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].

California State Homebrew Competition Entries Due Oct 11

Entries for California State Homebrew Competition will be due at the Culver City Homebrew Supply Company shop on October 11th.   Since there is no local pick-up for this competition, you must have all your entries packaged up for shipping by UPS.  This means plenty of bubble wrap and strong cardboard boxes.  Wine boxes work well, since the extra space allows plenty of padding for your 12 ounce bottles.  Entries that are not packed for shipping will not be sent.  The club will pick up the cost of shipping, but you are on your own for entry fees.  Forms and all the rules can be found at http://www.nchfinfo.org/StateComp/StateComp.html.  Note that the categories have a rather unique structure, so don’t try to make them fit the BJCP styleguide.  This is the final open competition for both Pacific Gravity’s Brewer of the Year Award and the California State Brewclub of the Year Award, so give it your best shot.

In addition we still have one remaining Club-Only Competition, this time for Belgian Strong Ales, BJCP Category 18.  We will judge these at the November Club meeting on November 19th.   Please bring 3 bottles for each entry, and please fill out the entry forms 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.

Results of Pacific Brewer’s Cup have been announced.  Our very own Ian Fraser picked up Best of Show for his Humulus Bruin Brown Ale.  Way to go Ian!  We had a total of nine entrants scoring 15 ribbons.  See all the winners below.  Strand Brewers will be holding their awards ceremony at their club meeting October 14th at Naja’s Place, 154 International Boardwalk in Redondo Beach.  All entrants are welcome to attend.

Get those brewkettles going and don’t stop until the 2009 Brewer of the Year has been announced.  If you need still more competitions, you can find the whole list at http://www.beertown.org/homebrewing/calendar/events.aspx.

Pacific Brewers Cup Results:

Best of Show
Ian Fraser Humulus Bruin Brown Ale
HM Bardet/Beron/Townsend Strong Scotch Ale
1st Chris Simental Munich Helles
2nd Chris Simental Extra Special/Strong Bitter
2nd Craig Corley Oktoberfest/Marzen
2nd Fraser/Bardet Christmas/Winter Specialty Spiced Beer
1st Ian Fraser American Brown Ale
2nd Jeff Koehler Flanders Red Ale
2nd Jeff Koehler Cyser (Apple Melomel)
3rd Jeff Koehler Other Fruit Melomel
HM Jeff Koehler Brown Porter
3rd Peggy Robinson Christmas/Winter Specialty Spiced Beer
1st Pete Morris Vienna Lager
1st Pete Morris Robust Porter
3rd Ray Powell Standard/Ordinary Bitter
HM Ray Powell Christmas/Winter Specialty Spiced Beer

Brewer of the Year Point Tally as of Oct 4th:

Chris Simental

38

17

Craig Corley

19

11

Jeff Koehler

17

8

Carl Townsend

14

5

Neil Saund

13

7

Jon Porter

12

6

Pete Morris

8

3

Ian Fraser

7

2

Zach Bradshaw

6

2

Eric Moreau, Christopher Briles, Scott Stonberg

5

3

Joseph Nascenzi/Enegren/Enegren

4

2

Jason Levin

3

2

Peggy Robinson

2

2

Fraser/Bardet

2

1

Dave Lasdon

1

1

Ray Powell

1

1

Thomas Lee Bakofsky

1

1

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]

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

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

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.

Mike Sautter asks this month’s question: Is it better to force carbonate a keg or add priming sugar?

Answer:
This is one of those cases where you can go either way.  However, there are a couple of factors to consider before you make your decision.  You might even want to split the difference.

The big advantage of force-carbonating a beer is that it is quick.  Suppose someone calls up and asks if you can have beer ready for a big party Read more

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…

Club Brew and Chili Cookoff Coming on September 26th

gravity-cookoffHey Graviteers,  it’s Chili Cookoff time again!! Get that meat, beans, onions, garlic and lots of chilis mixed up in your own unique way and see if you can be crowned this year’s  King or Queen of Chili.

Can you out-chili the Chili Master?

For the last two years Ian Fraser has been the holder of the title, Chili Master, and fully expects to keep the crown. This is your chance to prove that the Master’s chili is not all powerful, by breaking out your favorite recipe and defeating him in a winner take all competition.

In the past we have had as many as 10 chili entries. Two prizes are awarded, one for Best Chili, and the other for “Most Unique”. Veggie, Sea Food,  and All Meat have been represented in past competitions.

The Club supplies all sides and additions for the chili, as well as snacks and dessert. Attendees are encouraged to bring homebrew or commercial beer to the event.

What is a Club Brew?

This year the event will take place at the home of Eric Moreau in El Segundo. Eric will be using his brew system to brew 10 gallons for the club.

For those who are new to PG, a Club Brew is a 1 batch brew, belonging to the club. The host uses his equipment and skill, and the club gets the beer. Of course, there is the opportunity to help the chief brewer, learn to use the equipment, drink beer, and eat.

EVENT TIME: 10am-6pm.
COMPETITION: Begins around 12:30.
WHERE: 1225 East Maple St. (West of Sepulveda), El Segundo

September 2009 Club Events

  • Saturday, September 26, 2009 – Chili Cook Off and Club Brew – 10 am to 6 pm
    • Location: Eric Moreau’s house in El Segundo
    • Annual Chili Cookoff – bring a pot of chili and compete for best and most unique
    • Single Brewer club brew
    • 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]

Pacific Brewer’s Cup Entries Due Now!!

Entries Due Sept 4th

Entries Due Sept 4th

Entries for Pacific Brewers Cup will be due at the shop on September 4th.  This year the competition is hosted by the Strand Brewers’ Club.  Judging will be held on September 19, at the Courtyard Los Angeles LAX/El Segundo. The hotel is located at 2000 East Mariposa Avenue in El Segundo, about 1 mile south of LAX.  We’ll want to have a good turnout for this one, both from an entry standpoint and from a judging/stewarding standpoint.  More details of the competition can be found at: http://www.strandbrewers.org/pbc/index.htm.

The AHA has announced the rest of the Club-only competitions for 2009 and beyond, so you can plan these well in advance.  The next competition is for European Amber Lagers, BJCP category 3.  We will judge these at the September Club meeting on September 17th.   Please bring 3 bottles for each entry, and please fill out the entry forms 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.

Winners of the California State and Los Angeles County Fairs have now been announced!  Congratulations to Read more