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Brew News
So, 1st September is past, it is no more, done, finished and forgotten. That means spring has sprung. Time to brew summer beers... yes please, any excuse to brew.
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Words from the chair:
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As already another month's end has rolled past and BTS September stares us in the face, a small word of reflection seems apt. With Craft Fest 2.0 in our recent wake, an estimated R40000 has been raised for charity between the two events, with only the brewers and our sponsors to thank! Added to this, the contributions estimated to have been brought in by DHB members to the Ales for Tails cause, I think we can safely estimate a number double that size. Thats more than a little something and the participants all have a right to be just a little smug! Congratulations everyone, beer will be the saviour of mankind!
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Brew hard, mash on and beer the change you want to see in the world! Prost!
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Meet the Brewer
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A long standing and well respected (oh yes) member of our our club and former committee member, Peter Neethling, here is his story:
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Whats your real name?
Peter Neethling
Do you have a nickname and what is it?
Pete
How long have you been brewing?
About 5 Years
How did you get into brewing?
A mate got a Coopers kit for Christmas and I thought "That looks like a cheap and fun way to make beer".
So I bought one, made some rubbish beer and went to all grain about 4 months later.
How many brews have you done?
About 120 or so
Brew method of choice:
Grainfather
What is your favorite step when brewing and why?
Mashing. You get to chill a bit and do the rest of your planning
What is your least favorite step when brewing and why?
Cleaning, because it sucks.
Whats your favorite style of beer to brew and why?
APA or IPA. I seem to get those right from time to time.
Favorite hops?
Changes often Right now Citra.
Favorite speciality malt?
Right now Rye
Favorite yeast?
US05. Nice and Easy
Best beer you have ever had?
That's like asking which is your favourite child. Beavertown Gamma Ray was pretty special. Local beers, Blockhouse IPA, at the DP Tap Room.
Are you a 'Hop Head'
Yes
Whats your choice of pouring?
Corny kegs
Have you ever had a 'bottle bomb'?
Yebo. Cupboard still has a faint smell of stale beer.
Do you brew strictly to a recipe or do you tend to do your own thing?
Erm, I try to, but no, I wing it quite often.
Are you pedantic about keeping records of everything you do?
Nope
Favorite piece of equipment?
I lurv my Grainfather in an unnatural way
What is the biggest lesson you ever learnt about brewing?
Keep it clean and don't stress. It'll probably still be drinkable.
Has being a member of Durban Home Brewers had any influence on your brewing?
Swapping and sharing beers at meeting helps a lot. Getting opinions and constructive criticism help your to brew better beer.
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Last meeting:
Shot Scott and Tarryn from Durban Brewing company, for opening up your brewery to our riff raff. Guys, they support us, lets support them. Besides, they produce some of the better brews in Durban.
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Great night was had by all and the triple Brew challenge was judged.
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FFS.... can't take Warrick anywhere, at least he keeps his pants on.
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Tripel Challenge:
Report from our Challenge Master - Seth Deghaye
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10 brewers took on the challenge of brewing a Belgian Tripel, with one brewing two beers (who else but Justin). Judging was held at the August meet held at Durban Brewing Company. Judging was conducted a little differently this time round with judging open to all who attended. Each person scored the beers out of 10 and scores were tallied to determine the overall champion. To throw in some interest, a commercial beer was added to help benchmark our brewer’s efforts. Maredsous had the dubious honour of taking on our brewers.
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Judging was certainly entertaining, with ABVs ranging from 8 % to 11 %. A few throbbing heads the next morning attested to that. With 12 beers to taste, judging was not a simple task, but was certainly a pleasurable one that designated drivers could not take part in unfortunately. Our host Scott also got involved and agreed that the standard was impressive. With only 3 of the 12 beers showing significant flaws in this challenging style, the DHB standards are certainly impressive. Scores were quite close in the end making it quite competitive.
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So how did the brewers stack up, and how did the commercial brew do? Maredsous had to concede to our brewers and only managed fourth place. The top 3 brews were:
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Well done Justin, confirming your position as the Belgian Master.
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Tripel headaches under construction
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Better hair than most chicks and better beer than the Belgians and the rest of the group. Well done Justin aka Kiffness
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Next meeting:MOVED TO 20 SEPTEMBER
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That time again. AGM and BTS. 20 September at the German Club in Westville. Open to paid members and paid entrants to BTS.
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Gentlemen, please beer in mind that this is our formal meeting for the year and board shorts and blazers are the dress code for the night.
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AGM is a formality and should be done in about 20 minutes and will be at the start of the meeting at 6pm.
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Handing over the Cheque:
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Well done again to those who brewed great beer for Joe Public who spent many Rands to raise this sum of money for the furry ones. No idea where the 82 cents came from. Warren, again thanks for all your organising of this worthwhile event.
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Read the full story here:
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Next Challenge:
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November challenge is still in planning, so watch this space.
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AGM 2018 - 20 September 2018
Almost that time again. We are looking for one or two paid members to join the committee. If you want to nominate someone for committee or if you would like to volunteer to join the committee, please complete the nomination form on the AGM webpage on the website. Send you forms to penpusher@durbanhomebrewers.com
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Please remember this is our only meeting with a dress code and you are reminded that board shorts and blazers will be required by all who attend.
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If you are not a paid up member and you would like to join the fanfare of this auspicious occasion, you will find the membership form on the website too, fill in, fork over your membership fees and you too can join us.
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R40 Discount for 'On Tap' magazine.
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On Tap Magazine has given DHB members the opportunity to get a R40 reduction when taking an annual subscription. So it will cost R120 instead of R160 per year. When applying online just reference DHB. Not sure if you subscribe but I have noticed a massive improvement in the last 2 editions and would gladly recommend you subscribe. Note, limited subscriptions available: www.ontapmag.co.za
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Brew To Style:
Sadly entry closed today, but then you knew that. Judging will take place on Saturday at a secret location known only to the judges (actually, JJ never told me where it is) But if you have entered, be sure to be at the next meet in the 20th of September, dressed in your board shorts and blazer, to find out how great your brew was. See you there.
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December BTS is the one many of you have been waiting for, IPA's, APA's and Pale Ales.
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Brewer of the year:
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As you should know, we are using the BTS competitions to decide on our brewer of the year, kinda like "brew league". Anyway, how it works is each brewers best 3 BTS scores (out of 4 comps) are added up to give them a total score. Highest score is brewer of the year (doh!) Here is the list of the top 5 currently:
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| Pos |
Name |
Lagers |
Porters & stouts |
Ambers & reds |
IPA's APA's |
Total score |
| 1 |
Zack Buchan |
38 |
32,75 |
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70,75 |
| 2 |
Ryan Swart |
34 |
36,25 |
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70,25 |
| 3 |
Schalk Vd Walt |
29 |
33 |
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62 |
| 4 |
Brett Langton |
34 |
27,5 |
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61,5 |
| 5 |
Rob Watson |
31 |
29 |
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60 |
| 6 |
Seth Deghaye |
37 |
23 |
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60 |
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