Christmas/Winter Specialty Spiced Beer competition drop off info

Posted on January 15, 2013 by
Brewers entering the SFHG Winter Spiced Beer Competition, here is the info you’ve been waiting for!

ENTERING YOUR BEER: Beer submissions are due Thursday, January 31st. Entries must consist of three 12 oz unlabeled bottles (or two 22 oz bottles) with a piece of paper rubber-banded to the bottles containing the 1) entrant’s name, 2) phone number, 3) email address, and 4) the name of the homebrew. Please write legibly and bring them in a six pack carton if possible, to make it easier when we have tons of them to move around! Also, don’t expect Brewcraft to have rubber bands for you, go prepared!

HOMEBREW DROP OFF SITES: The drop off site is SF Brewcraft, our local San Francisco homebrew shop. Be sure to call and check that they’re open when you plan to bring them your Winter Spiced Beer for drop off! Brewcraft SF, 1555 Clement Street  San Francisco, CA 94118, (415) 751-9338

FREE WITH AN EMAIL TO SFHOMEBREWERSGUILD@GMAIL.COM WITH YOUR DETAILS: That’s right, this competition is going to free to enter for all brewers, not just paid SFHG members as will be typical going forward! However, you must email me back at this email address to let me know that you’re entering (please don’t email me until you actually turn in your beer). In your email, include all the info you’re putting on the label rubber-banded to your bottle. This way we know how many entries to expect, can plan accordingly, and will also be able to identify if anyone’s entry is missing.

Also, anyone who’s coming to the January monthly meeting can bring their brews (please still send the email afterward). If there is absolutely no way for you to get to Brewcraft by the due date, email me and we can make alternate arrangements. Winners will be announced at the SFHG’s Beer Week Homebrew Share at Pi Bar on Sunday, February 17th! Tickets for that will go sale soon and as usual with our Pi Bar Shares there will be all the pizza and salad you can eat plus loads of great homebrew to sample!

As always, if there are any questions, let Chris Cohen or Kevin Inglin know.
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The SFHG has big news!

Posted on January 14, 2013 by
SFHG

We’ve come a long way, baby! I launched the SFHG a mere ten months ago with a Homebrew Share during the 2012 SF Beer Week. Since then we’ve done a ton of fun events and the group has grown faster than I could have ever imagined. The work has been worth the effort, we’ve all seen the magic that happens when folks with a passion for brewing come together. Now I’ve got some big news to share with you about the addition of Kevin Inglin to the SFHG as our new Vice President and the huge expansion of services the SFHG provides to our members that Kevin and I are launching together! Read on for the details.

Over the last year I’ve constantly asked members what they would like to see from the SFHG as we forge ahead. I usually get two responses: 1) you want regular monthly meetings like a traditional homebrew club; and 2) you want to be able to communicate with other members more easily through some sort of forum. We’re here to grant your wishes, Happy New Year!

1)  REGULAR MONTHLY MEETINGS: In 2013, the SFHG is creating a regular monthly meeting! The monthly meetings will feature presentations of technical brewing info by experts, discussions of club activity, updates regarding upcoming homebrew competitions all over California, and possibly even the organizing of a BJCP study group. Each meeting will end with time to socialize  These regular meetings will be free for paid members and $5 for nonmembers who want to check them out. Homebrew to sample will be welcome, of course. Our monthly meetings will be on the third Tuesday of every month, starting on January 15th. Want to know what’s really freakin’ badass? Anchor Brewing has agreed to host the SFHG’s monthly meetings beginning in February! Seriously, folks! Here are the details on when and where our January meeting will be.

2) DEMOCRATIZE! The SFHG has long been seeking a way to give SF’s homebrew community a way to communicate with each other more directly, a forum where you can seek brewing advice, discuss local homebrew events, and even arrange for your own events and brew days without having to go through the SFHG leadership. Fellow homebrewer Kevin Inglin took over the “SF Home Brew Club” Meetup page in mid-2012, soon after that he approached me about merging with the SFHG so we could provide more services to the local community under a single name rather than duplicating our efforts. After lots of discussion and working together on the North Bay Brewery Bus Tour, we decided to move forward with a total merger of the two groups. One big benefit is that we can provide Meetup’s services to the entire SF homebrew community through the SFHG. The SFHG Meetup page is for all SF homebrewers, even if you’re not a paid member of the SFHG. Homebrewers who sign up on the Meetup page will be able to post to the forum, leave comments, see info about upcoming events, create their own events and brew days that other members can sign up to attend (events are subject to approval by SFHG Pres or VP to ensure they are appropriate). We will definitely still send email about SFHG activity and upcoming events, but the Meetup page will also serve as another channel for us to disseminate information about SFHG events. The new SFHG Meetup page can be found here: http://www.meetup.com/San-Francisco-Homebrewers-Guild/, please go and sign up now.

Just in case there’s any doubt – membership in the SFHG has even more benefits than before. Paid members of the SFHG will continue to receive invites to private events (there will be even more in 2013), discounts on tickets to big events, free entry in SFHG homebrew competitions, and will be an integral part of the SFHG monthly meetings. You can see info about joining here - http://sfhomebrewersguild.com/sign-up/.

I’m really looking forward to rockin’ it with you all in 2013!

– Chris Cohen (SFHG Founder & President)

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Get on the bus: the SFHC + SFHG North Bay Brewery Bus Tour rocked!

Posted on December 3, 2012 by

A huge thanks to Kevin Inglin of the SF Home Brew Club Meetup group for organizing the awesome SFHC +SFHG North Bay Brewery Bus Tour. We all had a killer time at the Bear Republic, Russian River, Third St, and Lagunitas breweries. Where else would you rather be on a dark rainy Sunday but sharing brews with 45 homebrewers?!

The SFHG is looking forward to more great collaborations with the SFHC and possibly combining the groups in the future so we can build the SF homebrew community together!

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Congrats Peter!

Posted on November 10, 2012 by

Congrats to SFHG member Peter Coward, who won a 3rd place ribbon for his American IPA in the 34th Annual CA State Homebrew Competition! I believe Peter is the first SFHG member to win a ribbon in a large BJCP certified comp!

Peter Coward 3rd place ribbon

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The SFHG Presidential Honey Ale Competition was a huge success!

Posted on November 4, 2012 by

HOLY WOWZER everyone, the amazing crowd of 2oo at the Presidential Honey Ale Comp all seemed to have an amazing time! I hope every SFHG event can live up to that excellent example and thank you soooo much to everyone who came, all the generous brewers who shared their creations, the 28 brewers who entered the WH Honey Ale competition, and all the donors who provided those fabulous prizes for the winners!

White House Honey Ale Competition winners:

#1 Jay Faustini & Andrei Fintescu — Obama’s Land of Milk & Honey Ale
#2 Michael Stearns — The 47% Honey Ale
#3 Martha Warner de Amar — Martha’s Obamalicious Honey Ale
Honorable Mention to Paul Barnes & Colin Elliot — Queen Bee Ale

People’s Choice Label Competition Winner: Paul Barne & Colin Elliot — Queen Bee Ale

People’s Choice non-WH Honey Ale: Kevin Inglin — Humble Legitimate Son (Oaked Arrogant Bastard clone)

People’s Choice WH Honey Ale: Jamie Simpson — Liberty Bee Ale

I want to really recognize and especially thank all the volunteers. Plenty of people at the event thanked me for organizing it, but the truth is that without volunteers like Mike, John, Carson, Amy, Tom, Jonathon, and all of you who took ownership of pieces of the event and just made good things happen on the spot, it just would not have been possible. The camaraderie I witnessed and the positive feedback from the even took me to another level. Thanks again everyone, I can’t say it enough. Here’s looking forward to a bright future for the SF Homebrewer’s Guild!

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Big thanks to our WH Honey Ale judges, they did a great job: Eric Cripe, Certified Cicerone who runs the Jug Shop’s beer program; Jason Henry, beer writer at SF Foodie; Gil Payne, Nombe co-ower; and Phil Cutti, the new head brewer at Southpaw. Fact: all four of the judges came up with the same three winning beer when all the tasting was done! Also, a big thanks to Carson for stewarding and managing the entire blind judging process.  Huge thanks to all the donors who provided drool-worthy prizes: the Oak Barrel in Berkeley; SF Brewcraft; Almanac Beer Company; Pi Bar; and GigaYeast!

To make sure you don’t miss any great SFHG events go and Like us on Facebook and sign up for our mailing list!

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Info on drop off locations, etc for Presidential Honey Ale Comp Entrants

Posted on October 18, 2012 by

DATE OF EVENT: Saturday, November 3rd. The competition will double as a Homebrew Share in which all the competition entrants must bring a minimum of two gallons of their Presidential Honey Ale for everyone to try. Everyone is encouraged to bring homebrew of all varieties to share, as there is a People’s Choice vote for both the favorite Presidential Honey Ale as well as the favorite general homebrew.

EVENT LOCATION & TIME: Wix Lounge on Mission St and 22nd, only two blocks from the 24th St BART station. Doors open at 1:00 PM and the party will go until 4:00 PM.

ENTERING YOUR BEER: Beer submissions are due Oct 31st. Entries must consist of three 12 oz unlabeled bottles (or two 22 oz bottles) with a piece of paper taped or rubber-banded to the bottles containing the 1) entrant’s name, 2) phone number, 3) email address, and 4) the name of the homebrew.

HOMEBREW DROP OFF SITES: There are two drop off sites in SF, call to be sure they will be open when you plan to bring them your Honey Ale for drop off!

1)     Brewcraft SF, 1555 Clement Street  San Francisco, CA 94118, (415) 751-9338

2)     Nombe, 2491 Mission Street  San Francisco, CA 94110, (415) 681-7150

BRINGING HOMEBREW FOR THE EVENT: This competition is also a Homebrew Share. As per the original rules, all entrants in the competition are required to bring at least two gallons of their brew to the event for everyone to try (that’s a little over twenty 12 oz bottles or ten 22 oz bottles). But here’s the reality, if you really want a shot at the People’s Choice award, you need to bring more. If you’re pouring 4 oz tastes of your homebrew, only 60 people will get to sample your beer if you bring two gallons. We expect about 200 people at the event, so I would encourage all you contenders to bring as much as you can bear to part with! Homebrew is best when shared with others, after all.

KEGS, JOCKEY BOXES, COOLERS, ICE, ETC: The SFHG can’t provide coolers and ice for everyone who is bringing homebrew, so please be sure to bring your own! Anyone who kegs is welcome to use a picnic tap or any other delivery system to pour their homebrew at the event, but it’s up to you to keep the brew cold. Also, we strongly encourage anyone with a jockey box to bring it and to bring kegs to hook up to it! If you’re bringing homebrew, do yourself a favor and show up at the 1:00 PM opening so you can get yourself a good spot to pour from.

PRIZES: The top Presidential Honey Ale and the People’s Choice beers will win an assortment of prizes donated by local businesses including Brewcraft SF and The Oak Barrel in Berkeley.

PRICE: If you’re entering a homebrew in the competition then your ticket is only $5.

JUDGING: Judging for the top three beers will be conducted by a panel of professional brewers, BJCP judges, and beer experts. There will be a separate vote by attendees for the People’s Choice White House Honey Ale, for the People’s Choice Homebrew (any kind other than the WH Honey Ales), and for the People’s Choice Label Competition.

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Get your tix for the SFHG Presidential Honey Ale Competition now!

Posted on October 18, 2012 by
The San Francisco Homebrewer’s Guild is very excited to announce the final details for the SFHG Presidential Honey Ale Competition & Homebrew Share! The venue is an awesome outdoor deck on the 3rd floor of a building near the 24th St BART stop in the Mission. Food at the event will be available from Nombe, one of the Mission’s top Japanese spots! All attendees will receive a custom printed SFHG tasting glass and we’ve rounded up some great prizes for our competition winners, provided by SF Brewcraft and The Oak Barrel in Berkeley among other great local businesses.


Get your tickets ASAP because there are only 50 available at the $15 level, then they pop up to $20. The event is capped at 200 total tickets so we don’t end up with a crush. There are allotments of $5 tickets for those entering a Honey Ale in the competition and for paid members of the SFHG. That only leaves about 100 for the general public. Don’t wait, people!

This is the SFHG’s biggest and most exciting event yet. We’ll have dozens of homebrewed ales on hand to sample, many based on the recently released recipe for Obama’s chef’s White House Honey Ale. Here’s an article about how the WH Honey Ale turned out when homebrewed by Garret Oliver. All of the competition entrants are bringing a couple gallons of beer to share with the crowd. After you try the brews, you’ll get to vote for your favorite White House Honey Ale, your favorite non-WH Honey Ale homebrew, and your favorite Honey Ale label design. Those votes will determine the winners of the People’s Choice and Label Design awards. A separate group of beer experts and judges will determine the top three WH Honey Ales in a blind tasting. All you brewers out there, make sure you bring enough for everyone to try if you want to have a real shot at the People’s Choice awards! If you’re entering the competition or bringing homebrew to the event please see the attached document for more information.

WHAT: The SFHG Presidential Honey Ale Competition & Homebrew Share


WHEN: November 3rd from 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM


WHERE: Wix Lounge on Mission St and 22nd St, only two blocks from the 24th St BART station. The space is a huge deck on the third floor of the US Bank building. There’s indoor space in case of rain and several heat lamps in case there’s a chill in the air.


FOOD: Food will be available for purchase by Nombe, one of San Francisco’s premier Japanese restaurants. Nombe knows what pairs well with Presidential Honey Ale, there are rumors of pork sliders among other goodies! Be sure to bring some cash so you can chow down on some Nombe!


HOW MUCH: Only $5 for SFHG members and Honey Ale competitors! For the general public there are 50 tickets available for $15 then another 50 for $20. Get your ASAP, they’ll go quick. http://sfhgprezhoneyalecomp.brownpapertickets.com/
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