HOPS Brewsletter - June 2011

HOPS – Homebrewers Of Pagosa Springs

Greetings all, 

Well we did it – we pulled it off! That great beer escapade called the Homebrew Hoedown. And we had a great time too! Lots of people, lots of fun and lots of beer, mead and other con-cock-sions (Really? Old Cock Ale? That was unexpected…) Oh come now, don’t be sad. There are plenty more beer events to come, for the summer is just beginning. From Rails & Ales, to Salida to the GABF, we gotta long way to go before this beer flame burns out. Check out more below to see what’s to come and I hope to catch up with you at some of them to share a beer together.

Cheers ~

Randini the Beer Spammer

Tech Tip of the Day: When you decide to brew a batch of beer, then get a hankerin’ to just up n’ chuck a rooster in that boilin’ wort, be sure to pluck ‘em first.

Quote of the Day: “You know, you do get a little more of the chicken aroma in this beer as it warms up…” 

 - Compliments of our new brew buddies from south of the border (CO border that is).

HOPS Meetings:

  • HOPS – Old Business:
    • Ok, so last month’s style of the month was IPA. Can I call a Do-Over? Not because we screwed it up, but because it ROCKED! Wait, this month is gonna rock too, so never mind… 

      

    • HOPS – New Business:
      • Next Meeting: This coming Monday, the 27th is the next HOPS meeting, Pagosa Brewing Co at 6:00 PM. 
      • Style of the Month: Mead. Oh yes, I said it. M E A D. I think that if some people weren’t such beer heads, they would probably turn into mead heads. I am one of those people. In fact, I may in fact be a mead-head in hiding. I don’t hide very well either. 
      • Club Member Cards: Be sure to get your club member cards at the next meeting so you get the HOPS discount at Pagosa Brewing during the meetings! Remember, dues paying members get employee discounts on food and drink during HOPS meetings. 
      • Discussion: Some ideas we want to go over include the following: 

      A)      A rotating group for collecting the style of the month samples. That way collecting samples does not fall on the same people every month. I still need to do this, but I will get to it some day…

      B)      HOPS has a new Website! Check us out at www.pagosahops.org. Aren’t we official? Big thanks to Jason Cox for all the time and energy he put into this! Actually, regarding this new website, if you are reading this letter now then this effects you. Please scroll down and see how things have changed regarding you receiving the HOPS Brewsletter. 

      C)      Geek Night – No really, some day we will get to this. Anyone wanna volunteer to host?  

      D)      County Fair Competition – The first week in August is the Archuleta county fair, and we need to have a big ol’ turn out for the beer, wine and mead competition. This year we should be BJCP sanctioned, meaning if you win, you could have an opportunity to do a pro-am brew with Tony at Pagosa Brewing Co. There it is, I spilled the beans. Better than spilling the beerz. 

      RECAP OF PREVIOUS EVENTS:

      • Previous HOPS Meeting Recap – IPA. I think I am still tasting hops from that session! If you missed it, then oh yes, you missed out!

      • June 11th Homebrew Hoedown – We had about 35 people turn up and we had a great time indeed. As you may have guessed, we saw a wide variety of beers and meads. Beer varieties included Pale Ales, Single Hop Ales, Honey Vanilla Porter, Bourbon IPA, Yarrow Beer, Green Chili Beer, Raspberry Cream Ale, Old Cock Ale (yes, a chicken in the brew), Saison, IPA and even more (sorry to those I forgot!). Of course Duane and Tracy drug out the loot with a huge variety of fine meads as well. Also thanks to the great support from local breweries, including Pagosa Brewing Co, San Luis Valley Brewing, Three Barrel Brewing, Ska Brewing and Steamworks Brewing. Thanks to all the sponsors for the great swag and thanks to all the people who traveled here to make the event great. We look forward to doing it again next year!

      UPCOMING LOCAL EVENTS: 

      • Monday, – HOPS Meeting: This coming Monday is the HOPS Meeting. We will meet at Pagosa Brewing Company at 6:00 PM. This month we will be going over some of the upcoming events below and agenda items above, along with the Style of the Month. This time around the style is Mead! This takes tasting to a whole new level, so if you have not tried mead before (or even if you have) this is not a meeting to miss!

      • First Thursday Out – July 7thThe first Thursday of the month we like to drink beer. Ok, we like to drink beer more often than that, but we usually get together somewhere around town, and this time around we will meet at Farrago’s. See you there at 6:00!

      • August 4-7 County Fair: Be sure to keep this event in mind – the homebrew, wine and mead competition is coming up and we want to have a great turn out!  

      • Latest News from Southwestern Breweries: Check out all the latest news from breweries around Durango, Farmington, Cortez, Silverton and beyond at Beer at 6512: http://beerat6512.blogspot.com/ . Latest news includes info about big events in Durango and Silverton, among others.

       

        

      Pagosa Brewing Company News / Events:

                    

      • Summer Concert Series Starting Up! - Saturday, July 2nd - Big Circle TX (w/ members of The Wild Blooms!) 9:30p-Late with The Flying Elmos opening at 8:30p

      Advance Tickets $10 (and may sell out!) Big Circle Tx, direct from Austin,Texas

      will perform acoustic rock with a twist of blues. IndieWave says they're:  "Beyond Cool !!!"

       

      LOCAL NEWS:

      • Beer Networking Website: Check out www.brewerfest.com to stay connected with homebrewers and beer lovers abroad. It’s like Facebook for beer lovers! 

      • HOPS Has A New Website: Go to www.pagosahops.org to check out all the latest happninz’ with your HOPS homies. You may be on the website reading this now. Then again you may not be. If you’re not, you probably ought to consider it. It rocks. Thanks again to Jason Cox for all the time and energy (inner-chi?) put into this!
        OK, so here’s how this new website works (if I understand it all correctly).         www.pagosahops.org is hosted by a site called posterous. This is a free site (which is cool for us) that allows us to send an email like this one to everyone on the list at once because it was posted on the website. If you reply to this email, it is posted on the website and everyone that is subscribed (that would be you and over 100 other groupies) would get a copy. So if you want the world (our world) to see your reply, then reply to this Brewsletter, (only positive feedback please, I am very sensitive! ;-)) But if you only want to reply to the Beer Spammer, then start a new email, don’t reply to this one. Got it? Groovage. If I screwed this up, Jason will reply and set me – and all of you – straight. If you have any other questions about how it all works, ask Jason at jason.cox@coxinnovations.com. Cheers! 

      FRONT RANGE & BEYOND NEWS & EVENTS:

        

      • Brew Class & Hop School in Paonia, July 16-17 - Registration is open for the Brew Class and Hop School in Paonia, CO. Class will be held July 16-17 2011. I think there are some people in Pagosa that are interested in attending, so we might be able to get a group together for this one. More info here: http://www.coloradoorganichops.com/?page_id=157

      • Breckenridge Homebrew Contest, July - Hear ye' Beer ye'!  2011 marks the 21st Anniversary of Breckenridge Brewery.  To pay respect to our humble homebrew beginnings we are asking you, all Colorado Homebrewers, to create the recipe and assist in brewing our 21st Anniversary Ale.   

         The start date for Breckenridge to receive entries is July 11th, 2011 and we will stop accepting entries post-marked after July 20th, 2011.  Judging will take place at the end of July with an Awards Ceremony to follow.  Judges will choose the top beers in each of the three categories and from those top three a "Best Over-All" Winner will be announced. That brewer and his/her liquid will go down in Colorado Craft Brewing History as; "Breckenridge Brewery's 21st Anniversary Ale".

          The "Best Over-All" Winner will get to come to the Breckenridge Brewery's Main Production Facility in Denver, CO and brew their creation on our brew house for a release date TBA.  They will then be able to enjoy it from the taps at our six Brew Pub locations across Colorado.

          I have the entry form and rules sheet if you are interested (Randy).  Please mail or drop-off entries to Breckenridge Brewery at 471 Kalamath Street, Denver, CO  80204 ATTN: HOMEBREW (between July 11th and July 20th, 2011).

           Due to the specific and critical timeline of this opportunity, we are asking you to get this information out to your members quickly!!! 

      We look forward to some great beers... Cheers and Good Luck!

           If you have any questions or need further information, please do not hesitate to respond to this email or call Todd Usry @ 303.803.1368 or skinsfan@breckenridgebrewery.com or John Jordan @ 303.803.1360 john@breckenridgebrewery.com

      Sara Barnett

      Marketing, Breckenridge Brewery

      mobile: 970.597.0203

      direct:  800.328.6723 x106email:  sarab@breckenridgebrewery.com

      • Foam Fest: 2011 Colorado State Fair Craft Beer Competition August 27th: If you want to enter your beer in the state fair you need to have it in by August 8th. Let me know (see note about our new website above if you reply to this email) if you are interested in more info.

      • Resource for Finding Brewing Equipment - So you have been looking for good beer equipment and can’t take the time to search Craig’s List every day, right? Check out this new website. It’s like a Beer’s List. Good stuff getting added daily: http://primaryfermenter.com

        

      FOR SALE / FOR FREE / WANTED:

      • Free fridge to a good home. Perfect for making a kegerator. For more info contact yours truly, the Beer Spammer. (Ken, if you gotz dibz on this thang you best get on it!)

      • Free Bottles - Need bottles? We have LOTS of extra around these parts. Let me know if you need any beer or wine bottles. For you, for free.

      Anybody else have anything you want to list? Just lemme know and I will circulate your stuff around the universe. Well, my universe…

        

      UNSUBSCRIBE – Bark, woof woof. Grrrr?

      (Reply with UNSUBSCRIBE in the Subject Line to be removed. No hard feelings. Well, not many…) 

      It's a Wrap! A Good Time was had by All at the 1st Annual HOPS Homebrew Hoedown

      We had a great homebrew gathering with over 35 people this weekend at the Pagosa Brewing Co. in beautiful Pagosa Springs, Colorado. Beer lovers from Bloomfield and Aztec, NM, Durango, Del Norte and of course Pagosa (and who knows where else!) joined together to celebrate zymurgy and its wonderful fruits. Best of all, the weather cooperated and we enjoyed a nice 80-degree day with light winds and wonderful company. Wow!

      We will post some pictures of the event soon and I'm going to highlight a few points in the meantime. A number of very generous homebrewers and craft brewers brought tasty beverages to share and we had seven taps beers with more than 30 different bottles available. We even had the privilege to sample some simply delectable meads from an expert and legendary meadmaker here in Pagosa Springs.

      Our door prizes included great gifts from local breweries including Ska, Steamworks, San Luis Valley Brewing and Three Barrel Brewing. Of course, Tony Simmons and the crew at Pagosa Brewing hosted our event and did a wonderful job serving us great food. Best of all, Tony and John Bricker, head brewer and owner of Three Barrel Brewing Co. in Del Norte, CO (try the Hop Trash if you can...awesome!), joined us to sample our homebrews and to offer advice and even share some of their rare creations. Woohoo!

      Thanks again to everyone who helped make this event a roaring success and we look forward to getting together again soon. The homebrewing community in the Four Corners is alive and well and growing. Keep up the good work and happy fermenting!