Hey LAGERS!
If you missed this month’s meeting, we had a nice chat about hop water. Special thanks to Brandon and Evan for that! I learned a lot and going to make some of my own this weekend. If you decide to make some yourself, bring some to the next meeting and we can all compare notes!
The April meeting is on April 17th. We’ll have CT Owen and Jason Rosenberger with two identical SMaSH Vienna Lagers, one with American malt (Briess) and one with German malt (Best). We’ll do a taste test and decide which we like best!
Lots of announcements this month so I’m just going to get right into it.
Brewery Meetups
In our member survey, we got a lot of responses saying that they would love to come to more events, but Mondays don’t work for them. And well we want to keep our meetings consistent, we’ve decided to start hosting regular meetups at breweries (and possibly other places). These won’t be traditional meetings. We’ll just be meeting at places, socializing, and supporting local breweries and businesses.
Our first meetup will be at Atrium’s new Norton Commons tap room on April 12th at 7 pm. We’ll be doing a giveaway for t-shirts and tin tackers (as well as selling them), Spencer Guy will be there to talk Atrium, and we’ll hopefully sign up a few new members.
Membership Dues
We haven’t raised our dues in over 10 years and unfortunately, it’s time. We will raise our yearly dues $5, to $25, starting this year. In addition, if you use the website or PayPal to pay your dues, there will be a $2 fee to cover the fees incurred by PayPal. You can still pay via cash or check at any meeting. If you want to mail your dues, email us and we’ll give you an address.
The extra money will go towards increases in insurance premiums, promoting the club, and putting on club social events.
Critical Feedback
Another note from our member survey is that people would like critical feedback on their beers, beyond the usual “it’s good!” To facilitate that, we’re going to start having a “Critical Feedback Corner” (name needs some work). We’ll take 15 minutes at the start of each meeting to provide feedback on beer that members have brought. Sarah is working on a sheet that will help guide the discussions so that they are as beneficial as possible.
You don’t have to participate in this! We’ll have a table for feedback and table for just plain ole drinking.
What we need to make this work are volunteers to taste and “judge” the beers. If you are BJCP certified, or just have a good palate, please please please come to the April meeting and help out!
Anvil Rental
Don’t forget that the club recently purchased an Anvil all-in-one electric brew system. It’s perfect for making three-gallon batches. Any club member can borrow this system. You just need to sign a waiver and it’s yours for a week! Test out the electric all-in-one before committing to a big purchase, brew a small experimental batch, teach a friend to brew! Whatever you need it for, it’s available.
