Charlie Papazian, homebrew guru and author of the classic "The New Complete Joy of Home Brewing," is coming to Princeton, NJ on April 8th, 7 PM.
PALE ALES (Princeton And Local Environs Ale and Lager Enjoyment Society) will be hosting Charlie Papazian for an educational talk on the "Future of Homebrewing," followed by the Bring Yer Homebrew (BYHB) competition (this is not an AHA/BJCP competition - read on for more info). Both events are open to the public.
As there will be a cap on attendance, attendants should pre-register to reserve a spot by contacting Steve Rowley at SRowley@aol.com, (732) 951-0849. A nominal admission fee of $5 will be charged to cover food, setup and administrative costs.
We at PALE ALES are thrilled to be hosting veteran homebrewer Papazian for what we hope will be a fun and informative evening and hope that you will join us.
The following is a rough schedule:
*Prior to the event, Charlie will sign books at Princeton Homebrew (148 Witherspoon St) from 4-6 PM. Please call (609) 252-1800 or e-mail schd@pluto.njcc.com for more info on that.
Our club designed this competition to respond to our members’ needs for face-to-face feedback and a more informal forum than that provided by traditional competitions. We would like to have as many people participate as feasible (given the number of entries and participants), but may have to limit participation depending on the numbers. The format and rules will be explained prior to the competition. If you want to participate in the competition, you need to pre-register using the info provided below.
Here is the short version of the rules:
1) Each brewer can only bring only one entry. The brewer must be present, as they will introduce and describe their beer to the other evaluators.
2) If you are going to bring a beer, e-mail Joe Bair (schd@pluto.njcc.com) to pre-register. Include the following information: the OG or (how many pounds of fermentables), whether it is hoppy or malty, and if you added anything that would cover up (i.e., if you used
any fruit, spices, or unusual yeasts) the fresh taste of the barley andhops.
3) The brewer will be able to pour their own beer and vote. All other brewers will also be allowed to vote. It does not matter what style (if any) the beer is. They will be evaluated on how they compare to the other beers (fresh taste, no off-flavors from fermentation or sanitation problems) Simple evaluation sheets will be handed out, in which evaluators will write what they remember about the beers and when they have sampled all the beer - each evaluator will privately decide which ones will advance.
4) As this is a club competition, if your beer is selected to advance, you must become a member of PALE ALES or forfeit your chance to be in the finals. To become a member, please bring a check made out to PALE ALES for the amount of $24 to the competition.) If you don't advance, you can try again in the next quarterly competition.
All present and past officers of PALE ALES have final authority in settling any dispute, ties or determining if a beer is infected and thus disqualified. Sorry, but no meads, ciders, or wines will be evaluated.
Contact Joe Bair for more information on the competition at schd@pluto.njcc.com or (609) 252-1800.
The Susan Paterson Center is located behind Princeton Borough Hall on Monument Drive, at the juncture of Rt. 206 and Nassau St. It is hard to miss, as there is a big stone monument/statue right at the entrance, and the Borough admin offices, police, etc. are located in the center.
Parking at the facility is limited (40-50 spots), so try to carpool if possible. You may need to park in town if parking fills up. Turn right on Nassau St. - park on the street, or in one of the metered, or pay parking lots. (Princeton isn't that big, and it is only about 2-4 blocks from town to the center.)
FROM RT. 1 NORTH/SOUTH:
1. Take the ALEXANDER RD. exit toward Princeton.
2. When Alexander Rd. ends, make a RIGHT on MERCER ST.
3. In about one minute, Mercer St. ends. Make a LEFT on NASSAU St.
4. In about one minute, you will come to another light. Going straight/bearing left puts you on Stockton St. (Rt. 206 So.). Turning right takes you on Rt. 206 North.
BEAR LEFT/STRAIGHT to stay on Stockton St. (Rt. 206 South)
5. Right after you turn, you will see a set of buildings on your right, and a stone monument with a driveway that circles back out onto the road.
6. This driveway is MONUMENT DR. Turn RIGHT into MONUMENT DR.
5. Before Monument starts to curve back out on the road, you will see a parking lot on your right. Park there. Walk to the building behind the police station/municipal building. This is the Susan Paterson Center.
(If you can’t find a spot, make a left to go back out on 206/Stockon and turn right on Nassau St. There is parking there.)
FROM 95 SOUTH/295 NORTH:
1. Take the exit for Rt. 206 NORTH. You will be on that road for about 15 minutes.
2. You will pass Edgerstone Rd., Elm Rd., then Library Pl. At this point, you are about a minute from the junction of Rt. 206 (actually, it is Stockton St. at this point) and Nassau St.
3. You will see a set of buildings on your left, and a stone monument with a driveway that circles back out onto the road directly BEFORE you hit the juncture of 206 and Nassau St. (It’s an “L” intersection, where making a left continues 206, while going straight and slightly right puts you on Nassau St.)
4. This driveway is MONUMENT DR. Turn LEFT into MONUMENT DR.
5. Before Monument starts to curve back out on the road, you will see a parking lot on your right. Park there. Walk to the building behind the police station/municipal building. This is the Susan Paterson Center.
If you will be bringing homebrew for the BYHB competition you need to pre-register (see Steve Rowley's contact info above.) We also encourage club members (whether participating in the BYHB or not) to bring their homebrews - after all it is Papazian, we are hosting.
With regard to food, we have decided to do a pot-luck dinner and are asking each member who attends to bring a dish. We will also provide breads, crudite, etc., but we'd like to have a nice assortment of foods and desserts without spending too much of the club funds, so please volunteer! Dave Albert (alds9147@aol.com) is the food and menu planner for the event if you have any questions about what to bring. Although the facility does have a full kitchen, it does not have a microwave, so please keep that in mind.