Join us for our September meeting and German beer contest at Bob’s and Raine’s House!

WHEN: Saturday, September 30th, starting at 1:00 PM

WHERE: Bob’s and Raine’s house
4721 Muskogee St
College Park MD 20740

We will be having our September meeting at Bob and Raine’s home for the annual Oktoberfest meeting on the 30th. This is also our annual in-club German Beer Competition, so bring us your best German lager or ale for the chance to take home a shiny DCHB ribbon and carry bragging rights! (Disclaimer: Vienna lagers count here, but not Czech lagers…sadz).

DETAILS:
Where: 4721 Muskogee St, College Park, MD 20740
When: Start at 1 pm, 30 September 2023; awarding of ribbons likely after 3 pm
Why: Beer. Oh, and food and comradery.
Additional details from Bob:

  • It’s about 0.85 miles from the Greenbelt Metro (which is now reopened), so long as attendees take a sharp right out just after exiting the turnstiles and walk through the tunnel.
  • Plenty of parking, and bikes will be safe.
  • There are 3 dogs on the premises, and friendly dogs are welcome.
  • Food will include the usual, which means little vegetarian/vegan, so those with restricted diets should be prepared to bring something they can eat.
  • There will be a grill going for brats, etc.
  • Home-made German-style fare is especially appreciated (like soft pretzels).
  • The competition includes all German styles, plus Vienna Lager. Czech pilsner is not a German style. As always, ribbons will be awarded.

First meeting? Welcome! Our meetings are open to brewers of all experience levels. At a bar/restaurant they typically go like this: Please buy a beer and, if you’re hungry, some food from our hosts for the first 30 minutes or so of the meeting until we make announcements, and then we’ll open up the homebrews. Please do not bring in outside commercial beer and please tip your servers. Most people bring anywhere from two bottles to a growler of homebrew to the meetings.

Even if you don’t have beer that’s ready to bring this time, you’re welcome to come.

Once homebrew tasting is open, it’s pretty casual — just meet and greet and sip. If you have specific questions about brewing or about your beer, just ask! Members are glad to give feedback and suggestions. We have many BJCP judges among the membership if you’re looking for a critical evaluation as well.

Walking around the meeting with your bottle and offering pours is a great way to meet other members and get feedback on your beer. Be honest but be kind. Constructive feedback is always appreciated.

Each month our meetings follow a theme and usually have a competition. Members are not required to bring only this type of beer, but it is fun to have a bit of a guideline and we try to tie our educational component to the theme.

January*: High Gravity (and our Anniversary beer!)
February: JamBEERee (no theme, a group meeting with local homebrew clubs)
March*: UK/Irish
April: Spring cleaning
May: Lagers/Maibocks
June*: Irresponsibly hopped beers
July: Sours
August: Lawnmower beers
September*: Oktoberfest/German beers
October: Autumn/Harvest beers
November/December: Spiced beers/Winter warmers

*Month with an asterisk indicates an in-club competition for that theme during the meeting (e.g., Oktoberfest/German beers would be any German style and High Gravity would be high OG/ABV beers).