Recent Activities

Education: NBA Yeast Bank – This month at the monthly meeting, Paul explained to the club how the Yeast Bank works, how to put strains into the deep freeze, and how to request strains to get out. This bank already has some rare and retired strains in long-term suspension and we will continue to watch for more rare strains to add to that collection.

Juice Buy @ Sociable Cider Werks – A few members were able to sign up for a juice buy at Sociable this past month to brew up some ciders (and mixed beverages). There will surely be a few finished brews at club meetings over the next couple months.

Upcoming Events

Barrel Transfer – Saturday, Apr 27. The Barrel Committee has determined that the lambic (or “lambic-style”, really) is ready for members to get back and put into kegs and bottles and to make room for other members to put beer in. These barrels make magical beers given enough time, so look forward to more great beer coming out after 18-24+ months.

Taproom Takeover @ Bauhaus – Thursday, May 2 7pm. Social hour with the club will be in Nordeast Minneapolis again this month at Bauhaus. Grab some pints and meet up with members to chat about beer and summer brewing plans.

Big Brew Day @ Midwest Supplies – Saturday, May 4 9am to mid-afternoon. As discussed at the post below, NBA will be brewing at Midwest Supplies for National Homebrew Day. The jockey box will be set up to pour club brews, so come see what our system has to offer, learn about the club, and pick up your brew ingredients at Midwest. See you there!

May Monthly Meeting @ ESNS – Thursday, May 16 6:45pm. Our regularly monthly meeting at the normal home base of East Side Neighborhood Services will cover club business and the education topic of carboy etching. Stop by, share some beers (or at least sample beers from other members), and learn how Chris A. marks volume on his glass carboys!

Also keep an eye out for upcoming events:

• Brew For Good on Sat Jun 15 at Sociable Cider Werks to try some NBA beers.
• National Homebrew Conference in Providence, Rhode Island, in June.
• Summer Party for all NBA members in July.

Big things coming up the next couple months!

For announcements of the monthly Taproom Takeover, monthly recap of recent events, and announcements for upcoming events, keep an eye on this space and our social media sites on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Come join us and chat about beer and brewing!

Cheers!

“In 1988, May 7 was announced before Congress as National Homebrew Day. The American Homebrewers Association (AHA) created Big Brew as an annual event to celebrate National Homebrew Day around the world. Big Brew is held each year on the first Saturday in May.” – From the AHA website

It’s pretty awesome that homebrewers have a congressionally recognized day.

Let’s celebrate it!

This coming May 4th is Big Brew Day, the weekend celebration of National Homebrew Day. The Nordeast Brewers Alliance homebrew club will be at Midwest Supplies brewing and serving beer. We will have our 30-gallon club system on-site making wort and our jockey box serving beer made by club members.

Everyone is welcome! Please come join the club at this Big Brew event in the Midwest Supplies parking lot, learn about our club brewhouse, members, and events. More available on the Facebook Event to set a reminder to join this special day!

Please feel free to reach out if you have any questions or want to learn more!

Cheers!

With another trip to visit our friends at Midwest Supplies, the club was able to get a two-for-one education topic this month. Read on to learn about what we were up to and what is coming up in April!

Recent Activities

Saison Experiment

Brewing a 25gal batch of Belgian Saison together, a few of the members were able to run an experiment with BE-134 yeast at six different temperatures to find the difference. During the March monthly meeting, everyone was able to get samples of each and find the “right” temperature based on personal preference. There were strong opinions with favories across all six of the offerings. Even from the same batch of wort, the temperature had a clear impact on final beer color.

Imperial Yeast Presentation

We were lucky enough to have Owen talk with the club at the monthly meeting about yeast and process at the homebrew and commercial scale. He provided great insight and we look forward to meeting up with him again for future experiments and education!

Upcoming Events

Taproom Takeover on Thursday, April 4 at Bad Weather Brewing. Grab a pint or three and learn about the club. All are welcome for our monthly social hour.

April monthly meeting on Thursday, April 18 at Eastside Neighborhood Services. We are back at our home base in Northeast for the April meeting again. Come join to learn about the club yeast bank and share some beers.

We have a great opportunity to meet with Imperial Yeast during our monthly meeting at Midwest Supplies on Thursday, March 21 at 7pm. This is a change in location, so come join us in St. Louis Park. I can think of 200 billion good reasons to join!

Quick agenda for the meeting:

• Short update on club business and upcoming events
• Intro to the Saison temperature experiment
• Presentation from Imperial Yeast — and sampling the Saison flight

A common discussion this month was being able to brew outside again. With more snow again, I think everyone is looking forward to brewing outdoors on a warm spring day again. Until then, we are keeping busy!

Recent Activities

HOBO Barrel Fill

This month we were able to fill the HOBO barrel — Honey Oak Barrel One — with another Belgian blonde, Roeselare yeast blend, and dregs from a couple bottles. Sampling as the beers go in, we are excited to see how this one turns out. Watch this space for updates — in 18-24 months! We are in this for the long game.

Education: Electric Brewing at Midwest Supplies

Our friends at Midwest Supplies were kind enough to host our February monthly meeting during out first quarter travels. With a demo of electric brewing systems, there was good discussion about this method, which is new to most of the club.

Upcoming Events

Taproom Takeover at Insight Brewing on Thursday, March 7. Come join for a pint or three at the Insight taproom to socialize and chat about beer. Interested in learning about the club, talking about barrels, or just sharing a beer with good folks? Everyone is welcome!

March monthly meeting at Northern Brewer on Thursday, March 21. Have you ever wondered the impact of temperature on Saison yeast? The education topic for March will be six versions of the same batch of wort at six distinct temperatures.

Meetings will move back to Eastside Neighborhood Services in April through the end of the year again.

For announcements of the monthly Taproom Takeover, monthly recap of recent events, and announcements for upcoming events, keep an eye on this space and our social media sites on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Come join us and chat about beer and brewing!

Cheers!

We have been keeping busy as the weather turns colder again. Here are some updates for our events and activities.

Recent Activities

Big River Brew Fest

On a windy and cold day in October, the NBA was able to participate again in the Eastside Neighborhood Services annual Big River Brew Fest annual fundraiser. This was a record-breaking year for attendance and our booth had quite a few visitors — and return visitors looking for the special brews from previous years. This year included Cinnamon Toast Crunch Milk Brown, Oreo Milk Porter, Apple Cinnamon Amber, and barrel-aged Lambic and Flanders — among others. This is always a great time for the club and we are looking forward to next year already!

All-Grain Partial Boil

The November education topic was a presentation by Chris on how he follows an all-grain partial boil strategy for his quick indoor brews. Although this causes a hit to efficiency, this is easily remedied with a little extra grain. Diluting the wort with clean water in the fermenter, he can brew in the kitchen and keep going on cold winter days. The presentation will be made available through the normal club channels.

Barrel Transfer

After aging to get the oak and bourbon flavors into the beer, a Foreign Export Stout was pulled out of the club Dickel barrel and a new Barley Wine was put in. The barrel program is one of the core programs within the club and there was good turn-out from those who pulled out, brewed to refill, and spectators alike.

Next month two new Four Roses barrels will be filled with a huge Imperial Stout to start them off right! The Barrel Committee is keeping an eye out for additional barrels to keep the rotation

Upcoming Plans

NBA Homebrew Competition

The annual NBA Homebrew Competition is fast-approaching with entries filling up. Everyone is welcome to enter and we expect more great beers. Volunteers for judging and stewarding are also open and we are looking for all levels of experience. Check out the competition page for more information on how to enter or volunteer!

Entries are due at the drop-off or mail-in locations by Friday, November 30, so act fast!

Winter party in January

The annual Winter party is now scheduled for January with the High Gravity Club Competition (8% and higher on the honor system) and elections for the Vice President, Communication Director, and Finance Director positions. All members are welcome to join with the final details on time and location being sent out soon.

Upcoming Education

December: Baltic Porter

Next up in the Explore A Style series is Baltic Porter with homebrew and commercial examples available during the presentation. This porter with lager yeast is a unique and uncommon style, so this education topic will hopefully shine some light for the club.

January: Mighty Axe and Comet Hops

We were able to recently coordinate a Group Buy event with Mighty Axe Hops growing in Foley, MN, for a bunch of Comet hops. These will be brewed into various styles for the January meeting where Ben from Mighty Axe will be stopping by to talk about hop farming and the company — and to taste the beers with us.

New and Noteworthy

Membership Changes for 2019

All memberships are becoming household memberships! This will allow the partners of members to join meetings, parties, and events with the club at no additional cost. Please reach out if you have any questions — or join us at a meeting or taproom to learn more!

For announcements of the monthly Taproom Takeover, monthly recap of recent events, and announcements for upcoming events, keep an eye on this space and our social media sites on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Come join us and chat about beer and brewing!

Cheers!

It’s a big week for the NBA, with the Monthly Meeting on Thursday, June 21st at ESNS. The topic this month will cover club events and committees. So bring a brew to share, a tasting glass, and join us at 7:00pm in the ESNS Main room.

Also, don’t forget about the Brew for Good event, Saturday, June 23rd. The NBA members will be pouring a wide range of styles, including samples from the club barrel program.

This Saturday, come join us at Midwest Supplies starting at 10am for their Homebrew Club Fair.

We will be there pouring from the jockey box, talking brew, and hanging out with some of the other great club members from the area.

If you would like to share some of your creations, please see the Google group for the sign-up sheet. Kegs, bottles, cans, it all works! Dress in your NBA best and join us for the fun!

Happy 2018 from the Nordeast Brewers Alliance!

January was another fun month, and February is shaping up to keep 2018 exciting.

January Monthly Meeting

During our January monthly meeting, we highlighted with a triangle tasting with hops from our friend Mark Catlin. Does the drying temperature impact the hop bittering and flavor profiles? Keep an eye out for the recap in the near future.

Winter Party

The NBA Winter Party and High Gravity contest was January 20. With an amazing display of 8%+ ABV beers brewed in 2017, special recognition is deserved for winners:

• 1st: Old Faithful, Foreign Extra Stout – Matt Grove
• 2nd: Golden Stout – Jim Ingebrigtsen
• 3rd: NyIPA – Chad Oesterreich

The recipes for the winners will be posted to the NBA Google Group.

We also announced the club leadership for 2018. 

Barrels Are In Action

There is a lot of action around the club and personal barrel projects! Another reason to keep up with the group forum, as the sign up sheets for new fills and empties are posted there.

February Meeting

The monthly meeting for February will be held at Northern Brewer Minneapolis. The education topic will be water chemistry led by Norther Brewer’s Jeff Merrimann. There will also be announcements about the club brew system and 2018 group brew events.

The monthly meeting will be Thursday, Sept 21, at ESNS. 7:00pm, be there.

Items for this month will include:

• The educational topic will be mash pH
• The Big River Brewfest on October 9th
• The NBA Homebrew Competition
• Tasting of beers brewed with Barke Vienna malt
• The Barrel Program
• Merchandise update
• Afterparty at Bauhaus Brew Labs