Canberra Brewers September ‘16 Meeting Preview -and more!

Greetings brewers, as well as our September meeting next week, we’ve got a lot happening over the next month, so read on for all the details!

Last chance for movie tickets!

Our fundraising movie night for the John James Foundation is on this Saturday, and you’ve got until 6pm Thursday 25th August to book your tickets! Please get behind John James by heading to our online ticket page here to book your seat now!

For $20 we provide a feed, beer, and ticket to see Beer Hunter The Movie with friends. We’ll have at least four different beers on tap, including a keg generously donated by Zierholz, and Ministry Grounds Coffee will have some filter coffee there for sampling as well. Zierholz is also donating a 5L minikeg as a door prize to be drawn on the night – how cool is that! The night starts at 6:30pm, with the movie to begin at 8pm, including an interval so you can grab a beer and freshen up half way through.

Hop into Spring

For our September meeting next Thursday (September 1) at the Harmonie German Club in Narrabundah, we’ll kick of the night with a 7:30pm education session on growing your own hops at home. World-renowned green thumb* and hop head Paul Main (aka Hen and Hound) will talk about some of the theory and practicals behind growing hops, share some of his own experiences and open the floor up to a wider discussion. After the talk people will have a chance to swap rhizomes or pick some up to try for themselves, just in time for an impending seasonal change.

ACT Amateur Brewing Championships

The lead up to the ACT Championships is officially upon us and everyone is modestly hiding their hopes up for glory. With judging to be held over 17-18th September, entries for the 2016 ACTs are now open! This is the comp to be in – all AABC styles are open, so there’s nothing to hold you back. Please note the changed close date – now Saturday the 10th September @ 10.30am – only 2 and a half weeks away. Check out all important details here. Good luck, and get counter-pressure filling and capping before you run out of time!

Go off at the BJCP faulted tasting

We’ve got a few seats available at the BJCP group’s final tasting session of the year, on Tuesday, September 6. It’s the eye (and tastebud) opening “off flavour” session, where we take a clean, commercial beer and doctor it with different flavour compounds to demonstrate what some of the common off-flavours taste like. It’s an invaluable session for new brewers or experienced judges who want to fine-tune their palates before the ACT Championships. Put your name down here on the forum.

CB heads to ANHC Adelaide

The Australian National Homebrewing Conference (ANHC) is rapidly approaching (held 13-15 October 2016). This great three-day event will undoubtedly be highly rewarding and worthwhile educational experience for club members across the country. The Australian Amateur Brewing Championships are on Thursday 13th October. For those who are new to the idea of ANHC, I’d encourage you to check out all the online information on 2016’s speakers and ticketing. From a club representation perspective, the discussion topic is on the forum here. You can also RSVP on the forum so we can get an idea of the contingent heading to SA.

A wonderful raffle this month

Prizes up for grabs this month include:

– Digital stir plate

– Refractometer

– $50 voucher towards anything in Clever Brewing’s brew store (Big thanks Clever Brewing! Great place to shop.)

– Great Home Brew books (‘Wood and Beer’ & Beechum’s ‘Homebrew All Stars’)

– A handpicked selection of beer

Lastly, Ministry Grinds Coffee (now owned by long-time club member David “Steelo” Steel) is also donating some freshly roasted coffee to the raffle, and is offering members of the Canberra Brewers a 10% discount – keep an eye the Sponsors forum for the code.                                                                                                                  

Get your brewing books

I’m definitely looking to return a bunch of my borrowed books this week, so there’s hardly been a more exciting time to head to the club’s online catalogue at https://canberrabrewers.librarika.com/ to peruse this prolific resource. You can easily 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.

Memberships sign up online

We are currently going about locking off forum access etc, so if you may have overlooked transferring your union dues for the year to date,  please take the great opportunity (to use the convenience of paypass) by signing up at our club meeting next Thursday night. Alternatively, online there is always the digitised membership form you can submit to the Treasurer (cc’ing his fellow Webmaster). Paypal payment details and more information is on this renewal page here.