Matt Hunsworth
The September 2024 members meeting was held on Friday, September 20, at Home State Brewing Company.
The meeting began with a reminder that the October inter-club competition featuring Monastic beers will take place during our next meeting. Members were encouraged to register their entries prior to the meeting and bring one bottle to be judged.
We were proud to announce that we donated $864 to Harbor House of Central Florida. This money was raised in a 50/50 raffle at our Hot N Humid Homebrew Competition, and $2 from every entry fee was donated.
Commander SAAZ has taken place since our last meeting, and brewers had fantastic results:
Eric Gomez – Bronze for International Pale Lager and Gold for Spice/Herb/Vegetable Beer
David Fetty – Gold for Czech Premium Pale Lager
Mike Thompson – Bronze for Vienna Lager and Gold for Schwarzbier
Max Furth – Silver for Doppelbock
Kenny McChord – Gold for American IPA
Ian O’Keefe – Gold for Classic Style Smoked Beer
JJ Ocampo – Silver for Semi-Sweet Mead and Gold for Experimental Mead
Eric Rodriguez – Bronze for American IPA, Gold for Sweet mead, and Gold Best of Show Mead/Cider
Matt Hunsworth – Gold for American Ambers Ale, Gold for Specialty IPA, Silver Best of Show Beer, and 1st Place Heavy Medal Brewe
The club took 1st place heavy medal club for this competition! This win closed the gap between us and the first-place club, CASK, by 8 points for the top position in the Florida Homebrew Circuit Competition.
We have had a rollercoaster of a ride this season, and it’s not over yet. Three competition results are left for the season: Sunshine Challenge, NHC Finals, and Best Florida Beer. Anything can happen. Stay tuned!
The “Fantasy Brew-off” and “12 Days of Christmas Exchange” events were discussed. We are continuing the discussions with the club on Discord to determine whether these events will occur this year.
The Sunshine Challenge Awards will be held on Sunday, October 6, at 1:00 pm at Ivanhoe Park Lager House. Members are encouraged to attend, enjoy the event live, and support the local homebrew community.
The Best Florida Beer Club beer trained, as announced. Thanks to Dan Morrison for driving our entries to Tampa. Dan will deliver our entries to Rockpit Brewing on October 3rd from 7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.
The following upcoming festival schedule was announced to the club:
Mash of the Titan – Saturday, Oct 12th, 2 pm – 6 pm, Lake Nona Town Center
Orlando Beer Festival – Saturday, November 2, Noon to 5 pm, Festival Park
Tom & Dan Bad at Business Beer Fest – Saturday, November 23, Noon to 4 pm, Downtown Sanford
Science on Tap – Saturday, January 25, 2025, Noon to 4 pm, Orlando Science Center
Cocoa Village Brewer’s Bash – Saturday, February 1st, 1 pm to 5 pm, Riverfront Park – March 29, 2025, Noon to 5 pm, Winter Garden
As with all festivals, we will need beer and volunteers. Contact the board if you can donate beer, volunteer to pour, or both.
The club Austin P Harris Home Brewer of the Year standings have been updated. Mike Thompson is in the lead with 114 points, Matt Hunsworth is in second with 104, and Bill Carley is in third with 96 points.
Finally, the countdown days for the remainder of the year were shared to conclude the meeting.
Thank you to everyone who attended this month’s meeting. We’ll see you at our October meeting on Friday, October 18, at Ivanhoe Park Lager House.
Cheers!
