This month we will be in the Conference Room (the one with the couches past the external door to the Duckpin Room).
We've got some news on the group brew with Union from earlier in the year and will be discussing upcoming events!

Our October Meeting will not be held on Sunday, October 13th. A rescheduled date will be selected by the club.

July is a tough month for a meeting with many folks popping in and out-of-town. Diamondback is hosting a homebrew event on Saturday, July 27th that several members were interested in supporting. The brewery is looking to grow the event from last year. We are going to forgo the regular club meeting in favor of encouraging members to support this event.

There will be NO MEETING at Union on the second Sunday this Month.

Congratulations to Kevin for taking home the Iron Brewer stein! His co-fermentation of the Union Wort with red white and saison yeasts won the day!

Many thanks to Becky for coordinating the sensory panel. The group "enjoyed" the off-flavor panel and there was a lot of great conversation as we level set our palettes.

In previous meetings we've talked about the potential of rebranding the club to be more inclusive in that we enjoy all manners of fermentations, not only brewing beer (although that is still the primary focus). Max is going to send out a questionnaire to gauge interest/opposition in the idea and solicit potential names from those who want to move forward. Be on the lookout.

July is a tough month for a meeting with many folks popping in and out-of-town. Diamondback is hosting a homebrew event on Saturday, July 27th that several members were interested in supporting. The brewery is looking to grow the event from last year. We are going to forgo the regular club meeting in favor of encouraging members to support this event. Becky is reaching out to Diamondback and will distribute information.

Cheers!

Many thanks to Kevin and Jon for working with the brewers at Union on our May wort collaboration. Union is doing us a huge solid and providing the wort from this event at no cost to us so please when you pick up say a big thank you to the staff. We have the following folks confirmed for about 80 gallons!

The brewers are going to start their brewday around 8AM and are aiming to finish up around 3:30 or 4PM. If you are planning to come hang during the brew closed toe shoes are a hard requirement to be in an active production space, and waterproof boots are highly encouraged if you have a pair. The final recipe is at the end of this email. As with any brew day, things could run long so please be patient if things run over.

We will aim to start the monthly meeting at 3 PM. We will be meeting in the conference room, not the Duckpin room. Please bring homebrew to swap as we have plenty to talk about as we plan for the rest of 2024! There is a vintage expo running 9-5 at Union that day so parking may be a bit tight so if you want to make transportation arrangements accordingly.

Dark Siason (5/19/2024 @ Union)

• Weyermann Pilsner - 65.5%
• Weyermann Rye Malt - 17.9%
• Flaked Oats - 10.8%
• Carafa Special 2 - 5.8%
• (some rice hulls as well, because rye)

Mash in at 113, steady rise to 172 over 2 hours

• 30 BU Perle at 60 minutes
• Whirlfloc at 15 minutes

Targeting 16.4 plato (1.067) OG, Knocking out at 75F with 10-12ppm target oxygen.

Brübakes IV Recap

Many, many thanks to all the competitors and attendees that showed up for Brübakes IV! The event was a big success, selling out and raising $1,400 for the Station North Tool Library. Here's a quick rundown of the results:

Winners by judges vote:

• 1st place best pairing: Kevin Granger with Szechuan Saison and Lemon Pistachio Bars 
• 1st place best beer: Kris Quinn with French Saison
• 1st place best baked good: Laura Kooyman with Raspberry Bouquet
• 2nd place best beer/Judges honorable mention: Rob Kooyman with Raspberry Bouquet

Winners by attendee vote:

• 1st place: Elizabeth Urban and Joanna Hagan with Hatters Special Brew and Down is up and up is down
• 2nd place/honorable mention: Kris Quinn with French Saison and Zucchini Bars w/ Chocolate Grist Topping

Brübakes would not have been possible without the planning committee of Chuck, Cynthia, Jude, Kevin G, Greg, Jon, and Max. A big thanks goes out to all of them.

May Activities

With regards to the wort pickup and May meeting, Jon has relayed that things are looking promising for the May 19th date. He is in conversations with the brewers at Union and will communicate when things are official (it's still not 100% yet).

For now, we are planning to NOT meet for a group brew this weekend as we have discussed earlier in the year. We ARE planning for a normal meeting on Sunday, May 19th at Union, with the exact time TBD. If things change we will relay them as soon as possible.

Union asked us to claim at least 50 and up to 90 gallons of Dark Saison wort (~65% pils, 15% rye, 10% flaked oats, 4% midnight winter wheat, +acidulated malt, hopped to 25-30 IBUs, target about 7-7.5% after fermentation) at materials cost. We have about 70 gallons spoken for at the moment, so there is still time if more folks would like to step forward.

Cheers and happy May!

There is no general membership meeting in April since Brübakes returns Sunday, April 21st 2-4 PM at the Checkerspot Brewing Company! Proceeds to benefit the Station North Tool Library. Attendee tickets are available at https://baltibrew.ticketspice.com/brubakes-v.

Brübakes is returning again this spring! Join us on Sunday, April 21st 2-4 PM at the Checkerspot Brewing Company for a competition that pairs homebrewers and bakers to celebrate spring, sustainable brewing practices and the DIY spirit! Proceeds to benefit the Station North Tool Library.

Attendee tickets are available at https://baltibrew.ticketspice.com/brubakes-v.

Competition Overview

• Brewers must design a Belgian-style Saison ale to be served with a baked good. The catch? Bakers are required to use spent grain from the brewers' mash (at least 10% of the dry ingredients or 5% of the total ingredients, by weight) to create their counterpart.
• Those who are up for the challenge may act as both brewer and baker.
• Competitors need to bring at least 5 gallons of homebrew and about 120 baked good samples (Expecting about 70-90 attendees).
• Recommend freezing your spent grain after brew day.
• Baltibrew will provide ice. Dump buckets and water pitchers will be available.

Attendee Overview

• Must be 21+ years old to attend.
• All you can sample homebrew and baked goods.
• Ticket includes a Baltibrew Brübakes Belgian-style sample glass.
• Ticket proceeds will be donated to the Station North Tool Library.

Voting

• Best Brew by Judge vote
• Best Baked Good by Judge vote
• Best Pairing by Judge vote
• Best Overall Favorite by popular Attendee vote

Location & Time

• Checkerspot Brewing Company (1421 Ridgely St.Baltimore, MD 21230)
• Sunday, April 21st, 2024 - Competition runs from 2-4 PM.

February 11th @ Union

Great conversations happened at the Sunday meeting and some great homebrew was shared.
Brübakes is returning on April 24th! Judy from Checkerspot has confirmed we can use the space so we will be spinning up a thread to coordinate. We will need competitors and this is a showcase for the club so please consider signing up. More to come!
We are moving to a distributed method of planning monthly activities! Here is the upcoming tentative calendar. If you are interested in assisting with the planning for a month, reach out to the coordinator! We're going to give this a go for the first half of the year and see how it goes. Bold dates mean the activity is NOT on the second sunday of the month.

• Sunday, March 10th - Fermented Food (w/ Greg)
• Sunday, April 21st - Brübakes ! (No formal meeting)
• Saturday, May 4th - Big Brew (w/ Kevin N. looking into doing a group brew on a larger system), Moved due to Mother Days
• Sunday, June 9th - Mead &/ Cyser Activity at Charm City Meadworks w/ Greg
• Sunday,  July 14th - Sensory Panel pt 1 (w/ Becky)
• Sunday,  August 11th  - Sensory Panel pt 2 (w/ Becky) 
• Sunday, September 3rd - TBD - Coordinated by Cynthia and Chuck

Sunday is the Superbowl so it looks like earlier works a bit better for many folks.
We gave confirmed the Duckpin Room @ Union is available to us at 1PM this Sunday, the 11th.
Homebrew share is back on the table this month!