All Pacific Gravity news.

Strand Brewers Invites PG to Anchor

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strand-logoAt the end of last year our friends Strand Brewers Club won the “Homebrew Club of the Year” from Anchor Brewing and they are now inviting Pacific Gravity members to go with them to the ceremony on February 13th. Space may be limited, and unfortunately there was not enough interest in getting a bus to go up there, so the Strand members are going up on their own via plains, trains, and automobiles. As well there are reserved blocked rooms in the hotel where they are staying. If interested, and it would be a awesome trip, please contact Jay Ankeney ([email protected]), Strand’s Activities Director, for more info and to let him know you are going!! Must book by January 25th, so Hurry!

Here is Jay’s official invite:

Hey Pacific Gravities,
It turns out there is not enough interest in reserving a bus for the February 13th trip to Anchor Brewing for the “Homebrew Club of the Year” luncheon, so you are going to have to provide your own transportation.
I’d suggest you check the plane schedules as soon as you can because available flights are becoming scarce or consider buses or driving yourself. The Strand Brewers have reserved a block of rooms at the Klimpton Buchanon hotel at the discounted rate of $156, but you’ll have to book by January 25th.

Anyone interested should E-mail me and I’ll send you a special reservation link that will get you that price.
Of course, there may be other, less expensive hostelry’s in the area that you can find yourself.
So please be in touch if you want to stay at the rather posh Klimpton Buchanon.

Jay Ankeney
Activities Director
Strand Brewers Club
[email protected]

Club Meeting: January 21st @ Culver City Homebrew Supply

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Hi Everyone,

The first club meeting of the year will be next week Jan. 21st at the Culver City Homebrew Shop starting at 7:30pm.

Culver City Home Brew Supply
4234 Sepulveda Blvd, Culver City, CA 90230

Brew Shop

I really hope you’re all in for a good year! Your new and continuing board members have a lot of great stuff in the works. To start off:

Beer Style of the month we will be splitting into two parts as of now.

  • One: the “Commercial Tasting Style” reflecting some of the new 2015 BJCP Style Guidelines. Where we taste Commercial beers of the monthly style.
  • Two: the “Best Beer of the Meeting” competition. Where like in the past if you bring beers to the style of the month, the club would vote on the best beer of the night and you would win a $25 gift certificate from the Culver City Homebrew Supply. The difference this year is that the “Best beer of the Meeting” reflects similar or even different styles to the “Commercial Tasting styles”. Just Check out the Style page on the website for the latest monthly style guidelines.

This month in January will be “All Beer Style” for the best beer of the meeting for your chance to win the $25 certificate. Bring any beer you have that you would love to share.
Note: kegs/growlers/and bottles are all welcome to enter, but it helps to have enough for everyone to share and taste.

Next, We are adding some educational aspects to the monthly meeting. Starting off Michael Patterson will be presenting an “Off Flavor Sensory Test” each month until all the samples are gone from the kit. He will demo 1-2 commonly unwanted off flavors found in beer.  Demo will be at the start of the meetings from 7:30-7:45 or later.  Come early and learn!

Yes there will be Raffle at the January meeting!! What will be raffled off…… probably mostly beers and goods purchased from the Culver City Homebrew Supply Shop. The more Tickets you Purchase the more we will raffle off!

As we work out the details of the year and all the new anticipated events, we need your help too!!! Please feel free to volunteer.
Check out the “Commercial Tasting Styles” of the months to come this year. We would love to give anyone the opportunity to have a budget to go buy some amazing commercial beer and Host them at our monthly meeting. This Month your VP Michael Musgrave will be purchasing Januarys styles of English Bitters and Commonwealth beers. Please follow his lead.
We always need Homebrew for the club meeting of course, but for up coming events, like So Cal homebrew festival, Parties, and other pouring events. So Get Brewing!
Finally if you do have any denotable gear, beer, good, or other brewing related stuff for our raffles please bring it to the club meeting or events, or email anyone one of your board members or all of them at [email protected]

Sorry I know that got long, but I had a lot to say. Here are the quick built points:

  • Club Meeting January 21st start time 7:30pm @ Culver City Homebrew Supply
  • New “Commercial Tasting Style” posted
  • Return of “Best Beer of the Meeting” comp, bring beer win $25 gift certificate
  • New Educational Demos at the beginning of the meetings, 7:30-7:45pm
  • Yes, there will be a Raffle!
  • We need Volunteers: for “Commercial Tasting Style” of the Month
  • We always need more Homebrewed Beer!!
  • We would love any Raffle Donations: Gear, Beer, Goods, or other Brewing related items.

Thank you all and hope to see everyone next week!

IT’S ALMOST PARTY TIME!!!

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This is a final reminder that we need your help to make this a successful party.
We need FOOD, BEER, assorted EQUIPMENT, DONATIONS FOR FOOD & CLOTHING DRIVE, and VOLUNTEERS FOR setup and cleanup. See details below.

It is time for the Pacific Gravity and Culver City Homebrew Supply Shop annual holiday on Saturday, December 12, 2015 at Neil Saund’s party duplex. Neil’s address is:  12966 Rubens Ave. Los Angeles, CA. (It is the house on the corner of Alla Rd. and Rubens Ave.)
The party will kick off about 5:00 P.M.  This is one party not to be missed!

FOOD:

Although the club will be providing much of the main dishes, this is still a potluck party and YOUR favorite party dish will sure be appreciated!  The menu should mostly reflect past holiday parties featuring Carbonnades ala Flamande, prime rib ala BBQ, deep fried turkeys, spiced ham and much more! Suggestions would include any kind of main dish but especially all side dishes, veggie dishes, salads, desserts and appetizers. So, if you have a favorite family holiday recipe and want to share it with the rest of us, this is your chance!

Please let us know what you can bring! Also, contact us if you have any questions about what to bring!
Contact Club Chef Ian at: [email protected] or Mimi at [email protected].

The dinner portion of the event is scheduled for 7:30 PM.  There will little or no oven space available for reheating food, so please bring it ready to serve, not ready to cook!  Also, don’t forget to label your containers or anything you want back.

EQUIPMENT:

We set up the decorations and tree this last Sunday and installed 2 firepits so we NEED FIREWOOD!  If you can bring wood please do so!  It is forecasted to be cold on Saturday evening!

We could use a few more tables.

We also need jockey boxes and CO2 cylinders to help make sure all the beverages flow cold with perfect carbonation. We have more kegs than taps on the Wave, and the jockey boxes help out big time. Rumor has it we may need a few Sanke taps, so if you have one bring it along.

If at all possible, please bring your kegs and heavy stuff around noon on Saturday and help us set up. This makes the last minute activities at party time go much more smoothly. The early kegs get the best slots on the Wave. Make sure all your kegs, coolers, tanks and taps are well labeled so they all return to their rightful owners Sunday morning.

For equipment, please contact us: PG Board at [email protected] or Mimi Bardet at [email protected] and let us know what you can bring.

VOLUNTEERS needed for setup & cleanup
On Saturday, Dec 12th, starting at NOON, we need help with final setup at Neil’s duplex.

On Sunday, Dec 13th at 11 am, we need lots of people to help with clean up. The more we get the faster it goes.

If you’d like to volunteer for set up or clean up contact us: PG Board at [email protected]
or Mimi Bardet at [email protected]

FOOD & CLOTHING CHARITY DRIVE:
It’s time to clean out your closets…Pacific Gravity is having a FOOD and CLOTHING DRIVE at our Holiday Party!  We will have boxes for any donations you can bring to the party.
For food, please bring any canned or non-perishable foods which will be donated to the Westside Food Bank. For clothes & other items, please see the detailed list below which will be donated to OPCC. They are mostly in need of men’s clothing in large sizes. Clothing can be “gently used” and should be clean.
Below is a list of items that we can always use:

Clothing
Sweat socks – for men, women and children
Sweat shirts and pants for adults – all sizes especially larger sizes
Sneakers – men’s & women’s most needed
Shower shoes/thongs
Rain ponchos for adults & children
New underwear – men’s, women and children
Flannel and long sleeve shirts for adults

Personal & Household items
Hygiene Items
toothpaste
toothbrush
deodorant
shampoo
disposable razors
bar soap
hand & body lotion
sanitary napkins & tampons
Blankets (preferably wool)
Backpacks or duffel bags
Sleeping bags for adults
Diapers – all sizes
Bedding: Twin size sheets, comforters and pillows. Please note pillow must be new.

Gift Certificates
Supermarkets (Ralphs, Vons,Albertson’s)
Fast food restaurants
Book & music stores
Movie passes
Clothing stores, department stores (Marshalls, Target or Ross)

Art Supplies
Markers, finger paints, facepaints, crayons, watercolors, glue, glitter, collage materials, coloring books, activity books, stickers

BEER:
Last but certainly not least is beer, got beer?  We need all types of beer, meads, cider and sodas for this event.  Pull out your favorite holiday beverage, dust off the bottle or keg and bring it down!  We’ll have the Wave of Beer set up to help dispense your holiday homebrews.  If you plan to bring beer, soda or other seasonally festive beverage, please contact Carl at: [email protected] & let him know what you will bring. Note from Carl: “Some of you had listed “TBD”, so if you know what it is, please send me an update.”  Everyone who signs up in advance will have a colorful tap tag.

Highlighting the evening will be the crowning of the Pacific Gravity Club Member of the Year, and awarding of the trophy for Brewer of the Year.
Santa is sure to make an appearance to give away lots of great door prizes (prize donations welcome).
All club members and their guests are welcome, so plan on joining us…Celebrate the season, good beer, good food and friends the Pacific Gravity way!

COUNTDOWN to our PG HOLIDAY PARTY …. THIS SATURDAY (DEC 12th)!!!

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Please let us know what you can do to help.
We need FOOD, BEER, assorted EQUIPMENT, DONATIONS FOR FOOD & CLOTHING DRIVE, and VOLUNTEERS FOR setup and cleanup. See details below.

It is time for the Pacific Gravity and Culver City Homebrew Supply Shop annual holiday on Saturday, December 12, 2015 at Neil Saund’s party duplex.
The address is:  12966 Rubens Ave. Los Angeles, CA. (It is the house on the corner of Alla Rd. and Rubens Ave.)
The party will kick off about 5:00 P.M.  This is one party not to be missed!

FOOD:

Although the club will be providing much of the main dishes, this is still a potluck party and YOUR favorite party dish will sure be appreciated!  The menu should mostly reflect past holiday parties featuring Carbonnades ala Flamande, prime rib ala BBQ, deep fried turkeys, spiced ham and much more! Suggestions would include any kind of main dish but especially all side dishes, veggie dishes, salads, desserts and appetizers. So, if you have a favorite family holiday recipe and want to share it with the rest of us, this is your chance!

Please let us know what you can bring! Also, contact us if you have any questions about what to bring!
Contact Club Chef Ian at: [email protected] or Mimi at [email protected].

The dinner portion of the event is scheduled for 7:30 PM.  There will little or no oven space available for reheating food, so please bring it ready to serve, not ready to cook!  Also, don’t forget to label your containers or anything you want back.

EQUIPMENT:

We set up the decorations and tree this last Sunday and installed 2 firepits so we NEED FIREWOOD!  If you can bring wood please do so!  It is forecasted to be cold on Saturday evening!

We could use a few more tables.

We also need jockey boxes and CO2 cylinders to help make sure all the beverages flow cold with perfect carbonation. We have more kegs than taps on the Wave, and the jockey boxes help out big time. Rumor has it we may need a few Sanke taps, so if you have one bring it along.

If at all possible, please bring your kegs and heavy stuff around noon on Saturday and help us set up. This makes the last minute activities at party time go much more smoothly. The early kegs get the best slots on the Wave. Make sure all your kegs, coolers, tanks and taps are well labeled so they all return to their rightful owners Sunday morning.

For equipment, please contact us: PG Board at [email protected] or Mimi Bardet at [email protected] and let us know what you can bring.

VOLUNTEERS needed for setup & cleanup
On Saturday, Dec 12th, starting at NOON, we need help with final setup at Neil’s duplex.

On Sunday, Dec 13th at 11 am, we need lots of people to help with clean up. The more we get the faster it goes.

If you’d like to volunteer for set up or clean up contact us: PG Board at [email protected] or Mimi Bardet at [email protected]

FOOD & CLOTHING CHARITY DRIVE:
It’s time to clean out your closets…Pacific Gravity is having a FOOD and CLOTHING DRIVE at our Holiday Party!  We will have boxes for any donations you can bring to the party.
For food, please bring any canned or non-perishable foods which will be donated to the Westside Food Bank. For clothes & other items, please see the detailed list below which will be donated to OPCC. They are mostly in need of men’s clothing in large sizes. Clothing can be “gently used” and should be clean.

Below is a list of items that we can always use:
Clothing
Sweat socks – for men, women and children
Sweat shirts and pants for adults – all sizes especially larger sizes
Sneakers – men’s & women’s most needed
Shower shoes/thongs
Rain ponchos for adults & children
New underwear – men’s, women and children
Flannel and long sleeve shirts for adults

Personal & Household items
Hygiene Items
toothpaste
toothbrush
deodorant
shampoo
disposable razors
bar soap
hand & body lotion
sanitary napkins & tampons
Blankets (preferably wool)
Backpacks or duffel bags
Sleeping bags for adults
Diapers – all sizes
Bedding: Twin size sheets, comforters and pillows. Please note pillow must be new.

Gift Certificates
Supermarkets (Ralphs, Vons,Albertson’s)
Fast food restaurants
Book & music stores
Movie passes
Clothing stores, department stores (Marshalls, Target or Ross)

Art Supplies
Markers, finger paints, facepaints, crayons, watercolors, glue, glitter, collage materials, coloring books, activity books, stickers

BEER:
Last but certainly not least is beer, got beer?  We need all types of beer, meads, cider and sodas for this event.  Pull out your favorite holiday beverage, dust off the bottle or keg and bring it down!  We’ll have the Wave of Beer set up to help dispense your holiday homebrews.  If you plan to bring beer, soda or other seasonally festive beverage, please contact Carl at: [email protected] & let him know what you will bring. Note from Carl: “Some of you had listed “TBD”, so if you know what it is, please send me an update.”  Everyone who signs up in advance will have a colorful tap tag.
Highlighting the evening will be the crowning of the Pacific Gravity Club Member of the Year, and awarding of the trophy for Brewer of the Year.
Santa is sure to make an appearance to give away lots of great door prizes (prize donations welcome).

All club members and their guests are welcome, so plan on joining us…Celebrate the season, good beer, good food and friends the Pacific Gravity way!

CALL FOR VOLUNTEERS THIS SUNDAY, DECEMBER 6th Noon to 3pm!!

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Please come help on Sunday, Dec 6th at noon for the 1st round of set up for our PG Holiday party.
We’ll be meeting at Neil’s duplex to do an initial setup of our equipment and decorating the house and our Christmas tree. We have lots & lots & lots of beer themed ornaments to be hung!

We need at least 5-10 people to help with setup and decorating on Sunday. Feel free to bring some beer to share while helping with the setup.

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

  • Folding tables
  • Patio heaters
  • Firepits
  • Jockey boxes/beer dispensing equipment
  • Firewood

If you can bring any of the above on Sunday that would be fantastic. Otherwise, please bring it on next Saturday early afternoon before the party (Dec12) but please contact us: PG Board at [email protected] or Mimi Bardet at [email protected] with how you can help.

Neil Saund’s duplex is located at:  12966 Rubens Ave. Los Angeles, CA   It is the house on the SE corner of Alla Rd. and Rubens Ave.

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P.S. Don’t forget to let us know what beer and food you will be bringing to the party. Also, we are expanding our charity donation drive. At the party, we will be collecting “gently used” men’s clothing as well as canned & non-perishable foods. More details coming soon!

Your newly elected 2016 board members

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After an unprecedented multiple nominees at 2 positions and voting both at the November meeting and online, we finally have the results. Here are your new 2016 elected board members:

PRESIDENT
Lloyd Johnson
VICE PRESIDENT
Michael Musgrave
TREASURER
Tim Bardet

It was a close race between the contested positions with treasurer being within just a few votes difference. Congratulations to those that won and thank you for to those that didn’t for stepping up to the plate to make this club better. If you’d still like to contribute and help the new board out, please get in contact with [email protected] and we will make sure the new board gets in touch with you.

We will announce the member of the year at the holiday party next month with more details to follow about the party. We will need volunteers for setup, teardown and cooking of food, so please let us know if you’d like to help out.

 

12dec5:00 pm- 11:00 pm2015 PG Holiday Party5:00 pm - 11:00 pm PST Neil Saund

 

 

Meeting Recap: You can still vote!!

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Thank to all who came to our Annual Chili Cook off and Election meeting this past Saturday. We had 10 chilis to taste and judge. All were amazing, but Neil Saund took home the prize for best chili, with Michael Musgrave’s as runner up missing the tie by one vote. A fabulous Pumpkin Mole by Parker Waechter won most unique chili.

Also going on at the meeting was brew led by our very own Dan White who made Carl Townsend’s Weizenbock that we had the privilege of brewing with Firestone on Halloween. We ended up with 18 gallons of beer that was put in 4 carboys. Carl and Dan plan to ferment each one with a different yeast. 6 gallons will be fermented with Bavarian Hefeweizen yeast, 5 with American Hefeweizen yeast, 5 gallons with both Bavarian and American Hefeweizen yeasts, and 2 gallons with dregs from Firestone Feral One, Russian River Consecration, and Allagash Farm to Face.

The other major event that took place was our election for next years board. Each nominee gave a speech to the attendees about why they should be selected. Here is a summary of what each person had to say:

PRESIDENT

Lloyd Johnson wants to

  • help keep this club heading in a direction that benefits all members and see the growth of our passion, homebrewing. Finish the current ventures, that the current board has started, as well as bring back some of the old traditions we’ve lost, and hopefully start some new ones to come.
  • help promote home brewing by bringing back the monthly style home brew competition, where club members bring their home brew in the style of the month to have the chance to win a gift certificate to the Culver City Home Brew Store.
  • promote education by bringing back Big Brews where club members bring their brewing sets, to do multiple brews in one day, in one location so that they can see multiple processes in home brewing from many different levels of extract to all grain
  • schedule different different education events such as hop evaluations, off flavor testing, Cicerone training, BJCP Judge training and evaluating the test requirements, and much, much more
  • work on accomplishing our goal of becoming a 501(3)(c) non profit.

Ian Fraser wants to

  • bring back some of that inclusiveness that created the growth of the club as well as the comradery that went along with it
  • bring back the big brews to enhance the educational aspects, the bus trips to educate the knowledge of various breweries and the experiences of their brewers
  • train the next generation of leaders so that they have a vision of the club going forward that maintains our history in the process

VICE PRESIDENT

Michael Musgrave says he is

  • thankful for the great structure, reputation and relationships Brian, Tad and Ramesh have contributed and are leaving as their legacy
  • honored to work alongside the existing board members and looking forward to growing the club together
  • stoked and already mapping out our First Friday schedule for ’16!”

TREASURER

Timothy Bardet says

  • hes been member since the second meeting
  • he wants to come back as treasurer and serve as he did in previous years in this position
  • he’ll do a great job because “Everybody likes to get paid out!”

Tania Musgrave says

  • Our friendly club culture has drawn her to more and more meetings and events, and is proud to be a member.
  • Having spent time with the current treasurer, Ramesh, she feels that she knows and is prepared for the position duties.Would be honored to take over as Treasurer.
  • she is organized and has previous fundraising experience with a non-profit and love new challenges

Also up for voting is Club Member of the Year. The nominees are:

Ramesh Johnston
Tad Johnston
Andrew Whittle
Lloyd Johnson
Carl Townsend

If you were not able to attend the meeting, please send your vote no later than Saturday November 21st to [email protected].

We discussed at the meeting that the holiday party on December 12th will require lots of volunteers for set up, clean up, food and beer. Stay tuned for where to sign up.

Thank you to all who contributed to a successful meeting by bringing chili and beer.

Cheers

Ramesh Johnston

SoCal HomeBrewers Festival – Anyone Else Going?

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So far, 6 tent campers (Carl T, Jay H, Tom Rierson, David F., Uncle Enzo, and Brett W) and 2 RV/Trailer (me, Larry P) have advised they will be attending the fest, which will be held at Temecula’s Vail Lake RV Resort over the weekend of April 29 – May 1, 2016.

An additional 5 PGers were put on the “maybe/probably/not sure” list at the last meeting.

I will be making the campsite reservations during the week of Nov 2, so I need to know how many sites to plan for.  We are limited to 6 campers per tent site (RV/Trailers will get their own site), so a reasonable headcount will allow me to reserve the proper number of sites.

We have had up to 50 campers in past years, but we do not want to reserve for that and risk incurring a bunch of $20 site cancellation fees if we have less attendance.

If you plan to attend and stay at the PG campsite, please send an email to me at:  “brewfest {at} pacificgravity {dot} com” and advise:

(a) If you will be camping in a tent, how many – including yourself – camping slots will you need? The cost will be $30 per person for the weekend (Fri and Sat);

or

(b) If you plan to stay in an RV/Trailer.  In this case, your RV/Trailer will get its own campsite at a cost of $110 for the weekend, and must be paid at the club meeting in November. (If you want the lowdown on this option, talk to Larry Powell; he did it at the 2015 fest.)

Thank you.

Firestone Walker – Anniversary Brew Weekend Itinerary

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The time is here!  Its finally here!

Here are a couple of last minute notes for everyone along with an itinerary.

Dinner

For those of you who have signed up for dinner on Friday we have a reservation @ 7:30pm at the Taproom at Firestone Walker on Friday 10/30/2015.

The Taproom

1400 Ramada Dr, Paso Robles, CA 93446

The taproom is putting together a custom menu for our group to help accommodate our group size.  If you have specific dietary restrictions (vegetarian, vegan, etc.) you will just need to tell your server before hand.

Brew Session

Brewery Location:

1400 Ramada Dr, Paso Robles, CA 93446

Firestone Walker is going to brew our beer in TWO sessions.  The first session will Mash In @ 6am BEFORE we arrive at the brewery.  We are scheduled to arrive and check in @ 8am at the brew house so that we can all be checked in by the second Mash In @ 9am.  You will be checked in for two things:

  1. To confirm that your dues to the club are fully paid.
  2. To check your ID and ticket (if you are attending) to the anniversary party.  If you are attending you will be given a wristband that will give you access to the party and allow you to skip the line for quick entry.

Please be there as close to 8am as possible so we can get everyone checked in quickly.

Some other notes for the brew day:

  • Bring photo ID!
  • Wear closed toe shoes
  • If you have eye protection please bring your own.  If you do not have any eye protection the FW team will supply some for you.
  • Our brew session starts with Mash In at 9am.  Please be punctual at 8am so that you can get checked in on time.
  • Due to the number of attendees we will likely be moving around in groups during the brew session to keep the numbers down in key areas.

Anniversary Party

There will be a line of people outside of the brewery waiting to get in to the party at 11am.  As I mentioned above the FW team will be checking tickets and ID’s when we check in at 8am.  This will help the FW focus on the lineup of guests outside when the event starts, but it also will provide our group the ability to skip the line and head directly into the party due to already having wristbands and tickets for our bottles of anniversary ale.

The facility will be PACKED with people on Saturday who are just attending the FW Anniversary Party, so please come prepared!

Cheers!

Firestone Walker – XIX Anniversary Tickets pass code distributed!

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Everyone-

If you signed up for tickets to the XIX Anniversary party you should have received an email this morning with a link to the website and a code to access our discount.  Tickets go on sale at noon.  if you did not receive an email please let me know asap.  My direct email address is bholterpg [at] gmail dot com.

If you didn’t sign up for our discount you can still purchase tickets at noon today.  Your ticket will cost you an extra $10 but it is still very much a bargain so please join us!  Ticket Link!

Cheers!

Brian