February 2010 meeting - Friday 12 Feb, 7pm

The February 2010 Brew Free or Die club meeting , will be hosted by Michael  Fairbrother in Londonderry NH on Friday February 12th, starting at 7:00 PM. 

Please bring entries for the club competition (Brown Ales) to this meeting.

Directions, to 4 Sheridan Drive, Londonderry, NH:

From the South,

• Take exit 5 off of Rt 93, and a right at the end of off ramp
• Take first left onto Auburn Rd (Poor Boys, is on the corner)
• Take first right onto Woods Ave. (aprox 1/2 mile or so)
• Take first left onto Sheridan Drive
• House is first on the right.
  

From the North,

• Take exit 5 off of Rt 93, and a left at the end of off ramp
• Take first left onto Auburn Rd (Poor Boys, is on the corner)
• Take first right onto Woods Ave. (aprox 1/2 mile or so)
• Take first left onto Sheridan Drive
• House is first on the right.

Feel free to bring a snack and some homebrew to share.

BFD Holiday Party - December 12 @ 2pm

When: Saturday, December 12, 2009, starting at 2pm
Where: The home of Michelle  and Gordon Othot, 4 Friar Tuck Ct., Merrimack, NH

Google Maps location- create directions from this

The Othots' phone number is 603-262-5118 in case you get lost.

Note that this is a potluck.  As such, please REPLY TO THIS POST with information about what you are planning to bring.  You can bring appetizers, main courses, side dishes, desserts, paper plates, plastic ware, etc.  We normally have a large crowd.  If you want to bring beer to share (your own or commercial), feel free to do so. If you want to bring a keg, please coordinate with Michael Fairbrother, who is managing that side of things.

 We are planning to also do our traditional Yankee Swap.  If you want to participate (this is not required) bring a wrapped gift. You do not need to spend more than $20 on the gift.  Beer themed gifts are suggested, for obvious reasons.

Note that there is also an election for 2010 officers at this meeting.  Nominations are still open, and will be closed at the business meeting.  At that time the election will be held and the winners will be announced at the meeting.  Current nominees are:

a.       President – Michael Fairbrother

b.      Vice President – David Rosenbaum

c.       Treasurer – Erik Shroder

d.      Secretary – Michelle Othot

Thanks, and see you all at the party!

November BFD Club Competition - Results

Thanks to all the entrants and to Lisa and Todd for their help with judging last night. We ended up with 6 entries in the end and had a fun night of judging, "Best of Show" style.

And the winners are:

3rd place - Scott Prive - Belgian Blonde Ale
2nd place - Todd Russell, Michael Fairbrother, Mitch Steele - Belgian Triple
1st place - Scott Prive - Belgian Triple

Congratulations Scott! Your Triple will be shipped to Florida to represent BFD in the November AHA Club Only Competition. With luck the results of this competition will be posted before the December BFD meeting.

Next up - The Session Challenge – English Brown Ales. Entries will be due early February 2010.

Have a great Thanksgiving!

Rob

Fourth Annual New England Regional Homebrew Competition Raises $2,000 for Charity / Winners Announced

PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                    CONTACT:     David Rosenbaum

978.409.5410

secretary@bfd.org

Fourth Annual New England Regional Homebrew Competition Raises $2,000 for Charity / Winners Announced

Manchester, NH • November 20, 2009 — On Saturday, October 24^th, Brew Free or Die (BFD) and Southern Maine Homebrewers (SMH) clubs held the Fourth Annual New England Regional Homebrew Competition.  The clubs jointly raised more than $2,000 to be donated to the American Cancer Society, and The Good Shepherd Food Bank of Maine.  In 2008, the competition donated a similar amount to the charities.

The competition, held at The Potting Shed, in Acton, ME, included judging of 343 entries from the US and Canada, representing twenty-one states and one province.  A volunteer staff of 52 judges, stewards, and others participated, making this the biggest NERHBC to date.

“We are thrilled that we had such a large number of entries and participation from a national and international group of home brewers. This is turning into a major regional event as we envisioned.” said Dana Peterson, Board Member of the Southern Maine Homebrewers. 

The 2009 New England Regional Homebrew Competition was sponsored by Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. and site sponsor, The Shed of Acton Maine.  Supported by dozens of other sponsors, NERHBC is among the largest homebrewing competitions in New England, and is sanctioned by the Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP). 

The competition awards gold, silver and bronze medals in 28 style categories.   Congratulations to this year’s winners, including:

• Home Brewer of the Year (sponsored by Samuel Adams): Rob North of Manchester, NH
• Cider Maker of the Year (Sponsored by Woodchuck Draft Cider): Joshua Persson of Warwick, RI
• Mead Maker of the Year (sponsored by Maine Mead Works): Michael Fairbrother of Londonderry, NH  
• Best of Show Award:  Michael Fairbrother of Londonderry, NH

A complete list of winners is posted at http://www.bfd.org/nerhbc

“We are truly excited at the number of entries and level of participation in this year’s competition.  BFD donates to the American Cancer Society in memory of our late member, Don Merkey.  It is a great way to honor Don’s love of brewing, and to raise money for two worthy charities." said Eric Shroder, Treasurer of Brew Free or Die.

Brew Free or Die (BFD) is New Hampshire's first, and most active, homebrew club. BFD was started in January of 1991 by several home brewers, intent on establishing a homebrew club in New Hampshire to 'host' the American Homebrewers Association conference held in June of that year in Manchester. BFD's membership is currently around 80 members, representing all levels of experience and expertise.

Southern Maine Homebrewers  (SMH) was founded in 2004 to preserve and promote the time honored tradition of home brewing; to share each others knowledge and experience about beer, mead, cider & wine brewing, tasting & judging,.  SMH also maintains involvement with the AHA and their competitions through club sponsored entries and activities.  SMH is Maine’s largest homebrew club.

-end

November 2009 Meeting directions

The November 2009 Brew Free or Die club meeting , will be hosted by Michael  Fairbrother in Londonderry NH on Friday November 13th, starting at 7:00 PM.

Directions, to 4 Sheridan Drive, Londonderry, NH:

From the South,

• Take exit 5 off of Rt 93, and a right at the end of off ramp
• Take first left onto Auburn Rd (Poor Boys, is on the corner)
• Take first right onto Woods Ave. (aprox 1/2 mile or so)
• Take first left onto Sheridan Drive
• House is first on the right.
  

From the North,

• Take exit 5 off of Rt 93, and a left at the end of off ramp
• Take first left onto Auburn Rd (Poor Boys, is on the corner)
• Take first right onto Woods Ave. (aprox 1/2 mile or so)
• Take first left onto Sheridan Drive
• House is first on the right.

Feel free to bring a snack and some homebrew to share.

BFD Barrel projects

This is the current information regarding BFD barrel aging projects.  New information will be posted as we go forward.  Recipe's used in the barrel projects can be posted as comments to this posting. This will be updated from time to time as needed.

Barrel #	Location	Current Contents	Date for fill/empty	New Contents	Shares Available
1	Herlicka’s	Tripel	7 Nov	Wild Red Ale	No
2	Fairbrother’s	Old Ale	12 Dec	English Barleywine	Yes
3	Fairbrother’s	RIS #2		Not to be refilled	XXX
4	Faribrother’s	Empty			Yes
5	Fairbrother’s	Empty			Yes

Octobeer Meeting: Friday, 9 October 7 pm at Mike Robinson's house

The Octobeer meeting is this Friday, October 9 at 7 p.m. in the forests of Nottingham, NH. Mike and Stephanie Robinson are hosting.  We look forward to hearing about their 2nd trip to the Great American Beer Festival, where Mike was named a winner of the 2009 Longshot Competition! You can expect a ton of great homebrewed beers on draft.

Here are directions to Mike and Stephanie's place:

6 Michela Way
Nottingham , NH 03290

Route 101 from Manchester or the Seacoast.
Take Exit 7, Route 125/Epping/Kingston, NH and head North (towards Walmart).
Continue ~5.6 miles.
At traffic light take Left onto Route 152/Harvey Mill Rd.
Continue 2.2 miles and take Left onto Francesca Drive.
Go up the hill and take 1st Left onto Michela Way .
It's the 2nd house on the left.
The house is a beige Colonial with a red door.
The mailbox has a blue reflector on it.
Feel free to come up the back deck to the sliding glass door.

Phone (603) 679-1893 if you get lost.

October Club Competition Results

First of all thanks to Michael, Rick, and Kurt for judging the entries Friday night. So without further adieu:

3rd Place - Todd Russell - Oktoberfest
2nd Place - Mike Carthy - Oktoberfest
1st Place - Rob North - Oktoberfest

Thanks to all who entered. I will scan your scoresheets and will email them to you in the next couple of days, and will get you your ribbons ASAP.

Looking ahead, the November Club Competition style is Belgian Strong Ale. Judging will take place Friday 11/20 in Manchester. Please email me if you are planning to enter or can help judging.

Rob

LongShot wnners Video