Refreshed Season, Refreshed Brewing

May 28, 2021

Brewing in the Summer has a different feel to it. The warmer temperature makes brew day sessions more enjoyable with the sun shining down on you and the new season bringing a refreshed look to everything. It also brings opportunities as you look for changes in your brewing process, whether that is an upgrade on your mashing equipment or bringing in a kegging system. While bottling my Tripel this weekend and thinking “what are the chances of a bottle bomb”, I have started to do an evaluation of potentially kegging beers (non-Belgians) in the future. What opportunities this Summer are you taking to improve your brewing process?

Reminder: 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!

All Club Camp Out – August 6 – 8, 2021

All-Club Camp-Out! Friday, August 6th through Sunday, August 8th. This family-friendly event hosts brewers from any and all homebrew club. This year we gather at Camp Nushka on Cass Lake, Minnesota. The Prairie Homebrewing Companions (PHC) from the Fargo-Moorhead area are the hosts, and will collect $25-40/adult at the camp-out; kids are free. The price includes camping, firewood, outhouse supplies, and a fabulous Saturday feast, cooked and served by the PHC.
You bring a tent or camping trailer, beer, food, beer, chairs, beer, yard games, beer, acoustic instruments (no amplified music allowed), well-behaved dogs, mead, a special sour beer for the Saturday Sour Hour, homebrew for the informal Saturday competition, cider, something for the morning Bloody Bars, and beer. There is no electric or running water, but the PHC will bring some water, and there is a large picnic shelter and two permanent outhouses. Cass Lake is just a few steps down the hill from the remote camping area, which we have to ourselves. The space is very shaded. Jockey boxes will be available for kegs. The road in to the site is great for kids on bikes, and there is a great paved bike trail a few miles from the campsite.
At night, the camp chairs go around the fire, and then the acoustic instruments and special beverages come out to play. Folks show off their beverage finds by passing them around the ring, with each person taking a small taste. Bring many glasses to the fire!
Newcomers are most welcome! Please indicate your intention to attend to John Longballa at [email protected]. He’ll get you extra information and will let the PHC know how many to plan for.
Not to be missed!!!

May Final Friday Recap

Kyle Sisco, CEO and Head Brewer at Venn Brewing Company, joined us on May 21 to talk about beer, brewing, and his experiences in the industry. The folks that were lucky enough to be on the call were able to hear a lot about sours – whether it is the difference in souring processes or how THP tastes like Cheerios. We also heard a lot about Venn’s journey into becoming the brewery it is today. Thanks Kyle for joining the call and sharing your immense knowledge!

Sugarbelt Mead Festival – Field Report

Josh Eckton shares his experience from the Sugarbelt Mead Festival, which was held in Crown Point, IN on May 22:

“The Sugarbelt Mead Festival was such a wonderful experience. With over 21 meaderies in attendance, serving between two and eight meads each it was quite a taste sensation. From Mead slushees to session meads there were quite a variety of meads and creative ingredient combinations from green tomatoes to ghost pepper. Looking forward to going back next year to represent White Bear Meadery and partake in such a mead centric experience!”

Thanks Josh for sharing your experience at the festival!

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.

MHBA Honor Roll

  • A member of the club, Soren Jensen, was able to brew his Saison with Forgotten Star Brewing after winning the Iron Brewer competition. Great work Soren and keep an eye out for Spring Peeper Saison on tap!

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:

  • Good Beer Hunting walks through some of the difficulties of being a women in the beer industry and the physical, psychological, and financial toll it takes
  • Charles Spence of Oxford and Carlos Velasco of the Norwegian Business School talk about how the sound of beer influences our perceptions on NPR All Things Considered.
  • Michael Agnew waxes poetic about witbier in the Star Tribune.
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