May 2012 Hot Break

May 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

BJCP Study Session
Monday, May 14, 6:30pm-8pm
ASH Clubhouse (Rose Market)
2515 N. Scottsdale Rd.
Scottsdale, AZ 85257

General Membership Meeting
Tuesday, May 15, 7pm-9pm
ASH Clubhouse (Rose Market)
Wilshire Plaza
2515 N. Scottsdale Rd
Scottsdale, AZ

BA Tour of Hensley
Friday, May 18, 5:30pm-9pm
Hensley
4201 N. 45th Avenue,
Phoenix, AZ 85031

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

1040 Gallons

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):

European Amber Lager

Due May Meeting

Belgian Strong Ale, should be brewed and conditioning, but still time to brew

Due June meeting

Porter

Brew early for stronger styles

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 May edition of Hot Break.

Cheers!

From the President
By Rob Fullmer

Resist Taking The Big Summer Snooze.

Last month saw our first string of 3 triple digit temp days and I can start to see some of us lose a bit of our brewing fire. We must resist the urge to go to sleep for 4 months. Here's why.

Last year at about this time we had a full head of steam heading into the National Homebrewers Conference (NHC) in San Diego. We had just learned that we had 8 entries from 6 of our ASH Brewers going on to compete for the final round. We emerged with a Gold Medal from David Schollmeyer, the first in a long time for our group. Our club was tied for 18th place.

We had high hopes for 2012.

Things are looking a bit cloudier for NHC Seattle this year. We have 4 entries reaching the final round among 3 brewers. It's probably worth noting that David's 2011 win was based upon a beer aged for 2 years. He has 2 entries this year. Joining David this year are Keevin Simpson and Jeremy Voeltz. Jeremy is in this year with a mead, something that we know needs time to condition.

The takeaway here is that are a number of styles need to be brewed now--today if they are to have a shot at medaling at NHC next year.

Similarly, there is a small list of things to be done every month to ensure that all of our meetings and event go off without a hitch. If we're to take our club to the next level--to become more financially independent and own a larger clubhouse--we need to start thinking about our 1, 5 , and 10 year plans for the club.

As an example, during the April board meeting, I laid out a 12 month plan to take our Springfest to the next level. This plan would also be the basis for improving Oktoberfest and creating processes for ASH to put on a commercial beer event as a fundraising revenue source.

We also put the call out to assemble the new Spingfest team. As of yet, we've not had anyone ready to take up the helm. We're looking for some new blood to staff and head up the event. We're only going to designate one board member to serve as a liaison. The making of a great Springfest begins today.

I'll end with a final example of the long game of brewing. Over the weekend I had the pleasure of attending the World Beer Cup. If you haven't heard, our own Four Peaks Brewing walked away with two Gold medals--one for Hopknot and one for Sunbru. They also captured a Bronze for 8th Street Ale which placed them just a half medal shy of Firestone Walker, the Mid-size Brewery of the Year.

Jim Roper Holds the Gold.

After the wins, I spoke with Jim Scussel who said he was most proud of the Sunbru medal because Kölsch is a style developed in Cologne and they bested some of those breweries. He also told me that Brewer, Jim Roper had been tweaking the Sunbru recipe for over ten years.

Congrats are in order for Four Peaks, the yet to be named Springfest 2013 team, the future ribbon cutter of the New ASH Clubhouse/Brewery and to the NHC qualifying beer that you're about to brew.

From the Judges Table
by Barry Weeg

Homebrewer of the Year / AHA Club Only
We had six entries last month for Scottish and Irish ales with some new faces. Sam Patterson took first with a nice Scottish Export 80/-. And Ken Forrey pulled a fast one with a Scottish Light 60/- for second and an Irish Red that took third. Nothing wrong with entering multiples as long as they are in different subcategories. And it paid off for Ken this month.
The next round is due at the general meeting on Tuesday, May 15th. European Amber Lagers this time, category 3. So break out your Vienna Lagers and Oktoberfests/Märzens. 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.

And 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
May         3: European Amber Lager
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.

Samuel Adams Longshot American Homebrew Competition
Second in popularity only to the AHA National Homebrew Competition is Samuel Adams' annual Longshot Competition. This is your opportunity to compete against homebrewers around the country for the chance to have your beer brewed by Sam Adams and available for national distribution. The deadline is right around the corner: May 25th. Check out their websitefor more information.

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: No news since last report. Committee needs more volunteers.
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:

In the last few weeks, the new Education Committee has attracted four new members, each bringing a unique perspective and plethora of ideas for new projects. In the coming weeks and months we will focus on organizing a few extract brewouts to entice and encourage new brewers. We are still inviting ASH members to join the Education Committee. 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. Need volunteers for the day of the event. Contact Thomas Boggan, editor@azhomebrewers, to join the committee.
Committee Members:

Barry Tingleff
Ken Forrey
Trevor Johnson

Capital Campaign Committee

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

Report: The Capital Campaign Committee continued to focus on five areas of revenue building: ASH Awards and a ceremony event, comp fees, regular ASH-exclusive events, membership fees, and speaker fees. It decided to move forward with ASH awards this year, but wait until 2013 for a fundraising ceremony. It recommended to the board that Oktoberfest comp fees be raised to $10 per entry. The board approved this recommendation. It also presented a draft of questions for a membership survey as a prelude to decisions on membership fees to the board and recommendations for speakers fees.

The next committee meeting will be schedule in late May.

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: Next meeting Tuesday, May 15, 6pm (before ASH General Membership Meeting) at the Clubhouse. 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.

2012 AmeriCAN Canned Craft Beer Festival

Saturday, May 19

Noon-6pm

Scottsdale Civic Center

3939 North Drinkwater Boulevard Scottsdale, AZ 85251

If you're free Saturday, May 19, you can take an opportunity to check out live music and the best canned craft beer during the 2012 AmeriCAN Canned Craft Beer Festival.

ASH will be at the festival and Jon Badalamenti is looking for a few ASH members to staff the booth. If you're interested in helping out, send Jon a message at Jon.Badalamenti@asu.edu.

Can you spot the ASHoles?

Festival Organizers are also looking for volunteers to help pour beer. It's a great way to meet industry professionals and get a new perspective of beer festivals. If you're interested in helping out, email Deb at debik581@yahoo.com.

Here are some more details about the event:

(Images and Text courtesy HDE Agency)

Scottsdale, AZ (May 8, 2012)-Event producer, HDE Agency announced that the growing list of breweries participating in the Ameri-CAN Canned Craft Beer Festival includes more than 40 local and national breweries. Among the breweries set to represent the craft beer movement on Saturday, May 19 at the Scottsdale Civic Center are several Arizona based breweries including SanTan Brewing Company, Four Peaks Brewing, Grand Canyon Brewing and Lumberyard Brewing. Alongside the local brand, breweries from across the country participating this year include Oskar Blues Brewing, SKA Brewing, Maui Brewing, Black Star Brewing, NOLA Brewing, Redhook Brewing, Sierra Nevada and 7 Seas Brewing.

In all, there will be 150 different brews served, several of which are extremely rare beers not previously available in Arizona. Rare beers coming in from across the country include Monk's Blood a Belgian Dark Ale, 8.3% ABV, from San Francisco based, 21st Amendment Brewery. Then, all the way from Brooklyn, NY, Sixpoint Brewery will feature three of their best brews including the Righteous Ale, the Crisp and the Bengali Tiger-a homebrewed IPA, that's bright orange in color with an abundance of citrus hop bitterness and a full pine and grapefruit bouquet in the aroma, ABV 6.4%.

Other rare beers to expect include Sunlight Cream Ale and Wee Mac-a Scottish style brown with a hazelnut character and rich toffee undertones, 5.3% ABV from Sun King Brewing in Indianapolis. Also, all the way from Jackson, WY, Snake River Brewing will crack open cans off their Snake River Pale Ale and Pako's EYE-P-A. Finally, Tallgrass Brewing Company from Manhattan, KS will bring the smooth tastes of Midwestern comfort in a can with their Halcyon Unfiltered Wheat, Oasis and Buffalo Sweat-made with a cream sugar to balance the roasted barley to create a rich, complex and delicious brew, 5.0% ABV.

"Last year, we celebrated the canned craft beer revolution and we were impressed at the resoundingly positive feedback from festival goers," said Anthony Canecchia, owner and head brewer of SanTan Brewing Company. "Beer fans are beginning to appreciate that the can is the superior package for craft beer, and it is our intention to continue educating the world of this fact."

Patrons will enjoy this bounty of frosty brews accompanied by rockin' beats when Reel Big Fish and 2Tone Lizard Kings headline the Second Annual Ameri-CAN Canned Craft Beer Festival from 2-6 p.m. Local bands will perform from noon-1:45 p.m. Reel Big Fish are best known for such hits as Sell Out, Everything Sucks and Turn the Radio Off.

General admission includes entry into the festival with collectible 4 oz. sample can, which can be used to sample up to 20 beers from participating breweries. This is a 21 and over event, no exceptions. Ticket purchasers and all guests must be 21 or over and must present a valid picture ID upon admission. Designated driver tickets are also available for $10 and include non-alcoholic beverages.

Presale general admission tickets for the Ameri-CAN Canned Craft Beer Festival are available for $25 at www.cannedcraftbeerfest.com. General admission on the day of is $35. For the ultimate beer lover, VIP tickets are $100 and include general entry with a 4 oz. souvenir can, VIP lanyard for all access and exclusive entry into VIP Beer Garden, unlimited catered food and treats, private restrooms, meet and greet with brewers, and a seat at the Ameri-CAN Canned Craft Beer Championship Awards Ceremony (presale only, while supplies last).

Presented by SanTan Brewing Company, the Ameri-CAN Canned Craft Beer Festival will celebrate the craft beer movement with an awards ceremony, live music, food, a VIP tent, Beer Science Garden and Beer Olympics activities.

This year, the canned craft beer festival has moved to a new venue-the Scottsdale Civic Center Amphitheater, there festival goers will enjoy more space, more beer and a rockin' afternoon of ska-punk entertainment. The event runs from 1-6 p.m. Doors open at noon for VIP ticket holders. The Scottsdale Civic Center is located at 3939 North Drinkwater Blvd, Scottsdale, AZ 85251.

A portion of event proceeds will benefit the Scottsdale Cultural Council, serving Scottsdale residents, visitors, cultural institutions and artists by creating and advancing high quality arts and cultural experiences and opportunities. For more information about the Scottsdale Cultural Council, visit http://www.sccarts.org/.

Event sponsors include, Draft Magazine, Grimaldi's, Red Hook, World Class Beer, Arizona Society of Home Brewers, Crescent Crown Distributing, Cask, The Full Pint, YELP, The Brew Bros, Hopunion, Local Dines, Discount Cab, Craftcans.com, ReXam, Brewers Supply Group, Marty's Trophies & Awards and Briess Malt & Ingredients.

April General Meeting

Here are a few highlights from the April meeting:

Scott Brady, the 2011 ASH Oktoberfest Best in Show winner, talked about the prize trip to Colorado, brewing at Odells, and Scott brought corney keg of Seaside Reandezvous for the club to enjoy.
Rob asked for more volunteers on committees. We have opportunities for anyone and everyone, even if you can only spare one evening a month. Check the Committees page and contact the committee chair listed if you can help.
Jon Lane from OHSO announced plans for brewery, opening for brewer job, and invited anyone to stop by OHSO and check out the space (4900 E. Indian School Road, Phoenix, AZ).
Calibration beer- College Street Pale

May General Membership Meeting
Tuesday, May 15, 7pm-9pm
ASH Clubhouse (Rose Market storefront)
Wilshire Plaza
2515 N. Scottsdale Rd.
Scottsdale, AZ

Tentative Schedule for the Meeting:

We'll start the meeting with a calibration beer, a concept introduced by Dennis Tsonis during the January meeting. The goal is for everyone to put on their judge's hat, share in the same experience, calibrate our taste buds, and open a discussion about the beer.

Before the meeting gets going (and especially if this is your first meeting) don't be shy about trying beer from the cooler. Help yourself to a sample glass to use for the meeting, pick a bottle (or in some cases, a keg) in the cooler, and pour yourself a sample! It works even better if you talk about it with someone else (hey, what's that aroma? What style is this? All grain/extract? Who brewed this?). If you're new to brewing, this is a great learning opportunity. Bring your own homebrew and don't be shy about sharing it. You'll get some feedback, especially if you ask for it.

Rob will give the club some updates and make a few announcements.

Erik Hanrahan will introduce his new business, Barley Bark Dog Treats .

European Amber Lagers are due for the 2012 Homebrewer of the Year competition.

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