Why not just publish the minutes? Often, things are discussed in the confidence of a committee meeting which may be sensitive and not really for public consumption. These can include things like disciplinary actions due to misconduct, or legal strategies. We like to minute these in detail, but it would then require a lot of work to “redact” them so that they are suitable for all to read. We decided a better answer was this high level summary of what we’re up to. We hope you agree.

Remember that you can always email any concerns to be taken up with the committee to secretary@soba.org.nz, or to any committee member individually, if you’re more comfortable with that.

OK, so with that, what’s happened since the AGM? Here’s a brief summary:

• The SOBA NHC was delegated to the Christchurch region, who did a great job with it. The committee received some comments that the judging feedback wasn’t up to the quality of previous years, though most members seemed happy with the contest overall. The NHC will be back in Hamilton this year, and feedback will once again be the primary focus.
• The point was taken from the AGM that some regional members feel out in the cold, and so a document was prepared detailing guidelines for the operation of regional groups. This has been sent to the existing regional groups, and is available on request.
• The charter was brought up to date and filed with the companies office.
• The SOBA membership process has been massively overhauled, and with a lot of speedbumps due to poor information management, seems to now be working at a far more efficient level. Greig has handed over the membership role to Jonny Day.
• The Pursuit of Hoppiness newsletter has been taken over by Kate Jordan. Many undocumented processes have now been standardised, and with assistance from Eric Rowe, advertising standards have been implemented, addressing some complaints.
• The SOBA website has had it’s third major revamp. It is now based on the industry standard WordPress platform.
• We are still working on improving our relationship with NZ’s craft brewers and are working on a Brewery Relationship Officer (BRO) system.
• We’ve had a presence at most of the successful beer festivals.
• We’ve appointed a new Treasurer – Tom Coleman.
• We’ve spent $1000 USD sponsoring a film on the life of the late “Beer Hunter” – Michael Jackson. In return, we get logo exposure, and a premier screening when the film is complete.
• An SGM was held to ratify last year’s accounts.
• We’ve designed a system to allow members to sign up and immediately have a “live” temporary membership number, for use at bars and festivals offering discounts. Hashigo Zake and the Great Kiwi Beer Festival in Christchurch have trialled this system, as well as some regional meetings.
• We’ve been keeping an eye on new trademark issues – “Growler” being of key concern.
• We’ve dealt with some abuses of SOBA membership, and false claims of honorary membership.
• We’ve begin work on setting a budget for 2012-2013.
• We’ve delegated looking at some more merchandise options to some keen volunteers.
• Aidan Caig has taken over managing SOBA merchandise, and the committee has asked Colin McCrae to help him out, as he has some creative ideas for new shiny things.
• Beer festival organisation continues, with Rob heading up the Winter Ale Fest in Wellington, and ex-committee member and Auckland regional co-ordinator Martin Bridges leading the City of Ales festival organisation.
• We have purchased draft box beer dispense equipment for use at beer festivals.

So there you have it! Watch this space for updates.

Introducing the dedicated Mr. Jonny Day!

Jonny says:

I am a Wellingtonian who has been swept up by the NZ craft beer scene over the last few years.  My appreciation for good beer was kick-started on a trip to Europe in 2004, which included Belgium, Germany and the Czech Republic.  Thankfully it ruined me for the bland, fizzy, yellow stuff I’d previously been drinking and I’ve been grateful ever since.  I have volunteered at a number of beer festivals, including Beervana and SOBA’s Winter Ale Festival, and I’ll be heading to Melbourne in May this year to help out with the Great Australasian Beer Spectapular.  I’m also a member of the All Saaz – three times winners of the annual Beer Options run by Regional Wines and Spirits.

As Jonny and myself will both be away for part of May, there may be slight delays in membership processing during this time. Please bear with us as we change over.

As usual, if you have any queries about your membership, the process, or anything else relating to membership, please feel free to email members@soba.org.nz

Thank you Jonny from myself, and all of us on the committee for stepping up to fill this role.

Cheers,

Greig McGill

Secretary

SOBA Inc.

Watch this insightful and fascinating video by Kirby Ferguson.

Details as follows:

Nelson Region 2nd SOBA Weekend
19th to 22nd October 2012

Programme.

8pm Friday 19th. Meet at the Free House, Colllingwood St Nelson

10am Saturday 20th. Depart from outside the Free House.

• Visit Sprig and Fern brewery,
• then Kentishman hop gardens
• Lunch at Moutere Inn. Then to Monkey Wizard at Riwaka and Mussel Inn.
• Overnight at Takaka.

Sunday 21st. 10am. Back ‘over the hill’ to Mapua (Farmers/Craft market)

• Mapua Wharf. Golden Bear brewery/bar or Jellyfish for lunch.
• Abbey Garden bar then to the airport at about 3.30pm.
• Continuing to Founders Park. End of Tour.

Monday 22nd, Free to explore further, the Nelson area or Blenheim.

Cost of transport around $50 payable two weeks in advance.
Limited places. Book by email to nelson@soba.org.nz

Suggested Accommodation.

BBH Hostels, Hotels or Motels and B&B’s
in Collingwood St. Grove St, Weka St. Domett St, Nelson.
and Motupipi St or Commercial St. Takaka.

Both courses concentrate on what it takes to produce good, consistent craft beer. Vince Costanzo has taken what he has learnt as a commercial brewer and applied it to home brewing to great effect. No more need the homebrewer make beer of substandard quality. He has lifted the bar but not high enough that homebrewers can’t hurdle.

Vince Costanzo (B.Sc., M.Sc.) graduated in 1982 from Monash University in Chemistry and has worked in the food and beverage industries since that time. He worked as a brewer at Fosters and microbrewery Stockade.

The Costanzo Brewing School is a private teaching organisation founded in 2007 to provide brewing courses in Australia and New Zealand. The goal of the school is to share brewing knowledge with up and coming brewers who aspire to fulfil their dream of running their own microbrewery.

For information on courses see the Events Calendar for August and October.

Round One is now over and asked the Wellington public to describe the capital as a beer. What would it be like? Would it be dark and cloudy? Or would it give you wind? Entry boxes and ‘entry beer mats’ were located at craft beer bars around the city and the public could also enter their ideas via twitter and Facebook.

Round Two opened on Monday 2 April. This is of even more interest to SOBA members, as it’s where the creative brewing competition begins.

The ideas from Round One were taken and turned into a Brewing Brief for homebrewers to draw inspiration from. It’s all about having fun with brewing beer (and less about international brewing standards) so it’s a very cool competition to have a go at entering especially if you fancy trying to make something original.

See your brew turned into a professional craft beer. The really cool thing about this competition is the prize.

You could see your brew turned into a professional craft beer by one of four local craft beer legends: Garage Project, ParrotDog, Yeastie Boys or Tuatara. The four winning brews will be turned into a four pack, and also kegs, to be sold in craft beer outlets across the city.

Winners also get a logo for their ‘brewery name’ designed by the good folk at Clemenger BBDO.

Enter now!
There’s still lots of time to concoct your brew, as the Judging Event isn’t until Saturday 9 June. To get into it, register your interest as a brewer at the wellingtoninapint.org website. You’ll then be sent an Official Entry Pack including all the information and inspiration you need to get brewing. But don’t delay, because time’s-a-ticking…

It’s completely free to enter. And aside from seeing your own brew turned pro, there are some really cool craft beer prizes to be won, plus the never-ending respect of your beer-brewing peers.

Tickets to this fantastic annual event are very limited and will be available from SOBA website under the Goodies menu. Tickets are $40 and include 5 half pints and a plate of food.

More information to follow.

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/JJTFY2J

Your feedback would be much appreciated (it only takes a couple of minutes!).

Cheers!

Geoff Griggs