Sudzers April 2021 meeting

Hello, Sudzers! Our next meeting will be held at 4:00pm this Sunday, April 11th through Zoom (details below). Hope to see you all there!

As a reminder, club dues are collected on a calendar year basis. Becoming a paid member gets you a discount at MoreBeer in Los Altos, as well as access to the special members-only events we do through the year.

Agenda:
– If you’d like to pay club dues, please send $25 via paypal to derek@sudzers.org.
– We’ll discuss National Homebrew Day (https://www.homebrewersassociation.org/aha-events/national-homebrew-day/) to organize a virtual brew day.
– Jeff Mello, Chief Yeast Wrangler from Bootleg Biology (https://bootlegbiology.com/) will be joining us to talk about “something yeast related”. Don’t miss it!
– Several of our members will have gotten together to share beers with each other. During the meeting, each brewer will talk about their beer and get feedback from the people they shared it with.

Zoom details were sent to the mailing list.

Sudzers March 2021 meeting notes

Hello, Sudzers! In March’s meeting, we welcomed a new member, discussed several ideas for a new type of Club Brew in 2021, saw several people go through their brewing setups, and tasted five delicious brews. Thanks to everyone who showed up!

Business:
– Welcome new member, Kevin P.!
– Remember, membership dues need to be made every calendar year. If you haven’t paid yet, then you can make a payment of $25 to Derek via paypal at derek@sudzers.org
– Derek and Robert discussed distribution of Dark Matter to paid 2020 members. Details have been posted to the mailing list and Derek will be sending out reminders.
– Speaking of Dark Matter, we discussed ideas around having a different club brew this year. Robert will send out full details.
– Derek has been in contact with the organizers of the Santa Clara County Fair, and we may be able to revive the Homebrew Competition. Please email Derek if you’re interested in helping to organize.
– Thanks to Robert, Mike C., Rich, Stephan, Marcos, Chet, and Mikael for showing off their homebrew setups. This was a great discussion, and I think we all learned a lot and got some new ideas for how to improve our own systems.
– Several of our members got together to share beers with each other. During the meeting, each brewer talked about their beer and got feedback from the people they shared it with. Thanks to everyone who participated!
– You should’ve received an email from John Moorhead if you entered the National Homebrew Competition. Please check it out if you haven’t already as competition entries are due to Louisville, Colo., between March 29 and April 9.

Extras:
– If you haven’t already, please join our Discord server at https://discord.gg/mBQ7smguu7. All official communication (meeting information, event information, etc.) will continue to go through the mailing list, but Discord provides us a convenient way to have smaller, quicker conversations, so we encourage you to join.
– All shared recipes can be found at https://sites.google.com/a/cloudyforecast.com/brewme/home. If you’d like to have your recipe shared on the site, then please email it in any format to recipe-share@sudzers.org. Full info can be found at http://www.sudzers.org/?page_id=2910
– For a list of all upcoming competitions, check out WoW’s awesome calendar: http://www.wortsofwisdom.org/calendar/upcoming-homebrewers-competitions/

In all, we had seven homebrews:

BREWER       BEER                         IBUs  ABV
Robert C.    Lemon Drop Liberty Maibock   26    7.6%
Robert C.    Liberty Maibock              32    7.6%
Tim K.       Grapefruit Bits Pale Ale     45    4.8%
Marcos S.    Emperor 2020 Flanders Red     9    5.7%
Marcos S.    Vanilla American Porter      38    5.5%

Sudzers March 2021 meeting

Hello, Sudzers! Our next meeting will be held at 4:00pm this Sunday, March 14th through Zoom (details below). Hope to see you all there!

As a reminder, club dues are collected on a calendar year basis. Becoming a paid member gets you a discount at MoreBeer in Los Altos, as well as access to the special members-only events we do through the year.

Agenda:
– If you’d like to pay club dues, please send $25 via paypal to derek@sudzers.org.
– Robert and Derek will talk about 2020 Dark Matter distribution.
– Several members have volunteered to show off their brewing systems.
– Several of our members will have gotten together to share beers with each other. During the meeting, each brewer will talk about their beer and get feedback from the people they shared it with.

Zoom details were sent to the mailing list.

Easy to find and locally made, Laughing Monk has grown from homebrew to regional staple, from the Los Altos Town Crier

Sudzers CFO Derek W’s latest monthly beer column from the Los Altos Town Crier focuses on San Francisco’s Laughing Monk Brewing. Try their Father Crilly Dry Irish Stout for your St. Paddy’s Day celebration.

https://www.losaltosonline.com/special-sections2/sections/food-a-wine/64091-easy-to-find-and-locally-made-laughing-monk-has-grown-from-homebrew-to-regional-staple

Sudzers February 2021 meeting notes

Hello, Sudzers! In February’s meeting, we discussed several ideas for events in 2021, talked about automated brewing systems, and tasted seven delicious brews. Thanks to everyone who showed up!

Business:
– Remember, membership dues need to be made every calendar year. If you haven’t paid yet, then you can make a payment of $25 to Derek via paypal at derek@sudzers.org
– Robert discussed several ideas for events: fund raisers, a swap meet, demo brew day, hosting a competition, organizing a Southbay homebrew festival, … Please let us know if you’re interested in organizing any of these events or any other event.
– Just a reminder, registration for the National Homebrew Competition 2021 closes March 3rd: https://www.homebrewersassociation.org/national-homebrew-competition/
– Please e-mail Chet if you’re interested in joining the monthly Brewing Journal Club where we discuss several brewing-related academic papers.
– Thanks to Chris Miller for leading a discussion on automated brewing systems. You can see his original setup at http://www.ibrewbeer.com/
– If you haven’t already, please join our Discord server at (info sent to mailing list). All official communication (meeting information, event information, etc.) will continue to go through the mailing list, but Discord provides us a convenient way to have smaller, quicker conversations, so we encourage you to join.
– Several of our members got together to share beers with each other. During the meeting, each brewer talked about their beer and got feedback from the people they shared it with. Thanks to everyone who participated!
– All shared recipes can be found at https://sites.google.com/a/cloudyforecast.com/brewme/home. If you’d like to have your recipe shared on the site, then please email it in any format to recipe-share@sudzers.org. Full info can be found at http://www.sudzers.org/?page_id=2910
– For a list of all upcoming competitions, check out WoW’s awesome calendar: http://www.wortsofwisdom.org/calendar/upcoming-homebrewers-competitions/

In all, we had seven homebrews:

BREWER       BEER                                  IBUs  ABV
Marcos       Mountain Goat Brown Ale               27    5.5%
Chet         Strata SMASH Pale Ale                 38    6.2%
Robert C.    Oat IPA Cashmere Rahr Old World Pils  44    7.2%
Robert C.    Oat IPA Cashmere Rahr Pale Ale        44    6.5%
Tim K.       Be Mine Lupomax                       49    7.7%
Mikael       Strata IPA                            70    7.0%
Marcos       Flagship Double Red Strong Ale        65    8.0%

Sudzers February 2021 meeting

Hello, Sudzers! Our next meeting will be held at 4:00pm this Sunday, February 21st through Zoom (details below). Hope to see you all there!

As a reminder, club dues are collected on a calendar year basis. Becoming a paid member gets you a discount at MoreBeer in Los Altos, as well as access to the special members-only events we do through the year.

Agenda:
– If you’d like to pay club dues, please send $25 via paypal to derek@sudzers.org.
– Just a reminder, registration for the National Homebrew Competition 2021 starts Feb 17th and closes March 3rd: https://www.homebrewersassociation.org/national-homebrew-competition/
– Chet will give a brief plug about the brewing journal club in case anyone else is interested in joining.
– Chris Miller lead an open discussion on how to automate a homebrew setup.
– Several of our members will have gotten together to share beers with each other. During the meeting, each brewer will talk about their beer and get feedback from the people they shared it with.

Zoom details were sent to the mailing list.

Top local pics for SF Beer Week/CA Craft Beer Week, from the Los Altos Town Crier

With the pandemic disrupting San Francisco Beer Week this year, the Bay Area Brewers Guild teamed up with six other regional guilds throughout the state to organize California Craft Beer Week from February 12-21. While large gatherings and festivals won’t be happening this year, breweries are still hosting plentiful virtual tastings and other events over the next two weekends. Read more local highlights from Sudzers CFO/LATC beer columnist Derek W:

https://www.losaltosonline.com/special-sections2/sections/food-a-wine/63961-top-local-picks-for-san-francisco-beer-week

Sudzers January 2021 meeting notes

Hello, Sudzers! In the first meeting of 2021, we had a great discussion with Jason Simpson, co-owner of Ghostwood Beer Co, got the annual CFO report, discussed ideas for 2021, and tasting seven delicious brews. Hope you all had a great New Year, and thanks to everyone who showed up!

Business:
– Remember, membership dues need to be made every calendar year. If you haven’t paid yet, then you can make a payment of $25 to Derek via paypal at derek@sudzers.org
– Thanks so much to Jason Simpson, co-owner of Ghostwood Beer Co (https://www.ghostwoodbeer.com/), for discussing with us what it takes to own a brewery and make it through these tough times. We appreciate the candid discussion and encourage all of our members to grab some of their great beers. Also check out Derek’s article in the Los Altos Town Crier to learn more about Ghostwood: https://www.losaltosonline.com/special-sections2/sections/food-a-wine/63773-crowlers-intrepid-customers-ghostwood-beer-battles-to-break-even-under-ongoing-lockdown
– Derek gave the annual CFO report. Check it out here: http://www.sudzers.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/2020-CFO-report.pptx
– We spent some time discussing ideas for 2021. Robert will send out an email asking for ideas, so please respond if you have any, especially if you’re willing to put in the effort of making the idea a reality.
– 2019 Sudzers Dark Matter imperial stout is ready for pickup! If you were a paid member in *2019*, then you should’ve received an email from Derek detailing how to pick up your beers. If you did not receive that email and you did pay membership dues in 2019, then please email myself, Derek, or Robert and we can forward that email to you.
– If you haven’t already, please join our Discord server (link was sent to the mailing list). All official communication (meeting information, event information, etc.) will continue to go through the mailing list, but Discord provides us a convenient way to have smaller, quicker conversations, so we encourage you to join.
– Several of our members got together to share beers with each other. During the meeting, each brewer talked about their beer and got feedback from the people they shared it with. Thanks to everyone who participated!
– All shared recipes can be found at https://sites.google.com/a/cloudyforecast.com/brewme/home. If you’d like to have your recipe shared on the site, then please email it in any format to recipe-share@sudzers.org. Full info can be found at http://www.sudzers.org/?page_id=2910
– For a list of all upcoming competitions, check out WoW’s awesome calendar: http://www.wortsofwisdom.org/calendar/upcoming-homebrewers-competitions/

In all, we had seven homebrews:

BREWER       BEER                          IBUs  ABV
Mike C.      Helles Belles Munich Helles   18    4.7%
Chet         Fresh Hop "Harvest" Ale       29    4%
Netanel      Best Bitter                   34    4.3%
Mike C.      ABC Biere de Garde            30    7%
Charlie T.   Playhouse Oatmeal Stout       33    5.8%
Derek W.     Honey Plum Tripel             30    10.4%
Robert C.    Dark Matter 2019              100+  11%