I love beer. But it does have a way of sticking around - usually around my middle. So when I got serious about losing the ole "spare tire," it meant giving up one of my two favorite beverages for a few weeks. It was a long month, but during that time I discovered ciders. Whether it's because of the growth of craft beer or demand for gluten free options, we have more and more ciders available now. And I've found that most taste much better than the kicked up apple juice I'd tried years ago. Even though the diet is officially over, I still find myself opting for a cider to keep things in balance. I'm looking forward to sharing some with you at the August meeting.

Salute!
Angela (@girlfromarizona)

From the President

By Rob Fullmer

We've had quite a few changes in the last few months, but ASHers have stepped up to meet the challenge. I can't tell you how proud I am of Krystal Bittner, the ASH VP. She's engaging all of our sponsors and organizing a SWAG campaign like no other. I've also heard people tell me how much she and Matt Elliot have helped them study for the BJCP and the Cicerone exam. Thanks came from both professionals and homebrewers.

We're losing our Happy Hour Guy, Greg Garcia to some type of lucrative job or something in Houston. Ugh. Enjoy that petro-chemical humidity Greg! I told him it would be thankless work, but I suppose we'll thank him all the same. Vaya con Dios!

The Morrills are planning a relocation to the Emerald City. Kat will be missed. She shepherded ASH through its first volunteer program exceeding all expectations. Taking the reins for the remainder of the year will be Steene Routh. We'll miss you too Sean. Let's hope that you're jobless in Seattle just as long as you like.

Finally, I have one thing to ask of you this month. But first a statistic or two.

Our newsletter email services report tells me that of the 1,000 or so folks that get this email, about 370 of you opened it. Of those 370, about 113 of you will click on something. Often, our volunteer emails, are opened at a 60 or 70% rate and clicked through about 35%. These are actually all outstanding numbers with some in the industry being happy with open rates around 20% and click through rates at 10%.

So you 370, I need you to do the Arizona beer scene a favor. Let's get a 170 liter cask of unfiltered and unpasteurized Pilsner Urquell to Papago. For you newbies, Papago Brewing was started by one of your club founders, Ron Kloth. All you have to do is vote here and you may end up winning a litte somethin-somethin for yourself. Get your crazy uncle, your mom, your parole officer, and your tool-borrowing neighbor to vote too. We can do this. Go ahead and vote now. I'll wait right here.

Finally, our board is entering the final quarter of the term. There's a good deal of enthusiasm left in the group, so I expect most will be back next year.

Tell me. What can we do for you?

Send me an email at [email protected]

I'll wait right here.

�Salud!

Rob Fullmer
President, ASH

From the Judges Table
Matt Brown

We have some exciting things coming up, so I will get right to it...

Homebrewer of the Year

How are those IPA recipes shaping up? November's HBOY prize is going to be a day brewing an IPA at San Tan Brewing Company, so I hope we get a lot of great entries. We also hope to register it with the BJCP.

To confirm, here are the remaining HBOY deadlines:

8/20 - European Amber Lager

10/15 - Spice, Herb, or Vegetable Beer

11/19 - IPA

12/13 - Light Lager

Turn in your entries at the general meeting. The rules are posted here.

Salt River Fields Oktoberfest / ASH Oktoberfest

To avoid taking people away from San Tan's Oktoberfest, we are going to do our Oktoberfest judging on Sunday (10/6) only. Because we will not have the luxury of a second day, it is even more important that we get as many judges as possible. Let me know if you can help!

Here are the dates to remember:

10/4 - ASH Oktoberfest Entry Deadline

10/6 - ASH Oktoberfest Judging

10/11 - Salt River's Oktoberfest Entry Deadline

10/12 - Salt River's Oktoberfest Judging

10/19 - ASH Oktoberfest

It is likely that we will not be doing the Salt River event due to a lack of interest and less than ideal circumstances, but I am leaving the dates up in case things happen to work out. I will keep you posted and should have a definite answer either way by next month.

BJCP Class

It is never too late to learn more about beer! The BJCP class is underway and meeting Monday nights at 7pm. There are still several styles left to cover. You can join the group here, and then you will need to RSVP for each class in the discussion forum. It is open to all paid ASH members, and a class fee of $5 covers the cost of the commercial examples you will get to try.

Springfest Competition

We are going to have a big Springfest competition in early 2014, but a few snags have prevented us from setting a definite date yet. Hopefully I will be announcing that next month. If you want to be involved, sign up here.

Volunteer Corner
From Kat Morrill

The end of another Phoenix summer is near and that means the beer festivals will be starting again soon! There are two great beer festivals coming up in the next few months that we'd love to see the ASH-ional Guard represented at.

The Beat the Heat Beer Festival has asked ASH for volunteers to help staff this fundraising event for the Arizona Hemophilia Association. Of course, we all know that the best way to beat the heat is with a cool brew - so if anyone is interested and available, let's help share our knowledge.

The festival is Friday, Aug. 23 from 4-9pm and Saturday, Aug 24 from 12:30-6pm. Volunteers get tickets to the event the day they are not working. You'll also get ASHional Guard Volunteer Points. Fill out the volunteer form here to sign up.

The 6th annual SanTan Brewing Oktoberfest is coming up on October 5, 2013 at the Dr AJ Chandler Park West in downtown Chandler. We need well organized, hard working volunteers who are willing to help with beer pouring in three shifts at the festival. Volunteers will get entry to the festival for the two shifts that they're not working at. You'll also get ASHional Guard Volunteer Points. If you're interested in helping out for this festival, fill out this document and either fax it to 815.642.4836 or email it to Landon at [email protected].

Clone Wars, Beer Queens, and Back to School

Upcoming Events from the ASH Website

It may not feel like it, but Fall is just around the corner. That means it's time to get brewing for competition season. Here are some upcoming events from the ASH Website. Be sure to join in on these event threads for all the details.

Clone the Pale Ale Competition

Entries Due By: Sept 16

Sierra Nevada and Brewers Connection are holding a competition to clone its Pale Ale. This pale ale began as a homebrewer's dream, grew into an icon, and then inspired countless brewers to follow a passion of their own. Entries are due at Brewers Connection by Sept. 6 and will be judged by two representatives from Sierra Nevada and two BJCP certified judges from ASH. Prizes will be awarded for first, second and third and announced at the Brewers Connection Brewout on Sept. 21. Read all the details at the ASH website.

Homebrew Basics
City of Tempe Parks & Rec
Registration - Now Open * Classes - Oct. 16 - Nov 13
The students have become the teachers. ASH is partnering with the City of Tempe to provide a series of Homebrew Basic classes through Parks & Rec. The first class: Fermintation 101 is now open for registration. The process to sign up has several steps. Check out this ASH page for details.

Queen of Beer Brewout

Saturday, August 25

Another tradition in the making. The women of ASH are invited to this brewout to prepare entries for the 2013 Queen of Beer Women's Homebrew Competition. All entries must be prepared entirely by women, although men can assist with lifting. What else can the men do? Oversee the potluck, take a dip in the pool....

July Recap

The meeting started with a Peach Berlinerweiss from Trevor as our calibration beer. Then Kat Morrill lead an expo of Gadgets and Gizmos that featured items our ASH members have created to help them in every stage of the brewing process. Raffle prizes are now being drawn during the general meeting and after. Krystal had a great selection of prizes from our meeting sponsor.

August General Meeting

Tuesday, August 20, 7pm - 9pm

ASH Clubhouse (Rose Market Storefront)

2515 N. Scottsdale Rd.

Scottsdale, AZ

This month is about cider making. Angela will lead a discussion on the style and process of making ciders. Papago Brewery is our meeting sponsor with some cool raffle prizes. And the Monk Truck will join us to serve up tasty Hungry Monk food. A full menu will be posted on the website, so bring a few extra dollars for noshes and raffle tickets.

Bring your homebrew to share. If this is your first meeting, you're still welcome to bring your beer. We have a reach in cooler in the back where your homebrew goes. Make yourself at home, place your beer on the shelf and help yourself to other members' beers. If you do not have a tasting cup, we have extras next to the cooler.

HBOY entries are due at this meeting for European Amber Lagers. Submit entries to Matt Brown or Krystal Bittner.

The ASH Hot Break is distributed every month to our members and friends. If you stumbled upon this issue through Facebook or Twitter, take a minute to join our website, azhomebrewers.org, so you can get our newsletters and updates in your email. (There might even be some secret events and deals announced as well).

We're always looking for reader input. If you're excited about a new project, teaching others how to brew, hosting a homebrew event, or have anything else you'd like to mention on Hot Break, email [email protected]. We want to see stories and photos from our members.

We'll see you at the General Meeting. Till then brew on.

Prost!

Angela

Your Club Board Members

President - Rob Fullmer

Vice President - Krystal Bittner

Secretary - Laura Kuning

Treasurer - Christian Chandler

Communication - Angela Muniz

Member at Large - John Rudolph

Member at Large - Ben Conner

Arizona Society of Homebrewers