First Club Competition A Success!

The following is a summary of the evening, written by Bill D., who included the text below into an email to Geary's Brewing Co. in Portland, ME.

On Tuesday evening, August 09, Patrick Scanlon won the Geary's Pale Ale competition of the Indiana Pennsylvania Alesmiths (IPAs) homebrew club held at Ray Schamus's Pennsylvania Barbecue in Indiana, PA.

In April, 2011, Bill Dietrich, under the direction of president Nate McElroy, circulated copies of the recipe for the Geary's Pale Ale clone from "Clonebrews" ( T & M Szamatuiski, 1998, pg. 149). The objective was to have each member brew the same beer to see which came out best. Tom Montgomery of Montgomery Underground Winery, and our local homebrew supplier, made kits for both all-grain and extract brewers.

In all, there were thirteen brews to try plus a six pack of Geary's Pale Ale brought from the brewery on Bill's recent fishing trip to Maine.

The event was a success and all of the ales were very good. A first-time brewer and two brewers who had not brewed in a long time entered the competition. Twenty three beer enthusiasts tasted and voted for the best Geary's Pale Ale clone. The winner, Pat Scanlon, brewed an all-grain recipe on his home-built recirculating brew system. He was awarded a glass, some cozies and bottle opener from Geary's.

A good time was had by all.

Gazette Article on Homebrew Club

A big thanks to Sam Kusic from the Indiana Gazette for his article today on the club. For those who get the paper, check out today's page 4.

Probably the only drawback to the article is that there is no contact information for readers, other than to come to the Coney, but I think it was well written - it elevates beer and homebrewers without making us sound too snobby or like total drunks ;)

Good Gazette Article This Morning

That was a nice article by Bill this morning in the leisure section. I wish there would have been more homebrewing than wine making ;) but hopefully the plug for this blog and the club will help us grow and raise awareness about craft beer.

If an electronic version of the article ever comes available, we'll post the link.

To those who found us by reading the Gazette article - Welcome!

Beer Club coverage in the Post-Gazette.

Ok, its not our Club, but any coverage on clubs devoted to the appreciation of good beer can't be a bad thing.

As they describe it, the new group is all about exposing people to different, good brews.
"We're not people who know everything," Mr. Sunderman says. "We're just common guys who like beer."

That sounds a tad familiar.

Another local beer club.

Well, the club is based in Pittsburgh and meets at D's Six Packs and Dogs in Regent Square, but so what?

Take a look at the Pittsburgh Beer Society

They meet the 1st and 3rd Wednesdays of each month at D's. There are no annual dues; membership is open and free! Cost for each meeting (for now) is $10 for (6) 4oz samples.

Check 'em out if you're local to them.