Sudzers August meeting

Hello, Sudzers!

This month’s meeting will be held at 4:00 pm this Sunday, August 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.
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:

–  Derek will be collecting dues. If you would like to pay club dues, please send $25 via paypal to derek@sudzers.org or give him $25 in person this Sunday.

–  Presentation on kettle sours.

–  Northern California Homebrewers Festival (9/15-9/16, 2023)

–  Homebrew evaluations. Remember to bring your recipe, since 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.

Hope to see you all at Steins!

Sudzers July 2023 meeting notes

Hello Sudzers,

For our July meeting, we discussed this year’s Santa Clara County Homebrew Competition and NCHF. Then we tasted a couple of homebrews. Thanks to Stein’s and everyone who showed up.

– The 7th Annual Santa Clara Homebrew Competition will be held July 22. The Sudzers are co-organizing with the Grain Trust. The competition is now closed to registering new entries. People can drop off their entries at the Country Fair Grounds on July 15 and 16. They can also be dropped off at More Beer in Los Altos and Beer and Wine Makers of America in San Jose by July 14 See the following for more details: https://thefair.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Home-Brew-Competition-2023-Final.pdf

– The presentation on kettle sours was postponed until the August meeting.

– Tickets for this year’s Northern California Hombrewers Festival go on sale July 16. NCHF will be held September 15 and 16, 2023.

– The beers we tasted:

BrewerBeer NameBeer StyleIBUsABVBrewer Notes
Peterdunkelweizen105.60%
AllenHazy Shade of TahoeNE IPA357.20%Dry hopped during fermentation

– Remember, membership dues need to be made every calendar year. If you haven’t paid yet, then you can make a payment of $25 to Derek via paypal at derek@sudzers.org

– If you haven’t already, please join our Discord server at https://discord.gg/mBQ7smguu7. All official communication (meeting information, event information, etc.) will continue to go through the mailing list, but Discord provides us a convenient way to have smaller, quicker conversations, so we encourage you to join.

– All shared recipes can be found at https://sites.google.com/a/cloudyforecast.com/brewme/home. If you’d like to have your recipe shared on the site, then please email it in any format to recipe-share@sudzers.org. Full info can be found at http://www.sudzers.org/?page_id=2910

– For a list of all upcoming competitions, check out the Worts of Wisdoms’ calendar: http://www.wortsofwisdom.org/calendar/upcoming-homebrewers-competitions/

Sudzers July meeting

Hello, Sudzers!

This month’s meeting will be held at 4:00 pm this Sunday, July 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.
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:

–  Derek will be collecting dues. If you would like to pay club dues, please send $25 via paypal to derek@sudzers.org or give him $25 in person this Sunday.

–  Homebrew competition at the Santa Clara County Fair.

–  Distribution of the club brew to members who haven’t received their cans yet.

–   Presentation on kettle sours.

–  Homebrew evaluations. Remember to bring your recipe, since 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.

Hope to see you all at Steins!

Sudzers June 2023 meeting notes

Hello Sudzers,

For our June meeting, we discussed this year’s Santa Clara County Homebrew Competition. Then we tasted some homebrew. Thanks to Stein’s and everyone who showed up.

– The 7th Annual Santa Clara Homebrew Competition will be held July 22. The Sudzers are co-organizing with the Grain Trust. For those interested in judging or stewarding, fill out the questionnaire at https://forms.gle/rE9GPWEL97Yjyztz5 by June 16, 2023. For those who would like to enter the competition, details and the registration link are available at: 

https://bit.ly/418d60R. Registration deadline is June 28.

– The off flavor of the month was benzaldehyde which gives beer an almond smell/flavor. Thanks to Mikael for putting this together.

– We discussed possible presentations on beer styles. Sebastian will give a presentation on kettle sours at the July meeting

– The beer we tasted was Allen’s Russian imperial coffee stout made with medium roast coffee and hazelnuts (7.8% ABV)

– Remember, membership dues need to be made every calendar year. If you haven’t paid yet, then you can make a payment of $25 to Derek via paypal at derek@sudzers.org

– If you haven’t already, please join our Discord server at https://discord.gg/mBQ7smguu7. All official communication (meeting information, event information, etc.) will continue to go through the mailing list, but Discord provides us a convenient way to have smaller, quicker conversations, so we encourage you to join.

– All shared recipes can be found at https://sites.google.com/a/cloudyforecast.com/brewme/home. If you’d like to have your recipe shared on the site, then please email it in any format to recipe-share@sudzers.org. Full info can be found at http://www.sudzers.org/?page_id=2910

– For a list of all upcoming competitions, check out the Worts of Wisdoms’ calendar: http://www.wortsofwisdom.org/calendar/upcoming-homebrewers-competitions/

Sudzers June meeting

Hello, Sudzers!

This month’s meeting will be held at 4:00pm this Sunday, June 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.
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:

– Collection of dues. Derek won’t be at this meeting, but you can
still pay dues by sending $25 via Paypal to derek@sudzers.org.

– Off flavor of the month.

– Homebrew competition at Santa Clara County Fair.

– Ideas for presentations on beer styles.

– Homebrew evaluations. Remember to bring your recipe, since 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.

Hope to see you all at Steins!

Sudzers May 2023 meeting notes

Hello Sudzers,

For our May meeting, we discussed this year’s Santa Clara County Homebrew Competition. Then we tasted nine great homebrews. Thanks to Stein’s and everyone who showed up.

– We welcomed new members Adam and Remi. Welcome to the club!

– The 7th Annual Santa Clara Homebrew Competition will be held July 22. The Sudzers are co-organizing with the Grain Trust. For those interested in judging or stewarding, fill out the questionnaire at:  https://forms.gle/rE9GPWEL97Yjyztz5 by June 16, 2023. For those who would like to enter the competition, details and the registration link are available at: https://bit.ly/418d60R

– The off flavor of the month was hydrogen sulphide (H2S) which gives beer a sulfury smell/flavor. Thanks to Mikael for putting this together.

– The used brewing equipment that was donated to the club last month was distributed to those who wanted any of it.

– The beers we tasted:

BrewerBeer NameBeer StyleIBUsABVBrewer Notes
PeterSaison305.5
MikaelOne week saisonSaison45580F fast fermentation
Kevin sIPLIndia Pale Lager445.5
StephanEl CitraCold IPA6.8El Dorado and Citra
TimTThiolized Cold IPACold IPA626Lunar Crush
Kevin sHazy IPAHazy IPA396.8
Allen/NatanNatan Hazy About This OneNE IPA – W/Thiols477.2Put Saaz in Mash and Thiol Yeast (Star Party)
SebastianMF GoldMixed Fermentation Sour6.4
SebastianMF RedMixed Fermentation Sour6.7

– Remember, membership dues need to be made every calendar year. If you haven’t paid yet, then you can make a payment of $25 to Derek via paypal at derek@sudzers.org

– If you haven’t already, please join our Discord server at https://discord.gg/mBQ7smguu7. All official communication (meeting information, event information, etc.) will continue to go through the mailing list, but Discord provides us a convenient way to have smaller, quicker conversations, so we encourage you to join.

– All shared recipes can be found at https://sites.google.com/a/cloudyforecast.com/brewme/home. If you’d like to have your recipe shared on the site, then please email it in any format to recipe-share@sudzers.org. Full info can be found at http://www.sudzers.org/?page_id=2910

– For a list of all upcoming competitions, check out the Worts of Wisdoms’ calendar: http://www.wortsofwisdom.org/calendar/upcoming-homebrewers-competitions/

Sudzers May meeting

Hello, Sudzers!

This month’s meeting will be held at 4:00pm this Sunday, May 21st
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.
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:

– Derek will be collecting dues. If you would like to pay club dues, please send $25 via paypal to derek@sudzers.org or give him $25 in person this Sunday.


– Off flavor of the month. 

– Distribution of the club brew to members who haven’t received their cans yet. 

– Homebrew competition at Santa Clara County Fair

– Distribution of homebrewing equipment donated at last month’s meeting

– Homebrew evaluations. Remember to bring your recipe, since 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.

Hope to see you all at Steins!

Sudzers April 2023 meeting notes

Hello Sudzers,

For our April 16th meeting, we discussed this year’s Homebrew Con and the next beer style to be presented. Then we tasted five great homebrews. Thanks to Stein’s and everyone who showed up.

– Ed dropped off some brewing equipment he no longer uses. At the moment Kevin has it. We will send out a list so that members can claim any of the equipment they would like.

– Homebrew Con will be June 22-24 in San Diego. The discussion was rather short, since no one present at the meeting is planning on attending. However, if anyone is planning on going, they can use the Event channel on Discord to coordinate activities with other members who will be in San Diego.

– For the next beer style, Sebastian offered to give a presentation on kettle sours (tentatively in June).

– The beers we tasted:

BrewerBeer NameBeer StyleIBUsABVBrewer Notes
SebastianGerman Helles Exportbier255.3
PeterSt PattysGolden ale304
ChrisSMASH Pale aleClone of Alvarado “Mai Tai”
StephanOops All CaraRedRed Pale Ale566.3
StephanMurphy’s LawHazy IPA??6.4

– Remember, membership dues need to be made every calendar year. If you haven’t paid yet, then you can make a payment of $25 to Derek via paypal at derek@sudzers.org

– If you haven’t already, please join our Discord server at https://discord.gg/mBQ7smguu7. All official communication (meeting information, event information, etc.) will continue to go through the mailing list, but Discord provides us a convenient way to have smaller, quicker conversations, so we encourage you to join.

– All shared recipes can be found at https://sites.google.com/a/cloudyforecast.com/brewme/home. If you’d like to have your recipe shared on the site, then please email it in any format to recipe-share@sudzers.org. Full info can be found at http://www.sudzers.org/?page_id=2910

– For a list of all upcoming competitions, check out the Worts of Wisdoms’ calendar: http://www.wortsofwisdom.org/calendar/upcoming-homebrewers-competitions/

Sudzers April meeting

Hello, Sudzers!

This month’s meeting will be held at 4:00pm this Sunday, April 16th
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.
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:

– Derek will be collecting dues. If you would like to pay club dues, please send $25 via paypal to derek@sudzers.org or give him $25 in person this Sunday.

–  Distribution of the club brew to members who haven’t received their cans yet. 

– Homebrew Con, June 22-24 in San Diego.

– Next beer style to be covered. A volunteer would give a presentation covering the history and brewing details for that particular style.

– Homebrew evaluations. Remember to bring your recipe, since 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.

Hope to see you all at Steins!

Sudzers March 2023 Meeting Notes

Local homebrewer Al came to share that he would like to donate his homebrew equipment to the Sudzers, including keggles, cooler mash tun, carboys, and corny kegs. Robert C will send out a spreadsheet later this month to allow members to claim one item apiece on a first come, first served basis, and Al will bring the equipment to the April meeting for distribution.


Congratulations to 2022 Sudzers Homebrewer of the year Mikael Hakansson, who gets to be the proud keeper of the very large Sudzers cup trophy, featuring a new engraved nameplate with his name, for the next year (and he got to take it home on Caltrain, which must have been fun!)


Mikael also presented our off-flavor of the month, eugenol, which gives beers a spicy or clove flavor. May be desirable in some styles, but certainly not all.


Derek W shared details about the upcoming Santa Clara County Fair homebrew competition, which will be held in July, and which the Sudzers organize with The Grain Trust. Judging will be conducted on Saturday, July 22 at the Fairgrounds. Mark your calendars now if you might be interested in judging or stewarding (no experience necessary, although it helps), and a formal call for judges will go out in the next few weeks. 


Steins has decided to cancel their homebrew competition for this year, although we may help them organize it for 2024. 

Robert C provided an informative presentation (with tasting samples) of the IPL/Cold IPA/West Coast Pilsner/Hoppy lager styles. Slides will be shared on the Sudzers website when available.  

Allen M and Chris T shared stories of the adventures in brewing and canning this year’s club brew, a Dark Winter Ale/Biere de Noel/Biere de Garde based on Robert R’s recipe. An allocation of three 16 ounce cans was distributed to each 2023 paid Sudzers member at the meeting. For remaining members, allocations will be available for pickup at the April and May meetings, after which you will need to make arrangements to pick your cans up from Derek in Redwood City. If you would prefer to get your cans from Derek rather than waiting for the club meeting, please email him at derek@sudzers.org

Homebrew tastings:

1Derek WPlan Bee Batch 5Honey Kolsch
2Kevin SJAKs strong bitterstrong bitter
3MikaelJB3Cold IPA
4Kevin SAfternoon DelightSession IPA
5AdamHoppy brown lagerBrown lager?
6Derek WBoonoonoonoos StoutTropical Stout
7Derek WCherry Apple CiderCider
8Club BrewBiere de NoelDark Winter Ale