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