August Brewzletter – Spacecoast Associates for the Advancement of Zymurgy (SAAZ)

Hey everyone! Happy CSAAZugust!!

Things that just happened:

SAAZ Paint Night was lots of fun, thanks to everyone for coming out and expressing your artistry!!

Summer party at Don and Donna Deis’ clubhouse was an awesome summertime celebration!! Thanks to Don and Donna for hosting this amazing event, gracious hosts as always!!! Great food, fun and many prizes were won!!

Good luck to our BJCP tasting exam participants!! May the odds be ever in your favor!!!

CSAAZ sorting day went well, we finished in record time. Thanks to everyone who came out!

1st CSAAZ judging day at Beachfly was a good start to get our judging cobwebs cleared out. Get ready to get our judging on over the next few weeks! Read on for details:

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Commander SAAZ Important dates and locations: (latest updates see www.saaz.org/cms/csaaz/commander-saaz-page/ )

Stewarding is a great way to help out the competition and learn more about different beer styles. Anyone interested in becoming a BJCP judge should start by stewarding competitions as this helps you learn the process and learn more about beer!! Judges and stewards please help us out and sign up ahead of time if you can, as it helps us plan the sessions. Anyone who knows BJCP judges please encourage them to come out and help us. It takes a village to judge a beer competition!!

We will be using Reggie’s electronic judging system at all sessions. Be sure to bring your personal mobile electronic device to access Reggie.

August 2-3 Hell ‘N Blazes judging weekend (Saturday and Sunday 11am-6pm) 1002 E New Haven Avenue, Melbourne FL 32901. Judging will commence at 11AM. Set up will start at 1030 for anyone wishing to help with setup. We will be connecting to Reggie with HnB’s WiFi system.

August 9-10 Beachfly Brewing judging weekend (Saturday and Sunday, 12-6pm, set up at 11:30am)

August 15 CSAAZ Pubcrawl in downtown Cocoa. Some of us will be starting early with our pre-pub crawl at Hidden Level at 4pm and everyone is welcome to join when ready, look for Anita’s alien ears!! Plan is to be at Bugnutty at 6:30pm to grab the evening crowd and carry on crawling!!!
August 16 Bugnutty Brewing Company 12pm Any remaining judging categories and Best of Show judging
August 16 Bugnutty 5:30pm Dinner, awards and raffles OH MY!!!!

Dinner starts at 5:30 pm at Bugnutty Brewing Company!!!! Awards Ceremony 7PM, followed by raffle. Dinner tickets will include 4 beers and a fabulous BBQ themed meal!! Tickets will be sold during judging weekends and other upcoming SAAZ events. Tickets can also be purchased via our website https://www.saaz.org/cms/ scroll down to CSAAZ logo and add dinner to your cart!!

Bugnutty is closing their entire business on a Saturday night for us so please buy dinner tickets, extra beers and TIP YOUR SERVERS!!!! We are getting an amazing venue, dinner and a huge discount on beers!!!! We are welcome to bring homebrewed bottles to this event for sampling/sharing, no kegs and no commercial beers please.

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On that note, PAY YOUR DUES FOR 2025!!! Dues allow us to continue to organize these fun events and support the local craft brew and home brew community. Along with this, paid members also receive discounts on entry to home brew competitions and other events!!! Pay your dues here: www.saaz.org/cms/join-saaz/pay-dues/

8/29 ish Bioluminescent Kayak Tour – more info TBD, watch Facebook and the website for updates and signups

9/13 2pm SAAZtoberfest in September at Brad and Anitas, 4355 Vancouver Ave, Cocoa. Bring your Octoberfest themed sides/desserts and brews!!! Weather permitting we will be swimming, so wear your pool gear under your lederhosen or drindl!! Everyone be ready for stein holding and keg tossing fun!!!

10/19 2pm October meeting at Intracoastal!! Education topic TBD

10/23 6pm Happy Hour at Coasters Pub and Biergarten in Satellite Beach

10/24 Brewers preparty night before Space Coast Brewfest in Titusville

11/8 Meading at Jon and Melissa’s

12/13 Christmas Party at Casa Bessette

OK everyone, this is important:

SAAZ officer positions are up for grabs!!! Becoming an officer helps the club organize all these great events and we cannot exist without these important positions being filled so consider a position!!!! Positions up for grabs include President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, Events Coordinator, Education Coordinator and Communications Officer. Our current board terms out this year, so this is your opportunity to shape the way SAAZ moves forward!!

Here are some brief descriptions of what each position entails and name of current officer:

President: Oversees overall operations of the club, runs board meetings, sets the agenda, and ensures the club is meeting its objectives….currently Seth Grablow

VP: Runs all things Commander SAAZ (sets competition schedule, solicits sponsorship, manages beer, manages judging, etc.). Ideally there will be a committee that provides support for CSAAZ operations (e.g., a person dedicated to getting sponsorship and managing raffles)…currently Greg Bessette.

Treasurer: Responsible for managing club finances. Maintains the SAAZ checkbook, PayPal and Square accounts, takes the lead on developing the yearly budget, works with the board to create a final budget and sees that budgeted funds are distributed and used correctly. In addition, the treasurer ensures that our tax records are up-to-date, filed on time and ensures that club insurance is maintained…currently Sean Gregg.

Secretary/Membership: Maintains records of board meeting minutes, recording votes at general membership meetings, tracks membership, maintains liability forms, and creates name tags…currently Brad Mitchell

Communications: Responsible for general communications to members. Namely the monthly newsletter and any special announcements…currently Claire Caruana

Events: Oversees organization of club events, sets the schedule of membership meetings, happy hours and supports events such as the Commander SAAZ Awards dinner and Pub Crawl. This is another position that is best backed up by a committee…currently Anita Rodgers.

Education: Provides an educational component at our membership meetings. The topic is anything related to Zymurgy and its processes…currently Jon Nowlin.

There is a 1 hour Zoom board meeting, once monthly (usually 1st Thursday of each month at 7pm) attended by board members to keep stuff on track. If you are interested and want to know more contact our board members and chat with them about the position you are interested in.

Competitions:

First Coast Cup SAAZ winners!!! BEST OF SHOW WINNERS – Ryan Robinson and Ed Worm for Czech Dark Lager!!! Sean McCoy silver medal for his Munich Helles and his Big Wood!!! Jon Nowlin gold medal for his Strong British ale and his Dark British as well as a bronze medal for his Big Wood!!! Chris Jojola bronze medal for his Dark British!! Ryan Robinson gold medal for his Czech Dark Lager!!! Sean Gregg gold medal with his Fruited beer (Peachin’ Ain’t Easy!!!) and bronze medal for Dark European Lager!!! Sean Gregg and Sean McCoy gold medal for Pale Bitter European Lager (The BUBR Kolsch recipe!!!) – Hope I got everyone, well done SAAZ members!!!!

Commander SAAZ 2025 – 08/16/2025 Good luck to all who entered, see you at the awards ceremony!!!

Sunshine Challenge 2025 – 10/05/2025 Entry Window: 08/16 – 09/06, Delivery Window: 08/16 – 09/06

Best Florida Beer 2025 – 10/25/2025 Entry Window: 9/26 – 10/03, Delivery window: 9/26-10/03

Treasure Coast 11/1/2025 Entry Window: 8/18-10/13, Delivery Window 9/15 – 10/16

Upcoming Brewfests:

October 25th 2025 Space Coast Brewfest in Titusville, SAAZ will be brewing and pouring for this event, plan your brews now, 5 or 10 gallons!!! There will be a special competition for those who wish to enter!!! Each brewer has an opportunity to create 10 gallons of beer for this fun little competition. These beers will only be served in the VIP tent and at the brewers preparty the night before. The brewers attending the preparty will vote a favorite beer and the VIP attendees will vote a favorite with exciting prizes in store that any brewer will absolutely love!!! 1st place gets $400 giftcard to Sanford Homebrew Shop along with a cool, commemorative and functional tap handle!! 2nd place gets a $100 giftcard to Sanford Homebrew Shop!! Plan your brews, this event really supports the homebrew community, so we love to pour as many beers as we can to represent SAAZ proudly!!

November 15th Rocky Water Brewfest in Melbourne

December 6th Craft Brew Hullabaloo in Sebastian

February 2026 Cocoa Village Brewers Bash

February (late) Florida Craft Brew and Wingfest, Vero Beach

Thanks everyone!! See you soon!!!