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

August in the Twin Cities is one of the most fantastic times of the year! One of the many reasons is at the end of the month is the Minnesota State Fair. There,  you can see giant swine, butter sculpted heads, anything you can dream of on a stick, live music and great Minnesota craft beer. As well, the results of the MN State Fair Homebrew Competition results are posted. A big shout out  and congratulations to NBA members Bryce Larson, Tim Stuemke, Matthew Tjosaas, Steve Towey and Erin Towey for placing in the Minnesota State FairHome Brew Competition!

On August 4th a small but motley crew of NBA’res met at Indeed Brewing Company to attempt our monthly taproom take over. Alas, we were dwarfed by large group of what appeared to be conference goers. While out numbered it did not deter us having good beer, great conversation and an all around good time.

August 20th the NBA was at the Nordeast Farmers Market, to brew, recruit and socialize. While a good time was had, you can never predict the weather.

August Meeting Re-cap

August 18th the NBA convened at East Side Neighborhood Services for our monthly meeting. We welcomed new attendees and touched on what had happen since the last meeting, including barrel fills of the Hobo and Koval barrels and the summer party.

Nick McLawhorn also shard with us a small experiment he had done, which was how long the same beer had been dry hopped.

Upcoming Educational Topics

Saisons – Sept
Diastatic power of differing malt – Oct
Base Malt Experiment – Nov Please sign up if you are interested in participating in this.

August Education Topic – Brew the same beer. 

We had eight members brew the same exact recipe, using the same exact malt, hops, water and yeast. All from the same source. A huge thank you to Matt T, Aaron H, Nick, Steve, Bryce, Aaron D, Matt P and Eric for brewing for this!

10lbs  Golden Promise
1lb Golden Naked Oats

1.25oz of EKG @ 60min
.5oz of EKG @ 20min
.5oz of EKG @ flameout

Danstar BRY-97 Dry Yeast (No rehydrate)

8.25 Gallons Kandiyohi Spring Water

Needless to say it was surprising to see the difference. The major one that stuck out was the difference in ferment characteristic, which after some discussion was thought to be due to the age of the dry yeast. (Always check the dates on your yeast!) Another fantastic experiment and conversation.

Upcoming Events and Important Dates

Sept. 15th 7PM –  Monthly Meeting @ East Side Neighborhood Services

Sept. 24th and 25th 9AM till 5PM (both days) – NBA Big River Homebrew Competition! We need volunteers. Please sign up if you can help.

Sept. 28th 7PM – NBA NHC 2017 Planning @ Fulton Brewing.

Oct 6th 7PM – October Taproom Takeover @ Surly Brewing Company

Oct. 22nd 1-4PM – Eastside Neighborhood Services – Nordeast Big River Beer Festival.

Ah… July! What a fantastic month!

July 7th, the NBA had our monthly tap room takeover at Bauhaus Brew Labs, and we had an awesome turnout! Three picnic tables plus!

July is also our Summer Party/BBQ + Small (6% or less) beer competition. President Aaron DeBoer hosted us. A number of members brewed on the club system. As well we had homebrew beer brats, burgers, grilled corn, as well as many other of the delicious delicacies of a summer BBQ. Congrats to Mike Colling, who’s Simco Smash won first place in the small beer comp.

Continue reading July 2016 Recap →