Category: Meeting Notes

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President’s Message: November 2018

Fellow Homebrewers,

I hope everyone is having a great holiday weekend! This month’s meeting is at Germania Mannerchor on November 28th. Don’t forget your can good, and cash for half pot (remember, it’s how we pay our monthly meeting rent!).

This month, we will not have a tech topic; as we will accept Big Turkey entries, as well as accepting Officer and Board Member nominations. If you are unable to attend the meeting and would like to submit a nomination, please contact myself or another board member. The vote will be held at our meeting in December.

Also, there is still time to submit your Big Turkey entries! Remember, first prize gets to brew their recipe at Maiden’s Brewery!

At the meeting, we will open the floor for nominations to the 2019 Board of Directors. We will be looking to nominate the most active members who would like to accept the opportunity of a leadership position with OVHA. Remember, it is the board who designs all of our meetings, and events throughout the year. If you’re organized, have a free evening every couple of months, and would like to take a leadership position within the club, please consider nominating yourself or a peer who you believe has those qualities.

Next month, at our monthly meeting (Wed. December 19th) we will hold the vote on the 2019 OVHA Board of directors, as well as host our annual family-friendly dinner meeting. You read that correctly… bring your family along with a side dish. As usual, this meeting will be held at Gemmania Mannerchor. At the meeting, the club will be providing a couple of meat dishes, so please bring a side-dish, and your beer. It is not surprising that many of our members have a knack for bringing some outstanding food, and this is one meeting that I definitely look forward to every year.

We will have a sign-up sheet for side dishes on the forum, so that we can more or less coordinate, so that we limit duplicate items.

Hope to see everyone there!

Cheers,
Josh Wuertz
OVHA President

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President’s Message: October 2018

Fellow Homebrewers,

This month’s meeting is at Germania Mannerchor on October 24th at 7PM. Don’t forget your can good, and cash for half pot (remember, it’s how we pay our monthly meeting rent!). We’ve had a great participation rate so far this year, so let’s keep it going! This month, Jordan Fehr will be giving a short presentation on Gluten Free Brewing after our announcements.  Next month, we will be collecting Big Turkey entries as well as taking 2019 Officer/Board Member nominations.

I’d like to take a moment to commend everyone who has taken part in volunteering and/or donating homebrew to one of our events this year. Sharing my beers is easily one of my favorite parts about being an OVHA member, and it keeps me motivated to improve.

We do have a few spots remaining for this coming Saturday’s event at Wesselman’s Park: Wandering Owl Twilight Tasting, so if you’re available and have beer to donate – please consider helping out. This event is limited to ten volunteer spots, as it is a much smaller event than most, and will be set in their new Playscape feature.

The following Saturday, OVHA will once again participate in AHA’s Learn to Homebrew Day. This year, we will be brewing on site at the newly opened Henderson Brewing Company in downtown Henderson! They have begun to promote this event on their social media page, so I hope to see a lot of brewers out that morning. We’ll fire up our kettles at 9am and the tap room will open at 10am.

Sign-up sheets will be at the October meeting for our last two events. We will provide food for brewers, so if you’re coming out, please sign up so we can get a rough head count for food purposes.

10/27/2018: Wandering Owl *REVISED DATE*
11/03/2018: Learn to Homebrew Day at Henderson Brewing Company

Have you been getting your recipes ready for Big Turkey? Registration is now open (see the forum for the link). Entries will be collected at the November meeting, and judging will be early December. This year’s categories are:

Category 5 – Pale Bitter European Beer
5a German Leichtbier
5b Kolsch
5c German Helles Exportbier
5d German Pils

Category 19 – Amber and Brown American Beer
19a American Amber Ale
19b California Common
19c American Brown Ale

These beers will be and will be scored against the 2015 BJCP Guidelines.

Cheers,
Josh Wuertz
OVHA President

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President’s Message: September 2018

Fellow Homebrewers,

This month’s meeting is at Germania Mannerchor. Don’t forget your can good, and cash for half pot (remember, it’s how we pay our monthly meeting rent!). We’ve had a great participation rate so far this year, so let’s keep it going! This month, Jeremy Dunn will be giving a presentation on Rice Wine.

SWIRCA, despite all of the rain and mud, was a success. We had around 28 beers on tap; great job by everyone who donated a beer. I would also highly encourage anyone who has beer leftover from SWIRCA, to donate those kegs to Brew Ha Ha next weekend, or to future events. So far only a couple of people have donated and signed up to serve next weekend.

I’d also like to remind everyone that we always need plenty of hands on deck to tear down and that includes unloading everything back at Turonis. We’ll add notations to sign up sheets going forward to make everything clear, but we did have some no-shows for unloading. I know we all like to have a great time, but the more hands we have, the quicker we can all get home… or to the next stop!

Sign up sheets will be at the September meeting, and available on the forum, for all remaining events.

09/29/2018: Brew Ha Ha
10/13/2018: Evansville Wartime Museum
10/27/2018: Wandering Owl *REVISED DATE*

I will be donating beers to all events, please consider doing the same. The crowds always love the beers we bring out, and it’s also a great way to clear out some keg space! Bottles are always welcome as well if you don’t keg. If you’ve never served in the past and are interested, please let myself or another board member know so we can walk you through the process of acquiring a volunteer servers license.

Have you been getting your recipes ready for Big Turkey? Below is your monthly reminder that this year’s categories are:

Category 5 – Pale Bitter European Beer
5a German Leichtbier
5b Kolsch
5c German Helles Exportbier
5d German Pils

Category 19 – Amber and Brown American Beer
19a American Amber Ale
19b California Common
19c American Brown Ale

These beers will be and will be scored against the 2015 BJCP Guidelines.

Cheers,
Josh Wuertz
OVHA President

Other Important Upcoming Dates:

11/3/2018 – AHA Learn to Homebrew Day
Late Nov/Early Dec: OVHA Big Turkey

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President’s Message: August 2018

Fellow Homebrewers,

This month’s meeting is back at Germania Mannerchor. Don’t forget your can good, and cash for half pot (remember, it’s how we pay our monthly meeting rent). This month, we will be hosting a representative from the Evansville Museum Contemporaries regarding the Brew Ha Ha event.

I hope everyone has been brewing beers to donate to event season. We’re just short of a month away from SWIRCA; the largest beer event of the year, which will also kick off a stretch of four events across five weeks. I was able to brew an IPA yesterday, using all Patagonia malt. It will be ready just in time for SWIRCA and I’m planning at least one more brew day to get something else ready to donate. I would love to see us have another strong showing at each of these events, as we have always done in the past. We’ve built up quite the reputation, so let’s keep it up! Sign up sheets will be at the meeting for all upcoming events. Important note about Wandering Owl; the date has been moved to 10/27/2018 and will be set in their new Playscape feature and will accommodate as many as 400, which is double what has been done in the past. More details to follow. If you’ve never served in the past and are interested, please let myself or another board member know so we can walk you through the process of acquiring a volunteer servers license.

If you’re available, please be sure to sign up on the forum (or at the meeting) for equipment cleaning day. At Dutch’s house, on Sept 15 beginning at 10AM, we will work on a THOROUGH cleaning of all equipment so that we do not have any surprises during setup. Address will be listed on the sign up sheet.

Much like last month; OVHA has had more competition news to share. At Strassenfest in Jasper; OVHA took home several medals, including Ryan Roesch winning Best of Show and Homebrewer of the Year! He will get to brew his beer at Basket Case. Everyone, please join me in congratulting everyone on their achievements!

Ryan Roesch
Vienna Lager (Best of Show)

Cesar Gonzalez
Dark Rauchbier (2nd)

Brett Slayden
Saison (3rd)

Kenny Lucas
American Barleywine (3rd)

Have you been getting your recipes ready for Big Turkey? Below is your monthly reminder that this year’s categories are:

Category 5 – Pale Bitter European Beer
5a German Leichtbier
5b Kolsch
5c German Helles Exportbier
5d German Pils

Category 19 – Amber and Brown American Beer
19a American Amber Ale
19b California Common
19c American Brown Ale

These beers will be and will be scored against the 2015 BJCP Guidelines.

Cheers,
Josh Wuertz
OVHA President

Important Upcoming Dates:

09/15/2018: Club Equipment Cleaning Day (@Dutch’s House)
09/22/2018: SWIRCA Brewfest
09/29/2018: Brew Ha Ha
10/13/2018: Evansville Wartime Museum
10/27/2018: Wandering Owl *REVISED DATE*
Late Nov/Early Dec: OVHA Big Turkey

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President’s Message: July 2018

Fellow Homebrewers,

Reminder that the July meeting is at Maidens Brewery, not Germania. They are preparing for Volksfest, so this is our annual off-site meeting. Don’t forget to support our home-base and try to attend Volksfest this year (8/2- 8/4).

Since we are meeting at Maidens this month, do not bring any commercial beer with you. Homebrew only, please. Our topic for the evening will be a brewery tour. As many of you are probably well aware, John Mills is the head brewer and owner of Maidens Brewery, and also a longtime OVHA member, past President, and Board Member. Food and beer will be available to be ordered before and after our meeting. Also, since we are meeting offsite, we will not have door prizes or Half pot, but please still feel free to bring a can-good donation.

We are just two short months away from event season, so get your fermenters filled and be ready to donate to SWIRCA, Brew Ha Ha, Evansville Wartime Museum, and Wandering Owl! In preparation for event-season the board has organized a club equipment cleaning day at Dutch’s house. Stay tuned to the forum for additional details.  We’ll make a day out of it — think good food, good company, and a bottle share.

In Club news, we have had more excitement from competitions. At the annual Indiana Brewers Cup OVHA took home six combined medals! See medal summary below:

Jeremy Dunn
Dry Hopped Cider (1st)
Cherry Sour (2nd)
English Summer Ale (2nd)
Spelt Saison (3rd)

John Mullins
Belgian Triple (1st)

Taylor Brummett
Wee Heavy (3rd)

Please join me in congratulating Jeremy, John, and Taylor on these awards!  Next year, I will be sure to have more time to get some beers ready for entry into this competition. This was the first year in the past few where I have not had an entry; however, my German Pils and Helles are currently lagering and awaiting our annual Big Turkey competition. Have you been getting your recipes ready? A quick reminder that this year’s categories are:

Category 5 – Pale Bitter European Beer
5a German Leichtbier
5b Kolsch
5c German Helles Exportbier
5d German Pils

Category 19 – Amber and Brown American Beer
19a American Amber Ale
19b California Common
19c American Brown Ale

These beers will be and will be scored against the 2015 BJCP Guidelines.

 

Cheers,
Josh Wuertz
OVHA President

Important Upcoming Dates:

08/25/2018: Indy Van Trip
09/15/2018: Club Equipment Cleaning Day *Dutch’s House
09/22/2018: SWIRCA Brewfest
09/29/2018: Brew Ha Ha
10/13/2018: Evansville Wartime Museum
10/20/2018: Wandering Owl
Late Nov/Early Dec: OVHA Big Turkey

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President’s Message: June 2018

Fellow Homebrewers,

Since our last meeting, we have had two different events: Zoo Brew, and a beer tapping at Evansville Brewhouse.

At Zoo Brew, we featured 23 different kegs and had great attendance all evening. Thanks to everyone who donated a keg and/or served a shift. A big thanks to Sky and Steve for coordinating with the Zoo to make this event happen. We have four events coming up at the end of September, so keep brewing!

If you recall our Big Turkey competition last fall, you will remember that Taylor Brummitt won with his American Wheat. Part of the prize of winning Big Turkey; aside from bragging rights, is that the winner gets to brew their recipe at a local brewery. Evansville Brewhouse has been the brewsite the past two years. Taylor’s beer was just tapped this past Thursday, so please make your way over there and order a pint of Chubbs!

In upcoming events, sign-ups are now open for Indiana Brewers Cup! If you have any beers that you have a good feeling about, you may want to enter them into the State Fair. I’ve entered beers the past two years, and I love the feedback that I get on my scoresheets. Judges often make suggestions that could help you hone in your recipe. We will be collecting entries at the June meeting. John Mullins and Taylor Brummitt will be delivering them to Indy. Be sure to thank them when you see them.

This month, at the May meeting, please join us at Germania for a Hop Swap. At the meeting, we will have vacuum sealers, scales, and bags; so bring out your bulk hops to trade with fellow club members. We won’t limit this to just hops, if you have other bulk ingredients or equipment collecting dust, feel free to bring it out to sell or trade.

As a reminder, don’t forget to start dialing in your Big Turkey recipes before this fall! The styles will be: Category 5 – Pale Bitter European Beer & Category 19 – Amber and Brown American Beer. These beers will be and will be scored against the 2015 BJCP Guidelines.

As always, don’t forget to renew your dues and remember to bring can good(s) to the monthly meeting!

Cheers,
Josh

Important Upcoming Dates:

07/06/2018: Indiana Brewers Cup
08/xx/2018: Indy Bus Trip
09/22/2018: SWIRCA Brewfest
09/29/2018: Brew Ha Ha
10/13/2018: Evansville Wartime Museum
10/20/2018: Wandering Owl

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President’s Message: May 2018

Fellow Homebrewers,

Event season is already upon us, and OVHA already has one under our belt with Zoo Brew just around the corner! I hope everyone had some time to brew something to donate/showcase at the event. All proceeds from ticket sales go to support the Mesker Park Zoological Society, and it is the second largest annual event that we support. Sign ups and beer donations are still open! If you need to free up a keg or empty some bottles, please consider a homebrew donation to Zoo Brew.

OVHA been very busy since our last meeting. We have some exciting news to share from Upland Upcup… Taylor Brummett won Best of Show!!! Upland brewery will brew his recipe on their system, enter it into the GABF and serve it at all of their taprooms! Please join me in congratulating Taylor!

AHA Big Brew Day was very successful (both at Evansville and Mt. Vernon) and we had a great turnout for brewers as well as visitors learning about homebrew and OVHA. Thanks to everyone who came out to brew, and to Dutch for the food at the Evansville brewsite!

On May 9th, our OVHA Wee Heavy was transferred to the Elijah Craig Barrel. Let us hope for blessings from the beer gods that this beer ages well in the barrel. Thanks again to Jeff Smith for hosting us at Evansville Brewhouse, and to Liquor Locker for donating the barrel.

This month, at the May meeting, Cesar Gonzalez will be giving a short demo on BJCP judging — something I personally plan to get involved with over the next year. At the meeting, we will have a beer set out at each table for anyone who would like to try their hand at critiquing/scoring a beer the same way a BJCP judge would in a beer competition.

As a reminder, don’t forget to start dialing in your Big Turkey recipes before this fall! The styles will be: Category 5 – Pale Bitter European Beer & Category 19 – Amber and Brown American Beer and will be scored against the 2015 BJCP Guidelines.

As always, don’t forget to renew your dues and remember to bring can good(s) to the monthly meeting!

Cheers,
Josh

Important Upcoming Dates:

06/02/2018: Zoo Brew
07/06/2018: Indiana Brewers Cup
08/xx/2018: Indy Bus Trip
09/22/2018: SWIRCA Brewfest
09/29/2018: Brew Ha Ha
10/13/2018: Evansville Wartime Museum
10/20/2018: Wandering Owl

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President’s Message: April 2018

Fellow Homebrewers,

We are nearing the first part of event season, so I hope you all have found time to fire up your kettles. Showcasing our beers at events is one of my favorite things about our club, and we always bring the heat with some stellar brews. Our first event is less than a month away, with Zoo Brew just a few weeks behind, so get brewing!

This month, at the April meeting, Secretary Jordan Fehr will be giving a presentation on Parti-gyle Brewing (producing multiple worts from a single mash). Traditionally with this process, you would want to brew a very high gravity wort such as a Barleywine, and then through additional sparging, produce an IPA. Traditional pairings for this method could include Weizenbock / Weizen; Old Ale / Mild; Wee Heavy / Scottish Export; Belgian Golden / Belgian Pale Ale; Imperial Pilsner / Bohemian Pilsner, etc. The possibilities are practically limitless.  This is something I have not yet tried, but am very interested in hearing Jordan’s presentation.

In club news; although April 7th started with snow on the ground, Barrel Brew Day was very successful! 11 brewers braved the elements and brewed our latest project, an Elijah Craig barrel-aged Wee Heavy. At the end of brew day, we ended up with 57 gallons of wort which we transferred into the club fermenter, pitched the scottish ale yeast that Taylor propogated from his own 10-gallon batch. Batch specifics are OG 1091, FG 1020. Thanks to Jeff for hosting us at Evansville Brewhouse, to all of the brewers, everyone who lent a hand with planning, weighing/milling the grain, cleanup, and to Brad for making a run to the hardware store so that we could resolve the blowoff situation.

Mark your calendars for AHA Big Brew Day, which is set for 05/05/2018. If we have enough interest, we are going to attempt to refill the fermenter with an OVHA Saison — please see the thread on the forum, or at the meeting to sign up and reserve a spot. Otherwise, we’d love to see everyone out there brewing one of the official AHA recipes, or their own beer.

Also, at the meeting, I will have a poll sheet for dates for our potential out of town brewery excursion! The board has been working on details for a bus to transport us to/from Indianapolis for a day trip. August is the month that the board has envisioned for the trip, more details to follow so stay tuned.

As a reminder, don’t forget to start dialing in your Big Turkey recipes before this fall! A reminder that the styles will be: Category 5 – Pale Bitter European Beer & Category 19 – Amber and Brown American Beer (BJCP 2015 Guidelines).

As always, don’t forget to renew your dues and remember to bring can good(s) to the monthly meeting!

Cheers,
Josh

Important Upcoming Dates:

05/05/2018: AHA Big Brew Day
05/19/2018: Upland Upcup
06/02/2018: Zoo Brew
07/06/2018: Indiana Brewers Cup

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President’s Message: March 2018

Fellow Homebrewers,

Spring is here, and it seems we are all experiencing a third winter. For all of us outdoor brewers, this winter has probably seemed like an eternity and I’m anxious to have some comfortable brewing weather. We’re still a couple of months out from the beginning of event season, so everyone get ready to dust off your equipment and brew up something creative! One of my favorite parts about homebrewing is being able to showcase it at our monthly meetings, or alongside craft beers at our local fundraisers/beer events. OVHA having various venue(s) to sample other member’s homebrew, and hearing feedback from event attendees has been a valuable resource to me as a homebrewer, and keeps me motivated to brew something better, or just off-the-wall.

This month, at the March meeting, VP John Mullins will be presenting Homebrewing Best Practices. As we’ve had a lot of new faces at our meetings, we thought that a quick recap of some homebrewing fundamentals would be a fitting tech topic to do early in the year. If you’re planning on entering Upcup or Indiana Brewers Cup, heed John’s advice as he has a lot of experience.

 

In OVHA event news; due to a scheduling conflict, Barrel Brew Day had to be rescheduled to April 7, 2018. That morning, OVHA brewers will be firing up early in the morning to brew a Wee Heavy, which will be destined for barrel aging. A few sign up spots are still available on the forum, and at the meeting on Wednesday. In related news, last year’s Barrel, a Belgian Quad aged in a Knob Creek barrel, was kegged on March 2nd and will be ready for serving at our events for 2018!

Important Upcoming Dates:

04/07/2018: Barrel Brew Day
05/05/2018: AHA Big Brew Day
05/19/2018: Upland Upcup
06/02/2018: Zoo Brew
07/06/2018: Indiana Brewers Cup

As reminder, don’t forget to start dialing in your Big Turkey recipes before this fall! A reminder that the styles will be: Category 5 – Pale Bitter European Beer & Category 19 – Amber and Brown American Beer (BJCP 2015 Guidelines).

As always, don’t forget to renew your dues and remember to bring can good(s) to the monthly meeting. It seems like a small thing for one person to do, but collectively we can all make a huge difference in many lives over the course of the year.

Cheers,

Josh

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President’s Message: February 2018

Fellow Homebrewers,

I hope many of you have been able to take advantage of some of our random warmer weather days and brew some beer! This past weekend, I was finally able to brew a batch at the new house; a Belgian Style Blond Ale. I have been ramping up the temperature one degree each day, and it is currently resting at 73°F and smells great. I cannot wait to enjoy this one with some nice spring weather.

In club news, our board is hard at work putting together club events. March 31 will be the date for our annual barrel brew day at Evansville Brewhouse! That morning, brewers will be firing up early to brew a Wee Heavy, which will be destined for barrel aging. Sign ups available on the forum (quick link) and at the meeting on Wednesday. Sometime within the next couple of weeks, we will be kegging last year’s barrel aged Belgian Quad. Thanks to Jeff Smith for hosting us again this year. Another thank you to Skip and Liquor Locker for donating a freshly dumped Elijah Craig bourbon barrel for us to use this year.

At the February meeting, we will be taking our annual club picture, so don’t forget to wear your OVHA shirt! We also have some in supply, so if you don’t have one, you may consider purchasing one – though we may not have all sizes.

Don’t forget to start dialing in your Big Turkey recipes before this fall! Our styles will be: Category 5 – Pale Bitter European Beer & Category 19 – Amber and Brown American Beer (BJCP 2015 Guidelines).

As always, don’t forget to renew your dues and remember to bring can good(s) to the monthly meeting.

Cheers,

Josh