Presented by GTA Brews and Lansdowne Brewery.

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

This event is an AHA registered Big Brew for National Homebrew Day Event.

Homebrew clubs around the USA and around the world celebrate National Homebrew Day differently. Our club has decided to celebrate it by partnering with a great local brewery, Lansdowne Brewery at 303 Lansdowne Ave.

On Saturday May 7th, we will collaboratively brew a 10 bbl batch of wort and split it among 50 club members to take home for a fee of $10 each (to cover the costs of the wort and competition). You can straight up ferment the wort as is, or alter the wort composition further before fermenting it. There is a limit of one carboy per person (~ 5.5 gal / 21 L each).  It’s hard to say exactly what time we will begin filling fermentors but anticipate it will be between 3 pm and 4 pm. We encourage all participants to submit the beers they create from this wort to the competition since the competition fee is included in the $10 fee. (details below).

*Please note that due to AGCO rules, the Big Brew is open to Paid Members only. Visit the membership page to join for only $5, or pay for membership when paying your $10 Big Brew fee.*

The Event

On May 7th, during the brew day we will have an SOP so you can come to Lansdowne, hang out with fellow club members, and share your homebrew. There will be a limited number of people allowed in the brewhouse area at a time, but we will take turns to make sure everyone gets a chance to hang around the brew system while the batch is being brewed.

During the brew session we will host our May Club Meeting in the bar area of Lansdowne Brewery. This will include our usual educational component or presentation, structured tasting, and mingling.

The meeting will take place from 12 pm – 4 pm.

During the latter part of the meeting we will begin filling fermentors. It’s possible that filling may take some time and go past 4 pm but we will do our best to do things in an orderly and efficient manner.

The Competition

Approximately 8 weeks later there will be a competition where participants can submit the beer they brewed with the wort to be judged, and a winner will be declared. The costs of the competition will be covered by the $10 fee, so it will not cost any extra to enter. One entry per participant.

Details about exact submission deadline, judging dates, and prizes will be announced as they are worked out.

We have created a loose set of rules regarding what can be done with the wort if you wish to submit it into the competition.

Rules:

• Beers submitted to the competition must be based on the wort produced by Lansdowne at the big brew event, blending in other finished beer is not allowed.
• You are free to supplement the wort with other ingredients, including any pre or post fermentation additions such as:
  • fruit, juice, water, sugar, spices, wild yeast, dry hops, etc…
• Reheating the wort is allowed, but no more base malt or malt extract can be added. Reheating the wort is allowed for the following reasons only:
  • add more post-mash ingredients such as:
    • steeping specialty malts, spices/special ingredients, boil hops, etc…
  • increase the gravity or increase IBU

If you have a question about the rules please ask on the Facebook Event for the Big Brew Day or email gtabrews@gmail.com.

Update – Competition Entry Deadline – July 3rd

Facebook Event for Big Brew Competition

The entry deadline for the Big Brew Competition is July 3rd. Entries can be dropped off at Lansdowne Brewery during business hours. Each entry should include 2 bottles.

Entrants must fill out an entry form for each bottle, and attach them to each bottle with rubber band. This is a non-BJCP competition so there are no strict styles. Instead beers will be judged on overall balance and enjoyability. The entry form has a section for beer description, which will serve as your way to communicate your intention to the judges.

Print your: Blank Entry Form

Entries will be judges by experienced BJCP judges in an informal manner. Feedback will be provided to entrants, but not as extensive as a regular BJCP scoresheet.

The Recipe

Grain Bill
50% 2 row
30% Wheat
20% Rye

Boil Hops
Summit at 60 minutes
Cascade at flameout.

Targets
1.050 OG
20 IBU

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