This Round of Thanks is on Me
I would like to start out this newsletter by thanking everyone who has donated their time and their brews to ASH over the past year. This club would not be what it is without its members.
I would like to thank the ASH Board past, present, and future for donating their time, as well.
I would also like to congratulate all ASHy winners for their excellent work and support of the club, especially 2016 HBOY Darrin Umbaugh and 2016 Lifer Ken Forrey.
Going forward, I would like to lay out some of our goals for 2017 as a club. This may be the longest post I write all year, so please bear with me.
Goal #1: HOMEBREWING!
First off, and the most important thing, is homebrewing. The club has always been about homebrewing, but we have also been spending time working with professional brewers and other local businesses to secure funding, which has unfortunately resulted in some negative feedback from members. I want to assure everybody that this is a homebrew club first and foremost and not simply a drinking/discount club. That being said, I would like to announce a few events including the continuation of the homebrew hangout series.
Upcoming Homebrew Hangouts & Brewouts
Cox Communications Channel 7 will be doing a segment on ASH Saturday, Jan 17, and I will be hosting a Cox 7 Su Vida Brew Out session at my home. If you don’t use Facebook, feel free to e-mail me directly at [email protected] for details.
The first Homebrew Hangout of the year will also be hosted at my home on Tuesday, January 31. The Board wants to emphasize both homebrewing and the social aspect of the club, but we can’t do it alone. If you would like to host a Homebrew Hangout this year or any other type of event, please contact me or anyone else on the board.
Mark your calendars for Feb. 19, when ASH sponsor Brewer’s Connection will host the annual “Beer Week Ends When We Say it Ends” Brewout. More details to come soon!
2017 National Homebrew Competition
I would like to encourage everyone to work with Dennis Mitchell and Krystal Bittner, who are coordinating 2017 NHC entries. If you are planning to enter this year, please add your info the Google form. ASH has done very well in the past, but I think we can do better. I will happily acknowledge that brewing beer is not about “winning,” but regardless it is a great way to get a larger footprint for the club and recognition for members who brew amazing beer all year long.
The Search for a New Clubhouse
Finally, we have the new space to plan. This is a perennial goal, but with the rest of our strip mall filling up, we will need to be ready to move at any time if another tenant is prepared to pay full price for the space we are in. If anyone in the club has a suggestion, please attend a board meeting on the first Tuesday of the month. We are all trying to leverage our own connections as well, but a new commercial space seems financially unviable.
I hope this is not too much to digest, but if it is, RDWHAHB. Cheers to all ASH members, cheers to all our sponsors, and may 2017 be another great year for the club!