From the Club President. 

It's been an exciting time in the world of home brewing here in Melbourne with the Australian Homebrewing Conference  (ANHC) taking place at William Angliss.

The conference started off with  the Australian Amateur Brewing Championships. Entry into AABC was via being placed in VICBREW. Of the five Melbourne Brewers entered, Hayden Hendersons' Berliner Weisse was awarded third in the sour beer category. Well done Hayden.

Having spoken to Mike Pooley (First in VIC BREW with his pale ale) he conceded that the competition really rises in the national championships. Unfortunately Mike's beer went unplaced.

Australian Homebrewing Conference bought to Melbourne a number of world renowned guests to speak on various subjects including experimental  brewing duo  Drew Beechum and Denny Conn.

At the dinner Braden Jackman's Munich Dunkel  was on the pairing menu. Well done Braden. it was a big month for Braden with his German Pilsner being launched at The Mill Brewery  in Collingwood.

It was good to see Members of Melbourne Brewing along to Club night where there was more beers to be tasted that possible to drink. If the conference isn't your thing certainly think about getting along to an ANHC Club Night in future years.

The jewel in the month though was John Keske’s effort at Bayside Brewers Octoberfest beer competition where he “cleaned up” !
John won the pale ale and dark ale comps and with his Munich Dunkel won Champion beer and Champion Brewer. Great brewing John and well done.

Coming up in the not too distant future is our Christmas Party. To be held at Andy Davidsons'  place on 1st December. It should be a great finish to the year. Reserve the date and get along and bring your family.

Planning is well under way for Beerfest in February to be again being held at the warehouse. This event needs our members to be involved. It is the biggest and we want to make it the best beer Club competition in Victoria but to do justice we will need a lot of participation from our members to make it happen.

At this month's meeting Guy Denny and Michael Hewes will be demonstrating how to make a HERMS system.

So look forward to seeing you at Pete's warehouse.

Ian

President

The next meeting, 31st of October.

Will be held at Petes factory again  with a Herms demonstration being held.

Brewer of the month.

This months brewer is...Perran Cook

Tell us a little about who you are.

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.

General News

The Committee is seeking interest in the calendar again this year. Initial pricing is putting it in the $120-$130 mark for 24 interesting craft beers.

The Christmas party will again be held at Andys house this year on the 1st of December. Lock in the date and get the family enthused!

Novembers meeting is the internal lagers competition and the Saison experiment tasting session.

Bradens launch at The Mill  Brewery.

Our members celebrate with Braden at The Mill Brewery at the launch of his German Pilsner.

The Old Dick.

The current leaderboard for the  2018 trophy has in the top six in no particular order:

Perran Cook

Hayden Henderson

Ian Tomlin 

John Keske

Ian Bennett

Guy Denny

These are followed closely by everyone else, so get brewing!

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.

ANHC Club 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.

Get a brew happening for:

28th of November, Internal competition on Pale Lager.

1st of December, The Christmas Party.

23rd of February, Beerfest 2019.

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!