Join us at May Monthly Meeting starts May 07, 2015 at 07:00PM

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Join us at Beer Judge Training and Feedback starts April 16, 2015 at 07:00PM

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Join us at April Monthly Meeting starts April 02, 2015 at 07:00PM

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Join us at Beer Judge Training and Feedback starts March 19, 2015 at 07:00PM

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Join us at March monthly meeting starts March 04, 2015 at 07:00PM

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Join us at February Monthly Meeting starts February 05, 2015 at 07:00PM

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Join us at January Monthly Meeting starts January 08, 2015 at 07:00PM

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New Homebrew Competition in Central FL

For Immediate Release.

Lake Mary, FL.  

The Brew Club of Seminole County presents SMash My *ss & Call Me Brewmaster, a new homebrew competition in Central Florida.

This is a Single Malt only and Single Hop only competition. Any style. Any combination. Any yeast. One Grain, One Hop. One grand winner.

Details: Entry Deadline is Dec 15, 2014.  Each entry will require two unlabeled 12oz bottles with the entry form attached with rubber band.  Be sure to include the $3 entry fee (cash only) with one of the two bottles.  Bring entries to the December Brew Club meeting or drop off at the Sanford Homebrew Shop.  The form can be found and downloaded from the Facebook Group page at the link here.

Recipe Requirements:  All recipes are to have one type of malt only (single malt) and one type of hop only (single hop).  Aside from these requirements, anything else goes.  Make something fantastic.

Judging will be loosely based according to the declared style.  Though not a BJCP competition, the judging criteria will be similar. 

Any questions or for a shipping address (if unable to deliver entries in person) email or call Darren U, competition coordinator,  at darrenATdunerbrewDOTcom.

Winners and awards will be announced at the January Brew Club meeting on January 8^th 2015 (note this is not the normal scheduled first Thursday of the month, due to New Years Day.)

About Brew Club of Seminole County:  Brew Club was started in August 2013, and has quickly become a popular group of homebrewing enthusiasts.  Monthly meetings are held the first Thursday of each month at Buster's Bistro in Sanford, averaging close to 30 members in attendance.  Club brew days are generally done quarterly, which have included a team competition and collaborative recipe used by multiple brewers to fill a 60 gallon used Jack Daniels Bourbon Barrel for true barrel aged group collaboration Barley Wine.  The club has participated in several Craft Beer events and festivals during its first year.  The Facebook group has become an the central point of communication of the group and an outlet for sharing, advise, coordinating meet-ups, and bolstering a strong group dynamic.  www.facebook.com/groups/BrewClubSeminoleCounty

Join us at Group Brew Day starts December 06, 2014 at 09:00AM

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Join us at December Monthly Meeting starts December 04, 2014 at 07:00PM

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Join us at November Monthly Meeting starts November 06, 2014 at 07:00PM

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Local Paper writes about our Brew Club

I received an email the other week from a reporter, stating that he was tasked to do a story on local homebrewing and homebrewers.  He came across our Facebook group and then visited this blog.  He asked if I'd mind an interview and if the photographer could come by for some photos.  I had to think long and hard before I answered...  (not really)

Homebrewers are often pleased at the opportunity to talk about the craft and their love for good beer, and I am no exception to that rule.  "Absolutely!" I said.

The story was first in the online addition here in the Seminole Chronicle. The next day I was able to find a copy in one of the little blue boxes.

Story highlighted on the Frond page, above the fold.

Front page of Lifestyle Section, brewing in my garage.

Photos of the inside of my refrigerator.  Recognize the labels?

We were all happy with the story.  It was great exposure for our still relatively new club.  Check out Brew Club of Seminole County.  Special thanks to Steven and Ed with Seminole Chronicle for the time and great write-up.  Part 2 should be in print this week.

Was 2013 a wasted year? 14 ways it wasn't.

I believe most people want to make a difference with their lives.  After all, if there is no reason or motive for your existence, then what is the point?  Right?

I recently found myself bemoaning another year gone by without doing anything worthwhile.  Another wasted year.  I didn't conquer the world in 2013.  We are still in this same house, same job, same city, same school, same routine.  (About the only thing different is that the Gators aren't playing in a bowl game this year...ugh.)

Then my wife stopped me in my tracks.  "Wait a minute, you sold over $1M dollars at work this year," she began.  "Yeah, I guess.  Plus I started the Brew Club," I continued.  Maybe it wasn't a complete waste.  I got to thinking some more.

If we don't stop to count our successes, we will never now far we've come.  Here are a few successes from 2013...somewhat in chronological order.

• In February I met some great people while volunteering for the Deland Craft Beer Festival.  I shared homebrews with the guests at the event.  Seeing people enjoy your creations can be quite fulfilling.  Check out these posts from earlier in the year.  Part 1 and Part 2.
• One of my beers won the Valentines Inspired brewing competition.  This was a partial collaboration with a Twitter friend form Australia, who supplied the original recipe on which the beer was based...though this had different hops, yeast and was all grain (and in English units rather than Metric).  More of the story can be found here.
• I took the brewing on the road for the first time and brewed on location at the Sanford Homebrew Shop for the AHA Big Brew.  There I met some additional new friends.  More of the story here.
• My son had a dream a few years ago of bringing Archery as a sport to his small private school.  At the time, I didn't think there was a mechanism to make this happen.  Long story short, our family is now all certified coaches with OAS (Olympic Archery in Schools) and our little school will have a team in this year's spring session.  And only because a 14 yo (at the time) had a dream and desire.
• I started a homebrew club.  In August, the first meeting of the Brew Club of Seminole County was held.  Each month we've averaged about 20 people per meeting and participated as a club in three public events and held two group brewing sessions.  Check out the Facebook Group and the story here.
• The Belgian Dubbel I brewed in July won Bronze at the Sunshine Challenge competition in November.  This is one of the largest homebrewing competitions in Florida.
• I also was able to participate in the judging at that competition (though not for the styles my beers were entered, of course).
• In November, my wife brought home here metal for the 5K event, my son brought home a metal from a State Archery Competition, and me with my little bronze metal.  We are all successful in the things we set out to achieve.
• My son and I began making our own cheese.  Just a few batches of Mozzarella so far, but we are getting better.  And the important thing is we do it together.
• At work, I exceeded my sales goal for the year by more than 10% and sold over $1,000,000, with profitable margins. 
• This year, I brewed 15 different beers, at roughly 4 gallons each.
• We've been able to have "Family Time" on multiple occasions at Disney this year.  Some of our favorites are the Food and Wine Festival and the events surrounding the holiday season.
• The Facebook Page was created for Dunerbrew and this blog has been maintained (to a decent extent).  Check out and "Like" the Facebook Page.
• I realize this list is very beer-centric.  Well, that is what this blog is all about.  Perhaps better than than the beer itself, this hobby have given me the opportunity to meet some wonderful people, whom I now call friends.  We help each other and are better as a result of knowing each other.

Am I just patting myself on the back?  Not really, rather reminding myself that things do get accomplished when you set out to do them.  We may not have conquered the world, but are on a pathway to making some sort of difference in the world.

What will 2014 bring?  Hmmm.  We'll see.

Cheers!

Beer Fest and the beers we'll be pouring

If you are local to the Orlando area, come see us tonight at the Sunshine Challenge Beer Fest.  We'll be pouring from the homebrew booths of Brew Club of Seminole County and Volusia County Homebrewers Guild at the event.

Haven't seen a blog post yet this week?  We've been working on toward Beer Fest.  We have banners, business cards, a dry erase board to help promote the clubs.  We'll have over 12 homebrewed beers between all of us which we will share with attendees.

Beer List (mostly there but incomplete)

• Anal Retentive Dishrag -  English Barleywine
• Galileo's Bane Pumpkin Porter
• XXX Tripel (still rather new but packing lots of promise)
• Steam Monk Belgian Dubbel
• Independence Ale 2013, Mosiac and Centennial hopped American Pale Ale)
• Dim Wit Monkey - the 7+% ABV Belgian Style Witbier from Bionic Brewing
• Rye Pale Ale - from Bionic Brewing
• Blackberry Wheat - from John with Beer Chasers
• Spicy Chocolate Cherry Stout - from John with Beer Chasers
• Belgian Strong Dark - again, courtesy of John with Beer Chasers
• A Saison
• An IPA (or two)
• Homegrown Hops IPA - courtesy of the Sanford Homebrew Shop  (Florida Grown Hops)

Now that is quite a list.  So come on out tonight if you are in the area.  Greet me as Galileo's Bane or Dunerbrew and get a free sticker.  Cheers!

We call it Brew Club: A Story

I still refer to it as new.  In fact it's not much more than an infant yet.  But we've had good times with the three monthly meetings and two group brew days.  Our first upcoming "public" events (totaling three in the next two months) are sure to be fantastic.  Yes, I'm talking about the Brew Club of Seminole County.  It's the real deal.

In good company on the patio wall at Buster's Bistro in Sanford.

If you are local to the Orlando area, I invite you to check it out.  if not, then you are wondering why you even care about this post.  Don't go away yet!

This is a story about starting something new.

A few of us knew a few of each other.  Now most of us know a good number of each other.  As homebrewers we'd stop at the fairly new Sanford Homebrew Shop to pick up supplies, talk about our brewing experiences and ask questions.  There are often a few other homebrewers in the shop with whom you can strike up a conversation.  I would plan on spending 10 minutes there and leave after about 40, always learning something new from the experience.

I'd come back home with my new stuff and prepare to set up for brewday.  Just me in the back yard (or kitchen for the first several batches) brewing away, hoping some friends (or my wife) would be interested one day in drinking the latest concoction in creation.

There was a time when I became tired of being a 'lone brewer" and decided to check out a Homebrew Club.  There is a large group that meets in Orlando (about 40 minutes from my house to the location) and one in the opposite direction (north) that meets in Deland (about 35 minutes and an easier drive).  I met a guy from the Volusia County Homebrewers Guild (VCHBG), as it's called, at a beer festival that prior February, and he was nice enough.  I decided to sign up on their Facebook Group and attend my first meeting.  It's amazing what you can learn by just hanging out with other brewers and tasting other homebrewed beer.  It was a good time, and I continue to be part of those meetings today.  It's a smaller group, with a geographical divide which makes it a challenge (I never knew there was such a division between East and West Volusia County).

I found a brewing home, of sorts.  But what about the other lost souls I see frequent the Brew Shop?  I haven't myself made the journey to the Orlando group, but have heard it may be overwhelming for a newbie brewer.  An established large group with many talented and seasoned brewers.  Those lost souls had no place to call home.  "Yeah, people have mentioned interest another club here in Seminole County, but no one has seemed willing to coordinate one," said Gary at the Sanford Homebrew Shop one day.  Ding! Ding!

How hard could it possibly be?  A little time and a little effort.  I'm already spending time and  effort on social media and blogging.  What's a little more time?

First Brew Club meeting, Aug 1, 2013

So a name was selected.  I designed a logo for the club.  (Every good club needs a logo.)  I printed a few fliers.  Prior to that I got a friend of mine and brewer who manages at Buster's Bistro (a local Belgian Beer Bar) to commit his location for our meetings.  It's a win-win because I've seen how our group can drink.  More revenue for him.  He was excited and had ideas for Group Brew Days at the bar, etc.  The Homebrew Shop was excited about it, and I got another brewing friend to commit to actually attend the meetings.  It was all set, and the Brew Club of Seminole County was about to launch.

Four Fliers were distributed to two locations and a Facebook Group was created.  Within 48 hours we had over 20 members ask to join the group.  By the time of our first meeting (Aug 1, 2013, IPA Day) we had close to 40 members.

18 people attending the first meeting.  Another 18 were at the second meeting, but a different group of people (at least about half of them).  The third meeting saw 23 brewers in attendance.  The meetings start with some brief introductions and news about upcoming events, etc.  (It's important to get the news and meeting portion of the meeting done prior to starting to drink.)  We would shift into breaking out the homebrews and sampling each others beers and then talk about them.  People get to know each other, learn from each other.  We really become "better when we brew together."

Team Wit.  One of the 4 teams brewing that day.

We scheduled our first Group Brew day right away in in August (not a great idea in Florida to be brewing outside in the afternoon in August by the way.)  Three people brewed and we had a handful of people show up and hang out for awhile.  Our second Team Brewday was just the other weekend in October.  We had 4 different teams brewing, with close to 20 club members at the event.

A friend of mine posted some additional details and photos from this event.  I'll point you now to Gary at  Bionic Brewing for more on the latest Team Brewday.  Check it out.

What is next?  I'm glad you asked.  The club has a table at the upcoming Sunshine Challenge Beerfest, part of the Central Florida Homebrewers annual brew competition and festival.  After that in Sanford there is a Couch Race and Beer Festival, featuring racing couches created by different bars in the area.  At both events we'll have a table to serve our homebrewed beer and talk about the club.  In December, there is a tour of homes for the holiday in the historic Sanford area.  Holiday lighting is the key feature for this even (I think) and we'll be able to serve beer at this location and talk about the club as well.  And them we'll participate in the Deland Craft Beer Festival and the Mad Monk's Mash-up homebrew competition in February.  (Did I tell you who won the Valentine's Inspired beer competition last year?)

And this is just the beginning.  Do you brew?  Are you in a club?  Brewing can be fun and rewarding, and you can multiply that enjoyment by about 5 times when you are part of a brewing community... part of Brew Club.

Cheers!
Darren U

Hoppy #IPAday

Better than those other Hallmark holidays, today is #IPAday.  So what are you waiting for?  Find an #IPA and drink up.  Celebrate, post about it on social media, and enjoy.

Meanwhile, today also marks the inaugural meeting of the Brew Club of Seminole County.  Guess where I'll be tonight?

What IPA are you drinking today?

Homebrewing & Craft Beer - Yeah, it really is this cool!

Well, we have yet to plan a vacation around craft beer... at least not completely...yet.

I found a video which inspired this post.

What is at the heart of homebrewing and craft beer obsession?  My quick answer.  Taste, passion, artistry, community.  And that may be somewhat of a chronology.

The realization of tasty beers turns into a passion for the different styles and knowledge of those beers.  Brewing brings in the artistry of creating such wonders.  With brewing come opportunities to further develop insights into ingredients, flavors, etc. (it's like discovering what is under the hood).  Finding like-minded people from which to learn and share completes the process, or it actually helps to begin the process again, but in a much more profound way.  Face it, we as humans thrive in community.

This is at least the way it happened for me.  I started off as the Lone Brewer-wanna-be, just under two years ago.  Wow, and two weeks exactly from today will be the first meeting of the new Brew Club I created.  (I find it hard to take the credit, but really it wouldn't have happened without initiating a few conversations, obtaining commitments, forming the Facebook Group, and them making some initial fliers.)  Check it out!  Brew Club of Seminole County

OK, you've read that.  Now watch this.  It really is this cool!