Matt Johnson

Looking outside I can see my raspberry bush already coming in and the flowers in the garden already starting to bloom. The smells of Summer can inspire us as we brew. The wildflowers can remind you of a traditional mead, the fresh mowed grass can bring back memories of an IPA, or maybe the flowers bring out the floral notes in an British Ordinary Bitter. Stop and smell the roses can take on a whole new meeting when it comes to home brewing. Next time you are sitting on the patio, stop and take in the aromas of Summer to motivate your next recipe.

Sinning with the Saints – August 22, 2021

The Minnesota Homebrewers Association is excited to announce that we will be taking over part of CHS Field to watch a St. Paul Saints Ballgame! On August 22, 2021 the club will be attending the game to watch the Saints take on the Iowa Cubs. If you would like to join the club in enjoying a good old fashioned ballgame, you can reserve and pay for tickets here. Tickets are $20 and include admission to the game and a fun afternoon with the MHBA!

May Final Friday Social – May 21, 2021

Make sure to mark your calendars for May 21 to join us for our May Final Friday Social. This month’s will be featuring Venn Brewing! Stay tuned for more information.

April Final Friday Recap

Questions From the Community

No Questions Yet! Don’t forget that the Minnesota Home Brewers Association offers the Hive Mind as an option to ask questions from experts the community.

In order to submit a question, fill out the form here. The information is then anonymously sent to the experts who will provide their answer(s) based on years of expertise and studies. The answer(s) will then be collated and sent back to you – its that easy! At the end of every newsletter we will include the anonymous questions and answers for everybody else to see in order to spread the wealth of knowledge.

Hearing Voices

The following is a curated list of what we’re reading, listening to, and thinking about in the world of beer, mead, and cider this week:

• Ale Adventures discusses some of the Minnesota breweries that have joined the campaign to bring mental health awareness through the “Things We Don’t Say” IPA
• Steal This Beer chats with Zach Nichols (Cellar West Artisan Ales) about his journey from small bottle shop in Madison, WI to starting his own beer company
• Michael Stein from Good Beer Hunting unravels the history of Culmbacher, an extinct American dark lager

As the season changes, so does most of our brewing tendencies. As the weather warms up and we can see some sun / warmth on the horizon, I know I am starting to look at some of the lighter styles that go well after a day outside. After finishing up an oak Dubbel, I am now planning on some lighter, refreshing beers that can be enjoyed after spending the day getting the yard ready for the greener days ahead. Potentially a Kolsch, maybe a Cream Ale, or perhaps an American Wheat Ale – any favorite summer beers folks are planning?

April Final Friday Social Reminder

1. Northwest Session IPA – a NW-style IPA brewed to meet our refined Minnesota palates. Can you guess how they managed such a feat? (Wrong answers only.) This beer is available in cans.
2. Brut IPA. For every action there is a reaction. This style was a refreshing but brief reaction to the rise of NEIPA. Deb will offer advice on brewing this style. This beer is available in crowlers at the brewery.

MHBA Spring Home Brew Review Recap

Another Home Brew Review is in the books! On Saturday April 17th some of the best home brewers in Minnesota came together to share, sample, and learn about the beers / meads / ciders that everyone has been making at Forgotten Star Brewing. With both veteran MHBA and new joiners coming together under one tent, everyone voted on their favorites of the afternoon.

The People’s Choice Winners were:

• Beer: Kevin Meintsma’s English Barleywine
• Mead / Cider: Kevin Meintsma’s Black Currant Barrel Aged Mead

Now Introducing, Ask the MHBA Hive Mind!

The hive mind of the Minnesota Home Brewers Association has come together to offer their collective expertise to you! Any and every question is welcome, from what temperature should I ferment my Tripel at to what schedule of staggered nutrient additions should I use in my Traditional Mead.

In order to submit a question, fill out the form here. The information is then anonymously sent to the experts who will provide their answer(s) based on years of expertise and studies. The answer(s) will then be collated and sent back to you – its that easy! At the end of every newsletter we will include the anonymous questions and answers for everybody else to see in order to spread the wealth of knowledge.

MHBA Honor Roll

Nathan Steigman joined The Mean House podcast to discuss his dedication and willingness to fail only to go back through the notes and do it again differently, which creates some of the best tasting homemade meads. Give it a listen here!

Hearing Voices

The following is a curated list of what we’re reading, listening to, and thinking about in the world of beer, mead, and cider this week:

• Steal This Beer chats with Zach Nichols (Cellar West Artisan Ales) about his journey from small bottle shop in Madison, WI to starting his own beer company
• Michael Stein from Good Beer Hunting unravels the history of Culmbacher, an extinct American dark lager
• USA Today Readers’ Choice awards crowned Milk and Honey Ciders the best cidery in the US in 2021

Even though its only 25 degrees right now, we are looking forward to warmer weather with temperatures jumping into the 70s this weekend in my household. It is looking like it might finally be time to break out the smoker, sit on the patio, and enjoy a home brew in the sun. The summer season home brews I will be pulling out this weekend include a gose and a raspberry saison. The raspberry saison is a small batch off of a larger saison recipe and it will be interesting to see how the raspberry flavors come out, balanced by the fruity / spicy yeast character of the base beer, in comparison to the regular non-fruited saison. If interested to be able to share and try the amazing beers of the club, see below!

MHBA Spring Home Brew Review

Come celebrate the changing of the seasons the best way we at the MHBA know how, by sampling home brew at our annual Spring Home Brew Review!

The great folks at Forgotten Star Brewery just North of the cities in Fridley have been gracious enough to let us host our event with them this year. We’re planning for this to be an outdoor event, but if mother nature turns sour then there will be a large event space available to move to in doors.

Starting at 11am on Saturday, April 17th you’ll be able to sample your fellow home brewers libations and have them sample yours! We’ll have tables set up for anyone willing to pour and show off their latest, greatest (or even most questionable) fermented beverage. Feel free to bring as much or as little as you’d like; bottles, can, or kegs.

This is an excellent opportunity to get advice from seasoned brewers and to also get ideas on what to brew next! We’ll be giving away door prizes as well as voting for our favorite home brewed beverage — so you won’t want to miss it. Hope to see you there!

Stay up to date on the discussion about the event and RSVP on the Facebook event.

April Final Friday Social

For this edition of Final Friday Social we will be having Deb Loch from Urban Growler join us to discuss their amazing Cowbell Cream Ale. Stay tuned for more details as the event gets closer!

MHBA Honor Roll

Matthew Weide returned to The Mead House podcast today to discuss pandemic brewing and Valkyrie’s Horn. I found his concept of victory garden meads especially inspiring. Give it a listen here!

March Final Friday Social Recap

On March 26, 18 intrepid home brewers joined Utepils Head Brewer Eric Harper for a guided tasting of Springbok which I found out is totally a real animal. Eric also lead the mother of all technical discussions regarding sauergut as a pillar of German brewing and the virtues of serving Altbier vom Fass. Two lucky club members also won $25 gift cards to Utepils. Thank you to Eric and Utepils Brewing for joining us and sharing your love of European brewing!

Hearing Voices

The following is a curated list of what we’re reading, listening to, and thinking about in the world of beer, mead, and cider this week:

• Steal This Beer chats with Zach Nichols (Cellar West Artisan Ales) about his journey from small bottle shop in Madison, WI to starting his own beer company
• Michael Stein from Good Beer Hunting unravels the history of Culmbacher, an extinct American dark lager
• USA Today Readers’ Choice awards crowned Milk and Honey Ciders the best cidery in the US in 2021