A Welcome to New Members

Hi!

Welcome to the Brew Brothers of Pikes Peak homebrew club.  We are an active homebrew club with many events throughout the year.  Please read through this page to find out more about the Brew Brothers.  It’s long, but there’s plenty of useful information.

Overview

The Brew Brothers of Pikes Peak, abbreviated as BBoPP, has four primary fundamentals: brewing, education, charity, and fun.

  • Brewing: This is the glue that holds the club together.  It’s our common bond.  We are all active homebrewers.

  • Education: We strive to teach both our members and the general public about our craft.

  • Charity: Throughout the year we raise money to donate to charitable organizations.

  • Fun: This one’s easy.  We enjoy the fruits of our labor.

Meetings

We have general member meetings once a month.  We typically meet on the 2nd Wednesday of each month.  Our meetings are a chance to go over upcoming events and competitions and other club business.  We offer a raffle with donations contributed by club members, generally fancy commercial bombers or brew swag (we frown upon homebrew in the raffle).  Currently, raffle tickets cost $1 each or 6 tickets for $5.  A free raffle ticket is given to anyone who donates a raffle item.  We also have a table filled with homebrew samples brought by fellow homebrewers.  It’s a great opportunity to share your homebrew.  Sometimes, we are lucky enough to serve homebrew out of our club firkin (http://brewbrosco.com/the-firkin/).  You are encouraged to bring your beer, even if it isn’t your best.  Our club has over 20 BJCP certified judges who look forward to giving you feedback.

Our meetings are generally held throughout Colorado Springs.  Often we have them at local breweries, and during the summer months, we try to have them at members’ back yard.  Meetings start at 6PM and the locations vary throughout Colorado Springs.  We take care of club business during the first portion of the meeting.  After club business, but before the mingling, we have a technical presentation from a selection of broad topics.  The presenters are often fellow club members, but occasionally we will have guest speakers from the craft brewing industry.  After the presentation, we sample homebrew and discuss various brewing topics in a social setting.  The raffle is held roughly 30 minutes after the presentation ends.  We typically try to wrap up around 8:30.  Remember: business up front; party in the back!

Name tags are available and highly recommended for all members.

You can find information about our next meeting on meetup.com, on the right-hand sidebar of our website.

Joining our club

There are three main stipulations to join BBoPP.

  1. Join the club.  Our central hub for event and group management is this website.  It also serves as our main communication artery.  The current cost of membership is $35 and dues are collected here on the website.  You are also welcome to attend a member meeting before deciding whether you’d like to pay and become an official member.  To join, please go click here.

  2. Accept the waiver and consent to personal responsibility (as part of the member process):

    I understand my participation in this group is entirely voluntary. I understand that participation in club activities involves the consumption of alcoholic beverages and this consumption may affect my perception and reactions. I understand the laws regarding drinking and driving, and I will not drive or otherwise operate a motor vehicle while impaired. I accept sole responsibility and I assume all risk for my own conduct, behavior, and actions. I further agree to indemnify and defend, release and forever hold harmless the Brew Brothers of Pikes Peak home brewing club, its officers, volunteers and individual members from any claims by myself or claims by others for responsibility or liability arising from my conduct, behavior and actions which may lead to property damage or injury to myself or others. This release shall bind all my heirs and successors. I acknowledge that I am of legal drinking age in the State of Colorado and I have read and understand that this application for membership to the Brew Brothers of Pikes Peak is also a liability waiver and an assumption of risk. I have read and understand the club by-laws and I agree to abide by the bylaws, including any changes to the bylaws which may be made in the future.

  3. Make beer.  Although this isn’t strictly enforced, we want members that are active homebrewers.  We aren’t a drinking club.  We are a homebrew club.  Bring your beer to our monthly meetings.

BBoPP online presence

You can follow The Brew Brothers through the following:

  1. Our website (http://brewbrosco.com/) : This is our club’s main web page.  There are all kinds of stuff here.  Our history, meeting minutes, and a link to our online store.

  2. Facebook (Main FB page: https://www.facebook.com/brewbrosco, Group FB page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/153090049270/) : Ya know, facebook.

BBoPP Perks

There are several perks that our club offers to members, especially new brewers.

  • Brew Buddy program.  We’ll pair you up with an experienced brewer and he’ll come brew on your setup and you can brew on his.  It’s a great way to get some feedback on your brewing.

  • Anonymous BJCP judging.  Bring your beer to a meeting and drop it off to be judged anonymously by BJCP-certified judges.  This is a great way to get honest feedback on your beer.  Please follow BJCP entry guidelines (http://www.bjcp.org/docs/SCP_EntryRecipe.pdf & http://www.bjcp.org/docs/SCP_BottleID.pdf) for your beer and deliver it to the president or any of the board members.

  • Equipment.  Our club has lots of brewing equipment for our members to borrow.  See this page for more info: http://brewbrosco.com/equipment/

BBoPP Events

The Brew Brothers participate in many events throughout the year.  Some of the smaller ones include cookouts, brew days, and monthly happy hours.  We have two big events that have become club traditions.

  • Salida: For the weekend in July of the Brewer’s Rendezvous, we camp out on BLM land outside of Salida, CO.  Friday night is the Homebrewer’s Rendezvous People’s Choice competition.  On Saturday, we all go the Brewer’s Rendezvous Festival.  It’s a great time, so please keep an eye out for the event information to hit the calendar.

  • Bru Bus: This changes a bit year to year, but we usually plan an event in the fall to tour breweries in another city.  Think of it as a day trip with your drinking buddies.

Competitions

Homebrew competitions are a great way to get feedback on your beer.  The Brew Bros also organize several “mini pro am” competitions that are unique to our club.  We also organize the Peterson Air Force Base Homebrew Competition every year in February.  In addition to the competition, homebrewers are encouraged to participate in the accompanying festival in which you are allowed to serve your homebrew to the festival goers.

Volunteer Opportunities

Our club is run by volunteers and we’re always looking for an extra hand.  It’s a great way to become good friends with great homebrewers.  Our most active volunteers are also some of our best brewers.  If you’re interested, please contact us here: https://www.brewbrosco.com/contact-the-brew-brothers-of-pikes-peak/

We welcome new members with open arms.  Our club has over 100 members and we are growing fast.  We are open to homebrewers of all levels.  You are welcome to attend our next meeting before deciding whether you’d like to pay dues and become an official member.

Brew on!
BBoPP Membership Coordinator