Present: David Lamotte, Evan Green, Craig Grant, Phil Coleman, Andrew Freeman, Robert Donaldson, Bill Sidwell , Brad Smith, David Pontin, Andrew Palmer, Jake Rowland, Nigel Hayes and Thomas Delgatto
Meeting was held at the currently under construction Thirst Messiah Brewery at Broadmeadow and was kindly hosted by Thomas and Libby Delgatto (and their dog Macy!). The group had dinner first and were able to sample 2 of Thomas’ beers, a Kolch and a Belgium dark. Thomas gave the group some insight into what it has taken to get the brewery to where it currently is, the work that is required with the council and certifiers and the ensuing challenges of getting the brewery up and running.
Phil Coleman conducted a tech talk on pressure fermentation which had a very lively discussion from the group. Presentation provided an oversight on how to pressure ferment, equipment utilised, pressure limitations, what fermenting under pressure does, types of beer it is more suitable for, the do’s and don'ts of dry hopping (thanks for the tip about not using a magnet Phil and it’s a waste a time - I was going to try this!) and the benefits of closed pressure transfers.
The following topics / notes were discussed after the tech talk:
Reminder about the upcoming HUB competition, registering as a steward or a judge, bottle sorting the week before the event, and a reminder for people to have a look at the style guide as well as instructions on the website on how to enter.
Bitter and Twisted was discussed - described what it was to new members and how the club participates in this awesome event. Reminder for people to ensure their RSA is up to date or to apply and get one in order to serve their beer on the day.
Club shirts - Jake and Rob were after a shirt
Local uber tour was discussed, group thought this sounded a good idea and liked the idea of visiting the smaller breweries. Additional effort to organise this and setup a date is required.
Tech Talk: Dave has some beers that have been brewed with the hops he had obtained from the US and will do a tech talk regarding them possibly May. Jake was also interested in providing a tech talk in the coming months.
The meeting concluded with a Red IPA of Thomas’ being sampled as well as a brief brewery tour. A very successful inaugural meeting at the Thirsty Messiah and thanks again goes to Thomas and Libby for hosting us.
Next meeting will be on the 20th May 2022.