It was a beautiful March day at Big Lick Brewing Company so we took advantage of the warm weather and Big Lick’s wonderful beer garden. Thanks so much to BLBC for accommodating us with everything we needed! This meeting was well attended; we had over 50 in attendance including some new faces. The British Brown Ale competition also drew a lot of entries- there were 18 entries and 15 judges. Thanks to Kathy Merkwan for coordinating the judges/stewards and entries!

Dues Reminder- If you have not paid dues for 2018, please do so. Diane will collect dues at the next meeting if you wish to pay cash or check. If you would prefer to use PayPal, simply send money to president@starcitybrewers.org . Choose the “Friends and Family” option to avoid a fee. At this time, do not use the link on the website since there’s no way to avoid the fee.

Continue reading

It was a foggy and rainy February evening, but 30 guild members showed up at Scott and Martha’s home for some delicious homebrew and a style presentation. Thanks again to Scott and Martha for opening your home to the guild as well as the crockpot full of chicken chili.

Continue reading

Despite the NFC and AFC Championship games, we were still able to bring a nice crowd of 30 regular members and 5 guests to Blue Ridge Hydroponics for a total of 35. We also had a dog in attendance!

Continue reading

Our last meeting of the year and holiday party was attended by 45 members, 3 guests and 5 children for a total of 53. I hope everyone enjoyed themselves. Thanks again and again to Chaos for hosting our annual gathering. It was fun to have Joe H hang out with us as well. And while I’m in the thanking spirit; thanks to Kathy for coordinating the Q4 competition and BOTY tally and also to Joan, the dirty Santa Master, for her marvelous process and control execution. Most of all, I want to thank each and every member that worked throughout 2017 to pull off what was a very busy year. We started the year with 97 members and will finish it with 123. Even more exciting than a 27% growth in membership, is that 47 of 123 were not paid members in 2016. Speaking of members, let’s welcome Adam and Marcie Kendall who joined on Saturday.

Continue reading

Thanks again to Carrie and Justin for hosting us. In addition to excellent beer for sampling, plenty of dishes were prepared including Carrie’s amazing Chili which hit the spot on the breezy & chilly day. Our November meeting was attended by 24 members and three youngsters for a total of 27. We welcomed Mario, Dane and Ben as our newest members. Thanks to all who attended and contributed to the discussion.

Continue reading

Our recent gathering and meeting was an amazing celebration of 20 years dedicated to promoting and perfecting our craft in the Roanoke Valley. The stories from long-time members and elected officials gave newer members a grand perspective of what 20 years of guild life was like. Thanks again to volunteers that worked to organize the party and especially Big Lick that hosted us in their wonderful new West Station brewery. If you were unable to see the over-the-years slideshow in Big Lick’s event room, the link following will allow you to view it online (members only).

The celebration and meeting was attended by 79 members, 19 guests and 12 wee-brewers for a total of 110. Let’s extend a warm welcome to new or returning members: Kevin Noguiera (not attending), Sandy & Susan Leivy, Craig Johnson, Ron Clark and Dick Willis. Membership now stands at 111.

Continue reading

Another thank you is in order to Harry for hosting the meeting on short notice. Thank you Harry! Let’s also not forget to thank Kathy and her team of stewards and judges. Without her help I have no clue how we would pull off our quarterly competitions. The meeting was attended by 21 members, 2 guests and 2 children for a total of 25.

Continue reading

It was a busy meeting at Doug and Kelleigh’s wonderful home & outdoor oasis! Thanks again to our hosts for having us.The meeting was attended by 34 members, 2 guests and 5 children for a total of 41. We were fortunate to have our resident Mycologist, Skip Taliaferro, present a wonderful summary of his craft including the many forms of mushrooms we can find in the Appalachian and Blue Ridge Mountains. As usual, there was lots of wonderful hand-crafted food and beer to sample. We welcomed Ken Knott as a new member.

Continue reading

Thanks to Robb and Southern Hills for hosting the Guild’s July meeting! I would also like to thank Jeff Drinkert for filling in as meeting leader. This 7th meeting of 2017 was attended by 41 including 31 members, 6 guests and 4 wee and not-so-wee brewers. We welcome Ken & Jen Knott and Steve Lusk as our newest members. Total paid and comp membership now stands at 103.

Continue reading

June 18 2017 meeting notes

Thank you Harry for hosting a wonderful meeting, and thank you Kathy for running our competition. On this balmy father’s day 35 members, 2 guests and 2 children gathered to share beer, tell beer tall tales, discuss club business and conduct our Q2 Belgian Dubbel competition. All went down without a hitch. We have officially hit 94 paid and 6 comp members for a total of 100!

Continue reading