HOPS Brewsletter: May 2011

by Jason Cox

HOPS – Homebrewers Of Pagosa Springs

 

Greetings all,

This week is American Craft Beer Week. That’s just got a great sound to it, doesn’t it? What other holiday is a week long and entirely dedicated to drinking craft beer? And then to top it off, the beer style of the month for our HOPS meeting is IPA – India Pale Ale. CAN YOU BELIEVE IT, MAN? It’s like the beer planets aligned and heavenly multitudes burst forth in song, the sky opened and a light shone down, cast upon my pint glass, raised high and topped off with IPA. (This is an angelic light without UV that would skunk out the hops, of course.) The curse of the land was healed, the lion lay down with the lamb and all tears were wiped away. Wait, that’s a different event. But this is about as close to heaven on earth as the Beer Community gets! Let’s face it; there are either hop-heads, or there are hop-heads in training. I call them Hope-heads, because there is still hope for them. They’ll come around in time. A man once said “Hops will change the world as we know it. They will bring people together in ways unbeknownst to the common Bud drinker. They will save us.” I was that man. Yeah, I said that. While I’m waiting for others to join me in lupulin-laden nirvana, I think I’ll have a beer. An IPA to be exact.

 

Cheers ~

 

Randini the Beer Spammer

 

Tech Tip of the Day: Since IPA is the style of the month, let’s talk about hops. Have you ever been shopping for hops and wondered what some certain hop tastes like, smells like, etc? A single hop brew is a fun way to learn all about a hop. Take a classic pale ale or IPA (preferred by the Beer Spammer) recipe and instead of throwing a large list of different kinds of hops at it, try using one hop – the same hop – for the entire recipe. This gives you a good idea of the bitterness, the flavor and the aroma of the hop. It’s also a great way to learn about home grown hops if you are unsure of their characteristics. I have been seeing an increase of craft breweries doing this lately, and we have been brewing them ourselves. It’s a hop – you can’t go wrong! Good stuff, man.

 

Quote of the Day: “If I could just stuff my pillow case full of hops, maybe I could have better dreams.”

 - Eleanor

 

 

 

HOPS Meetings:

  • HOPS – Old Business:
    • Dues: We are now collecting $20 per person per calendar year dues. If you are a dues-paying member you can get in on the Style of the Month Tastings for no charge plus Pagosa Brewing employee discounts on food and beer during meetings. If you are not a dues-paying member it will be $5 per person to get in on the tastings.
    • June 11th – HOPS will be hosting a Homebrew Hoedown event this spring for Four Corners homebrew clubs. Start brewing so we can be the hosts’ with the mosts’. Also, we need volunteers to help badger people for free stuff for giveaways/door prizes. Let me know if you would be willing to help – we could use it!

 

  • HOPS – New Business:
    • Next Meeting: This coming Monday, the 23rd is the next HOPS meeting, Pagosa Brewing Co at 6:00 PM.
    • Style of the Month: IPA!!! No, really. I P A. I can hardly contain myself! India Pale Ale is one of my favorite beers, and anybody who’s somebody would agree that it is one of my favorite beers. Come. Enjoy. Embrace the hops…
    • 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)      June 11th – HOPS will be hosting a Homebrew Hoedown event this spring for Four Corners homebrew clubs. Start brewing!

C)      Geek Night – We finally have enough beer geeks that we should put one together. Lets geek out.

D)      County Fair Competition – Possible BJCP sanctioned event would allow new opportunities.

 

 

RECAP OF PREVIOUS EVENTS:

 

  • Previous HOPS Meeting Recap – Last month we got our first try at judging beer using the BJCP judging sheets. Thanks to Jason for a very informative HOPS meeting. Thanks to Pagosa Brewing for a very tasty HOPS meeting!

 

  • Big Brew Day, May 7th– We had three different brews going and 10-15 people hanging around for the event. All in all we brewed about 20 gallons o’ fun. Mike Musgrove brewed his (almost) world famous Green Chili Beer, Jason Cox brewed a Single Hop Cascade Ale (Cascade are the only hops used throughout the boil) and Eleanor and myself brewed a Yarrow beer (based off of a pale ale recipe, only we included additional yarrow to the beer. Yarrow has been used in beer, sometimes replacing hops completely, since the middle ages and still in some Swiss beers.) Maybe next month or at the June 11th homebrew gathering we will have some to share!

 

 

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 IPA! Come one, come none, I don’t care – the less people there, the more hops for me! Bwah hah hah!!!

 

  • Ska Hosting a Beer Dinner – Tomorrow, May 19th – Ska is hosting a beer dinner tomorrow night at the Palace Restaurant in downtown Durango. It will be a four course meal paired with their beer. For more info, go here: http://beerat6512.blogspot.com/

 

  • First Thursday Out – June 2nd – The 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 Boss Hoggs. See you there at 6:00!

 

  • Durango Homebrew Competition, May 2011: Third Annual Ska Brewing GABF Pro-Am Homebrewers Competition - Check out more details at the following link:

http://www.durangohomebrew.com/

 

  • Homebrew Club Gathering June 11th in Pagosa – HOPS will be hosting the next round of the Four Corners Homebrew Club Gathering, affectionately known to some of our clubs as a Homebrew Hoedown. This will be at Pagosa Brewing Co on June 11th from 1-4 PM. Get your brew on so we can share the fermented love!

 

  • 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 Ska’s new distribution of the Mexican Logger and other misc. rants. Good stuff!

 

 

Pagosa Brewing Company News / Events:

·          

·         Saturday - May 21
Classic Car Show! - Lewis Street Downtown
- "Classic Light" Commemorative Beer (served street side & at the brewery)
- Brewery Food Pairings:  Classic Chili Burgers and Chili Dogs

 

·         Friday - May 27
Honeymoon Release!
- Our 3x State Fair Gold Medal Winner & Silver Medal Winner in North America
- Brewed this year as Honey Pilnser
- Brewery Food Pairings:  Honey-Themed Cuisine

 

LOCAL NEWS:

  • MY FUNKY EMAIL – (Copied from last month) I have heard from several people that they were replying to my Brewsletters and I didn’t receive their reply. If you replied to my email (randrew@andcomp.com) and I did not get back to you it is probably because I did not receive your email. I wasn’t ignoring you, honest! If you have any questions or comments, send them to this email address (randy@speeddirect.com) and hopefully there won’t be any more problems…

 

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

 

  • Brew Magazines Available: Tony with Pagosa Brewing Co has a whole bunch of back logs of brew magazines that he has offered to the HOPS members. If anyone is interested in them let me know or talk to Jason Cox. There is a ton of great material, recipes, suggestions and misc. info bound up in these magazines.

 

 

 

 

FRONT RANGE & BEYOND NEWS & EVENTS:

 

  • American Craft Beer Week – Happening Now! - As Stephen Colbert of The Colbert Report cheered in 2008, "Happy American Craft Beer Week everybody!" With over 800 events (up from 621 in 2010) posted on the official American Craft Beer Week® (ACBW) Calendar, beer enthusiasts are sure to find a local celebration to suit their tastes. This week is a tremendous accomplishment for craft brewers and a delicious opportunity for beer fanatics and novices alike.

• For the first time in its six-year history, ACBW will see official events hosted in all 50 states, making it the largest-ever celebration of U.S. craft brewers.

• ACBW is considered the "Mother of All Beer Weeks" with multiple concurrent beer weeks:

     Minnesota Craft Beer Week - May 13-22

     Long Island Craft Beer Week - May 13-22

     Nevada Beer Week - May 14-22

     San Antonio Beer Week - May 15-22

     Chicago Craft Beer Week - May 19-27

     Seattle Beer Week - May 19-28

• What's it all about? View the ACBW video (http://www.craftbeer.com/pages/news-and-events/american-craft-beer-week), which has reached over 10,000 beer enthusiasts to date.

• 35,000 support ACBW on Facebook and more than 3,000 "like" the CraftBeer.com web area. Get social, and share your favorite ACBW flavors!

• The Wall Street Journal Radio, USA Today, the New York Times and many more have been writing about ACBW. Check out a sampling of the extensive coverage

• Events are as diverse as the craft beers in the marketplace today. They include special beer releases, exclusive brewery tours, multi-course food and beer pairing dinners, collaboration beers, charity fundraisers and more.

Cheers to a fun American Craft Beer Week, and remember to Savor the Flavor responsibly.

 

  • 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

 

  • 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.

 

  • 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 – Definition: A scribe wrote lots of stuff down. So a sub-scribe would be someone who doesn’t want to write stuff, they would rather read it. But if you are an un-sub-scribe then that would basically take you back to being a scribe. Who would want that? I feel like a scribe sometimes. A Beer Scribe. An Un-Sub-Beer-Scribe…

 

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