Silicon Valley Sudzers Homebrew Club

From 2007 to 2020, the Silicon Valley Sudzers brewed an aggressively roasty, hoppy Russian Imperial Stout called Dark Matter. Over that time period, 21 different vintages and blends were created. The original recipe, created in 2007 by Guy Cameron, who went on to brew at Russian River and become the brewmaster for Floodcraft, was inspired in part by Bell’s Expedition Stout. In 2009, a large batch was brewed by Dan Rosbrugh, which ended up taking the first place ribbon for stouts at the 2011 National Homebrew Competition regional judging in Lodi. Details about the 2011 batch are lost to time.

2009 Brew Day. Note the extremely stable setup to support the mash tun with 80+ pounds of grain and 20 gallons of water.

On March 29, 2025, about a dozen club members gathered to conduct a vertical tasting of 18 different versions dating from 2012 to 2020. In general, like the San Francisco Giants in the early 2010s, our beers generally seemed to be better (or at least better suited to aging) in even years. Following are the brewer details of the batches we tasted.

2012 brewed by Keith McKay – 20 gallon batch. Grand Prize winner of the San Jose KraftBrew Fest homebrew competition.

2014: Sixty gallons were brewed to fill a Breckenridge 53 gallon bourbon barrel and to top off as the angel’s share evaporated. 10 gallons each were brewed by Mike Conant, Tyler Dassow, Rich Kindall & Jim Williams, Chris Ringer, and Derek Wolfgram. Adam Campbell and Nathan Howell contributed 5 gallons each. The amount of time the beer spent in the barrel is unknown.

2015 batches A, B, C, D, V – One of these was brewed by Justin Vincent, one by Mike Conant, one by Nick Osborne (which sat on an aggressive amount of oak cubes for two years), and one by Derek and Steve Casselman. No idea which was which or why there are five bottled batches from four brewed batches.

2016 brewed by David Fortune

2017 Batch A (25% Mike Conant, 25% Derek, 25% Derek oak aged, 25% Marc-Andre Harvey oak aged)

2017 Batch B1 (24% David Fortune, 24% Marc-Andre Harveyoak aged, 24% Mike Conant oak aged, 15% Jay Pecot, 12% Kevin Wolf oak aged)

2017 B2 (26% David Fortune, 26% Marc-Andre oak aged, 26% Mike C oak aged, 13% Kevin Wolf oak aged, 11% Jay Pecot,)

2017 B3 (29% David Fortune, 29% Marc-Andre oak aged, 29% Mike C oak aged, 14% Kevin Wolf oak aged)

Blending and bottling day for the 2017 Dark Matter

2018 A, B blends of brews by Tim Topole, Chet Simocko, and Cliff Sullivan – the first all-electric Dark Matter. Blends unknown, but the A batch was brewed with American yeast and the B with British yeast.

2019 Robert Curlee 30 gallon batch brewed at Crescent Farmhouse Ales

2020 batch C brewed by Chris Kramer, batch T brewed by Tim Chandler, batch R brewed by Robert Curlee. During COVID, these three batches were brewed and bottled separately, then distributed via Robert and Derek leaving bottles on their front porches for members to pick up.

18 different versions of Dark Matter

The 2009 Dark Matter recipe, scaled for 5 gallons

We got together on the 9th for our last meeting at Steins and we tasted seven great homebrews. Thanks to Stein’s and everyone who showed up.

• We met new member Alex. Welcome to the club! 
• The club brew: Several of us got together Feb. 15 to can this year’s brew which is a biere de garde. The numbers: 1.081 O.G., 1.022 F.G, 7.9% abv, 28 IBUs. Thanks to everyone who helped with the brewing and packaging. Special thanks to Nate for hosting and for the use of his equipment. 
• World Cup of Beer: Entries can be registered through 3/12. Judges and stewards can register through 3/26. Details at: https://register.worldcupofbeer.com/
• Since Steins is closing at the end of March, we will be exploring different possible venues for our meetings. On April 13th, we will be meeting at Off the Rails Brewing in Downtown Sunnyvale (https://offtherailsbrewing.com/). Our May 18th meeting will be at Clandestine Brewing (https://www.clandestinebrewing.com/).
• Santa Clara County Fair: the homebrew competition will be held the last Saturday in July and the drop off for entries will be on the third weekend of July. There is also the possibility of doing a homebrewing demo at the fair as well.
• Derek gave his annual treasurer’s report: http://www.sudzers.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/2024-CFO-report.pdf
• The beers we tasted:

Brewer	Beer Name	Beer Style	IBUs	ABV	Brewer Notes
Peter	Ocean not the Bay	Golden Ale	42	4.5	brewed with oyster shells
Tim	NPA	Pale Ale	30	5.1
Derek	Sauvint	Rye Lager	30	5.9
Kevin S	NZP 1	NZ Pilsner	41	5.3
Allen	Chuck’s Chilled	IPL	64	7.9	Tried Hop Oil Synergy with Idaho7, Motueka and Krush(HBC586)
Peter	Great Scott!	Wee Heavy	29	9.3
Kevin S	Big Mess	Imperial Stout	63	9.7

• 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/

This month’s meeting will be held at 4:00pm this Sunday, March 9th 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 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.
• Meeting locations and times (If you haven’t heard, Steins is closing at the end of March).
• Distribution of the club brew.
• Treasurer’s annual financial report.
• Santa Clara County Fair homebrew competition and the possibility of holding a homebrewing workshop, brewing demo, and/or beer judging workshop at the fair.
• World Cup of Beer.
• 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!

For our February meeting we presented the Brewer of the Year trophy and tasted six great homebrews. Thanks to Stein’s and everyone who showed up.

• The 2024 Brewer of the Year trophy was awarded to Allen Moore. Congratulations Allen!

• Club brew: several members got together Sunday, 1/19 at Nate’s place to brew the club beer. We ended up with close to 17 gallons in the fermentor. Thanks to everyone who showed up to help and a special thanks to Nate for hosting the brew and for the use of his brewing equipment. We’re planning to package the beer sometime later this month. For anyone interested in helping, the details will be worked out on Discord.

• The beers we tasted:

Brewer	Beer Name	Beer Style	IBUs	ABV	Brewer Notes
Adam + Maury		Cider with nectarines	0	7.4
Sebastian		piwo grodziskie	35	2.6	100% oak smoked wheat malt
Kevin S		schwarzbier	28	5.4
Peter Pray	Redwood	Amber	30	5.4	used redwood tree sprouts in mash and wirlpool
Peter Pray		Belgian Stout	40	7.6
Allen		Barley wine	45	11.1

• 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 4:00pm this Sunday, February 2nd 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 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.
• Report on the club brew.
• Homebrewer of the Year results.
• 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!

We got together on the 12th for a small meeting and we tasted six great homebrews. Thanks to Stein’s and everyone who showed up.

• The club brew will now take place on Sunday January 19. Stay tuned for further details.

• Registration for this years World Cup of Beer is open. Details at: https://register.worldcupofbeer.com/

• The beers we tasted:

Brewer	Beer Name	Beer Style	IBUs	ABV	Brewer Notes
Adam Z.	Len’s Light Lager	American Light Lager	14	4.90%
Derek	Beers Make Life Better!	Marzen	20	5.40%
Mikael	Saison wo Raison	Saison	21	5.75%
Stephan	Frosted Kiwi	cold IPA		7.90%
Robert R.	Bière de Noël	Bière de garde	23	7.30%
Allen	Double Down Brown	Imperial Brown	43	10.50%	w/ hint of Vanilla and Cacao Nibs

• 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!

Apologies for the short notice, but there will be a meeting this month after all, since the club brew had to be postponed. The meeting will be held at 4:00pm this Sunday, January 12 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 access to the special members-only events we do through the year.

Agenda:

– There isn’t a formal agenda. Attendees can make announcements or bring up topics for discussion before we get to the homebrew evaluations.

– 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.

– 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 at Steins!

Sudzers CFO Derek W’s latest in a series of occasional beer columns from Los Altos Town Crier, featuring Thanksgiving pairings from Wondrous Brewing Company, Laughing Monk Brewing, Standard Deviant Brewing, and Oakland United Beerworks. Cheers!

Give thanks for holiday beer pairings

At our November meeting, we discussed this year’s club brew and the annual holiday party. Then we tasted four great homebrews. Thanks to Stein’s and everyone who showed up.

• Report on last month’s tour of Admiral Maltings: A group of us took a couple of Ubers to Admiral which is located in Alameda. It was an enjoyable outing, and we were given a tour of the facility which practices traditional floor malting. While there, we even got to see an employee turn the malt. The tasting room featured a number of beers and spirits made with Admiral’s malts.
• Annual holiday party: This year’s party will be held jointly with the Worts of Wisdom on December 7th at Clandestine Brewing. The event will begin at 4:30. It’ll be a potluck, and there will be a white elephant exchange.
• Club brew: The recipe will be the same bière de Noël recipe we brewed last year. Nathan has offered to host the brewing and has the equipment necessary to brew and ferment 15 gallons of beer. We chose to brew the beer Saturday, December 7th (before the party).
• The beers we tasted:

Brewer	Beer Name	Beer Style	IBUs	ABV	Brewer Notes
Robert		Rye IPA	65	6.50
Allen	Anne’s (not too) Pale Ale	Triple (West Coast) IPA	73	9.60	Thiolized with Simcoe in mash
Stephan	Karl’s Revenge	(Session???) Hazy	53	5.10	DDH hazy IPA with undershot OG
Kevin	CA Hazy Daze	CA Hazy IPA?	60?	6.5	West Coast / Hazy Fusion

• 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, November 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 access to the special members-only events we do through the year.

Agenda:

– Derek won’t be at the meeting, but if you would like to pay club dues, please send $25 via paypal to derek@sudzers.org.

– Report on last month’s tour of Admiral Maltings.

– 2024 club brew.

– Joint holiday party with the Worts of Wisdom at Clandestine (12/7)

– 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!