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Brew Blasts – Big Country Homebrewers Association

BCHA Brew-Blast 9-15-17 (Meeting Saturday the 16th)

SEPTEMBER CLUB MEETING – SEPTEMBER 16TH

Who: Matthew Cogburn’s
When: September 16th (NOTE: 1 Week later than usual)
Where: 5418 Peppermill Rd, 79606

Homebrew Tasting – Remember to bring your homebrews for your feedback session. This is a great opportunity for everyone to get good constructive feedback on your brews.
Raffle (Bring Cash) – We will be having a raffle as well so make sure to bring your cash. Items in this raffle are; Hops, Beers, Mead, Insulated Stanely Mugs & a 150 Lumen Compact LED Lantern

Competition #3 Entries Due During This Meeting!
At our last meeting we had a discussion about the value of having the competition and whether we should discontinue it due to the lack of participation. Everyone agreed we need to continue and be committed to submitting our beers. So here’s your opportunity to make good on your promise.


PAPPY’S WORT CHALLENGE – SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 30TH!

Hey everyone! this weekend is our pick up for the Pappy’s Wort Challenge. We will meet at Pappy’s @ 2pm to pickup our 6 gallons of Maris Otter wort (bring a container). Remember to bring your $10, which included the wort and a beer while you’re there.

Useful Information:
1. 100% Maris Otter wort (Final beer must be made using 90% Maris Otter)
2. Beers must be completed by early November for tasting
3. Top three beers will receive a prize
4. Anticipated OG – 1.050


EVENTS & REMINDERS

Abilene Beer Summit – September 23rd
BCHA will have a tent to promote homebrewing. If you are interested in volunteering you can click here for more information. For more information on the event itself, click here. If you decide to volunteer there is a REQUIRED volunteer party at The Mill on September 19th (They throw in a free beer too!)

Texas Brewing is donating a Deluxe Equipment Kit + Kettle which will be raffled off at our tent. This will get any new brewer started. Invite your friends and family to come to the event and enter the raffle.

Rhymes and Vines event in Stephenville, September 20th – 23rd
For more information click here or contact Gary or Tom.

BCHA annual family campout – October 13th – 15th @ Hord’s Creek Lake (Members and Member family only)
• Entry fee – $5 per person (includes burgers/hot dogs on Saturday night)
• Campsites range from $10 – $20 per family. RV sites and cabins are available at extra cost.
• What to bring – Your family, several $1 bills for games, food and anything else you want to have.
• Organizers – Tom & Judie Bradley (tandjjk04@yahoo.com)

If someone you know wants to be there and join the club they can pay just $10 for the rest of the year. There will be more information at a later date. Final sign-up and commitment by our next meeting on September 9th.

BCHA Brew-Blast 8-31-17

PAPPY’S WORT CHALLENGE – SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 2ND!

Hey everyone! this weekend is our pick up for the Pappy’s Wort Challenge. We will meet at Pappy’s @ 2pm to pickup our 6 gallons of Maris Otter wort (bring a container). Remember to bring your $10, which included the wort and a beer while you’re there.

Useful Information:
1. 100% Maris Otter wort (Final beer must be made using 90% Maris Otter)
2. Beers must be completed by early November for tasting
3. Top three beers will receive a prize
4. Anticipated OG – 1.050


SEPTEMBER CLUB MEETING – SEPTEMBER 16TH

Who: Matthew Cogburn’s
When: September 16th (NOTE: 1 Week later than usual)
Where: 5418 Peppermill Rd, 79606

Homebrew Tasting – Remember to bring your homebrews for your feedback session. This is a great opportunity for everyone to get good constructive feedback on your brews.
Raffle (Bring Cash) – We will be having a raffle as well so make sure to bring your cash. Items in this raffle are; Hops, Beers, Mead, Insulated Stanely Mugs & a 150 Lumen Compact LED Lantern

Competition #3 Entries Due During This Meeting!
At our last meeting we had a discussion about the value of having the competition and whether we should discontinue it due to the lack of participation. Everyone agreed we need to continue and be committed to submitting our beers. So here’s your opportunity to make good on your promise.


EVENTS

Abilene Beer Summit – September 23rd
BCHA will have a tent to promote homebrewing. If you are interested in volunteering you can click here for more information. For more information on the event itself, click here. If you decide to volunteer there is a REQUIRED volunteer party at The Mill on September 19th (They throw in a free beer too!)

Rhymes and Vines event in Stephenville, September 20th – 23rd
For more information click here or contact Gary or Tom.

BCHA annual family campout – October 13th – 15th @ Hord’s Creek Lake
• Entry fee – $5 per person (includes burgers/hot dogs on Saturday night)
• Campsites range from $10 – $20 per family. RV sites and cabins are available at extra cost.
• What to bring – Your family, several $1 bills for games, food and anything else you want to have.
• Organizers – Tom & Judie Bradley (tandjjk04@yahoo.com)

There will be more information at a later date. Final sign-up and commitment by our next meeting on September 9th.

BCHA Brew-Blast | 8-17-17

Big thanks to Doug and Teresa for hosting our August meeting. Also thank you to Michael Hernandez at Ben E. Keith for your beer donations.


CLUB T-SHIRT PICK-UPS

Jeramie will have any club shirts ordered at Brick Oven today and tomorrow between 6 and 9PM available for pick-up. If you can’t make it today or tomorrow he will be out of town until later next week.


EVENTS

Abilene Beer Summit – September 23rd
Our club will have a tent setup and brewing demos going on this year. If you haven’t signed up to volunteer you can do so by clicking here. We encourage our club members to volunteer and represent our club, it a great time!

Rhymes and Vines event in Stephenville, September 20th – 23rd
For more information click here or contact Gary or Tom.

BCHA annual family campout – October 13th – 15th @ Hord’s Creek Lake
• Entry fee – $5 per person (includes burgers/hot dogs on Saturday night)
• Campsites range from $10 – $20 per family. RV sites and cabins are available at extra cost.
• What to bring – Your family, several $1 bills for games, food and anything else you want to have.
• Organizers – Tom & Judie Bradley (tandjjk04@yahoo.com)

There will be more information at a later date. Final sign-up and commitment by our next meeting on September 9th.

BCHA Brew-Blast | 8-4-17 | Red Gap Brewing & Next Meeting

TRIP TO RED GAP BREWING IN CISCO, TOMORROW AUGUST 5TH, NOON!

Come check out a new brewery close to Abilene, Red Gap Brewing in Cisco tomorrow the 5th @ Noon. Gary Casey will be organizing a private tour for the club. Questions? Email Gary at gcasey8777@aol.com.


August Meeting

Who: Doug and Theresa Price’s home
When: August 12th, 7pm
Where: 2550 S. 22nd St, 79605

BEER SUMMIT WILL BE ON SEPTEMBER 23RD!


The Oxford Companion to Beer definition of Foster’s

is known internationally as the quintessential Australian beer brand. However, it is curiously less popular in its homeland than it is around the world.Ironically, Foster’s was created by two Americans who arrived in Melbourne, Australia, from New York in 1886. The most popular beer style at the time was India pale ale, which, like most beers, was imported. But beer suffered in the extreme Australian heat, and few attempts were made to cool it. This led the Australian Brewers’ Journal to claim, with remarkable foresight, that lager beer, “supplied in the proper way, in bulk, cold and fully charged with carbonic acid . . . will be the drink of Australia.”

CHECK IT OUT BY CLICKING HERE!

BCHA Brew-Blast | 7-24-17 | July Meeting Re-Cap

Thank You Reed Beverage for Hosting Our Meeting!

Our July meeting was a good one. For those of you who missed it we sampled beer, got a great tour of the facility and had a great learning experience. If you weren’t able to make it out we would love to see you at the next meeting in August.

August Meeting

Who: Doug and Theresa Price’s home
When: August 12th, 7pm
Where: 2550 S. 22nd St, 79605

BEER SUMMIT WILL BE ON SEPTEMBER 23RD!


NEW CLUB T-SHIRTS NOW AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER!

Our new club T’s are in so grab yours now. You can order them individually by following this link. A local company will be printing them off so the more orders we get the more money the club will make. All purchases need to be made by July 31st.


CLUB DONATIONS AND RAFFLES

The club collected $140 from the raffle at our July meeting. Thank you to everyone who bought tickets and a special thanks to those who donated items: Matt Johnson, Jeremie Sivley, David Kasselman, Brick & Forge Brew Works and Pappy Slokum!

WANT TO DONATE?

Our raffles are only possible because our great members donate items for the clubs benefit. If you would like to donate an item for any of our next raffles (equipment, ingredients, etc.) please let us know by sending a text to 325-513-6628.


TRIP TO RED GAP BREWING IN CISCO, NOON AUGUST 5TH!

Come check out a new brewery close to Abilene, Red Gap Brewing in Cisco. Gary Casey will be organizing a private tour for the club. Questions? Email Gary at gcasey8777@aol.com.


TOP 50 COMMERCIAL BEER CLONE RECIPES.

Behind every great brewery are skilled craft brewers. These men and women shed blood, sweat, and tears to bring their range of traditional and more experimental beers to our glasses. But what you might not know is many of these professional craft brewers had humble beginnings as homebrewers in their garages and backyards.

Since there are over 1.2 million Americans out there who brew beer at home, we reached out to craft brewers (and a few mead makers) all over the country to compile a list of commercial beer clone recipes.

Scanning this list, you’ll find a clone recipe from a craft brewery in every state that has been scaled down to 5-10 gallon batches, so you can enjoy making these commercial beer clone recipes at your home brewery.

CHECK IT OUT BY CLICKING HERE!

BCHA Brew-Blast | 7-5-17 | Meeting Change! Next Meeting @ Bill Reed, 7-15-17

Saturday, July 15th (Not the 8th) – MEETING CHANGE! Pool party is cancelled, our new meeting location is: Reed Beverage (Bill Reed) 7-15-17!

Where: Reed Beverage – 4101 Amarillo Street
When: 7-15-17 – NEXT SATURDAY
Time: 7-9pm

The venue for this months meeting is no longer at David’s home, it will be at Reed Beverage NEXT SATURDAY (7-15-17), not the usual 2nd Saturday. Reed Beverage will be supplying samples of some of the newer beers they are distributing. NO HOMEBREW ALLOWED AT THE MEETING.

BRING CASH – THERE WILL BE A RAFFLE DURING THE MEETING.

  1. Pounds of hops
  2. Homebrew recipe book
  3. Pappy Slokum items
  4. 10 gallon cooler mash tun (used once)
  5. Other items may be collected before the meeting

We hope to see you all there!

BCHA Brew-Blast | 7-5-17 | Meeting Change! Next Meeting Bill Reed, 7-15-17

Saturday, July 15th (Not the 8th) – MEETING CHANGE! Pool party is cancelled, our new meeting location is: Reed Beverage (Bill Reed) 7-15-17!

Where: Reed Beverage – 4101 Amarillo Street
When: 7-15-17 – NEXT SATURDAY
Time: 7-9pm

The venue for this months meeting is no longer at David’s home, it will be at Reed Beverage NEXT SATURDAY (7-15-17), not the usual 2nd Saturday. Reed Beverage will be supplying samples of some of the newer beers they are distributing. NO HOMEBREW ALLOWED AT THE MEETING.

BRING CASH – THERE WILL BE A RAFFLE DURING THE MEETING.

  1. Pounds of hops
  2. Homebrew recipe book
  3. Pappy Slokum items
  4. 10 gallon cooler mash tun (used once)
  5. Other items may be collected before the meeting

We hope to see you all there!

BCHA Brew-Blast | 6-20-17 | July Meeting, Pool Party!

Saturday, July 8th – BCHA Meeting / Pool Party!!

Where: David Kasselman’s – 2133 Continental Ave, Abilene (More details on time to come)

Our last meeting went really good, thank you to everyone who came and participated and we hope to see as many members as possible at our next meeting. Our first anonymous tasting went really good and our brewers got some really good feedback.

Big thanks to David Beckham, Tom Bradley, Pappy Slokum and Sockdolager for your donations to our raffle!

Congratulations to Doug Price for winning a pound of hops in our IPA trivia quiz.

TIPS AND BEERSOURCES

EVALUATING THE IMPACT OF AGE AND STORAGE TEMPERATURE

Back in December 2016, we published an xBmt article on post-fermentation oxidationwith results showing participants could not reliably distinguish between a Pale Ale kegged using either high or low oxidation methods. These findings surprised many, present company included, and naturally led to speculation as to why the beers weren’t more disparate in character. While some claimed the damage had already been done to both beers since low oxygen (LODO) methods weren’t used to brew them, the fact oxidation is a commonly cited issue in beer that isn’t brewed using said methods suggested something else may be at play.

[see more…]

BCHA Brew-Blast | 6-8-17 | June Meeting

BCHA Meeting THIS Saturday, June 10 @ 7:00pm

Where: Matt Johnson – 1141 Beltway South, 79602

Taste / Feedback (NEW!!)

Bring your homebrew this Saturday for some feedback from fellow homebrewers. Bring as many brews as you would like (2 bottles of each brew). You will need to write a notecard explaining what style of beer it is and any special ingredients. We will taste each other’s beers and write down what we discover (aroma, flavor, mouthfeel). This is not BJCP judging but a non-threatening, way to see what our buddies think of our brews. We can use the feedback to tweak and improve our brewing.

Fundraising Raffle – bring cash!!!!

* Pappy Slokum items (T-shirts, glasses, growler, soaps) – donated by Pappy’s
* Pounds of Hops
* Modern Homebrew Recipes (book by Gordon Strong)

Awards for 1st competition

Competition #2 entries due

This is an open competition so bring your best beers and participate in these great comps. $2 per entry and you can only enter a specific beer entry one time throughout the year, maximum of 2 entries per person per competition.

BCHA – Brew-Blast | June Club Meeting

BCHA June Meeting – June 10th, 2017

(Comp entries due \ Awards for 1st comp presented)

When: June 10, 2017
Where: Matt Johnson – 1141 Beltway South, 79602
Time: 7:00PM

June 10th is our clubs next meeting. We will be giving out the awards for our first club competition of the year and your entries for the next competition will be due as well. Remember bring some of your delicious homebrew so you can get feedback from the club and keep growing as a brewer. It will be a great time, don’t miss it!


ATTENTION:
The next club competition entries will be due this meeting. This is an open competition so bring your best beers and participate in these great comps. $2 per entry and you can only enter a specific beer entry one time throughout the year, maximum of 2 entries per person per competition.

We will also be giving out the awards from our first competition during this meeting as well.


ABILENE WATER PROFILES

We have a new section on our site under “Member Connection” for Abilene water profiles. If you modify your brew water then this is a great resource for you to dial it in. Even if you’ve never messed with water chemistry this will give you an idea of the water your using in your brew.

Click here to check it out.


TIPS AND BEERSOURCES

Not Sure What To Brew Next? Need Some Inspiration?

Craftbeer.com has a great resource for beer styles. This page is laid out beautifully with pictures and great description on many different beer styles. You can use this page to dial in a specific recipe or just to get some inspiration on your next brew. Check it out!

[see more…]