Thanks to Tree Brewing Co., (and Michelle!) the Homebrew Learning Party will be a tasting party too. Tree has   generously donated some mixed flats of beer to try out as we learn to brew ourselves.   John, our guide for the night will help us match some of our favourite types of beer to various recipes,  that can all be sourced at Dan’s Homebrewing.  While I’m eager to add brewing to my fermenting repertoire  I know I will be  patronizing BC’s microbreweries (and Czech pilsners) in the future too.

I won’t hazard a guess at how many batches it will take before I feel ready to take the next step: brewing with herbs I grow. It just feels like a good idea to begin with what I know I like- hops, barley malt, water & yeast as laid down in the Bavarian Purity Laws of 1516.  But rules about what to eat, drink or medicate annoy me and instantly provoke my inner 15 year old hoser-punk. So I’m already pondering beer recipes that rebel and dreaming about future learning parties.

I know this is an interest of Mary and Steve, our homebrew party hosts as well. It just seems to follow from growing food in a gentle way- you produce an abundance of stuff you intended and an abundance that just shows up. It’s amazing how many of the uninvited plants are nourishing in some way- especially if fermented!

Beermaking is definitely a tradition I want to be inducted into by a knowledgeable guide and in good company. I’m glad to know that I’ll have Mary and Steve and potentially some folks from the learning party to compare notes with afterwards.  Sometimes a 2 minute conversation or a targeted question to a friendly person can bolster my confidence to just try stuff out.  So I’m excited to see familiar names registered for the learning party, including folks from past learning parties, from friends I didn’t know were yearning to brew, and from folks I’ve just met in other contexts (like the Potato Salad crew- our new potato growing co-op, also loosely affiliated with the hodge-podge of grassroots projects that is the Sustainable Living Arts School.)

There are still a few spots available for this learning party which starts next Monday, March 29 and continues on Monday, April 12 for bottling. Come join the learning crew if you can- we’d love to have you!

Register at http://slashomebrew.eventbrite.com/

Free Beer Tomorrow Neon Sign shared CC by Lori Spindler

You are warmly invited to another hands-on Sustainable Living Arts School Learning Party….

The Home-brew Learning Party!

….with beermeister John Margetts

This is a 2-part learning party.

Part 1 Brewing: Monday, March 29 from 7-9:30

Part 2 Bottling: Monday, April 12 from 7-9:30

This one gives me great delight. As a dedicated and nearly life long beer enthusiast (my mom tells me I liked the taste right away) I am very excited to add this craft to my repertoire of the sustainable living arts. This 2-part learning party series will give us all the basics to brew our first batch of beer at home. Please come with your favourite snack to share with beer. Samples of beer provided! Looking forward to seeing you there, Keira

Our guide for the day: John Margetts
“I first pitched some yeast into a beer kit a little more than twenty years ago but I really started making beer about 11 years ago. That was when I first met Dan (of Dan’s Homebrewing Supplies) and he taught me how to use a mash tun and the value of using fresh hops.”

There are so many reasons to brew your own beer: it’s cheaper, it’s tastier, it’s often better for you (unfiltered, unpasteurized) and has real food value, it’s less predictable (i.e., more interesting), it’s educational and empowering to do it yourself. It’s one step in the right direction- avoiding mindless consumerism. The old saying about chopping your own firewood applies: it warms you twice, and it’s fun.

Teachers provide some guidance, but the real learning comes from the student her/himself and their experiences. I think the best way to learn how to do something is by working with someone with experience and then just doing it and learning from your successes and failures both.” John Margetts

Register: http://slashomebrew.eventbrite.com

Location: - Close to Main and 23rd. Address will be emailed to registered participants 3 days before the learning party.

Cost: $40 You’ll go home with approx. 2 litres of our homebrew after the bottling party.

A huge thank-you to our sponsor for this learning party- Dan’s Homebrewing Supplies! We highly recommend Dan’s for all your homebrew supplies. Find them at 692 East Hastings.

From the good folks on Denman Island who are working a 40 acre piece of land with permaculture and subsistence skills and values at the forefront:

This is an invitation to come to the farm to participate in workbees and to share and expand your skills at the workshops we are offering. For those of you who haven’t been here, we are living and working on a 40 acre piece of land on Denamn island. Our activities here are subsistence focused, and include organic gardening, hunting, child rearing, harvesting wild foods, making music, planting fruit and nut trees, among many other projects. We are excited about opening up some projects here to include our friends and neighbors.

WORK BEE’S

April 24^th-29^th – Chip Slip Work Bee

May 29^th – 31^st – Chip Slip (probably plaster work, too). Learn how to insulate your walls using local materials – clay and woodchips (will probably include doing some basic carpentry too if you want!)

WORKSHOPS

Some of these are free and some of these have a suggested donation because of the amount of work that we must do in order to prepare the workshop. No one will be turned away for inability to pay and we are also open to trades.

May 2^nd – Traditional Beer Making. We’re gonna make beer the old way. We will be using herbal ingredients (but no hops!), home sprouted grains, and sourdough culture instead of yeast packets.

Suggested donation – $20.00-50.00

June 6^th and 7th – Buckskin Tanning Workshop. Limited space. RSVP. Learn how to turn animal hides into useable fabric. We will go through the process of ‘brain tanning’ a deer hide from skinning to softening. Small class with lots of hands on work. Wear an old pair of clothes.

Suggested donation – $50.00-100.00

Our land has limited infrastructure at this moment so please consider this if you would like to come over. We can only offer camping options to visitors at this time (bring your own gear!). During the summer months our well can not be overtaxed so we are also unable to offer showers. There are, however, lakes and beaches near by.. also a marsh if you are so inclined. For people who are participating in the work bees we are planning on providing lunch and dinner. If you have special requirements or are vegetarian or vegan we highly recommend bringing food with you (especially snack foods and – for the veggies - protein sources). We have no flushing toilets, only outhouses and similar set ups. Don’t worry – there’ll be toilet paper. We will not be preparing food for workshop participants, but bring food to make communal meals if you like. if you have a dog in your life and want to bring them, please talk to us first!

if you are coming to the work bees and have any of the following, please bring them along:

• shovels

• work gloves

• wheel barrow

• buckets

• hammer

Please RSVP if you plan on attending workshops or work bees so we can prepare for your arrival. we can arrange pick ups from the ferry. denman island is 2 1/2 hours north of vic and 1 1/2 from Nanaimo. the ferry to Denman leaves from Buckley Bay, 20 min south of Courtenay. Please contact Janette via email if you are planning on attending any of the events. cormier.ja@gmail.com

Also upcoming: the Bush Weekend in Robert’s Creek on the Sunshine Coast (15 minutes from the ferry at Langdale.)