New members

[tikitatt]

I am a new member. Now what? I know this is the worst month of the year to join a club as everyone is celebrating the holidays. As a new member how can I find out about meetings, beer testings, events, etc.? I am a virgin in home brewing and look forward to brewing my first batch as well as meeting fellow beer enthusiasts.

Happy holidays and best wishes,
John Sissel

<edit> : Stripped John's personal info from the post

[bwarbiany]

If you've become a paid member, you'll shortly be granted access to our club-only forums, where some of the private brewdays and other events are announced. In general, club meetings (I believe) are announced publicly, so watch the forums for those.

As you point out, with the holidays there are unlikely to be any club-coordinated events until sometime in January.

[jward]

As of a few minutes ago you should have a full access to the several club only area. We usually have 6 meetings a year typically meeting at Addison Homebrew Provisions (thanks Eric!) every other month. Often non-member guests attend to check out the club. On the between months we usually meet at someones home for a brew day. These are private meetings for members and guest they bring. Keep you eyes open for places, dates, and times. They are always posted.

Welcome and I look forward to meeting you.

[tikitatt]

Thanks guys for the quick response. I paid my dues yesterday when I signed up for the club. I plan to brew my first batch of beer today using the equipment I purchased from Erik at Addison’s Home Brewing Provisions. My first attempt will be a cream stout which I am looking forward to drinking when the time comes. I have the basic home brewing kit along with a nice immersion wort chiller.

Is there a particular brew pub that you meet at or does it change? My wife and I own a house in Fountain Valley and would like to offer our house for a meeting if needed.

Happy holidays and look forward to meeting everyone,
John

[dhempy]

Welcome John:

I'm sure you will find the club to be a barrel full of laughs and beer knowledge. Good luck on your first beer .. be sure to ask any questions you have here ... there will be responses faster than you can say "Down the Hatch". FWIW, you may wish to consider offering your house up for a brewday as the club typically has bi-monthly brewdays at a club members house. Club Brewdays are VERY GOOD for getting hands on experience .. even if you are the host (experienced or not!!).

Enjoy!

Dan

[maltbarley]

Hi John,
Welcome (again)!

Eric also has some great brewing demonstrations at his shop at least once a month so check with him for the schedule. Even if you are doing extract brewing and he is having an all grain demo, you are sure to find some very useful information.

I hope your brew goes well today,
Tim

[tikitatt]

Hi Tim,

I attended Eric's seminar last Sunday and really enjoyed it. That is where I purchased my kit and supplies. I'm trying to post a picture of me in Brussels with the Saint Arnold statue but having issues doing so. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
John

[backyard brewer]

Hi John,

Welcome to the club and look forward to meeting you . I edited your post to strip out your personal info just to try and keep your spam down.

[tikitatt]

Derrin,

Thank you. I really hate spam.

John

[tikitatt]

I just cracked open a Sierra Nevada Pale Ale to celebrate brewing my first batch of beer. Everything went smoothly which makes me wonder if I forgot something. I am not sure if this is a rookie mistake but after pouring my beer into the carboy I took a sip of the soon to be beer and it wasn’t bad.

[lexuschris]

Congrats on your first brew & Welcome to the club!

--LexusChris

[tikitatt]

Thank you! Can you recommend a beginners recipe for me to make next?

[lexuschris]

Are you set up for all-grain, or extract brewing? What kind of beers do you like to drink?

We have a recipe database at the top of the forums. If any of those look good, you can always PM the brewer for tips & further ideas.. or even a conversion from AG to extract.


--LexusChris

[tikitatt]

Well, I bought a kettle, carboy, and a 6 gal. bucket, mesh bag and ingrediants for a cream stout from Eric. Not sure if that is considered an extract or all-grain set up. I love all beers as long as they are not Coors/Miller or Bud. Typically, I drink Sierra Nevada Pale Ale and enjoyed their 30 year anniversary ale tonight.

[backyard brewer]

I'd recommend you read How To Brew by John Palmer at least once before you do anything. It will really shed a lot of light on all the basics and some of the advanced stuff. You can read the whole thing online at howtobrew.com but you'll want a hard copy as well.

Sounds like you're setup up for extract.