Greetings Brewers!
Summer is upon us and most likely you are enjoying the fruits of your Late-Spring Brewing Schedule: Czech Pilsners, Rye Pale Ales, Farmhouse Saisons, and German Hefes, to name a few. And if you’re thinking ahead, you’re probably plotting your perfect Oktoberfest Recipe to be brewed sometime this month. (More on a possible Munich-style Club-wide throw down later…).
The HOPS Brew Club Officers, Wes Nick and myself (Josh Hammonds), met last week to discuss, plan, and implement the next milestone for our club: this summer’s events, membership, officer inductions, the HOPS Fall Tasting Charity Contest, and the next Big Brew Day. Suffice to say, the next 3 months will be some of the most exciting and busiest months of our Brew Club. So, the purpose of this post is to let everyone know what these events will entail so that each member can decide to what degree they would like to be involved. More information about each of these will be posted in the near future, but for now, here they are:
JULY 2012 Meeting
This month’s meeting will be held this Friday (July 20th) @ 6pm @ Wes Nick’s Home. For this meeting, Wes wanted to host a BBQ and Camping event where members could come, eat, chat about brews and life, and stay for the night if they’d like. Be sure to bring a dish to share! His home is at: 13 Maiden Ln, Cherry Valley, NY, 13320. Directions from Oneonta can be found here: LINK. Further questions can be directed via email: [email protected].
AUGUST 2012 Meeting Agenda
The August 2012 Meeting (on August 17th) will be one of the most pivotal meetings we’ve had. At this meeting, we will induct all of our members, elect our officers, and vote on our Fall Charity Tasting Event! (yes… at some point during the meeting we will taste beer, I promise). Below is a more detailed agenda:
Membership
At nearly 18 months since HOPS’ inception, we still do not have formalized membership. While this has not been a pressing issue in the past, current issues, involving city-wide charity tastings, and other potential events have made it necessary for our club to develop a voting system to aid in making impactful decisions. For those who do consider themselves as a part of our club should also consider becoming a formal member during our August Meeting.
Members’ Responsibilities/Benefits:
1. Pay Annual Dues: this small amount will go into a club-wide financial retainer to make t-shirt purchases, marketing products for events, and other paraphernalia so that one club member does not have to use their personal credit card and wait for a collection. Funds may also go to web-site hosting and brewery trips as well.
2. Voting Rights: the decision of which organization/charity will be the benefactor for each of our tasting events is a weighty one. Each participant of these events gives up a considerable amount of time, cost, and energy to donate their brew to the event. As a result, the decision of which charity should be decided by all of our members. In addition to which charity, other decisions such as shirt decisions, event slogans, etc… will be voted upon by our members.
3. Charity Tasting Contest Entrant: members of our club are eligible to participate in any and all of our charity tasting contests. If the 10 slots are not filled by our members, then the spots will be open for any non-members who wish to participate.
*please note: All of our monthly meetings are open to the general public. You do NOT have to be a member to participate in our discussions and tastings; so feel free to continue coming, participating, and inviting friends to all of our meetings regardless of your decision to become an official member of the club.
Officer Induction
As it stands, we have 3 acting officers for the club: President (Josh Hammonds); Vice President (Wes Nick); and Treasurer (Kathy Bilz). We are still in need of a Secretary. This individual will work alongside Wes and myself to make sure the meeting agenda items (past, present, and future) are discussed and organized. If this position interests you, (or if someone in the club fits this bill) be sure to nominate or self-nomiate during the August Meeting. Officer elections will take place directly after membership induction.
Charity Tasting Contest Event
There’s no mistake about it; the word is out. I have received several calls, emails, and face to face discussions from organizations around town who would love for us to host our next charity event for them. While it is great to be wanted, this is why our membership and voting process is more important than ever. So, at our August Meeting, after the inductions, we will vote on the charity event set for late October. It is important, if you know of a charity that could benefit from our event, that you bring a written proposal to read aloud before the members. Once all of the proposals have been read, we will vote on the charity. The charity with the most votes, will be the benefactor of our Fall tasting event. Note that while you are soliciting/writing proposals, please check with the organization to confirm that they are willing to participate.
For potential entrants, soon we will be taking the first 10 members who sign up. And for those who like to plan in advance, this event will be in late October and will feature the following style: “Malt-Forward Fall Beers.” This should give you some wiggle room, at the same time, give a boundary so the public can compare effectively. I’m certain the spots will fill quickly, so you may want to find a friend or two in the club you can brew with.
Big Brew Day 4.0
Poised to happen in late September, HOPS members who grow their own hops will be invited to to participate in a Local Hop Amber IPA for the next BBD! More details at our next meeting!
Whew. That’s it for now… I’m excited to be a part of this group and look forward to chatting and tasting with you all again soon!
—josh
Summer is upon us and most likely you are enjoying the fruits of your Late-Spring Brewing Schedule: Czech Pilsners, Rye Pale Ales, Farmhouse Saisons, and German Hefes, to name a few. And if you’re thinking ahead, you’re probably plotting your perfect Oktoberfest Recipe to be brewed sometime this month. (More on a possible Munich-style Club-wide throw down later…).
The HOPS Brew Club Officers, Wes Nick and myself (Josh Hammonds), met last week to discuss, plan, and implement the next milestone for our club: this summer’s events, membership, officer inductions, the HOPS Fall Tasting Charity Contest, and the next Big Brew Day. Suffice to say, the next 3 months will be some of the most exciting and busiest months of our Brew Club. So, the purpose of this post is to let everyone know what these events will entail so that each member can decide to what degree they would like to be involved. More information about each of these will be posted in the near future, but for now, here they are:
JULY 2012 Meeting
This month’s meeting will be held this Friday (July 20th) @ 6pm @ Wes Nick’s Home. For this meeting, Wes wanted to host a BBQ and Camping event where members could come, eat, chat about brews and life, and stay for the night if they’d like. Be sure to bring a dish to share! His home is at: 13 Maiden Ln, Cherry Valley, NY, 13320. Directions from Oneonta can be found here: LINK. Further questions can be directed via email: [email protected].
AUGUST 2012 Meeting Agenda
The August 2012 Meeting (on August 17th) will be one of the most pivotal meetings we’ve had. At this meeting, we will induct all of our members, elect our officers, and vote on our Fall Charity Tasting Event! (yes… at some point during the meeting we will taste beer, I promise). Below is a more detailed agenda:
Membership
At nearly 18 months since HOPS’ inception, we still do not have formalized membership. While this has not been a pressing issue in the past, current issues, involving city-wide charity tastings, and other potential events have made it necessary for our club to develop a voting system to aid in making impactful decisions. For those who do consider themselves as a part of our club should also consider becoming a formal member during our August Meeting.
Members’ Responsibilities/Benefits:
1. Pay Annual Dues: this small amount will go into a club-wide financial retainer to make t-shirt purchases, marketing products for events, and other paraphernalia so that one club member does not have to use their personal credit card and wait for a collection. Funds may also go to web-site hosting and brewery trips as well.
2. Voting Rights: the decision of which organization/charity will be the benefactor for each of our tasting events is a weighty one. Each participant of these events gives up a considerable amount of time, cost, and energy to donate their brew to the event. As a result, the decision of which charity should be decided by all of our members. In addition to which charity, other decisions such as shirt decisions, event slogans, etc… will be voted upon by our members.
3. Charity Tasting Contest Entrant: members of our club are eligible to participate in any and all of our charity tasting contests. If the 10 slots are not filled by our members, then the spots will be open for any non-members who wish to participate.
*please note: All of our monthly meetings are open to the general public. You do NOT have to be a member to participate in our discussions and tastings; so feel free to continue coming, participating, and inviting friends to all of our meetings regardless of your decision to become an official member of the club.
Officer Induction
As it stands, we have 3 acting officers for the club: President (Josh Hammonds); Vice President (Wes Nick); and Treasurer (Kathy Bilz). We are still in need of a Secretary. This individual will work alongside Wes and myself to make sure the meeting agenda items (past, present, and future) are discussed and organized. If this position interests you, (or if someone in the club fits this bill) be sure to nominate or self-nomiate during the August Meeting. Officer elections will take place directly after membership induction.
Charity Tasting Contest Event
There’s no mistake about it; the word is out. I have received several calls, emails, and face to face discussions from organizations around town who would love for us to host our next charity event for them. While it is great to be wanted, this is why our membership and voting process is more important than ever. So, at our August Meeting, after the inductions, we will vote on the charity event set for late October. It is important, if you know of a charity that could benefit from our event, that you bring a written proposal to read aloud before the members. Once all of the proposals have been read, we will vote on the charity. The charity with the most votes, will be the benefactor of our Fall tasting event. Note that while you are soliciting/writing proposals, please check with the organization to confirm that they are willing to participate.
For potential entrants, soon we will be taking the first 10 members who sign up. And for those who like to plan in advance, this event will be in late October and will feature the following style: “Malt-Forward Fall Beers.” This should give you some wiggle room, at the same time, give a boundary so the public can compare effectively. I’m certain the spots will fill quickly, so you may want to find a friend or two in the club you can brew with.
Big Brew Day 4.0
Poised to happen in late September, HOPS members who grow their own hops will be invited to to participate in a Local Hop Amber IPA for the next BBD! More details at our next meeting!
Whew. That’s it for now… I’m excited to be a part of this group and look forward to chatting and tasting with you all again soon!
—josh
