March is upon us, which means beer! Oh, and some sports too, I guess. The year is progressing and so is the club. I'd like to first start by welcoming Evan back into the fold! Evan is going to return to the club activities by taking the baton from Chuck as Treasurer. He's even back to brewing ways! I joined him to brew up our portion of the Biere de Garde. I know we all look forward to seeing Evan on a regular basis.
The club “officers” spoke, prior to last month's meeting, and we agreed on a few things. We finalized details about the Bock competition – there's information on that below in the “March Club Update” section. We also thought it might be a good idea to try and have 2-3 of these competitions a year. Right now, we're set for April's Bock competition. Next one will be a Marzen/Festbier competition to be held either September or October.
Another thing we spoke about were ways we can try and get others to try this great hobby and passion of homebrewing. I know some have offered to host a “Learn to brew” day. We're also going to create a flyer to put at homebrew shops as well as possibly leaving some at the local breweries. I think the more people homebrewing the better services and options we'll have from homebrew shops, online beer retailers, AHA and discounts.
For those that were invested in our barrel project from early last year – we're ready to bottle/keg and then refill! We're planning on bottling on 3/23/25 at Dave's Commercial Club House (9172 Marshall Place, Westminster, CO 80031). We are starting promptly at 9am and hope to end at about 12noon. Please bring bottles/kegs, bottling bucket (with hose and spring loaded filler wand, and auto-siphon. Also, bring snacks. Jeff is going to provide the corn sugar, caps and some bottles for those who need them.
Speaking of barrels. Please direct your attention to the attachment. Jeff has been awesome and agreed to write up an article for us on barrel aging and all that goes into it. It's a great and entertaining read. Hopefully this will inspire someone to get more into barrel aging. I know that's on my list to start doing. Thank you Jeff!
Upcoming Events
- March 17, St. Patrick's Day – Enjoy everything Irish, green, and beer-related on St. Patrick’s Day! Cheers!
- March 20, National Bock Beer Day – Crack open one of the five bock variants (Maibock, Traditional Bock, Eisbock, Doppelbock, and Weizenbock) and celebrate this delicious German lager!
- March 20, Orval Day
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This was the first beer brought to the United States after being brewed with brettanomyces yeast variety, or just “Brett” for short, and was brewed at Notre Dame d’Orval Monastery in Belgium before making the long journey across the ocean. - April 6, New Beer's Eve – In 1933, a long line of people waited in huge anticipation for the first legal drink in the United States after 13 years!
- April 7, National Beer Day! – As Franklin D. Roosevelt said in 1933 upon this day, “I think this would be a good time for a beer.” Every day is a good day for a beer, but today is special as it marks 92 years since beer and other alcoholic drinks have been again legally accessible to American citizens after 13 years during Prohibition.
- April 11, King Gambrinus Day – In ancient Egypt, King Gambrinus became known as the “King of Beers” and “Patron Saint of Beer”, and was buried in a beer barrel at the time of his death.
Upcoming Competitions or Events
- Collaboration Fest, April 19 – Collab Fest is back and ready to break all the records. When brewers across Colorado get together to collaborate & brew one-off exclusive beers, it undoubtedly turns into the biggest party of the year!
- Vail Craft Beer Classic, June 13 & 14 – Explore breweries from across Colorado at Vail Craft Beer Classic. As you sip, be sure to vote for your favorite. Breweries will have the chance to win the People’s Choice and Judge’s Choice ‘Best Beer of Summer’ awards. The 2025 festival will return for its 9th year and will feature an all-inclusive tasting of beer, seltzers, and spirits as well as food trucks and live music.
March Club Update:
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. For those organized already, you may submit your entries here. Entries MUST be submitted in advanced, unlike meetings where you could probably just show up with the beer.
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.
February Meeting Info:
Where:
Dave's Commercial Club House (Westminster)
Location:
9172 Marshall Place, Westminster, CO 80031
Date:
3/19/25
Time:
6:30 – Pre-meeting pint
7:00 – Beer tastings
RSVP:
Register Beers and RSVP to the meeting here.
February Meeting Recap:
Cole was a great host. Tasty food, good homebrew, and more baseball memorabilia than I've ever seen in one place. Officers met prior to the meeting to discuss the items listed earlier in this newsletter.