HOPS Big Brew Day

On Saturday, May 4th, the Homebrewers On Pacific Shores brew club (HOPS) organized a Big Brew Day event. Homebrew in Paradise provided free extract-recipe ingredients for either a Belgian Blonde or a Dark English Mild. I went down there with my girlfriend and our friend Matt, and we brewed up a batch of the Dark English Mild. Homebrew in Paradise is also providing kegs to hold the beer, and the plan is to get everybody together on Father's Day (June 16th) to sample the brews.

It was fun to meet a few of the other Oahu-based homebrewers, and to see the gear and techniques they use for their brewing. There was also plenty of homebrew to sample--I tried four different brews in the first hour, and had to put the brakes on after that. A lot of the other brewers seemed to forge ahead without fear, and I was impressed by their ability to keep their brews going while drinking double-fisted. I was also impressed with the HOPS linchpin--I think her name was Cindy, but my memory of the event is somewhat impaired so I might have her name wrong--in her valiant efforts to maintain a sense of meeting order in the face of all the imbibing and brewing and other distractions. There was a rep there from Sam Adams (I think they flew him in from the West Coast) who didn't fare as well.

I'll be sure to post an update on the Father's Day tasting.