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Steve Anthony

October 2023 Lehigh Valley Homebrewers Newsletter




Greetings Brewers,


Our October meeting will be a week early this month on Tuesday, October 24th, at Gallows Hill Spirits in Allentown, PA. There will be no food option at the meeting this month, so grab something ahead of time.


Malt Madness was a great success this month. Thank you to everyone involved in coordinating, running, and judging the competition. A special thank you to our friends at Retriever Brewing for hosting, and to all the participants for submitting entries. One of our premier level prizes, the Oktober BenchMK drill powered can seamer, was not selected by our best of show winners. Rather than store this for next year, we've decided to run a penny social silent auction to give one of you the opportunity to put it to use, with the proceeds to help defray costs for Malt Madness in 2024. This will run at both the October and November meetings, so show up for your chance to win. Full details and pricing will be announced next week!


Thank you as well to everyone who came out to the surprise Becker Bash to support Chris and Tiffany Becker as she battles ovarian cancer. We had over 25 homebrew offerings being poured simultaneously, which I think is a new record for the club! If you weren't able to make it, we'll have bracelets and LVHB tasting glasses for sale at the meeting, with proceeds to join the rest of the funds raised. If you'd like to donate beyond that, you can do so at the GoFundMe.


This month's Homebrewer of the Year challenge is fruit or sour beers. I'm sure Rob thinks he has this month in the bag, but I believe in you. Come dethrone the Malt Madness fruit and sour beer club champion. I know John Litak will be chasing redemption!




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






 

OUR BREWERS (are awesome!)






Thanks to everyone for their help in making Malt Madness a success this year. Club members picked up a lot of medals, making for a very strong showing!


  • 2nd Place, Best of Show and 1st Place in Pilsners - Bryan Hoke - Czech Premium Pale Lager

  • 2nd Place, Light Lagers - David Barber - Munich Helles

  • 3rd Place, Pilsners - David Barber - Czech Premium Pale Lager

  • 1st Place, European Amber Lagers - David Barber - Märzen

  • HM, Dark Lager and Bock Beer - John Jessen - Dunkels Bock

  • 1st Place, Pale Ales - James Fella - Blonde Ale

  • 2nd Place, Pale Ales - Andrew Harakal - American Pale Ale

  • 3rd Place, IPAs - Ginger Volz/Co-Brewer: Stephen Volz - Specialty IPA

  • 3rd Place, Hazy IPAs - John Litak - Hazy IPA

  • 2nd Place, Strong Ales - Scott Minnich/Co-Brewer: Kris Minnich - American Barleywine

  • 2nd Place, Sour and Wild Ales - Rob Myers - Berliner Weisse

  • 1st Place, Fruit Beers - Rob Myers - Fruit Beer

  • 2nd Place, Fruit Beers - John Litak - Fruit Beer

  • 1st Place, Spiced Beers - Rob Myers - Spice, Herb, or Vegetable Beer

  • 2nd Place, Spiced Beers - Bryan Hoke - Autumn Seasonal Beer

  • 3rd Place, Wood and Smoked Beers - Rob Myers - Wood-Aged Beer

  • HM, Wood and Smoked Beers - Rob Myers - Specialty Wood-Aged Beer




Check out the lineup for the Becker Bash to raise money in support of club members Chris and Tiffany Becker in her fight against ovarian cancer! This event was well attended and a great time for everyone involved!



 

CLUB COMPETITIONS


Lehigh Valley Homebrewer of the Year


October is Fruit or Sour beer month! Check out the competition listing for details for the full year.

 

UPCOMING BJCP COMPETITIONS

Full list is available here.


Recommended Local Homebrew Competitions:

Competition

Date

Registrations Due

11/11/2023

10/22/2023

11/18/2023

11/03/2023

12/02/2023

11/19/2023


 

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.



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