1) On March 4, CRABS will have 10 members pouring at the DC Brewer’s Ball in exchange for free admission. Tickets are $150. See http://www.dcbrewersball.org/Event_Details.html for event details.
2) Sometime this summer (probably July), CRABS might do a road trip to Asheville. We’d spend 3-5 days there and maybe stop at Devil’s Backbone or some Richmond breweries on the way down/back. Let Joe (jfo363@verizon.net) or Ben (benbrew@verizon.net) know if you’re interested.
3) Les will again be teaching a BJCP course, starting on 2/26 and running every Sunday except Mother’s Day and Easter until 5/21. Cost will be about $100. If you’re interested, email Joe (jfo363@verizon.net) or Les (lesbrews@gmail.com).
4) 2017 dues are due. $25 for individuals and $40 for families. See Don.
5) Some CRABS members will be opening breweries this year. Judy Neff and her husband Rob are partnering with Steve Marsh to open Checkerspot Brewing near the Ravens stadium. See article at http://www.baltimoresun.com/entertainment/dining/baltimore-diner-blog/bal-checkerspot-brewing-co-opening-near-m-t-bank-stadium-20170104-story.html. Also, Les will be opening Heart & Solar Brewing. See website at http://www.heartandsolarbrewing.com/
6) Due to time demands from his new brewery, Les has stepped down as Guild president. He is now vice-president, and John Jester has taken over as president. With Chris Anderson as treasurer and Ben as secretary, all four Guild officers are CRABS members. Someone needs to drain the swamp. Bigly.
7) The 2016 Guild holiday party was another success, with over $6900 being raised and split among 4 charities. CRABS won the club table competition for the second year in a row.
8) If you have a nomination for the Guild Spirit Award, get it to our club rep Rob Kiernan (rmkst16@yahoo.com) by the first week in March.
9) The Guild plans to create a map that has QR codes for each club, with multiple copies distributed to area homebrew shops or other locations and events. This way people can simply scan the QR code of any club they’re interested in and get instant information via the Web. If you have graphics design experience and would like to help on this project, contact Rob (rmkst16@yahoo.com).
10) Upcoming homebrew competitions in the next few months:
·1/30: Registration opens for the National Homebrew Competition. Closes 2/5. See https://www.homebrewersassociation.org/national-homebrew-competition/
·2/22: Black Flag Febrewary homebrew competition. Entries due to Black Flag Brewing or Maryland Homebrew between 2/8 and 2/15. No entry fee. Hedonistic judging. Winner gets beer brewed at Black Flag. 2nd and 3rd place get MDHB gift cards of $150 and $75. Submit 3 bottles with beer name, brewer name/contact info, and beer style. No barrel aged or funky/sour ales. All ingredients must be available at MDHB.
·3/18: Scorpion Homebrew Competition. Organized by Scorpion Brewing Company. Judge, steward, end entry registration is open. See http://scorpion.brewcompetition.com/
·3/25: DC Homebrewers Club Cherry Blossom Competition. Registration open 1/28 – 3/15. See http://www.dchbcompetition.com/
11) Big Brew will be on Saturday 5/6. Maryland Homebrew will hold its annual multi-club event in the back parking lot.
12) The Guild summer picnic will be on Saturday 6/3, noon-dusk, at Patapsco State Park, Hollofield area, shelter 300.
13) The National Homebrewers Conference will be held in Minneapolis on June 15-17. Several CRABS members have expressed interest in going. The Guild will ship a pallet of kegs to the conference. If you’d like one of your kegs to be on that pallet, contact Rob.
14) Peabody Heights is looking for a brewer to join their staff sometime in the next few weeks. Contact them at events@peabodyheightsbrewery.com
15) This month’s competition was hedonistic. There were 16 entries. Winners were:
5th– Ben Schwalb
4th – Jay Thorpe
3rd – Rob Kiernan
2nd – Adam Godhwani
1st – Bob Mosier
16) Go to http://crabsbrew.org for CRABS-related information.