Well it was certainly gratifying to see the turnout at the February meeting. We actually had enough people show up that it actually felt like we were a club again.

One of the requests that has been repeatedly brought to my attention is that people want to be tasting more homebrew at the meetings. Members really want to taste
what other people are brewing and they don’ want to be just tasting those few brews
being made by the elite few super competitors. When I first joined the Guild over a decade ago, it was an unspoken rule that everyone would bring at least three bottles of brew to share with the other members. It didn’t matter if the beer had won a gold medal at the nationals or was lawnmower beer, brewed to style or was “just” homebrew, flawless or fucked up. Virtually everyone brought beer. We all enjoyed tasting the gamut of brews that were being made by all members of the Guild.

At that time there were very few of us competing nationally and even fewer were winning. Even though our standards were not as high then as they are today, there was certainly a wider range of homebrew being served at the meetings. I encourage you not to be intimidated by the quality of those few of us who have achieved national standards - none of us started out that way. Every one of us who has reached those high levels spent years making — well, ... homebrew, some of it good and a lot not so good. But the one thing we all did was that we always brought what we made to the meetings and we passed it around and we asked for opinions. And we got them. And we used that information to brew better beer.

So it is not necessary to hold back bringing your beer because you don’ think it matches the standards of Harry Wagner; because let me tell you, when Harry first started out he wasn’t making great beer. But he also wasn’t embarrassed about bringing what he did make just because it didn’t match that being made by Neil Herbst. However, over time Harry’ beers have become the standard by which we judge beers at the national level. By bringing beer to the Guild meetings Harry got immediate and honest feedback about the quality of his beer, and for that, he got better, much better!

Yes, competing in national level competitions has certainly improved our brewing, but nothing can match the immediate feedback you get from a brewer you respect when you share one of your beers with him at a Guild meeting. So no matter what your level, novice or expert, national champion or beer kit beginner, bring your beers to the meetings and share them with your peers. We all benefit by tasting the range of beers brewed by all of us. We’ supposed to be a guild, a group of craftsmen devoted to helping each other be better - let’ perform like one.