Catonsville brewers?

Anyone on this thread live in or around Catonsville?

I'm interested in starting a home brewer's co-op of sorts, where people could meet to swap beers they've brewed and share recipes and knowledge.

I know there's a bunch of similar clubs in the Baltimore area, but I'd like to narrow this down to the Catonsville area if possible.

Life is great in 21228!

I don't know if you're against joining an existing club, but you can find a fairly complete list here http://www.homebrewersassociation.org/community/clubs/find-a-homebrew-club/ and selecting Maryland. There is one called Killer Ales that says most of its members come from the Ellicott City-Elkridge-Catonsville area.

We used to live in Catonsville, but couldn't afford buying a home there.
I agree, life can be great in 21228, but also elsewhere. You just got to make it happen.

Definitely check out the existing brew clubs around you. Shameless plug for C.R.A.B.S., we meet at Heavy Seas (Halethorpe) every 3rd Wednesday. Come check it out on the 21st.

mdbrewer1 said:

I don't know if you're against joining an existing club, but you can find a fairly complete list here http://www.homebrewersassociation.org/community/clubs/find-a-homebrew-club/ and selecting Maryland. There is one called Killer Ales that says most of its members come from the Ellicott City-Elkridge-Catonsville area.

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Killer Ales sounds cool, but I'm not really into dues... Also I want it to be specifically about home brews, not food or commercial beers.

IslandLizard said:

We used to live in Catonsville, but couldn't afford buying a home there.
I agree, life can be great in 21228, but also elsewhere. You just got to make it happen.

Definitely check out the existing brew clubs around you. Shameless plug for C.R.A.B.S., we meet at Heavy Seas (Halethorpe) every 3rd Wednesday. Come check it out on the 21st.

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Makin it happen every day!

I may have to come check out a CRABS meeting, tho like I mentioned above I'm not really into dues. Part of the reason I home brew is because I'm cheap!

clingy said:

Makin it happen every day!

I may have to come check out a CRABS meeting, tho like I mentioned above I'm not really into dues. Part of the reason I home brew is because I'm cheap!

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You can attend the first meeting or 2 for free. No one is going to harass you, in contrary you will find a whole bunch of nice people who share a common interest. Once you decide it's for you, and become a regular, you'll see the small dues are worth it and well spent. A membership also gives you 10% off at some good places, including MDHB, one of the club's sponsors. So if you were to spend $200 a year there, it will offset your entire membership dues.

Many brew clubs work like that, and you can be a member in as many you like.

If you want to start your own club, but never attended a brew club meeting, how would you know what's involved and what it takes?

Come check us out and bring a bottle or 2 of your own home brew or put some in a growler or even a soda bottle. You can ask anyone for feedback. If you don't have any homebrew ready yet, that's fine too, you're always welcome. A bottle of craft beer will work just as well.

It's all about sharing, learning, and that wonderful experience of having something so great in common. You get to taste so many beers and styles you've never heard of or even considered brewing yourself.

I'm cheap too, but I imagine I could find $0.83 in my monthly budget if push came to shove.

By joining an established club, you'll have access to more tasters/advice/knowledge as well as more beers to try.

Best of luck in your venture though. Maybe try the Groups section of Craigslist?

IslandLizard said:

If you want to start your own club, but never attended a brew club meeting, how would you know what's involved and what it takes?

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Thanks for the invite. I definitely don't spend that much there though!

Really though, what's involved/what it takes is just the scope of the club you are starting? CRABS may involve a lot, thus the dues - and there's nothing wrong with that.

I'm envisioning specifically a co-op that's more for just swapping beers, and casual advice/knowledge/recipes in the process. Not a club that's as active as CRABS.

For example, I'd communicate that I have 24 bottles of black IPA I'd like to trade and people can offer X amount of their own beers for some of mine. Sort of like a beer barter akin to brewshuffle.com but it could happen in real time.

I know that sometimes I make a 5 gallon batch but I don't necessarily want ~50 of the same beer type and would love to trade once in a while without having to make another batch every time I want a different beer.

mdbrewer1 said:

I'm cheap too, but I imagine I could find $0.83 in my monthly budget if push came to shove.

By joining an established club, you'll have access to more tasters/advice/knowledge as well as more beers to try.

Best of luck in your venture though. Maybe try the Groups section of Craigslist?

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Thanks. I want more than just tastes though. I want to trade beers.

clingy said:

Thanks. I want more than just tastes though. I want to trade beers.

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A Facebook group might accomplish what you are looking for. Easy way to track who has what available and allow some banter/tips/etc.

clingy said:

Thanks for the invite. I definitely don't spend that much there though!

Really though, what's involved/what it takes is just the scope of the club you are starting? CRABS may involve a lot, thus the dues - and there's nothing wrong with that.

I'm envisioning specifically a co-op that's more for just swapping beers, and casual advice/knowledge/recipes in the process. Not a club that's as active as CRABS.

For example, I'd communicate that I have 24 bottles of black IPA I'd like to trade and people can offer X amount of their own beers for some of mine. Sort of like a beer barter akin to brewshuffle.com but it could happen in real time.

I know that sometimes I make a 5 gallon batch but I don't necessarily want ~50 of the same beer type and would love to trade once in a while without having to make another batch every time I want a different beer.

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With that additional info, your swap is a nifty idea. But frankly, I'm afraid you're going to run into big legal problems if this is an organized effort. Any dealing in alcohol (or tobacco, pharmaceuticals, certain foods, you name it) is highly restricted and governed by complicated laws and regulations. You could become a headliner for months, or years. People have been jailed for less.

Now when off-record, who the heck knows you swapped beer with, huh?

There's a food coop in Catonsville. Are you possibly affiliated with them?

clingy said:

Thanks for the invite. I definitely don't spend that much there though!

Really though, what's involved/what it takes is just the scope of the club you are starting? CRABS may involve a lot, thus the dues - and there's nothing wrong with that.

I'm envisioning specifically a co-op that's more for just swapping beers, and casual advice/knowledge/recipes in the process. Not a club that's as active as CRABS.

For example, I'd communicate that I have 24 bottles of black IPA I'd like to trade and people can offer X amount of their own beers for some of mine. Sort of like a beer barter akin to brewshuffle.com but it could happen in real time.

I know that sometimes I make a 5 gallon batch but I don't necessarily want ~50 of the same beer type and would love to trade once in a while without having to make another batch every time I want a different beer.

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It looks like you're new here at HBT (12 posts so far). How many years and how many beers have you brewed? Have you won any competitions, or gotten serious feedback on your beers?

Given the time it takes to brew a batch, and the effort it takes to do the research and perfecting a recipe that also becomes repeatable, most of us home brewers are very proud of our creations and our (small) successes. We are happy to drink those and share with our friends, serve at a party, etc. The only beers that hang around too long are the ones that didn't quite make it...

clingy said:

Anyone on this thread live in or around Catonsville?

I'm interested in starting a home brewer's co-op of sorts, where people could meet to swap beers they've brewed and share recipes and knowledge.

I know there's a bunch of similar clubs in the Baltimore area, but I'd like to narrow this down to the Catonsville area if possible.

Life is great in 21228!

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I'm in Catonsville over almost in Oella.

mdbrewer1 said:

A Facebook group might accomplish what you are looking for. Easy way to track who has what available and allow some banter/tips/etc.

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I was thinking the same thing, I just wanted to gauge interest before I looked like a loser and created my own FB group that no one joins haha.

IslandLizard said:

But frankly, I'm afraid you're going to run into big legal problems if this is an organized effort.

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As long as the trade isn't monetized, it's completely legal. The participants would also have to be 21+, of course. Beyond that it's fair game.

No I'm not affiliated with the Catonsville Cooperative Market.

IslandLizard said:

How many years and how many beers have you brewed? Have you won any competitions, or gotten serious feedback on your beers?

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3 years, 9 brews. All except 2 (which were purely experimental 1 gallon batches) turned out delicious... and I wouldn't punish anyone by passing those off. Not a spectacular resume, I know, but I'm young. I have no beers that have been "hanging around."

Your measure of what is a successful homebrewer might be X amount of competitions won, X amount of years brewing, and X number of beers brewed.

Mine, however, is good tasting beer.

I'm not interested in meeting your idea of a successful homebrewer, I just want to trade with locals who are actually interested.

Also, I don't think number of posts on HBT necessarily equates with homebrew prowess. I'm not a big forum person in general.

Jurassic410 said:

I'm in Catonsville over almost in Oella.

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Nice me too, just up Old Frederick Road from Oella myself. Is a local homebrew trade something you'd participate in? (assuming they had beers you wanted)

clingy said:

Nice me too, just up Old Frederick Road from Oella myself. Is a local homebrew trade something you'd participate in? (assuming they had beers you wanted)

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Yeah that is a pretty cool idea. Nothing ready at the moment, but I have a pale ale and dunkelweizen fermenting away.

Jurassic410 said:

Yeah that is a pretty cool idea. Nothing ready at the moment, but I have a pale ale and dunkelweizen fermenting away.

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Sweet shoot me a PM if you're interested in trading for a black IPA I have - in lieu of a group that organizes the trade - once they're done. My wife would love some variety she's not an IPA fan like me haha. Barleywine up next for me (though that takes like 6 months to ferment).

I'm going to work on getting some more interest before I start a FB group, but hopefully soon.