Hey everyone! Happy September!!! Summer is almost over —- ish, grab a homebrew, cool off and read on!!
Things that just happened:
CSAAZ was awesome, thanks everyone for all your hard work helping us with this event!! The Pub Crawl was a great event as always and we appreciate Anita for leading the crew!!!
Bioluminescent Kayak Tour was a very good time, thanks to everyone who came out to witness this amazing phenomenon with us!!!
Continued best wishes to our BJCP tasting exam participants!! One day we will get the results (probably in a few months), may the odds be ever in your favor!!!
Things that are about to happen:
9/13 2pm to ?? SAAZtoberfest in September at Brad and Anitas, 4355 Vancouver Ave, Cocoa. Bratwurst will be provided, 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!!! We will be having raffles as well!!! There will also a signup for brewing/serving beers for the Space Coast Brewfest in Titusville on 10/15, donate 5 gallons to pour to the general crowd, 10 gallons for the VIP tent/BOS competition, see details below for VIP competition prizes !!!
10/19 2pm October meeting at Intracoastal!! Education is lessons learned from CSAAZ entries, education beers will be served from the competition!!
10/23 6pm Happy Hour at Coasters Pub and Biergarten in Satellite Beach
10/24 Brewers preparty night before Space Coast Brewfest in Titusville
11/1 Woof Wag and Wiggle at Wickham Park, event starts at 3pm. Volunteers usually start set up anytime after 11am. We do need brews donated if anyone if interested in donating a keg please let Jon or Melissa know. This supports Coaster Boxer Rescue and is a really fun event with raffles, vendors and animal lovers of all sorts!! Well behaved dogs welcome!!!
11/8 Meading at Jon and Melissa’s
12/13 Christmas Party at Casa Bessette
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/
OK everyone, this is still 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 (not all included in Florida circuit, please check to see if entries are covered by SAAZ membership before assuming):
Commander SAAZ 2025 – Congrats to our SAAZ winners!!! Ryan Robinson, Ed Worme, Sean McCoy, Chris Baum, Chris Jojola, Greg Bessette, Sean Gregg and Seth Grablow
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
Save the Date:
BUBR 6/6/26 It’ll Be An Irish Theme Next Year, get ready to get Lucky!!!
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 pre-party the night before. The brewers attending the pre-party will vote a favorite beer and the VIP attendees will vote a favorite with exciting prizes in store !!! 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!!!