News
A.K.A. The MHBA December Meeting
Quick Info
- When: Friday, December 19th – 5:30 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.
- Address: CSPS Hall, 383 W Michigan St, St Paul, MN 55102 – above the Glockenspiel Restaurant
What’s Happening
- Socializing will be from 6:00 – 7:00 pm
- Buffet-style food service will begin at 7:00 pm
- Setup will start around 5:30 pm and teardown at 9:30 pm
- Again this Year: The club is providing a 5-gallon keg of commercial beer.
What to bring
Food: The theme is dishes prepared with BEER, so come with a potluck dish to share—also bring copies of the recipe, serving utensils, and extension cords (if necessary).A “People’s Choice” award will be given for the best potluck dish with beer as an ingredient. Plates, napkins, and silverware will be provided.
Beer to share: Bring any beer, mead, or cider that you wish to share. There will be a “Peoples Choice” award given for the best beer, mead, or cider. Bottles, growlers, and kegs are welcome, and the club jockey box will be available. Don’t forget a small tasting glass—some plastic glasses will be available in case of emergency.
Remember to bring a tasting glass.
Family and Friends: This is a family-friendly event, so bring your significant other, kids, and/or any friends/family that have ever expressed an interest in hoebrewing or beer. Just to be clear: you and your guest don’t have to be club members to attend, but we encourage everyone to sign up for 2015 membership to support club activities in the future.
As this is one of the most attended gatherings of the year, it’s a great opportunity to get out and meet your fellow homebrewers. If you have not made it to a meeting or would like to join the club, the Holiday potluck is a perfect chance to try some great homebrew and delicious food, and exchange homebrew with others.
Membership Renewal/Signup Note
Membership renewal or new member sign-up: If you would like to sign up for or renew club dues, this is the primary meeting for memberships— In order to receive your laminated card at the Holiday Party, you MUST renew online BEFORE December 17th. If you choose to renew at the Holiday Party or until December 31st, your laminated card will be mailed sometime in January —for those who don’t know, those cards are good for a 10 percent discount at local homebrew shops Northern Brewer, Midwest Supply, Brew & Grow, & Still-H2O.
If you have any questions, please e-mail Brett Glenna
Read MoreMinnesota Home Brewers Association’s Brewers of Fame Program
The purpose of this program is five-fold:
A) to encourage members to brew more often
B) to encourage members to brew myriad styles
C) to encourage members to bring more homebrew to meetings
D) to encourage widespread sharing of homebrew at meetings
E) to encourage focused group discussions of homebrew at meetings
At each meeting (as opposed to social events), there will be a period of focused homebrew dissemination and conversation following the toast and announcements. Each club member who has brought the minimum amount of homebrew will present it to the attending club officer(s). The minimum amount of each specific beer to qualify for the Brewer Hall of Fame program is a six-pack of twelve-ounce bottles, a full two-liter bottle, or equivalent amount in a keg, growler, or other storage system. The brewer may describe the recipe and/or process while the homebrew is being distributed. A club officer or the brewer may read the Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP) style guidelines for the style being shared. Homebrew may ALWAYS be just simply shared, i.e., shared casually, and not through the Brewers of Fame process.
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It’s been a while since we had a social meeting so next Thursday, November 13th we will be heading over to Bauhaus Brew Labs to talk about what we have been brewing lately and for a private tour. Swing out around 6:00 or so to grab a beverage from the tap room. Join us around 6:45 for the tour! Look for the MHBA logo on one of the tables to find us.
This is a “getting started” guide to making hard cider for home brewers by the Minnesota Home Brewers Association. The goal of this guide is to walk you through the steps for making great hard cider and to help you learn about the decisions needed at each point in the process.
When making cider, there are many opinions as to what makes great cider, but there are three things that nearly everyone agrees are critical to keep in mind. The first is to start with good juice. The second is to use good yeast. The third is to have patience. If you start with these three items, you will have a better chance of success.
Photo by Dennis Wilkinson, Creative Commons
Terminology
Must : A term from winemaking referring to unfermented, sweet juice akin, to “wort” in brewing.
Getting started quickly
Are you looking to just get started and make some great cider? There are lots of options to consider but if you want a simple place to start, try this.
What you will need
- 5 gallons of preservative-free cider
- Campden tablet – If the cider has not been pasteurized
- Yeast Nutrient
- Yeast Energizer
- 2 Lbs brown sugar
- White Labs English Cider Yeast WLP775
- Potassium Sorbate or an extra Campden tablet
We are coming down to the wire for voting in the 2014 “It’s kind of a big deal” awards from The Growler. The Minnesota Home Brewers Association took home Best Homebrew Club for the past two years and we need your help to win the title again.
Please go vote…and ask your friends to vote for us too! 
It’s time we had a social event!
The team behind Bauhaus Brew Labs in Minneapolis have graciously offered the MHBA a behind-the-scenes tour of their brewery and a sneak peak at some fun upcoming projects. This is an informal social event and we’ll plan on starting to gather around 6:00pm at the taproom. At 6:45 we will have a tour so plan on getting to the taproom and grabbing a beer before then. Please bring your homebrew questions and ideas but for this event, we will leave the homebrew itself at home.
If you are not familiar with Bauhaus, they are one of the newer breweries in the Twin Cities, having opened in the summer of 2014. They specialize in beers based on classic German styles but not being too concerned about staying 100% accurate to style.
Read MoreIf you are still thinking about trying your hand at making a hard cider this year, your opportunity to get some of the best juice around is coming to a close.
The MHBA is again purchasing 500 gallons and there are a few gallons still left available. If you are interested in reserving some, fill out the reservation request form. Cider comes from Pine Tree orchard in the Twin Cities and is routinely referred to as some of the best cider available for fermentation. The cost is $20 per 5 gallons and must be reserved and paid for in advance. Pickup is on Saturday, November 8 at Learn To Brew day at Barley Johns Brew Pub.
To reserve your cider, or for more information, check out the original post and fill out the form!
Read MoreAfter you have stopped off at Barley Johns Brew Pub for the Annual MHBA Learn To Brew Day festivities you are probably going to be itching to brew something. Consider swinging by Midwest Supplies and say hi to MHBA President Emeritus Michael Cote where he will be helping Midwest host their own “Learn to Brew” day.
The attendance at Barley John’s is always fantastic, but if you can’t make it there, please come to Midwest and hang out with other MHBA members, (some who have to work at Midwest and can’t get to Barley John’s), and the general public. There will be brewing demonstrations as well as some great gift giveaways!
Read MoreOne final reminder that the Minnesota Home Brewers Association October meeting will be at Lucid Brewing this Saturday starting at 12:00pm. We will be having a short discussion from our own Andy Ruhland, who is the Brewer/Cellarmaster at Lucid. Andy has the privilege of scoring an almost perfect score of 98 on his Gose (Lucid’s Goslar) at the 2014 World Beer Championship. He’ll discuss his research behind this old German style, wheat ale. We’ll have some Goslar to sample and educate your palate, while you listen to Andy discuss his process in creating this near perfect beer.
Homebrew beer, mead and cider is welcome and encouraged!
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