1. Crabs4CRABS will be held this Saturday September 21, 1-6 PM, at Guilford Park, 9900 Guilford Rd, Jessup (the usual location). Pot luck food and all the crabs you can eat. Free for CRABS members and $20 for guests. Sign up at https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1X6BhWsZ8faTd8NYgFqL9D5Dg1nn6q8SkIVprYAqVIZk/edit?usp=sharing
2. The Maryland Microbrewery Festival will be on Saturday September 28. Event website: http://www.marylandmicrobreweryfestival.com/ There will be a homebrew competition, limited to UK and Irish styles. Best in show will be brewed by Brewery Fire. Entry registration has closed but you can register as a steward/judge at https://mdmicrobrewfest.brewingcompetitions.com/
3. Katie’s Bridge to Independence event was another success, with plenty of good beer, food, and music. $4500 was raised.
4. The 20th annual BARCStoberfest Kickoff & Beer Drop Party will be Friday 10/26, 6-9 PM at Checkerspot. Charity website: https://www.barcstoberfest.org/
5. Das Best Oktoberfest will be on Saturday 10/5, 12-5 PM at the Maryland State Fairgrounds. Event website: https://baltimore.dasbestoktoberfest.com/
6. SMASH’s 3rd annual homebrew challenge will be on Saturday 10/5, 1-5 PM at Mully’s Brewery. $10 fee (proceeds benefit Safe Harbor Residential Shelter). Competition for SMASH members only, but anyone can come and drink/vote. Event website: https://www.facebook.com/events/1028593265435834/
7. Homebrew Extravaganza at Checkerspot will be on Saturday October 16. As usual, all proceeds go to BARCS. Only $10 for all the homebrew you can consume, or free if you serve your beer. Event goes 6-9 PM, but brewers can show up at 5:00 to set up and taste all the homebrews. Event website: https://www.facebook.com/events/530926129502357
8. Hops and Harvest Festival will be Saturday 10/12, 12-5 PM at Merriweather Park. Event website: https://hopsandharvestfest.com/
9. The Baltimore Craft Beer Festival will be Saturday 11/2, 12-5 PM, at Baltimore Peninsula (new venue). Proceeds go to Brewers Association of Maryland to help support Maryland beer. Additionally, the Maryland Craft Beer Competition, where breweries’ beers are judged, will be held at Heavy Seas on 10/19. Judges each get two free Beer Geek passes (valued at $55 each) to the beer festival. Event website: https://app.tickethive.com/e/baltimore-craft-beer-festival
10. Friends of Patterson Park Brewfest will be Saturday 11/9, 11:00 AM to 4:30 PM. Address is 27 Patterson Park Ave, Baltimore. Event website: https://pattersonpark.com/brewfest
11. The Guild holiday party will be back at Heavy Seas, on Saturday 12/7. It will be held in the other building toward the end of the parking area. The space will be big and rectangular so everything will be viewable at once. We will have a club table. Tentative theme is “unbirthday”.
12. Patterson Park 5K and homebrew contest will be Saturday 12/7 (same day as Guild holiday party). Fun run at 11:00 AM. 5K run at 11:30 AM. Beer garden opens at noon. Event website: https://bit.ly/PP5KHB24
13. Black Flag is having a homebrew contest. It’s word of mouth, with no Internet link. Drop off two 12-ounce bottles at the brewery by 11/15. Winner gets to brew on their system. 2nd and 3rd place get MDHB gift cards.
14. The CRABS barrel project needs attention. The stout that we brewed has been in the barrel for about 6 months. We need to decide on the next beer to brew for it (probably something big such as a barleywine, Scotch ale, or Belgian quad). We should brew it sometime in October, then in November we can drain the barrel and put the new beer into it.
15. This month’s competition was pale ales. There were 7 entries. Winners were:
- 5th – Bob Baroncinni
- 4th – John Bugert
- 3rd – Tom D’Asto
- 2nd – Justin Wilson
- 1st – John Jester
16. Next meeting: Wednesday October 23 (a week later than usual due to Homebrew Extravaganza on 10/16). Competition will be strong beers.
17. Go to http://crabsbrew.org for CRABS-related information. The 2024 CRABS competition schedule is at http://www.crabsbrew.org/competition_schedule