July 2024 Club Meeting

SPHBC logo Drinky the Viking.

Not a club member? Not a problem!
Just stop on by. This meeting. Another meeting. Whenever it works for you. Meetings are informal and tend to last about two hours or so.

This meeting: Tuesday, July 16th
Two Steves, Two AHA Meadmakers of the Year*
Steve Fletty and Steve Piatz will be talking about backsweetening and stabilizing meads.  Bring your meads, bring your questions.
(*SPHBC has five AHA Meadmakers of the Year winning seven times going to 2005, btw).

The Minnesota State Fair competion is online! SPHBC typically has a big turnout both submitting entries and help with judging. As of Friday the 12th, they’re over halfway (240 entries) to the cap of 400 paid entries. Get involved on either side of some of the State Fair competition and other local comps, submitting entries as well as stewarding or judging (see Dave’s Club Communique sent to the club email list for local competitions and more information).

Brew for Good registration is up open for the September 10th event and our goal is a half-dozen SPHBC offerings. We can serve bottles as well as kegged to expand our repertoire. Additionally, there will be an “Alpha King” contest featuring Columbus Cryo hops from Yakima Chief Hops. Register here.

The 2024 membership cards are in, and as such, a monthly reminder about 2024 club dues :https://sphbc.org/product/membership-for-2024/

As usual, bring your latest and greatest homebrew, mead, cider, cyser and whatnot for sampling and feedback – bring your notebooks. Leave your ego at home.

Location:
Falling Knife Brewing:
783 Harding St NE #100, Minneapolis, MN 55413

We’ll assemble before 7 in the taproom; feel free to support Falling Knife by grabbing a beer beforehand. When we have the group together, we’ll head to the back of the brewery, by the packaging area (Thanks, Tom!)

June 2024 Club Meeting

SPHBC logo Drinky the Viking.

Not a club member? Not a problem!
Just stop on by. This meeting. Another meeting. Whenever it works for you. Meetings are informal and tend to last about two hours or so.

This meeting: Tuesday, June 11th, 7 – 9 p.m.
This month, a Best Bitter Brew the Style Battle Royale. Bring your best Best Bitter (11B)! Also, let Dave know through the club email list if you made one so we have an idea of how many we’ll be judging. 

Following up from the May meeting, Dave be quizzing people to see who actually broke down their brewing gear and cleaned the gross parts that they never look at. 

The 2024 membership cards are in, and as such, a monthly reminder about 2024 club dues :https://sphbc.org/product/membership-for-2024/

As usual, bring your latest and greatest homebrew, mead, cider, cyser and whatnot for sampling and feedback – bring your notebooks. Leave your ego at home.

Location:
The very kind folks at Bent Brewstillery (https://tinyurl.com/bentBrewstillery) have invited us to have this month’s meeting at their place! Bring cash or your credit card for some of Kris’ great beers and Bartley’s great spirits and remember to tip well.

May 2024 Club Meeting

Image of Drinky the Viking.

Not a club member? Not a problem!
Just stop on by. This meeting. Another meeting. Whenever it works for you. Meetings are informal and tend to last about two hours or so.

This meeting: Tuesday, May 7th, 7 – 9 p.m.
This month’s topic: Steve has a schedule conflict, so Dave Bance will be talking about cleaning and sanitation in the parts of the brewery kit and fermentation/ kegging equipment that people don’t clean often enough, or even don’t think to clean.

The 2024 membership cards are in, and as such, a monthly reminder about 2024 club dues. This gets you guilt-free SPHBC benefits and merriment, and any other deals which might be scrounged up. Click here to get yourself back in the club’s good graces:https://sphbc.org/product/membership-for-2024/

As usual, bring your latest and greatest homebrew, mead, cider, cyser and whatnot for sampling and feedback – bring your notebooks. Leave your ego at home.

Location:
Northern Brewer World Headquarters – 2221 MN-36, Roseville, MN (https://tinyurl.com/NBheadquarters)

April 2024 Club Meeting

SPHBC logo Drinky the Viking.

Not a club member? Not a problem!
Just stop on by. This meeting. Another meeting. Whenever it works for you. Meetings are informal and tend to last about two hours or so.

This meeting: Tuesday, April 2nd, 7 – 9 p.m.
This month’s topic: Aric Daul and Garrick van Buren talking about brewing sugars, potentially with some home-made examples if they work out. 

The 2024 membership cards are in, and as such, a monthly reminder about 2024 club dues. This gets you guilt-free SPHBC benefits and merriment, and any other deals which might be scrounged up. Click here to get yourself back in the club’s good graces:https://sphbc.org/product/membership-for-2024/

As usual, bring your latest and greatest homebrew, mead, cider, cyser and whatnot for sampling and feedback – bring your notebooks. Leave your ego at home.

Location:
Northern Brewer World Headquarters – 2221 MN-36, Roseville, MN (https://tinyurl.com/NBheadquarters)

March 2024 Club Meeting

SPHBC logo Drinky the Viking.

Not a club member? Not a problem!
Just stop on by. This meeting. Another meeting. Whenever it works for you. Meetings are informal and tend to last about two hours or so.

This meeting: Tuesday, March 5th, 7 – 9 p.m.
This month’s topic is Luke Frolek talking about his nanobrewery/homebrew shop concept in the old NB St. Paul location. Should be lively conversation if you’ll be as forthcoming with the in-person feedback as you were on the listserv emails. 

The 2024 membership cards are in, and as such, a monthly reminder about 2024 club dues. This gets you guilt-free SPHBC benefits and merriment, and any other deals which might be scrounged up. Click here to get yourself back in the club’s good graces:https://sphbc.org/product/membership-for-2024/

As usual, bring your latest and greatest homebrew, mead, cider, cyser and whatnot for sampling and feedback – bring your notebooks. Leave your ego at home.

Location:
Northern Brewer World Headquarters – 2221 MN-36, Roseville, MN (https://tinyurl.com/NBheadquarters)

The Results are in … Valkyries Horn 2024 Amateur Mead Competition

February 19th – 24th
Fridley, Minnesota

Best of Show – Mead
Steve Fletty – Silver Medal (Semi-Sweet Pyment), Chateau Fletty

Mead
Steve Fletty – Bronze Medal (Dry Mead), Chateau Fletty Clover Blossom Select

Cyser
Steve Fletty – Silver Medal (Semi-Sweet Mead), Apple Sauced

Pyment
Steve Fletty – Gold Medal (Semi-Sweet Pyment), Chateau Fletty

Dry Berry
Jeremy Olsen – Bronze Medal (Dry Berry), Raspberry Beret

Stone Fruit
Steve Fletty – Gold Medal (Semi-Sweet Stone Fruit), Cherry Tupelo

Melomel: Dry and Semi-Sweet
Steve Fletty – Gold Medal (Semi-Sweet Melomel), Mo Passion Mo Problems

Full results: https://comp.valkyrieshorn.com/

Between the Bluffs Homebrew Competition 2024

The 2024 Between The Bluffs Homebrew Competition is organized by The La Crosse Area Grain Enthusiasts & Related Specialties (LAGERS), La Crosse, WI.

Key Dates:
Registration: 1/15 – 3/20
Entry Dropoff: 2/1 – 3/20
Judging: 3/23
Awards: 4/27 (Southside Oktoberfest Grounds, La Crosse, WI)

More information:
https://laxlagers.brewingcompetitions.com/

February 2024 Club Meeting

SPHBC logo Drinky the Viking.

Not a club member? Not a problem!
Just stop on by. This meeting. Another meeting. Whenever it works for you. Meetings are informal and tend to last about two hours or so.

This meeting: Tuesday, February 6th, 7 – 9 p.m.
This month’s topic is a demonstration of Dave’s cold-side practices to avoid oxygen pickup in both kegging and bottling.

The new club shirts are in! If you put in a shirt order, be sure to show up to the February club meeting to get your shirt or whatever merch you ordered through Joe. Thanks to Joe for volunteering to help out on this!

As usual, bring your latest and greatest homebrew, mead, cider, cyser and whatnot for sampling and feedback – bring your notebooks.

Location:
Northern Brewer World Headquarters – 2221 MN-36, Roseville, MN (https://tinyurl.com/NBheadquarters)

January 2024 Club Meeting

SPHBC logo Drinky the Viking.

Not a club member? Not a problem!
Just stop on by. This meeting. Another meeting. Whenever it works for you. Meetings are informal and tend to last about two hours or so.

This meeting: Tuesday, January 9th, 7 – 9 p.m.
NOTE THAT THIS IS NOT THE FIRST TUESDAY OF THE MONTH (as is the usual)

Meeting Agenda
This month, the long-anticipated Brew the Style meeting featuring British and Irish stouts, categories 15 and 16.

BUT HERE’S THE BONUS: Northern Brewer General Manager Todd Jackson wants to do a test run of will-call pickups at our meeting.

That’s right- pick up at NB at a club meeting with no shipping cost, just like the old days!

How great is that?!

Orders must be placed online by midnight, Sunday, January 7th; orders will be ready to pick up at the January meeting at 7 p.m. SPBHC members – the club listserv message sent out by Dave Bance on December 19th on the step-by-step to place your order by midnight Sunday, January 7th, to pick up at Tuesday night at the meeting.

Location:
Northern Brewer World Headquarters – 2221 MN-36, Roseville, MN (https://tinyurl.com/NBheadquarters)