Silicon Valley Sudzers Homebrew Club
The Homebrew Club of Silicon Valley
After 93 columns over the past decade+, including 334 different beers from 119 California craft breweries, Sudzers CFO Derek W is “retiring” from his monthly beer column. He will still write occasional seasonal pieces for the Los Altos Town Crier, but not as frequently. He’s also finally answering the question he always dances around: “What’s your favorite beer?” Cheers!
Over a decade of cheers: Reflecting on brews news
Sudzers CFO Derek W’s monthly beer column in the Los Altos Town Crier features holiday recommendations from Port Brewing and Drake’s Brewing. Cheers!
Hops for the holidays: Selecting the best celebration brews
Hello Sudzers,
For our November meeting, we discussed the homebrew competition that Steins is asking us to help organize. Then we tasted twelve great homebrews. Thanks to Stein’s and everyone who showed up.
– Steins is planning on a homebrew competition to be held in March of next year and asked the Sudzers to help organize the judging. Since they would like the beers entered to be brewed with lesser used malts and grains, the competition will be limited to BJCP category 31A (alternative grain beers).
– Two sudzers won medals at the California Homebrew Competition. Sebastian Brisbois won a gold in the European sour ale category with a Lambic, and Kevin Sinarle won a silver in the Specialty IPA category with a Brut IPA.
– The off flavor of the month was contamination. Thanks to Mikael for putting this together.
– The holiday party will be December 2 at Kevin’s place. An email with further details will be sent out.
– The beers we tasted:
| Brewer | Beer Name | Beer Style | IBUs | ABV | Brewer Notes |
| Sebastian B. | Witbier | 20 | 5.4 | Omega Jovaru Lithuanian farmhouse yeast | |
| Mikael H | Finback Crispy Town | Pilsner | 25 | 4.6 | |
| Kevin S | Weird Science | NZish Pilsner | 45 | 5.5 | |
| Derek | Honey crisp apple cider with plums | 5.6 | |||
| Robert R. | Saison | 28 | 8.60% | ||
| Kevin S | Malt Wishes and Hop Dreams | Brut IPA | 38 | 6.8 | |
| Stephan | Bench Clear Brawl | Hazy IPA | 6.8 | ||
| Allen M | Jim’s Juice Bomb | NE DIPA | 45 | 7.8 | |
| Mikael H | Dennyish IPA | IPA | 75 | 6.6 | |
| Adam C | Dry Irish Stout w/ Coffee | 3.70% | |||
| Kevin S | JAK s Milk Stout | Sweet Stout | 32 | 5.6 | |
| Peter P | Strong Ale | 29 | 8% |
Hello, Sudzers!
This month’s meeting will be held at 4:00 pm this Sunday, November 12th
at Steins Beer Garden in Mountain View.
http://steinsbeergarden.com/
895 Villa Street
Mountain View, CA 94041
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:
– Derek will be collecting dues. If you would like to pay club dues, please send $25 via paypal to derek@sudzers.org or give him $25 in person this Sunday.
– Steins homebrew competition in March 2024.
– Upcoming Sudzers holiday party (12/2)
– Off flavor tasting.
– Homebrew evaluations. Remember to bring your recipe, since club members
will have lots of questions. Sign in your beer along with your name
and statistics (IBU, ABV, etc.). The info is optional, but helpful in
determining tasting order.
Hope to see you all at Steins!
Pints of pilsner proliferate across the Peninsula (featuring Alpha Acid, Freewheel, and Ghostwood)
A different drink for festivities: Ditch the bubbly, bring the brew (featuring Ghostwood and Narrative Fermentations)
Cheers!
Hello Sudzers,
For our September meeting, we discussed this year’s NCHF. Then we tasted 4 homebrews. Thanks to Stein’s and everyone who showed up.
– The Northern California Homebrewers Conference (NCHF) is coming up soon (September 15-16). People who are planning on going can coordinate via Discord.
– The California State Homebrew Competition will held October 28 and November 4-5. If anyone is interested in entering beers or being a judge/steward, more information is available from the competition’s web site: https://castate.brewcompetition.com/
– The beers we tasted:
| Brewer | Beer Name | Beer Style | IBUs | ABV | Brewer Notes |
| Noah M | Tripel-sided lightsaber | Tripel | ~9 | ||
| TimT | Fail | Cold IPA | 70 | 7 | Many failures in the brewing process |
| Stephan | Mowgli’s Black Cat IPA | Black IPA | 45 | 6.3 | Chinook, amarillo, citra |
| Kevin S | Common Ground | DIPA | 95 | 8.1 | Azacca, columbus & southern cross hops |
– 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
– 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 the Worts of Wisdoms’ calendar: http://www.wortsofwisdom.org/calendar/upcoming-homebrewers-competitions/
Hello, Sudzers!
This month’s meeting will be held at 4:00pm this Sunday, September 10th
at Steins Beer Garden in Mountain View.
http://steinsbeergarden.com/
895 Villa Street
Mountain View, CA 94041
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:
– Northern California Homebrewers Festival (NCHF) which will be held Sept. 15-16, 2022.
– Collection of dues. Derek won’t be at this meeting, but you can still pay dues by sending $25 via Paypal to derek@sudzers.org.
– Homebrew evaluations. Don’t forget to bring your recipe as club members will have lots of questions. Sign in your beer along with your name and statistics (IBU, ABV, etc.). The info is optional, but helpful in determining tasting order.
Hope to see you all at Steins!
(Note: The Mountain View Art and Wine Festival is being held the weekend of the 9th and 10th. You might need more time than usual to find parking.)
Hello Sudzers,
For our August meeting, we discussed this year’s NCHF and had a presentation on kettle sours. Then we tasted 14 (yes, 14) homebrews. Thanks to Stein’s and everyone who showed up.
– Sebastian Brisbois gave a presentation on brewing kettle sour beers. The slides are available at: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1jEiUue8btDCZPi8fGxeCx8A57WA6t-eb-N7RniFBCRg/edit#slide=id.p
– The Northern California Homebrewers Conference (NCHF) will be on September 15 and 16. The Sudzers usually have 2 booths at the festival. A signup sheet will go out to members who are attending to find out what beer, food, and equipment they will be bringing.There will also be a club brew competition. The styles for this year’s competition are hazy IPA and fruit beer. For more info on the festival: https://nchfinfo.org/
– The beers we tasted:
| Brewer | Beer Name | Beer Style | IBUs | ABV | Brewer Notes |
| Sebastian B | Apricot and Passionfruit Kettle Sour Berliner Weisse | Fruit Beer | 5 | 3.30% | |
| Chris L | Roggenbier | ||||
| Derek W | Purple Waves of Grain | Egyptian Purple Barley Beer | 15 | 4.9 | |
| Nathan | Kolsch | 21 | 5.1 | ||
| Derek W | Citra Shine | Mexican Lager | 25 | 6.4 | Attempted Citraveza clone |
| Kevin S | Austriken! | german pilsner | 40 | 5.2 | |
| Kevin S | Brilliant Bitter | strong bitter | 48 | 6.1 | |
| Sebastian B | Saison | Saison | 30 | 5.40% | |
| Chris | Kitchen Sink IPA | IPA | 67 | 6.20% | |
| Stephan | All Eyes on Thighs | Thiolized Beer | 6.80% | ||
| Stephan | Red Ryeder | American Amber | 6.2% | Encore tasting after Santa Clara comp judging | |
| Adam C | Baltic Porter | 8.9 | |||
| Robert R | Old and Bitter | Imperial stout | 80 | 8.8 | |
| Peter Pray | Brett oatmeal stout | 28 | 5.1 |
– 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
– 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 the Worts of Wisdoms’ calendar: http://www.wortsofwisdom.org/calendar/upcoming-homebrewers-competitions/
Hello, Sudzers!
This month’s meeting will be held at 4:00 pm this Sunday, August 13th
at Steins Beer Garden in Mountain View.
http://steinsbeergarden.com/
895 Villa Street
Mountain View, CA 94041
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:
– Derek will be collecting dues. If you would like to pay club dues, please send $25 via paypal to derek@sudzers.org or give him $25 in person this Sunday.
– Presentation on kettle sours.
– Northern California Homebrewers Festival (9/15-9/16, 2023)
– Homebrew evaluations. Remember to bring your recipe, since club members
will have lots of questions. Sign in your beer along with your name
and statistics (IBU, ABV, etc.). The info is optional, but helpful in
determining tasting order.
Hope to see you all at Steins!
Hello Sudzers,
For our July meeting, we discussed this year’s Santa Clara County Homebrew Competition and NCHF. Then we tasted a couple of homebrews. Thanks to Stein’s and everyone who showed up.
– The 7th Annual Santa Clara Homebrew Competition will be held July 22. The Sudzers are co-organizing with the Grain Trust. The competition is now closed to registering new entries. People can drop off their entries at the Country Fair Grounds on July 15 and 16. They can also be dropped off at More Beer in Los Altos and Beer and Wine Makers of America in San Jose by July 14 See the following for more details: https://thefair.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Home-Brew-Competition-2023-Final.pdf
– The presentation on kettle sours was postponed until the August meeting.
– Tickets for this year’s Northern California Hombrewers Festival go on sale July 16. NCHF will be held September 15 and 16, 2023.
– The beers we tasted:
| Brewer | Beer Name | Beer Style | IBUs | ABV | Brewer Notes |
| Peter | dunkelweizen | 10 | 5.60% | ||
| Allen | Hazy Shade of Tahoe | NE IPA | 35 | 7.20% | Dry hopped during fermentation |
– 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
– 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 the Worts of Wisdoms’ calendar: http://www.wortsofwisdom.org/calendar/upcoming-homebrewers-competitions/