The Newsletter, January 2019

The Newsletter, January 2019

The next meeting, 30th of January. 

Will be back once again at Keg King, 2/33-35 Smith Rd, Springvale VIC 3171.  The meeting will start at 7pm but the store will be open from 6-7pm with a ten percent discount for members.

 

Brewer of the month.

This months brewer is...Tom Cooper

 

Tell us a little about who you are.
I like Pina Coladas and long walks in the rain.....
Seriously, I am in my mid thirties, working as a consulting engineer to coal fired power stations to make them run better. I have a wife and a two year old daughter, with another on the way.
When did you join the Melbourne Brewers and what do you like about being in the Club?
I joined the Melbourne Brewers in 2014 to meet other brewers and to stop boring my wife with beer facts
When and why did you decide to give brewing a try?
I started brewing kit beers in 2004 when I was at university to 'save money'. Had no idea about shiny stainless brewing items back then.
Do you brew kit, extract, all grain or a combination?
I am currently a all grain brewer.
How many batches are you up to?
Over 100 since I started being serious with all grain brewing and started to take notes.
What’s your favourite style to brew?
Brown Porter, but usually only brew it once a year. Rum oaked brown porter is my favourite at the moment.
What about your favourite style to drink?
Currently enjoying Bocks and any type of dark lager.
Do you have a favourite store bought beer?
Thomas Coopers Vintage Ale is always a good one.
What system do you brew with?
I currently use a DIY 3V Herms system, comprising of a techni ice cooler mash tun, 50L keggle (from a commercial brewer) HLT and a SS brewtech kettle. Only brew keg size batches.
I also have a 10L single vessel system for experimenting with. Last beer out of the small system was a flanders red ale.
What’s your favourite brewing gadget/tool?
My favourite tool is my control system, which I call 'the football', which is built in a plastic brief case for ultimate portablility.
My next favourite is my Tilt Hydrometer, to keep an eye of the progress of fermentation. I love having the data.
What’s been your best highlight since you started brewing?
Winning the speciality category in Vicbrew in 2017 with my whisky oaked English Barleywine. Still good today.
What about your biggest disaster?
I once left the element on in my HLT during sparge. Ran out of water and lost power to half my house!!!
What’s your favourite brewery to spend some time at. 
Always a fan of going to Beachworth Brewery for a few beers.
What would be your best tip for others?
Control your fermentation temperature.
What do you love about brewing that keeps you picking up the paddle?
Having the ability to brew something different every single batch.
When you’re not brewing, how do you spend the rest of your spare time?
If I am not brewing I am either on my bike riding somewhere or in my vege patch figuring out how to grow something different...this year, blue corn!

Beerfest 2019

Entries cut off 10am on the 9th of February.

Volunteers still needed, register your interest here.

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:

Champion Brewer - $500 voucher for Grain and Grape
Beer of Show - Prize package from Home Make It ($100 voucher, 2 x bags Viking Pilsner Malt, 2 x Fresh Wort Kits, 2 x White Labs English Ale Yeast, 2 x White Labs German Pilsner Yeast.
Best Novice - Fermentasaurus with pressure kit from Keg King
Best Club - 10 x bags Malt from Cryer Malt.
_________
Our category sponsors:
Pale Lager - $100 pack of malt, hops and yeast from Beerco
Wheat and Rye - $100 voucher from Brewers Choice
 Dark Ale and Lager - $100 voucher from Clever Brewing
Strong Ale and Lager - $100 voucher for Grain and Grape from Spiedel
Porter and Stout - Malt and Yeast from Bintani 
Pale and Bitter Ale - Malt and Yeast from Bintani 
American Pale Ale - $100 voucher from The Brewers Den 
Farmhouse and Wild - $100 voucher from Greensborough Home Brew
Speciality - $100 pack of malt, hops and yeast from Beerco

Club news.

Februarys meeting will be held this year on the Saturday evening following the festivities of Beerfest on the 23rd of February.

 Lame beer joke of the month.

Some see the glass as half empty.

Others see the glass as half full.

I just wonder who the hell is drinking my beer!

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.

Membership.

Membership Subs for 2018/19 are overdue now, please get them paid if you haven't already.
The club's preferred method of payment is online.
New members: If you believe you are not on the club mailing list, send the committee an email or bring it up with someone at a meeting to make sure we add you in.

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

BYO Magazine
 All members receive the BYO magazine as part of their yearly subscription.

(This is a great saving over an individual subscription)

Monthly Meetings

Meetings are held on the last Wednesday of each month at different locations. They are a great place to socialise, listen to talks, participate in Club competitions, BBQ's and of course taste lots of beer plus many other things.

Communications

A monthly newsletter outlining upcoming Club events and competitions as well as general Melbourne Brewers information and photos.  This gets distributed by email a few days before Club meetings.

Members are also advised of upcoming events by email. Our member email distribution is also used as a forum to discuss topics of interest and to provide brewing information amongst members.

Brew Days
Periodically, Members volunteer to have a Brew Day at their brewery and invite Club Members or guys who may be interested in brewing to have a look at how they brew, equipment used etc. Brew Days are a good way for novice brewers to learn how to make all-grain beer.

Activity Days
Every so often, days are organised for a group of members to build or assemble equipment e.g. convert kegs to boilers, make immersion chillers, yeast stir-plates, counter pressure bottle fillers, temperature controllers.

Events & Excursions
Periodically the Club organises events/trips e.g. trip to Maltings, Melbourne microbreweries, weekends away at country pubs, fishing trip.

Annual Club events include the Annual Dinner, Xmas party, Steinbeer weekend and Beerfest weekend (Club run comp).

Club Buys
Club buys (Bulk buys) of equipment offer significant savings to members.

Club Library
There is a large range of brewing books and equipment available for loan by members.

Things to keep you busy.

Get a brew happening for:

23rd of February, Beerfest 2019.

16th March, Steinbrew.

Aprils Get Your Kit Off Competition.

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