February 2011 Hot Break

In This Issue
From the President
Mo Presents at Ignite Phx 9
Brewer(s) at Large
SpringFest Update
NHC 2011 Transportation
Important Feb General Meeting Info

Events

2011 Strong Beer Fest
Saturday Feb. 19, 1pm-5pm

Sunday, Feb. 20, 4:30pm-7:30pm


Sunday, Feb. 27, 8am-2pm

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Greetings!  

Whoa, is February a crazy month or what! We're getting off to a strong start with big events at the beginning of the month, and a whole lot of big events at the end of the month. Read on for a break down of what's been happening, what's happening now and what's happening next.

From the President
By Rob Fullmer
ASH President Rob Fullmer
It's February and I'm happy to report that the By-Law changes were passed last month. We needed 50% of our eligible members to vote and we exceeded that number by 20 votes. We'll be setting up stations to collect your mandatory 50% homebrew tithe to ASH as per Section 13 of the Homebrew Reclamation Act.

 

Well of course, I am joking. (And if anyone is curious, our By-Laws are detailed and explained here.) But it is true that we need your delicious homebrew for our upcoming events- more on that in a bit. Since it's February, I'm going to break it all down with a Love Theme!

Show Your Club Some Love
The new By-laws enable us to appoint some board members to help us to manage our expanded Committees. Remember, this is the year that we all get involved. We really do have some exciting things coming up and we're going to need your help. This makes our By-laws the sexiest By-Laws ever written. Name a sexier By-law than that. You can't. If you have been asking about a spot on our team and haven't been contacted yet, please send me an email right now at president@azhomebrewers.org. I'll wait right here. Really, I won't say another word without you.

Remember at the last meeting when I asked how many of you think about beer every day? Every day. Well, this is the month bruthas (and sistas)! We have these Arizona Beer Week Events for you to enjoy and volunteer:

 

And there's a whole smattering of them here too.  Our request to you is that you enjoy them and let people know you are an ASHer. Answer their questions. Dazzle them with your brilliance. After all, you are an expert- you make beer.  Unless you're going to be an ASHhole... then you might want to keep your face in your glass. C'mon. We gave you the 14th, and we moved the meeting from the 15th to the 22nd, just so you could spend time with your... uh.. second love!

Tough Love
It's a shame that I have to be such a cheerleader for one of the greatest events you can attend as a homebewer. It's a greater shame if it sells out before you read this.  But as of Jan 24th, the conference is ⅔ sold out. You need to make a this conference your Valentine right now and get on the bus. ASH is not going to set up any kind of bus deals without your heart-shaped backside married and committed to a seat! That's the tough love.

We Love Your Beer
Speaking of Love, here's where your beer needs to be in the near future:
  • Your Double Red's need to report to the February General meeting on the 22nd. Bring two bottles for the Homebrewer of the Year Comp and the rest to pass around for our taste off. Remember also to bring a plastic bottle for sensory analysis. Can we beat the Pros? (without making them cry?)
  • You should also be working on your Bocks for the club only comp. Last Year's HBoY, Ken Forrey has thrown down the gauntlet.
  • The BA Great Arizona Homebrew Competition and the Mead Cup are in March.
  • NHC 2011 First Round Entries will be due March 30th in San Diego. We are tracking what ASHers will be entering because we'd like to send the entries off in style. We're looking to have someone drive them to Alesmith (or at the very least bulk-ship them.) If you know what you are going to enter, chip in here. [need thread and link]
  • As always we'll be looking for your K�lschs for the Mark Helms Kaptains Kup and all of your heat-beating mouth-quenching beers at our May Springfest.
  • Also ever looming is our keg committment for the AHA Club Night and hospitality suite in June.


Remember, February is a short month, so make your passion known!

Salud!

Rob

 



ASH in the News
By Tom Boggan

This week a few familiar faces made appearances on local TV and in print.  

Fox 10 shot a segment at SanTan brewing and Rob Fullmer's house with ASH members Barry Weeg and Ken Forrey making cameos. Watch it here.
 


Rob also teamed up with Andy at Four Peaks to promote brewing, homebrewing and the Arizona Beer Week on Channel 3. Check it out here.

Kevin Masaryk was interviewed by the Arizona Republic for an article on a judging event and BJCP. Barry Weeg is in the photo that accompanies the story online.

Mo Presents At Ignite Phoenix #9
By Maureen Basenberg

Mo, @azgirlspintout, Presenting at Ignite Phoenix 9
Image courtesy Alex Berger (@AlexBerger)

The decision to present at Ignite came after I watched Rob Fullmer do his presentation Let's Put Beer On the Dinner Table for Ignite Phoenix #8. He did a great job expressing the reasons beer needs to be thought of as an accompaniment to fine cuisine. After seeing his presentation I was inspired to share my passions for craft beer and helping women explore and learn about craft beer. I feel so passionate about how much women need those opportunities I was thrilled at the idea of being able to share this message. 

     Once I learned my presentation was accepted I worked for hours to refine the message I wanted to convey. I owe a huge thank you to my husband Hunter Basenberg for his help in researching images for the slides. Since every image needs to be properly sourced- copyright honored etc, it took a long time to find just the right slides to tell the story. 

     The day before the presentation I practiced for six hours straight, timing my comments with the slides, practicing through mistakes and getting very comfortable with the format. I was hoarse after all that! The day of Ignite I was anxious and struggled to focus on work. Presenters have to arrive at Scottsdale Center for the Arts early to check in and learn the order in which we are presenting. I studied my script again and tried my best to relax. 

     Actually being on stage was fun. The best part about Ignite is how supportive and enthusiastic the audience is. You know that even if you mess up they are going to cheer for you instead of laugh at you. It was wonderfully exciting to know that I helped people learn new things about women and beer. I also loved hearing about other people's passions. I highly recommend presenting at Ignite Phoenix. All you need is passion!


From the Editor: If you missed Mo's presentation you can still see a video of it online when it gets posted at the Ignite Phoenix website. Mo's presentation makes for the second Ignite Phx in a row that ASH had a presence on stage. It would be very cool if we can keep it rolling with a third presentation at Ignite Phoenix 10. ASH is a group of passionate people so if you want to take that passion to the stage, visit Ignite's Submission Page and submit your idea. Good Luck!



Southern Beer Tour
by Hunter Basenberg

Christmas this year was with my family in Nashville and Atlanta. My wife Mo (ASH Secretary and @AZGirlsPintOut) and I took time visit all of our favorite beer-centric spots and find new favorites. Nashville's craft beer scene is on the rise and Atlanta surprised us both with what it had to offer.

 

Jackalope Brewery Space

Our first stop was a tour of the soon to be opened Jackalope Brewing Company. Jackalope is a female run brewery set to open in 2011. They are in the process of remodeling an old carpet and flooring store in the Gulch neighborhood of Nashville. We were lucky enough to sit downwith their brewer Bailey Spaulding before her flight home for the holidays. We had a great time talking with her and learning about the unique and at times challenging process of opening abrewery. I was really impressed with all they have done and I'm sure they'll brew great beer.


The next night we went to a really cool and unique craft beer event at Nashville's Science Center called The Science of Beer. This was put on by Yazoo Brewery and one of Nashville's local craft beer distributors. The idea was to help people better understand and appreciate the science behind beer. There were areas to sample specific styles of beer and fun, interactive opportunities like testing to see if you are a "super taster."

 

Yazoo Brewery Barrels 

Mo and Hunter (not pictured) at Yazoo

On Christmas Eve we stopped by Yazoo for a private tour. It's been fun and inspirational to watch this brewery grow. Since our last visit (Thanksgiving 2009) they moved into a bigger space, added two 80bbl fermenters and a second bottling line! Oh, and won a medal at GABF for Sue, their imperial porter! Aside from Sue, I'd also highly recommend their Hop Project series

(they are up to #43). The Hop Project is a tasty ongoing experiment using different single hops and combinations.

 

On Christmas day we gave my father and little sister home-brewing kits. They're both working on their 2nd batches already!

The next day we drove to Atlanta, Ga., promptly ducking out of the snow upon arrival in The Park Tavern. Oddly, there was a skating rink next to the pub. Later that night we ventured to The Book House Pub, a cozy little pub with a great tap list- perfect on a cold night.

 


The following day started with a visit to Hop City, a fantastic craft beer and home brew store, greatly increasing the weight of our luggage in the process. Next door is the Five Seasons Brewery. We journeyed on to Decatur, stopping at Twain's Brewpub. Their Gingerbread Brown Ale was a highlight- a wonderful malty brew with gingerbread spices. Then we headed to the jewel in Georgia's craft brew crown, The Brick Store Pub. Honestly, I'm surprised we came home after visiting here. The atmosphere couldn't be more welcoming. There's 2 multi-page beer menus hanging off the end of the tables (taps in 1, cellared bottles in the other). We stuck with the amazing selection of tap beers but enjoyed reading the cellered beer menu (most expensive beer was $400!!). On top of it all, the food and service was great.


On our last day we relaxed at The Porter Beer Bar. Started by a husband and wife team. This was a wonderful, comfortable and courteous place that urged exploration with unique tasting opportunities such as a large flight of the Schmaltz Brewing Jewbelation Series.


We both had a great time & were truly surprised by all that these old southern towns had to offerfor the beer lover & home brewer. Clearly there's more to do in Nashville & Atlanta than listen to country music and change planes! 


Photos courtesy Mo and Hunter Basenberg
SpringFest Updatejerry van west
by Jerry van West

 

 

Hello fellow ASH'ers.

 

We are only 3 months away from our first great festival of the year, SpringFest, 2011. We have a great organizing committee getting all the preparations ready to make this year's event bigger and better than ever.


 

We will have lots of food, beer, soft drinks, entertainment and fun for all. This will be a family friendly event with activities for children as well as volleyball and basketball and we also will have a band strumming tunes to make you want to get up and boogie. Raffles, you ask? We will have some greatprizes to raffle off.

 

You may ask why we need a 2nd big event like Oktoberfest. The answer is simple - our club is growing at a rapid pace and we have outgrown The Lakes Clubhouse where we have had our SpringFest in the past. This is a great time for our club. Great friendships are being forged and more people are being introduced to the fine art of homebrewing. This year's SpringFest, we hope to see 400 to 600 people having a fun time.


This year, we will be in the Ruben Romero Corporate Area at Kiwanis Park in Tempe. This is wherewe also have our Oktoberfest. Mark your calendars for Saturday, May 14, 2011. If you want to help volunteer to run any booths, please send me an email at jvanwest@gmail.com.


Your $30.00 yearly club membership is your admission to this event as well as Oktoberfest and our yearly December Holiday Extravaganza. This is one of the great benefits to being a member of the Arizona Society of Homebrewers. Where else can you go to 3 monster sized events for only $30.00 per person? The beer and barbecue alone would pay for itself. This is also a great incentive to invite others to join the club. Introduce a friend, coworker or acquaintance to the art of craft beer. The mission of our club is "to preserve and promote the time-honored tradition of homebrewing, and to recognize it as a true art form through information, education, and dedicated practice."


Let's keep growing to make the beer keep flowing.


Hoppy Days,  

Jerry van West

SpringFest 2011 Committee Chairman 



NHC 2011 Transportation Update jerry van west

by Jerry van West 

 

Hello one and all.
 
Are you planning on going to San Diego in June for the National Homebrew Convention on June 16th to 18th (http://www.nhc2011.com/)? Tickets are going rather quickly. Ticketsare $230 for the full conference if you register prior to March 31st and $255 after March 31st until ticketsrun out. This price also includes the grand banquet & awards ceremony on Saturday night. Hotel spaceis booking quickly as well.

We have a great rate for a bus to and from San Diego. It will be approximately $80-100 per person andwe will be able to accommodate 30 people for the trip. This will be on a first come/first serve basis so Iwill need to know right away if you want to go on the bus. Paid RSVPs will take priority.
Let me know if you want to be on the list. Email me at jvanwest@gmail.com.

Thanks!

 

February General Meeting

The ASH General meeting will be a little different this month. Make sure you note that it starts an hour early!


Tuesday, Feb 22, 6pm-9pm
Tempe Woman's Club
1290 S. Mill Ave.
Tempe, AZ

Bring two bottles of your Double Red for the Homebrewer of the Year comp and some extra to share and compare. More details on the how and what's happening will be emailed out Sunday.
That's it for this month's Hot Break. Stay tuned for important announcements and the March edition when we'll talk yeast, Ninkasi, and more. If you visit a new brewery, find a cool beer spot, had a life-changing brewing epiphany, have a great project your working on, or anything else you'd like to mention on Hot Break, email me; editor@azhomebrewers.org

We'll see you at the General Meeting. Till then brew on and RDWHAHB


   

Sl�inte!


Your Club Board Members
ASH President Rob Fullmer
President
 - Rob Fullmer


Vice President - Ben Conner


Secretary
 - Maureen Basenberg


Treasurer - David Schollmeyer


Communications - Tom Boggan

Arizona Society of Homebrewers

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