Author Archives: lpbrewer

May 16th @ De Kleine Duivel

Introductions - Old Members/New Faces

Guild Updates

• AHA membership is down and interest in homebrewing has seen a decline since its peak in early 2010s. If you have ideas to drive engagement and retention the guild is seeking input.
• Maryland State Fair competition
  • Will be BJCP-judged on Friday, August 23.
  • Fair week is August 23 - September 2.
  • Entry drop-off will be August 20-21. If you drop off at Maryland Homebrew by August 19, John Jester will drive the entries up on the 20th or 21st
  • We are going to check on the availability of Nepenthe Homebrew Show as an alternative drop location. Will make an announcement if they are interested.
• See the minutes for other announcements.

Upcoming Events

• Guild Picnic & Wheat Beer Competition, June 1st
  • Hollofield Area, Shelter 300, 12:00-dusk.
  • There is a small $3 fee per car to enter the park, otherwise, this is a free event (BYOB and food to share). Guild will supply charcoal, paper products, ice, and some meat/rolls/condiments
  • Wheat beer comp w/ cash prizes.
  • Becky will be entering a wheat beer in the competition.
  • Members should coordinate on carpools.
  • Guild Picnic - Hollofield DirectionsDownload
  • AHBC’s Pints for Paws, June 15th
    • Navy Football Stadium in Annapolis @ 2pm
    • https://www.facebook.com/events/2502552786439024/
  • Homebrewcon, June 27-29
    • Providence, RI
    • https://www.homebrewcon.org/
  • Howard County Rideshare Extravaganza, July 13th
    • Proposed route to include Sapwood Cellars, Black Flag, & Hysteria
    • Mark the day, more to come on transportation
  • Mashout - August 15-18
    • New location: 1812 Farm Brewery outside of Cumberland. They are setting up a flat field with electric, showers, etc.
    • Cost is estimated at $35 pp.
    • Folks are highly encouraged to coordinate a Baltibrew station.

  Old Business

  • Club gear liquidation - No Update
  • New quorum: 7 for simple majority, 9 for 2/3 majority

  New Business/Member Announcements

  • Mobtown Fermentations is looking to offload a water distiller. We can forward the information to anyone who is interested.
  • Gut High Festival is this Saturday at the Fadensonnen  Beirgarden for a celebration of all things fermented.
    https://guthigh.simpletix.com/?ShowId=43407

  Ed Topic - Sensory Mini-Panel - Becky

  • Becky led another mini-sensory panel featuring:
    • Ethyl hexanoate - aniseed, apple or liquorice
    • Isoamyl acetate - banana, peardrop
    • Hefeweizen - spicy & banana

  IRON BREWER – Battle Kolsch is on for June!

  Homebrew Swap!

April 18th @ De Kleine Duivel

Introductions - Old Members/New Faces

Guild Updates

Upcoming Events

• Big Brew, May 4th! –update from Jude
  We are teaming up with Brewtherville. If you want to join in on a brew or are just planning on dropping by be sure to sign up on their spreadsheet.
• Guild Picnic & Wheat Beer Competition, June 1st
  Things are looking good for the guild summer picnic at Patapsco State Park. If you are interested in competing in their wheat beer competition, just bring your entry and judging will be organized informally. The event is family friendly and an all around good time.

Old Business

• Brubakes II Roundup!
  Winners were Becky, Max, & Laura with their Saazon and Pretzels with Beer Cheese. Runner up was Kris with his Lemon Ginger Saison and Hearty Muffin.
  We ended up with about 38 attendees, including 8 at the door.
  Feedback for next year:
  • Trash Cans & Dump Stations
  • Water Station
  • Rags/Towels for spills
  • Paperware for serving
  • Street signage/Sandwich boards
  • Revisit marketing ideas
• Club gear liquidation is on the calendar.
  No updates for now. The plan is to get the inventory and do garage sale pricing.
• New quorum: 7 for simple majority, 9 for 2/3 majority

New Business/Member Announcements

Ed Topic - Sensory Mini-Panel Number 1

Becky ran an awesome tasting panel on the following compounds:

• Diacetyl: Butter, Butterscotch
• Dimethyl sulfide (DMS): Cooked Corn or Vegetables
• Isobutyraldehyde: Grainy, Husk-like, Nut-like
• Eugenol: Spicey, Cloves, Allspice

IRON BREWER – Kris is the current Iron Brewer

Jon challenged Kris to battle Kolsch! Bring your entries to the June meeting!

*Homebrew Swap!*

Baltibrew Monthly Meeting Minutes
March 21 @ De Kleine Duivel

Introductions - Old Members/New Faces

Guild Updates

• Based on the feedback from the club the Guild Holiday party will feature 4 prize categories next year.
• The guild is still in the process of applying for non-profit status.
• The BJCP course at MDHB started on 3/10. It’s a shorter 7 week course and a great way to sample a broad range of classic styles.
• Guild Summer Picnic and Wheat Beer is on for Saturday, June 1st. They secured their normal shelter. This is a family friendly event in Patapsco Park. There is a $3 a car entry fee for the park.
• If you are planning on going to Homebrewcon in Rhode Island this year they are trying to coordinate between the clubs. Ping John if you are making the trip to get plugged in to other MD clubs.

Upcoming Events

• MALT Bus Trip, March 23rd
  17 seats were still available as of monday. If you don’t have anything going on this weekend please support the MALT club. Tickets are available at https://maltbus.brownpapertickets.com/.
• Brubakes, April 14th!
  Competitor spots are still open. We have 8 or maybe 9 brewers/bakers present! Jon is looking into a glassware order. Time to get the word out!
• Big Brew, May 4th!
  Brewtherville is going to do Big Brew @ BC Brewing and has extended an invitation. Jude will follow up with more information

Old Business

• Nepenthe is open! Check it out!
• Group Brew on 3/2 was a success! We brewed a traditional lambic and used Jon’s coolship. It was bubbling away a few days later so we definitely caught something. Caiti and Becky brewed a second portion to make up for some spillage during transfer. Caiti, Kris, and Becky will coordinate a tasting for some time next year to see how it came out!
• Club gear liquidation is on the calendar.  Ciaran will take inventory when he has time.
• New quorum: 7 for simple majority, 9 for 2/3 majority

New Business/Member Announcements

• Kris distributed samples of one of the isolates from the Voss Kviek. Report back with you experiences with it! A list of links to information and tips about the strain has been gathered at http://www.milkthefunk.com/wiki/Kveik#Sigmund_Gjernes.27s_Voss_Kveik.

Ed Topic - Wild Cider & Mead Fermentation! (Part II)

• Caiti gave a wonderful talk and Q&A on making Kombucha and brought three different fermented teas to sample. We will consolidate and send out a summary.

IRON BREWER WEISSE

• Kris notched his first Iron Brewer victory with a traditional hefeweizen featuring a ferulic acid rest!

*Homebrew Swap!*

Baltibrew returns to De Kleine Duivel for Brübakes II, a competition featuring homebrewed Saisons paired with homemade baked goods! Join us for a celebration of Spring, Earth Day, sustainable brewing practices, and the DIY spirit!

Baltibrewer Caiti opened several bottles of her wild fermented beverages and talked about her thoughts on cider and mead at our Feburary Meeting!

Some Traditional Ferments

• Basque sidra: Dry and sour, still, sharps and bittersharps
• Norman cidre: Dry, naturally carbed, cool & slow fermetations (keeving), bittersweets
• Welsh and English cider and scrumpy: Dry, funky styles from bittersweets, bittersharps
• Cyser, pyment: Cider + mead, wine + mead
• Methlegin: Spiced or herbal mead
• Braggot: Mead + hops and/or wort

Cider Process

• Select fruit - Sharps, bittersharps, & bittersweets preferable, though can amend with tannin or added wood at the end of fermentation. Mostly sweets/sharps commercially available
• Grind fruits - grinder or juicer
• Press - press or juicer
• Measure sugars (ranges widely - 1.040-1.055)
• Check for fermentation - may need to stir
• Monitor over 4-7 months and package when gravity reaches 1.000 or stable. Sulfite, back sweeten, and amend tannins if desired. If you don’t sulfite, assume any bottling sugar will completely ferment.

Mead Process

• Dilute raw honey at a volume ratio of 1:4 to 1:8 (12-6% finished abv)
• Stir to induce a wild fermentation - until air bubbles form, may need to stir multiple days
• Airlock and check back when vigorous bubbling subsides - monitor for a stuck fermentation (solution: add yeast nutrient and STIR)
• Monitor over 4-10 months and package when gravity reaches 1.000 or stable. Sulfite, back sweeten, and amend tannins if desired. If you don’t sulfite, assume any bottling sugar will completely ferment.

Notes to Consider

• Acetobacter: avoid by keeping your airlocks full and keep fermentations in a cool place.
• Sulfur: reductive environment - not enough dissolved oxygen (more stirring)
• Light isn’t a huge problem unless you are using hops. Avoid direct, prolonged light - but without hops there is nothing to “skunk”
• Good cider yeasts if you want to pitch something anyway: cider or white wine yeasts work well, including Red Star Cote Des Blanc, Montrachet, Premier Blanc, and Premier Cuvee.
• Apple varieties available locally (I recommend Brown’s Orchard in PA):
  • Jonathan
  • Rome Beauty
  • Crispin
  • Stayman Winesap
  • York Imperial
  • Northern Spy

Helpful Links & Books

• Brown's Orchard Harvest Calendar (with varieties available)
• Cider Apples Guide From Serious Eats
  • Sharps, Sweets, Sharp-Sweets
  • Bittersharps
  • Bittersweets
• USCAM Cider Style Guidelines
• Good Books
  • Make Mead Like a Viking by Jereme Zimmerman
  • Sacred and Herbal Healing Beers by Stephen Harrod Buhner 
  • Modern Cider by Emma Christensen 
  • The New Cidermaker's Handbook by Claude Joliceour
  • Wines and Beers of Old New England by Sandor C. Brown

Baltibrew Monthly Meeting Minutes
February 21 @ De Kleine Duivel

Guild Update - Max

• The Guild Christmas party went well. They are distributing several thousand dollars amongst the various charities. Max made a note of the odiferousness of Baltibrew’s table location in hopes that they will no assign a club there next year.
• The guild is coordinating a brew for their 20th anniversary. More to come in the guild minutes.

Introductions!

Upcoming Events

• March 2nd, Group Brew @ Caiti & Jake’s!
  Looking to coordinate brewers to fill on of Jon’s coolships. If you are interested in brewing or taking home a portion of the finished wort, let us know! Pancakes @ 10AM, brewing to start by noon!
• MALT Bus Trip, March 23rd https://maltbus.brownpapertickets.com/
  There are still seats left! MALT will depart from the Springhill Suites in Columbia and adventure in Northern Virginia and Frederick. The trip starts at 9:15AM and returns at 9:15PM. General tickets are 50 dollars, friends of MALT can get 10 dollars off with a special discount code.
• Brubakes, April 14th! - Competitors Needed!
  De Kleine Duivel has giving the okay to host us again! We’re targeting 8 to 12 competitors this year and no more than 60 attendees. The format will stay remain the same, brew a saison and bake something that features the spent grist as at least 10% of the reciepe weight. Be sure to freeze you grain after brewday. We’ll get a site up shortly. More to come!
• Big Brew, May 4th!
  Jude will coordinate with Brewtherville and provide more information. They seem excited to team up.

Old Business

• Nepenthe is open! Check it out!
• Club gear liquidation is on the calendar. It will take some time to organize.
• New quorum: 7 for simple majority, 9 for 2/3 majority

New Business/Member Announcements

• New Business Cards - Kris ask for permission to run off 1000 new business cards to update our marketing materials. Vote was passed unanimously by those in attendance (quorum was met).

Ed Topic - Wild Cider & Mead Fermentation! - Caiti

• Caiti gave a great presentation on wild fermentations with lots of information on making ciders and mead! Notes are attached here along with these additional links Caiti wanted to distribute.

• Brown's Orchard Harvest Calendar (with varieties available)
  • Cider Apples Guide From Serious Eats
    • Sharps, Sweets, Sharp-Sweets
    • Bittersharps
    • Bittersweets
• USCAM Cider Style Guidelines
• Good Books
  • Make Mead Like a Viking by Jereme Zimmerman
  • Sacred and Herbal Healing Beers by Stephen Harrod Buhner
  • Modern Cider by Emma Christensen
  • The New Cidermaker's Handbook by Claude Joliceour
  • Wines and Beers of Old New England by Sandor C. Brown

IRON BREWER WEISSE @ MARCH!

Homebrew Swap!

Baltibrew Monthly Meeting Minutes
January 17 @ De Kleine Duivel

New Officers

• Meeting Czar – Jon
• Social Secretary – Jude
• Treasurer – Greg
• Ed Czar – Becky
• Guild Rep – Max
• Chilibrew Czar – Caiti (et al)
• Webmaster – Kris

Overview of 2019 Events

• Friday, February 15th - Baltibrew Invades Nepenthe
• Saturday, March 2nd - Spring Group Brew @ Caiti’s
• Saturday, March 23rd - MALT Bus Trip to Virginia Breweries
• Sunday, April 14th - Brubakes!
• Saturday, May 4th - AHA Big Brew
• Saturday, June 1st - MD Homebrew Guild’s Picnic & Wheat Beer Competition 2 Patapsco St Partk
• Saturday, July 13th - Lyft Trip to HoCo Breweries - Sapwood Cellars, Black Flag
• August TBD - MashOut
• September TBD - Zymurnaut’s Crab Feast @ Goddard Space Flight Center
• Saturday, September 21st - Fall Group Brew @ Jon’s
• Friday, October 11th - Chilibrew XIII
• November TBD - Cider Buy and Wootown’s Mead Day
• Saturday, December 7th - MD Guild’s Holiday Party
• Thursday, December 12th - Baltibrew Holiday Potluck (No Regular Meeting)

Old Business - Bylaws Amendments passed!

• Fewer officers
• No more club gear…Auction?
  We’d like to get a list together of what’s in Balitbrew’s inventory and then see what format makes the most sense to divest it.
• New quorum: this month it’s 7 for simple majority, 9 for 2/3 majority

Meet the New Ed Czar

• Becky has many things planned for this year. Caiti will be talking about wild fermentation at the next meeting and Judy from Checkspot will be coordinating a visit later in the year.
• The sensory seibel kit will be done at the general meeting, probably split out between 3 or 4 dates so all club members have the chance to participate.

Next Iron Brewer?

• Kris’ challenged Jon to battle Hefeweizen. Judging will be at the March meeting!

New Business/Member Announcements

• Max’s Sour Wild Ale Day – Feb 18
• Online engagement - Kris looked at some statistics and facebook does get us much engagement. Far more eye’s came to the site from posting on reddit. Greg advocated for trying a meetup group. It’s 10/15 dollars a month depending on the subscription level. We trimmed the IT costs down about that much last year by moving to new hosts and consolidating things so we’ll apply the savings to that for a while. Greg will follow up.

*Homebrew Swap!*

One of the tasks in our Baltibrew Yeast Capture project was to search through historical texts about Baltimore's brewing history to try and locate a Baltimore specific beer recipe. Unfortunately we struck out on the recipe but our investigation led to this happy little byproduct.

Presenting a map overlay of pre-prohibition Baltimore Breweries! If you've ever wondered who was making beer in your neck of the woods before the 18th amendment this overlay will give you a little window into the brewing history in your neighborhood!

Cheers!

Notes: Data taken from William Kelley's 1965 book, Brewing in Maryland. Overlay focuses on breweries founded before 1900. Most of these breweries changed owners and name several times before closing. Brewer listed corresponds to the original proprietor. Addresses are approximate and list is certainly incomplete. The page of first mention is included in the overlay card for each point. Source text is available in the Maryland Room of the main branch of the Enoch Pratt Free Library.

The November meeting was canceled due to weather.  Watch the listserve for information on the following items.

• Guild Holiday Party is on December 1st.
• Baltibrew's December meeting, which is a Holiday Potluck, will probably be move to the second Thursday in December, the 13th.
• Changes to Bylaws were approved unanimously.
• Officer Nominations are still open.
• Iron Brewer IPA is on for the December meeting!

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Membership

Individuals shall be considered members of Baltibrew upon payment of dues. One is considered a member in good standing if current dues are paid in full.  One is considered an active member if they have participated in at least 50% of votes from the previous calendar year.  New members will be considered active upon the meeting following their initial payment of dues.

Members retain certain privileges, including, but not limited to: participation in club votes, access to the Members Only sections of baltibrew.org, and the right to participate in club activities (such as group brews).

Dues

A membership fee (“dues”) shall be paid annually at a rate determined by the club.

Current fee schedules will be posted on baltibrew.org.

 Annual dues are due on the anniversary of the date dues were paid in the previous calendar year.

Any member who is 30 days or more past due on their annual dues shall lose their status as a member in good standing until their dues are paid.

Only Balitbrew members in good standing are eligible to vote on changes to dues.

Whenever possible, dues will be paid online using the membership system on baltibrew.org. Members who do not use the online system are responsible for paying their dues on time to either the Treasurer or Meeting Czar.

Officers

Baltibrew Officers serve the calendar year (January through December) following their election. Officers are tasked with upholding the bylaws of the club, continuing the mission of the club as delineated within the charter, and are expected to set an example of what it means to be an exemplary member of the club by encouraging participation, communication, and camaraderie amongst members.

Each year, nominations for new Officers will be submitted during the October meeting.  Each nomination must have a second to become a candidate for the position, and the nominee must also accept.  Additional nominations can be made electronically until the November meeting.  At the November meeting, candidates will be allowed brief stump speeches for their desired position.  Candidates running unopposed are encouraged, but not required, to make stump speeches.  Candidates not in attendance are encouraged to submit their stump speeches to the Meeting Czar so they can be included in the agenda.  Following the November meeting, candidates running unopposed will be granted their positions, and an electronic vote will commence for all remaining (contested) positions.  Results will be announced at the December meeting, and all elected/granted Officers will assume their positions at the meeting's conclusion.

Requirements and responsibilities to run for and hold office:

• No member of Baltibrew may hold more than one of the elected positions at any one time.
• All candidates for elected positions MUST be members of Baltibrew in good standing.
• Any officer may, at any time, designate an alternate for their position or delegate any of their duties (temporarily or permanently) in the event that the officer is unable to fulfill their duties.  Alternates will not be elected, but rather chosen by the elected officer (with their permission). Alternates must possess the skills required to fulfill the duties to which they are assigned.
• Failure by the officer to perform or delegate his/her duties for three consecutive months shall result in a vote to determine their removal from the elected position. Officers who are removed from their position by vote shall be replaced by the alternate as acting officer for the remainder of the term. In the event that an appointed alternate is no longer able to fulfill the duties of the position or is removed from office, the position shall be made eligible for re-election by popular vote for the remainder of the term.
• Officers shall have the ability to create posts on baltibrew.org. All website posts must be relevant to club business. No inappropriate posts will be tolerated, and may result in disciplinary action.
• All officers can be re-elected. However, officers are required to run for re-election each year and all interested members are encouraged to run for all positions. No preference should be given for incumbency in annual elections.

Chilibrew Czar

• Serves as the task Czar for Chilibrew, and heads the Chilibrew committee.
• Assembles sufficient volunteer organizers to plan and execute Chilibrew.
• Coordinates the production, sale, and storage of club merchandise with the Treasurer.

Education Czar

• Curates the educational program and presentations at each meeting.
• Is not responsible for personally presenting the educational topics, but can solicit or coordinate presentations by others.

Free State Homebrew Club Guild (FSHCG) Representative [Guild Rep]

• Attends bi-monthly FSHCG meetings (6 per year).
• Delivers payment of annual FSHCG membership dues (check written or reimbursed by Baltibrew).
• Manages club interactions via email with the FSHCG, promotes club activities/events at Guild meetings.
• Promotes FSHCG activities, and fosters member participation in Guild events.
• Organizes Baltibrew participation in the Guild Holiday Party.

Meeting Czar

• Organizes and hosts the monthly club meetings.
• Solicits agenda items one week before each meeting.
• Ensures meeting reminder emails and agenda items are circulated 48 hours or more before a meeting.
• Runs the monthly meeting.
• Oversees online votes.
• Manages the Baltibrew email account, acts as point of contact for new interactions.
• Manages member status in conjunction with the Treasurer.
• Must be versed in Robert’s Rules of Order, and will retain one copy for use/reference at monthly meetings.

Social Secretary

• Records meeting proceedings.
• Presents meeting minutes to the Webmaster for posting within one week.
• Curates social activities (including group brews) over the course of the year outside of the monthly meetings.
• Includes happy hours, meet-ups, brewery tours, etc.
• Is responsible for event promotion on social media accounts and baltibrew.org.
• Manages social media accounts in conjunction with the Webmaster.

Treasurer

• Manages club funds
  • Distributes funds for club obligations as agreed upon by the Executive Board.
  • Keeps receipts/maintains general records of club expenses.
  • Prepares and submits semi-annual financial reports to the Executive Board.
• Collects dues
  • Notifies non-members who have attended three (3) meetings to pay dues and become members.
  • Notifies members who have not paid current dues that they may lose status as a member in good standing before the 30-day deadline, and notifies members once they are no longer in good standing.
• Manages member status in conjunction with the Meeting Czar.
• Coordinates the production, sale, and storage of Baltibrew merchandise with the Chilibrew Czar.
• Responsible for obtaining liquor licenses and insurance as needed for events in coordination with the Social Secretary.

Webmaster

• Maintains baltibrew.org and other associated Web content.
• Manages social media accounts in conjunction with the Social Secretary.
• Ensures meeting minutes are posted on baltibrew.org within one week of each meeting.
• Reviews website posts by officers for style and appropriateness, as needed.
• Trains other officers in appropriate use/stylistic consistency.
• Manages club email list.
• Moderates electronic discussion.
• WordPress skills required.

Meetings

Meetings will be held once per month at a time and location noted on baltibrew.org. All meetings should take place within Baltimore City limits. This does not limit group brews or any other club-related events from occurring outside of Baltimore City limits.

Meeting date(s) and time(s) are subject to change with a minimum of 48 hours’ notice to all members in good standing, and may be changed permanently by vote. All meetings will be governed in accordance with Robert’s Rules of Order (a copy of which shall be present at each meeting), and will be overseen by the Meeting Czar.

All attendees are required to sign in at each meeting, identify themselves as either a member or non-member, and whether or not their dues are currently paid to the best of their knowledge. Non-members who have attended three (3) meetings without having paid dues will be contacted by the Treasurer to do so.

Club Proposals

• Proposals for new business will be submitted to members at monthly meetings and/or via post on baltibrew.org.
• Proposals should be submitted to the Meeting Czar during the week prior to each meeting. In order to prevent club business from running over the allotted time, new business may be tabled for an electronic discussion or review by all members, then discussed during the next month's meeting.

• Monthly meeting agendas, proposals, and other items for discussion shall be circulated to members by the Meeting Czar at least 48 hours prior to the scheduled meeting.
• Minutes from meetings shall be recorded by the Social Secretary and posted to baltibrew.org by the Webmaster within one week of each meeting.

Club Business/Parliamentary Rules

Club business shall constitute at most one hour (whenever possible) of the meeting agenda.

• Voting shall take place during monthly meetings or via electronic voting; a simple majority (50%+1) of quorum is required for any motion to pass or fail.
• A quorum shall be considered the participation of a minimum of 50% of active members in good standing for a vote.
• Changes to Baltibrew charter, bylaws, or articles will require a quorum of ⅔ of active members in good standing.
• Votes relating to substantial changes in club practices, business, or substantial expense shall be conducted electronically.