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!

Baltibrew has made the decision to cancel our March events. We are working to postpone Brubakes into late May. More information will be shared as we have it.

Cheers and stay safe!

Currently, all nominees are running unopposed. If you would like to run for one of these positions, please email the club at baltibrew@gmail.com prior to Friday, January 8th. If no one else requests to be added to the ballot, the following officers will be installed at the February meeting:

• Brewmaster: Jacob Wolf
• Chilibrew Task Czar: Mike Andrews
• Quartermaster: Ciarán Ussher
• Education Czar: Brian Arnold
• Social Secretary: Ryan Detter
• Treasurer: Nick Lindow
• Secretary: Caitlin Manleigh
• Guild Representative: Bob Caldwell
• Meeting Czar: Ryan Boddy
• Website Coordinator: Brent Hoffman

Anyone interested in volunteering as a second for any position should email baltibrew@gmail.com as well, without volunteers, officers will individually appoint seconds.

Nick Lindow is hosting a brew at his house on January 16th. Details on it can be found at its event page on Facebook.

Baltibrew meeting minutes December 2015.

Hey Baltibrewers! Like every year Baltibrew has been in existence, we're doing our November Group Brew with Wootown up at Snyder's Apiaries. This year's event is November 7th at 11 a.m. in White Hall, Maryland — an easy hop up Interstate 83.

This is one of our funnest, easiest brews of the year. Mead making, or mazing as is the proper term, takes comparatively little time to complete than beer. It's in a beautiful location, and it's an opportunity to meet other brewers and learn about mead mazing, and to taste some excellent examples of the craft.

Knowledgable folks will be on hand to walk you through the process. All you need is a clean fermenter, money to pay for honey and/or yeast, and a side dish to share with the group. Bring beer or other libations to show off how awesomely Baltibrew does what it does.

Honey is between $4 and $4.25, and your average batch requires 12–15 lbs. of honey. You do the math on how much cash you need to bring, though Snyder's does take checks.

Hope to see you there!

This Saturday hundreds of bars, breweries, shops and homebrew clubs all over the country will host their local communities to brew on-site for the national, same-day homebrewing session known as AHA Big Brew. At noon Central time, all homebrewers and beer lovers are encouraged to raise a glass of homebrew in a simultaneous toast that celebrates those who craft outstanding homemade beer, mead and wine for their friends and loved ones. This year Nepenthe Homebrew is sponsoring 3 local clubs as we brew, eat, educate and of course, enjoy a homebrew or two!

Brewers from Baltibrew, Brewtherville Labs, and Ladybrew will be descending on Nepenthe homebrew at 10am to brew beer, eat foods, and be merry. I hope all of you can attend! Its free, open to the public and we encourage everyone to stop by and have a beer, eat some grub and learn about the brewing process!!

You are HIGHLY encouraged to bring everyone you know, bring some grillable grub and a libation or two to Nepenthe Homebrew. Brewing starts at 10 am, we'll be out in the parking lot!

Baltibrew Killa Bees! We on a swarm!

Once a year, Baltibrew joins other homebrew clubs in the area at Snyder's Apiaries in White Hall, Maryland to make mead. For those of you unfamiliar with the topic, mead is honey wine — literally, water, honey, yeast, and a little bit of yeast nutrient make mead. It is one of the oldest forms of fermented beverage, was drunk by vikings before going into battle, and done right, it tastes awesome.

Wootown members Lloyd and Ruth Ann Snyder run the apiary, and do us the great courtesy of providing us with the proverbial hook up — cheap honey, an awesome environment, and most importantly great company.

Mead mazing is easy, doesn't take that long, and is really more of an excuse to hang out in the country with other brewers, learn tons about fermented beverages, and drink some awesome examples all made with honey. This really is one of the best brew days we take part in.

Basic Details:

• Saturday November 1st, 11 a.m. start time  at the home/apiary of Wootowners Lloyd and Ruth-Ann Snyder (4747 Norrisville Road, White Hall, MD 21161)
• Honey is $4.25 per pound.
• 12 pounds makes 9.3% mead, 15 pounds makes 11.2% mead.
• It takes about a half hour per person to maze mead, and usually more than one person is doing so at a time.
• Snyder's takes cash, check, or credit card.
• Yeast and yeast nutrient are available or you can bring your own.
• You will need a clean fermenter, lid or cap, and airlock.
• Wootown is bringing its whizz-bang, inline water heater, so there's no waiting for large volumes of water to heat up, and will have a stirrer available for aeration.

As usual — but for serious this time — bring food and home or pro brew (Cider, wine, beer) to share. Wootown and its members do an excellent job sharing dishes, and homebrew. We want to come correct as well. Please don't show up empty handed!

Our March Group Brew is scheduled for tomorrow, March 8th, 9 am to 6 pm. We're making 3 different beers, including an Australian-style BiaB (say whaaaat?), a crimson ale, and a delicious schwarzbier.

The brew will happen at Jonathan Gibbs' place, in the alley between Lake Ave and Kenneth Square with access from Henderson. Look for folks standing around mash tuns (or just follow your nose) and come down the alley, we'll be brewing outside. Best parking is on Lake or Henderson.

Heating the strike water begins around 9 a.m. and we're aiming to be done around 6 p.m. As always, please bring food to share, grillables as we'll have a charcoal grill going and some homebrews with you for a malty good time.

The Facebook event page also has details.

Cheers!

Greetings, Baltibrewers! We hope you're all over your BBW'13 hangovers, and cordially invite you to join us in our annual Mead Day with our big sister club, Wootown. This is one of our premier brew days for the year —  and it's made all the better by the gorgeous environment, and the opportunity to meet brewers in another, and quite possibly many other clubs. If you haven't been before, it's an Autumn tradition for us and we hope you'll enjoy it as much as we have.

Basic Mead Details:

• Saturday November 2nd, 11 a.m. start time  at the home/apiary of Wootowners Lloyd and Ruth-Ann Snyder (4747 Norrisville Road, White Hall, MD 21161)
• Honey is $4 per pound (you can work out how much you need once you're there), and Snyder's takes cash, check, or credit card.
• A variety of yeasts, and yeast nutrient are available from Thirsty Brewer's Tom Davidson for $5 (or you can bring your own).
• You will need a clean fermenter, lid or cap, and airlock.
• Wootown is bringing its ultra-cool, inline water heater, so there's no waiting for large volumes of water to heat up.

Not so basic Mead Braggot Melomel, etc. Details:

• You can brew something other than a mead if you want, just recognize that most others will be doing simple meads.
• Bring your own equipment if you intend to do a more complex brew — burners, tuns, chillers, etc.
• Show up with a recipe! and some idea how you'll accomplish what you're doing.

As usual — but this time more vociferously insisted upon — bring food and homebrew (Mead, wine, beer) to share. Wootown and its members do an excellent job sharing dishes, and homebrew at this event, and this is an opportunity for us to shine AND be the courteous guests we know we are. Please don't show up empty handed!