February Club Meeting Thursday Feb 16th, 2012

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Don’t forget to join us for our monthly club meeting next Thursday!

Commercial Styles of the Month:  Belgian & French Ales, carefully selected by our resident Belgian expert, Craig Corley.  He has an amazing selection for us each year.

Homebrew Kegs of the Month: Belgian & French Ales.  Best keg of the bunch wins a $25 gift certificate to CCHBS, which happens at each meeting, so check out the upcoming style of the month on the website and start brewing!  If interested in bringing a keg of your own to an upcoming meeting, sign up with our VP Dave Mauceli, either at the club meetings or via email at: VicePresident@pacificgravity.com

COC- Stouts (BJCP Category #13): If you are bringing entries for the COC, you’ll need 3 bottles of your beer.  Please see Carl’s Competition Coordinator post for more info or email him at: Competitions@pacificgravity.com

COY Anchor Road Trip: If you are planning to hop on the bus to SF the next morning and have not paid for your seat yet, remember to bring $85 (checks payable to Pacific Gravity).  We’ll also have our Club of the Year long-sleeve shirts for sale ($30), in limited quantity, and for those of you who pre-ordered, you can pick up your shirt that night just in time for the Anchor trip!  See the website post for more information about the trip or email Kurt at: RoadTrips@pacificgravity.com if you have any questions and enjoy the party!

COY Party at Anchor Brewing: The Party at Anchor begins at 1pm on Saturday, February 18th and will wrap up about 5pm.  If you are planning on attending and not riding the bus, please send Audrey an email (president@pacificgravity.com) by Monday the 13th so we can give Anchor a head count for the party.

Club Merchandise: We have a few beer leashes ($5) and glasses ($6) left, as well as both long & short sleeve PG shirts ($15) and some Pacific Brewers Cup shirts ($20) for those of you who are interested.

Raffle: Our ever-enthusiastic Fundraiser, Terry Molloy, will be selling raffle tickets for $1 each.

For those of you who have never been to a meeting, this is a great way to meet current members, share and sample other homebrew or commercial beers & meads, and have some fun at the end of a long week!

Hope to see you all there

-Audrey

Tustin Monster Brew on March 3rd

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On March 3, 2012 the Tustin Brewing Company and its Brewmaster, PG’s Jon Porter, will be hosting their 4th professional style Monster Brew.

PG Brewmaster Carl Townsend and Jon have developed a new base wort for this event. This year we are going for a rye-based recipe with about 1/3rd rye malt and 1/3rd Vienna malt.  This will be a great starting point for a Roggenbier, American Rye beer, or if you are into lagers, a Vienna lager with a twist.  For you hop heads, boost up the bitterness with your favorite American hop tea to make an awesome Rye IPA.  Each person will pitch his yeast of choice, Read more →

How do I modify my wort from the Monster Brew at Tustin Brewing?

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Answer: 

I hope you are all planning to join us at Tustin Brewing’s Fourth Annual Monster Brew, Saturday, March 3rd, 2012 from 6 am to 2 pm hosted by our very own Jon Porter.  We’ll be brewing up a batch of Rye-based wort.  Where it goes from there is up to you!  We’re hoping to have as many variations on the theme as possible for upcoming events such as the Southern California Homebrew Fest, club meetings and Summer party. Read more →

Anchor Trip / COY Party Reminder!

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Photo Credit:  Orin Zebest

 

Here are some reminders and updates for the upcoming trip to Anchor Brewing in San Francisco for the Club of the Year award presentation:

For those of you who will be attending the Anchor Party on Saturday the 18th, the festivities kick off at 1pm and will wrap up about 5.  There will be lots of great beer & food, so if you plan on attending the party and will not be taking the bus up to SF, please send Audrey an email at president@pacificgravity.com so that we can give the guys up at Anchor a head count as they put the party together!

Bus tickets are $85.  You can leave your payment at CCHBS.  Please leave cash or a check in an envelope clearly marked with the names of everyone the payment is covering along with your contact information.  PLEASE pay ASAP to help those of us who are organizing the trip.

Hotel reservations MUST be made by Friday 2/3 to get the group rate.  Last I checked there were still a few (and I mean a few) rooms left in our block so if you want one, get in touch with the Carlton.

The plan is for the bus to leave CCHBS on Friday the 17th at 8:30am with an eye on being in the city by 3:30pm so as to enjoy the San Francisco Beer Week festivities.  There are no official club-sanctioned events aside from the Anchor trip, so make plans with other PG members.  We were going have an outing to Beer Revolution in Oakland, but it appears timing was bad, so that is off (although I believe a large group will be heading there Friday night).

Bus Update

The Carlton is a union hotel, as such they HAVE to remove the baggage from the
bus. Sadly this means you are on the hook for $6 for ever bag. It sucks but
there isn’t anything we can do about it. Please bring cash to pay for it.

Also, plan on bringing lunch, the Bay Bridge will be closing Friday night is it
is imperative we get up there as fast as we can. So we’ll have a quick stop to
stretch our legs, but we won’t be stopping for lunch. Far from ideal, but it
beats sitting in LA and SF traffic in one day.
 

 

February First Friday – Change In Beer Lineup.

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Hello again.  I just spoke to Rob at El Segundo Brewing.  He’s looking forward to meeting us and taking us around the brewery (if we’re there early enough – he needs to cut out for a family obligation).  Unfortunately, due to the very limited availability of Simcoe hops, the Blue House IPA won’t be on tap.  He told me he’s very happy with the recipe in its present form and didn’t want to try and “cheat” it with a different hop, so he’s waiting until he gets his next allocation to continue brewing it.

Instead, he hopes to premiere his Citra IPA with us – it’s actually slated for release the next day.  The W.I.P.A. Wheat IPA will also be on tap for anyone whose hop jones needs fixing, as will the Pale Ale and Double Stout.

Thanks again – hope to see you all there.

— Victor

February First Friday at El Segundo Brewing

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Please join us this Friday the 3rd for our monthly First Friday beer outing.  We’ll be showing our support for new local breweries (and homebrewers-gone-big!) by paying our first club visit to El Segundo Brewing Co. – brewers of “Blue House Ales”.

Rob Croxall was a longtime homebrewer before he took the necessary steps toward “living the dream” and opened the brewery in his home town of El Segundo.  On tap will be his 4 production beers: Blue House Pale Ale, Blue House IPA, White Dog W.I.P.A (a wheat IPA), and Hyperion’s Double Stout.  There may also be a “taproom only” experimental beer on.

Here are the details:

  • Date:  Friday, February 3rd.
  • Time:  Taproom hours that day are from 4:30pm to 8:30pm.  You’re welcome to arrive early, but it’s likely that many of us will get there around the official start-time of 6pm.  If we make a good showing, they may be able to stay open past 8:30 for us.
  • Food:  They’re strictly a brewery, but you’re welcome to bring your own munchies or order-in from local restaurants.
  • Location:  140 Main Street in El Segundo, 90245.  Phone is 310 529 3882.

Thanks, and hope to see you there.

— Victor

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

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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

PG Holiday Party: SATURDAY, December 10th!

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Our annual Holiday Party is this coming Saturday (Dec 10th)!!

Time: The party begins at 6pm.
Location: Neil Saund’s duplex,  12966 Rubens Ave. Los Angeles, CA
(It’s the house on the SE corner of Alla Rd. and Rubens Ave.)

WE NEED YOUR HELP to pull it all together.  As with all our parties, we count on club members to volunteer to help out.  There are a number of ways you can volunteer to help.  We need help with set-up and clean up, we need members to bring potluck dishes for our feast, we need members to donate beer and we need assorted equipment.

Potluck and Food
The menu should reflect past Holiday Parties featuring delicious meats including Carbonnades ala Flamande, roast & deep-fried turkeys, spiced ham, and much more!  As is customary with our holiday party, this is a potluck event; the club supplies some of the main dishes BUT we count on members to provide more main dishes, the side dishes, the salads, and the desserts.  So if you have a favorite family holiday recipe and want to share it with the rest of us, this is your time to shine! If you’d like to volunteer food for the party contact: Mimi & Audrey at ActivitiesDirector@PacificGravity.com.

Please, please bring your dishes in DISPOSABLE containers (not glass or plastic containers that need to be returned).   Inexpensive aluminum trays and containers come in many sizes and are available at any supermarket.

Also, there is no need to bring serving utensils as we will have plenty!

If you must bring your own containers, then please remember to label any dishes (tops and bottoms), utensils, etc. that you bring so that we can get them back to you.  Ideally, leave the lids at home and use aluminum foil as substitute lid.

Beer
Of course, we need beer for this event – lots of beer!  Or mead!  Or cider!  We’re counting on you to provide it. So pull out your kegs and dig deep in your closet for those old tasty bottled treasures and bring them along!  Please let us know what and how much homebrew you’re planning on bringing.  Loaner kegs are available for those who are not so equipped. And, bottles of beer are always welcome.

Any of you who have already volunteered kegs should drop them off at the shop by Thursday, Dec 8th or bring them to Neil’s Saturday (Dec 10th) afternoon before the party.

We’ll be dispensing a lot of beer and will need more taps, jockey boxes and dispensing equipment than we currently have.  If you can volunteer dispensing equipment or can bring your new club jockey box, please let Carl know.

Please remember to label any kegs or dispensing equipment that you bring so that we can get them back to you.

If you’d like to volunteer beer for the party, contact Carl Townsend at CompetitionCoordinator@PacificGravity.com.

Equipment
We’re looking for some assorted equipment.  Please let us know if you can volunteer any of the following:

  • Jockey boxes/beer dispensing equipment
  • CO2 tanks
  • Firewood

Any of you who will be volunteering equipment should try to bring it to Neil’s on Sunday, Dec 10th in the afternoon before the party.

Again, please remember to label any equipment that you bring so that we can get your equipment back to you.

If you’d like to volunteer equipment contact: Carl at CompetitionCoordinator@PacificGravity.com or Mimi & Audrey at ActivitiesDirector@PacificGravity.com.

And finally, if you’re volunteering equipment, kegs or food, plan on picking up your items at the Sunday clean up. We really don’t have any capacity to store items that are not picked up.

Clean Up
On Sunday, Dec 11th at 11am, we’ll meet at Neil’s duplex to clean up after the party.  We always need lots of people to help with clean up and the more we get, the faster it goes.
If you’d like to volunteer for set up or clean up contact: Mimi & Audrey at ActivitiesDirector@PacificGravity.com.

PG Meeting November 17

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Don’t forget this most important meeting of the year, this Thursday at 7:30pm behind Culver City Home Brew Supply. We will be conducting our annual elections for President, Vice President, and Treasurer, as well as PG Club Member of the Year.

Ballots will be made available for the Member of the Year-Vote for TWO.

The monthly beer styles are German Wheat and Rye  Beers(BJCP Cat #15).

There will be a judging of the Club Only Competition entries,  also German Wheat and Rye Beers (BJCP Cat. #15).

If you cannot be present to vote, you may e-mail your selections to Elections@PacificGravity.com

For more detailed election information please see the previous postings on the PG website.

If you have beer, whether in style, or not bring some to share. Remember, all in-style beers are eligible to win a $25 gift certificate to CCHBS if yours is chosen as the evening’s favorite.

We will be holding the monthly raffle, so if you have any equipment you wish to donate, please bring it. The reward for donating raffle prizes is free beer at all  meetings and parties.

There will be sign up sheets available for the following:

Holiday Party Beer and  Food, Volunteer opportunities for the Holiday Party-you really don’t want to pass up an opportunity to help out at this once a year event! Unlike the Summer party, this one is much more of a pot luck.

Volunteers will be making the main courses, including prime Rib, Hams, Deep Fried Turkeys, and Carbonnades a la Flamande. We need you members and guests to bring  appetizers,  sides,  salads, and  desserts. More details will be given at the meeting by our Activities Directors, Mimi and Audrey.

Be sure to check out the next edition of the Pacific Gravity Gazette which will be published at the end of November. I am sure that all your questions regarding the PG Holiday party will be answered.

Michael Steinberg,

President of Pacific Gravity, the 2011 California Homebrew Club of the Year!

Election Update

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NOMINATIONS:

Don’t forget that there’s still time to nominate a P.G. member for the following elected Board offices:

President, Vice President, Treasurer.

You may also nominate someone for Club Member of the Year.

Nominations close on November 12 at midnight.

ON LINE VOTING: If you are unable to come to the November 17th, you may still vote on line by sending an E-mail to Elections@PacificGravity.com

Here are the nominees:

President-Audrey Hill-Lindsay

Vice President-David Mauceli

Treasurer- Craig Corley

MEMBER OF THE YEAR (Alphabetically):

Audrey Hill-Lindsay

Tom Rierson

Neil Saund

Dean Sussman

Carl Townsend

If you come to the meeting the election will be conducted as follows:

If there are no other nominees for the elected Board Officer positions, we will conduct a voice vote. If there are additional nominees for any office we will have a ballot and each member present will vote for one (1) person per office.

The election will take place when announcements are made, approximately 7:45-8:00 pm. Each member present at the meeting will vote for two (2) people for Member of the Year. Ballots will be collected by Ian Fraser, 2010 Member of the Year. He will count them, along with a current Board member who is not running for office.

The election results will be announced at the Holiday Party after dinner.

Please see the November issue of the Pacific Gravity Gazette for more information on all of the nominees.