| I always look forward to October – the crisp Oktoberfest lagers, hearty food, cooler weather, and warm foliage makes me appreciate the cycle of change that fuels our lives. While the pandemic and an unprecedented election season continue, there’s much to celebrate and appreciate in this moment. I’m excited to share the craft of homebrewing and showcase MASH members’ brewing knowledge and homebrew setups at the NJ Highlands Virtual Beer Festival this Saturday, Oct 10. Tune in at 2 p.m. as Karl opens the festival from a trail in the NJ Highlands Region. MASH will be back at 4:30 p.m. to film a brew day from start to finish as Ned, Jimmy, Stu, and I each brew a Foreign Export Stout, each featuring a different ingredient and part of the brewing process as Chris J. narrates. Click here for more information and be sure to register for the free event here. I hope you can join us for a good cause and good fun. Registration for the seventh annual Motown MASH is officially open, and so far is demonstrating the strength of our local and regional homebrew community. Due to current rules and regulations governing indoor gatherings and in consideration of the health and safety of staff and volunteers, we will be hosting the 2020 Motown Mash as a virtual event. This should be a special and unique year for Motown MASH – please help us make this year’s competition a success by registering as an entrant, judge, or steward here. Planning for year-end MASH events are underway, with oNovember meeting featuring Thanksgiving beers and favorite recipe pairings. We’ll host a beer exchange and club brew day in December (a perfect time to brew our ANTEAD clone) in lieu of our annual Holiday Party. In other beer news, this month Twin Elephant opened its new outdoor space and news of MASH members and friends Antonio Romano’s Gearblock Brewing Company, Dave Andersen’s Buttzville Brewing, and John Coyle and Todd Townsend’s Double Tap Brewing, breweries in development, was included in this round-up of brewery openings on NJ.com. We also tip our glass to Tasty McDole, the Brewing Network homebrew legend and a fixture at HomebrewCon, who recently lost his battle with cancer. To all in our MASH community, I look forward to seeing you at an upcoming meeting or one of our events. Warmly, Rich Cohen, MASH President |
| MASH CALENDAR October 20 at 7:30 pm: October Monthly Meeting: Seven Tribesmen Brewing October 29 at 8 p.m.: All MASHed Up Sensory Tasting November 3 at 7:30 p.m.: Board Meeting November 17 at 7:30 p.m.: Monthly Meeting: Thanksgiving Pairings December 1 at 7:30 p.m.: Board Meeting/ Quarterly Members Only Meeting December 4: Holiday Beer Exchange meetup December 5: Holiday Brew Day and Toast |
| October meetings feature Seven Tribesmen Brewing and MASH-member owned breweries’ Spiced Honey Porters |
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| This month, we are excited to welcome Laszlo from Seven Tribesmen Brewery for our virtual October monthly meeting at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 20. The founders of Seven Tribesmen Brewery are Hungarian-American childhood friends, and their brewery’s name is a reference to their cultural heritage and represents their goal of building a local craft beer tribe. Check out their current tap list and be sure to stop by the brewery before the meeting to pick up some beers — while you are there, pick up “All MASHed Up Honey Porter,” which we’ll be sampling as part of our October Sensory Analysis Happy Hour. Use this link to join MASH through Zoom. It’s time to get All MASHed Up! for our October Sensory Analysis Tasting at 8 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 29. Our three MASH-member owned breweries — Ashton Brewing, Untied, and Seven Tribesmen — have collaborated on a Spiced Honey Porter called All MASHed Up. They chose a Spiced Honey Porter, each putting their own twist on “spice.” You can pick up All MASHed Up on your own or you can coordinate distribution through this MASH Education Committee’s form. Check Slack or our Google calendar for the meeting link (it will be through Google not Zoom). |
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| Motown MASH We’ve announced a first call for entries and volunteers for the seventh annual Motown MASH. Motown Mash is one of the largest American Homebrewers Association and Beer Judge Certification Program sanctioned events in New Jersey. Our goal is to provide entrants with top-quality feedback and to help elevate and promote Morris County and New Jersey’s homebrewing and craft beer scenes. As a virtual competition, entries will be capped at 250 and table judging will be done virtually. Judges will have a 12-day period to judge and an in-person Best of Show will precede a virtual awards ceremony. Check Slack to sign up as a volunteer for the Nov. 1 bottle sort. Please register! |
| MOTOWN MASH KEY DATES October 25: Drop off opens October 31: Entry registration and drop off deadline November 1 at noon: Bottle sort November 7: Judging begins November 19: Judging ends November 20: Best of Show and awards ceremony |