September Meeting: Quality Assurance with Escarpment Labs

Monday September 10th at 7:00 PM
Muddy York Brewing Co.
22 Cranfield Road, Toronto, Ontario, M4B 3H1  MAP

This month we have three exciting meeting elements!

  • Guest Presenter: Chris Saunders from Escarpment Laboratories
  • New Format for Structured Tasting
  • Monthly Swap: Bottle Exchange - No sign-up required! Just bring a 6 pack of your finest brews and you'll receive a randomized 6-pack to take home! Please try to include your name, beer name and style on the label/sticker.

We are going back to our gracious host, Muddy York Brewing Co! We request that everyone spend some money to support our wonderful host. Don't forget to buy some bottles from their shop!

First time? Read our Monthly Meeting overview!

Bringing Beer to Share: Do you want everyone to have a chance to taste your beer? Great! There are usually 40+ people at each meeting so we recommend bringing at least:

  • Four 355mL bottles, two 650mL bottles, or a growler
  • Recipe notes – people will want to know what you did to make your beer
  • If you are looking for help troubleshooting or really want constructive feedback, consider attending the Structured Tasting.
    • Of course, feedback isn’t just limited to one meeting component.
Don’t forget to bring your tasting glass!

Meeting Schedule

  • Structured Tasting: 7:00-7:30 PM:
    • A group of the most eager homebrewers gathers to get&give feedback to anyone that wants thoughtful feedback on their beer before people’s palates get fatigued
    • *New Format* for Sept 2018
      • See the description below for details
    • No Sign Up Required, first-come first-served
  • Announcements: ~7:50 PM – The club President welcomes everyone to the meeting and makes announcements about upcoming events and activities
  • Pro Brewer Q&A: 8:00-8:30 PM – Chris Saunders from Escarpment Laboratories
  • Mingle: 8:30-10:00 PM we have:
    • Last Brewer Standing - Re-cap of Round 1
    • More Sampling: Stick around to socialize and share more homebrew as LBS goes on in the background
  • Clean Up: 10:00 PM – All the fun comes at a price. Please stick around for a few minutes and help us straighten up! Your help is greatly appreciated.
  • Bottle Swap: Pick up your randomized 6-pack at the door before you leave!

Pro Brewer & Presenter – Chris Saunders

Chris is responsible for Quality Assurance and a Lab Technician at Escarpment Labs. Along with ensuring product meets strict quality guidelines, he is also responsible for improving processes within the company via software automation.
Previously worked at Collective Arts on the packaging line and as a production brewer, where he was responsible for the production and processing of thousands of hectolitres of product.

New Structured Tasting Format

We are trying a new Structured Tasting format this month! We've gotten feedback that our current format isn't working as well as it used to with the increased participation we've been getting.
Instead of having everyone gather in the corner, we will make structured tasting the sole focus of the first 30 minutes of the meeting. The brewer of the beer being tasted will use the PA system to introduce the beer they are sharing, and specify the kind of feedback they are seeking. We will have a few veteran members at the front of the room to share feedback to the the brewer, and also to the crowd. The crowd is also welcome to offer feedback as they taste along, but is not mandatory.
Benefits:
- Focused feedback for the brewer
- Learning opportunity for people in the crowd tasting along that want to train their palates
We expect the crowd to keep all side conversations to a whisper, so that others can hear the feedback offered by the veteran members.

Membership & Guest Attendance

Due to AGCO requirements for serving home-brewed beer under SOP (Special Occasion Permit), club membership is required to attend monthly meetings. However, prospective members are invited to attend their first meeting as a guest to check us out before committing to membership.

Attend once and you'll want to keep coming back, we promise!

Click here to get on the guest list for free.