From the club President. 

It was heartening to again being elected as your President for a second term at last months AGM.

I’d like to thank those members that have given their time to help guide the club over previous years but have decided to stand aside.
Chris Duckworth, Roger Cheesman, Ian Tomlin, Ed  Svalbe and Hong Lin Lim have devoted time and effort and again thank you

We welcome Craig Bates to the team. Craig has volunteered to take on two positions, competitions and social. Both positions require the backing of the members to make a successful year so get behind him and help him make a difference

I’d also like to thank those that continue to serve our club.
John Keske is taking on a dual role as secretary and membership.
Tom is also taking a dual role continuing with sponsorship where he excelled last year as well as treasurer. Dave continues with the newsletter, as does Braden with the website. Andy backs up again with his wealth of knowledge as the Ordinary Member.

We still have a vacancy  for a Vice President so if you would like to have an involvement on our committee please make an approach, the position doesn’t come with a lot of work, responsibility or additional time.

Our dinner is fast approaching at William Angliss. We could still do with some additional kegs being brewed. In response the club will pay for your dinner ticket at the function
This is always a fun night so set aside Friday night August 17.

For the club to succeed we require input, ideas and anything that can keep our members interested and involved so if you have any thoughts let us know.

This month Hayden Henderson is to give us a talk on water and we have an in-house pale ale competition.

Next months meeting (August) is off site at at Keg King where members will be given a discount on any purchase made on the night.

Hope to see you along Wednesday at Pete’s warehouse.

Ian Bennett
President

The next meeting, 25th July.

Julys meeting is back at the warehouse again, Unit 11/12 Edina RD, Ferntree Gully VIC 3156.

Hayden Henderson will be giving a talk on water chemistry and don't forget to bring your competition entry for our American Pale Ale Comp.

Brewer of the month.

This months brewer is....Braden Jackman

Tell us a little about who you are.

Hi, I'm 33 years old and grew up in the northern suburbs of Melbourne and I currently work at Telstra in Media & Cloud Engineering. Historically have worked on sports based video encoding platforms (E.g. Video content on the AFL website) and currently managing a new shiny Cloud platform.  Recently married, no kids (yet) and a cat who is probably more demanding than a child when he wants to be.

When did you join the Melbourne Brewers and what do you like about being in the Club?

I joined around 2010~ after completing the BCJP study group which Andy held with Pete at the warehouse.  I guess it was a natural progression to start attending meetings with a few of the existing members from the BJCP study group.

When and why did you decide to give brewing a try? 

 Around when I turned 18, what started as a little bit of fun (and cheap alcohol) with a friend, went south after a couple of batches and we threw in the towel.  Around my 22nd birthday I decided to get back into home brewing.  I quickly jumped to all grain and never looked back.

Do you brew kit, extract, all grain or a combination?

 99% of the time all grain with the exception being the GYKO (get your kit off) competition we run annually at the club.

How many batches are you up to? 

Pushing close to 200.

What’s your favourite style to brew?

  I generally have on hand a few KGs of new world hops so any of the *PA styles are generally on rotation.  its not out of place for me to throw 500G or so of hops at 40Ls of wort.  I don't enjoy brewing lagers but my results are always great which kind of drives me to brew them more as of late. I've also being brewing a lot of Brett tainted beers lately, I love experiencing their evolution as I work my way through the bottles/kegs.

Is that also your favourite style to drink?

Depends on the phase of the moon.  Generally my go to will be an IPA but I'm also partial to Porters and English bitters when I can get my hands on a good one.

Do you have a favourite store bought beer?  

Generally no, however I can say I dont think I've ever had a beer make such an impression on me as Russian River Consecration did the first time I had it at their brewery. (Supplication was a very close second.).  

What system do you brew with? 

 A Frankenstein home made 2 keg mash/kettle combo, an electric tea kettle based HERMS and a 40L aluminium pot I use as a HLT.

What’s your favourite brewing gadget/tool?

After being a No-Chill fiend for several years I never thought I'd say my plate chiller! I love it.

What’s been your best highlight since you started brewing?

Taking out champion brewer at VICBREW for 2017 and having 2 of my 4 placing beers also place in Nationals.

What would be your best tip for others?

I'll go with tips. Never cut corners with cleanliness and sanitation, fresh grain and hops should be a priority, always pitch the right amount of healthy fresh yeast and never be afraid to have fun with experimentation.

What do you love about brewing that keeps you picking up the paddle?

Experimentation, trying new styles and... science!

When you’re not brewing, how do you spend the rest of your spare time?

Im pretty obsessive with anything fermented or cured and spend a lot of free time cooking.  There is generally at least one day of the week which is consumed with AFL or cricket depending on the season.  I've also come to love powerlifting / strength training over the past couple of years.  What started as a way to try and break the cycle of having a horrible posterior chain, lower back and sciatica by working in a sedentary job has started to become somewhat of an obsession.  (Also a hot tip for anyone who has these problems, heavy lifting works!)

Beers!

Beerfest 2018.

 Our sponsors  put up some fantastic prizes this year in support of the Home Brewing Community. Lets show them some love back and get behind them when you next do your shopping or recommend a store to a new brewer. It's these sponsors that keep our competitions running so lets return the favour and support them any way you can!

Our major sponsors:

 Lame beer joke of the month.

Woman: Do you drink beer?

Man: Yes

Woman: How many beers a day?

Man: Usually about 3

Woman: How much do you pay per beer?

Man: $5.00 which includes a tip

Woman: And how long have you been drinking?

Man: About 20 years, I suppose

Woman: So a beer costs $5 and you have 3 beers a day which puts your spending each month at $450. In one year, it would be approximately $5400 …correct?

Man: Correct

Woman: If in 1 year you spend $5400, not accounting for inflation, the past 20 years puts your spending at $108,000, correct?

Man: Correct

Woman: Do you know that if you didn't drink so much beer, that money could have been put in a step-up interest savings account and after accounting for compound interest for the past 20 years, you could have now buy a Ferrari?

Man: Do you drink beer?

Woman: No

Man: What color is your Ferrari?

The Old Dick.

Since 1999, the Club Brewer of the Year trophy has been an unusual mechanical device, affectionately known as “The Old Dick”.

The trophy was built about 22 years ago by former Member Dick Seville who was a popular and eccentric Member of the Melbourne Brewers and the ABAV which preceded it. “The Old Dick” is designed to hold a 750ml bottle of beer and to gradually tilt it in order to pour the contents without disturbing the sediment, thereby obtaining a crystal clear beer.

Dick an engineer by trade would regularly take the device with him when dining at BYO restaurants and drinking his own beers, mostly bottle conditioned brown ales.

Longstanding Members will remember Dick as the quietly spoken gentleman who would bring a large plate of cheese and onion sandwiches to every club meeting which would be unveiled late at each meeting after the standard Club nibbles had been consumed. These would rapidly be devoured and were a traditional part of Club meetings for many years.

Dick was an inventive guy having a hand in building one of the first commercial washing machines ever built in Australia. Unfortunately, Dick passed away several years ago but much of his brewing equipment was donated and subsequently auctioned by the Club so many current Members have equipment designed and built by Dick and his legacy lives on.

The Old Dick was donated by Dick’s family and Colin Penrose. So next time you see “The Old Dick” remember that it, like our Club, has a rich history built on the efforts of eccentric good blokes like Dick Seville.

The Old Dick is a prestigious award given to the Club Brewer of the Year, based on all the members points tallied from all competitions entered. First, Second and Third all generate points to determine who gets to be this years Brewer of the Year.

The Annual Dinner.

Set to be held this year on Friday the 17th of August at the William Angliss Institute on Little Lonsdale Street, it's sure to be a great night. Make sure you have crossed off the day in your calendar and consider brewing for the night. 

Membership.

Your membership comes with these great benefits plus many others so support the club and help keep it going.

Things to keep you busy.

Upcoming club events.

The Annual Dinner is set to be on Friday the 17th of August at William Angliss.

Get a brew happening for:

Vicbrew 2018, 22nd and 23rd of September.

26th of September, Internal Competition on Bitter Ale.

Octoberfest by Bayside, 13th October.

28th of November, Internal competition on Pale Lager.

Go to our Calendar and sync it with your own so you never miss an event.

Get some reading done after you buy some books through our book depository link.

Last but far from least, help keep the Club alive and don't forget to pay your membership fees for this financial year!