HOPS Pagosa

Let’s hear it for the Riff Raff!!  Seems like a fitting name.  Can’t wait.

Sid Harris

Hiyagain HOPS Heads,

Remember - this month we are all bringing Belgian Beers, so pick one up on your way to the meeting tomorrow! NOTE - Homebrews gone bad that have a 'Belgian' flavor that were not intended to still count as homebrew, so since this is a homebrew meeting go ahead and bring it along, though I can not say how much will be drank or how badly your feelings will get hurt... just kidding, it is always good to discuss why things go awry! ;-)

Liquor Stories:

      Our tribute to local liquor stores that like beer - and not just crap beer, I mean Real Beer! Not all of them are cool enough to contribute to our kick a$$ club, so be sure to treat the ones that do with some extra business. You might even get a discount!

Mountain Spirits

I have some great new gifts set in.  St Feullien Noel  330ml with glass, St Feuillien Speciale 750 ml, Omer with glass, and La Trappe with glass.  All from Belgian. 

 I also have from England  Ridgeway Serious Bad Elf  500ml, Warm Welcome nut ale 500ml,

Santa But Porter 500ml, Lump of Coal 500ml, 

Reindeer Revolt 500ml, Pickled Santa 500ml,

Fantome Hiver Saison 750ml, Serafin Christmas Angel 330ml. 

 All singles are on a display rack, but we have them cold in the cooler also.

You seriously need to come in and check out these fun beers!

Silver Dollar

Silver Dollar

New 6pks This Month

Becks Sapphire-  A German Pilsner that has Sapphire Hops

Sierra Nevada 2013 Bigfoot- This Barleywine is back and at 9.6% can’t be taken lightly.  They use massive amounts of roasted malts and whole cone Pacific Northwest Hops to give it a great flavor.  

Green Flash Palate Wrecker- 9.5% abv-  Beer Advocate scores this Imperial IPA at 93 and I would have to say it is up there near the top of my favorite list as well. 

Ska Brewing Vinifera Stout-  The newest stout in Ska’s rotating stout series.  This beer is unique in that they added Malbec grape juice to the boil, but don’t let that scare you away it is a mighty tasty beer.  

Odell Brewing Lugene Chocolate Milk Stout- 8.5% abv-  Coming January 22^nd.  “If you’ve ever been to our brewery, you’ve likely seen the old, beat-up truck that hauls away our spent grain. That truck belongs to Lugene who’s been feeding his dairy cows the hearty malt for over a decade. Named in his honor, Lugene Chocolate Milk Stout is brewed with milk sugar and milk chocolate. The rich and creamy brew reminds us of a cold glass of chocolate milk and our hometown “Aggie” roots.”

New Bombers of the Month

Sante Fe Brewing Kickin Chicken-  This is a Bourbon Barrel Aged Barley Wine Ale and checks in at a hefty 10% abv.  

Ska Pocket Protector Porter 2.0-  In honor for Durango Snowdown, this vanilla porter will keep your toes and heart warm. 

New Belgium Imperial Coffee Chocolate Stout-  9%abv-  Jet black with velvety chocolate covered smoothness.  

New Belgium Biere De Garde-  9% abv-  This is a collaberation beer between New Belgium and Vivant Brewery from Michigan. Vivant is famous for their Farmhouse beers and introduced New Belgium to their Biere De Garde Ale yeast strain.  After careful planning and testing this beer was born.  

AC Golden Ctayt- 11% abv-  AC Golden is a offshoot brewery of AC Coors and is more famous for Colorado Native.  They are trying to prove themselves in a state that has some amazing craft breweries.  Ctayt is a Russian Imperial Stout aged in charred white oak whiskey barrels.  This beer has a steep price tag but I can tell you I was not disappointed at all.

6pk of the Month (Always $1 off)

New Belgium Trippel-7.8% abv

Bomber of the Month (Always $1 off)

Duvel Belgian Golden Ale- 8.5 abv-  They truly are masters of their craft.

HOPS – Homebrewers Of Pagosa Springs

Hello HOPS Heads,

Ah yes, I remember way back when, back in the good old days, back when times were innocent. It seems like only a few years ago… wait, I am thinking about only a few years ago. Seven years ago to be exact. That is when Eleanorski and Randini first started brewing our own brewskis. Granted, we have been into craft beer, well, about a third of our lives, but the brewing started around seven years ago. I think back on brewing in those days. Brewing was a different world to me then than it is now (then then? than then? whatever). It was so much fun, and yet quite scary because there were so many unknowns out there. All the ‘oh crap’ moments that take place in the early days are still entertaining to this day, like the time I accidentally dropped a water jug into the wort (yes, the actual jug). Or when we found out that boil overs on your kitchen stove increase clean up times by approximately 3.5 hours. (Out kitchen never really has recovered from that one.) Some accidents turn into experiments and vice versa. That is the fun of brewing, you can be creative and sometimes the ‘unknown’ factor leads you to creating an incredible beer. Other times, not so much. But as you grow and learn, your processes become more efficient and you can spend your time calculating and experimenting with recipes rather than just wondering if your newly brewed concoction will ever resemble beer or not. Here we are about 700 gallons of beer later (GET IN MY BELLY!) and still screwing around with recipes, processes and equipment. The scary factor has gone down, but the excitement factor is still right up there – maybe even more so because it is not as scary. Maybe I’m just happy because I never killed anyone with my beer (that I know of). When the brew bug bites, some people are barely affected while others get infected. I’m infected, and still quite possibly contagious.  It’s not about brewing better beer than any one else, it is more about brewing beer that you love and are excited about. If you enjoy it, chances are others will too. That’s why we are taking our infection and working to share it with others. Sounds like a conspiracy! We have upped the ante many times over the years, whether it is upgrading equipment or branching out to trying that new style you have never brewed before. We are getting ready to take another step – and a big one at that! More details on that below. How about you? Are you ready to shift gears and go to the next level? Let’s make 2013 a great year for beer. Brew on, and boldly brew what you have never brewed before!

Cheers, and happy fermenting ~

Randini

Quote of the Day:  “When I drink beer, I’m better at grammar than you’re.”

 - Some drunk guy

HOPS Meetings:

• HOPS – New Business:
• Next Meeting: Tomorrow, January 22nd is the next HOPS meeting, Pagosa Brewing Co at 6:00 PM. The ‘ALL COLORS’ COLOR GROUP is up because we don’t know who will be in what color groups quite yet. So come one, come all, bring a sample of the style of the month – Belgian Beers.
• Style of the Month: Belgian Beers (not to be confused with funky, infected homebrewed beers)
• Discussions:

• Call for officers – we need help and we want yours!
• Membership Dues – we need money and we want yours!
• Donated Beer-Gear – We will divvy up the remaining items that were not bid on and also be delivering the goodies that were bid upon. 

UPCOMING LOCAL NEWS & EVENTS:

• New Brewery Opening In Pagosa – Yours truly paired with Eleanor the wifey-poo along with Jason Cox and his wife Shelly are in the process of starting up a new brewery here in Pagosa! Riff Raff Brewing Co is scheduled to be opening in late May or early June depending on permitting and other processes. Check out our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/riffraffbrewing?fref=ts for more information.

Mark Your Calendars:

·         Jan 22^nd – HOPS Meeting – Everybody bring some Belgian Beer!

·         Jan 26^th – Celtic Homebrew Party in Aztec (see below for details)

·         February 2^nd - 15th Annual Domras Cup Mead Competition

·         February 26^th – HOPS Meeting – Stout Beers!

·         February 26^th - AHA National Homebrew Competition - Registration Opens

·         Mar 8-10^th – Durango Celtic Festival (see below for details)

·         May 4^th – AHA Big Brew Parts (Group homebrewing event – it’s a party)

• Jan 26^th - The FCCHBC (Four Corners Celtic Home Bbrew Club in Aztec) will be participating in the SJSFS Robert Burns Night. Join us Saturday January 26th at 6pm for Robert Burns Night at the Four Corners Celtic Homebrew Clubs World Headquarters 121s main, Aztec. Music, dance, bagpipes, homebrew, haggis, poetry, neeps and tattes, haggis, cranachan, singing, steak and stout pie, haggis, and maybe some pasty's or is it pasties? or both? Did I mention Homebrew? On Tap will be: Smoked Porter aged in a Rye Whisky Barrel, 90 Shilling (90/-) barrel aged 8 months, Hard Cider, Apricot Ale, Pinon Porter, Bacon Smoked Porter, Funky Heather Ale, Juniper Spiced Xmas Ale,  English Cask Ale, Gluten Free Ale (yellow snow), Scottish Brown Ale, Smoked Porter. We ask for a $20 donation at the door, which includes supper, this is not a potluck, but if you have a great shortbread recipe please bring a batch to share. This is an RSVP event, please reply to this email with the names of who will be attending and we will confirm your reservation. If you would like to participate musically or read some Burns poetry for this event, please reply to this email. Must be a homebrew club member to partake, you can join or renew at the event.

• March 8-10, 2012: The first annual Durango Celtic Festival: Yay! Presented by Durango Celtic Music & Arts, and sponsored by The Strater Hotel and The Irish Embassy Pub. This weekend Durango event will feature nightly concerts at The Henry Strater Theatre and the Irish Embassy, plus musician's workshops as well as various celtic vendors around town. If you would like to volunteer to help with this event, or would like info about becoming a sponsor, please contact CJ at: patrickcrossing

Pagosa Brewing Company:

·         Check out the new website at www.pagosabrewing.com! This new interactive website highlights the menus for beer and food, plus it has a lot of fun photos. See if you can find yourself in any of them!

·         ~ February ~ Stout & Chops Month: Look for at least 16 different stouts throughout the month! Chops Contest Commemorative Shirts Available Soon - "Get Your Chops On!"

Riff Raff Brewing Company:

·         Construction - We have a building under contract and are supposed to close on it by the end of January. Construction is scheduled to begin directly after closing in early February and continue all the way through May. Currently looking for people holding signs saying “Will work for beer”.

·         Our brewing equipment is on order! Riff Raff Brewing Co is going with a 3BBL brewhouse and 7BBL fermenters. This allows us to brew double batches into each fermenter. There is more work initially, but a system like this is much less expensive. Still looking for people holding signs saying “Will work for beer”.

FRONT RANGE & BEYOND NEWS & EVENTS:

·         Hop Rhyzome Club Discount - Arrowhead Hops is beginning its Hop Rhizome Presale for 2013. All rhizome varieties will be $3.00ea. for club members (reg $3.50).  Rhizomes will be shipped by late March/ Early April depending on weather conditions.  Please visit www.arrowheadhops.com to place your orders.  Under the “Shop for Hops” pulldown you’ll find a Homebrew Clubs page, enter the discount code (clubprice) to access the page to receive your discount.  Shipping will be (1-6) $3, (7-12) $5.50 and 13-up $11.50. If you have any questions please let me know.
Cascade, Centennial, Columbus, Galena, Magnum, Mt. Hood, Northern Brewer, Nugget, Sterling, Willamette
Thanks
Andy
Arrowhead Hops LLC
www.arrowheadhops.com
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Arrowhead-Hops/199155133452979

·         A New Brewery Opens Every Day Of The Year: http://www.brewbound.com/news/2013/gatza-new-breweries-open-at-more-than-one-per-day-pace-in-2012?utm_source=Brewbound&utm_campaign=6ca89fc386-mailchimp&utm_medium=email

FOR SALE / FOR FREE / WANTED:

• Wanted – Chest Freezer to be used for a kegerator
• Wanted – Glass Carboys

Anybody else have anything you want to list? Beer related or not, just lemme know and I will circulate your stuff around the universe. Well, my universe…

Links:

• Homebrewing News – A website started by our buddy Bill Downs here in the Four Corners area that focuses on product reviews and more: www.homebrewingnews.com

• Beer News Around Durango – For the latest news on the beer scene in Durango, check out http://beerat6512.blogspot.com/. Our neighbors to the West have a great beer town, along with some great writers and this is a fun place to check up on the happninz. Erich Hennig, my brew-brotha-from-anotha-motha just joined the team. Check it out – I think you will enjoy it!

• Looking to diversify your homebrew? Check out a couple of these links for sharing and browsing tons of different homebrew recipes. Kick it up a notch – BAM!
  www.brewtoad.com
  www.hopville.com
  http://www.tastybrew.com/newrcp/styleview.html

UNSUBSCRIBE – But if you do you may get bit by a worse bug than the brewing bug, like the quilting bug, the dreaded city sewer inspection bug or the rarely seen owl vomit collecting bug <gasp> - seriously, I saw that on Dirty Jobs on Discovery. Yeah, life could suck…

(Sorry, professionally experienced brewers excluded)

In conjunction with our upcoming Stout & Chops Month in February 2013, we are challenging Stout Lovers to create a homebrewed Stout to help us celebrate.

In 2012, we offered 16 different Stouts (8 in-house & 8 guest). The winning homebrewer will have the opportunity to join us and brew a full sized 6bbl batch of their Stout recipe, which will be featured for Stout Month 2013.  The winning brewer will also receive a $50 gift card & bragging rights.

RULES:

1)     Entries must be Stouts (no Porters, Black IPAs, Black Lagers, etc.)

2)     Entry must be under 8% ABV.

3)     This is an AHA sanctioned competition & BJCP style guidelines will be used for judging: http://www.bjcp.org/2008styles/style13.php

4)     Creativity of ingredients is encouraged, but not required.

5)     All entries must be delivered by Friday, 1/4/13 to Pagosa Brewing.

6)     For each entry, three 12 oz. bottles are required.

7)     Entries need to be labeled with names, styles & any necessary info.

8)     Participants cannot have professional brewing experience.

9)     Brewers cannot use our house yeast.

10) All winning recipes will be considered Pagosa Brewing recipes, and at our discretion may (or may not) be brewed by us in the future.

For questions, please email: tony@pagosabrewing.com

Good Luck & Happy Brewing!

Cheers,

Pagosa Brewing & Grill

Attn:  Stout Month

118 North Pagosa Blvd.

Pagosa Springs, CO 81147

HOPS – Homebrewers Of Pagosa Springs

Hello HOPS Heads,

Now that Christma-Kwanzaa-Hanukkah is out the door, we successfully dodged the Mayan Calendar Apocalypse and the Greenbay Packers are secure for the playoffs, hopefully we can all just get along with our lives. It has been a crazy winding down of 2012 and here we go blazing off into 2013, partying like it was 1999. Celebrating the New Year is always a hoot (well, when you hang around with my crowd it is anyway). We typically find our selves missing out on the champagne cheers, kisses and toasting. About the time all the party blowers and confetti fly, me and my crew can be found out in the forest with icicles hanging off our noses, and normally with a sled, an inner tube, snowshoes, skis & snowboards (or a combination of each) and, well, most often with a wide variety of high-test inner-core warming hooch. Some may say this could be a dangerous combination, but I say, well, they are right. Some say it could lead to sprained torsos, missing appendages and 'body-bruises'. Again, that could be quite correct. But there is something surreal in that moment that you find yourself going mach 2 down an ice covered road on a sled in the dark with a dim headlamp and only one hand to steer because the other hand is grasping tightly to one of the afore mentioned bottles of hooch. Like many people experience, there is almost a slow motion, muted experience before the moment of impact - in this case impact will be with a solid ice berm that the plow left behind several days before. As the sled goes flying one direction and I narrowly miss having my face removed by the iceberg I think to myself: "Aint life great? If I survive, I just may have to try this again. But I am a little cold, so maybe another pull on this bottle that I am still clutching may be in order before my next attempt..." Then suddenly that surreal moment is shattered by 40lbs of snow getting instantly stuffed inside your clothing (and in other places) while coming to a stop with the grace and subtlety of an asteroid. That kinda reminds me of the year before when we tried 'tandem snowboarding'. You take two people and put them on one snowboard. Then you point them down a steep slope in the middle of the night and see how far they can get. Yeah, it ends about the same way the midnight sledding does. Or the year we had a competition to see who could dive head first over the fence the most times in the snow without getting paralyzed. Good times... Sure, it might be a little safer hanging out with the champagne toting party popper crowd, but that cork could shoot an eye out - or that popper could blow up in your hand! I think I will stick with my crowd and take my chances. Care to join me? I'll even share some of my homebrewed liquid courage with you.

Cheers, and I hope everyone has a great holiday season and a happy New Year ~

Randini

Quote of the Day:  There’s a party in my fermenter!

 - Sandy Sandoval after the Stout brewing party

HOPS Meetings:

• HOPS – New Business:
• Next Meeting: Tuesday, January 22nd is the next HOPS meeting, Pagosa Brewing Co at 6:00 PM. The ‘ALL COLORS’ COLOR GROUP is up because we don’t know who will be in what color groups quite yet. So come one, come all, bring a sample of the style of the month.
• Style of the Month: Belgian Beers
• Discussions:

• Call for officers – we need help and we want yours!
• Membership Dues – we need money and we want yours!
• Donated Beer-Gear – We will divvy up the remaining items that were not bid on. 

UPCOMING LOCAL NEWS & EVENTS:

Mark Your Calendars:

• Jan 4^th – Deadline for our Stout Competition, need 3 bottles at Pagosa Brewing Co – DON’T FORGET!
• Jan 11^th - Big Beers, Belgians & Barleywines Homebrew Competition, Vail, CO
• Jan 22^nd – HOPS Meeting – Everybody bring some Belgian Beer!
• February 2^nd - 15th Annual Domras Cup Mead Competition
• February 26^th - AHA National Homebrew Competition - Registration Opens
• May 4^th – AHA Big Brew Parts (Group homebrewing event – it’s a party)

NEWS:

• Beer News Around Durango – For the latest news on the beer scene in Durango, check out http://beerat6512.blogspot.com/. Our neighbors to the West have a great beer town, along with some great writers and this is a fun place to check up on the happninz. Erich Hennig, my brew-brotha-from-anotha-motha just joined the team. Check it out – I think you will enjoy it!

Pagosa Brewing Company News / Events:

Brew Year's Eve Party

Celebrate EVERY Hour * Starts at 3p on 12/31

~ February ~

Stout & Chops Month

Look for at least 16 different stouts throughout the month!

Chops Contest Commemorative Shirts Available Soon

"Get Your Chops On!" 

FRONT RANGE & BEYOND NEWS & EVENTS:

• Beer Drinker Of The Year Contest – Could it be you? See below for details.

From: Marty Jones [mailto:martysjones@att.net]

Sent: Thursday, December 13, 2012 6:12 AM

Subject: 17th Annual Beerdrinker of the Year Contest Deadline Fast Approaching

The December 31 deadline for entering the 17th annual Beerdrinker of the Year contest is fast approaching.

Our contest seeks and honors the nation's greatest beer fiends.

People who understand beer's history and many styles, its importance to advancing civilization and raising the quality of life. People who serve as smiling beer disciples and bring others into our craft beer congregation.

The 2013 winner could be one of your ultra-beery customers. And we want to see his or her beer resume.

So I hope you'll steer your most passionate patrons to the contest info at www.wynkoop.com

The winner's prizes include a $250 bar tab at their hometown brewery or beer bar. And Beerdrinker of the Year finalists and winners bring some nice glory and press attention to their beer-blessed home bases.

Cheers,

Marty Jones

Wynkoop Brewing Company

Denver, Colorado

www.wynkoop.com

FOR SALE / FOR FREE / WANTED:

• Don’t forget to check out www.pagosahops.org to see the list of homebrew items that were donated. This is a good opportunity to get some stuff for cheap!

Anybody else have anything you want to list? Beer related or not, just lemme know and I will circulate your stuff around the universe. Well, my universe…

Links:

• Homebrewing News – A website started by our buddy Bill Downs here in the Four Corners area that focuses on product reviews and more: www.homebrewingnews.com

• Looking to diversify your homebrew? Check out a couple of these links for sharing and browsing tons of different homebrew recipes. Kick it up a notch – BAM!
  www.brewtoad.com
  www.hopville.com
  http://www.tastybrew.com/newrcp/styleview.html

UNSUBSCRIBE – But if you do someone may try to pack 40lbs of snow down your pants in retaliation. I don’t know who would do a think like that, but you might want to watch your back…