Compass Brewing Brew Log

I am a Home Brewer

2009-11-04T21:18:00.002-07:00

Another quick post. Many of you out there have already seen these, but are always good for motivating me to make an impromptu trip the The Beer Nut.
The following video produced by homebrewers was created in response to a video produced about the craft brewing industry.

I am a Home Brewer

The original:

I am a Craft Brewer

My Bid for Nomination to the AHA Governing Committee

2009-11-03T16:12:00.002-07:00

Below is the short written statement I provided to the American Homebrewer's Association (AHA) in my self nomination to the AHA Governing Board. I welcome your feedback or support.

"As a resident of the state of Utah I can attest to the benefit of the American Homebrewers Association (AHA) and its invaluable role within the homebrewing community. In 2006 when I first contacted the AHA to inquire if they would be interested in assisting an effort to legalize the hobby in Utah, I quickly found the AHA to be a responsive ally to homebrewers. I believe furthering the right to engage in this safe and responsible hobby, and safeguarding that right where it already exists is an important part of the AHA's mission. In the two years that I worked to legalize the hobby in Utah, I valued the efforts of AHA members and staff. As I prepare to graduate from the S. J. Quinney College of Law at the University of Utah, I continue to remain interested in the actions of local, state and federal legislators, particularly as their actions pertain to the interests of homebrewers.
Of course the AHA's core mission is not that of a lobbyist group, but in my experience in working towards legislative change in favor of homebrewing I discovered the most important factor in furthering the hobby of homebrewing, both in the law and in the community, is education. Taking the opportunity to put a positive and responsible face to the hobby of homebrewing works wonders in changing the perceptions individuals have with regards to individuals brewing beer and beer in general. And putting that positive image on the hobby is exactly what the AHA does. Every time the AHA organizes a successful conference or event in a new city they are bringing a positive public image to the hobby of homebrewing. This has the triple benefit of 1) showing local law makers not only the responsible nature of homebrewers but also the economic benefit the hobby can bring; 2) educating individuals and attracting new members to the association and; 3) providing a sense of community to those who invest so much of themselves into the hobby.
The above mentioned strong sense of community, as shaped and reinforced through the AHA, being crucial to the vibrance of the hobby in the the United States. Through sponsored events, publications, and the Tech Talk Forum, the AHA provides opportunities for homebrewers to get together and engage in the free exchange of techniques, feedback, and fellowship that homebrewers are famous for.
It is through this supportive community that homebrewers can become stronger brewers and embrace the possibility of becoming a professional brewer, either through their own entrepreneurship or by contributing to an established brewery. Ultimately it is on adventurous homebrewers that the future of U.S. Microbrewery revolution, that has captured the world's attention and imagination, relies in order to ensure future generations of beer lovers can enjoy unique offerings in their community and grocery stores.
As an active homebrewer, AHA member, soon to be law school graduate, successful homebrew lobbyist, and first person witness to the value of the AHA to the homebrewing community I believe I can contribute positively to the AHA governing committee."

Seek Out Some Local Seasonal Brews

2009-11-02T10:32:00.002-07:00

This article is a few days old, but is a nice reminder to look to local breweries in your area for great flavor discoveries in seasonal ales.

Fall beers: A change is in the pour

I Love It When a Plan Comes Together

2009-11-01T19:21:00.004-07:00

As mentioned in my previous post, after some persistent urging from a fellow brewer, I shall prepare for and take the BJCP exam.
My friend Eric, who has given the BJCP exam a great deal of thought has amassed a substantial amount of study material for the exam and our goal is to work together to get ready for the exam.
Here is the tentative plan. If you have any thoughts on the approach I would love some feedback.
The exam is schedule for March 20, 2010. This falls a couple of months before graduation, and a therefore a good amount of time before I have to start preparing in earnest for another important exam.
We expect that getting together one night a week, every other week, will be enough to work through the material between now and the exam date.
I have yet to take a complete inventory of the study materials, but from a first glance they appear to be pretty thorough.
Now what may be the most exciting part. The podcast.
As you may know Mike the Hop Guy and I released a podcast that released episodes in fits and starts. Our content revolved largely around Mike's efforts at growing homegrown hops and my involvement in the legalization of the homebrewing hobby in Utah. It has been some time since I've been able to release a podcast episode (over seven months). I am hoping that the story of preparing for the BJCP exam will be some compelling material for those who might be interested in the exam themselves.

Embark on the BJCP Odyssey

2009-10-31T15:01:00.003-06:00

I have mixed feelings about beer competitions.

If I brew I beer that I think may be worth winning an award, it is safe to assume I enjoy the beer myself, and thusly am mailing away a portion of a limited batch that (given the nature of homebrewing) will never be precisely replicated again.

I don't take well to criticism in general, much less criticism I deem to be unconstructive or poorly thought out. So far all criticism I've read on judge sheets have been, in my opinion, both unconstructive and poorly thought out. I don't necessarily blame the judges however. Having judged a homebrew competition myself, I understand the time and space constraints of judging beer in large quantities. There is pressure to keep moving forward with the entries, and the spaces leave little room thoughtful criticism. So an individual beer crafted with love and attention, doesn't always get the full time and attention in judging the brewer would have liked. But that doesn't mean the judge didn't provide criticism with the best of intentions. The judges experience or time constraints may very well have been a limiting factor in providing the kind of feedback the brewer would find useful.

Furthermore, I find beer styles in general to be a crude tool. Its like making assumptions about a person based on character traits we assign to nationalities. Sometimes submitting a really creative beer in the category it is most like, would be like me, having held myself out as an American, evaluated based on how good of an American I really am. Imagine my dismay if I got my evaluation results back with a low score and a note that said "Nice guy but you would have scored higher if you submitted yourself in the Canadian category." That may have been a strained analogy, but it was intended to illustrate that what makes the American micro-brewery so special is that brewers, many having started as homebrewers, set out to bring something unique and creative to the marketplace. As supermarket shelves fill with a wider variety microbrew selections, new breweries must become increasingly creative to grab a consumers attention. You can no longer build a micro-brew dynasty on a well balanced, hoppy pale ale as Sierra Nevada did. And lets face it, as homebrewers we frequently pride ourselves on our creative brews.

So why then are we so eager to seek awards based on proscribed styles that reward textbook brewing? I don't have an answer to that question because I, almost spitefully, brew outside style guidelines.

With all this in mind it would seem incongruous for me to disclose that I am about to start studying for the BJCP exam. Yet that is exactly what I am about to do. A small (or maybe not so small) group of homebrewers in Utah have decided to use their numbers as interested test takers to draw an exam administrator into the Beehive state to give us Utah homebrewers a chance at beer judge certification without the hassle of long distance travel.

Perhaps my mindset as a skeptic will generate an interesting perspective as I work through the material in preparation for the exam. Perhaps my eyes will be opened to the beauty of the style guidelines. Perhaps there is plenty of room within the four corners of proscribed perfection. And maybe, just maybe, I'll come to realize that I shouldn't have been enjoying my off-style brews as much as I have been.

Only time will tell...

Keep it all bottled up.

2009-10-30T14:42:00.002-06:00

With 11 carboys full in the basement, a mass bottling day was well overdue.
Friday October 30, 2009 my faithful wife and brewing assistant helped me buckle down and pull together the big project.
Two carboys went to soda kegs making the menu on the kegerator my Walden's Dubbel (Belgian Dubbel), Scrumdidlyumptious Brew (A Bavarian Amber Wheat), Barbaric Yawp (A Belgian Golden Strong Ale), and a pale ale simply titled "BEER" is carbonating on deck, for when one of the three other taps run dry.
Into bottles went the other half of the Scrumdidlyumptious Brew, and "BEER" batches, along with a chocolate coconut porter I brewed with my friend Eric, which I have dubbed Winter Beach.
In the basement are four sour ale carboys of a variety of underlying brew styles that are gradually escaping my memory. Lastly there is a slowly aging mead all by itself in the corner of the basement. It is a back to basics mead. All my previous experiments with mead have been some experiment with spices, fruit, or win bases. I thought it was high time I just made a simple dry mead. It started fermenting in the spring and I can't wait to see how it turns out...but I will.

Worthwhile Brewing Survey

2009-04-02T13:43:00.001-06:00

Dear AHA Members,

The American Homebrewers Association is assisting an Auburn University study on homebrewing as a "Serious Leisure Pursuit" in the United States.

In the interest of getting the most representative and reliable the data we can, we encourage as many homebrewers as possible to participate in the study by filling out a brief survey. Please read this informational letter pertaining to the research and if you agree to participate, you can click through to the anonymous online survey.

Your participation is entirely voluntary. Total time commitment is approximately 15 minutes and there are no known risks associated with participating in this study. The survey delivery software will not collect email or IP addresses and/or any other identification markers.

The survey site will remain open through April 30, though we would greatly appreciate it if you could complete the survey in a timely manner.

Please feel free to forward this message on to any other homebrewers you know.

Results from the study will be posted on the AHA website and to the AHA TechTalk forum once they have been compiled.

Thank you for supporting this study.

Gary Glass

Director
American Homebrewers Association

Home Brewing Legalized in Utah (15 min. of Fame)

2009-04-01T13:49:00.003-06:00

House Bill 51 was signed into law in Utah and will take effect on May 12, 2009.
Here is the press release and some links.

Utah Legalizes Homebrew Beer

Utah one of the lasts states to change law legalizing homebrewing

Boulder, CO • March 25, 2009 – Yesterday, Governor Jon M. Huntsman, Jr. of Utah signed into law legislation that makes homebrewing beer legal. The "Exemption for Alcoholic Beverage Manufacturing License" was sponsored by Representative Christine A. Johnson and made Utah the 46th state to legalize homebrewing. The US Government made homebrewing legal on a federal level in 1978. Since then all but four states; Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi and Oklahoma have made homebrewing legal.

From left: Jamie Burnham, The Beer Nut manager; Allen Sanderson, AHA member;
Mark Alston, The Beer Nut Owner; Christine Johnson, Representative; Gary Glass,
AHA Director; and AHA members Douglas Wawrzynski and Nicole Salazar.

"Home-brewing is a healthy and vibrant hobby in Utah as evidenced by the outpouring of support HB 51 received in the 2009 Legislature," commented Rep. Christine A. Johnson. "Many thanks to the American Homebrewers Association for thorough education, great committee testimony and association members who flooded elected officials with emails of support."

But it's not just homebrewers who are excited about the change. Jennifer Talley, brewmaster for Squatters Pub Brewery/Salt Lake Brewing Co in Salt Lake City, says the relationship between professional and amateur brewers has always been a tight one and legalizing homebrewing will allow this relationship in Utah to evolve and grow.

"Homebrewing is truly an art and most professional brewers I know were once homebrewing in their kitchen. Utah beer enthusiast will now have the freedom to express their deepest beer desires through perfecting the craft of homebrewing in their own kitchens," says Talley.

The American Homebrewers Association estimates that there are approximately 750,000 homebrewers in the United States, including 7,000 homebrewers residing in Utah. Utah is the only state to have legalized homebrewing in the last ten years.

"With the successful passage of HB 51, Utahns can confidently assemble into homebrew clubs and organize competitions," states the Utah law student Douglas Wawrzynski, who launched this most recent attempt to legalize homebrewing. "Utah homebrewers are finally free to relax, stop worrying, and have a legal homebrew."

"It has been an honor to work with the homebrewers of Utah to help legalize homebrewing in their state," says Gary Glass, Director of the American Homebrewers Association (AHA). "I can think of no greater cause for the American Homebrewers Association to take on than ensuring all Americans can legally brew at home."

There is currently an active movement to legalize homebrewing in Alabama, and the AHA has heard from homebrewers in Kentucky, Mississippi, and Oklahoma who are interested in starting movements in each of those states.

###

Based in Boulder, Colorado, USA, the Brewers Association (BA) is the not-for-profit trade and education association for American craft brewers and community of beer enthusiasts. Visit the Web site, www.beertown.org, to learn more. The association’s activities include events and publishing: World Beer Cup®; Great American Beer Festival^sm; Craft Brewers Conference and BrewExpo America®; National Homebrewers Conference; National Homebrew Competition; SAVOR: An American Craft Beer and Food Experience; American Craft Beer Week; Zymurgy magazine; The New Brewer magazine; and books on beer and brewing. The Brewers Association has an additional membership division of 17,000+ homebrewers: American Homebrewers Association.

-------------------

Links:

Brewer's Association Press Release
WikiNews Article

Inversion Bourbon Porter

2009-01-19T22:05:00.013-07:00

Inversion Bourbon Porter

The Recipe:

Grain Bill:

13 lb Pale British Malt

1 lb Flaked Wheat (unmilled)

1 lb Chocolate Malt

0.5 lb Black Malt

0.5 lb Cara-Hell

Hops:

1 oz. Centennial (8.0%AA) 1st Wort

1 oz. Centennial (8.0%AA) 15 min

Yeast:

Wyeast 1084: Irish Ale

Additives:

Dash - Ground Cinnamin - Added to mash

Smidge - Irish Mosh - Added last 15 min of boil.

Not Enough - Rice Hulls - Added to mash

2 Oz. American Oak Cubes - Medium Toast - Added to Secondary

A pint or so of top shelf whiskey or bourbon (Maker's Mark or Knob Creek) - Added to Secondary.

The Brew Day: January 9, 2008

It was a chilly Saturday when I decided to break out the brewing equipment and do a five gallon batch. I wanted to make something that would go well when you've a good reason not to leave the house on the weekend when there is snow on the ground and the air pollution has built up in the valley reducing visibility to 13 blocks.

After milling the grain I added my one pound of flaked wheat, a couple of fistfulls of rice hulls, and the ground cinnamin. Flaked wheat doesn't need to be milled (in fact is probably shouldn't be) because it has been processed into a pre-gelatinized form. If you purchase raw wheat you'd have to do a cereal mash seperately from the main mash to gelatinize the starches, then add it to your main mash to convert the starches. Personally I haven't found a recipe in which I felt compelled to do my own cereal mash, yet. When working with wheat, since it has no husks, it is best to add some rice hulls to prevent getting a stuck mash. However, as I found out on this day, I hadn't added nearly enough.
The mash should have only take about an hour but because I had to refloat the mash not once but twice, each time adding more and more rice hulls, the mash lasted nearly three hours. Most of which was spent watching the very slow trickle of wort I got after refloating the mash twice.

Having chosen to brew on a particularly chilly day I took over the living room to setup the mash and sparge. Eventually I got the brew kettle full of enough wort to move the kettle out onto the front porch and fire up the propane burner for the 1 hour boil.

After a one our boil I chilled the wort with a copper coil immersion chiller, pitched the yeast, and let it do its thing.

Once fermentation had taken hold I moved the fermenter into the cellar where it was about 58 degrees F in an effort to control the fermentation temp.

After about 18 hours the fermentation had kicked up so much that I needed to take the airlock off my primary and switch over to a blow-off tube setup. About 24 hours of that and the fermentation had settled down enough to switch back to a standard airlock and bring upstairs into a 68 degree F environment.

Update: January 17, 2009

I moved the beer from primary to secondary fermentation and added the oak cubes.

I'll let fermentation complete and age for a couple of weeks before I add any bourbon, which will in all liklihood stop any yeast activity the moment it goes in.

Utah Home Brewing Bill - Part Deux (Chapters I & II)

2008-11-19T12:00:00.000-07:00

Chapter I
Background

In 1978 President Jimmy Carter signed an act into law exempting a specific amount of home produced beer from the Federal Excise tax. This exemption once again enabled Americans to engage in a hobby that had been illegal since prohibition, which for much of recorded history prior to the American prohibition was practiced less as a hobby and more as a daily way of life for a safe source of hydration and a way to preserve a harvest during a more agrarian time. As the true power to regulate alcohol production and sale rests with the individual states, it was fortuitous that many states quickly followed suit enacting their own licensing and tax exemptions for their citizens to engage in the home production of beer.
Over the next thirty years home brewing beer would grow to be a hobby practiced across the country. The American Homebrewers Association which was founded by Charlie Papazian in 1978 has seen membership in the organization swell to 17,500 out of a conservatively estimated 500,000 home brewers nationwide (defined as a person who brews at least one five gallon batch a year). The success of the hobby has been credited with much of the success of the country's microbrewery movement, as many of America's most successful and creative breweries were founded by homebrewers. Jim Koch, founder of the Boston Beer Company, maker of Samuel Adams, was himself a homebrewer and now holds an annual Long Shot competition, in which homebrewers from across the country can submit their own beers for judging, the best of which are brewed at the Boston Beer Company's brewery and packaged into special six packs for limited distribution.
By 2008 forty-five states had enacted legislation to clearly permit the hobby in their state. And while homebrewers across the country were celebrating the 30th anniversary of their hobby, the work was just beginning in one of the remaining five states looking to pass homebrewing legislation.
While there was no express prohibition of the hobby under Utah law, it appears as though that under the current laws a homebrewer in Utah would be subject to the same hefty licensing, bond, and taxation requirements that a full scale brewery operating as a business would be subject to in the state. None the less as many as five home brew supply shops obtained business licenses from their respective cities throughout the state and the hobby has experienced reasonable, if not somewhat underground, success. While leaving well enough alone seemed to work for some time, such ambiguity in the law proved risky when in 2005 the City of South Sale Lake took steps to clarify such ambiguity by pursuing an ordinance that would have specifically prohibited the hobby within the city's boarders. The local homebrewing community rallied against the effort and it was ultimately defeated. A few years later an ambitious law student decided he would prefer it if his new found hobby didn't require him to operate in a gray area of the law, particularly given his aspirations of being a member of the Bar and an officer of the court. He turned to a member of the Utah Legislature for help.
Representative Christine Johnson of the Utah Legislature responded to the plea of that constituent and took up the cause of Utah Homebrewers. While her efforts and the efforts of homebrewers throughout the state were valiant, and were met with much success, the clock ran out on Utah's first attempt in ten years at passing homebrewing legislation. The bill passed the House of Representatives but expired when the relatively short Utah Legislative session ended before the bill received an up or down vote in the Utah Senate.
Undaunted and reelected the much revered Representative Christine Johnson has elected to sponsor the "Exemption for Alcoholic Beverage Manufacturing License" once again. However this time the efforts have begun well before the 2009 Legislative Session of the Utah Legislature will begin.
Representative Christine Johnson will present the bill at an interim committee meeting of the Utah Legislature in the hopes of giving the bill new life. Success in such a meeting would be very advantageous and would hopefully bode well for the bills overall success when the legislative session does begin in early 2009.
The homebrewing bill is seventh on the agenda for the Business and Labor Interim Committee which is scheduled to meet Wednesday, November 19, 2008 at 2:15 p.m. in Room W025 House Building at the Capitol.
I have also been working with Jamie Burnham at The Beer Nut (Salt Lake City's legally operating Homebrew Supply Shop) and Gary Glass of the American Homebrewers Association (who spoke before the House Government Operations Committee during the 2008 Legislative Session, where we received a unanimous favorable recommendation). They are working to spread the word and rally support from the Utah homebrewing community.
We need the support of Utah homebrewers and all those who feel this legislative measure is appropriate, not only at the upcoming meeting but throughout the 2009 legislative session, as we strive to ensure the bill's success at each step in the process. We appreciate the time of anyone who can come before a committee meeting to speak in support of the bill, as well as the efforts of everyone who takes the time to contact their local legislators this year.

Chapter II
The November 19, 2008 meeting of the Business and Labor Interim Committee

It was a sunny day in Salt Lake City, and the air quality was visibly compromised as I drove up the steeper blocks of State Street approaching the Capitol building. A helicopter was circling the Capitol building complex against a smoggy version of a sky blue backdrop. It was 1:45 p.m. and the scene reminded me that the Senate confirmation hearing that ultimately resulted in a rejection of Judge Robert Hilder for the Court of Appeals was likely wrapping up and that parking would be a particular challenge today. Surprisingly enough parking was easy to find for those not afraid to walk a little bit.
On my way to the gravel walkway that arches along the eastern half of the complex, I crossed paths with Jamie Burnham, the manager of The Beer Nut (Salt Lake City’s premier home brew supply shop). She had brought a new employee along with her, whose name I regret I don't recall. Together we walked to the lower level of the House building where we met with Mark Alston, the owner of The Beer Nut and The Bayou, Nicole Salazar-Hall, a 2L and fellow home brewing advocate, and Jennifer Talley, one of two brewmasters at Squatters brewpub. We exchanged pleasantries and introductions as a gentleman from the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (“DABC”) approached us as he overheard the content of our conversation. He explained he had worked with Representative Johnson on some language modifications to the bill and inquired about the history of the bill from the 2008 legislative session. He seemed receptive to the purpose of the bill as he learned the bills failure in the last session turned on a lack of time and not of support. As the conversation was winding down Representative Johnson arrived and greeted us. She carried the bill in hand and showed us the new language, explaining that its purpose was to clarify that the exemption would pertain only to beer and wine, importantly excluding distilling beverages at home. While we all agreed the language is redundant because Federal law explicitly outlaws home distillation, it made someone at the DABC feel better, so it was included.
The committee meeting was held in Room W025 and a half hour before the meeting was to begin the room was already packed and uncomfortably warm. None the less a room full of well dressed individuals, mostly still wearing their sport coats, endured the muggy atmosphere to see a bill or a report that was important to them. Those who came in support of “Exemption for Alcoholic Beverage Manufacturing License” were willing to endure no less.
When the meeting was called to order, more or less on time, the committee dove right in to the rather ambitious agenda for a three hour meeting. The Exemption for Alcoholic Beverage Manufacturing License bill was seventh on the agenda, so I settled in as best I could while I mentally ran through the strong points of my oral arguments for a motion for summary judgment, which would be held later that same afternoon at 4 p.m. at the S. J. Quinney College of Law’s moot court room across town. The committee seemed to crawl through the agenda as item number two was titled “Required Reports” and listed five individuals who would be presenting material. The substance of the reports seemed to be less than engaging for the majority of the audience as yawns moved through the room like “the wave” at a football game. The committee eventually seemed to agree with popular opinion and announced that they would skip the last couple of reports to dive into the meat of the agenda.
While I attended this particular meeting in support of Representative Johnson’s bill, I found a couple of items on the agenda to be of interest to me. My prior employment as a Financial Representative for Fidelity Investments still prompts me to pay attention to changes in securities laws. Items four and five on the agenda were titled similarly as “Utah Uniform Securities Act.” Each had its own sponsor who advocated their own as the better of the two, while simultaneously conceding that theirs was largely identical to the other. As the committee pressed through those two bills and the rest of the agenda, they finally arrived at item number seven, but before allowing Representative Johnson to present her bill, the committee acknowledged that Representative Dunnigan had a bill that was ninth on the agenda, but simultaneously had to be elsewhere to present other legislation. Representative Johnson, in the spirit of comity, graciously allowed Representative Dunnigan to present his bill next, so that he might be able to make the other meeting.
By now the committee meeting had gone on for some time and I had run out of time if I wanted to make it to the moot courtroom to deliver my oral arguments. I notified Representative Johnson via text message that I had to leave, but would listen to the bill’s presentation online. I then proceeded to jog to my car as best I could in a suit and made it to campus with minimal traffic violations in time to deliver my arguments. As I left the courtroom I received the text message I was hoping to get. The 1.8 inch viewable screen of my cell phone displayed the words “It passed with only one dissenting vote,” as relayed by Ms. Salazar-Hall. I hurried home to pour myself a drink and hear the details of what I missed via an MP3 download from the Utah Legislature website.
In listening to the audio recording of the meeting I learned that after Representative Johnson presented the bill, Mark Alston spoke as a member of the public on behalf of the bill. He competently articulated the strengths of the hobby as a skill and a craft, and that nature of the process requires patience for spans of time ranging from two month to ten years. Both he and Representative Johnson rightly asserted that for those looking for a quick “buzz” a trip to the liquor store would prove more advantageous than home brewing and that the craft of home brewing was reserved for the patient and responsible. One very interesting comment of note came from Senator Hickman of the committee. He inquired if this bill, in addition for allowing for transport of homebrew for the purpose of taking it to competition, would permit for the sale of that product. I imagine most of the observers took that as a hostile question, to see if there were some holes to be poked in the legislation. Representative Johnson responded in the negative, to which Senator Hickman noted that he would support some sort of addition to the bill that would allow for the limited sale of an award winning home brew product after it had gone to competition. While he simultaneously acknowledged that such an amendment would likely fail, it was surprising to hear such a progressive attitude towards home brewed products and was perhaps a positive sign for the future of the hobby in the State of Utah. The one dissenting vote was cast by Senator Niederhauser. Ultimately, Representative Johnson’s bill was forwarded with a favorable recommendation as a “committee bill,” which thanks to an explanation earlier in the meeting, means the bill will be noted as such in the long title and then numbered in sequence as a committee bill and therefore given a lower bill number and presumably a better “spot in line” with the beginning of the 2009 General Session of the Utah Legislature. The bill will move on to the House of Representatives for a vote and hopefully will experience success in both the House and the Senate. The somewhat clandestine organization Utah Law Homebrewing Theorists Association (“ULHTA”) through its members will continue its lobbying efforts as it did for the 2008 legislative session. The organization works to study the existing laws of Utah with respect to homebrewing, seeks change where necessary, and hopes to experience success with its core mission this year so it will be able to reorganize away from being a lobbying group to a homebrew club, and then focus its efforts on winning a bid, in cooperation with the sales team of the Grand and Little America Hotels, to host the National Homebrewers Conference in June of 2010.