November meeting preview

Welcome, brewers to another great month of brewing and beer in Canberra!

Coming off a huge Oktoberfest meeting last month, we’re getting back to a bit of “business as usual”: A great night of sharing beer with friends and some brewing education!

And we’ve got a few wins to toast, with great results at the Australian Amateur Brewing Championships in Brisbane a couple of weeks ago. Kevin Hingston finished second place in the champion brewer tally, and Steve Hoggarth was equal third. Ben Harmer won beer of show with his schwarzbier (just pipping Kev’s hefe at the post). And the ACT was runner-up for champion state behind Perth.

Medallists included:
Gold: Ben Harmer (schwarzbier), Steve Hogarth (Eisbock), Stephen Lawford (English barley wine), Kevin Hingston (Weizen/Weissbier), Steve Hogarth (Barrel-aged passion fruit lambic), Mark Overton (common cider – 100% granny smith).
Silver: Kevin Hingston (Leichtes Weizen), Mitch Dalton (Munich Helles), Mark Bilbrough (RIS), Kevin Hingston (Tripel). Andrew Lewis (Mild Ale), Mark Bilbrough (ESB), Kevin Hingston (American IPA), Andrew Chek (American Wheat), Kevin Hingston, (White Chocolate Metheglin).

Some fantastic results there, well done to all brewers who qualified.

So get down to the Harmonie German Club in Narrabundah next Thursday night to join in. We’ll have an education talk from 7.30pm, and get the rest of the meeting going around 8pm.

Tap dancing

We’ll kick off the night with a bit of a pre-meeting education session on kegging this month. Kegging can be a bit of a voodoo art, but hopefully we’ll be able to help explain where to get started. With any luck we might have some new gear for you to have a look at.

Hit the road

There’s been a slight complication to our plans for a brewery trip to the Thirsty Crow in Wagga, as they’ll be closed that weekend as they move to larger premises so we’ve had to go back to the drawing board a little. Still keep the date free, as social sec Jeremy is hoping to have an alternative destination to announce at the meeting. Or you can keep an eye on this thread on the forum.

‘Tis the season

The annual Christmas family barbecue is just around the corner, on December 12 – the chance for the club to give a little back to family members! You can for RSVPs on the forum here (don’t forget to leave your kids’ names and ages), and will be looking for people to bring some beer along to share. Tell the kids we’ll be getting in touch with Santa again!

Best of the best!

Wrapping up the 2015 competition season, our annual Canberra Brewers Best of Show judging took place at the Wig and Pen earlier this month, with Mark Bilbrough taking out the Wig and Pen Trophy with his English Old Ale! Wig brewer Frazer Brown is keen to brew this with Billy soon, so they can have it ready to serve as the weather cools down next year. Kudos also to Evan Roeterdink for his Nanking Cherry Saison, and 2015 ACT Champion Brewer Stephen Lawford for his Munich Dunkel.

Put your BJCP nous to the test

As we announced at a meeting a few months back, and on the forum, we’ve managed to book a BJCP judge tasting exam for March. Places are strictly limited, and we’ve already started a wait list, but put your name down as there’s a high chance people will drop out before March. Check out the details on the forum, and we’ll have a bit of a chat about what’s required at the meeting.

It’s Canberra Beer Week, get amongst it!

This Thursday also marks the launch of Canberra Beer Week – with some big events from some of our club’s supporters. Bentspoke is launching a new beer every day, plus running guided tastings and brewery tours throughout the week. The Pot Belly is hosting a Rodenbach and La Sirene masterclass and Prickly Moses tap takeover. Pact is launching its latest beer and hosting a beer and coffee night at Highgate Lane, and the Wig and Pen is running some meet the brewer sessions with a meal. Details can be found at http://www.canberrabeerweek.com/ and there are plenty of great events all week.

You can also get involved in the Beer Day Out by volunteering to help out on Friday November 6 or Saturday November 7 by emailing liz@beerdayout.com.au. Details at http://beerdayout.com.au/volunteer-3/

Club library

Don’t forget to head to the club’s online library catalogue at https://canberrabrewers.librarika.com/ to peruse this great resource. You can reserve a copy of something and we’ll deliver it at the meeting. If the book is currently on loan, email education@canberrabrewers.com.au and we’ll arrange to have it brought back for you to borrow. Don’t have access to the library? Email us and we’ll hook you up.