Happy New Year Fellow Brewers!
I, for one, am quite thankful that the Mayan Apocalypse didn’t come. I am lagering batch number 3 of a “nearly perfected” German Helles with fellow brewer Trevor Ostrander–and we are dying to know how it will turn out. I hope you all took advantage during the Holiday Season to show your family how great your homebrew is, and as result removing the old “bathtub swill” stigma that a few uninformed macro-beer drinkers still cling to. On my trek back to Indiana to spend time with my family, I was able to hit up several new brewpubs, breweries, and a few beer store emporiums that all continue to amaze me on how big the world of craft beer has gotten, and continues to grow. I keep thinking, “surely the craftbrew world will reach saturation and plateau.” But I can honestly say, I’m not sure how far beer styles and brewing will go; and I can only imagine what this craft will look like in the next 5-10 years. It truly is an exciting time to be involved in the world of brewing.
THIS MONTH’S MEETING
This month’s meeting will be the first of the year, and since many of the members have been on Holiday Hiatus, we are going to be hitting the ground running. This month’s meeting will be held at the “Opening-not-soon-enough” Roots Brewing Company at 175 Main Street in Oneonta (formerly the Oneonta Spice Co.) this Friday 1/18 @ 6:30pm. Fellow HOPS member Russ Scimeca and Jason Parrish have invited us to convene and imbibe at their establishment. They are currently undergoing renovations, so club members will need to bring their own chairs. For a tasty pairing to our brews, Russ recommends take out @ Pit Crew BBQ on Southside.
HOPS FOR ?????
Well 2012 gave way to 2 fantastic fund-raisers with both Habitat for Humanity and Saturday’s Bread. And while it seems that we just finished the fall charity tasting, it is time to begin planning our Spring Event! Habitat for Humanity has put in their official proposal for the spring event, again. However, as discussed in the past, the charity which we will be working with is to be voted on by the club members. So, if you know of a charity that might be interested, and/or is near and dear to your heart, please bring this info forward to the January meeting as we will be officially voting at the February Meeting. This Spring’s event will showcase “Pale Ales.” The range of beers should be diverse enough to keep the public happy, but similar enough to encourage competitive voting. More info on this at January’s meeting.
BJCP Education/Certification
A few of us are considering the BJCP certification program so that our club can become a regional tasting site for the National Homebrew Competition. Our best solution may involve a highly organized and sanctioned online course that will train each individual each of the BJCP tasting categories, hop/yeast/malt detection, off-flavor detection, and historical/process knowledge about every BJCP style. The courses and exams do cost money; Trevor Ostrander will give more details at the meeting.
Big Brew Day/Get-Togethers/Pub Crawl
The calender fills up fast, so if you have ideas for an early spring get-together, please put together a proposal/announcement and let’s put a few events on the 2013 calendar early!
See you all Friday! Don’t Forget:
1. 32+oz. of Homebrew
2. Favorite Tasting Glass
3. Chair
4. Note-Taking Materials
Cheers!
—josh
I, for one, am quite thankful that the Mayan Apocalypse didn’t come. I am lagering batch number 3 of a “nearly perfected” German Helles with fellow brewer Trevor Ostrander–and we are dying to know how it will turn out. I hope you all took advantage during the Holiday Season to show your family how great your homebrew is, and as result removing the old “bathtub swill” stigma that a few uninformed macro-beer drinkers still cling to. On my trek back to Indiana to spend time with my family, I was able to hit up several new brewpubs, breweries, and a few beer store emporiums that all continue to amaze me on how big the world of craft beer has gotten, and continues to grow. I keep thinking, “surely the craftbrew world will reach saturation and plateau.” But I can honestly say, I’m not sure how far beer styles and brewing will go; and I can only imagine what this craft will look like in the next 5-10 years. It truly is an exciting time to be involved in the world of brewing.
THIS MONTH’S MEETING
This month’s meeting will be the first of the year, and since many of the members have been on Holiday Hiatus, we are going to be hitting the ground running. This month’s meeting will be held at the “Opening-not-soon-enough” Roots Brewing Company at 175 Main Street in Oneonta (formerly the Oneonta Spice Co.) this Friday 1/18 @ 6:30pm. Fellow HOPS member Russ Scimeca and Jason Parrish have invited us to convene and imbibe at their establishment. They are currently undergoing renovations, so club members will need to bring their own chairs. For a tasty pairing to our brews, Russ recommends take out @ Pit Crew BBQ on Southside.
HOPS FOR ?????
Well 2012 gave way to 2 fantastic fund-raisers with both Habitat for Humanity and Saturday’s Bread. And while it seems that we just finished the fall charity tasting, it is time to begin planning our Spring Event! Habitat for Humanity has put in their official proposal for the spring event, again. However, as discussed in the past, the charity which we will be working with is to be voted on by the club members. So, if you know of a charity that might be interested, and/or is near and dear to your heart, please bring this info forward to the January meeting as we will be officially voting at the February Meeting. This Spring’s event will showcase “Pale Ales.” The range of beers should be diverse enough to keep the public happy, but similar enough to encourage competitive voting. More info on this at January’s meeting.
BJCP Education/Certification
A few of us are considering the BJCP certification program so that our club can become a regional tasting site for the National Homebrew Competition. Our best solution may involve a highly organized and sanctioned online course that will train each individual each of the BJCP tasting categories, hop/yeast/malt detection, off-flavor detection, and historical/process knowledge about every BJCP style. The courses and exams do cost money; Trevor Ostrander will give more details at the meeting.
Big Brew Day/Get-Togethers/Pub Crawl
The calender fills up fast, so if you have ideas for an early spring get-together, please put together a proposal/announcement and let’s put a few events on the 2013 calendar early!
See you all Friday! Don’t Forget:
1. 32+oz. of Homebrew
2. Favorite Tasting Glass
3. Chair
4. Note-Taking Materials
Cheers!
—josh
