Fellow Homebrewers,
Unlike many of you, particularly Dutch “McGyver”, I’m not the handiest person around the workshop. My general rule of thumb is “why make it when you can spend three times as much and buy it”. After sweltering in my brewery earlier this month I decided to take on a DIY project after happening upon a YouTube video of a bucket air conditioner. Parts include a 5 gallon bucket, a Styrofoam bucket liner, a few pieces of PVC and a small fan. If I finish the first build with all digits still attached, I’ll probably make a second. I’m hoping to bring it to next month’s meeting for a little show-and-tell. Please pray for me!
Thanks to all of you who volunteered at the SWIRCA BrewFest earlier this month. What it lacked in food, it more than made up for with beer vendors. Certainly, there were more far-flung breweries than I recall at other local beer festivals. Apparently this year’s event, the 11th, was SWIRCA’s most successful with more than 2,000 attending. The 12th annual event is already in works. OVHA’s support continues to be instrumental in the success of this important fundraiser.
This year’s OVHA calendar has three more worthwhile fundraising events. Next up is the Evansville Museum’s Brew Ha Ha on September 27 followed by Wesselman’s Wandering Owl in October and Tap & Cork at Holy Redeemer the following month. Please join me in supporting these worthwhile fundraisers through donations of beer and labor, or by purchasing tickets.
Thanks so much to all the folks at Tin Man for hosting our annual brewery meeting. I hate that I had to miss it, but from the pictures I’ve seen, we had a pretty fair turnout. Also, I’ve not heard any complaints from our hosts, so thanks for being on your best behavior!
Speaking of Tin Man, last month I gave kudos to Jeremy Dunn for his 1st place showing at the Indiana Brewers Cup and to John Mills for Carson’s four medal haul. However, I was remiss in failing to recognize Tin Man for its five medal count including two golds. Congratulations to Nick and the rest of the Tin Man brewing team for an outstanding showing!
I’d like to tip my hat to Sky, not only for taking the reins the last two months, but also for his pursuit of BJCP certification. After earlier successfully completing the online entrance exam, Sky took the tasting exam in Cincinnati last month. It will probably be a couple months before he finds out the results. At an upcoming meeting we will have Sky discuss how he has prepared for this process. Hopefully a few more OVHA members will be interested in this pursuit.
Well tis the month I’ve been anticipating with much trepidation. This quarter’s calibration tasting/judging will pit a commercial Scotch Ale against my admittedly weak representation of a Scottish Wee Heavy. You can think of mine as a “wee wee” heavy either because its ABV is on the low side of the style or because it tastes like p***. Well, you get the idea.
That’s all for now. See you Wednesday, August 27.
Just Brew It!
Jeff
