June 2011 Hot Break

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In This Issue
From the President
NHC Info
The Big Unit
June General Meeting

Upcoming Events 

Thursday, June 9, 5pm-8pm
@ Whole Foods Chandler 

NHC 2011 San Diego
June 16-18
Towne and Country
San Diego

  June 2011 General Meeting 

Tuesday, June 21, 7pm-9pm
ASH Clubhouse (Rose Market)
2515 N. Scottsdale Rd.
Scottsdale, AZ

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Greetings!  

It's Half Time. Can you believe it's been six months already? Me neither. This has been a very fast paced year and it doesn't show any signs of slowing down, especially if you're attending the 2011 National Homebrewers Conference in San Diego June 16-18. Check our website and the NHC 2011 Group for info as we get closer to the event. If you end up not going, or you have room to give someone a ride or a place to stay, or if you need a ticket, ride or room, check out the NHC Last Minute thread.

If you're not attending, well, as your editor and fellow homebody I feel your pain. We can try drowning our sorrows together during the ASH Weekly Happy Hour Thursday night.

Speaking of the weekly happy hour, join us tonight (Thurs. June 9 that is) starting at 5pm at the Watering Hole at Whole Foods in Chandler, AZ.

From the President
By Rob Fullmer
ASH President Rob Fullmer

Things I have learned in the last six months as your President.

 

  • We have some really great brewers. A few months ago we threw down the gauntlet and asked that we make a commitment to avenge the NHC drought. We shipped off the entries and the following ASHers rose to the top and will compete in the final round.
    • Kevin Masaryk - Helles Bock
    • Sean Jennings - Spice/Herb/Veg
    • Barry Weeg - Traditional Mead
    • Barry Weeg - Specialty Cider
    • Ken Saxe - London Porter
    • Dennis Tsonis - Robust Porter
    • David Schollmeyer - Belgian Strong Dark
    • David Schollmeyer - Smoked Beer

 

Lets cross our fingers for some medals; the judging starts next Thursday in San Diego.

  • We have top notch individuals ready to make an event  special! Our Springfest was the largest ever, surpassing 250 people. The weather turned out to be a non-factor.  Jon Warren, Jeff Eastman, Sean Ganser, Jeff Brahs, Jerry van West and Ben Conner all deserve our thanks for putting on a great event.
  • We have some great sponsors. They contribute to our events, provide us discounts, support our raffles, attend our meetings and keep us informed. Please make sure you check out our sponsors page and thank those businesses when you see them. Also, continue to whip it out, when the mood strikes you!
  • We have talented individuals with a variety of professions, skills, trades and avocations. We're looking for volunteers for various committees, electricians, accountants and graphic people for various projects. If you feel like you want to contribute more to your club and are looking for opportunities, send me an email and I'll get you started.
  • We are dozens of clubs within a club. When ever I mention our size to other clubs they are simply astounded. (That's what she said.) They have a hard time figuring out how we pull it off. (That's what she said.) Though we have a higher percentage of brewers than we have ever had, we have a number of beer enthusiasts. We have people interested in competition and judging. We have folks that just want to brew good beer-- no matter the style. We have people that are just starting out, with a thirst for more knowledge. We have grizzled veterans that want nothing more than to brew the way they've always brewed. We have people that just want to get feedback on their beers. We have a number of people that just want to socialize with other brewers. If you're not finding the club within a club that you're looking for, the best thing to do is get on our website and start asking around. If that's not your cup of tea, I encourage you to contact a Board Member or Tom Wahl, our New Member Chairperson.

    Let's take a look ahead to June.  About 30 ASHers will be heading to the NHC in San Diego. They'll have approximately 48 hours to shake out the cobwebs and come the June 21st General Meeting to regale us with stories. I'll make use of the newly acquired head cam to give you all a close look at Pro Night and Club night. We'll also have more details on the Oktoberfest T-Shirt Rally and we'll be seeing if there is interest in a late July or August bus trip to Flagstaff.

Salud!

Rob

 


NHC 2011 San Diego  

By ASH

Dennis Tsonis has been heading up organizing efforts for NHC. Here's some info that Dennis shared earlier on the website. If you haven't already, join the NHC 2011 Group and be part of the conversation.

We need help transporting kegs and gear to NHC.  If you are driving, let me know ASAP if you have room for some club stuff and/or a keg.

If you are donating a keg(s) - THANK YOU!  I need confirmation of the type of beer, the ABV, and how it is getting to NHC.  Many of you have provided this information and it is on the keg list I am attaching to this message.  If there are blanks for your beer, I need the info NOW.

It is critical that the kegs are labeled correctly.  Complete labeling instructions are on the NHC organizers website:  http://www.somelikeithoppy.com/cellar.html

We chose the extra club-marking to help identify all of our ASH kegs to be "ASH" written on the side of the keg in large letters with a sharpie - I'm told it will come off with acetone.  If you are not comfortable with this, print the word ASH in large font and tape it to the side of the keg with clear tape. Do not use red, blue, black, white or yellow tape as the cellar will be using those colors to identify where and when the kegs are to go.

We now have a serving spot for the hospitality suite.  Brewmeisters Anonymous has offered to share their time slot with us.  We will be pouring from 10:00 am Friday up until the keynote speaker at 11:30 - 12:30, and then pouring again from 12:30 until 1:00.  This is expected to be a high traffic time since it is leading up to the keynote speaker.  We will provide 6-8 kegs for the hospitality suite - if you would like your keg to pour here instead of at club night, please let me know ASAP.  We will have to label those kegs carefully so that they show up at the right place and if they don't get drained, they can be re-cellared to show up at club night.  I need a few volunteers to pour during the hospitality time slot, so let me know if you want to do this.

I'm planning on being at the ASH clubhouse to collect kegs and organize last minute details on Sunday afternoon - probably from 1:00 pm until around 3:00 pm - check the group site on Sunday for actual times.  Rob will also be there Tuesday night around 5:30 - 6:00.  If these times don't work for you call me.

I'd like to put together a directory of cell phone numbers for ASH NHC attendees, so we can communicate effectively at the conference.  If you are agreeable to share your phone number with your ASH brethren, please send me a direct message with your phone number.

Thanks to all of those who have already put a lot of time into making this a great showing for ASH.

The Big Unit

by ASH

 

I gotta say, one of the great things about having our own clubhouse is the way stuff shows up. Posters, glasses, signage, a Kegerator Clock and now the Big Unit.  

 

The. Big. Unit.  

 

It's back. Some members will remember the device from back in the day, some have only heard of it in folk lore. A device that can bring the party anywhere. A device whose mystery is only exceeded by its power, its power to cool and dispense many, many kegs of homebrew. Well, when it's working. If we have any electricians or refrigeration people in the club who want to take a shot at it, be our guest.

 

The Big Unit
The Big Unit
Big Unit Back
The Big Unit Back

Thanks to Dale Roth for dropping it off. 

June General Meeting Tuesday, June 21 7pm-9pm

The ASH General meeting will be at the new ASH Clubhouse, 2515 N. Scottsdale Rd. Scottsdale, AZ 85257.  We're in the storefront under the Rose Market sign.


Your Scottish and Irish Ales are due for the 2011 Homebrewer of the Year Competition.  The next round, Belgian and French ales, is due in August.
   
Always keep in mind, if you visit a new brewery, find a cool beer spot, had a life-changing brewing epiphany, have a great project you're working on, or anything else you'd like to mention on Hot Break, email me; editor@azhomebrewers.org. We want to see stories and photos from our members.

 

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


   

 

Sl�inte!

 

Tom


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


Vice President - Ben Conner


Secretary
 - Maureen Basenberg

Treasurer
Treasurer - David Schollmeyer


Communications - Tom Boggan

Arizona Society of Homebrewers

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