HOPS Pagosa

Greetings all, 

Can you believe summer is almost over? No really, think about it. The Solstice was back in June, so the days are already getting shorter. I wore a light jacket on my morning ride the other day. Break out your snowboards, winter is right around the corner! Time to start fattening up for the winter hibernation again. Which brings me to my next subject – bears. A stupid bear broke into our shop last night. “Yeah, so?” you say. It’s Pagosa, they’re everywhere. Well, this time it was a little different. You see, this is also the shop that houses our kegerator and all our brewing grains. Lucky for us, it found a 25lb sack of brown sugar and went to town on it, leaving the rest of our precious goodies alone. That stupid thing probably wandered around the forest for hours with a sugar high until it puked. I hope it did. Had I not been working on said kegerator mere hours before, I probably would have woken up and heard the ruckus. Then, armed with a dim flashlight, a semi-clean pair of whitey-tighteys and some rubber flip flops, I would have charged right at it (and possibly found myself up the creek without a mash paddle). If the thing didn’t die of laughter, it probably would have offered me a beer. After all, maybe it had good taste in choosing a beer shop to break into rather than a dumpster. For all I know he could turn into my new fuzzy beer drinking buddy. Maybe I’ll help him prepare for winter. Me and Mr. Bear, kicking it next to the kegerator with a frothy mug of Bourbon IPA. Actually, he would probably prefer the Honey Vanilla Porter. Sure beats twigs and berries! So, anyone have ideas on how to ferment a bunch of brown sugar only slightly soiled by bear drool?

Cheers ~

Randini the Beer Spammer

Tech Tip of the Day: To stir the mash, or not to stir the mash? That is the question at hand. There are different thoughts on this depending on what you aim to achieve, but most opinion out there is NOT to stir the mash. Those who claim you should stir the mash are primarily trying to get more fermentables out of the grain. While you may be able to achieve a small increase in fermentable sugar, the side affects may outweigh the benefits. By stirring the mash you disturb the grain bed, meaning you are whipping more debris, which will cloud your beer and add additional tannins to the beer. Stirring can also introduce oxygen, a precursor that could potentially oxidize the beer later on. Last thing is that stirring can also reduce head retention. So if you are really trying to get a little more sugar out of the batch I would say add more grain or even throw some extract at it, but leave the grain bed alone, man!

Quote of the Day:

My beers are cold and delicious. 

Fermented sustenance that quenches my thirst and numbs my senses. 

It is fragrant and hoppy, and may lead me to be sloppy, but rarely a fall I have taken.

I drink of it often, and share it with others

Friends and family, sisters and brothers

Therefore I brew a lot, to keep fermenters full

So we can party, markets bear, or markets bull

 -  My cuz Rob, homebrewing in CT

HOPS Meetings:

• HOPS – Old Business:
  • Color Groups Determined – If you are a dues paying member you now have beer related responsibilities! Bwah hah haaaaah! Let me know if you did not receive your color group info.
  • 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 affects you. Please scroll down and see how things have changed regarding you receiving the HOPS Brewsletter.
  • 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.

• HOPS – New Business:
  • Next Meeting: This coming Monday, the 25^th is the next HOPS meeting, Pagosa Brewing Co at 6:00 PM.
  • Style of the Month: Lager
  • Discussion: Some ideas we want to go over include the following:

A)      Geek Night – Tonight, July 19th (group brew as well)

B)      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 it is a BJCP sanctioned event, 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. You will also get some great feedback on your entries, complete with pros and cons, and often great additional suggestions.

RECAP OF PREVIOUS EVENTS:

• Previous HOPS Meeting Recap – Mead was had and it rocked! Thanks to all who came and provided meads and braggots.

• FTO (First Thursday Out) – We had a huge crowd on Thursday. Ok, about 12 people showed up at Farrago’s, and in Pagosa terms, that’s a huge crowd!

• Salida Brewer’s Rendezvous: Once again we had a handful of HOPS Heads crash the party in Salida, and what a good time we had! There were ~54 different breweries attending and honestly more styles on tap than one could sample (though we tried our hardest!).

UPCOMING LOCAL NEWS & EVENTS:

• Geek Night – Tonight, July 19^th : We will be brewing two different beers and discussing geeky things. Looks like weather will be moving the party from Mike Musgrove’s to Jason Cox’s rezzy. We will start the brew around 4 or 5 and go into the evening. For more info you can call Jason at 303.204.3033. See you tonight!

• Monday, July 25^th – HOPS Meeting: This coming Monday is the HOPS Meeting (the fourth Monday of the month). We will meet at Pagosa Brewing Company at 6:00 PM. This month we will be going over some of the upcoming events and agenda items above, along with the Style of the Month. This time around the style is Lager. Taken from Laura Dollar’s killer Lager description: “My Summary: Basically, back in the good ole days they couldn't/wouldn't make beer during the summer months. Beer production stopped in March and the batches were stored in caves with ice blocks. To last through several months of storage, the beer was often strong or well-hopped. Before the brewing season opened up again—got hopping ;)—in October, they had to throw a party to clean out the barrels and get brewing again. The style is characterized by a medium to full body, a malty flavor and a clean dry finish.”

• First Thursday Out – August 4^thThe 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 the Beer Tent at the Archuleta County Fair. See you at the beer tent 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! It is a BJCP sanctioned event, so if you win you have opportunities to move on to larger events like Pro-Am brews with Pagosa Brewing Co, plus you get great feedback on your fermentables.

• September 10^th – Band & Brews Fest: September 10 is the Third Annual "Band & Brews Fest" held in Pagosa Springs' Town Park. Come and support your local brewery and taste beers from lots of others too!

• November 5^th – Teach a Friend to Brew Day: National Teach and Friend to Homebrew Day is a great opportunity to have a brew party. Anyone interested in hosting?

• 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 happenings in the Durango and Silverton areas.

Pagosa Brewing Company News / Events:

• Saturday, July 30 - FREE Reggae Concert!
  * 8pm - Reggae DJ
  * 9pm to late - Summit Dub Squad (from Flagstaff)
  * "Reggae Red" Cask Ale (with some danky aromatics!) 
  * Reggae Pizzas & Burgers too

• Summer Hop Ale - Coming in August - A special treat for hop heads!  Summer Ale™ is a cross between Pale Ale & IPA with a fresh hop aroma, malty flavor, and aggressive bitterness. It's brewed each year using ONLY a single variety of American hops.  This summer, we'll be brewing with the Limited Edition Falcon's Flight Hop from our friends at Hop Union.  Summer Hop Ale™ is easy to quaff and goes great with our custom pizzas!  We only made one batch a year, so stop by for a pint or mug before it's gone!

• In early September, look for their Fresh Hopped Powder Day IPA using hops from their OWN hop garden.  A treat not to miss!   September 17 is a special live concert under the festival tent in brewery's Beer Garden.  The featured band is "Forever Growing" out of Oregon.  Pagosa Brewing's annual Oktoberfest Party with all kinds of German specialty foods will be held the weekend after the GABF and feature their State Fair winning Fallfest Bier.  Prosit!

FRONT RANGE & BEYOND NEWS & EVENTS:

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

• September 29-Oct 1^st – Great American Beer Festival – The GABF is the biggest, baddest beer fest in the solar system. Unfortunately standard tickets are already sold out, but there are still some specialty tickets available. More info here:

FOR SALE / FOR FREE / WANTED:

• 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.

• 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

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

UNSUBSCRIBE – But if you do, you wont know where the fun is. Kinda like Fuzzy. Fuzzy Wuzzy was a bear. Fuzzy Wuzzy drank my beer. Fuzzy Wuzzy wasn’t very friendly while he got pretty warm and fuzzy after raiding my beer shop. Fuzzy Wuzzy’s not invited over any more because he gets violent when he drinks and rips through doors. In fact, I unsubscribed him so he doesn’t know where the next beer event is. You don’t want that to happen to you.

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