Events

Beer Fest 2026 – Sunday, March 15th

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We are gearing up for another Charity Event for the Assistance League! Members will present our finished beers for all of us to judge the “Best In Show” from the Big Brew creations. All the proceeds of this awesome event benefit our local Assistance League. Expect a great time with some new twists to keep our seasoned members guessing!

Société du Lambic Brew Session

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Société du Lambic Brew Session

The 2020 Société du Lambic brew session will be held on Sunday March 22nd at the Brasserie-Brouwerij Gamelin in Vista. We are inviting members to bring their brew systems on site for a massive communal brew session. If you are not able to bring your brew system, you can help others or brew at home and transport the wort. Our production target will be 350 gallons of Lambic. The ingredients are being procured in advance (big thanks to Jim & MoreBeer), so you can pick up ingredients if you are planning on brewing at home.

We also will be harvesting Lambic from the oak barrels and will be able to fill kegs for those that weren’t able to make it to Lambic Harvest day or those that would like Lambic from these barrels.

RSVP here

Holiday Party! 12/11

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SBE Holiday Party

Society of Barley Engineers will be holding our sixth annual Holiday Party the evening of Wednesday, December 11. It will be held at Chris Banker’s home in southeast Oceanside and directions will be sent to those who RSVP.

This will be a casual holiday gathering with potluck food and beer sharing. It will be a chance for everyone to get together outside of regular meetings, share homebrew and food, and celebrate a great year of beer.

Date and Time: Wednesday, December 11 at 6:30pm
Location: Chris Banker’s house, southeast Oceanside (south of the 78 near CostCo and the DMV). Address will be provided to those who RSVP
Details:

  • Open to members and their guests. Festive casual attire is encouraged.
  • Please bring a food item to share, along with any homebrew or commercial beers you wish to share.
  • Kegs can be accommodated with advance notice.

RSVP Here

Distilling Event w/ 117W – 3/31

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Distilling Event w/ 117 West Spirits

We have a really exciting event coming up on March 31st! I have gotten 117W Disillery in Vista to agree to host us for distilling our homebrew into a club whiskey.

The actual distilling event will be on Sunday March 31st from 10am to about 3pm, so mark your calendars. There is some prep required for this event, so read this whole email and make sure to sign up ASAP.

Members will brew the same beer recipe and we will gather as a club to distill it while we enjoy the spirits and cocktails available for purchase. After aging in 5-gallon barrels (nominally 6 months), we will later get to pick up bottles to keep. You must be able to get the finished beer to the event on 3/31.

Slots are limited and we need to hit a specific amount to fill the barrels, so sign up soon. You can commit to what you want and I’ll adjust based on number of sign-ups. If we are oversubscribed, the first to sign up will get in.

The recipe will be an unhopped rye porter, see below. You will need to brew according to the recipe and bring the fully fermented beer to the event. A 1-bottle (750ml) share of the final result will require 4 gallons of finished beer and a $10 contribution toward barrels and supplies. Members can collaborate on brewing up the beer to reduce the number of batches we need to brew. Carlsbad Brew Supply has agreed to carry the Chocolate Rye malt, which not all shops carry, so consider shopping there and supporting them.

Sign up here:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSf9prao2d1qefVTKIfMfQBEiXBKLzrPIwh713GB2BcAo1dbUw/viewform

Sign up soon if you want to be involved and let me know if you have any questions.

Thanks,
Chris

Recipe

Unhopped rye porter base with a target of 1.075 OG

  • 67% 2-row
  • 13% rye malt
  • 13% munich 10L
  • 7% chocolate rye 

A 5.5 gallon batch at 75% efficiency would work out to about 10/2/2/1 lbs.  Boil is optional, but adjust accordingly.  Any relatively clean high attenuation yeast is fine, 001, 099, or US05 recommended.  Amylo 300 or similar enzyme is recommended to dry it out and maximize ABV.  Should be fermented as dry as possible and fully fermented prior to the 3/31 event.  

SdL Lambic Big Brew – 3/17

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Lambic Brew Session

We will be holding the Société du Lambic Brew Session on Sunday March 17th (St. Patrick’s Day). SdL members will converge on the Gamelin Picobrewey to brew 300+ gallons of Lambic. Since it is also St. Patrick’s day, we will be encouraging members to wear green and we will be serving corned beef with cabbage for lunch. I will also have a special green wheatgrass Lambic on tap at the event.

Please save the date – more information will follow as we get closer to the event.