Greetings Brewers,
Our meeting this month will be on Tuesday March 26th, at Five Maidens Cider Company in Bethlehem. Grab something to eat before the meeting and then come join us to learn about how to get started making cider, in preparation for one of the fall Homebrewer of the Year challenges! Membership renewals are open and available on the website, please renew soon so we can provide an updated list to our homebrew supply shop sponsors. Note that in order to ensure the club can cover core operating expenses, the Officers voted to raise dues by $5 this year, to $25 for new members and $15 for renewals.
Thanks to everyone who submitted a Tropical Stout entry for the March leg of the Homebrewer of the Year competition. A reminder that we need a copy of your score sheet to ensure you get credit and to crown our winners. April's event is participation in the ArtsQuest Spring Beer Festival on March 30th, so carb up your beer and make sure you've registered on the Events page. Note that members serving at this event are required to be RAMP certified; you can complete server/seller training online. This course is $9, if you don't want to browse the training options. If you need more festivals, the West Reading Craft Beer and Pretzel Festival is April 27th!
We'll be back at Yergey Brewing for Big Brew in May. Register to come brew a fruited wheat to benefit a cause to be determined. This is a great opportunity to see a whole bunch of setups and collect ideas to improve your processes, to use homebrewing to give back to the community, and to help create a great commercial beer with the club and folks at Yergey Brewing. Can't brew? Feel free to just stop by day of to hang out or be available to give one of the people brewing a hand.
Finally, a reminder that we've been looking for an alternative with a low barrier to entry for notifying those interested in news, festival opportunities, or event reminders, etc. outside of the monthly newsletter cycle. To this end, we've created the "LVHB News" Google Group and will be trialing that over the next few months. If you're interested, you should be able to search for lvhb-news@googlegroups.com in the Google Groups search and request to join.
See you on Tuesday,
Steve Anthony
LVHb Club President
Future Meetings:
Meetings are open to anyone (21 and older) who home brews (beer, wine, cider, mead) or is interested in learning about home brewing. Our club has over 30 certified judges and several members who have "gone pro" by opening their own brewery, meadery, or distillery! - So bring your latest craft creation and get some constructive feedback and/or accolades!
UPCOMING CLUB EVENTS
The ArtsQuest Spring BrewFest at Steelstacks will be back March 30, 2024 - see the Events page to register!
The West Reading Beer and Pretzel Festival is April 27, 2024 - see the Events page to register!
Big Brew at Yergey Brewing is May 4, 2024 - come brew with the club for a cause!
OUR BREWERS (are awesome!)
Congratulations to our brewers who placed at the Garden State Homebrew Competition!
Joseph Eberhardt - 1st Place Dark Beer and Irish Beer (Tropical Stout)
John Litak - 3rd Place Dark Beer and Irish Beer (Tropical Stout)
Preston and Maggie Klingseis - Belgian Ales (Bière de Garde)
Rob Myers - Wood and Smoked Beers (Specialty Wood-Aged Beer)
CLUB COMPETITIONS
Lehigh Valley Homebrewer of the Year
The event for April is participation in the ArtsQuest Spring Beer Festival, March 30 2024. Come pour your beer for an adoring public at a great event!
UPCOMING BJCP COMPETITIONS
Full list is available here.
Recommended Local Homebrew Competitions:
Competition | Date | Registrations Due |
3/1/2024 | 2/24/2024 |
OTHER CLUB INFO
The details for most of our happenings (news, events, etc.) will either be included in the monthly newsletter or will be found on the LVHB Website Club Info page. More random thoughts, photos, and links will be shared via the club Facebook page. Find photos of our brewing activities on Instagram! @lehighvalleyhomebrewers
Are you an AHA member? As we prepare to do club membership renewals, it's a good time to consider adding or renewing an AHA Membership for yourself or your brewing buddy. Use our link (click the image below) and the club gets credit for your membership!
Member Benefits
Keystone Homebrew Supply offers 10% off online and in-store purchases for LVHB members as well as a points based loyalty reward program. They offer weekly local delivery on Saturday at Bonn Place in Bethlehem (just place your order by Thursday). Keystone offers full sacks of grain as well as a large selection of brewing and wine making equipment. Also, for most local competitions they provide a drop off point so you don't have to mail in your entries! https://www.keystonehomebrew.com/ Hop and Grain offers members 20% off purchases on their online store, free shipping and flexible local pick-up options. You'll find them very accommodating, even if you require a special order. https://hopandgrain.us/
Brew Hardware offers members a 5% discount as well! https://www.brewhardware.com/Default.asp
GrogTags offers members 15% off with the code on the member page - get creative with your labels and prepare for the 2023 label competition!
There's no excuse not to brew because you can't get ingredients or equipment! Thank you to the local shops that support our club!
See all the benefits of membership as well as how to join here.
