AUGUST MEETING - Sat., Aug. 10 from morning to 9:30 p.m. (they lock the gate at 10 pm) at Emma Long Park for our annual Picnic. Style of the month is Lawnmower beers and a free-for-all so bring anything. The food contest will be anything pickled (or a dish with pickled food in it)! There will be prizes for the top 3 dishes. Get your dish to Emma Long Park on Aug. 10 and our party site by about 1 p.m. so there is enough time for judging (everyone gets 2 votes for their favorite dishes, so bring enough of your dish so that 40-50 people can get a spoonful) Exact location inside the park? We will be a little ways down (about 0.2 miles from the payment booth) on the left.....look for a ZEALOTS flag or a bunch of kegs or a bunch of laughing. The Inquisition awards ceremony will be at approximately 2:30 p.m. and the food awards will also be given out at that time.
Location: Emma Long City Park at 1706 City Park Rd. Emma Long Park does NOT take cash for daily park fees (only credit/debit cards) & it costs $10/day per vehicle on the weekend. Some folks will be there all day so feel free to come out early and help set up or just have fun. The park does get to capacity later in the day, so if you don't come out early enough you might get turned away. Check our facebook page for updates as the day goes on. Please bring a bag of ice for the beer trough. Speaking of beer, this is a keg drag, so feel free to bring a keg and serve it or put it in the trough, but it does only go to 11, so you may want to bring a bucket or trash can to put your keg in as well as a picnic faucet (last year we had about 30 kegs). If you don't keg you can still bring your bottles, just keep it on the down low as glass containers are technically not allowed in the park. This is a potluck so bring anything that is tasty!! (you are not required to bring pickled food....bring anything you want to share) We will provide the plates, cups, napkins and utensils.
Bring: a swimsuit, SUNSCREEN, WATER , floats, sunglasses, lawn chairs, pop-ups for shade, a bag of ice, beer (or cider or mead), food to share, a credit/debit card to get in the park, maybe a dish with pickled food for the contest (or any other food to share - even if it's just a bag of chips), a safe ride home (or spend the night) and a fun attitude!! Kids are welcome. (We will collect canned goods at the December meeting for the food banks so please don't bring those to the park).
This is also when we announce the winners of the Inquisition, usually about 2:30 p.m. Winners of the contest will absolutely NOT be announced before this date and time. The results will be posted on the website and sent out via email whenever we recover from this event. Scoresheets hopefully will be available at the picnic but will be emailed to you within 2 weeks.
Many of us stay the night at the park, so you are more than welcome to join us. Some folks will even be spending Friday night at the park. Click on the Emma Long link to reserve a campsite (bring a tent). The park closes at 10 p.m. and they lock the gate. If you aren't outside the gate, you WILL be spending the night.
1st Runner up was James Petty with El Hefe!2nd Runner up was Ricardo Fritzsche with Ric's Maibock! Full results are in files attached on the Inquisition page.
CONGRATS to RONNIE LAWSON for winning the 2017 Sam Adams LONGSHOT competition!!
THE AUSTIN ZEALOTS HAVE WON THE LONE STAR CIRCUIT TROPHY FOR 2016!!!!!
And Ricardo Fritzsche won homebrewer of the year on the Lone Star Circuit!! Congrats! Mark Schoppe finished second!! Kerry Martin finished 7th and Ronnie Lawson finished 15th!! Congrats on an amazing effort in 2016! Corey & Angela Martin finished 4th in the team competition!
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The 13th Annual Austin ZEALOTS Homebrew Inquisition (2016) results are in !
Best of Show, Ricardo Fritzsche, Austin ZEALOTS, Balanced Beers, "Ric's Pale Rider"
1st runner up, Mark Schoppe, Austin ZEALOTS, Meads & Ciders, "Mark's Semi-Sweet Hydromel"
2nd runner up, Dan Ironside, Austin ZEALOTS, Open Category, "Imperial Smoked Porter"
See all the results on the bottom of the Inquisition page, or click RESULTS.
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Chris Colby has also written a homebrewing book!!! "Home Brew Recipe Bible" LINK TO PURCHASE "Chris Colby from Beer & Wine Journal serves as the brewmaster for this collection of 100 recipes for home brewing! Chris’ Vienna Lager won silver in the 2004 National Homebrew Competition, as well as a Best of Show in 2004 and several lesser ribbons from his contest days. Here, he’ll show you how to take the freshest ingredients and create a lot of different and fantastic beers to choose from." Beer and Wine Journal
Dan Ironside (Austin ZEALOTS member) has written "Idiot's Guide: Homebrewing". Purchase a copy now or download on your device. LINK TO PURCHASE "Idiot's Guides: Homebrewing breaks the brewing process down step-by-step and helps you understand how to minimize the risk of a bad batch, maximize your success, and foster the passion and pride that every homebrewer experiences when they brew the perfect beer. The author teaches readers the fundamentals -- from home brewery setup and equipment sanitization, to the proper techniques for nearly any style of beer, to bottling and aging their brews. You will learn how to select ingredients, taste beer the right way, and experiment from over 60 recipes ranging from German lagers to IPAs." Dan's Apartment Homebrewer Blog
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NEWS FLASH: MARK SCHOPPE WINS the 2015 NINKASI AWARD for earning the most points in the National Homebrew Competition! Congratulations to Mark! What an effort! He was the Ninkasi winner in 2012 as well!
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The Austin ZEALOTS is a loose group of members that have a common
interest in brewing and/or drinking great beer. "ZEALOTS" stands for Zymurgic Enthusiasts of Austin Loosely Organized Through Suds. The
club has been around since about 1990 and was started by some of
Austin's homebrewers, the owners of Live Oak Brewing Co., the early
owners of Austin Homebrew Supply, and employees at Celis Brewery. There
is a weekly roaming happy hour at the various breweries in and around
Austin (sign up for the forum, the yahoo email group for details or check Facebook). No dues or
office of the CEO exist. However, we do have pseudo officials: Primary
Fermenter, Secondary Fermenter and Conditioning Tank(s), just for
grins. Monthly meetings are the 2nd or 3rd Saturday of the month at a location
and time announced here, on the email group, and on Facebook.
Our meetings usually consist of about 40 or more people who share their
creations (bring a tasting glass please). We have a style of the month,
but if you have homebrew that isn't in that style, bring it on! If you
don't have any homebrew handy, feel free to bring a commercial example
of the style of the month that you enjoy. Bear in mind that to give each
person a sample, you will need to bring at least 2 twelve
ounce bottles. Each year we host a Homebrew Competition called the
Inquisition. It is certified and sanctioned by no one. It is unique in
that judging is not to determine if you can emulate a particular classic
style, but can you make quality beer. In 2012, the ZEALOTS finished 3rd in the AHA's National Homebrew Conference and Mark Schoppe finished in first place overall and became the Ninkasi Award winner (plus he won the Ninkasi in 2015!)! The ZEALOTS won the Lone Star Circuit Trophy in 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014 & 2016!