June 2012 Hot Break

June 2012 Hot Break

2012 Ninkasi Sponsor

Visit Four Peaks Brewing Co.

In This Issue

From the President

From the Judges Table

2012 Committee Reports

2012 Ameri-CAN Festival

April General Meeting Recap

May General Meeting

Upcoming Events

ASH Happy Hour/Firestone Speakeasy/ASH Fundraiser
Thursday, June 14, 6pm-9pm
OHSO
4900 E. Indian School Rd
Phoenix, AZ
MAP

BJCP Study Session
Monday,June 18, 6:30pm-8pm
ASH Clubhouse (Rose Market)
2515 N. Scottsdale Rd.
Scottsdale, AZ 85257

General Membership Meeting
Tuesday, June 19, 7pm-9pm
Crescent Crown Distributing
1640 W. Broadway Rd
Mesa, AZ
MAP

NHC 2012 Seattle
Thursday, June 21-Sat June 23
Hyatt Regency Bellevue
Seattle, WA

Member Benefit Corner

Did you know

ASH Members get:

10% off all purchases at The Phoenix Ale Brewery!

Click Here to See More ASH Membership Benefits

Total Gallons Brewed in 2012

1643 Gallons
More than 300 gallons
ahead of 2011

Contest Standings

2012 Homebrewer of the Year
1 - Mik Heerbrandt - 6 pts.

2 - Ken Forrey - 4 pts.

3 - Ben Patterson - 3 pts.

4 - Krystal Bittner - 2 pts.

2011 Homebrewer of the Year

2011 ASH Homebrewer

of the Year:

Ken Saxe

Upcoming Competition Entry Due Dates

2012 AHA Club Only Competition/ASH Homebrewer of the Year

Upcoming Competition Styles, Brew and Due Dates (changes each month):

Belgian Strong Ale

Due June meeting

Porter

Due July Meeting

Light Hybrid

Brew early and allow to cold condition

Due August Meeting

Old Ale is due in October, brew early if you want it to age

2012-2013 AHA Schedule:

January/February 2013
Un-Session Beers (OG>1.040)

March/April 2013
Barleywine Ales

May 2013
Extract Beers

2013-2014 AHA Schedule:

September/October 2013
European Amber Lager

March/April 2014
Strong Belgian Ale

May 2014
"All Things Porter"

Hot Break Archive

Quick Links

Greetings!

Welcome to the June Hot Break. While many parts of Valley life slow down this time of year, ASH homebrewers are still going strong. ASH members have been busy. We've been busy making plans for NHC (happening June 21-23), setting up happy hours and hangouts, studying for the BJCP exam and judging beer competitions, and brewing. We're brewing a lot, actually. Compare the numbers from last year to this year and you'll see going in to mid-June we have brewed 300 gallons more than we did at this point last year. Good job. Keep it going.

Cheers!

From the President
By Rob Fullmer

I grew up in Wisconsin and am subsequently a Green Bay Packer fan. When I first moved to Arizona in 1992, I had no problem finding other Pack fans. There were Packer Bars and even a bulletin board (pre-internet) to help find other fans and gatherings. We endured some rough seasons (30 years) without really making any headway. We had a playoff appearance here and there, but the team was largely mediocre. OK, they sucked. They've really only had recent success (for you youngsters that can't recall). The point is that the Packers had fans everywhere and they had networks to maintain their fanbase through thick and thin.

When we look at ASH, it seem as though we are everywhere too. We were the principle judges at the Ameri-CAN Canned Beer Festival and we were all over the event, some of us manning booths and others partaking in the unique offerings. Last week, our board met at the Handlebar Pub and Grill (which honestly is only a 25 minute drive from Tempe) and it was good to see that several ASH members made the journey. Our June General meeting finds us at industry giants, Crescent Crown Distribution. Later this month some of our members are going to Seattle to the National Homebrewers Conference. We're also talking about checking out the Tucson Homebrew Club's meeting in July (more info on that soon). Finally, to complete our early summer roadies, we're starting to plan our bus trip to Flagstaff (tentatively July 28).

We're also in the headlines. James Swann of Whole Foods has profiled several ASH members in the Arizona Weekly.

There maybe more too. I can't read everything!

And literally, just as I write this, ASHer Zach Fowler over at the New Times references your President about Flagship Beer Day!

We have an impact on what's going on locally too and here is where even a small visit to a sponsor can go along ways. I remarked to Matt over at Sleepy Dog the other day that this year we had amazing beer events well into May, when normally things start to slow down considerably in late March. There is no putting off Summer, though. It is here and it's s rough patch for some of our businesses. You're probably not going to have a long wait at Four Peaks now that schools out.

Jon Lane over at OHSO in conjunction with Jeff Prior at Firestone Walker have put their heads together and have come up with an event to get us out and keep the momentum going. It's the ASH Speakeasy! Jeff is tapping the last keg of Sucuba until the magically cool month of February over at OHSO. In addition to that, there will be a firkin of Pale 31. This all happens this week Thursday the 14th at 6PM.

The nice thing is that proceeds from those beers will go directly to ASH!

Come and sip on a cool February Barleywine or taste the unfiltered marmelade of a Pale 31 and our club gets paid! All you have to do (and any non-club members that you know) is say the ASH Speakeasy phrase, "ASH sent me".

Now, these types of events won't be the norm, but they certainly will be more and more available to us if we can use our network to get the word out and get us noticed in the fine businesses that support us.

Who knows. Perhaps in the near future we'll rely on this network to get the word out about an ASH beer festival or Club House fundraiser as we work toward becoming financially capable of having our own (larger) space.

From the Judges Table
Barry is taking this month off, so this will be brief update and some repeats from the Editor.

Homebrewer of the Year / AHA Club Only
The Homebrewer of the Year entries from May haven't been judged yet, so no news there. The entries for June, BJCP Category 18 Belgian Strong Ale, are due at the June meeting hosted at Crescent Crown. This is just for HBOY this time, not Club Only, so a single bottle will be fine. But still please include BOTTLE LABELS attached to each bottle with rubber bands and ENTRY FORMS.

A repeat from last month's announcement: we're still struggling to get experienced BJCP judges out to help judge these things. We all know how difficult it is to get points with the limited competitions in Arizona. So I would think everybody should be jumping at the chance to judge these since we are registering them with the BJCP. That's 1 point for about 2 hours worth of work! Can't beat that. We had to reschedule the judging twice last month due to lack of judges. So please contact Matthew Elliot if you are interested in doing this. We had it tentatively scheduled for Saturday, May 19th, but that is the day of the AmeriCAN Festival. So we will obviously be rescheduling. But we won't know when to reschedule unless you contact us and let us know when you are available.

Standings:

1 - Mik Heerbrandt - 6 pts.
2 - Ken Forrey - 4 pts.
3 - Ben Patterson - 3 pts.
4 - Krystal Bittner - 2 pts.

Remaining Schedule:
Month    Category
June          18: Belgian Strong Ale
July           12: Porter*
August       6: Light Hybrid Beer*
September    Oktoberfest
October      19a: Old Ale*

* The winner of these competitions will be sent off to the AHA for their Club Only competition.

BJCP Class / Exam
It looks like we have a good core group who are consistently showing up at the clubhouse every Monday for the BJCP class. However, it would be really nice if we could get some different opinions from some experienced judges. I'm sure they're getting tired of hearing me drone on. Plus, I am not able to make every class myself. So I would like to ask our experienced BJCP judges who have some time open on Monday evenings to stop by and help out. Some of our best discussions happen when two or more judges are there to give their opinions on different topics. Everybody comes away with more when we are able to do that. Plus, the more new and better trained judges we have, the less pressure there is on the more experienced judges to be at every event. So by helping to train newbies, you're really only helping to ease your own pressure. Please contact me if you would be willing to help out, or just show up.

2012 Committees and Committee Reports

Merchandise and Promotion:
Purpose: designing new products for the club, coming up with new ideas for t-shirts and other merchandise. Also organizing and ordering new merchandise. Any graphic designers or merchandise savvy individuals are welcome to join, or any members that have some ideas feel free to pass them Jason's way. Always can use new ideas, and would like to take members ideas and bring them to life.
Report: Starting to brainstorm some logos ideas and will hopefully have something to show quite soon.
Contact Jason Jaffe to volunteer for the Committee: jjaffe8@gmail.com
Committee Members:
Jason Jaffee, Chair

Tomas Corral

Scott Brady

Membership Committee:
Purpose: acquire new members, maintain relationship with current members, and welcoming new members to the ASH club. Develop information to deliver to new members, greet new members at club functions and introduce new members to fellow ASHers, help new members feel at home during meetings and club functions. Report: No news since April report, contact David Marcus to volunteer for the committee.
Contact membership committee chair David Marcus.
Committee Members:

David Marcus, Chair
Todd Varse

Education Committee:

Purpose: The mission of the Education Committee is to engage, inspire, and educate ASH members and the general public about the art and science of beer.
To accomplish this, the Committee will
-Facilitate and develop lessons on the art and science of brewing.
-Present information on beer, brewing, and beer related education topics in response to the needs of club members.
-Develop presentations for non club members, novice homebrewers, and/or non homebrewers to promote better understanding of brewing among general public.

Report: Committee Chair Dave Conz is traveling abroad and sends this message: "the chair of the education committee is teaching beer in Dublin and conducting research into which of the 1,600 pubs have the best stout, red, and whiskey. He toured the Jameson distillery and will tour Guinness next week." If you would like to join, please email Dave Conz at professorbeer@asu.edu.

Oktoberfest Committee: Event: Saturday, October 6.

Purpose: plan and organize food, venue, supplies for event, raffle, promotion, kids area, music.

Report: The location is reserved, committee members in place, and plans are being made for the 2012 ASH Oktoberfest. The event is Saturday, October 6 and will be at Tempe Kiwanis Park. We will need volunteers for the day of the event. Contact Barry Tingleff, beer_me2@msn.com, to volunteer. Day of event volunteer positions needed are:

Front gate- 4-6 volunteers
Set up/ clean up - 4 volunteers
Tear down/ clean up - 4 volunteers
Raffle - 8 volunteers

Committee Members:

Barry Tingleff, Chair
Ken Forrey
Trevor Johnson
Ben Conner

Capital Campaign Committee

Purpose: Identifying and reviewing revenue opportunities for ASH in their quest for a new clubhouse.

Report: The committee had an informal aside during the ASH Board meeting in June. To keep on track with plans for a membership survey, the committee will review and edit questions online for final approval in July. The date for the July committee meeting will be set after NHC. Click here to join the Capital Campaign Committee group on the ASH website.

Committee Members:

Angela Muniz, Chair
Dennis Tsonis
Jon Badalmenti
Chad Morris
Mark Haugen (advisory)
Rob Fullmer (advisory)

2012 National Homebrew Conference Committee

Purpose: Plan and organize club theme, transportation of kegs to conference, promotion of NHC, organize and ship club entries for competition.

Report: NHC Seattle 2012 is around the corner. Everyone attending is very excited. We have an amazing T-shirt design thanks to Justin Trout. We're not able to transport kegs this year, but that has not stopped us from planning a great club night theme and providing tasty beer to share with all. I would like to thank Matthew Elliot and Krystal Bittner for stepping up, organizing the bottle collection and transportation logistics to make the club night happen. I also would like to thank John Badalamenti for his hard work to make this happen. Thanks to everyone in the NHC committee to ensure that all ASH-Holes have a wonderful time at Club night. Visit the NHC group page.

Committee Members:

Jonathan Warren-Chair
John Rudolph
Matthew Elliot
Krystal Bittner
Justin Trout
Matthew Klein
Jon Badalmenti

Holiday Party Committee:

Event is in early December. Need committee members to find location for Holiday party. Arrange for, purchase, deliver, and setup raffle prizes. Arrange for food, water, soda, etc. Entertainment. Setup and clean up of event space. Contact Thomas Boggan, editor@azhomebrewers.org, to volunteer for the Holiday Party Committee.

Food+Beer

by Julie Thompson

Food+Beer has gotten official contributors. Julie Thompson, along with Gidi Goldberg and Rich Thompson, formed the group Cooking with Beer. Their mission: bring beer into the kitchen and showcase how beer and food can go together both in recipes and pairing with meals. We're glad to have such advocates contributing their knowledge and inspiration to the Hot Break. This is a first in a series of articles from Cooking with Beer.

Beer is enjoying an ever-increasing popularity in its rightful place at the dinner table. We're thrilled to pair our brews alongside our favorite foods, but are sometimes quick to forget it's as much an ingredient as a beverage. Though often a post-work libation or a refreshment after a day in the hot Arizona sun, the fact is sometimes lost that the noble beverage, at its heart, actually consists of food. After all, grains are a link in nearly every food chain on earth.

Sitting down to dine on that juicy ribeye and garlic mashed potatoes, one would perhaps accommodate the dish with their favorite Stout. They should not overlook the opportunities to utilize beer in the food itself. That Stout will really tie the meal together when the plate is served with steak sauce made with that same Stout. The carrots to accompany your steak was simmered in a Lager butter reduction for a sweet touch to the meal.

A shrimp scampi that you have had a thousand times and seen on a hundred menus is brought to a new life; rather than just using the standard white wine in the scampi sauce, the crisp citrus notes of a quality India Pale Ale come alive and make the shrimp really shine. The simple and timeless tradition of an oven roasted chicken is brought forth to a new demand at the dinner table by a brine of salt, brown sugar, spices, and Lager. The brine penetrates the entire chicken, seasoning it throughout and ensuring a moist finished poultry product.

The rich caramels in a good Porter are the perfect flavor to concentrate by reducing it over heat with a compote of bacon, onions, walnuts, and apples. The resulting sauce is excellent served over pork loin, and if you're feeling adventurous, it makes for a unique ice cream topping. Steeping fruit in beer before using it as a pie filling or cobbler will bring a distinct character to dessert.

Sauce potential doesn't end there. Reserving the au jus from any cooked protein, adding a beer with a complimentary flavor profile, and thickening with flour or corn starch makes the perfect gravy for family-style service at the table. To get the appetites whet and start the meal off on a high note, a salad is a treat when served with a homemade vinaigrette made with an IPA and is sure to impress.

An often unsung use of beer is its leavening qualities in bread and baked goods. Substituting equal parts beer for water in a recipe that needs to rise in the oven will rise flakier than ever before. The flavor profiles and notes of just about any beer can be used to create amazing masterpieces. Adding some Lager to ground beef will keep the patties moist and tie together well with caramelized beer onions and a Lager mustard.

Dishes like those described go a long way to appreciate beer in all its forms, a philosophy we at Cooking With Beer live by. If ideas like these pique your interest and you want to get helpful hints and even complete recipes, and invitations to our official events, you can check us out on Facebook at www.facebook.com/beercooks or our official website at www.beeriscooking.com.

May General Meeting

Here are a few highlights from the May meeting:

Scott Plachecki brought in his beer for the Calibration tasting. He's been brewing about 6 years and of those about 2 years all grain.
Played "guess who" with mystery caller. Took turns asking questions to mystery caller to reveal it was Stan Hieronymous - the author of Brew Like a Monk
Need volunteers for AmeriCAN Beer Fest, Scottsdale Civic Center, 12-6pm, free beer for volunteers. --contact Jon B.
Flag day, Firestone Walker at OHSO, each pour returns $1 back to ASH.

June General Membership Meeting
Tuesday, June 19, 7pm-9pm
Crescent Crown Distributing
1640 West Broadway Road
Mesa, AZ

World Class Beer will host the June ASH meeting at the new Crescent Crown facility on Broadway Road in Mesa.

You can still bring homebrew to share at the meeting, but Crescent Crown/World Class might be providing samples of the brands they represent.

June Homebrewer of the Year entries are due. Category 18, Belgian Strong Ale. We only need a sigle bottle. Turn in your entries with BOTTLE LABELS attached to each bottle with rubber bands and ENTRY FORMS.

If you stumbled on to this newsletter through our Facebook or Twitter feed, take a minute to join our website, azhomebrewers.org, so you can get our newsletters and updates in your email (there might be some secret events and deals announced as well).

Always keep in mind, if you visit a new brewery, find a cool beer spot, had a life-changing brewing epiphany, have a great project you're working on, or anything else you'd like to mention on Hot Break, email me; editor@azhomebrewers.org. We want to see stories and photos from our members.

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

Sláinte!

Tom