Calling Bergen County Home Brewers!

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Hey guys, Blake and I are interested in starting a homebrew club out of the Dog and Cask on Rt. 17 in Rochelle Park. I have not gotten the official OK yet, but spoke to a few people over there and they like the idea. I think the best time for DnC to host our meetings would be the first Tuesday of every month. Please post on here if you are interested so I can let DnC know about how many people they could be expecting. Also, let me know if you have any questions and I will try to answer them the best I can. I look forward to sharing and talking beer with you guys! Spread the word! Cheers!
 
I would be interested, with my work schedule I should be able to make most of the meetings. Do we have an approximate time?


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Nothing set in stone yet but I would say around 7 or 7:30...that way it doesn't keep people there too late. How does that work for everyone interested?
 
Hi, just noticed this forum, but I'm a BC brewer. If you get something set up, I will do my best to attend.


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Excellent! I think we are at 4-5 guys now which is perfect to start. I will stop in at DnC this weekend to check on our status and keep everyone posted. Is everyone good for Tuesday April 1st? Let's say 7:30?
 
Not yet. Sorry for the slow updates but all the responses I get are that my buddy will talk to his boss about it and I don't want to keep bothering him by asking everyday. I will be going in this weekend for sure and I will keep everyone posted
 
There is one detail I want to get the OK about first and that is if we are allowed to bring some homebrews in to sample and share with each other. I would like this to turn into a place where we can bring our beers and get constructive criticism from each other so we all become better brewers. I don't think they would have a problem with that but I will make sure its good with them. If for some reason they say we aren't able to bring our beers to share, then we can still make it a meeting place for us to go and just BS about beer. What do you guys think?
 
I think that having an opportunity to try each other's beers is a good idea. (I say this even though Im down to my last 4 bottles -- theres something fermenting though :) ) I might be a bit concerned that even if management of D&C are ok with it, there might be a legal problem with consuming alcohol not purchased on premise. Remember, NJ has deeply fskced up liquor laws. If its a problem, we might consider moving our meeting to someplace that doesnt have a liquor license, at which point it should not be an issue.

At this point, lets just get together on Monday, if we can sample each others stuff, great. If not, we will BS about beer and consider moving locations for the following month.
 
widsith said:
I think that having an opportunity to try each other's beers is a good idea. (I say this even though Im down to my last 4 bottles -- theres something fermenting though :) ) I might be a bit concerned that even if management of D&C are ok with it, there might be a legal problem with consuming alcohol not purchased on premise. Remember, NJ has deeply fskced up liquor laws. If its a problem, we might consider moving our meeting to someplace that doesnt have a liquor license, at which point it should not be an issue.

At this point, lets just get together on Monday, if we can sample each others stuff, great. If not, we will BS about beer and consider moving locations for the following month.
Click to expand...

Tuesday, not Monday, right??
 
I'm assuming since the homebrew event was there and we poured free beer to their patrons that they wouldn't mind us coming in once a month to bring beers. I know there may be some laws against it but I know of another bar in the area that allows a few guys to bring their beers in to sample with each other. I think you guys had a good idea of not bringing homebrew to the first meeting, but let's not put that in stone yet until I talk to them. I'll talk to them this weekend for sure and let you guys know what they say. Any other concerns or questions you think I should ask them?
 
As long as its good with mgmt, Im not going to call the liquor board. :) Actually, I just checked the NJ statutes, and we are good at the state level. Unless Rochelle Park has a municpal rule banning it, it should be up to management.

Cant think of any other issues there might be.
 
If it's cold enough outside we could just leave our beer in the car and if we get the ok when we are there we will have them.


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Awesome! I will let them know about the law if they question that...good idea about leaving the beer in the car. I think 2-3 bottles if people have that to spare..if you keg..a growler will do. I have a bunch of plastic taster glasses from beerfests that I can bring that we can use as samplers. My idea is to make as little work for DnC as possible so using the plastic sampler glasses and rinsing them with a pitcher of water would probably be the best bet. If anyone else has some it'd be great if you brought some. Also, if you're out of homebrew or it's fermenting just come anyway...you don't need to bring beer to attend, but if you have some bring it.
 
Hey guys, I went to the DnC last night and spoke to Josh about the homebrew club. He seemed less enthused about the idea this time then when I spoke with him about it the first time (I think his bosses are weary of the idea). He basically said his bosses want to know what's in it for them and how will they make money if we come in, take up space, and don't buy anything. He also said it'd be better if we could commit to purchasing some kind of food like an appetizer platter or something of the sort. I told him it shouldn't be a problem that we do some kind of appetizer platter and that we would most likely be buying beers from them because everyone isn't always going to have beer to bring every month.

Long story short, he again told me he will have to talk it over with his boss. I told him we planned on coming in this Tuesday and he said to still come in and he will arrange a meeting between me and his boss then. With all that being said...we are still on for Tuesday 4/1 at 7:30 and I think it's a better idea to not bring beers to this meeting to show them that we will be spending money there. How do you guys feel about this?
 
Sounds good to me, if it doesn't work out there we can always try and find another place.


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That's fine. I had assumed we would be buying some sort of food anyway. (I can see his point, if we don't buy anything, it kinda screws him.) Besides, some of us are likely to be coming straight from work.


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For those that can (easily) bring beer to share for this first night, I think the "bring and leave in car" is a good idea. If we can get to it great, if not then at least we're meeting up to figure out a plan. Maybe we can establish some kind of rotation that ensures we're not bringing in SO much beer that we're not also buying pints (and whatever food) from them. I'm happy to buy a round or two to get that conversation started :)
 
So how do we find each other? Is there a password? A secret handshake? :)

More seriously, is there a rezzie? Do we all meet at the bar? Just ask for the homebrew club?

FWIW, Ill be a 6'2" bald guy in a dress shirt and slacks.
 
I think me and Johnny will be there a little early to get space and talk to the folks there, so we'll make sure that the host knows where we are and can point you in the right direction. I'd guess that we'll be to the left of the bar, but not sure. I'll get a reservation just in case. :mug:
 
Guys

Good luck tonight... I know the troubles of finding a place to host meetings in NJ... We are here in Essex... GlenRidgeHomebrewers.com

I have a couple places here in Glen Ridge & Nutley that have helped us out.

We have found that generally, they are willing to host as long as they make some money on food.

We use a place that charges $15 a head for a private room, some chaffing dishes of hot wings & sliders etc. and another place that lets us order food off the bar menu... our membership has no problems with this scenario....


Cheers

PS you are always welcome at GRHBA
 
Thank you for the support! Just ask the hostess and she'll direct you to our direction. I'll be bringing 2 or 3 beers to sample with some plastic sampler glasses. I'll leave them in a cooler in my car until we get the ok to bring them in. Hope to see everyone tonight! :mug:
 
It was great to meet you all. Im looking forward to our next meeting in May!
:mug:
 
Yes it was great meeting everyone. Hopefully we can bring beers next time! I will most likely get in there before our next meeting to discuss our club with them. :tank:
 
So much fun meeting everyone! Couple of quick reminders:

* next meeting will be May 6th, location TBD (D&C is we can work it out)
* D&C Homebrewer's night IPA event is May 13, so come on by and support your fellow brewers!

And.... We need a club name! Ideas? Thoughts? Suggestions?
 
What's up guys? I live in Jersey City and I've made a few beers. I always go to Corrados in Clifton for ingredients. Just wondering where else has homebrewing supplies in the Hudson/Bergen county area?
 
Hi Steev! It seems like most people go to Cask & Kettle (Boonton) or Corrado's or online. Personally, I go to C&K because their stock levels are generally reliable, but Corrado's rescued me last weekend with some uber fresh WLP-001. If you are available, you should swing by a meetup!
 
steev said:
What's up guys? I live in Jersey City and I've made a few beers. I always go to Corrados in Clifton for ingredients. Just wondering where else has homebrewing supplies in the Hudson/Bergen county area?
Click to expand...

Thirsty Quaker opened up recently in Jersey City. It's a liquor store/homebrew store. It's not a big store, but it has a decent selection.
 
Mike3701 said:
Blake which ph meter did you say you have?
Click to expand...

The Hana Instruments PHEP5:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0085WV6GM/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

I also picked up the Atlas Scientific calibration buffers and storage solution. Brewed with it for the first time last Sunday, it was brilliant. Calibrated it first thing and kept it in storage solution during the brew. Checked mash ph before gypsum addition, after gypsum addition, and then fine-tuned with 88% lactic. Ended up at 5.39, which I was happy with, but shocked to realize how far off I must have been on all my beers.

I haven't tasted anything yet,but I am very much looking forward to sharing and figuring out how it ends up.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I haven't been back in since our last meeting, so unless Johnny has been, there's no news. FWIW, I was looking into this for other purposes, and according to the NJ ABC Handbook:

"CAN A CUSTOMER BRING ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES INTO A LICENSED PREMISES?

There is no regulation prohibiting this practice, however, the licensee has the right to permit or prohibit this
practice as a matter of business policy. (See “Penalty – Effect on Use of Premises.”)"
 
Any place that serves alcohol, had to pay for the liquor license and they can be expensive. That's why they don't like you bringing in your own, they want the extra revenue selling you alcohol. I think we need to find a bring your own and all 7 of my taps on my kegerator are full. I need to get rid of some beer.


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