Author: Nicole Thompson

June and July Club Contests Reminders & Resources

Happy Hump Day Brewers! Congrats to our inaugural American Wheat contest champions from the May meeting – A.J., Gary H., and Dan C. – and big thanks to Dave R. for organizing and executing the judging.

We’ve gotten some questions about upcoming club contests so see below for prep and submission details, and for some (hopefully) helpful links for adulterating your July submissions.

JUNE – Big Sticky Red IPA: This club contest will be decided by our friends at Woodland Empire and the winner will be announced during our club meeting at the brewery on June 9th. To participate you must 1) be a paid SRB member, 2) brew a batch of Big Sticky Red IPA, and 3) drop off two 12-ounce bottles at Woodland Empire by no later than Saturday, May 28th!! For additional details on this contest, check out the fact sheet here.

JULY – Herb/Spice Brew: This club contest is going to be free and easy, just like summer ought to be. That means the rules are fairly simple – submit any kind of brew (e.g., beer, cider, mead, etc.) to which you have added some type of herb or spice. Use your best judgement as to what constitutes an herb or spice if you are unsure (typically does not include fruit, vegetables, or anything illegal). To participate you must 1) be a paid SRB member, 2) brew an herb/spice entry, and 3) bring six 12-ounce bottles or three 22-ounce bottles to the club meeting at HBS on July 14th. For additional details on this contest, check out the fact sheet here.

If you are interested in making an herb/spice creation but aren’t sure where to start, check out a few of the resources below to get the creative juices flowing and make decisions about the best method for getting herb/spice flavors into your brew:

How to Brew with Herbs and Spices

Brewing with Herbs and Spices

Stone Brewing’s Herb and Spice Guide (with recommendations on addition amounts)

Kick-Off of Club Contests and Brewer of the Year

Thanks to everyone who came out last night for our monthly meeting hosted at Mother Earth Nampa!

As we touched on briefly, we’re kicking off (nearly) monthly contests to help inspire members to brew more, try out new styles and techniques, and to foster some good ol’ fashioned brewer rivalry. All in the name of beer education, of course.

For those who missed last night’s meeting, or didn’t get a handout, be sure to check out our new Club Contests Overview document that explains the points accumulation rules by contest type and covers how we will be awarding various “brewer of the year” honors each December moving forward!

To get us started, our first monthly contest will take place during our monthly meeting on May 12. The theme for our inaugural contest is BJCP Category 1D: American Wheat Beer, a light, crushable, and Spring-appropriate style. We encourage you to participate either individually (or in teams!) to craft a perfect American Wheat pint that stays within the official guidelines, but expresses your unique take on this modern classic style. Need some inspiration to get started? Check out Beer and Brewing or Brew Your Own for some ideas. This contest will be decided by popular vote during the bottleshare hour, with points awarded for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd places. You’ve got two months, so get brewing!!

We’ll also work to announce monthly themes/contests at least 2-3 months in advance moving forward so everyone has time to prepare. And we’ll populate the calendar and meeting agendas with contest information as we lock it in, so be sure to check that out regularly.

Any questions, concerns, or ideas for a contest, please reach out to me or to our newly anointed Contest Director, Dave Reish. Leave a message here or find us on FB or Discord.

BJCP Tasting Exam Practice Session (3/16)

Hello aspiring BJCP judges!

Now that Beer School has ended, we know some of you may be looking for some final ways to prepare for the Tasting Exam on 3/19. If you are interested in getting together for some live beer judging practice sessions, we are tentatively planning to set something up for the evening of Wednesday, March 16th. 

We will meet at a brewery and order beer flights of some classic styles that might be expected to show up on exam day. We’ll walk through some judging best practices, complete scoresheets individually, and discuss our impressions and scores. Practice makes perfect!

Exact time and location are TBD and will be confirmed once we have a sense of who wants to attend (and where everyone lives). Scoresheets and some extra writing implements will be provided but you’ll be responsible for your own beer. 

Please note that this is NOT A SOCIAL EVENT and probably won’t be fun for you if you aren’t actually interested in either preparing for the tasting exam, or at least building some formal judging skills. 

If you are interested, please email me directly (thompson.nic@gmail.com) and let me know whether 3/16 works (we can consider alternate dates), and where you’ll be coming from so I can select an equally inconvenient location for most.

Cheers!

March 10, 2022 Meeting @ Mother Earth Brew Co. in Nampa

Our next meeting is around the corner! Join us at Mother Earth’s Nampa location for an action-packed agenda and Q&A session with co-owner Daniel Love! New or potential members always welcome.

We will be covering legislative updates, our upcoming BJCP exam, an April Hop Farm visit, the rollout of club contests, and so much more. Don’t forget to bring your bottles for the post-meeting bottleshare. See the detailed agenda in the Google Calendar invite.

When: Thurs, March 10th, 2022 (6-7p Happy Hour, Meeting starts @7p)

Where: MEBC-Nampa (1428 Madison Ave, Nampa, ID, 83687)