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Stout season is here. Those of us in the mist belt are already embracing the darker brews for comfort and emotional support. You coastal okes, your time is coming. Enough of that, on with the news:
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Words from our esteemed Chairbrewer...
In the words of the incredibly soft Jon Bon Jovi, “Woah, we're half way there”. As June takes a cautious look at us from behind May’s skirts, it’s worth taking a look at what’s happened thus far!
In competition, we’ve seen one BTS go off with amazing precision, thanks to Mr. Ryley. The results of the judging were ratified when some of the same beers went off to the Fools and Fans competition and the scores came back almost exactly the same, within a few points. This is significant, considering that our in-house judging is conducted by unqualified (albeit enthusiastic and strict) home-brewers and the Fools and Fans competition is judged by experienced and pedigreed judges. For their efforts, the winning entrants were thanked with a golden handshake from BeerBros and a taste of the entrants’ beers! We’ve also seen the back of the first side-challenge, the low-ABV beer. Some great prizes courtesy of That Brewing Co.
After an epic quiz by Craig Bax at Durban Brewing Co. last month, which had us sweating and questioning our faith, we cooled off under the sweet running taps that Scott Hunter opened up for us at the brewery! Always a good one as this is one brewer who makes consistently quaffable ales!
Next week, we will be sweating as Paul from That Brewing Co. sits down to taste our attempts at cloning his miraculous “That Good Adweiss”, for the next side-challenge. He was good enough to gather us some yeast samples to kick off our clones, so now the final judgement beckons! Don’t neglect to join us at S43, 30th of May for the event!
On that note, keep your hands off your stouts and porters, as the next BTS judging is just 1 month away! If you haven’t bottled, now is the time! Happy brewing good people, see you at the next one!
Since “artistic” wording started this off, its only fitting to end it with another high-quality, inspiring quote I once read… “Show beer no fear, as winter draws near; yet hold it close, near and dear…”
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This month we introduce possibly our most consistent brewers of awesome beer. Everyone should have an uncle like him. If you don't have one, you can always adopt him.... Ladies and gentlemen, Mr Rob Watson.
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Do you have a nickname and what is it?
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How long have you been brewing?
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5 years. I did brew at Varsity during the 70’s, but it’s best forgotten.
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How did you get into brewing?
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I was touring Greece with some Americans who were home brewers, and they got me interested again. When I got back home, I started with a more scientific approach.
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How many brews have you done?
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Checking in my brew books, I’ve done 109.
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What is your favorite step when brewing and why?
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I always enjoy pouring and tasting a new brew after it’s carbonated. Gives me a great feeling of satisfaction when it turns out well.
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What is your least favorite step when brewing and why?
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Cleaning and packing equipment away. Unfortunately it’s part of the process.
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What is your favorite style of beer to brew and why?
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I’ve migrated towards brewing more lagers probably because they’re more of a challenge, but I have a soft spot for an IPA.
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The “C” hops viz. Cascade, Centennial, Citra and Mosaic are special. I’m also fond of the New Zealand styles
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Saflager 34/70. Dependable and has never let me down.
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Best beer you have ever had?
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Russian River’s Pliny the Elder is a special beer, although I can’t afford to drink too many of them.
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What is your choice of pouring?
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Have you ever had a 'bottle bomb'?
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You get two types of brewers, those who’ve had bottle bombs and those who are still going to get them. Yes, it’s inevitable at some stage.
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Do you brew strictly to a recipe or do you tend to do your own thing?
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I generally follow a recipe but quite often tweak it a little.
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Are you pedantic about keeping records of everything you do?
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I write everything down, but could improve on my rating system.
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Favorite piece of equipment?
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My stainless steel fermenters. Easy to clean and move.
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What is the biggest lesson you ever learnt about brewing?
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Ensure your kegs are properly connected otherwise you’ll find your brew has dispensed itself in the kegerator.
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Has being a member of Durban Home Brewers had any influence on your brewing?
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Absolutely, it also helps me to lift my game when I see what the other fellas are producing.
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Durban Brewing Company - April
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Sweet meet. Thanks so much to Scott Hunter for hosting us and doing a fine job of it. Scott is a bottomless pit of information and answered loads of questions from a number of us. Craig Bax hosted our first General Beer Knowledge quiz, which only helped us realise how little we know about our favorite topic. Some great laughs were had by all. Offering were burnt on the grill and everyone ate their fill, even Matt. Hope you did not have to chow corn flakes when you got home bud.
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Next meeting - 30 May 2019:
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See above. Good Adweiss Clone Challenge judging and awards presentation. To be held no place better than the home of That Adweiss, S43. Open meeting, pull in, bring a brew maatjie, a few tasters of beers you have brewed, a few swaps to trade, your knowledge and any questions you may have about any aspect of brewing. We have a dearth of brewing knowledge in the minds of the guys who will be there, come and get some of it, free! Let us know if you will be attending by mail: info@durbanhomebrewers.com
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Are you up for it???
Judging and prize presentation to be held at the next meeting at S43, 30 May 2019. Note: prizes are for paid members, but entry to the competition is free and open to all. Bring your Good Adweiss Clone and lets check your clone-ability.
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Prizes: 1st place - 50kg Pale Malt AND a R200 S43 voucher.
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2nd prize: 'That Brewing Company' T-shirt; a case of 'That Brewery' beer AND R100 voucher for S43
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3rd prize: a case of 'That Brewery' beer and a 'That Brewing Company' cap.
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All this just for doing what you love doing, brewing beer. How can you go wrong.
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Challenges for the rest of 2019:
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August - Lacto Brew – brewing with Lactobacillus
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November - Wood Aged Beer
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It’s Porters and Stouts this round and entries close on 17th June 2019. Judging is on Saturday 22nd June 2019 with prize giving at the monthly meet on 27th June 2019. As most of us saw at the last few monthly meeting, competition is healthy, pushes the envelope and ultimately helps and assists all of us to become better brewers. DHB encourages all brewers young and old, newbies and oldies to get your entries in and grow the KZN home brewers community.
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Drop off 4 x 440ml amber bottles of each beer entered at the locations listed further below. 1 x Entry form per beer entered. Get your entry form here:
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Unlimited entries per person @ R50 per entry of 4 bottles (drop off cash with the beers), PAID DHB members get their 1st entry free.
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Times: Tues-Fri 9am-5pm, Sat 9am-12pm
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Doug Berry (Durban North)
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Address: 76 Adelaide Tambo Dr
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Thank the Title sponsor BeerBros for the awesome prizes .
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BEER BROS BTS 2019:C
- June 2019 - Stouts and Porters
- September 2019 - OPEN Style, Freestyle, free range, you choose. BUT, you need to take careful notes and records as the first placed PAID member of this competition will have their beer brewed by NGUNI Brewery for CLAREN'S beer fest in 2020. That is an awesome prize!!
- December 2019 - IPA, APA and Pale Ales.
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Beer Bros
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Your one stop Home Brew Shop. Stop in anytime and chat about what you need or how to tweak your next brew. Anything they don't have, can be ordered in.
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Tuesday to Friday 9 am to 5 pm
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Saturday 9 am to 12 midday.
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Closed Sundays and Mondays
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Last Month saw our first Beer Quiz, compiled and hosted by Quiz Master Craig Bax, who also sponsored the great prizes won. In QM Craig's own words:
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"Durban Brewing Company hosted the first quiz competition for the DHB’s. One the functions of the group is sharing of knowledge, and a quiz is fine way to see who knows their brew stuff.
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The questions, mostly multiple choice, were tackled by thirteen of our finest, and some interesting answers were received. Perhaps the questions were a little difficult, perhaps we could blame Scott’s fine brews, or maybe we’re not as smart as we think. Top score went to Greg Hardie with 24 out of 33. Second place to a team effort of Doug and Jim, with Matt Coetzer in third place.
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Have a go at the quiz for yourself and be sure to attend the next quiz event, where at the very least you might learn something, if not a prize."
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The quiz clevers: Greg Hardie, Matt Coetzee, Dough Berry and Tim (Hopman)
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Ales for Tails - 27 July 2019
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Ales for tales is back. Put a big SPCA Blue mark in your diary for this event. Make your pledge here and start brewing now!!
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Powwow Feedback:
Our trusted Bean counter was in Skaap Stad for this great event, here is his take on the event...
Wow! That is all I can say, and that the weekend was well worth it. The
Annual Craft Brewers PowWow was held in Cape Town from the 17th May 2019 to
19th May 2019. It was an amazing weekend filled with lots of informational
speakers and sessions covering different aspects of brewing from Sensory
Analysis/BJCP judging to Barrell Aging and using Botanicals in brewing. This
was the first year where there were split talk sessions, which catered for
both commercial and home brewers. Funk is making a comeback from the
nineties and the mixed fermentation/sours talks were extremely interesting.
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A highlight of the weekend was Garrett Oliver from Brooklyn Brewery being
the keynote speaker. Such a humble guy with many good stories about his
brewing career and how he started brewing. We were lucky enough to taste
some of his special edition Black Ops- Bourbon aged stout, Local No:1
Saison, Kriek - Bourbon Barrel aged on cherries and Serpent Belgian ale with
wild yeast.
We were treated to an awesome braai on the Friday night by Beer Country,
their Karoo Dust spice is amazing and adds a spin on a good braai. The
Homebrewers awards took place on the Friday night. I made up for last year
where I couldn't personally get my awards and was lucky enough to get Silver
for my beer entry. Free beers supplied by Afro Caribbean, Franshoek, CBC,
Jack Black, Stellenbosch (to name a few) which kept us all well hydrated
long in the early hours of Saturday morning and pretty much the rest of the
event.
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The fantastic exhibitors at the event included Fermentis, Weyermann,
Lallemann, Electrical Industries and Tiny Keg to name a few. Saturday was
filled with informative talks and the whole event was extremely well
organised by the Bevplus and Dematech staff. Saturday evening was the
inaugural Africa Beer cup awards held at the recently opened Darling Brew
Tap room in Woodstock. 13 African countries entered with +- 150 beers
entered across all categories. It was awesome to see that Ugandan,
Tanzanian, Swaziland, Botswana, Namibia, Nigeria and Mauritian entrants took
home awards. Craft beer in Africa is taking off! Megan Gemmell took Bronze
for her Schwarzbier and Dion Van Huyssteen took Silver for his Twisted
Talisman. Great to see KZN Brewers getting placings in this event. Drifter
Brewing took home the overall Best of Show for their Stormy Smoked Porter.
The celebrations carried on late into the night and for some, the early
hours of Sunday Morning.
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Sunday saw many a hangover and the final day was wrapped up with the last of
the talks and then an awesome farewell lunch. All I can say is that this is
an event that was well worth the trip! My advice to homebrewers is to start
saving for next year. This is an event not to be missed!
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Adrian Ryley and Garrett Oliver (Ryley is the dude with a beer in his hand)
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The crowds gather at Darling brewery
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Congratulations:
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Well done to the following for for their awards received at the Brewers Powwow:
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Adrian Ryley: Silver medal in Homebrewers category.
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Dion Van Huyssteen: Silver for his Twisted Talisman - African Beer Cup
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Megan Gemmell: Bronze for her Schwarzbier - African Beer Cup
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Lucy Corne with Megan and Dions Awards
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Beer Boot Camp
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24th August 2019 - Johannesburg - The Big Smoke.
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So if you didn't make the Powwow, there is Beer Boot Camp. Beer boot camp is a full day symposium focusing on delivering a high quality educational experience to South African brewers and beer enthusiasts. Delegates will hear from leading brewing specialists from around the world, as well as experiencing practical sessions, beer tastings and of course networking and socializing opportunities. There is a awesome line up of speakers including Jennifer Tally, Fal Allen, Michael Ferguson, Clement Djameh, Peter Brown and John Keeling. Not sure who they are?? Check out their bio's and all the other beery info on the Beer Boot Camp website: https://beerbootcamp.weebly.com/
Let us know by reply mail if you are keen to go to this event. We are looking at sharing costs for transport and accommodation.
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Support a good cause by drinking beer.
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Next time you are Tops in Hillcrest look out for the new brew '36 on Main'. It is labeled as a blond, but its more of an amber, but that's not the point. Similar to a Darling Native. Only R 25.00 per 440 ml. All profits received from the sales of this great beer will go towards a scholarship to put a youngster from the local community in the valley through chef school availing them of a life changing opportunity. We can do our bit to assist by buying lots of these great beers and enjoying them, knowing with each sip, we are changing someones life for the good, forever. So go on, be a good Oke and buy some, they are yum.
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Get up to speed and stay ahead on whats what and who is who in the RS of A craft beer scene. Click here to subscribe
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Support SPCA
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Zap them a few Randelas with the Zapper Q-code below.
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