Category: Editor’s report and club news

By Nick Wiseman, Editor

Despite the initial problems with the planned meeting the re-scheduled July meet turned out to be one of the most keenly listened into nights with not a sound being uttered when former Canberra Brewer turned pro Scott ‘Cougar’ Hargrave turned up to speak about his brewing journey.

Jumping up in front of both mates known during his time in the club and very interested newer members he gave a quick introduction about himself and what he did before opening up to questions on the floor.

Quick as ever Charles ‘Chuck’ Newton opened the questions wanting some advice on concreting his backyard – for those who didn’t know Cougar’s previous job before turning brewer was a concreter.

After the quick laughs shared by all (not to mention a detailed response from Cougar!) the discussion quickly turned serious with many questions being thrown to Cougar not only about his journey and experiences along the way but also about Stone & Wood itself.

To use the old cliché ‘the silence was deafening’ would be an understatement as anyone who’s been to a meeting would have to say they’ve never seen the bierkeller quieter.

A big thanks from the club goes out to Cougar for his brilliant insight into the realities of being a commercial brewer and how he made that journey from being a fellow amateur himself.

Also getting up in front of the club that night was Paul ‘Mozzie’ Haesler who brewed a wheat beer for this month’s Brewers Showcase.

Mozzie spoke in length about his techniques on how he brews them and why he enjoys the style so much.

Fielding lots of questions from members everyone got a taste of his tasty brew which was available as usual on tap through the clubs miracle boxes.

Kevin ‘Mr No-Tip’ Hingston took out not only first prize in this month’s raffles which was a brew morning with Wig & Pen brewer Richard Watkins making their Cider and taking home 20L of juice to make his own but also took out another prize of some Stone & Wood merchandise.

Official club business on the night consisted of the latest competition awards being handed out and also a reminder of the upcoming (this weekend) Wig & Pen brew day – check the forum to get your name down if not already and for further information.

Paul ‘Mozzie’ Haesler presents this month’s Brewers Showcase.

More photos on our Flickr site.

By Nick Wiseman, Editor

After difficulties with the last meeting being held it was thought we would try a re-run and as such, this Thursday July 12 (tomorrow) will be the July meeting of the Canberra Brewers – take two!

Holding the meeting a week later has allowed Canberra Brewer turned pro Scott ‘Cougar’ Hargrave of Stone & Wood to make a star appearance and be a guest speaker for the night willing to share his experiences since turning pro.

As planned Paul ‘Mozzie’ Haesler will have one of his wheat beers available to taste and will discuss the style and his brewing techniques with the club, Patrick Baggoleys APA’s will now be planned for August.

More information will be available on the night about the upcoming Wig & Pen Brew Day as well as the August Wagga trip, so don’t miss out on that and a quick reminder to those who have borrowed books from the library to bring them back in for other brewers.

The raffle will still see the first prize winner spending the morning with Richard Watkins brewing a batch of cider, however the CO2 bottle, refill and BBQ set will make an appearance in next month’s raffles as they’ve been replaced with some Stone & Wood shirts, posters and beer kindly donated by Cougar.

For all those who can make this meeting we’ll see you on the night.

By Nick Wiseman, Editor

This Thursday evening is the next meeting of the Canberra Brewers and we’ll be listening in to Paul Haesler and Patrick Baggoley talk about their selected beers in the Brewers Showcase.

Paul will discuss his hefeweizen and how he goes about brewing them – for those who have never tasted one of his decocted wheat beers be prepared for a treat.

Patrick will have not one but two American Pale Ale’s available to discuss – particularly the difference between the two with one being made with commercial Chinook while the other used home-grown flowers.

As normal both styles will be available for tasting and the brewers available for questions.

The raffles this month will see the first prize winner spending the morning brewing with Richard Watkins who will be making a batch of Wig and Pen Cider and will also take home 20L of pure apple juice to use those newfound cider making skills on.

Second prize will be a 12 month rental and first refill of a 6kg CO2 bottle from Supagas, also from Supagas is a top quality BBQ utensil set for third prize – all you need for the perfect BBQ to accompany some wonderful home-made beer.

So brave the cold, enjoy some beer and make sure you don’t miss the next meeting – if you do then you may miss out on all the information about this years Wig and Pen brew day which is scheduled for later this month…

By Nick Wiseman, Editor

Interest in the Brewers Showcase continued this month with Mark ‘Billy’ Bilbrough talking about his Robust Porter and Charles ‘Chuck’ Newton talking about his Schwarzbier.

Members were keen to learn about the styles and how they brewed their beers with many questions thrown at them throughout their presentations, more details and recipes will be available in a separate story to appear on the web site soon so keep an eye out.

With International Home Brew Day only a few days after the meeting Stephen ‘Kurtz’ Neilsen discussed with the club the various mashing techniques commonly used by brewers including some of those that would be demonstrated at the brew off day.

Despite most of the talk being of traditional systems such as HERMS, RIMS and three vessel gravity systems Kurtz later moved the conversation to the mysterious and often misunderstood Brew in a Bag (BIAB) method.

Gaining popularity as an alternative method to get into all grain brewing Kurtz gave a rather unbiased talk and informative session on the method noting he was looking forward to seeing the system in practice on the weekend – even posing for a photo with one of the bags that are used in the method.

The raffles for the evening consisted of a complete portable party keg system, oxygen kit and beer pack with the party keg going out to lucky member Mark Wilson.

Club President Tom ‘Dicko’ Dixon briefly spoke about some of the members heading down to the Great Australian Beer Spectapular being held in Melbourne and promised a full report on his return.

Other events to keep an eye out coming up in the next few months include the Wig & Pen brew day and the next club competition – make sure you get those entries in!