New Beer Friday, Siciliano's Cup Edition (April 22)

The Siciliano's Cup

By Steve Siciliano

Tomorrow a group of BJCP-certified judges, commercial brewers and industry professionals will gather at the Guest House in Grand Rapids to judge the 172 entries that were submitted in the 13th Annual Siciliano’s Homebrew Competition. Each of those entries will be evaluated according to BJCP style guidelines, many will be awarded gold, silver or bronze medals, and the name of another Best of Show winner will be added to the Siciliano’s Cup. The BOS winner will also have the opportunity to brew the winning recipe on Trail Point Brewery’s seven-barrel system and will receive a $500.00 gift card from Siciliano’s Market.

The awards ceremony and the presentation of the Siciliano’s Cup will be the highlight of the 13th Annual Siciliano’s Homebrew Party on Saturday, May 21, at Johnson Park. If you entered the competition but will not be attending the party you may pick up your score sheet (and medal) at Siciliano’s Market beginning on Sunday, May 22. If you live outside of the Grand Rapids area and would like your score sheet and medal mailed to you, contact me at this address: steve@sicilianosmkt.com.

Tickets for the 13th Annual Siciliano’s Homebrew Party are $45.00 and may be purchased in person at the store or with a credit card over the phone by calling 616-453-9674.

In other news, everything is set for the Fourth Annual Beer City Big Brew on the Calder sponsored by Siciliano’s Market, Coldbreak Brewing and Gravel Bottom Brewery & Supply. On Saturday, May 7, forty-eight teams of homebrewers will be brewing up batches of Beer City Saison on the Calder Plaza in downtown Grand Rapids from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Samples of homebrew will be available for those who have attained the legal drinking age and food will be available for purchase from Patty Matters food truck. The Big Brew event is free of charge and is open to the public. Watch the video below for more information.

Finally, we have a few hop rhizomes left from this year’s pre-order that we are selling on a first come first serve basis for $5.00 each. Call 616-453-9674 for the specific varieties.

New and Returning Beer

• Founders Palm Reader Pale Ale, $1.79/12oz - "Palm Reader is made with Michigan-grown Crystal and Zuper-Saazer hops. Derived from Saaz, a traditional noble hop hailing from the Czech Republic, these Zuper-Saazer hops, grown locally at Hop Head Farms, impart intense and fruity aromas. Combined with the citrus notes of the Crystal hops and the simple malt bill, this beer is crisp, bright and delicious" (source).
• Alaskan Kicker Session IPA, $1.69/12oz - "Inspired by 24 hours of daylight, Kicker Session IPA is an anytime brew with fruity Citra and Amarillo hops and a burst of bright citrus Simcoe hop aroma" (source).
• Left Hand Good Juju, $2.09/12oz - "Fresh ginger kisses the lithe malty body, copulating with the hop in this pale ale ancestor. Emancipate yourself from the dead of winter, none but the vernal equinox can free the light. A refreshing frivolity. Hey mon. Shuccha fwangaa! Better a witch doctor than a trouble maker. Quit yor’ bitchin’ an’ get to witchin'" (source).
• Southern Tier Three Citrus Peel Out, $7.79/22oz - "3 Citrus Peel Out is an Imperial Wheat Ale brewed with blood orange juice, tangerine and grapefruit peels. 3 Citrus Peel Out is the newest in the company’s seasonal Imperial Series. It features an 8.5% ABV, a grain bill consisting of 35% wheat, CTZ & Mosaic hops and a walloping amount of citrus. Over four and a half pounds of tangerine & grapefruit peel per barrel accompany tropical flavors from Mosaic hops and an added boost of blood orange juice during fermentation. This refreshing brew sits around 30 IBU and its nice citrus pith complements the bitterness. Residual sweetness helps accentuate the fruity character and masks the 8.5% ABV well" (source).
• Lagunitas Lucky 13, $2.19/12oz - "An ultra-mega-mondo red ale first made for our anniversary in 2006 to celebrate thirteen years of brewing ultra-mega-mondo ales" (source).
• Odd Side Chilling The Most, $1.99/12oz - "Dry hopped lager" (source).
• Odd Side Troll Toll, $1.99/12oz - "Session IPA brewed with lactose" (source).
• Short's Melt Your Brain, $1.99/12oz - "Melt My Brain is an experimental Golden Ale brewed with coriander, juniper berries, limes and blended with Short’s made tonic water to create the tasting experience of drinking a gin and tonic cocktail. Delicate aromas of citrus and pine flow into bold bright flavors of sweet lime with a slightly sticky bitterness. Refreshing and clean, a tasty tonic effervescence provokes the palate for more" (source).

Video of the Week | Big Brew News

Cheers!


R.I.P. Prince

2014 Big Brew on the Calder: Official Recap

Visit the Siciliano's Facebook page to see many more photos from this year's Big Brew event on Calder Plaza.

By Steve Siciliano

Cloudy skies, cool temperatures, sporadic rain showers and gusting winds did nothing to diminish the enthusiasm of the 200+ homebrewers who gathered in downtown Grand Rapids this past Saturday for the second annual Siciliano’s Big Brew on the Calder.

During the height of the festivities Barb and I were standing in the middle of the plaza taking in the surrounding buzz of activity when a team captain walked up and offered us a taste of an excellent barrel aged imperial stout.

“This a great event,” he said as we clinked our glasses together. “Thanks for sponsoring this.”

We replied that there was no need to thank us as he does just that every time he spends his hard earned dollars in our store. Barb and I would repeat those words dozens of times throughout the day.

Sponsoring a local Big Brew Day is one of the ways that Barb and I express our appreciation to the community of homebrewers for supporting Siciliano’s, but it’s not the only reason we organize this annual downtown event. The Big Brew on the Calder gives West Michigan homebrewers the opportunity to display their passion for the hobby on a very public stage and is a great way of showing the area, the state and the country what a vibrant homebrewing community there is in the Grand Rapids area.

After city commissioner Rosalynn Bliss led the simultaneous, country-wide toast to the enriching hobby of homebrewing, I looked out on the fifty-three teams of homebrewers surrounding the towering red sculpture that has become the iconic symbol of Grand Rapids. To me that scene was just one more example as to why our city is, and always will be, “Beer City USA.”

A little wind can't stop homebrewers

Siciliano's Upcoming Homebrew Events: Info & Updates

By Steve Siciliano

On Saturday, April 19, over eighty BJCP-certified judges, professional brewers, experienced homebrewers and industry professionals will gather at the Guest House in Grand Rapids to participate in the judging for the Eleventh Annual Siciliano’s Homebrew Competition. Included in this year’s record number of entries are submissions from homebrewers in Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Virginia, Florida, Texas and Montana.

The competition’s Best-of-Show winner will be announced at the Eleventh Annual Siciliano’s Homebrew Party on Saturday, May 17 at Townsend Park. Those not attending the party may pick up score sheets and medals at Siciliano’s Market beginning on Sunday, May 18.

If you live outside of the Grand Rapids area and would like your score sheets and medals mailed to you, please contact me at this address: steve@sicilianosmkt.com. If you are planning on attending the party and have not yet purchased a ticket you should do so as soon as possible as space is limited. You may purchase tickets in person at the store or with a credit card over the phone by calling 616-453-9674. Tickets are $40.00.

We are in the final planning stages for the Second Annual Siciliano’s Big Brew on the Calder. Fifty-three teams of homebrewers will be brewing up batches of “Beer City Brown” on the Calder Plaza in downtown Grand Rapids on Saturday, May 3, from 9 am to 2 pm. The Big Brew event is free of charge and is open to the public. Entertainment will be provided by local music legend Jimmie Stagger.

In Defense of Brown Ales

By Steve Siciliano

I’m sure more than a few eyebrows were raised when we announced that we will be donating the ingredients for a brown ale for May 3rd’s Big Brew at the Calder. “Wait, the recipe is a brown ale??” an incredulous commenter posted on our Facebook page. “Why????”

Any inquiry with that many question marks deserves an answer.

If we were to poll the forty-eight Big Brew teams as to which three beer styles they would least want to brew up at the May 3rd event, chances are good that brown ale would appear on many of the lists. Why then are we supplying the ingredients for what we realize is a decidedly less popular style? Why not an IPA again? Why not a pale ale? Why not a malty scotch ale, a robust porter or a Russian imperial stout? Why a boring brown ale? Why????

The primary reason we chose brown ale as the Big Brew brew is precisely because it is such an overlooked and under appreciated style. Now, I will be the first to admit that many commercial browns are indeed boring and some might deserve to be under appreciated. But there are also quite a few good ones, and the ones that I consider to be good are being produced by domestic craft brewers who are making browns in the American style.

American browns are hoppier than their English counterparts and the recipe that we will be formulating for the Big Brew at the Calder will feature a nice American hop presence. Of course the brewing teams can tweak the ingredients that we are donating and do whatever they wish with the recipe at their own expense. Doubtless some will choose to do so and we’re fine with that. But it is my hope that the majority of teams will consider it worth their time and effort to make a nice, decidedly not boring, American brown.

Siciliano's 2014 Big Brew at the Calder: Sign-Up Info

By Steve Siciliano

On Saturday, May 3, Siciliano’s Market will once again be sponsoring an American Homebrewers Association Big Brew Day at the Calder Plaza in downtown Grand Rapids.

Last year’s inaugural Siciliano’s Big Brew at the Calder was a huge success and we think you’ll agree that with entertainment provided by local music legend Jimmie Stagger, this year’s event even better.

Minor alterations to our wort chilling station will result in reduced wort cooling times which will in turn allow us to constrict the times between the staggered starts for the brewing teams. This should enable every team to finish no later than 1 pm.

As the sponsor for the Big Brew at the Calder, Siciliano’s Market will be donating and providing the following:

• The ingredients for forty-eight all grain batches of “Beer City Brown”.
• Bottled water for brewing.
• A chilling station capable of simultaneously cooling six kettles of wort.
• Platform hand carts for moving brewing equipment to and from vehicles and transporting kettles of wort to and from the chilling station.

We are now asking those who wish to participate in this event to complete a sign-up sheet at Siciliano’s Market or contact us (steve@sicilianosmkt.com) with the following information:

• Whether you would like to brew one of the forty-eight batches of “Beer City Brown” with your own equipment (mash/lauter tuns, propane burners, kettles, etc.) and be designated as a captain of a brewing team.
• Whether you would like to brew but are unwilling or unable to transport your equipment to the event. In this case you will be assigned to a brewing team.
• Whether you would like to participate as a member of a specific brewing team. If so, indicate the captain you would like to brew with.
• Whether you wish to participate as a volunteer helper.

While we will do our best to accommodate everyone who would like to participate as a brewer at this event, please keep in mind that the number of donated batches and the number of spots per team is limited.

2013 Big Brew Event on Calder Plaza: The Boss' Recap

By Steve Siciliano

The weather was perfect, the truck with the brewing water showed up on time, the buildings surrounding the Calder Plaza are still standing and Coldbreak Brewing’s custom-built six-manifold chilling station worked admirably. In other words, the major concerns that caused me a sleepless night on the eve of the first annual Siciliano’s sponsored Big Brew on Calder Plaza never came to pass. There were a few minor hiccups of course—hiccups are inevitable when putting on an event of this size and scope—but in the coming weeks we’ll do some hindsight evaluation and figure out the ways that we can make the second annual Big Brew at the Calder even better.

As I was visiting with the brewing teams on Saturday I was amazed by how everyone was so excited to be a part of this event. That alone made all the planning, hard work and that sleepless night worthwhile. The Siciliano’s team did the planning but in the end it was the forty-eight brewing teams that should receive the major recognition for making this event what I consider to be a huge success.

I would like to thank Grand Rapids mayor George Heartwell for taking the time to visit with the brewers and for participating in the country-wide toast to the culture of homebrewing.

Special thanks to Boyd Culver and the Coldbreak Brewing team and to Greg Masck for his truly invaluable assistance. We couldn’t have pulled this off without them.

Mashing in

Stay tuned to The Buzz. More photos from the event are coming soon.

The Scorpion Six-Manifold Chilling Station, Trial Run

By Steve Siciliano

We have been busy making the final preparations for what is shaping up to be the largest American Homebrewers Association Big Brew in the thirteen-year history of this annual spring celebration. I was recently informed that Grand Rapids mayor George Heartwell will stop by the Calder Plaza this Saturday and will join us in the simultaneous, country-wide toast to the enriching hobby of home brewing.

Yesterday Greg Masck, Boyd Culver and I did an on-site test run for the custom-built, six-manifold chilling station that Boyd, the owner of Coldbreak Brewing, designed and fabricated. We tapped into a fire hydrant on Monroe, ran a fire hose up a twenty foot wall to the plaza and ran the hose another 250 feet to the chilling station. I am happy to report that the Scorpion worked perfectly. See below for pictures of the setup.

Tapping a hydrant on Monroe 

From the hydrant to the wall

Climbing the 20-ft wall

Behold, the Scorpion!

Monday Musings: Homebrewers Are a Hardy Bunch

The question is, what will
 this look like 10 days from now?

By Steve Siciliano

Yesterday I watched a pair of mallards happily paddling around on a pond in my backyard that wasn’t there just a week ago. In downtown Grand Rapids over the past few days the river has gotten dangerously close to the top of the flood walls, Riverside Park is now under water and swollen creeks in Kent County have washed roads and two-lane bridges away. We’ve certainly had a lot of rain lately.

I usually don’t take Michigan’s roller coaster weather personally. Normally I stoically cope with the breath-sapping humidity of summer, the grey gloom of late November and early December and the unrelenting, bone-chilling temperatures of winter. But I have been taking the incessant rain this spring personally because, you see, the Big Brew on the Calder is now less than two weeks away.

But so what if these ceaseless April monsoons continue into May? We west Michigan homebrewers are a hardy bunch. If it’s still raining two weeks from now we’ll don the appropriate gear and fire up the burners. We won’t let a little inclement weather deter us from gathering May 4 on the Calder Plaza to be part of the largest AHA Big Brew Day in history. And at one p.m. EST on that day, whether it’s raining or shining, we will join in a simultaneous, country-wide toast to the enriching hobby of homebrewing.

The Scorpion: Custom Six-Manifold Wort Chilling Station

Boyd Culver with the Scorpion

By Steve Siciliano

In the process of planning and organizing an event with the size and scope as May 4th’s Big Brew at the Calder, it’s inevitable that there would be administrative barriers that had to be hurdled, kinks that needed to be straightened out and logistical challenges that had to be overcome. I’m pleased to report that so far we have successfully negotiated every major and minor obstacle and that things are progressing nicely.

Perhaps the biggest problem that needed to be addressed and solved was how we were going to efficiently manage the chilling of forty-eight kettles of hot wort. After much pondering, head scratching and brainstorming, we decided that this would best be accomplished by a custom built, six-manifold chilling station.

We assigned the task of building the wort chilling station to a local company that manufactures the immersion wort chillers that we sell at Siciliano’s. Boyd Culver, the owner of Coldbreak Brewing, has named the chilling station “The Scorpion” and he designed it to simultaneously and efficiently chill six kettles of hot wort with water that will be sourced from an on-site fire hydrant. Boyd and his employees will be manning the chilling station during the event.

I would like to recognize and thank longtime Siciliano’s customer, avid home brewer and good friend Greg Masck for his valuable insights, legwork and help with this project.

How the Scorpion got its name

Monday Musings: Calder Plaza AHA Big Brew Event

By Steve Siciliano

I think it’s fitting that what is shaping up to be one of the largest AHA Big Brew Days in the sixteen-year-history of this national event will take place May 4th at the Calder Plaza in downtown Grand Rapids. The Calder Plaza has been the site of numerous ethnic and community festivals over the years and each summer it becomes the central venue for the city’s annual Festival of the Arts. The homebrewers who will be gathering at the plaza to celebrate the culture of homebrewing are also a part of a strong, proud and vibrant community, and the end results of the activity that binds this particular community together—home-produced, hand-crafted beer—can certainly be considered fermented works of art.

Like the members of the area’s ethnic communities, West Michigan homebrewers are proud of their accomplishments and are eager to share their community’s unique culture and rich heritage with others. This ultimately is what the Big Brew on the Calder will be all about.

IMPORTANT UPCOMING DATES 

• Tickets for the 10th Annual Siciliano’s Homebrew Party will go on sale Monday, March 25th. Please remember that the capacity of this popular event is limited and tickets go quickly. Click here for more information on this year’s party and seminars. 
• March 25th is also when we will begin accepting entries for the 2013 Siciliano’s Homebrew Competition. This will be the first year for online registration. Click here for more information.

Siciliano's AHA Big Brew Update: Spots Still Open

By Steve Siciliano

While all forty-eight of the ingredient packages that Siciliano’s Market is donating for May 4th’s Big Brew at the Calder have now been spoken for and team captains have been appointed, there are still spots available on a number of brewing teams. Anyone wishing to participate in this event as an assistant brewer should contact me at steve@sicilianosmkt.com and I will assign you to a team.

Captains—please be advised that I will be directing all future correspondence to you and ask that you disseminate pertinent information regarding scheduled brewing times, parking information, etc. to the members of your respective teams.

I would like to thank all those who have signed on to help, but in order to make this event run smoothly we are going to need more volunteers. Anyone who would like to help us make The Big Brew at the Calder a huge success can contact me at the above address.

Siciliano's AHA Big Brew Update: How to Participate

By Steve Siciliano

On Saturday, May 4th, the Calder Plaza in downtown Grand Rapids will be the site of what is shaping up to be one of the largest American Homebrewers Association Big Brew events in the sixteen year history of the nationwide celebration. As the sponsor for this particular event, Siciliano’s Market will be donating and providing the following:

• The ingredients for forty-eight all-grain batches of “Beer City IPA”
• Bottled water for brewing
• A chilling station capable of simultaneously chilling six kettles of wort
• Platform hand carts for moving brewing equipment to and from vehicles and for transporting kettles of hot wort to the chilling station. 

We are now asking those who wish to participate in this event to complete a sign-up sheet at Siciliano's Market. If you cannot get to the store, we ask that you contact us (steve@sicilianosmkt.com) with the following information:

• Whether you would like to brew one of the forty-eight batches with your own equipment (mash/lauter tuns, propane burners, kettles, etc.) and thus be designated as the captain of a “brewing team”
• Whether you would like to brew but are unwilling or unable to transport your equipment to the event. In this case you will be assigned to a brewing team
• Whether you would like to participate as a member of a specific brewing team and if so indicate the name of the captain you would like to brew with
• Whether you would like to participate as a volunteer helper 

While we will do our best to accommodate everyone who would like to brew, it should be noted that the number of batches and the number of spots per team are limited. Please indicate if you are willing to participate as a volunteer helper if all the brewing spots have been filled.

We will be able to consume homebrew within the designated area of the venue. However, please note there will be no kegging systems allowed; bottles and growlers only. This event will be open to the public and we will be allowed to offer tastings to anyone wearing a wristband. (ID’s will be checked at the gate.) Siciliano’s will be providing the tasting cups as well as educational literature on homebrewing.

The Big Brew at the Calder will be a great way of showing the area, the state and the country what a vibrant homebrewing community there is in west Michigan. We feel that this highly visible event will generate a good deal of buzz as we will be inviting the mayor and the city commissioners and will be sending out press releases to the local media. The Great American Beer Trail will also be filming at the event.

We ask that you join us in making The Big Brew at the Calder a huge success.

Siciliano's AHA Big Brew Update: Location Secured

Photo from Wikipedia

By Steve Siciliano

I am pleased to announce that the Calder Plaza in downtown Grand Rapids has been selected as the location for Siciliano’s Market’s first ever sponsorship of an American Homebrewers Association Big Brew. This annual, country-wide event is scheduled for Saturday, May 4th and gives homebrewers the opportunity to gather at registered AHA sites to brew, promote the enriching hobby of homebrewing and join in a simultaneous celebration of National Homebrew Day. With the AHA convention coming to Grand Rapids in 2014, we feel that a huge Big Brew day event at a highly visible, downtown location will be a great way of showing the area, the state and the country that a vibrant homebrewing community exists in West Michigan.

As the sponsor for this event, Siciliano’s Market will be donating and providing the following:

• The ingredients for forty-eight all-grain batches of “Beer City IPA.”
• Bottled water for brewing.
• A chilling station capable of simultaneously chilling six kettles of wort.
• Platform handcarts for moving brewing equipment to and from vehicles and for transporting kettles of hot wort to the chilling station. 

Brewers will be responsible for furnishing their own mash/lauter tuns, propane burners, kettles, fermentation vessels, hydrometers, thermometers, and any other hardware they typically employ.

In the next few weeks we will be posting additional information, both online and at the store, as to how you may sign up to participate in this event either as a brewer or volunteer helper. You do not have to be a Siciliano’s customer or a member of the AHA to participate.

National Homebrew Day, Big Brew Update

By Steve Siciliano

Image courtesy of the AHA

Picture the following: It’s a beautiful Saturday afternoon in early May at an outdoor venue in downtown Beer City, USA. The tulips are in bloom and the canopies of the urban trees are exploding in bright spring colors. The sweet aroma of boiling wort emanating from forty-eight batches of “Beer City IPA” is wafting through the downtown streets. At precisely 1 p.m., the assemblage pauses to join in a simultaneous, country-wide toast to the enriching hobby of homebrewing.

A few weeks ago we announced that on Saturday, May 4, 2013, Siciliano’s Market will help celebrate National Homebrew Day by sponsoring an American Homebrewers Association “Big Brew.” We are in the process of securing a downtown Grand Rapids location for this celebration and the venue will be announced as soon as the paperwork is finalized. In the meantime, here are a few pertinent details:

• Siciliano’s will be donating all the ingredients for forty-eight all-grain batches of “Beer City IPA.” We have been in contact with homebrew clubs in Asheville, North Carolina, to determine if they have an interest in brewing a similar recipe at a Big Brew in their area.
• You do not have to be a Siciliano’s customer or a current member of the AHA in order to participate. We will make every effort to include, in some capacity, anyone who wishes to take part in this celebration. Volunteers will also be needed to pass out homebrewing literature, aid in clean up, etc. 

We feel that a Big Brew in a highly visible, downtown location would be a great way to begin generating media buzz for the 2014 AHA national convention that is coming to our city in 2014. Please join us in making this a celebration worthy of our “Beer City, USA” moniker, and in showing the area, the state, and the country that West Michigan has a vibrant homebrewing community. 

Stay tuned to The Buzz for more information.