Rendezvous 2021 was presented by the Umpqua Valley Brewers Guild (UVBG) August 20-22 at the Roseburg Rod & Gun Club. Huge thanks to the club members who helped set up the Pavilion before the event and who stayed and made sure all was cleaned up for the next party coming into the Pavilion. Special appreciation goes to Robert & Gayla for their enormous energy and work towards making this Rendezvous such a success.
We are extremely grateful to the sponsors who supported this event with their generous donations. Here’s an alphabetical list of websites for those businesses and encourage all home brewers to consider using the supplies and services these businesses offer. We wish to especially thank the business personnel (Courtney, Steve, Carla, & Laura) at these businesses for their help and positive endorsement of the UVBG Rendezvous 2021.
Five Star Chemicals:
– Courtney Fredrich (Home Brew Cleaning and Sanitizing) website
Harvest Store:
– Steve Johnston (Large Variety of Home Brewer Supplies) website
Hops Direct:
– Carla Crane (Hops and Hop Rhizomes) website
Wyeast Laboratories:
– Laura Vera (Huge Variety of Yeast Strains) website
Overview: It was a friendly gathering and sampling of a variety of home brews while catching up with fellow brewers and current brewing techniques, ingredients, and innovations. We all enjoyed Saturday breakfast, a Raffle, Door Prizes, Tasting (& Voting) of brews created by clubs and/or individuals, Home Brewer’s choice awards, Tasting & Discussion of the Testy Blonde Ale yeast experimental brew, and a fabulous dinner of smoked/roasted brisket, roasted chicken, baked potatoes, and a great selections of side dishes, salads, & desserts. Friday night was Sexy Beer Night where we all sampled various “interesting” beers from all around.
No one remembers (or will admit) where the Sexy Beer Night name came from, but it was intended as a time to sample and get tasting opinions on unusual or seldom seen (in our area) beers.
Friday afternoon UVBG members and representatives from the Rogue River club gathered at the Roseburg Rod & Gun Pavilion to set up. Hop bines were used to decorate the pavilion fireplace area, raffle/door prizes “bagged”, beer taps hooked up, and the Beer-BQ rig put in place & ready to pump out BBQ & beer. (FYI: The exceptionally hot summer weather cracked two of the Beer-BQ’s antique taps and Robert had to jury rig the setup to dispense brews…and just in case you wondered, blue tape is not the norm!)
After the afternoon setup, the group settled into a pleasant evening around the “campfire” to taste some interesting beers, meet new folks, & renew friendships.
Reasonably early Saturday morning, breakfast offerings were cooked & served by UVBG members. Ben & Sabrina fixed breakfast burrito fillings on their plough disk “wok” and with John’s help, set out the hot fixings for folks to create their personal burrito masterpieces. Mike did sourdough pancakes stacked with ham, sausage, and sprinkled with candied bacon (deemed the pig stack) served with home made syrup. Robert got up exceptionally early Saturday morning to start the BBQ brisket in his Beer-BQ smoker. Later, whole chickens and potatoes went into the roasting chamber for a dinner delight!
After breakfast & coffee, the day was spent buying raffle tickets and tasting, comparing, & voting for the beer favorites while visiting with our friends.
After the initial round of raffle prizes were awarded, the winners of the Favorite Beers voting were announced. Trophies were the handsome, hand made (by Ben) hardwood mash stir paddles.
After the Beer Awards had been made, the crew jumped into getting our evening feast ready. Dinner Saturday night (BBQ’d beef brisket & roasted chicken with baked potatoes & plentiful other side dishes and desserts!) couldn’t have been better to finish off a fabulous day of comradery (and beer tasting) among brewers and spouses!
As we wound down the day (with full tummies), John & Coleen pulled out their musical instruments and entertained us by the fire. During this stressful summer, it was an unforgettable weekend of good times, great friends, fabulous food, & terrific beers.
Contact: UVBG president, Robert Rochambeau
E-Mail: Robert or UVBG mailbox
Phone: 541-219-1603
Mailing: 2216 Austin Rd, Roseburg OR 97471