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President’s Message: State of the Club

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As we begin 2011, the state of the Pacific Gravity Homebrew Club is strong. We have already begun to get the ball rolling on upcoming events, and are locked in to our first two big ones for the year.

Tustin Monster Brew

February 26 we’ll be celebrating our 16th  anniversary by going back to the Tustin Brewery for another edition of our enormously successful Monster Brews. P.G. Brewmaster Carl Townsend, and Tustin’s Brewer extraordinaire, Jon Porter have come up with a new recipe for us to brew, doctor at home with specialty grains, adjuncts and yeast. In the past many of us have produced outstanding beers from the base recipes, and this year promises to be no exception. Carl has written an Ask the Brewmaster article outlining the possibilities for this year’s moderately high gravity wort. For reservations, contact Reed Wilson at VicePresident@PacificGravity.com or Mimi Bardet and Audrey Hill-Lindsay at ActivitiesDirector@PacificGravity.com . Cost is $27 per 5 gallon pour, 10 gallons maximum. See the articles detailing the event and make your reservations soon.

Tustin Brewing Company

On March 26 we’ll be going on a Road Trip to Orange County

Road Trip Coordinator, Kurt Periolat, has lined up TAPS  Fish House & Brewery in Brea, and The Bruery. TAPS is a GABF multiple prize winning brewpub with an outstanding lineup, ranging from British Session Ales, to German Lagers, with stops in the U.S. and Belgium. The Bruery is one of the fastest growing and popular new breweries around, and will have something special for us.   For reservations to this event send an E-mail to RoadTripCoordinator@PacificGravity.com or ActivitiesDirector@PacificGravity.com, and prepay through PayPal.

First Friday at Bar Food

As usual, First Friday is coming up (Feb 4th at Bar Food), and our February 17th meeting  will  feature  Belgian and French Ales; tasting to be hosted by Craig Corley, our club treasurer. Bring beer to share, and money or checks, to pay for the road trip and/ or Monster Brew. Don’t forget, PayPal will also be available for payment to the 2 events (UPDATE: Click the links to pay for the OC Road Trip on PayPal, or for 5 Gallons of wort at the Monster Brew).  See the articles detailing these events for more information.

Feedback Welcome

If you have any questions, suggestions, or criticisms don’t hesitate to send a message to me at President@PacificGravity.com Suggestions for events, or ideas for club projects are always welcome. If you are interested in volunteering to help out with club activities, don’t hesitate to ask me, or any of the other Board members.

Looking forward to seeing you soon.

Road Trip Scheduled for March 26

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We will be having our first road trip of the year on March 26. The trip will be behind the Orange Curtain to visit two great breweries:

TAPS in Orange – TAPS took home some serious hardware at this years GABF – including Gold for their Belgian White and the Small Brewpub of the Year award. Take a look at the medals on their beer list, it’s scary.

The Bruery in Placentia – A favorite of many PGers, The Bruery has been cranking out amazing and creative beers since they opened (3 ounces of Black Tuesday changed my life). PGer Ben Weiss has even agreed to open early for us so we’ll have the run of the place AND he said he’d try to have something special on tap for us as well.

We are going to leave CCHBS at 10:30, have lunch at TAPS and then head over to the Bruery. We should be back at the store by 5:15 or so.

The best part? $20. Seriously, you’d be crazy not to go.

Sign up via Paypal (95 cent transaction fee applies), or bring cash or check to the meeting to reserve your spot!

If you have questions you can email me at roadtripcoordinator@pacificgravity.com.

New Members Lead the Charge for PG’s Trip to Stone Fest: A Road Trip Report

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Call it “Pacific Gravity Road Trip: The Next Generation.”

Most of the homebrew club’s old-timers, longtime members and veteran drunks, for one rea$on or another, sat out the annual bus trip down to Stone Brewing’s (13th) Anniversary Celebration and Invitational Beer Festival on the campus of Cal State San Marcos on Saturday, August 22. So new club members and first-time Stone Fest’ers comprised the lion’s share of the 28 of us who took the excursion. And they were not disappointed.

The bus had ample AC, a working bathroom (although its light was out during the first leg of the trip, making for some interesting maneuvers and challenges at aiming), and the good homebrew and commercial beers flowed. The weather forecast seemed a bit dodgy, and we even hit some rainy drizzle en route down.

But by the time we had checked in and were lined up waiting for the gates to open at 11:00 a.m., the clouds parted, the sun came out, and the heat came on with a vengeance. It was brutal. Many of the beer booths even had sunscreen for the thirsty throngs who arrived without protection. How bad was it? The lines for the (eventually warm) rinse water were longer than they were for many of the beer tents.

That said, the site was much less crowded than last year (the first at this location), with the beer booths more spread out and staggered into different areas. And yes, there were long lines, but they mostly moved quickly. The queues for Avery Brewing and Maui Brewing seemed always to be lengthy.

Why? Well, aside from its great Maharaja Imperial IPA and its 15th and 16th Anniversary brews, Avery also had the very limited (only 5.8 bbls made) Voltron, which also made a brief appearance at the Beachwood BBQ’s Sour Fest that same week. Voltron consisted of five sour beers, including Brabant, Port Alter Boy and Good Sally. It was extremely complex and puckery. Read more →

Road Trip to Stone 13th Anniversary Fest

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Stone 13th AnniversaryThis year’s event will take place Saturday, August 22, on the campus of Cal State University San Marcos in North County San Diego. And for the fourth time, Pacific Gravity will be chartering a beer bus to shuttle thirsty club members from Culver City to the first session (only) of the fest, which lasts from 11:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.

How do you get on board? It’s easy.

BUY YOUR FESTIVAL TICKET

First, buy your own ticket to the Stone Fest’s morning Session A (only; the PG bus will NOT be traveling to the afternoon Session B). Tickets are $35 per person and are available now.

Order your tickets ASAP. Not only does the first session always sell out, but on August 15, the ticket price rises to $40. The price buys you entrance to the event, a 13th anniversary tasting glass and 10 taster pours from over three dozen breweries. And don’t forget to bring your ID. Yes, they check.

ONCE YOU HAVE YOUR STONE TICKET, BUY YOUR BUS TICKET

Then, reserve a space on the PG bus, by paying $30 per person ($31 if using PayPal). You can use the “PAY NOW” button below or drop your payment off at Culver City Homebrew Supply, or sign up for the road trip and pay at the Summer Party on July 18. Don’t delay in reserving a space on the bus either; it has sold out in previous years. Rest assured, beer drinking IS allowed on the bus –– and there will be a working bathroom on board as well!

The bus will leave from Culver City Homebrew Supply at 8:00 a.m. sharp on Saturday, August 22. Do not be late or you will be outta luck. A lunch stop (probably at one of the Pizza Port brewpubs) will be made en route home, and we should arrive back at the homebrew shop by 6:00 p.m.

By the way, Stone’s 13th Anniversary Ale, due to hit store June 29,
is an Imperial Red hop monster at 9.5% abv.

Don’t miss out on the club’s most popular road trip of the year!