Author: Jordan

Hello again fellow homebrewers!

After nearly three long months of shelter-in-place, we are back and as thirsty as ever! As is almost normal for Indiana, we totally skipped the crisp, spring weather perfect for Maibock and Hefeweizen and went straight for humid, hot American Lager summer! I hope all of you are well and look forward to seeing all of you who are able to come this month. We will be picking up where we left off with Show-and-Tell of our wacky, awesome homebrew gear. In regards to safe-practices I would advise that everyone bring your own cup and pour your own beers to sample out so the normal set up of the sample table will be slightly modified for this month.

As most have you have probably seen, the AHA HomebrewCon that was set to take place this month in Nashville on June 18th has been cancelled. However, for card carrying members, they are still offering a digital version of the conference through virtual workshops, special guest speakers, tastings and more. Visit https://www.homebrewcon.org/virtual-expo/ for more info. Unfortunately, the Indiana State Fair also had to cancel its event for this year so there will not be a Brewer’s Cup competition this year either. However, this doom and gloom will not be centered around Big Turkey! We will be handing out ballots for the club to vote on 2 choices for this year’s competition. Likewise, we will provide a digital ballot the week of the meeting on the forum so that those that cannot attend can still vote.

***EDIT!!*** SWIRCA has announced that the Beer, Wine and Spirits event at Bosse Field scheduled for July 18th has been cancelled. I believe we should still have a cleaning day on June 27th to revive the large fermenter and still be ready once the fall comes around for Zoo Brew. More details to come soon! Once again, I look forward to seeing everyone this month. See you at Germannia!

Fellow homebrewers, I hope everyone is healthy and happy and finding some relaxation or inspiration in this time of social absence. Admittedly, this President’s message was one I procrastinated on. While we can’t be together there is plenty we can do as homebrewer individuals to contribute. If you’re a lover of good beer please support our local brew pubs and breweries in Evansville, Henderson and the surrounding areas that rely on foot traffic or take home service to stay afloat. As homebrewers, especially during this time, getting ingredients might take a bit longer than before so if you’re going to buy, plan out a few brews in advance and buy ingredients in bulk as you can. As you well know, the AHA Big Brew Day is typically the first Saturday in May; our club had planned a group beer for One Wort Many Beers project on May 8th that for all intents and purposes we will push back for everyone’s safety. While we cant brew together, AHA is organizing a virtual Big Brew Day. Follow this link https://www.homebrewersassociation.org/aha-events/national-homebrew-day/big-brew-registration/

and fill out the Pledge form and you will receive $5 off an AHA Membership! It goes without saying that our April meeting will not be able to happen, but the board and I are keeping in touch and we will keep everyone in the loop. To all those out there whether in the thicket of this fight or at home in sanctuary, keep brewing, thinking of your fellow brother and sister, stay safe and at the end of the day remember the motto of many a troubled homebrewer; relax, dont worry, have a homebrew.

Cheers! Jordan

Happy St. Patrick’s Day Homebrewers!

It is a bitter sweet time to celebrate but I hope you all are grabbing a pint of Dry Stout or Irish Red and spending time with family or close friends.  The impact of COVID-19 (as I’m sure everyone is tired of hearing about) has inevitably reached us all in some way or another.  School and business closings, layoffs and quarantines have us reeling and creating quite a mess of our day to day.  I had planned earlier in the month an exciting meeting at Damsel showcasing all of the interesting, wacky and new homebrew equipment our members utilize, unfortunately, due to the regulations and recommendations of the CDC, the Board and I have decided to cancel this month’s meeting.  As homebrewers and craft beer enthusiast we understand what it means to band together and support our communities in many ways.  As that is, we are called to exercise diligence and restraint and stay in on this holiday that most spend out at local pubs and breweries.  Although we can’t physically meet this month, I encourage you all to still try to support local business and breweries while you can; we are fortunate to have a handful of local breweries that offer carry out.  In addition to not being able to meet this month, we had planned a donation of the OVHA Half-Pot to benefit relief for Weston Stamps.  Weston was involved in a terrible accident in December that damaged his spinal cord and left him thinking he would be unable to walk again.  To much celebration, he has been discharged from the hospital and has started outpatient therapy for the next 1-2 months depending on his progress.  Weston and his family could still use some support; since we cannot donate half-pot donations, I ask that you please offer up anything you can to support this young man in his journey to walk again.  You can donate with the link provided here:

https://www.gofundme.com/f/weston-stamps-family-fund-for-healing

Above all, I hope you all stay healthy, safe and cherish time spent with your loved ones, I can’t wait until I can raise a pint with you all once again!

Yours truly,

Jordan

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Good afternoon Homebrewers,

Welcome to the longest February in 4 years, hopefully everyone was able to go out and enjoy the 50 degree weather and sun this weekend- maybe even brew up something delicious? We have been very busy this month; we kegged the 2019 Barrel Project: Maker’s Mark Old Ale and let me say, this is one of the best ones I have had. We got a chance to feature it in Birds and Brews this month and it was very well received. Theres many more to come this year from OVHA and Wesselman Woods so stay tuned! This month’s meeting is at Germannia on February 26th at 7PM-we will be taking club pictures so make sure to wear your Dress Blues or Oranges rather. Of course we will be taking dues and also assisting those interested in getting their AHA Membership. I look forward to seeing you all in a couple weeks! Cheers!

Fellow homebrewers, it is my honor to address you as your 2020 president. My humble beginnings with homebrewing began right here at Germania Maennerchor 8 years ago. I started like most of you probably did; I knew very little about the brewing process, but I enjoyed good beer and getting ahold of it wasn’t always easy or cheap. After talking and sampling with the more experienced members and gathering the feedback from the sample I brought in, I was inspired to come back and keep brewing different and better homebrew. So to start off the year right, our tech topic is Going Back to Basics. Having a strong grasp of the basics is the best way to make homebrew and not to forget – simple beer can also be awesome beer! Our tech topics this year will, of course, get into more of the fine details and discuss new brew tech, but it’s important to remember where you came from.

In addition to the tech topics, another round around the sun means it’s time to renew your dues for 2020. We will be taking membership dues at the sign in table as well as on Paypal any ol’ time. This year is going to be a big one, so you don’t wanna miss out. In particular, this year the National Homebrew Conference and Competition will be hosted in our big backyard of Nashville, Tennessee. If you haven’t been to or heard about NHC and Homebrew Con, then we are going to fill you in. Each month we will offer the opportunity to learn about NHC and sign up for the American Homebrew Association. We will also discuss our local events, including Zoo Brew, SWIRCA BrewFest, Big Brew Day and many more. So bring a bottle (or two…or three…) of your most recent or proudest homebrew and join us at Germania at 7:00PM Wednesday January 29th.

Cheers, mates!

Jordan Fehr