7pm this Thursday at the latest.  Please use the toe tags in the CLUB STUFF drawer at the shop to label your kegs with your name and what beer is contained therein.  Remember to email Carl and let him know what manner of beverage you’ll be bringing so that he can have a festive toe tag ready for you at the party.

We’re in the home stretch, kids, so let’s get it togetha and git ‘er done!  As always, if you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to email us.  Thanks!

 

P.S.  Almost forgot – there’s no monthly meeting at CCHBS in July – the Summer Party will be our July meeting!

REMINDERS: Summer Party setup at Neil’s this Saturday at noon & RSVPing.

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Hello again, all.  This is a friendly reminder to all PG members that we’ll be heading over to Neil’s Palatial Duplex at 12966 Rubens Avenue this Saturday, the 14th, at noon, to begin setting up for our much-anticipated Summer Party.  We need all the help we can get to pull off this most massive of soirées, so please email us at SummerParty@PacificGravity.com and let us know you’ll be coming by to help.  We’ll have another pre-party setup afternoon / evening at Neil’s on Friday the 20th, so let us know if you can help then as well.  These setup sessions are also a great time to hang out with and get to know your fellow members, and as always, a bit of social lubricant never hurts, so bring along some beers to share, especially of the Oktoberfest variety – your empty could end up as part of the decor!

In addition, we need everyone to RSVP to the separate email you should’ve received by now.  Please RSVP no later than Wednesday, July 18th, and let us know:

  • if you’re coming to the party or not
  • how many guests you plan on bringing (current PG members get in for free, all guests of current PG members pay $10, no kids or pets this year)
  • what your food and / or beer contributions are, and
  • what volunteer shift(s) you’d like to work at the party

If you didn’t receive the RSVP email, it’s likely your dues have expired or we don’t have a current email address for you, so please let us know if either applies to you.  You can renew your dues of $35 at the front gate on Party Day.

Thanks again for your time and for stepping up and helping Pacific Gravity put on a great Summer Party!  See you there.

The Summer Party’s right around the corner! Time to get crackin’…

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Greetings, all.  We’re on approach to one of the hallmark events of the Pacific Gravity calendar: the always-epic Summer Party on Saturday, July 21st, from 1pm to 8pm, at Neil’s palatial duplex!  This reminder is a call to all PG members to review our President Audrey’s previous post regarding this event, and also to ask you, our loyal membership, to step up and help to make this grand tradition of ours the best ever. Read more →

Reminder: First SATURDAY at City Tavern – July 7th.

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Hello again, all.  This is a friendly reminder that our upcoming “beer research” afternoon at City Tavern in Culver City is this Saturday, July 7th, beginning at 3:30pm.  Remember also that we’ll get happy hour pricing until 6pm!

The front patio area. Photo courtesy City Tavern website.

I just scoped out their current beer list and see that they have several of Monkish Brewing’s beers on – they’re a very new brewery down in Torrance and I’ve already heard good reviews of some of their Belgian-influenced ales.

For more info, please see my previous post.

Hope to see all of your smiling faces this Saturday!

July’s First Friday is…a Saturday! Join us at City Tavern.

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What’s up, y’alls?  Now that summer’s here and the weather’s warming up, we’re changing it up just a bit for July’s First Friday by making it a Saturday afternoon affair.  We’ll be meeting at one of Culver City’s best drinking establishments – City Tavern – on Saturday, July 7th, from 3:30pm to 6:30pm.  As a bonus, we’ll get happy hour prices until 6pm.  City Tavern’s beer selection is significant, so there’s sure to be something on for everyone’s tastes.

The bar. Photo courtesy of City Tavern website.

In addition to the 22 beers on tap behind the bar, City Tavern was the first California state-approved establishment to offer patrons the ability to…wait for it…pour their own beers!  They’ve installed three 6-person “Table Tap” booths complete with their own tap service – they swipe a card, you pour away!  These booths must be reserved, so if you’re interested, fill out the form on their site and await confirmation.

One of the Table Tap booths. Photo courtesy of City Tavern website.

So – to reiterate:

When:  Saturday, July 7th, from 3:30pm to 6:30pm (or later…)

Where:  City Tavern – 9739 Culver Blvd, Culver City

Parking:  2 hours free parking at the Watseka and Cardiff lots.

We hope to see you there!

Summer Party – Saturday July 21st!

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Our annual Summer Party is nearly here and for those of you who have never been to one, it is our largest and most entertaining event of the year.  We are doing things a little bit differently this year; our longtime host Dean Sussman is frolicking in Italy this summer, so our ever-gracious host, Neil Saund, has once again offered up his Duplex for our festivities.

When: Saturday, July 21st, 2012, from 1-8pm

Where: Neil Saund’s Duplex, 12966 Rubens Ave, LA,  90066

Admission: All current (dues paid-up to date) members are free, though you can pay your dues at the door or at the June club meeting with the $5 late fee.  Admission for guests of club members will be $10.

Theme: We will be celebrating “Oktoberfest In July” this year!

Kegs: We encourage and need a selection of beverages, including homebrew (any Oktoberfest selections are encouraged!), meads, ciders, and non-alcoholic beverages.  Awards will be given at the end of the party for the favorite alcoholic & non-alcoholic beverage.  Sign-up sheets will be available at the June club meeting or as we get closer to the party.  Please notify Carl @ competitions@pacificgravity.com so he can plan ahead for your beers or other beverages to be served cold.  Kegs can be brought to Neil’s Duplex on either set-up day (7/14 or 7/20) or dropped off at CCHBS by close of business (9pm) on Thursday 7/19.  We need them prior to the day of the party in order to plan for enough taps, ice, and space so that everyone’s brews can be sampled by all. Read more →