Greetings Brewers! Happy Thanksgiving!
Our next meeting will be Tuesday, November 30th at Colony Meadery in Allentown. We'll be collecting Toys for Tots this month to ensure the gifts get to the US Marines for distribution in time for the holidays. Please bring a new, unopened toy to the meeting.
This meeting we'll also have officer elections. Right now, we only have one candidate for each position, so if you'd like to nominate a member in good standing for an officer position, nominations will be due at the beginning of the meeting. If a vote is required, it will be done, in-person, that night by secret ballot. Please reach out if you would like to arrange for a proxy for your vote if you cannot attend. If you are interested in getting more involved with the club operations but not quite ready for an officer position, please talk to an officer, we have plenty of things that need help such as competition coordination, website content contribution, festival planning, social media, etc...
Speaking of competitions, our last flight of the 2021 HBoTY brewing challenges is due this month. If you brewed a beer with the special ingredient of maple syrup, please bring it to Tuesday's meeting for judging!
We held our semi-annual group brew for "Teach a Friend to Homebrew Day" on November 6th. I'd like to thank our hosts, Chris and Tiffany Becker for another successful event! The weather was perfect and several members brewed on-site.
The following weekend was the Weyerbacher Homebrew Festival and the team at Weyerbacher definitely deserve credit for putting on a great event. I'd like to congratulate all the brewers that made the event a fun day for the festival goers and the participants. Please scroll down to see all the winners!
I hope everyone has the perfect beer brewed to share with family and friends this holiday, but also remember we're meeting on Tuesday and don't forget: Toys, maple beers, and elections!
John Litak
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
Here are some upcoming events, we'll add more specifics as we work out the details for these events.
November Meeting, Colony Meadery
Holiday Party and HBoTY Award Ceremony - December 28th, Seven Sirens
Fegley's Craft Beer Fest - January 8th
OUR BREWERS (are awesome!)
Congratulations to Ken Solt who won the Weyerbacher Brewer's Choice, and he will have an opportunity to brew the winning foreign export stout with the Weyerbacher brew crew and have it served in their tap room! Butch Riddle won the People's choice with a Chocolate Cherry Bomb stout, served with a cherry on top! Congratulations Butch!
Brewer's Choice:
Ken Solt - Foreign Export Stout
Chuck Lysakowski - Specialty IPA
Scott Smith - Kölsch-style
John Litak - Schwarzbier (Honorable Mention)
People's Choice:
Butch Riddle - Dessert/Pastry Stout
Andy Rodgers / Greg Reese - Cream Ale with Lactose
Ken Solt - Foreign Export Stout
Ryan Celia was recognized as the NJ Homebrewing Circuit winner, scoring the most competition points across qualifying NJ homebrew competitions throughout 2021. Congratulations Ryan!
Watch for an upcoming contribution to BYO Magazine from Lehigh Valley Homebrewer, JR Renna, as he describes the build of his custom keezer!
Motown Mash - Congratulations to the following brewers who were awarded medals across state lines!
Table 3: American IPA (10 entries)
2nd Place Ryan Celia Fall IPA 21A: American IPA
Table 9: Smoke and Wood Aged Beer (9 entries)
2nd Place Steve Badman Drunken Husky Harry Porter 32B: Specialty Smoked Beer
Table 14: Browns And Reds of United Kingdom (5 entries)
1st Place Ryan Celia Sket 13C: English Porter
Table 17: Clone Beers and Provisional Styles (6 entries)
2nd Place Steve Badman Drunken Husky Flying Dog Gonzo Imperial Porter Clone34A: Clone Beer
Join us at the next meeting to hear about the successes and contributions of our brewers to the homebrew and professional brewing community.
CLUB COMPETITIONS
Lehigh Valley Homebrewer of the Year
Congratulations to Butch, Andy, and Ken for adding HbotY points to their totals for their performance at the Weyerbacher event. Participation points will be awarded for all brewers that competed!
The last event due on at the November meeting (Iron Brewer ingredient: Maple).
Check out the leaderboard here!
UPCOMING BJCP COMPETITIONS
Full list is available here.
War of the Worts
Registration Due 2/5/2022
Sixth PA Homebrew Open Competition
Registration due 2/14/2022
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
LVHB T-Shirts
LVHB t-shirts are being redesigned...
Looking for a gift idea? How about 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/
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.