November – the end of the year is almost here

With ANHC out of the way the club met for its second last time for 2014 and relaxed a little with the busy year almost done.

The AGM was announced by the club president which will see all positions up for re-election to drive the club into 2015.

With many of the current position holders into successive terms, it’s time for other club members to step in and volunteer their time to keep the club running.

With the formalities out of the way, and a bunch of new brewers there on the night, the club took the opportunity to conduct a “fireside chat” to give the newer brewers the chance to ask questions in the audience of some of the clubs more experienced brewers.

The chat was well represented with ten new brewers, of varying skills, experience and brewing techniques, taking the opportunity to better their skills and knowledge and taste of different beers.

Discussions centred on the key elements that need to be controlled to get a quality beer including yeast, temperature, cleanliness and patience.

All of these key elements are applicable from the brewer starting out with kits through to the all grain brewer. Specific questions were asked such as how to get the most out of yeast, what methods could be used to aid with fermentation control without the aid of refrigeration as well as discussing some of the lessons learnt from sanitary practices that might not be lending towards that perfect pint.

The session showcased the willingness of some of the more experienced club members to provide advice to the newer members, something they can access well into the future, with the goal of meeting new people, learning a lot and making great beer.

Tom Dixon was named the 2014 Wig & Pen Trophy winner with his Dusseldorf Altbier – congratulations to him and it should be on tap at the Wig & Pen’s new location early in the new year.