After months of failed attempts to re-jigger my schedule, I FINALLY made it to my first New York City Homebrewers Guild meeting last night! Every month, the NYCHG (see, everyone likes acronyms!) sets up shop at Burp Castle in the East Village to share some homebrews, learn about what's hot in the world of brewing, and apparently order in more french fries than I've ever seen at a non-Wendy's establishment. I showed up a bit late but was still there in time to meet with the head brewer of Bronx Brewery, most of the E-board of the NYCHG, and even was able to snag a taste of a rosemary amber ale (also available in marsala on special, $14.99, comes with two sides and your choice of salad or soup).
For my first foray into the niche world of NYC based homebrewing, I got over my butterflies and started making friends - dude, these guys know their shit. They are NOT screwing around. The majority of people I talked to have been brewing for about 8 years (something happened to the NYC bearded crafty types in 2002 apparently that forced everyone to start brewing that year), and there were even a few noobs like myself. Honestly, tastemasters, I was pretty happy with how well I was able to hang in their convos without sounding like an idiot. Hell I even got to talkin with two guys about opening up a brewery of my own, making sure to pay careful attention to their experiences in the hopes of finding success on my own down the line.
Albeit a brief dip into a deep pool of knowledge, friendliness and booze, I had me a good time at the meeting. Next month I'll be visiting again for Mead Madness Month, wherein apparently there will be SEVEN types of mead for the tasting. Any of you tastemasters who wish to come along, we can swing by HQ for some E. Vil. Empire stout floats and get our mead on!
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