May 2023 Meeting
**THE MAY MEETING IS MOVED 1 WEEK BACK to MAY 12th TO ACCOMMODATE BIG BREW DAY**
Date: Friday, May 12th
Time: 7:00 PM
Location: Downey Brewing (13121 Prospect St., Dearborn)
Click Here to RSVP on Facebook
After recapping some of the great things that happened over the last month (bowling, Big Brew, NHC winners), Mike will be leading an education discussion about our favorite popcorny off-flavor, Diacetyl. We'll overview how to identify it, what causes it, how to control it, and when a tiny bit is appropriate. This is particularly pertinent as our next two monthly styles (heavily dry-hopped NEIPA and cool-fermented International Pale Lager) are prone to having diacetyl-off flavors.
For those who made cider at last month's demo please bring some to share at the meeting! We're all interested to see how the different yeasts impact the base cider recipe. We'll bring back the tinctures so you can experiment with different flavor combinations to jazz up your cider. Take good notes because you'll want to bring your best to the June meeting (see below).
We look forward to seeing you there!
BIG BREW DAY - Saturday, May 6th
Join us Saturday, May 6th at Cadillac Straits to celebrate Big Brew Day! The event kicks off at 10 am and Cadillac is providing hot/cool water and electricity. In addition, brewers will receive 10% off ingredients for beers brewed on-site. We've got a group of folks planning to attend but we're still looking for a few people to brew and represent MCM. Let us know if you're planning to be there. More details are here.
MCM Annual Bowling Outing
We had a great showing and an incredible time last weekend at the Annual Masher Bowling Outing. Thanks for the hard work of all those that helped make this event possible--especially Ryan and Craig. We've now got some extra funds to contribute to charity and to support future MCM club activities! More details at our meeting.
Competitions
Two of Michigan's top homebrew competitions are now open and currently accepting entries. We'll talk a bit at the meeting about timelines, judging, and club objectives. Click the links to go to the competition websites and register your beers (be sure to list MCM as your homebrew club).
Remember, dues-paying members who submit with Motor City Mashers as their club will be reimbursed for the cost of their first entry, and submitting to each comp also earns you a bonus point toward the MCM Home Brewer of the Year award!
Additionally, a huge congratulations to the members who are advancing to the final round of the National Homebrew Competition! Mike Neville, Greg Stachnik, Cory Emal, Amy Olsen, Jason Lorenz, THE Jeff Chase, and Dan Kukuk will all be sending entries to San Diego. That's more final-round entries than we've ever had as a club and more final-round brewers/entries than any other Michigan homebrew club!
MCM HBOTY
This month's style is Hazy IPA (21 C). Bring your version to receive your point toward the MCM Homebrewer of the Year (HBOTY). This style will also be submitted for the MCM Q2 competition next month.
MCM members earn HBOTY points by submitting the monthly style, entering the quarterly comps, placing at the quarterly comps, and submitting to 4 Michigan-based homebrew competitions. Please check the HBOTY page of the website for the current standings, upcoming styles, and to request HBOTY points.
CIDER COMPETITION
We'll be hosting a fun, people's choice-style cider competition at the June meeting. The rules are simple: any homebrewed cider made with supermarket-style apple juice is eligible. Feel free to doctor up your cider in whatever way you see fit (fruit, spice, hops, blends, etc) as long as the base only contains supermarket juice. The winner will receive the admiration of your fellow mashers and a 1-year MCM club membership!
There's still time to make a cider if you'd like to participate. Please see the cider guide that I shared on the members-only Facebook page if you have questions about what to do.
DONATE TO THE HUMANE SOCIETY BREWING FUNDRAISER
Our friend Keith Manchester (bowling outing attendee) has another 24-hour brew-a-thon fundraiser. This year, Keith and his "Usual Suspects Brew Crew" are raising funds for the Humane Society of Macomb. Please donate if you're able and let Keith know that you're a Masher when you do--the top clubs will earn a prize packet with some pretty awesome items!
