Winnipeg Brew Bombers

Hello Brew Bombers!

I have shared a couple of quick polls in the latest email regarding the club kit and an upcoming yeast experiment brew day. 

Since there are multiple ways to make a sour beer, we’re planning to have a couple versions of the next club kit. The first version will include lactobacillus for making a kettle sour, and the other will use sourvisiae for souring in the fermenter.

You don’t need to worry about your fermenter when using sourvisiae as it’s not difficult to clean like brettanomyces. Sourvisiae is a modified version of the standard cerevisiae ale yeast.

Please fill the Club Kit poll to let me know which version you would like. If no reply, the default kit will be sourvisiae.

I’m also planning on having another yeast experiment brew day on November 28th at Grain to Glass, assuming there’s enough interest. Please fill the Yeast Experiment poll to let me know if you’re available, and the temp control question will help determine which experiment to run.

If there’s any questions just let me know.

Cheers!
Ryan Mason

Hello Brew Bombers!

Apologies for the late post here. Our next meeting will be on Sunday November 1st at Torque Brewing, and the topic will be Homebrew Evaluations.
Bring in any beer, cider, or mead that you would like feedback on.

I’ll be bringing a stack of the evaluation sheets for anyone to use, as well as some plain crackers as a palate cleanser.

There won’t be any snack potluck for this meeting, but I will bring back the beer raffle!

Try to arrive on time at 7PM to make the most of this meeting, as we should be done by 9:30.

As this meeting is about sampling, please plan a responsible ride home if needed!

There will also be some used bottles from Pro Am entries up for grabs, make sure to bring a box or bag if you want some.

Cheers!
Ryan Mason

Financial Review:

Paul presented the club revenue and expenditures for the season.  We’re running lean as we’ve made some investments that will take time to recoup (e.g.: Oak Barrel), and we’ve seen a drop in membership.

Next Season:

• Club Kit Style: Gose – Steve Shaw has offered up is multi-award-winning “Soniarita” recipe.
• Creative Competition Theme: 10% or higher ABV

Lots of ideas were floated for club meeting topics, activities, and recruiting strategies.  These were all noted and will be considered by the club executive.

Club Bylaws:

After a few minor revisions, the motion to implement the Bylaws was voted unanimously in favor and was carried.  You can review the final document here winnipegbrewbombers.ca/club-bylaws.

Executive Election Results:

• President: Ryan Mason
• Vice President: Adrian Zetner
• Treasurer: Paul Mailhot
• Secretary: Luke Thissen

We will be taking some time over the next few weeks to onboard the newly elected leadership into their roles.  I’ll still be handing things that are in flight like the Big Brew and the Windup BBQ, but after that, Ryan and Adrian will be taking over.

Full details here: https://www.goldeyes.com/blue-cross-park/ballpark-brewfest
Buy tickets here: https://www.tixr.com/groups/goldeyes/events/ballpark-brewfest-184668

• VIP ticket: $90 including fees and taxes
  • VIP ticket holders receive an extra hour (1pm-2pm), a voucher for a hot dog or hamburger at Goldie’s Grill, souvenir Ballpark Brewfest 5 oz sample mug, plus vouchers good for a free pint at Little Brown Jug, a free flight at Kilter Brewing, and a free pizza at Trans Canada Brewing (1pm – 5pm) – limited to 300 tickets
• General Admission: $70 including fees and taxes
  • Includes a souvenir Ballpark Brewfest 5 oz sample mug (2pm – 5pm)
• Designated Driver: $10 including fees and taxes
  • Includes a can of dealcoholized Bluebeary Ale from Trans Canada Brewing plus a Pepsi product from Goldie’s Grill (1pm – 5pm)

Lots of great updates!

May Meeting

Our last regular meeting of the season will be 7pm, Tuesday May 5th at Oxus Brewing.  Steph Barten (Brat Cat Mead) will lead a Honey and Mead tasting seminar!

Annual General Meeting

The AGM will be held at Devil May Care on Tuesday June 2nd.  This is when we cover club business – Executive elections, voting on club kit style / competition theme, review club finances, etc.  Consider running for one of the club exec positions! Nominations can be made during the meeting as well.

Big Brew

Will take place on Sunday June 14th at Brazen Brewing.  Steve Shaw was the winner of the Clone Wars competition at the last meeting with his copy of Sookram’s MacGuffin, but has he’s already had the pleasure of doing Big Brews he’s deferred selection of the Big Brew recipe to 2nd place, which was… ME! I’m already talking to Evan at Brazen about a couple different recipe options, so stay tune for that once we decide what to go with.  In the meantime, if you plan to participate in the Big Brew, please Sign up here! https://forms.gle/WXAYXPmPJXCZ1mNk7 

Season Windup

Saturday June 20th!

We’ve made the executive decision to have this year’s windup on private property.  The location is still TBD, but being on private property gives us the option to bring and share our homebrew with each other!  I’ll reach out to some locations to gauge their interest in hosting us.  If you’re willing to have the club take over your yard, feel free to let us know. 

Ballpark Brewfest

It’s officially happening on Saturday, July 18th and we’ve been invited!

• Leadership
  -We’d like one or two members to volunteer to be the coordinator(s) for our participation, managing preparations and report to the club executives
• Brews
  -We can offer 4-6 different beverages from our booth.
  -Club budget is a bit lean currently, so we’re hoping some members would be willing to support by brewing and donating the brews for the event.
  -The “homebrews” must be brewed at a commercial facility in order for us to serve at the event, so we’ll want to plan a group brew day at a local brewery.
• Volunteers on the day
  -Setting up the table, jockey boxes, etc
  -Serving samples
  -Teardown and cleaning up

Cheers!

Dan Molinski

The last meeting at Grain to Glass went very well and we’re all looking forward to evaluating the results of the various co-fermentations! Huge thanks to Steve, Paul, and everyone who stepped up to make the meeting a success.

Our next meeting is the second Tuesday, January 13th at Sookram’s and we’re planning to do the beer off-flavours training. This meeting is open only to paid club members.

The first batch of beer has finished aging in the club’s new oak barrel! It’s already been claimed for the next batch, but because we don’t want the barrel sitting idle with nothing in it, get your name on the waitlist (email the President) and start planning an oak-aged brew!

The Manitoba Pilsner club kit is available at Grain to Glass. If you’re a full paying member please pick your kit up ASAP so they don’t sit around the shop for too long. As in previous years, you can get the kit delivered (within city limits) if you add a note to an online order.

For convenience, the new club beer mugs are available to be purchased at Grain to Glass. There will also be mugs for purchase at future meetings as well, until they’re all sold.

That’s all for 2025! I hope you all have a great holiday season and a happy New Year.

December Meeting

We’ll be meeting at Grain to Glass on Tuesday December 2nd, and we’ll be doing a brewing experiment where we brew a Saison, split the batch, and try different co-fermentations.  We’ll have a follow up meeting later in the season where we’ll be able to taste the results.

If anyone has a recipe for a basic Saison, please let me know.

Names for the snack potluck are at the bottom of this email.

NEW Oak Barrel Co-op

Last season Andre pitched the idea of a club-owned barrel that members could have access to for barrel-ageing their brews.  I’m happy to announce that the barrel has been purchased and the first group of brewers will be breaking it in with a Scottish Ale. Full details of how the barrel co-op works can be seen on the club website: Co-Operative Oak Barrel Program.  A couple details still need to be ironed out, but the page will be updated once that’s done.

NEW WBB Mugs

The club branded beer mugs have arrived!  I’ll bring them to the next meeting where they’ll be available for purchase for $15 each.​​​

Manitoba Pilsner Club Kit

The test brew was a success – many of you got to taste the beer at the last meeting.  A couple minor adjustments were made as a result of some feedback, but the recipe is (mostly) ready Club Brew 2025 – Manitoba Pilsner.

We still have to get the kits assembled, so stay tuned for an email announcing when they’re ready to be picked up.

“Clone Wars” Creative Competition

After some input from members, we’ve decided that the creative competition will take place during the April meeting at Barn Hammer.  This should provide plenty of time for everyone to plan their entries.  There hasn’t been any feedback to the proposed rules from my last update, so those will be the rules we go by.  Time to get brewing!