header new100

You are here: Home

Brian Joas earns Grand Master BJCP ranking

The Beer Barons would like congratulate Brian Joas on attaining the rank of Grand Master BJCP judge. Brian not only is the first Baron to attain the Grand Master ranking, but he is the first in the entire state of Wisconsin!

Brian first took the BJCP exam 4 years ago. Shortly after passing the exam he became very active in the Barons BJCP Training Program and quickly took on a lead role. After achieving a National status he began working on his Grand Master Service Requirement (GMSR) by becoming an exam grader. Within a few sets of exams the BJCP board unanimously voted him in as an Associate Exam Director. Brian first achieved Master status in mid-September 2012 and acquired the necessary GMSR credit to achieve Grand Master status within 6 months. Along the way he has played a key role in developing the Midwinter and German Fest Stein Challenge Competitions, served as the Judge Director for the NHC First Round and Schooner Homebrew Competitions, and received his Mead Judge Endorsement.

This is quite an accomplishment and the Barons are both proud and fortunate to have Brian as a member. Congratulations Brian!

May 2013 Meeting - Central Waters Brewing Company

Don't miss the meeting, Wednesday May 24, 2013. We will be featuring Central Waters Brewing Company and their Bourbon Barrel Aged beers. You're sure to taste some unique and fabulous beers at this meeting. We will have a Central Waters representative on hand to speak about the beers as you sample them. This is a meeting you don't want to miss. If you're an existing member or somebody thinking about coming for the first time, mark your calendar and don't miss out on this special opportunity! Cheers!

June 2013 Meeting - Volunteers Needed

We are doing a take on the Iron Chef TV show for the June meeting and we need volunteers. This is a great chance to get involved in the club. So put on your creative thinking caps and brew up something special!

We will give you a base recipe and you will need to use the minimum ingredients of this base recipe. You CAN'T add any new ingredients but you can scale up the ingredients from the base recipe to as much as you would like. There are 2 hops for this recipe. You must use the minimum amount but can use them at any time and increase the amount as you would like. You can use any yeast and mash at any temperature. You will need to talk about what you did to the recipe for a few minutes at the meeting. If you are interested please let Jayme Nawrocki know and he will send a separate e-mail with more details and info before you begin.

Here is the recipe (5 gallon batch):

Grain:

at least 6lbs US 2 row malt
at least 4oz Crystal 60
at least 1 oz roasted barley

Pellet Hops:

at least 0.5 oz Magnum
at least 0.5 oz Hallertau

Barons Featured on TMJ4 News

Baron Board members Ken Megal and Jason Heindel were featured on a news story on TMJ4's evening news covering the popularity of homebrewing in the Milwaukee area.

From TMJ4:

MILWAUKEE - It's part of Wisconsin's history: Beer. Making it, selling it, drinking it. But some here in the Milwaukee area don't rely on breweries to fill their mugs.

The Beer Barons have been around for almost 25 years. It's basically a club that makes and drinks a lot of beer.

"I also enjoy sharing the beer. I can't drink it all. I have to share it!" says Ken Megal with the Beer Barons.

The group also hosts monthly meetings and numerous homebrewing competitions. And the group is growing.

"People want to have stuff that is well made. And when you can make your own beer, you can really make it however you want," says Megal.

Having brewed barrels and barrels of beer, The Beer Barons aren't just beer enthusiasts, they're beer experts.

"It's art and science," explains Jason Heindel with Beer Barons.

The recipe calls for just the right amount of grain. Then, hops, and brewed by slow fermentation. It can be complicated but The Beer Barons say it can also be quite simple.

"If you can boil water, you can make beer. There is ways of making beer that don't involve as elaborate equipment as Ken back here," says Heindel.

It's a hobby that's been brewing for a while. And now, is a way of life for The Beer Barons.

"At this point I almost feel like I am a craft beer evangelist. Any family function, I am trying to make sure I am enlightening everybody to good beer," says Megal.

The Beer Barons allow anyone to join (just as long as they are at least 21-years-old). You can learn more about the local beer making organization at its website, beerbarons.org.

Link to the story on TMJ4

Wisconsin Microbrewers Festival

We've run a bus to this fun beer festival every year since 2001.

Bus schedule

The bus will be stopping at four Park and Ride lots:

9:45 AM - College Ave SW Park and Ride.
10:15 AM - Watertown Plank Road @ Hwy 45 Park and Ride (South lot).
10:45 AM - Brown Deer Road @ I-43 Park and Ride.
11:10 AM - Cedarburg @ Hwy C & I43. NO WAIT for loading

The bus will be at each location for 10 minutes for loading

The Festival begins at 1:00 PM and ends promptly at 6:00 PM. The bus will leave as soon as everyone finds it and is on board. Or sooner if you were naughty and deserve to be left behind. :-P

Past Trips

2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010

There were no photos submitted for 2012 nor 2013. :-(

Support Your Local Brewery

Support Your Local Brewery is a national, grassroots partnership of beer enthusiasts, professional trade associations and brewers dedicated to supporting and protecting the legislative and regulatory interests of small, traditional and independent craft breweries. This is run by the Brewers Association & AHA.

Sign up today! Click here to go to their web site.