Author: Marshall Schott
This year is screaming by, every passing day bringing interesting changes and opportunities. I wanted take a moment to share some of what’s going with all of you, the people who have made this thing something completely different than I could have ever imagined. There’s definitely more awesome stuff in the works that I have to keep under wraps for the time being, but here’s some of what I’m excited about right now!
Our Newest Contributor
Back in March of 2014, I was invited to be 1 of 3 beta testers for a budding yeast company called The Yeast Bay, an opportunity I embraced with enthusiasm. Joining me were a couple other brewing nerds, one of whom was Brian Hall from the Brouwerij Chugach blog. Little did I know at the time that our collective yeast testing efforts would turn into a killer friendship. Brian and I have chatted regularly since, him consulting with me about data collection methods and potential reasons his steel cut oats beer had a super low OG, me seeking advice from him regarding brewing sour beers and NEIPA. Our personalities meshed well, so when Brian started asking more often about doing the types of experimentation Brülosophy is known for, a 
seed was planted in my mind… but he beat me to the punch. While chatting one evening about an experiment he was planning, Brian proposed the idea of maybe one day contributing to Brülosophy. I thought he might have been pulling my chain, but it became a common topic, one that we settled during Homebrew Con 2017.
I’m beyond excited to announce that Brian Hall will officially be joining Brülosophy as a regular contributor! While he’ll start off focusing primarily on The Hop Chronicles, we’ve already got xBmt ideas lined up for him to tackle. Given his passion for both sour beer and NEIPA, you can be sure you’ll see more content focused on those fascinating topics.
Let Jersey & Tim Review Your Homebrew
Those who have listened to the last few episode of The Brülosophy Podcast have been acquainted with my good friends in the new segment, 1 Minute Beer Review With Jersey & Tim. These dudes love beer, though they’re not necessarily as deep into it as I’m guessing most of our readers and listeners are, which makes their reviews just a tad more… frank? Whatever you call it, the reviews have been a hoot and while we started off focusing on commercial beers, we thought it’d be fun and potentially very beneficial if Jersey and Tim reviewed homebrewed beers made by listeners! Since announcing this on the podcast, the response has been great, and they’re certainly excited to review your beers.
If you would like to have your beer reviewed by Jersey & Tim on The Brülosophy Podcast, please complete the submission form below and I’ll get back to you with details on getting your beer to me.
1 Minute Beer Review w/ Jersey & Tim Submission Form
Please keep in mind that these are not beer experts or BJCP judges, they’re normal dudes who will have zero clue what beer they’re drinking because I serve it to them blind– they won’t even know if it’s homebrew or commercial beer. If negative feedback isn’t your gig, don’t send your beer. When homebrewers send beers in for review, I’ll be sure to give my honest thoughts on it as well.
Upcoming Events
One or some of us weirdos from Brülosophy will be present at the following upcoming beer/brewing events, if you’re around, we’d love to meet up!
August 27, 2017 | Old Town Clovis Craft Beer Crawl
Just east of Fresno is a small-ish town called Clovis, known mostly for its annual rodeo and various other parades. The city also recently began hosting the twice yearly Old Town Clovis Craft Beer Crawl where attendees bounce around from shop to shop sampling beer from local professional breweries like Tactical Ops, Full Circle, and Tioga-Sequoia as well as beer from breweries-in-planning, making this one unique event.
I’ll not only be attending this event, but doing an Instagram takeover with Old Town Clovis. If you’re free on August 27, live within driving distance, and looking for something to do, come join me at the Old Town Clovis Craft Beer Crawl!
September 22-25, 2017 | Hop Harvest in Yakima, WA
After spending a weekend with Hopsteiner during the hop harvest last year, I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to pass it up again. Yakima, WA is the world’s largest hop producing region and is home to some of the largest hop growers and processors in the world. Every year during the month long harvest season, droves of professional brewers, homebrewers, and craft beer lovers descend on Yakima to attend various events, rub elbows with like-minded peers, and drink fantastic beer.
This year, Brian Hall and I will be heading up September 22 and hanging out with our friends from Yakima Valley Hops, who have a rad shop where it seems likely some fun times will be had. Hit me up if you plan to be around town that weekend!
October 5-7, 2017 | Great American Beer Festival in Denver, CO
One of the world’s largest craft beer events featuring over 800 breweries serving over 3,800 beers, all available for attendees to sample, the Great American Beer Festival is a craft beer lovers dream!
Contributors Jake Huolihan and Malcolm Frazer will be attending the 2017 Great American Beer Festival in Denver, CO, if you’ll be around and want to chat these guys up, be sure to let us know!
The Brü Club
Traditionally, homebrew clubs are regionally based groups where local homebrewers gather to talk about and share their homemade concoctions. Indeed, clubs are an integral aspect of this hobby, providing homebrewers a place to go to mingle with like-minded others and often make great friends. However, not all homebrewers live in an area where a club exists, leaving brewers to rely primarily on internet forums and such to engage with the community. Moreover, not all clubs are created equal– where one might be focused primarily on education, another might have more of a competition bent or even serve as a monthly drunk fest with little focus on brewing at all.
Over the last couple years, I’ve received numerous recommendations to start a Brülosophy based club, which I largely resisted out of fear there wouldn’t be enough people interested and/or it’d be too much to take on. But lately, especially with all the talk of a decline in homebrewing, I’ve been reconsidering this idea and think it could possibly be our small way of doing our part to keep this hobby alive and kicking.
My thinking is that The Brü Club could serve to primarily provide…
…a club for the club-less. Homebrewing is all about community and clubs are one place people experience community. We’d set up a private forum for club members to chat about whatever it is they want with people who are comfortable with more modern and perhaps less conventional approaches to brewing. We could organize regular video chats, get t-shirts and other apparel made, basically all the stuff “real” clubs do.
…a secondary club for people to join in addition to their local club, increasing their contact with people who enjoy what they enjoy.
…a way to test less conventional brewing methods in vivo by having members submit beers made using Short & Shoddy methods into competitions. While all members would be free to list The Brü Club as their club when submitting beers to competitions, those who typically compete with other clubs would be encouraged to submit only their Short & Shoddy batches under The Brü Club. Those brewers whose beers do well enough to medal/ribbon would be featured on Brülosophy in some way.
Ultimately, I’ve warmed up to the idea of starting a club, one I feel offers homebrewers something unique, and I’m open to any ideas. The thing is, I want to know this is something others see value in before I invest the energy in developing it, hence my sharing it with you now. If you’d be so kind as to complete the brief survey below, I’d greatly appreciate it, no opinion is a bad opinion!
CLICK HERE TO TAKE THE BRÜ CLUB SURVEY
Brew Your Own Magazine Promo
The exclusive promotion BYO is running for Brülosophy fans ends August 19, 2017. Get a 1 year subscription for 50%, that’s 8 issues of one of the best brewing resources for only $14.99.
2017 American Homebrewers Association Survey
Please, please, please take this survey, which will enter you for a chance to win an entire Brewers Publications brewers library or a $50 gift certificate to your favorite homebrew shop!
Thanks again for your support, we’ll be back soon with another xBmt!
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