HOPS Pagosa

HOPS – Homebrewers Of Pagosa Springs

Hello HOPS Heads,

It’s friggin hot. It’s so hot the birds are taking baths in the Lobster Pot at the Hot Springs just to cool off. It’s so hot the fire fighters are hanging out at the burn areas just to cool down. The cows are giving evaporated milk. The weather service issued a “Fat guys in tank tops” warning. The hobo downtown was holding a “Will work for shade” sign. It’s hotter than sweat pants full of BBQ. I learned that a seat belt makes a pretty good branding iron, too. It’s friggin hot. When it’s this hot about all I can think about is beer. Then again, weather doesn’t really change that thought process. We brewed a nice n’ tasty green chili beer. I like to serve it up in an ice cold, frosty schooner and then sit back and sip away as the buzzards peck at my rotting carcass because it’s been so friggin hot. Sorry, my turrets are kicking in. But it could be worse. I could live in Florida, a land equally hot but way more humid. A land boiling over with violent reactions to craft beer deprivation (at least that’s what I hear). This is a land where you bring your own koozies to the bar (which I happen to think is pretty cool). A land where people don’t get in fights, they merely high-five each other’s faces (which I also think is pretty cool). Come to think of it, if Florida had more craft beer and an Antarctic climate I may consider moving there. There is a hint of redneckery that beacons that soul, oozing its awesomeness. BWAAH! I’m delirious! Doctor, get me a chili beer, stat! Frosty schooner, check. Green chili beer on tap, check. Comfy chair in the shade, check. Buzzards circling… um, check.

Until next time, cheers and happy fermenting ~

Randini the Beer Spammer

Quote of the Day:  Beer is the Danish national drink, and the Danish national weakness is another beer.
- Clementine Paddleford

Tech Tip of the Day: What does it cost to produce homebrew? A total beer geek (God bless ‘em) from the Hop Barley and the Alers homebrew club in the Front Range put together the info below about what it costs to brew his beer. I found it quite interesting and I think you may too!

On Behalf Of Ryan T
Sent: Thursday, May 31, 2012 5:13 PM
Subject: {SPAM 03.5} [HBAmembers] What does it cost to produce homebrew?

Hi everyone,

About this time last year I became very interested in what my actual costs were for producing homebrew.  I decided the best way to find out would be to track what I spent for a year and then average it out per gallon.  My hope was the long time period would smooth out any per batch fluctuations and give me a more accurate total.  Here is what I found.

So, my answer is around $4.64 per gallon, or $6.78 including the onetime upgrades I did this year.  It appears my biggest potential savings would come from switching to electric instead of propane, and using priming sugar rather than force carbonating.  I found it interesting that gases were such a large percentage of the total cost.

Next time your significant other complains about the money you put towards homebrew you can point them to my research and remind them how glad they should be they aren’t married to me.

For comparison:

Coors Light Keg = $5.03/G

Sierra Nevada Pale Keg = $7.74/G

Sierra Nevada Pale 12pk = $11.53/G

Stone Ruination 6pk = $31.07/G

Cheers,

Ryan

HOPS Meetings:

• HOPS – New Business:

• Next Meeting: Tuesday, the 26^th is the next HOPS meeting, Pagosa Brewing Co at 6:00 PM. The RED COLOR GROUP is up, so if you are in this group, make sure you have been in touch with your Color Group Leader to find out what is in the pipeline.
• Style of the Month: Mead & Experimental
• Discussion: Some ideas we want to go over include the following:

A)      Salida Brewers Rendezvous

B)      County Fair Homebrew Competition – Also would like a homebrew demo! Any volunteers?

C)      Another Bulk Grain Purchase – one is in the works.

D)      Other upcoming events found below.