Category Archives: Regular Meetings

With summer travel is in full swing and most of the club unable to attend, our July meeting has been cancelled.

The club has changed our monthly meetings to afternoons on the second Sunday of each month. The club meets at Union Craft Brewing.

June 18, 2020 @ Zoom

Suspended Drops In!

• Josey from Suspended Brewing in Pigtown stopped by to show us around the brewery and talk about his journey from homebrewer to probrewer. He was also nice enough to supply the group with some samples for our Zoom meeting. Suspended will open for carry-out this weekend. Many thanks from BaltiBrew!
• Two 50 dollar gift cards to Suspended were raffled off to attendees. Congratulations to Becky and Kevin!

ChiliBrew XIV

• An offline check in with Ciaran and Jacob confirmed that nothing firm was in the works for our marquee event this fall.
• The club brainstormed some on what might work for a 2020 ChiliBrew. Ideas included moving possibly to an outdoor, moving it to Spring 2021, moving to a remotely judged competition, and keeping it charity focused.

Club Shirt Update

• If you want to weigh in on the shirt design, hit up Max’s feedback form in the next week. Everyone will order individually from the company, pickup to be arranged. Watch the listserve for an order link.

New Event Cancellations

• MASHOUT

Events Not Cancelled

• Zymernauts/SPBW/Guild Crab Feast, September 19
• Guild holiday party, Saturday December 5.

Social Events

• Evan proposed a remote Virtual Tasting and Franks was interested in assisting. Watch for updates on the listserv regarding timing, format, and potential cost.
• As restrictions are lifted and COVID metrics in MD are changing, the club discussed the possibility of an Outdoor Summer Meetup and what members might or might not be comfortable with. Consensus was approached regarding a September Group Brew, definitely outdoors, potentially at a members home. Sharing food was expressed as a concern and all plans would be dependent on how the COVID situation develops.

Inclusivity and Advocacy Support Discussion

• Being mindful of current events while also aware of homebrewing’s rather homogenous demographic makeup, an open discussion was held regarding inclusivity and the appropriate role of hobby organizations such as BaltiBrew in advocating or otherwise being proactive in supporting inclusivity or movements regarding social justice. Several members are moving the discussion forward in a small setting with the goal of bringing a more developed dialog back to the general membership at a further meeting.

May 21, 2020 @ Zoom

Bad News/Cancelled Events!

• BJCP course
• BURP’s Spirit of Free Beer
• FOAM’s Battle of the Bubbles
• AHBC’s Pints for Paws
• All BAM festivals
• Howard County Fair homebrew competition
• DC Brewers’ Cherry Blossom competition
• Wootown’s Mead Day
• HomebrewCon
• Great American Beer Festival
• National Homebrew Competition
  • Entries received were either donated to workers or distilled into sanitizer.
  • Entry fees, but not shipping costs, were reimbursed.
• Guild summer picnic
  • Even if the park lets us in, 50+ folks in one space will not be feasible.
  • Patapsco State Park should reimburse us if the state guidelines do not allow us to gather, perhaps if we don’t get reimbursed and we are “stuck” with the pavilion, a small group of us can go

Good News & Possible Events!

• Probrewer Guest - Mobtown dropped in to discuss their journey from idea to brewery.
  • Congratulations to raffle Winners Matt H and Jude. Each got a $50 gift card to Mobtown.
• Club Shirts - Max - If you want to weigh in on the shirt design, hit up Max’s google form in the next week. Everyone will order individually from the company, pickup to be arranged.
• Trivia Night - A good time was had. We are looking for ways to stay connected socially this summer.
• AHA Big Brew Report - Folks who brewed at the virtual AHA Big Brew reported in on how their beers turned out.
• MASHOUT
  • Official word from Buck: The club founders voted 12-8 to have MASHOUT. “I (Buck) spoke with the property owner and he is okay with us not yet signing a contract yet. Therefore, we have some more time to make a final decision. I feel like June 15th is the absolute latest we can wait to make a decision.”
• Zymernauts/SPBW/Guild Crab Feast, September 19
  • Right now NASA is at “stage 4” which means no one is allowed there. Stage 3 means employees only. If it gets to stage 2 (everyone allowed) the event could be held at NASA.
  • We could possibly move the event somewhere else, like maybe Centennial Park. Crabs will be available regardless.
• Guild Holiday Party, Saturday December 5.
  • It’s a long way away so we don’t know yet if/how it will happen. At any rate they will not be soliciting businesses for donations.

Whatcha up to!

April 23rd, 2020 on Zoom

Good News

• Local pickup is still available @ Nepenthe
• Jester is organizing a drop off this Saturday if you order @ MDHB. Email him to coordinate.
• Increase in interest in Homebrewing 

Bad News

• BruBakes cancelled
• Oktoberfest cancelled

Events

• Big Brew will be virtual this year. We will convene a Zoom meeting @ 10:30 on May 2nd. Look to the listserve for info.
• A decision on the Guild Picnic will be made as the event approaches. The Guild intends to follow MD guidance on large gatherings as it evolves.
• We will get a cadence going for virtual meetings.
  • Evan is going to coordinate information on a BaltiBrew Virtual Trivia team. More information to come.
  • We are evaluating possible topics for regular meeting programming, possibly Fermented Foods talk, virtual tours of our setups, and a water talk.

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!

February 20, 2020 @ Union Craft

Introductions - Old Members/New Faces

Old Business

• General Meeting Update - Jon
  • Jon sent a letter looking for a more formal approval from the state regulators regarding our homebrew meetings. More to come.
• Club Shirts - Max
  • Max showed off two possible designs for t-shirt assets. Club offered some feedback.

New Business/Member Announcements

• Upcoming BaltiBrew Events
  • March - Group Brew @ Kevin’s - Saturday the 28th @ 10AM
    Brew day is still up in the air, but Kevin is excited to have folks to his new brew space.
  • April - Brubakes III @ TBD - Sunday the 19th
    Still in need of a spot. Jon is approaching Union and we discussed a backup plan or two. We will need brewing commitments soon!
  • May - Big Brew @ TBD Saturday the 2nd
    Jon could potentially host. We also discussed options to potentially team up with a local brewery like we did a few years ago.
• 2020 MALT Bus Trip to Pennsylvania - March 21st
  Bus is about half filled up. MALT is offering a discounted ticket for members of other homebrew clubs. Sign up soon if you want to reserve your spot. https://maltbus.brownpapertickets.com/
• Homebrewcon 2020 in Nashville - June 18-20th
  https://www.homebrewcon.org/
• Brew University - MD Ag Resource Council - February through March
  https://marylandagriculture.org/brew-university/

Ed Topic

• Fermentation 101 - Becky gave an awesome presentation about the science behind fermentation!
• March/April will be Seibel’s Barrel Aged Sensory Panels!General Member Project - Potluck Beer Styles!
• Later this year the club is going to coordinate a special homebrew share. Members will participate by choosing a style and brewing one to serve alongside a commercial example! Go ahead and start to think about what style you might contribute!

IRON BREWER – March is Iron Brewer Rye IPA! Bring your entry!

**Homebrew Swap!**

January 16, 2020 @ Union Craft

Old Business

• 2019 Guild Party
  • Jon stopped by to award us the Best Food Award for Lucy's Beer-imisu cupcakes from the 2019 Guild Party (Evan accepting on her behalf)!
• Club Officers
  • ChiliBrew Czar - Ciaran and Jacob
  • Ed Czar - Becky
  • Guild Rep - Matt
  • Meeting Czar - Kris
  • Social Secretary - Evan
  • Treasurer - Greg
  • Webmaster - Max
• Club Shirts
  • Max circulated a sheet to indicate preferences on a t-shirt, work shirt, or both.
• Meeting Location
  • Thanks to Union for hosting our first meeting of 2020! Jon is in discussions about the homebrew share portion. More information to come.

New Business/Member Announcements

• 2020 BaltiBrew Calendar!
  • February - Social @ Ministry of Brewing - Saturday the 15th @ 2PM 
  • March - Group Brew @ Kevin’s New Brewshed! - Saturday the 28th @ 10AM
  • March - MALT Bus Trip to Southern PA - Saturday the 21st @ 9AM
  • April - Brubakes III @ TBD - Sunday the 19th
  • May - Big Brew @ TBD Saturday the 2nd
  • May - Guild Picnic & Wheat Beer Competition @ Patapsco State Park - Saturday the 30th
  • July - Social @ Checkerspot then Orioles v. Tampa Bay - Saturday the 18th
  • August - Group Brew & BBQ @ TBD - Saturday the 15th
  • Sept - Zymurnauts Crab Feast @ Goddard - Saturday the 19th or 26th
  • October - ChiliBrew XIV!
  • November - Mead & Cider Buy
  • December - Guild Party @ Heavy Seas - Saturday the 5th
• Guild Minutes

Ed Topic - Troubleshooting Problems With a Non-Commercial Yeast Strain

IRON BREWER – Jon is the Current Iron Brewer

• Next up, Iron Brewer Rye IPA in March!

**Socialize**

Decmber 12th @ Jon's House

• De Kleine Duivel is no longer available to us on the 3rd Thursday of the month. They are hosting a recurring burlesque night in that slot now. Max is going to reach out to Waverly about the January meeting. Stay tuned for a location confirmation email.
• This means that after January we will need to pursue either a venue change or a location change. A number of options were discussed last night. If you have an opinion please ping me! I'll consolidate feedback for the e-board.
• Baltibrew won Best Food at the Guild Holiday Party thanks to Lucy's Tiramisu Cupcakes! Her dessert was absolutely divine and took home the award over the submissions of 9 other clubs! Baltibrew's food and beers were a big hit  with the attendees.
• Last but not least, the Holiday Party marks the official acceptance of next years officers. Many thanks to our outgoing board members and a big thank you to everyone who's stepping up to fill a position.
  • ChiliBrew Czar - Ciaran & Jacob
  • Ed Czar - Becky
  • Guild Rep - Matt
  • Meeting Czar - Kris
  • Social Secretary - Evan
  • Treasurer - Greg
  • Webmaster - Max

November 21st @ De Kleine Duivel

Introductions - Old Members/New Faces

Guild Minutes

• Guild Holiday Party - Saturday December 7 @ Heavy Seas Brewery
  • Tickets are on sale now: https://mdhomebrewers.ticketleap.com/2019-guild-holiday-party/
  • We have 5 folks for the club table, our theme is Something Sweet and we’ll be doing desserts for our food.
  • There is an email thread to coordinate, ping Kris to be added to it.

Old Business

• ChiliBrew XIII!
  • Looks like we will donate about $2500-3000 to Baltimore Youth Arts.
  • The committee is unpacking the feedback from this year.
  • Planning started a little later than usual and there were fewer competitors than usual. We sold about 100 less tickets to contract the event.
  • There has been feedback that when the event is smaller, people seem to enjoy it more as there’s more space to socialize. This does mean that we can donate less. And extra 100 tickets would be an extra 3K headed to charity.
  • Fusion Partnerships is a 501c3 that we’ve worked with in the past and expanding that relationship is being looked into.
• 2020 Baltimore Officer Nomination are Closed
  • ChiliBrew Czar - Ciaran & Jacob
  • Ed Czar - Becky
  • Guild Rep - Matt
  • Meeting Czar - Kris
  • Social Secretary - Evan
  • Treasurer - Greg
  • Webmaster - Max
• Club Shirts
  • Max has looked into a few options. The cost to digitize the assets for BaltiBrew is between $60-90, work shirts are $30 and sizes XXL and beyond are an extra $6.

New Business/Member Announcements

• Baltibrew December Holiday Party - Thursday, December 12th!
  • Food! Drinks! No Agenda!
• FOAM Frederick Brewery Tour, November 30th

IRON BREWER – Battle Milk Stout!

• Jon defeated Becky, Kris, and Kevin to reclaim the title!

*Homebrew Swap!*