Category Archives: Minutes

Was great to see folks yesterday. Many thanks to Dean at Union for brewing up an awesome batch of smash (pilsner & saaz) wort and providing it to the club. At least 7 or 8 carboys were filled and are bound for great things!

After hanging out by the pilot system, we moved into the Duckpin Room and Jon gave us the rundown on the ChiliBrew XV logistics. The state has approved the homebrew permit, the city permit is nearing completion, and the church has confirmed the date. Please help to promote the event! The chilibrew site(https://www.chilibrew.org/) and ticketing page are both online (https://baltibrew.ticketspice.com/chilibrew-xv-2025) so let's get the word out. If you are interested in competing, please sign up! Blue Water Baltimore is our non-profit this year and they've been very active coordinating with Jon on the event.

Iron Brewer "Open Category" was too close to call, ending in a tie between Max's Horchata Stout and my UK Wheat Ale w/ Nelson. The Iron Brewer stein has seen better days, and will be replaced by the club this summer.

Looking towards April, it's time for another social and the group aligned on a trip to Howard County to check out Sapwood and Black Flag. Please plan on meeting at Sapwood at 2PM on Sunday, April 13th!

Misc:

• We are looking to procure a Seibels sensory panel for a pallet reset this Summer/Fall.
• Next Iron Brewer will be in June - and the theme is fruit!

Cheers!

Kris

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!

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

October 8th @ Union

• BaltiBrew has a table for the Guild Holiday Party on Saturday, December 2nd. We have a group committed but anyone who wants to help out is encouraged to join! More information to come but it tentatively looks to be held in Jessup.
• A few members did a tour of the Baltimore Spirits Company and they said they'd love for the club to swing by for a tour/potentially host a meeting (blending your own whiskey bottle would be extra). We are looking at November or January.
• There is interest in organizing another cider buy this year. More to come.
• A few BaltiBrewers are competing in the Checkerspot Homebrew Extravaganza (supporting BARCS) on Wednesday, October 18th from 6-9PM. Tickets are $10 at the door. It would be great for the club to come out and support them.
• Monument's Festival der Lagerbier is this Saturday and several BaltiBrewers are attending. Tickets are still available http://www.monumentcitybrewing.com/festival-tix.
• Many thanks to Jon for coordinating a blind ingredient tasting/discussion. It was super fun/informative and a great test for the palate!

June 11th @ Union

Pints for Paws

• Thank you to Gerry and Emily for representing at Pints for Paws! It sounds like there were around 600 people at the event which means they once again raised a ton of money for the SPCA of Anne Arundel County. Woohoo!

Mashout

• Camp Mashout is back for 2023 and registration is now open! This is a 4-day outdoor celebration of the homebrewing hobby held, this year, in Cumberland, MD. This year the event will run from August 18th-21st. For a schedule of events or to get tickets visit https://mashout.ticketspice.com/mashout.
• BaltiBrew members interested in attending can coordinate on campsite/transportation with Jon.

Terrapin Homebrew competition

• Congrats to Kevin for winning a first place prize!

Guild notes

• The May Guild Meeting Minutes are attached. There are a lot of awesome events kicking into gear including a BJCP class organized by BURP.

Website

• The BaltiBrew website could use a refresh. Anyone with design or web skills can reach out to the board to help.

Ed Topic

• This month's ed topic was all about Baltimore’s water in anticipation for our tour of the Ashburton Filtration Plant this Friday at 2:15 PM. You can check out the original blog posts from 2018 here. If you’re planning to come on Friday please plan to arrive at the parking lot at 2 PM to meet the rest of the group.

Iron Brewer

• Iron Brewer California Common a.k.a. Steam Beer will be held at the August meeting. Brewers are to use lager yeast but ferment at ale temperatures.

Homebrew Swap!

March 12th @ Union

Brübakes IV

• Brübakes is coming up on Sunday, April 23rd, 2023 at the Duckpin Room in Union. Judges are lined up from Dangerously Delicious, Checkerspot Brewing, and BaltiBrew. 11 teams are slated to compete. If you are interested in helping out or if you have an in for a prize donation please reach out to Max or the board. We are capping attendees at 80 as the bakers needs a maximum number to plan for. Tickets are available at https://baltibrew.ticketspice.com/brubakes-iv. There will be one more general membership meeting before the event.

Pints for Paws

• AHBC is doing PINTS 4 PAWS again this year. It will be on June 10th 2023. They are looking for more homebrewers for this event. AHBC has reached out to coordinate with BaltiBrew this year so it would be a great opportunity to show our support for their club. This year the event will be larger, and they are raising the number of tickets from 500 to 750. Last year they raised over $28,000 for the SPCA of Anne Arundel County. Tickets are available at https://facebook.com/events/s/7th-annual-pints-4-paws-homebr/192055410182347/.

Mashout

• Camp Mashout is back for 2023. This is a 4-day outdoor celebration of the homebrewing hobby held, this year, in Cumberland, MD. This year the event will run from August 18th-21st. For a schedule of events or to get tickets visit https://mashout.ticketspice.com/mashout. BaltiBrew members interested in attending can coordinate on campsite/transportation with Jon.

Guild notes

• The March Guild Minutes are here. There are a lot of events kicking into gear.

Website

• The BaltiBrew website could use a refresh. Anyone with design or web skills can reach out to the board to help.

Ed Topic

• This month's ed topic was all about grist and milling. The slide deck with speaker notes is here.

Iron Brewer

• Iron Brewer Tea will be held at the March meeting. The two reigning Iron Brewers have decided that this is not a beer specific challenge. Any fermented beverage with tea in it is fair game!

Homebrew Swap!

February 12, 2023 @ Union

Sensory Tasting Panel (Part 2 of 2)

• This month we finished the second half of the Seibel's barrel aged compound tasting panel by sampling the following flavors/aromas:
  • Almond
  • Exotic
  • Woody
  • Smoky
  • Whiskey

Iron Brewer Cider

• We had seven entries for Iron Brewer Cider! There was a tie between Jude's Aged Cider from 2019 and Dan's fermented cider from this year's buy from Weber's farm! The two of them decided jointly that the next Iron Brewer will be Iron Brewer Tea (black, green, herbal, etc). They have also decided that this does not need to be a beer based Iron Brewer. Other beverages (such as kombucha) are welcome. We typically allow at least two months so folks can plan and execute their ferementations, so we will decide next month whether to judge Iron Brewer Tea at the April or May meetings. Congrats to Jude and Dan!

Ed Topic Stipends Reminder

• To encourage engagement, BaltiBrew is offering a stipend for members that would like to experience and report back! The specifics are still to be worked out, but the idea is that if a member has an idea on an experiment to run, the club would reimburse for the cost of materials (up to $40 or so dollars) on the stipulation that regardless of how the experiment turns out, that an ed topic would be presented by the brewer. If you've been on the fence about diving into a novel technique, ingredient, or side-by-side brew this is an opportunity to dive in with support from the club. Ping the listserve or the board and let us know what you're considering!

BruBakes IV!

• BruBakes is returning on Sunday, April 23rd! Our competitor roster is almost filled out. Now it is time to promote the event. Max brought fliers for anyone who knows of businesses that are willing to promote the event. We are also soliciting for the prize pool. BruBakes is a homebrew & baked good competition. Contestants brew a saison and make a baked good with a portion of the spent grain (at least 5% by weight of the baked good must be spent grain). This is a fundraiser for the club and we normally treat it as a club showcase, with most of the contestants being BalitBrewers. Contestant tickets are free, attendees will be 20 dollars. It's a smaller, low key event (we normally shoot for 60-100 attendees). Tickets are available at https://baltibrew.ticketspice.com/brubakes-iv. Please spread the word!

Upcoming Events

• While BaltiBrew hosts several events each year there are a number of other events in the state that it would be great to make a presence at as a club.
• MASHOUT is returning again in 2023 from August 17th through the 20th. It is a 4-day outdoor celebration of the homebrewing hobby and is attended by a large number of brewers and fermentationist from around the area. The MASHOUT website and more information is available at https://mashout.ticketspice.com/mashout. Jon, Jude, and several others are very interested in attending this year and seeking to find other BaltiBrewers to have a presence.
• The Annapolis Homebrew Club has directly reached out to us to try to organize some intra-club events. We have extended the invitation to BruBakes in April. One of their marquee events is the Pints 4 Paws Homebrew and Craft Beer Festival. It's been held on June 10th this year and several members are interested in competing/attending. https://annapolishomebrewclub.com/pints4paws/ 
• We will publicize other events as they are announced this year.

Home Brew Swap!

• Our next meeting will be Sunday, March 12th at Union (to be confirmed)! Cheers!

January 8, 2023 @ Union

Sensory Tasting Panel (Part 1 of 2)

• In March of 2020, the club procured the Siebel's Barrel Aged Compound Tasting Panel kit with the intention of splitting it over two club meetings(spoiler: that didn't happen). This month we cracked it open and held a sensory tasting panel and discussion on these flavors/aromas:
  • Vanilla
  • Coconut
  • Caramel
  • Tobacco
  • Peat-like
  • Barnyard
• We will pick up next month with the rest of the kit:
  • Almond
  • Exotic
  • Woody
  • Smoky
  • Whiskey

Guild update

• Max is headed to the guild meeting tonight and will forward the minutes when he receives them. He provided a preview of some of their agenda:
  • The guild holiday party was a success and they will share information about the charitable donations.
  • The annual guild picnic is on for the first Saturday in June.
  • Judging for the MALT Turkey Shoot competition is scheduled for January 22nd. If you plan to enter now is the time to do so (https://turkeyshoot.brewcompetition.com/).

Ed Topic & Stipends

• In February the club will finish the Barrel Aged compounds tasting panel and in March the plan is for a demo & discussion on the effect of grist milling on mash efficiency. As Union has provided a stable home for the club and meetings have moved to Sunday afternoons rather than Thursday evening, the event space and event time are more conducive to doing working/interactive sessions rather than presentations. Kevin is going to follow up with the board to get an understanding of what Union is comfortable with.
• To encourage engagement, BaltiBrew is offering a stipend for members that would like to experience and report back! The specifics are still to be worked out, but the idea is that if a member has an idea on an experiment to run, the club would reimburse for the cost of materials (up to $40 or so dollars) on the stipulation that regardless of how the experiment turns out, that an ed topic would be presented by the brewer. If you've been on the fence about diving into a novel technique, ingredient, or side-by-side brew this is an opportunity to dive in with support from the club. Ping the listserve or the board and let us know what you're considering!

BruBakes IV!

• BruBakes is returning this spring! We have tentative pencilled in the afternoon of Sunday, April 23rd for this year's BruBakes competition. Kevin (thanks again) is going to confirm if Union will allow us the use of the Duckpin room for the event. If so, we will spin up the ticketing site and get to work on organizing. We need about 8-12 entrants to make BruBakes happen. As a refresher, BruBakes is a homebrew & baked good competition. Contestants brew a saison and make a baked good with a portion of the spent grain (at least 5% by weight of the baked good must be spent grain). This is a fundraiser for the club and we normally treat it as a showcase of the club, with most of the contestants being BalitBrewers. Contestant tickets are free, attendees will be 20 dollars. It's a smaller, low key event (we normally shoot for 60-100 attendees). If you are interested in brewing, baking, or helping organize the event, please ping the board!

Club Bylaws

• The current club bylaws have not been updated in a long time. They were written at a time when homebrewing was in the public zeitgeist and engagement was much higher. For anyone interested they are online here: https://www.baltibrew.org/about-us/. While not a pressing issue, the club should consider updating them to better reflect the needs of the membership.

Iron Brewer No Hops!

• Congratulations to Rajesh for taking home the BaltiBrew Iron Brewer cup in battle No Hops! His Raspberry Gose defeated Jude's Mead and Kevin's Sahti to claim the prize. With a new reigning Iron Brewer the door is open for more club challenges!

Home Brew Swap

• Many apologizes for leaving anyone out who brought beer to share. Kevin's English Bitter, the Reed's two-way Mexican Chocolate-Pepper-Coffee Ale, Emily and Jerry's Imperial Stout, and my own small english ale were sampled, along with some tasty beer from our host, Union Brewing. Looking forward to our next meeting, Sunday, February 12th at Union! Cheers!

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!