First Friday & PBC Awards Oct 4th at Wurstküche Venice

Guten Tag Pacific Gravity!

I hope that everyone is enjoying this Oktoberfest season and finding lots of excellent German food and beer to enjoy.  To that end, Tomm Carroll has helped us set up our October First Friday at Wurstkuche in Venice.  We will have a table outside in the back. They serve a pretty good variety of German and Belgian beers on draft as well as a large selection of sausages from standards to exotic meats and even vegetarian.

This will also serve as the awards ceremony for Pacific Brewers Cup, so please come collect the plethora of ribbons you won in the competition, or simply support those who did!

Parker Waechter – President, Pacific Gravity Homebrewers

October First Friday: 10/4/2024 at 7:30 PM
Wurstküche
625 Lincoln Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90291
(‭310) 581-9404

California State Homebrew Competition – Enter now! 
The entry deadline for the California State Homebrew Completion is approaching and they are nearing their total entry cap!  Enter now at https://chc.brewingcompetitions.com/

Pacific Gravity Chili Cook-off 10/19
Our next club meeting will be the ever-popular Chili Cook-off which will be held at Terry Molloy’s house on Saturday, October 19th.  As we get closer more details will follow, but please start planning your recipes.  Awards for both the “best” and “most unique” chili will be presented.  Board Member and Member of the Year nominations will occur at this event, voting for both will occur at the November club meeting.

Strand Monster Brew An Scholb 12/7
Strand Brewers club is hosting a monster brew at Scholb Premium Ales (2964 Columbia St, Torrance CA 90503) on  Saturday 12/7/2024 08:00-12:00 noon.  The cost is $35 for 5 gallons of wort (Dills Cornhole Pilsner) and is limited to 44 batches, so if you are interested, sign up with them soon at https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe1-CHt01yAVc8KR73id9M1SFghbBmDEZcQfJ7BdNkiXz2oOg/viewform .

Upcoming Styles of the Month

  • October 2024 – Alternative fermentables beers (using sugars and/or grains other than malted barley)
  • November 2024 – Fruit/spice beers, meads, and ciders/berries
  • December 2024 – No style of the month (Holiday Party)

Upcoming Events

  • Oct 19: Chili Cook-off – Style Alternative Fermentables
  • Nov 1:   First Friday (TBD)
  • Nov 21: Club Meeting at Tortugo Brewing Company – Style Fruit/spice beers, meads, and ciders
  • Dec 7:    Strand Monster Brew at Scholb

Club Meeting This Thursday, Sept 19th at Tortugo Brewery

Zicke Zacke Zicke Zacke Hoi Hoi Hoi!

Yes, it is that time of year again (ok, SLIGHTLY early, but still…) – this Thursday will be our Oktoberfest meeting!

There will be some traditional Oktoberfest food! There will be one, if not two members in Lederhosen!
And let us not forget, das Bier! Our style of the month is German and Czech Beers, which coincidentally fits the theme, so please bring your marvelous Märzens or whatever excellent homebrew you have to share!

For anyone who missed it, the summer party was a huge amount of fun – many thanks to Dean for hosting, Ian and Rob for cooking, Carl and Tom Rierson for making the serving system and competition stuff happen, Joe, Porter and Tomm for donating great prizes, Neil for single-handedly producing the majority of the beer served, Scott for the most over-killing sound system ever conceived, and to everyone who brought food/beer/soda and other contributions to the event!
Congrats to Carl for best beer (Cascade Wet Harvest IPA), and Luis for best soda (Guava Strawberry soda) of the summer party!

This Saturday 9/21 is Pacific Brewers Cup judging – please talk to Carl if you would like to help by stewarding or judging.

Also, Tomm Carroll has arranged our next First Friday (10/4) – an Oktoberfest and Pacific Brewers Cup ribbon presentation at Wurstkuche [add link to https://www.wurstkuche.com/]  in Venice!  We will have a table/section outside in the back of the patio area.  They always have a good selection of beer and sausages to enjoy!
In addition, for anyone who would like to do their actual Oktoberfest event opening, Tyler has offered us a 25% discount on tickets for the first session – Saturday Sept 28 at 12:00pm.
Use the link: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/933981763597?aff=oddtdtcreator
and the code PacificGravity at checkout.

Oans, zwoa, drei, Gsuffa!!!
Parker Waechter – President, Pacific Gravity Homebrewers

September Monthly Meeting; Thursday 9/19/2024 at 7:30 PM
Tortugo Brewing Co.
916 W. Hyde Park Blvd.
Inglewood,  CA  90302
(424) 227-9963

Upcoming Styles of the Month

  • September 2024 – German and Czech beers
  • October 2024 – Alternative fermentables beers (using sugars and/or grains other than malted barley)
  • November 2024 – Fruit/spice beers, meads, and ciders/berries
  • December 2024 – No style of the month (Holiday Party)

Upcoming Events

  • Sept 19: Club Meeting at Torgugo Brewing Company – Style German and Czech beers
  • Sept 21: Pacific Brewers Cup Main Judging Session
  • Oct 4:   First Friday/PBC Ribbons at Wurstkuche Venice 7:30
  • Oct 19:  Chili Cookoff – Style Alternative Fermentables

PG Summer Party POSTPONED!!

Greetings Pacific Gravity! 
Hello All,

Unfortunately, due to some COVID related health issues, the Pacific Gravity Summer Party originally scheduled for this Saturday 8/3/2024 will be POSTPONED.

I understand that many of you were eagerly anticipating this event, and I share your disappointment.  The board and others will be meeting later in the week to determine the best possible date to which we can reschedule and will make an announcement as soon as we have the details.

As a consolation, we will be having a First Saturday at Tortugo this Saturday at 2pm – there will be a Carnitas food truck!

Saturday 8/3/2024 at 2:00 PM
Tortugo Brewing Co.
916 W. Hyde Park Blvd.
Inglewood,  CA  90302
(424) 227-9963

I know we were all looking forward to the party this weekend, and I sincerely apologize that we will be unable to make it happen,  but please join us for a beer and some food at Tortugo on Saturday!

Parker Waechter – President, Pacific Gravity Homebrewers

Upcoming Styles of the Month

  • August 2024 – All styles (Summer Party)
  • September 2024 – German and Czech beers
  • October 2024 – Alternative fermentables beers (using sugars and/or grains other than malted barley)
  • November 2024 – Fruit/spice beers, meads, and ciders/berries
  • December 2024 – No style of the month (Holiday Party)

Upcoming Events

Pacific Brewers Cup Info

Thursday, August 1st is the opening entry day for the 2024 Pacific Brewers Cup.  This has always been a popular competition and is capped at 300 entries, so get you entries registered early!  Also, Judge and Steward registration is already open.

  • August 1:  Opening of entry registration.   Enter at https://pbc2024.pacificgravity.com/
  • Aug 3:  First Saturday @ Tortugo Brewing Company – 2pm
  • August 22:  Bottle Drop-off at local homebrew shops
  • Sept 5: Pacific Brewers Cup Entry Deadline
  • Sept 6: First Friday – TBD
  • Sept 7: Pacific Brewers Cup Entry organizing
  • Sept 19: Club Meeting at Torgugo Brewing Company – Style German and Czech beers
  • Sept 21: Pacific Brewers Cup Main Judging Session

Another Far-Field Opportunity

If you missed out on our visit to Far Field Brewery, or just didn’t get enough, here is another opportunity.  Contact Jay Ankeney by Tuesday (6/18) if you want beer delivered by the Pony Keg Express distribution system.  Or join them at 5PM Friday 6/21 at the brewery.
Jay Ankeney, at jayankeney@mac.com
Or call at 310-343-867

–Carl

Next Friday, 6/21/24, the Maltose Falcons will be hosting their Zoom conference Happy Hour with Far Field brewery. Since this is in our neck of the woods, it would be great if members of Pacific Gravity could join in.  As usual,

Read more

First Saturday at Far Field Beer Company


As we mentioned at the last club meeting, our “First Friday” this month will instead be held this Saturday 6/8 at Noon at Far Field Beer Company in Lawndale.

Time:       Saturday, June 8, 2024 12 pm.
Location: Far Field Beer Company
4471 W Rosecrans Avenue
Lawndale, CA 90250

Founder James and Head Brewer Bryce have about 20 taps of fairly wide variety of styles.  They have a few vintage video games and should have a food truck.

Hope to see you there!

We hope you can join us!
Parker Waechter, President Pacific Gravity

Competition Corner – June 2024

The 2024 Brewer of the Year competition cycle is now underway.  So, get those brewpots going while the fermentation weather is still on the cool side.

Judging for the first round of the National Homebrew Competition this weekend in San Diego.  Assuming your entries make it to the second round, the final round shipping deadline runs from July 29 to August 9.  Awards will be announced at the Great American Beer Festival on October 10th.

California State Fair.  Congratulations to Craig Corley for a first-place ribbon for his Belgian Pale Ale 292 – Mb24 – Bpa (wow, what a mouthful.)  Congratulations to Carl Townsend for his first-place ribbon for Belgian Monastic Single.  Full results are at  https://castatefairhomebrew.brewcomp.site/

July:  Long Beach Red White and Brews competition.  Registration is now open at  http://www.longbeachhomebrewers.com/comp/rwb/bcoem/  This competition focuses on 30 different American styles.  Entries are due no later than June 28.  If you bring your entries to the June club meeting (June 20th), I’ll ferry them down to Steinfillers.

??:  If we hear that the County Fair competition is revived, (not likely) it is still included in the competition cycle.

September – Pacific Brewers Cup.  We are running the competition this year, so there will be much more info to come.  Key dates:

·         September 5th  Entry deadline,

·         September 7th Entry organizing

·         September 21st Main judging session at Tortugo Brewery.

October California State Competition.  This will be the last competition of the 2024 Brewer of the Year season.

Thanks
Carl Townsend
Competition Coordinator

Upcoming Styles of the Month

  • June 2024 – Sour beers, smoked beers, and wood-aged beers
  • July 2024 – IPAs
  • August 2024 – No style of the month (Summer Party)
  • September 2024 – German and Czech beers
  • October 2024 – Alternative fermentables beers (using sugars and/or grains other than malted barley)
  • November 2024 – Fruit/spice beers, meads, and ciders/berries
  • December 2024 – No style of the month (Holiday Party)

Upcoming Events

  • June 8: Saturday at Far Field Beer Company
  • June 20: Club Meeting at Tortugo Brewing Company – Style: sour, smoked and wood-aged beers
  • July 5: First Friday – Richmond Bar and Grill
  • Aug 2: First Friday – Summer Party Setup at Dean’s
  • Aug 3 – Pacific Gravity Summer Party 2024!

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Pacific Gravity Club Meeting Thursday, May 16th at Tortugo Brewery

Greetings Pacific Gravity! 

Welcome to a marvelous May!  Our club meeting this week will be at usual time and place:

May Monthly Meeting; Thursday 5/16/2024 at 7:30 PM
Tortugo Brewing Co.
916 W. Hyde Park Blvd.
Inglewood,  CA  90302
(424) 227-9963

Our Style Of The Month for May is Dark/Black  beers – so please bring some of your interesting high SRM creations to share!

 

The Southern California Homebrewers Festival was well attended and definitely met expectations for fun, comradery and of course the opportunity to sample lots of quality home-brews from our peers at dozens of clubs.  Carl and Tom did great work getting the booth setup, torn down and transported.  Ian overcame some adversity of freeway-escaped equipment to still create excellent meals, along with the help of Tim, who turns out is an excellent substitute for the wok stand and lots of general help.  Tim and Dean did lots of work helping streamline the creation and cleanup on the meals.  Brett on guitar is a perennial favorite around the campfire.  And of course a massive thanks to Terry who is the one who organizes this whole thing for us and make sure we get the awesome campsites – not to mention being the one to go to the serving meeting early so others don’t have to!  Strand participated closely with us this year and were a great addition to the taps booth, help around camp and fireside conversation!

Our First Friday for June is planned for 6/7 at Far Field Beer Company.
See you all this Thurs 5/16 at Tortugo!!

Parker Waechter – President, Pacific Gravity Homebrewers

Competition Corner May 2024

The 2024 Brewer of the Year competition cycle is now underway.  So, get those brewpots going while the fermentation weather is still on the cool side.

I hope you got your entries registered for the American Homebrewers Association National Homebrew Competition.  Entry shipping drop-off runs from May 13th, 2024 to May 22nd, 2024, assuming you are sending them to San Diego.  We do not have a driver, so you have to ship your entries.  If you are sending then elsewhere, please check the listings, dates may vary.  Assuming your entries make it to the second round, the final round shipping deadline runs from July 29 to August 9.   October 10: Awards will be announced at the Great American Beer Festival on October 10th.

April – Mayfaire Competition.  Congrats to Craig Corley who scored a 2nd place ribbon for his wheatbier, SA7  GM Wheat Weissbier, and a 3rd place for Single #5,  Belgian Single.  Full result can be found at https://competitions.maltosefalcons.com/2024Mayfaire/

April/May – California State Fair.  The entry deadline has passed, and all the entries brought to my attention were delivered to Angel City Brewery for shipment to Sacramento.  Judging will be conducted the third week of May in Sacramento.  Results will be posted at  https://castatefairhomebrew.brewcomp.site/

July:  Long Beach Red White and Brews competition.  This competition focuses on 30 different American styles.  Look for details in the next month or so.

??:  If we hear that the County Fair competition is revived, (not likely) it is still included in the competition cycle.

September – Pacific Brewers Cup.  We are running the competition this year, so there will be much more info to come.  Key dates:

·         September 5th  Entry deadline,

·         September 7th Entry organizing

·         September 21st Main judging session at Tortugo Brewery.

October California State Competition.  This will be the last competition of the 2024 Brewer of the Year season.

Upcoming Styles of the Month

  • May 2024 – Dark/black beers
  • June 2024 – Sour beers, smoked beers, and wood-aged beers
  • July 2024 – IPAs
  • August 2024 – No style of the month (Summer Party)
  • September 2024 – German and Czech beers
  • October 2024 – Alternative fermentables beers (using sugars and/or grains other than malted barley)
  • November 2024 – Fruit/spice beers, meads, and ciders/berries
  • December 2024 – No style of the month (Holiday Party)

Upcoming Events

  • May 16: Club Meeting at Tortugo Brewing Company – Style: Dark/black beers
  • June 7: First Friday at Far Field Beer Company

First Saturday April 6 at Two Coast Brewery

Greetings Pacific Gravity!

Sorry for the late notice for anyone not at the meeting last Thursday, but the “First Friday” this month will be a First Saturday at Two Coast Brewing in Gardena tomorrow at 1pm.  The Richmond Bar and grill that was originally planned for tonight will happen at a future date.

Two Coast Brewing FIRST SATURDAY Tomorrow April 6 at 1pm!

 

For April’s First Friday, we will instead be doing a FIRST SATURDAY at Two Coast Brewery in Gardena -Please join us!

Time: Saturday, April 6, 2024 1 pm.
Location: Two Coast
14928 S. FIGUEROA ST.
GARDENA, CA 90248

Two Coast is a really interesting brewery founded by 2 guys from Hamburg.  They are extremely dedicated to traditional German beer – this will definitely not be a day of triple IPAs and “Waffles with Maple Syrup and Blueberries with a Side of Bacon and Cinnamon Rye Toast Stout”.

Tomm Carroll has arranged for them to open an hour early for us (1pm) and for the brewer to be there to answer questions and do a brief brewery tour. Thanks, Tomm!

We hope you can join us!
Parker Waechter, President Pacific Gravity

Competition Corner – Judges Needed for Special Beer Judging April 10

At 6PM Wednesday, April 10th, Tomm Carroll is organizing a preliminary judging session for the Mayfaire Homebrew Competition.  The 2024 competition has maxed out its entry count at 400, and they are setting up multiple satellite venues to get all the judging done.  The competition features the entire BJCP category list, including Meads and Ciders.  The Falcons have often helped us with various Pacific Gravity competitions, so it would be good if we can return the favor.

If you can help out, please contact Tomm Carroll directly.  Tomm’s contact info is:
tommixx@earthlink.net
(310) 502-2725
7643 Truxton Ave
LA, CA  90045

Full details of the competition can be found at
https://competitions.maltosefalcons.com/2024Mayfaire/  If you are a registered judge, please sign up here as a judge to make sure you get experience points.  Satellite sessions are also being held April 8, 9, 10 and 11 at various other locations.  The main judging session will be in our neighborhood at Santa Monica Brew Works, Saturday morning April 13th at 8AM.Thanks
Carl Townsend
Competition Coordinator

Upcoming Styles of the Month

  • April 2024 – Pale beers
  • May 2024 – Dark/black beers
  • June 2024 – Sour beers, smoked beers, and wood-aged beers
  • July 2024 – IPAs
  • August 2024 – No style of the month (Summer Party)
  • September 2024 – German and Czech beers
  • October 2024 – Alternative fermentables beers (using sugars and/or grains other than malted barley)
  • November 2024 – Fruit/spice beers, meads, and ciders/berries
  • December 2024 – No style of the month (Holiday Party)

Upcoming Events

Firestone Friday March 1 and Smog City Monster Brew March 9

Greetings Pacific Gravity! 

There are 2 fun events coming up within the next 2 weeks.  Our First Friday for March is this Friday, 3/1 and will be held at Firestone Walker Propagator which is always a good time, and our Monster Brew at Smog City will be held next Saturday 3/9.  Read below for details!

Firestone Walker Propagator First Friday this Friday!

For March’s First Friday, we will be back to something local and descend upon Firestone Walker Propagator in Venice – Please Join us!

Time:        Friday, March 1, 2024 7:00pm
Location: Firestone Walker Propagator
3205 Washington Blvd.
Marina Del Rey, CA 90292
Phone: (310) 439.8264

They always have a wide selection of different styles available for tasting including sours, stouts, some barrel aged things and yes, even some IPAs…
Their food is also quite good, so it should be the full First-Friday experience!

We hope to see you there!

Monster Brew 2024 at Smog City – Sign Up Now!

Porter has once again graciously offered to host a monster brew at Smog City Brewing CompanyThis will be our 8th Monster Brew with Brewmaster, Jon Porter (and lucky 13th if you count the ones he hosted previously, going all the way back to his days at Tustin Brewing!).  These events are always a highlight of the year’s activities and an unreasonably huge amount of fun, so please come out and join us!

Date:  Saturday, March 9, 2024
Sign-Up Deadline: Mon March 4
Time:  ~7:00 AM Mash-In
~12pm Fermenter Filling
Location:  Smog City Brewery 1901 Del Amo Blvd, Torrance, CA 90501

If you have never participated in a Monster Brew, here is how it works:

  1. Order wort ahead of time.
  2. Purchase yeast and any ingredients desired for modification to the wort – I suggest supporting local South Bay Brewing Supply (call ahead to verify stock)
  3. Arrive at the Monster Brew with a clean plastic or metal fermenter (NO GLASS!) which we will fill with UNFERMENTED wort.
  4. Take it home and modify as desired and pitch your yeast
  5. Ferment until ready for bottling or kegging

For this year’s batch, Porter will be using a base wort based on the ever popular Little Bo Pils that will allow for maximum creativity.  Consider this your blank slate.  For the hop heads, boost up the bitterness with your favorite English or American hop tea to make an awesome IPA, or darken it up with roasted malts to make a porter or stout. Use your imagination to make the most awesome beer ever.  Each person will need to pitch a yeast of their choice, add adjuncts to the wort, dry hop in secondary, or do nothing special to it at all.  To see the full recipe and for modification ideas, see Carl’s extensive “How Do I Modify My Monster Brew?” post.

COST and RESERVATIONS
We need a headcount WELL BEFORE the brew session, so we can plan the batch size.  The cost will be $35 for each 5 gallons of wort and you can order as many batches as you like  If possible, please pay in advance.  If you want wort but cannot attend the event, you may designate a buddy who can attend to collect your wort.  (We do not have a delivery service.)

SIGN-UP
You can sign up one of two ways:

1. Pay now with Paypal with https://py.pl/2M8HyzSGODw.  If you do this your reservation is good to go.
2. Drop a line to treasurer@pacificgravity.com saying how many batches you want.  Payment will be due on brew day.  We will accept payment at the Monster Brew: cash or check and will be accepted – NO CREDIT CARDS (though of course you will still be able to pay via the paypal link/QR code with credit card).

FERMENTERS
Bring a pre-sanitized PLASTIC or STAINLESS STEEL fermenters for each 5-gallon batch you purchase.  Absolutely NO GLASS fermenters will be allowed in the brewery due to the risk of breakage. You may bring small glass vessels with yeast or other additions, however. Fermenters must have a wide opening for the filling nozzle. Plastic buckets are ideal, but Cornelius kegs are acceptable. Again, please do not bring any skinny-neck containers – we may not be able to fill it.

If there is wort left over at the end, we will hold a lottery to determine who may purchase an additional 5 gallon allotment. Bring an extra fermenter if you are interested.

WHAT IS NOT INCLUDED
Yeast and any additional ingredients you wish to add to your wort are not included. You can bring your yeast to the brewery, or pitch it at home.  We recommend getting your supplies in advance.  I suggest purchasing at South Bay Brewing Supply, which also happens to be near the brewery if you need last-minute supplies on brew day, but of course supplies may be limited, so it’s better to plan ahead!

PARKING
Please park on the WEST side of the building to keep the tap room lot open.
The tap room will be opening to the public at noon.

FOOD
We will have coffee and some light breakfast snacks in the morning.  Later on, the food trucks will be setting up in the parking lot.  In addition, Porter will be supplying tasting samples of some of his fine brews mid-morning.  Cut off time for free pours will be shortly before the tap room opens for business.
REMEMBER TO TIP YOUR BEERTENDER!!!

We hope to see you all there!

Competition Corner March 2024

The 2024 Brewer of the Year competition cycle is now underway.  So get those brewpots going while the fermentation weather is still on the cool side.

First up is the American Homebrewers Association National Homebrew Competition. The entry  process has been updated this year, with some significant deadline changes:

Feb 27 – March 15: Entry registration and payment.  You must be an AHA member to enter.
March 29: – deadline for entry changes
May-June: Shipping and judging of first Round
July 29 – August 9: Final Round Shipping/Drop-off Window (San Diego)
August 17 – 24: Final Round Judging
October 10: Award Ceremony at Great American Beer Festival

March – Mayfaire Competition.  Entry registration will open on March 1st at https://competitions.maltosefalcons.com/2024Mayfaire/  Entries are due by March 29th. South Bay Brewing Supply is the closest drop-off point.    If you bring your entries to the March club meeting on March 21, I’ll run them up to the valley.

April/May/June – California State Fair. Look for details in the next month or so.

As we enter the summer months, we do not foresee a revival of the Los Angeles County Fair. Instead, we have added the Long Beach Red White and Brews competition.  This competition focuses on 30 different American styles.  But, please note, if we do hear that the County Fair competition is revived, it is still included in the competition cycle.

September – Pacific Brewers Cup.  We are running the competition this year, so there will be much more info to come.  We will need quite a bit of volunteer help as well.

October – California State Competition.  This will be the last competition of the 2024 Brewer of the Year season.

Upcoming Styles of the Month

  • January – Winter beers
  • February – Belgian beers
  • March  – British Isle beers
  • April 2024 – Pale beers
  • May 2024 – Dark/black beers
  • June 2024 – Sour beers, smoked beers, and wood-aged beers
  • July 2024 – IPAs
  • August 2024 – No style of the month (Summer Party)
  • September 2024 – German and Czech beers
  • October 2024 – Alternative fermentables beers (using sugars and/or grains other than malted barley)
  • November 2024 – Fruit/spice beers, meads, and ciders/berries
  • December 2024 – No style of the month (Holiday Party)

Upcoming Events

  • March 1: First Friday at Firestone Walker Brewing
  • March 9: Monster Brew
  • March 21: Club Meeting at Tortugo Brewing Company – Style: British Isle Beers

Stuffed Sandwich Trip, Monster Brew, Competitions

Greetings Pacific Gravity!

There are two great events coming up that you will not want to miss.  We will be having our First Saturday next weekend at Stuffed Sandwich next Saturday 2/3 and a Monster Brew at Smog City on Saturday 3/9.  Read below for details on each!

Stuffed Sandwich FIRST SATURDAY this coming weekend!!

For February’s First Friday, we will instead be partaking of an epic FIRST SATURDAY at Stuffed Sandwich in San Gabriel -Please join us!

Time: Saturday, February 3, 2024 12 noon.
Location: Stuffed Sandwich
1145 East Las Tunas Dr.
San Gabriel,  CA  91776  (626) 285-9161

Marlene’s featured theme for February will be “Barlywines and Strong Ales” – this of course means very high alcohol.  Please make your travel plans accordingly! Carpooling with a designated driver, public transport, or sharing a ride-share can be a  good strategy…

Stuffed Sandwich is part of our local beer history as it specialized in craft beer before it was even called craft beer.  In addition to the great beers they will have on tap, they always have a disturbingly excellent collection of bottles for sale.

———————————————————–

Monster Brew ’24 at Smog City – SIGN UP NOW!

Porter has once again graciously offered to host a monster brew at Smog City Brewing Company.  This will be our 8th Monster Brew with Brewmaster, Jon Porter (and lucky 13th if you count the ones he hosted previously, going all the way back to his days at Tustin Brewing!).  These events are always a highlight of the year’s activities and an unreasonably huge amount of fun, so please come out and join us!

Date:  Saturday, March 9, 2024
Sign-Up Deadline: Mon March 4
Time:  ~7:00 AM Mash-In
~12pm Fermenter Filling
Location:  Smog City Brewery 1901 Del Amo Blvd, Torrance, CA 90501

If you have never participated in a Monster Brew, here is how it works:

  1. Order wort ahead of time.
  2. Purchase yeast and any ingredients desired for modification to the wort – I suggest supporting local South Bay Brewing Supply (call ahead to verify stock)
  3. Arrive at the Monster Brew with a clean plastic or metal fermenter (NO GLASS!) which we will fill with UNFERMENTED wort.
  4. Take it home and modify as desired and pitch your yeast
  5. Ferment until ready for bottling or kegging

For this year’s batch, Porter will be using a base wort based on the ever popular Little Bo Pils that will allow for maximum creativity.  Consider this your blank slate.  For the hop heads, boost up the bitterness with your favorite English or American hop tea to make an awesome IPA, or darken it up with roasted malts to make a porter or stout. Use your imagination to make the most awesome beer ever.  Each person will need to pitch a yeast of their choice, add adjuncts to the wort, dry hop in secondary, or do nothing special to it at all.  To see the full recipe and for modification ideas, see Carl’s extensive “How Do I Modify My Monster Brew?” post.

COST and RESERVATIONS
We need a headcount WELL BEFORE the brew session, so we can plan the batch size.  You must make a reservation by Monday 3/4 if you want wort.  The cost will be $35 for each 5 gallons of wort and you can order as many batches as you like  If possible, please pay in advance.  If you want wort but cannot attend the event, you may designate a buddy who can attend to collect your wort.  (We do not have a delivery service.)

SIGN-UP
You can sign up one of two ways:

1. Pay now with Paypal with https://py.pl/2M8HyzSGODw.  If you do this your reservation is good to go.
2. Drop a line to treasurer@pacificgravity.com saying how many batches you want.  Payment will be due on brew day.  We will accept payment at the Monster Brew: cash or check and will be accepted – NO CREDIT CARDS (though of course you will still be able to pay via the paypal link/QR code with credit card).

FERMENTERS
Bring a pre-sanitized PLASTIC or STAINLESS STEEL fermenters for each 5-gallon batch you purchase.  Absolutely NO GLASS fermenters will be allowed in the brewery due to the risk of breakage. You may bring small glass vessels with yeast or other additions, however. Fermenters must have a wide opening for the filling nozzle. Plastic buckets are ideal, but Cornelius kegs are acceptable. Again, please do not bring any skinny-neck containers – we may not be able to fill it.

If there is wort left over at the end, we will hold a lottery to determine who may purchase an additional 5 gallon allotment. Bring an extra fermenter if you are interested.

WHAT IS NOT INCLUDED
Yeast and any additional ingredients you wish to add to your wort are not included. You can bring your yeast to the brewery, or pitch it at home.  We recommend getting your supplies in advance.  I suggest purchasing at South Bay Brewing Supply, which also happens to be near the brewery if you need last-minute supplies on brew day, but of course supplies may be limited, so it’s better to plan ahead!

PARKING
Please park on the WEST side of the building to keep the tap room lot open.
The tap room will be opening to the public at noon.

FOOD
We will have coffee and some light breakfast snacks in the morning.  Later on, the food trucks will be setting up in the parking lot.  In addition, Porter will be supplying tasting samples of some of his fine brews mid-morning.  Cut off time for free pours will be shortly before the tap room opens for business.
REMEMBER TO TIP YOUR BEERTENDER!!!

We hope to see you all there!

Parker Waechter, President Pacific Gravity

Competition Corner January 2024

Greetings fellow homebrewers.  I hope your year is starting out well.  Personally, I’m taking advantage of the cool weather and have a “garage lager” in the fermenter.

With the beginnings of a new year, everybody in the club is tied for the 2024 Brewer of the Year award!  Now is you chance to pull into the lead. Here is the rundown on the 2024 cycle:

  • America’s Finest City:  Whoops, already full!  I was stunned to see this 500-entry competition was full before I even had the date.
  • AHA National Homebrew Competition:  AHA has revamped the schedule this year, so advance brewing and planning is needed to pull this off.  Details can be found at https://www.homebrewersassociation.org/national-homebrew-competition/ .  Entry requests open February 27th and close March 15th.  First round entries need to be shipped off in May or June.  If you advance to the finals, second round entries are due in Dan Diego by August 9th, with judging the 3rd week of August.  Final results will be presented at the Great American Beer Festival in October.
  • April – Mayfaire Competition
  • May/June  State Fair
  • May – July:- LA County Fair seems to be history.  If things change, I’ll have an update.
  • July:  Red, White and Brews.  We decided to add this competition to the cycle this year since the LA County Fair left a gap in the schedule.  Run by Long Beach Homebrewers, this competition focuses on various American Styles.
  • September:  Pacific Brewers Cup.  Pacific Gravity is running the competition this year, so we’ll need all hands on deck. More about this in the months to come.
  • October:  California State Competition

If you want to get some competition practice in, there are many other competitions out there.  Check out https://www.bjcp.org/competitions/competition-calendar/ for the full schedule.

Carl Townsend
Competition Coordinator

Upcoming Styles of the Month

  • February – Belgian beers
  • March  – British Isle beers

Upcoming Events

  • February 3: First Saturday Stuffed Sandwich
  • February 15: Club Meeting at Tortugo Brewing Company – Style: Belgian Beer
  • March 9: Monster Brew Smog City Brewing

Pacific Gravity First Saturday September 2nd, 2023 – Project Barley Square

Greetings Pacific Gravity!

As summer winds down and the 3 day weekend approaches joins us this Saturday September 2nd at the UK inspired Project Barley Square in Torrance for some real ale and fish and chips. For those that are unaware Project Barley took over Yorkshire Square Brewery facility and are continuing the tradition of British influenced food and Cask Ale. We’ll get started around 12:00pm. Project Barley opens at 11am for brunch.

Location:
Project Barley Square
1109 Van Ness Avenue
Torrance, CA 90501
12pm

South Bay Brewing Supply is just 2 block away, (1311 Post Av).  While you are in the neighborhood, plan your next brew day now and pick up everything you need for your next brew day.

PG News:

  • Our next club meeting will be at Tortugo Brewing on the 21st of September and it’s Festbiers and Amber lagers month.
  • Board Member Elections are upcoming.  Nominations will be held at our September and October club meetings.
  • Elections for Board Members (President, Vice President and Treasurer) will be held at our November club meeting, along with voting for the Club Member of the Year.

Upcoming Competitions

September – Pacific Brewers Cup (Long Beach Homebrewers)

  •  https://www.longbeachhomebrewers.com/comp/pbc/bcoem/
  • Registration open, deadline September 23
  • Dropoff at Stein Fillers in Long Beach starting September 7th.
  • You can bring them to the club meeting September 21st and Carl will drop them off at Stein Fillers.
  • Judging at La Jara Brewing October 7th in Norwalk.  Please sign up to judge or steward.

October – California State Competition

  • This is the last competition of the 2023 Brewer of the Year Cycle. The winner will be announced at the Holiday Party.
  • Registration is now open at https://castate.brewcompetition.com/ .
  • You must ship your entries to the bay area between September 30th and October 12th. Entries due by October 12.
  • Judging October 28th – November 5th in the Bay area.

Upcoming Styles of the Month

  • September – Festbiers and Amber lagers
  • October – IPAs
  • November – Amber and Brown Beers
  • December – Holiday Party

Upcoming Events

  • September 21st: Club Meeting at Tortugo Brewing Company Styles includes any Festbiers and Amber lagers
  • September 23rd: Pacific Brewers Cup Deadline
  • October 7th: La Jara Brewing Pacific Brewers Cup Judging.
  • October 12th: California State Competition Deadline