Sudzers CFO Derek W’s monthly column from the Los Altos Town Crier. Cheers!
Balanced brews and brilliant BBQ highlight Dan Gordon’s latest
Author: Sudzers
May 2016 meeting notes
Mother’s Day pushed May’s meeting back an extra week, but it was well worth the wait. We saw some new faces and sampled thirteen delicious brews. Thanks to everyone who showed up, and see you next month!
Business:
– Derek W. was back and collected dues, sold t-shirts, and handed out Dark Matter.
– Jared passed out the experimental Saison yeast from Gigayeast. Thanks, Jared!
– We’ll be pouring at NCHF’s Hoppy Hour this year. This is a good chance to show off Sudzers’s best beers, so we’ll have a tasting the meeting before NCHF to determine what we’ll pour. Start thinking about what you want to brew!
– The Sudzers is teaming up with The Grain Trust to organize the Santa Clara County Fair homebrew competition. Derek W. sent out an e-mail with the info, so please let him know if you’re interested in helping to organize or judge.
– Sierra Nevada’s SF Beer Camp (http://www.beercamp.sierranevada.com/festivals/san-francisco/) is June 18th. Reach out to Tim T. if you’re interested in meeting up with other Sudzers.
– The California Craft Beer Summit is September 8-10. More info can be found at http://www.cacraftbeersummit.com/.
– Santa Cruz craft beer week is May 23-27. More info can be found at http://www.santacruzwaves.com/beerweek/.
– Congrats again to Charles for getting a first and second place at the first round of NHC!
– Sudzers Thirsty Third Thursday will be May 19th at Eureka in downtown Mountain View.
In all, we had thirteen brews:
BREWER BEER IBUs ABV Tony Interlude Saison 15 7% Don Sunshine Belgian Blonde 23 7.5% David Bananas Brown Fruit Ale 30 7.3% Jesse Buzz Zed Cider - 7.8% David Conanesque VPA 65 6.1% Paul CASMO IPA - 6.8% Steve H Pine Tree IPA Lots 7% Ron Senior Smiley IPA 62 6.5% Derek Schaberg Porter 30 5.5% David P Milk Stout 27 6.5% Adam White Chocolate Wheat Wine - 9.8% Guillaume Insomnie Stout 65 8% Derek German Barleywine 80 10%
Guillaume was kind enough to share his Mad Frenchman Ale Works Belgian Dubbel recipe:
OG: 1.073
FG: 1.009
23.5 IBU
19.2 SRM
=== Grist ===
75.9% Belgian Pilsner
6.9% Aromatic
3.4% Special B
6.9% Candi Syrup Inc D-90
6.9% Pilocillo Sugar
=== Hops ===
German Magnum (10.5% AA) 1g/L target 21.4 IBU @60min
German Tettnang (3.7% AA) 1.5g/L whirlpool 10min
=== Fining ===
1 whirlfloc @ 15min
=== Yeast ===
Wyeast 3522 / Belgian Ardennes
=== Mash Schedule ===
75min @ 65C
20min @ 70C
20min @ 77C
=== Fermentation ===
Pitch cool at 15C and let rise
Hold at 23C for 14 days
When final gravity is reached, crash cool to 2C and hold for 7 days
Thanks to Steins and everyone that showed up. See you next month!
Sudzers May meeting
Hello Sudzers! Our next meeting will be held at 4:00pm on Sunday, May 15th at Steins Beer Garden in Mountain View.
895 Villa Street
Mountain View, CA 94041
As a reminder, club dues are collected on a calendar year basis, so please bring $25 and arrive as close to 4:00 as possible if you would like to pay your 2016 dues. Becoming a paid member gets you a discount at MoreBeer in Los Altos, as well as access to the special members-only events we do through the year.
Agenda:
– T-shirts for sale! Bring cash, because Derek will be selling several classic Sudzers t-shirts. Don’t miss out!
– Dark Matter distribution: two bottles for everyone who was a paid member in 2015!
– Jared will be passing out the experimental yeast from Gigayeast to those who requested it.
– Quick discussion on the Gordon Biersch homebrew competition. Did anyone participate?
– Reminders about the Santa Clara County Fair homebrew competition and Beer Camp in SF on June 18th.
– Homebrew evaluations. Remember, bring your recipe – club members will have lots of questions! Sign in your beer along with your name and statistics (IBU, ABV, etc.). The info is optional, but helpful in determining tasting order.
See you Sunday!
IPAs from LA? Yes Way! from the Los Altos Town Crier
April 2016 meeting notes
At April’s meeting we saw some new faces, sampled twelve delicious homebrews, and had a great conversation with Cassie and Jim from Gigayeast about brewing with sourdough cultures. Thanks to everyone who showed up, and see you next month!
Business:
– We’ll be pouring at NCHF’s Hoppy Hour this year. This is a good chance to show off Sudzers’s best beers, so we’ll have a tasting the meeting before NCHF to determine what we’ll pour. Start thinking about what you want to brew!
– The Sudzers is teaming up with The Grain Trust to organize the Santa Clara County Fair homebrew competition. Please let Steve H. or Derek W. know if you’re interested in helping to organize or judge.
– Sierra Nevada’s SF Beer Camp (http://www.beercamp.sierranevada.com/festivals/san-francisco/) is June 18th. Reach out to Tim T. if you’re interested in meeting up with other Sudzers.
– Cassie and Jim from Gigayeast (http://www.gigayeast.com/) gave an awesome presentation on sour beers and brewing with sourdough cultures. More details on the homebrew competition using their new yeast will be given with the next few weeks or discussed at the next meeting. Thanks again, Cassie and Jim, and please come back any time!
In all, we had twelve homebrews:
BREWER BEER IBUs ABV Jared Cockshot Pilsner 26 5.38% Jared Czech the Locks 33 5.64% Joanna & Bob Hef + Lemon Rind - 6%(?) Rob Cream Ale 30 5% David Belgian Dubbel - 7.1% Tony & Marc Belgian Dubbel 18 8% Rich American Strong Ale 67 8.9% Tim Chocolate Milk Stout - 3.7% David Coconut Porter - 5.4% Rob IPA 70 7% Rob Double IPA 100 8.5% The Club Barrel Aged Dark Matter - 11+%
Thanks to Steins and everyone that showed up. See you next month!
Sudzers April meeting
Hello Sudzers! Our next meeting will be held at 4:00pm on Sunday, April 10th at Steins Beer Garden in Mountain View.
895 Villa Street
Mountain View, CA 94041
As a reminder, club dues are collected on a calendar year basis. Our CFO Derek Wolfgram will not be able to make the meeting, but membership dues ($25) can be paid through PayPal to him at derek.wolfgram@gmail.com. Becoming a paid member gets you a discount at MoreBeer in Los Altos, as well as access to the special members-only events we do through the year.
Agenda:
– Reminder that help is needed for the Santa Clara County Fair homebrew competition. If any of you want to be involved, please let Derek Wolfgram (derek.wolfgram@gmail.com) know and he will set up a meeting with our fellow organizers from The Grain Trust.
– Reminder that we’ll be pouring at NCHF’s Hoppy Hour this year. We want to make sure we have a good showing, so we’ll most likely hold a competition the meeting or two before NCHF to find the best beers to pour. We’re announcing now so people have ample time to prepare.
– Loren Gibbs, Head of Production for Gigayeast, will be joining our meeting Sunday to do a brief presentation. We’ll need to find volunteers to propagate some of their yeast for a homebrew competition.
– Discuss SF Beer Camp taking place June 18th. Let’s see if we can get a group of Sudzers up there.
– Derek Wolfgram is out (most likely until May), so Dark Matter distribution will be on hold until then.
– Homebrew evaluations. Remember, bring your recipe – club members will have lots of questions! Sign in your beer along with your name and statistics (IBU, ABV, etc.). The info is optional, but helpful in determining tasting order.
There’s a lot planned, so don’t miss out this Sunday!
March 2016 meeting notes
Maybe it was the weather, maybe it was Daylight Savings Time, or maybe it was the nuclear threats from Kim Jong-un, but whatever the reason, we had a whopping six members show up to March’s meeting. For those that couldn’t make it, you may have missed out on some of the best beer in the world, (or at least Northern California)!
Business:
– Thirsty Third Thursday will be pushed back to the fourth Thursday due to St. Patrick’s Day. The meet-up will be held at 7:00pm, March 24th at Ale Arsenal (http://www.alearsenal.com/).
– A Google spreadsheet will be used to keep track of equipment that members of the club are willing to share. Once set up, the spreadsheet URL will be shared to this list.
– If you’re interested in helping organize the Santa Clara County Fair homebrew competition, then please reach out to Derek Wolfgram (derek.wolfgram@gmail.com). We will be organizing this with members of the The Grain Trust.
– We threw around the idea of buying a shared water analysis kit. Good ones can be expensive, so this probably wouldn’t happen unless other clubs were on board as well.
In all, we had five homebrews:
BREWER BEER IBUs ABV Mark American Wheat Ale, GCC 30 4.8% Tim Pilsner/Wine, Muscat Love 65 8.5% Paul IPA, CASMO 73 5.8% Rob Double IPA, Hop Latency 100 8.0% Adam Dark Belgian Farmhouse - 7.3%
Below is the recipe for Rob’s IPA, which is an amazing beer that includes 23 hop additions!
Yeast:
WLP001
Mash:
7.0lb Maris Otter Pale
7.0lb Pale 2-Row
1.0lb Wheat
0.5lb Carapils
0.5lb Carastan
Boil (60 min):
3.0lb Table sugar
0.5oz Summit (US) 60 min Boil
0.5oz Columbus (US) 60 min Boil
1.0oz HBC 348 (Ron Mexico) 20 min Boil
0.5oz Mosaic (US) 15 min Boil
0.5oz Amarillo (US) 15 min Boil
0.5oz Summit (US) 15 min Boil
0.5oz Columbus (US) 15 min Boil
1.0oz HBC 348 (Ron Mexico) 10 min Boil
0.5oz Centennial (US) 10 min Boil
0.5oz El Dorado (US) 10 min Boil
0.5oz Mosaic (US) 10 min Boil
0.5oz Galaxy (AU) 10 min Boil
0.5oz El Dorado (US) 5 min Boil
0.5oz Centennial (US) 5 min Boil
2.0oz HBC 348 (Ron Mexico) 20 min Whirlpool
1.0oz Centennial (US) 20 min Whirlpool
1.0oz Mosaic™ (US) 20 min Whirlpool
1.0oz El Dorado (US) 20 min Whirlpool
0.5oz Amarillo (US) 20 min Whirlpool
0.5oz Galaxy (AU) 20 min Whirlpool
1.0oz HBC 348 (Ron Mexico) 5 days Dry Hop
1.0oz Mandarina Bavaria 5 days Dry Hop
1.0oz Citra (US) 5 days Dry Hop
Thanks to Steins and everyone that showed up. See you next month!
Sudzers March meeting
Hello Sudzers! Our next meeting will be held at 4:00pm on Sunday, March 13th at Steins Beer Garden in Mountain View.
895 Villa Street
Mountain View, CA 94041
As a reminder, club dues are collected on a calendar year basis. Our CFO Derek Wolfgram will not be able to make the meeting, but membership dues ($25) can be paid through PayPal to him at derek.wolfgram@gmail.com. Becoming a paid member gets you a discount at MoreBeer in Los Altos, as well as access to the special members-only events we do through the year.
Agenda:
– Remind everyone that help is needed for the Santa Clara County Fair homebrew competition. If any of you want to be involved, please let Derek Wolfgram (derek.wolfgram@gmail.com) know and he will set up a meeting with our fellow organizers from The Grain Trust.
– Discuss the Thirsty Third Thursday meeting location (maybe Alpha Acid) and date (potentially the fourth Friday, due to St. Patrick’s Day).
– Steve Hutzler will lead a discussion on club equipment sharing.
– Since Derek Wolfgram is out (most likely until May), Dark Matter distribution will be on hold these next few meetings.
– Homebrew evaluations. Remember, bring your recipe – club members will have lots of questions! Sign in your beer along with your name and statistics (IBU, ABV, etc.). The info is optional, but helpful in determining tasting order.
There’s a lot planned, so don’t miss out this Sunday!
Lift a glass of Irish stout on St. Patrick’s Day, from the Los Altos Town Crier
Sudzers CFO Derek W reviews a few California-brewed alternatives to Guinness in his latest column in the Los Altos Town Crier:
Lift a glass of Irish stout on St. Patrick’s Day
February 2016 meeting notes
Valentine’s Day pushed our February meeting back a week, but it was definitely worth the wait. We saw some new faces, got a demo for an awesome new homebrew product, and got to try eleven homebrews. Thanks to everyone who showed up!
Business:
– Derek took money for club dues. If you weren’t able to pay, you’ll be able to pay at any of the future meetings.
– Derek sold some retro-Sudzer t-shirts.
– Bottles of Dark Matter were distributed.
– Members of STEED Brewcraft (http://www.steedbrewcraft.com/#intro) presented their new kegging product designed to fit right in your refrigerator. Check out their website to learn more about this exciting new product.
– We discussed Stein’s 2nd Annual homebrew competition. Visit http://steinsbeergarden.com/event/2nd-annual-steins-home-brew-contest/ to learn more.
– The Sudzer homebrewer of the year award was presented.
In all, we had eleven homebrews:
BREWER(s) BEER IBUs ABV Derek W Belgian Single 1 30 5.3% Derek W Belgian Single 2 30 5.3% Rob C Belgian Pale - 5.5% Mark Andrey Rich's Evil Clone 40 6.5% Jesse JK3 Brown Ale - 6.8% Don New Moon Dry Stout with Coffee 37 4.0% Rob C Sweet Stout 30 5.8% Joanna D. Alaskan API (ALIPA) - 4.7% Adam Mosaic Pils - 6.9% Charles Hop Fu IPA 100+ 7.1% Jared Xlunutiny Stout #2 (RIS) - 10.5%
Thanks to Steins and everyone that showed up. See you next month!