What could be better than a holiday party with a homebrew club? A holiday party with TWO homebrew clubs, of course! And that’s exactly what we had this year: a holiday party collaboration with Brew Haven.
Brew Haven took the lead here, negotiating use of the upstairs room at Counterweight Brewing. They also set the evening’s agenda and decided on all the activities. We were just along for the ride.
This did expose a bit of a culture mismatch between the two clubs. BH has this silly idea that club business – dissemination of calendars, discussion of upcoming competitions, etc. – should happen during club meetings. The UBC, of course, has followed a strict “no club business during club meetings” rule since its inception. But we can roll with it when on another club’s turf. No need to start a rumble.
With the boring administrivia out of the way, a number of BHers shared various stouts they had made. All were interesting; many were excellent. Much fruitful discussion of ingredients and techniques followed.
It’s very important in these situations to adopt the correct pose:
With the stouts judged and consumed, it was time to move on to the Yankee Swap. Another BH idea, and MUCH more fun than club business.
And finally, the food! A fantastic pot-luck, including fresh oysters from Cape Cod.
All in all, a great night with great beer and even better people. HUGE thanks to Brew Haven for including us. Already looking forward to next year!