What’s Brewing At Brülosophy? | The HopBeat, Merch, The Brü Club, & More!

Author: Marshall Schott

Barely a month into 2018 and things they are a-bustling! In this update, we’ll be going over some new developments in the world of Brülosophy we think are pretty cool as well as some upcoming events we hope to see you at!

The HopBeat Newsletter

The idea of starting a newsletter has come up with fans of Brülosophy as well as among the crew numerous times over the last couple years. However, due to how busy we keep with content production, it never got off the ground. Until now!

While chatting with Michael Ferris, one of the dudes who is helping to organize The Brü Club, he asked about our lack of a newsletter and offered to manage it for us. After tossing around some ideas and going over various mock-ups, we settled on what we’re calling The HopBeat, which will provide a monthly recap of all things Brülosophy as well as occasional announcements.

The Brülosophy Podcast

Episode 026 of The Brülosophy Podcast dropped earlier this week, our sixth of 2018 since moving to weekly production. It’s been a hell of a ride so far, no doubt, and while it’s keeping all of us very busy, I’m pleased with how things are going. Our stats are booming, people are listening and leaving great reviews, and we even broke the top 10 ranked shows for the Games & Hobby category at one point!

With as much time and effort as producing the podcast takes, there seriously is no way we’d be able to keep up without the support of our listeners and incredible sponsors. We’ve been fortunate enough to work only with folks we truly believe offer a value to homebrewers, so if you like what the show is about, let them know.

The Brü Club

What started as an idea a few months ago is now a legit thing– The Brü Club is open for membership! Started and managed by a dedicated group of independent homebrewers, the intent of the club is to provide yet another community centered around education via exploration and experimentation. Members are encouraged to test conventional brewing methods, share their results and experiences in the club forum, and compete with beers brewed using short & shoddy methods. Membership is totally free and open to anyone who is interested, head over to The Brü Club website for more details and to become a member. You can also join The Brü Club Facebook group.

Something we recently learned is that certain competitions use a program that attaches one’s club to their login, which means all beers entered are done so under a single club. Unfortunately, this happens to be the case for the National Homebrew Competition. However, there is apparently another program that some competitions use that allows for more control, so registrants can designate a club on a per beer basis. Just something to keep in mind.

Support Has Its Benefits

I’m big on experience– one life to live and all that jazz. I also really like doing this Brülosophy thing, which comes at no small expense. While financial support is necessary for us to continue producing content at this rate, I feel like those who appreciate what we’re doing enough to throw some cash our way ought to receive something in return, which is what Patreon has allowed us to do.

In a couple weeks, supporters who pledge just $3 per month get to participate in a live Q & A session with The Mad Fermentationist and American Sour Beers author, Michael Tonsmeire. In addition to being a wealth of knowledge when it comes to New England IPA and sour beer, Michael is currently in the process of opening his own brewery called Sapwood Cellars with fellow blogger Scott Janish, who will be on at a later date.

The list of upcoming guests is pretty sweet– John Palmer, Gordon Strong, Dr. Charlie Bamforth, Scott Janish, as well as experts in the fields of yeast, malt, and hops. Patrons at other pledge levels can receive never-before-published Brülosophy recipes, unique monthly discounts at Yakima Valley Hops, and private consultation with a Brülosophy contributor. Head over to the Brülosophy Patreon page now to check all the rewards you can get for helping us out!

Brülosophy Merchandise at Yakima Valley Hops

Back in September, the rad folks from everyone’s favorite hop shop offered to partner with Brülosophy so that we could offer more stuff to more people more consistently. Our plan is to start by selling a couple of our most popular t-shirt designs as well as one new badass design, after which we’ll move to other cool products. The goal is to have the new shirts and perhaps some other neat stuff ready for sale by March. We’ll be sure to announce when everything’s ready (hint: sign up for The HopBeat). Stay tuned!

Lend Us Your Palate!

Who doesn’t love a good challenge, eh? If you live in or around any of us contributors, we’d love to have you out to participate in exBEERiments, The Hop Chronicles, Short & Shoddy, and other fun tasting events! We’re in the following places, feel free to email whoever you live near to set something up.

Marshall Schott | Fresno, CA | marshall@beerconnoisseur.local
Jake Huolihan | Denver, CO | jake@beerconnoisseur.local
Matt Del Fiacco | Chicago, IL | matt@beerconnoisseur.local
Jason Cipriani | Pueblo, CO | jason@beerconnoisseur.local
Brian Hall | Anchorage, AK | brian@beerconnoisseur.local
Malcolm Frazer | Pittsburgh, PA/Atlanta, GA | malcolm@beerconnoisseur.local
Ray Found | Corona, CA | ray@beerconnoisseur.local

Homebrew Con 2018

Only 4 months until the biggest homebrewing event of the year, Homebrew Con 2018, and it is going to be a good one! From June 28-30 in the beautifully beery city of Portland, OR, we’ll be joining friends from around the globe for a weekend of tasty beer, educational seminars, and an all around killer time. Brülosophy has partnered with our friends from Yakima Valley Hops, Imperial Yeast, and Mecca Grade Estate Malt to bring conference goers a completely unique experience.

We’ll be recording a couple live podcast episodes, Jersey & Tim will be reviewing beers on the spot, and people will have the opportunity to participate in some very interesting xBmts. It’s going to be a hell of a time that any homebrewer is sure to enjoy. Homebrew Con registration opens on March 6, but only to members of the American Homebrewers Association, so make sure to join today!

Hop Harvest 2018

Brülosophy and Yakima Valley Hops are planning an event specifically for homebrewers during this year’s harvest season in Yakima, WA. Details aren’t totally set yet, so this really only serves to whet palates. It’ll be nuts…

Please share any thoughts you might have in the comments section below!

Support Brülosophy In Style!

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