November 2016 – General Meeting: Belgian Night (3rd Wednesday)

Jonathan Greene

14039718059_6e8a1c9852_zAll members are cordially invited to our 2017 edition of Belgian Night. Join us at Clifford’s on Wednesday November 16th at 7:30 pm. Please note that due to Thanksgiving we are meeting on the 3rd Wednesday in November, and not the fourth.

We are going to keep a similar format to last year with some blind tastings and fun surprises. Stick around ’til the end of the presentation and you won’t be disappointed!

Also, Ben from Spike Brewing will be coming by to show off Spike’s newly redesigned conical fermentor. He’ll be looking for feedback, so feel free to let him know what you think of it!

 

Image: Danielle Griscti

October 2016 – General Meeting: FIELD TRIP to 3rd Space

Jonathan Greene

imgresMark your calendars for October 26th. The October meeting this year is a field trip event to 3rd Space Brewing! We haven’t had a field trip in a few years, and this is a great way to check out Kevin Wright’s new brewery in our fair city. Kevin will host us and tell us about his journey, his beers, and his plans for the future.

Kevin grew up in Thiensville, is a distinguished graduate from the UC Davis Master Brewer Program, and is the former brewer for California’s Hangar 24 Brewery. If you attended out Advanced Hombrewing Conference this year, you might remember his pre-conference kick-off talk.

Third Space is located at 1505 W St Paul Ave in  Milwaukee.

Here are some details about our evening:

  • Third Space will open it’s doors to the Barons only at 6PM. The brewery will be closed to the public.
  • The meeting will start at 7:30PM. We’ll do announcements as usual.
  • Each guest will get 3 drink tickets for Third Space tap beer. They’ll have at least 5 beers to choose from.
  • There is no kitchen at 3rd Space, but the Oscars On Roll food truck will be there if you’d like to order some food onsite. Please consider coming early if you are planning on ordering from the truck. The truck will stay onsite until 8pm or until business slows down for them.
  • You are welcome to bring food and snacks.
  • Please do not bring outside beer or homebrew. This is an event to drink Third Space beer and support the brewery.

We are looking forward to seeing you at Third Space on October 26th!

Don’t forget to register for Schnapp Hans

Jonathan Greene

SchnappHansCupThe deadline for our Schnapp Hans Cup is fast approaching. Be sure to register your beer and get them dropped off at Northern Brewer by 5pm on Saturday (9/24). We look forward to judging your brews and hope to be handing you a medal at the ceremony on October 8th.

If you are interested in being a judge or steward this year, you can sign up on the website for that as well.

Please visit http://schnapphanscup.com/ for more information and registration.

September 2016 – General Meeting: Brewing and Blending Sour Beer

Jonathan Greene

sour-beerWe cordially invite you to Clifford’s on Wednesday September 28th at 7:30pm for our monthly membership meeting. We are getting tart this month as we explore the process of brewing and blending sour beers.

Fellow Barons Mike Schwartz, Jayme Nawrocki, Simon McConnico, and Dan Schlosser will be talking about their extensive experience with designing, brewing and fermenting sour beers. They will also discuss how to blend the beer to come up with a finished product.

While both trendy and delicious, sour beers can seem overwhelming to many brewers, and we hope to dispel some of the mystique and get you comfortable making your own enjoyable sour creations.

If you’d like to bring a keg of homebrew to share on the jockey boxes, please email Josh. If you are bring a non-ball-lock keg, please let us know so we can try to accommodate you.

Image from learn.kegerator.com

Our Summer Picnic is right around the corner

Jonathan Greene

picnicMark your calendars! The 2016 Beer Barons Summer Picnic will be on Saturday September 10th at Picnic Area 3 on the Root River Parkway rain or shine. We kick off about noon with a food provided (burgers, brats, chicken breast, salads) along with all our drafts lines pouring homemade beers, meads and ciders. We encourage you to bring a dish to share, chairs, pop-up tents, towels, yard games or any other summer-outdoor-type-of-thing.

Bring your best beer, mead, or cider for a chance to win our ‘best beverage’ get your name etched on the Jerry Hetzel Memorial Mash Paddle. There is also a ‘food-made-with-beer’ competition for any edible you bring that includes beer/mead/cider as a recipe component. Both competitions are popular-vote style, voted on by our guests.

We will be holding out annual picnic raffle again this year. We have a lot of great things in the raffle, including a kettle from Spike Brewing, Spiegelau glasses, Thermapens, stainless steel growlers and more! Raffle tickets will be sold at the picnic: 30 for $20, 10 for $10, 3 for $5, and 1 for $2.

Each guest (over 21) will receive a 4 or 6 pack of beer as a door prize to take home with them.

We are starting at noon. If you bring a keg and/or a dish (and you should!) please affix your name to your vessel so we can make sure to send it home with you!

Please join us for a day of fun! As always guests under 18 are free, but must be accompanied by an adult 21 years or older. All guests must be accompanied by a Member.

Buy your tickets online now!

Drunk Driving Prevention from Home Schooling Adventures

Jonathan Greene

Recently we received a message form Home Schooling Adventures, an after-school program for youth based in upstate New York, about their project focused on drunk driving prevention. The leaders encouraged their students to think about how they could help promote responsible consumption not just in their region but beyond.

One of the students, Kevin, found an article from a Minneapolis law firm with some common sense practices for preventing drunk driving. He also looked for sites that would be a great conduit for sharing that information. Needless to say they found us, and we are happy to participate!

We want to thank Home Schooling Adventures for educating young folks about the dangers of drunk driving and how to avoid it. It’s a lesson that is important for people of all ages. A special shout out to Kevin for making this happen. Progress and education happen when people put thoughts and plans into action. Keep it up Kevin and class!

Here is Kevin’s link:

http://www.dwiminneapolislawyer.com/strategies-reduce-prevent-drunk-driving/

August 2016 – Black Husky Brewing

Jonathan Greene

black huskyPlease join us for an evening with Tim and Toni Eichinger of Black Husky Brewing. They are going to be talking about their recent move to Milwaukee’s Riverwest neighborhood. With their new tap room and brewery they are able to increase production and bring more of their delicious beer to our fair city.

The meeting kicks off at 7:30pm at Clifford’s Supper Club on Wednesday, August 24th.

Don’t forget to contact Josh if you plan on bringing a keg to share on the Jockey Boxes this month. We look forward to seeing you there!

Meeting Media – Denny Conn Presentation

Jonathan Greene

If you weren’t able to make it to our July meeting, you missed an excellent presentation by Denny Conn. Thanks again to Denny for taking the time to come visit us, talk to us about recipe formulation and take our questions. Another big thanks to Baron Jonathan Ettlie with Craft Meister for bringing Denny out to Milwaukee.

Here are the media files from the meeting for your enjoyment and education. Cheers!