Big Brew Day 2009
This year, we held the annual Big Brew Day at Zorbaz Bar & Restaurant, just south of Grand Rapids, on Pokegama Lake. Big Brew Day is a worldwide event, created and supported by the American Homebrewers Association. Each year specific recipes are published on line, and homebrewers, friends, and clubs come together in their locations and brew these around the world on the first Saturday in May.
The Boreal Brewers want to educate the public about brewing, so our goal was a public exhibition of homebrewing. We brewed all-grain and extract batches, staggering batch starts so people could arrive anywhere during the six hour event and have a chance to see many parts of the process. We also brought in live folk/bluegrass music.
The weather was sunny and windy, and attendance was about fifty people. Many stayed quite a while and watched, purchasing food and beer inside Zorbaz. Due to restrictions on serving homebrew, we did not offer samples.
Research shows that moderate beer consumption can help prevent heart disease and strokes, provide important vitamins and minerals, is low in fat and helps increase good cholesterol (HDL).