Author: Ron

The Results are In … 2023 Minnesota State Fair Homebrew Competition

SPHBC logo Drinky the Viking.

Summit Brewing, St. Paul, Minnesota
August 18th-19th

Best of Show – Mead: Steve Fletty, Chateau Fletty (M2B: Pyment)

Beers:
Nick Stevens, Gold, American Lager – Dog Days
Dave Bance, Silver, Kolsch – Tall Koln One
Ross Winberg, Bronze, British Bitter and Brown – Triumph Bitter
Aric Daul, Gold, American Wheat – Mistral Wheat
Ross Winberg, Gold, Stout – MacKlay’s Oat Malt Stout
Ron Fitch, Silver, Stout – Imperial Stout
Garrick Van Buren, Bronze, Belgian & French – White
Garrick Van Buren, Gold, Monastic Ale – Single
Art Arsenault (co-brewers: Jeff Ciskowski, Jim Bannon, Ross Winberg) Gold, Specialty & Alternative – Norwegian Ale

Ciders:
Aric Daul, Gold, Specialty Cider – George

Meads:
James Bannon, Bronze, Traditional Mead – Trad Dry Goldenrod
Steve Fletty, Gold, Fruit – Cyser/Pyment – Chateau Fletty
Steve Fletty, Silver, Fruit – Berry/Stone Fruit/Melomel, Berry Patch
Steve Fletty, Silver, Fruit – Berry/Stone Fruit/Melomel, Passionista
Steve Fletty, Gold, Spice & Specialty Mead – Trio

Complete results: https://www.mnstatefair.brewcomp.com/
(results open in new window)

August 2023 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, August 1st, 7 – 9 p.m.

Meeting Agenda
Egads! It’s August already? Where did July go? Where did June go? Where did my youthful optimism and hope go? Down the drain with that infected patersbier, that’s where.

This month, we discuss the upcoming Club Brew the Style Challenge for November. What will it be? You decide … at this meeting. And, Art is leading a discussion on how to make Hop Water. Plus the typical nonsense that one expects at a Saint Paul Homebrewers club meeting.

Location
SPHBC is back at Northern Brewer on Grand Avenue (https://tinyurl.com/NBStPaul)! Northern Brewer is kindly keeping the door open for this meeting in their Grand Avenue store (thankyouverymuch!) and is happy to honor your SPHBC discount on supplies while there (and, again, the next day, when you are back to pick up the Starsan or bottle caps or whatever you forgot to buy during the meeting).

Thank you Northern Brewer!

Other Stuff
Bring your beers and your meads and your ciders and your cysers – oh my – for sharing and feedback. Bring your notes and leave your ego at home.

July 2023 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 11th, 7 – 9 p.m.

Meeting Agenda
It’s the Club Challenge! This one is Cream Ale (BJCP Category 1C) – bring your entries and your notes and be ready to taste and vote! Plus the typical nonsense that one expects at a Saint Paul Homebrewers club meeting.

Location
SPHBC is back at Northern Brewer on Grand Avenue (https://tinyurl.com/NBStPaul)! Northern Brewer is kindly keeping the door open for this meeting in their Grand Avenue store (thankyouverymuch!) and is happy to honor your SPHBC discount on supplies while there (and, again, the next day, when you are back to pick up the Starsan or bottle caps or whatever you forgot to buy during the meeting).

Thank you Northern Brewer!

Other Stuff
Bring your beers and your meads and your ciders and your cysers – oh my – for sharing and feedback. Bring your notes and leave your ego at home.

2023 Minnesota State Fair Competition

Open to Minnesota residents only. Limited to 400 paid entries.

Account registration: Now Open
Entry Registration: Now Open
Judge and Stewart Registration: Now Open
Entry Drop-off (local)/Shipments Accepted: June 30th – July 28th
Judging: August 18th and 19th at Summit Brewing in St. Paul

All of the details are at https://www.mnstatefair.brewcomp.com/ (opens in a new tab or window)

The Results Are In … 2023 AHA First Round of the AHA National Homebrew Competion

Judging in March and April with all results posted in May.

Beers:
(Chicago First Round)
Nicholas Stevens, First Place, Category 1  – Pale American Beer
Nicholas Stevens, Second Place, Category 1  – Pale American Beer
Dave Bance, Third Place, Category 2  – Pale European Beer
Dave Bance, Third Place, Category 3  – Pilsner

(Kansas City First Round)
Aric Daul, Third Place, Category  5 – Amber European

Meads:
(Indianapolis First Round)
Steve Fletty, First Place, Category 34  – Traditional
Jeremy Olsen, Third Place, Category 34  – Traditional
Steve Fletty, First Place, Category 35  – Cyser & Pyment
Steve Fletty, First Place, Category 36  – Fruit Mead
Steve Fletty, First Place, Category 37  – Spice Mead
Steve Fletty, First Place, Category 38  – Specialty Mead

Results:
https://www.homebrewersassociation.org/national-homebrew-competition/winners/

June 2023 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 6th, 7 – 9 p.m.

Meeting Agenda
Beer tasting 101, discussion and demonstration led by Joe Gerteis. Plus the regular SPHBC tomfoolery and hijinks.

Location
SPHBC is back at Northern Brewer on Grand Avenue (https://tinyurl.com/NBStPaul)! Northern Brewer is kindly keeping the door open for this meeting in their Grand Avenue store (thankyouverymuch!) and is happy to honor your SPHBC discount on supplies while there (and, again, the next day, when you are back to pick up the Starsan or bottle caps or whatever you forgot to buy during the meeting).

Thank you Northern Brewer!

Other Stuff
Bring your beers and your meads and your ciders and your cysers – oh my – for sharing and feedback. Bring your notes and leave your ego at home.

May 2023 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, May 2nd, 7 – 9 p.m.

Meeting Agenda
Garrick will be discussing his wild yeast harvesting project and a discussion about Cream Ale (BJCP style 1C), the upcoming SPHBC Brew The Style (BTS) challenge for the July meeting (get busy!). Plus the regular SPHBC nonsense.

Location
SPHBC is back at Northern Brewer on Grand Avenue (https://tinyurl.com/NBStPaul)! Northern Brewer is kindly keeping the door open for this meeting in their Grand Avenue store (thankyouverymuch!) and is happy to honor your SPHBC discount on supplies while there (and, again, the next day, when you are back to pick up the Starsan or bottle caps or whatever you forgot to buy during the meeting).

Thank you Northern Brewer!

Other Stuff
Bring your beers and your meads and your ciders and your cysers – oh my – for sharing and feedback. Bring your notes and leave your ego at home.

April 2023 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: THURSDAY, April 6th, 6 – 8 p.m.

Meeting Agenda
We have an exciting schedule change for April, meeting at Summit for a presentation and tour of Summit’s Quality Control lab on Thursday, April 6th, at 6 p.m. That’s THURSday – not Tuesday – and at 6 p.m.

Here’s the plan: 
Summit Brewing QA/QC laboratory, hosted by Zach Quandt, Quality Assurance Manager, on Thursday April 6 at 6 – 8 p.m.

Zach will share a presentation on “The role of the QA/QC lab in the process of beer manufacturing” (~40 min) in a conference room followed by Q&A. This will be followed by a visit to the Summit laboratory where Zach will demonstrate some common commercial tests (alcohol, SRM, turbidity, maybe IBU) on a pre-selected bottle(s) of homebrew, then wrapping up back at the Ratskeller.

We can bring home brew for exchanges, but we can only drink beverages from Summit. 

Final reminder: Everyone should be in Ratskeller at 6 p.m. sharp.

Location
The Ratskeller at Summit Brewing Company is St. Paul (map: https://tinyurl.com/SummitBrewingCompany)

Other Stuff
We can bring home brew for exchanges, but we can only drink beverages from Summit. 

March 2023 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 7th, 7 p.m. – 9 p.m.!

Meeting Agenda
The topic of the meeting is to discuss the next Brew The Style (BTS) club competition – Cream Ale – which will occur at the July meeting.

Location
The very kind folks – mostly Bart, if we are honest – 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 and tip well.

Other Stuff
As always, if you have some homebrew or mead or cider (or whatever), bring it! Along your recipe and brewing notes.  Leave your ego at home.