Sudzers CFO Derek W’s latest column from the Los Altos Town Crier:
Alpha Acid Brewing delivers intense flavors
Cheers!
Author: Sudzers
November 2016 meeting notes
In November’s meeting, we tasted a mead and eight delicious homebrews, and we also had five first-time attendees! Thanks to everyone who showed up!
Business:
– Welcome Roy, Jason, Dennis, Bram, and Sean to their first Sudzer meeting!
– At the 2016 Dark Matter Brew Day, David F. and Marc-Andrey brewed batches of the huge beer. We look forward to bottling day to see how they turned out!
– Congrats to Mikael who received third place for his porter at the California State Homebrew Competition at Anchor.
– Just a reminder that there is no meeting in December. More details to follow on when and where the 2017 meetings will be held.
– The current plan is to hold annual Christmas party at Marc-Andrey’s house on December 10th. More details to come.
– If you’re interested in becoming a Sudzer Officer, then please e-mail me at cocamide@gmail.com with what position you’d like: President, Vice President, Treasurer, Communications Officer.
– Also, please e-mail me at cocamide@gmail.com with any nominations you have for Homebrewer of the Year. The officer and Homebrewer of the Year awards will be decided at the Christmas party.
– We discussed ideas about a bulk hop purchase and a shared equipment spreadsheet. Stay tuned for more info on both.
In all, we had eight brews and a mead:
BREWER BEER IBUs ABV Jason C. Altbier low <5% Jason C. Oktoberfest-style Ale low <6% Mikael Rye is on the Saison 26 7.7% Roy Z. Dunkelweizen - - Kevin Stout - 4.73% Steve H. & Derek H. Mat's Graduation Beer high 8% Charles Lil' Bastard not enough 7.6% David J. Pinot Gris(?) Mead 0 13.7% David J. Barley Wine 100+ 13.4
Thanks to Steins and everyone that showed up. See you at the Christmas party!
Sudzers November meeting
Hello Sudzers! Our next meeting will be held at 4:00pm on Sunday, November 13th at Steins Beer Garden in Mountain View.
http://steinsbeergarden.com/
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:
– Dark Matter Brew Day recap.
– California State Homebrew Festival at Anchor recap.
– Discuss Christmas party date, time, and location.
– Officer elections & Home Brewer of the Year nominations.
– 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!
Chocolaty character of stout beers blends spicy, sweet ingredients, from the Los Altos Town Crier
Sudzers CFO Derek W’s latest column from the Los Altos Town Crier
Chocolaty character of stout beers blends spicy, sweet ingredients
October 2016 meeting notes
In October’s meeting, we were visited by several members of the Gigayeast team, tasted fifteen delicious homebrews, and met a new member of the Sudzer community. Thanks to everyone who showed up, and see you next month!
Business:
– Derek distributed t-shirts to all paid 2016 Sudzers club members that signed up on the Google spreadsheet. Anyone who still hasn’t picked up their preordered shirt(s) should make arrangements directly with Derek before October 15, or they will become part of the club inventory.
– Tim has put together a schedule for a public-transit pub-crawl in San Francisco on October 15th. Details available at https://docs.google.com/document/d/14yxRF8Ioj7l3XOEKFfEcoiCNmLWbt_Kqe7wuJjO0c6g/edit.
– Dark Matter Brew Day will be held on October 29th at David Fortune’s house. Details with time and address to come.
– The end of the year is approaching, which means the Sudzers Christmas Party, and the most important of election of 2016 (the Sudzer Officer Election) are upon us. Details to come.
– Derek mentioned trading beer tours with the MadZ’s. Details to come.
– Cassie, Amelia, Matt, and their “assorted entourage” joined us from Gigayeast to gather notes and taste beers made with an experimental yeast they gave out roughly five months ago. I think we can all agree that this is a highly attenuative, easy-to-use, characterful Saison yeast. Thanks for coming by, and we hope to see you at future meetings!
– Please e-mail any fermentation or tasting notes for your Gigayeast Saison to Amelia at amelia@gigayeast.com.
– Thirsty Third Thursday will be held at Harry’s Hofbrau in San Jose on October 20th.
In all, we had fifteen brews:
BREWER BEER IBUs ABV Derek W. Citra Saison 35 7% Charles Sauvon Saison 22 7.3% Adam C. Saison - 7.5% Jim W. Saison J 35 7.6% Robert C. Sour Saison 30 6% Joanna N-120 Bohemian Pils - 5.25% David J. Hefeweizen - 6.1% David J. Blueberry Hefeweizen - 6.3% Danny Wet Hop IPA 85 5% Marc-Andre Earl Grey Session IPA 100 5.2% Robert C. Belgian Not So Strong 25 7.3% Derek W. Coconut Porter 35 6% Steve & Derek H. Rye Barrel Porter - 8.5% Justin V. Imperial Porter 75 10.09% David J. Belgian Quad 80 9.7%
Thanks to Steins and everyone that showed up. See you next month!
Sudzers October meeting
Hello Sudzers! Our next meeting will be held at 4:00pm on Sunday, October 9th at Steins Beer Garden in Mountain View.
http://steinsbeergarden.com/
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:
– Preordered 2016 t-shirts need to be picked up from Derek Wolfgram by October 15, or they will just become part of the club inventory. Derek will have them at Sunday’s meeting, and anyone who can’t make the meeting should make arrangements directly with him to get preordered shirts.
– A few months ago, Gigayeast came by and handed out some of their experimental Saison yeast. If you brewed a beer with this yeast, then please bring it and all tasting notes with you, as members of the Gigayeast team will attend on Sunday to sample your beer and take any feedback on the yeast.
– The Dark Matter Brew Day will be held on Saturday, October 29th at David Fortune’s house.
– Recap NCHF.
– Tim has put together the plans for the Sudzer SF Brewery Tour on October 15. Check it out at https://docs.google.com/document/d/14yxRF8Ioj7l3XOEKFfEcoiCNmLWbt_Kqe7wuJjO0c6g/edit?usp=sharing.
– 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!
Honey beers go beyond sweet with pure flower power, from the Los Altos Town Crier
Sudzers CFO Derek W’s latest column from the Los Altos Town Crier:
Honey beers go beyond sweet with pure flower power
September 2016 meeting notes
In September’s meeting, we distributed the 2016 Sudzer t-shirts, tasted sixteen delicious homebrews, and met two new members of the Sudzer community. Thanks to everyone who showed up, and see you next month!
Business:
– Derek distributed t-shirts to all paid 2016 Sudzers club members that signed up on the Google spreadsheet.
– We’ll be pouring at NCHF’s Hoppy Hour this year. If you’re interested in volunteering to organize Hoppy Hour (set up kegs, put up the tent, etc.), please contact Steve Hutzler (sthutz@gmail.com). We need volunteers, so please help if you can.
– Also, please e-mail Derek Wolfgram (derek.wolfgram@gmail.com) if you’re attending NCHF and haven’t yet received access to the Google spreadsheet for keeping track of what beer, food, etc. you’re bringing.
– During October’s meeting, we plan on having a tasting for the beers made using Gigayeast’s experimental yeast that was handed out a few months ago. Please make sure to bring your notes (i.e., fermentation temperature, tasting notes, etc.) so they can be shared with the Gigayeast team.
– Tim has put together a schedule for a public-transit pub-crawl in San Francisco on October 15th. Details available at https://docs.google.com/document/d/14yxRF8Ioj7l3XOEKFfEcoiCNmLWbt_Kqe7wuJjO0c6g/edit.
– A few members recapped their time at the California Craft Beer Summit, which had 165 breweries and 460 beers!
– A few members also recapped the awesome talk by Jeffers Richardson of Firestone Walker. We learned that pH doesn’t tell the whole story, and titratable acidity is often a better indicator of how sour a beer will be. He’ll be giving an abridged version at NCHF, so check it out if you weren’t able to attend.
– The California State Homebrew Competition is coming up. Check out http://castate.brewcompetition.com/ if you’re interested in judging or submitting beer.
– Steins will help host the Mountain View Oktoberfest on the first weekend in October. Come down for some great food and beer!
– Thirsty Third Thursday will be held at Harry’s Hofbrau in San Jose on September 15th.
In all, we had sixteen brews:
BREWER BEER IBUs ABV Mikael LemonWit 16 4.5% Jared Wit - 5% Steve & Derek H. Saison - 4.5% Steve & Derek H. Belgian Pale - 5% Steve & Derek H. Honey Belgian Pale - 5% David F. Witches' Brew, Sweet Pumpkin Stout 15 4.5% Charles Milk Stout 25 4.7% David J. Ginger Cider 0 6.1% Jared Strawberry Blond - 6.5% Rob Hoppy Farmhouse 35 6% Danny IPA 100 4.5% David F. Rye IPA 50 6.8% Adam citra++, New England Style IPA - 8.3% Derek W. 2013 Barrel Aged Dark Matter 100+ 10%+ Jim W. Cherry Bomb, Kettle Sour 13 4.5% Jim W. Hoppy Sour, Kettle Sour 20 4.5%
Thanks to Steins and everyone that showed up. See you next month!
Sudzers September meeting
Hello Sudzers! Our next meeting will be held at 4:00pm on Sunday, September 11th at Steins Beer Garden in Mountain View.
http://steinsbeergarden.com/
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:
– 2016 t-shirts are here and will be distributed!
– NCHF is right around the corner, so we’ll discuss Hoppy Hour (we still need beers!), plans for the mobile serving system, setup responsibilities, etc.
– In October, we hope to get some of the Gigayeast crew to attend and sample our homebrews made with their experimental yeast.
– Tim has put together the plans for the Sudzer SF Brewery Tour on October 15. Check it out at https://docs.google.com/document/d/14yxRF8Ioj7l3XOEKFfEcoiCNmLWbt_Kqe7wuJjO0c6g/edit?usp=sharing.
– Recap from anyone that went to the CA Craft Beer Summit.
– Recap from anyone that went to Jeffers Drops Acid Knowledge event. The event is tonight, and tickets may still be available https://www.facebook.com/events/183569225393841/.
– 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!
August 2016 meeting notes
In August’s meeting, we distributed the 2016 Sudzer t-shirts, tasted sixteen delicious homebrews, and met a new member of the Sudzer community. Thanks to everyone who showed up, and see you next month!
Business:
– Derek distributed t-shirts to all paid 2016 Sudzers club members that signed up on the Google spreadsheet.
– Dark Matter brew day. David F. has volunteered to host this year on Saturday, October 29th! More info will be announced later.
– Anil is organizing a study group for several BJCP exams taking place in November and December. This is a great opportunity to meet new people, study up on beer, refine your palate with an off-flavor tasting kit, and of course, drink some beer! Let Anil (adosaj@mac.com) know if you’re interested in joining.
– We’ll be pouring at NCHF’s Hoppy Hour this year. It’s recommended that we have eight kegs at the event, and we will use September’s meeting to give those beers a try. If you’re interested in volunteering to organize Hoppy Hour (set up kegs, etc.), please contact Steve Hutzler (sthutz@gmail.com).
– Please e-mail Derek Wolfgram (derek.wolfgram@gmail.com) if you’re attending NCHF and haven’t yet received access to the Google spreadsheet for keeping track of what beer, food, etc. you’re bringing.
– During October’s meeting, we plan on having a tasting for the beers made using Gigayeast’s experimental yeast that was handed out a few months ago.
– Tim has proposed and will be organizing a public-transit pub-crawl in San Francisco; most likely in mid-October. More info to come.
– Bare Bottle Brewery is interested in having a Sudzers-only home brew competition, and we’ll most likely have it after NCHF has wrapped up. Stay tuned for more info.
– We talked a bit about building up RO water for brewing. Jim mentioned http://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=198460 as being an extremely helpful resource on the subject. Check it out to learn more!
– The California Craft Beer Summit is September 8-10. More info can be found at http://www.cacraftbeersummit.com/.
– On September 8th, Jeffers Richardson of Firestone Walker will “Drop Some Acid Knowledge” at Steins! Visit https://www.prod.facebook.com/events/183569225393841/ to learn more.
– Steins will also help host the Mountain View Oktoberfest on the first weekend in October. Come down for some great food and beer!
– Thirsty Third Thursday will be held at Harry’s Hofbrau in San Jose on August 18th, 7:00pm.
In all, we had sixteen brews:
BREWER BEER IBUs ABV David F. Peach-Nectarine Gose ~15 4.8% David Horchata Beer 20 5.4% David Cherry Cider 0 5.3% Tim Wedding Cider 0 7% Robert C. Saison 40 6.5% Derek W. Citra Saison ~40 7% Robert C. Tripel 30 6.8% Vern West Coast Scottish "bitter" ? 6.8% Mikael BB Porter 31 5.66% Paul Peanut Butter Porter 20 6.2% Jared IPA/SMASH -> Pacific Jade ? 5% Jared IPA/SMASH -> Pacific Gem ? 5% Marc Sweet Red IPA ~50 7% David IPA ~60 6.1% David F. IPA ~80 6.3% Derek W. Iced Flanders low ~9%
Thanks to Steins and everyone that showed up. See you next month!