Holidays. Beer. Family. Beer. Festivities. Beer. New Year. Beer. We know where this is going. Happy holidays all, for whatever you celebrate! I, for one, am grateful for this group going into the new year. A new year looking forward to great meetings and beer discussions. Looking forward to our long overdue Bock competition in April (reminder to brew or start thinking of brewing depending on the style!) Tis the season for seasonal beer, uncomfortable political discussions with family, overeating, and promises to work out again.
What are your 2025 brewing goals? Brew a new style? Focus in on 1 or 2 specific styles and work on consistency and improvement of those styles? I love both these ideas. I always strive to brew at least 1-2 new styles each year. Read up on them, ask friends who have brewed them for any tips. I love the history on how some of these styles came to be. On the other hand, I also like the idea of focusing on a few styles to really improve with each iteration and hone the process.
I'd like to thank Jim again for writing that very detailed article on Kraussening last month. If anyone else has an idea for a specific article (that you want or want someone else to write), please let me know.
Upcoming Events
- December 24, Christmas Eve – You can have some traditional German gluhwein or a Christmas Ale or leave Santa a beer and spent-grain cookies that go perfectly with it.
- December 25, Christmas & Start of Hanukkah – Happy Holidays!
- December 31, New Years Eve – Get ready to celebrate the end of the year the right way – having fun! Make sure to live up to the name of National Hangover Day, which falls tomorrow on the first day of the new year.
2025 OTMP Bock Beer Competition!
It was decided at last month's meeting that it's far time to have another competition. So here are the details. The competition will be tournament style (no score sheets like last time). We will hold it during the April 2025 meeting being hosted by the Aikmans. This will be a Bock competition, meaning you can make your recipe of the following styles: Helles Bock, Dunkles Bock, Doppelbock, Weizenbock, or Eisbock. It is suggested that you bring 2 bottles or enough to have it judged 2-3 times. Plenty of time to plan and brew! More information about signing up will come closer to April 2025, but start planning your brew now.
Discord
I want to take a moment to mention that the club does have a Discord site to talk all things beer, recipes, processes, what you're drinking and other random stuff. You can be active or a fly on the wall. Please consider joining the fun. https://discord.com/invite/aSJrGmY4dv
AHA Membership:
As many of us are members of the AHA we get benefits from being members, from discounts, to early ticket releases we all now have another perk. OTMP is now a registered supporter of the AHA; meaning that if you use the discount code OTMP at checkout you will receive $5 off an annual membership as well as the club will be given $5. Feel free to share with anyone looking to join the AHA. This can be an easy way for those of us that annually renew to also roll some extra cash back to the club.
December Meeting Info:
Where:
Jim's Bier Barn (East Arvada) (annual)
Location:
6113 Marshall St, Arvada, CO 80003
Date:
12/18/24
Time:
7:00 – Beer tastings
* Don't ring the front door. Enter from the north side to the backyard beer-escape.
RSVP:
Register Beers and RSVP to the meeting here.
November Meeting Recap:
Great meeting. Charles was a great host with some tasty food, as always! Plenty of beer for the night. After we plowed our way through delicious member beers we had a surprise from Jeff and Sarah Aikman. They had a whole lineup of Festbier and Marzen from GABF entries. This was a real treat. Found some really good ones and a few that we didn't even think fit the style guidelines. Another treat was to get Aaron to 2 meetings in a row and even a Colter in attendance! Glad to see these guys again!