At the January meeting we discussed briefly legislation currently in the Michigan House of Representatives dealing with homebrewing in our state. Chris Frey of the FORD homebrew club is working with our representatives to try to pass a bill that would allow clubs like ourselves to hold meetings and other events at local microbreweries, such as Bell's, Olde Peninsula or Old Hat. One of the most important parts of this arranegment would be the ability to share homebrewed beer and other beverages at these locations.

As many of you know, since leaving our long standing meeting place at Dick Milne's home last year we have struggled to find a permanent meeting location that could both handle our growing number of members as well let us share in the very thing that our club is all about: HOMEBREW! I'm happy to pass along that progress is being made. However, this legislation has no hope of passing without YOUR HELP. We again ask that you notify state representatives and let them know you support this bill and want to see real change happen in the capital. Additionally, we also want you to contact State Representative Doug Geiss who will be compiling all responses and presenting them to the Michigan Liquor Commission, the main opponent to this bill. A meeting with that group will take place March 11th, so try to get together your email and other correspondence before then.

Doug Geiss
douglasgeiss@house.mi.gov

If you want to read more about this bill or get a good example of contact that has already been submitted, you can check out an email I received from Chris Frey on our discussion board:

http://www.klob.org/cgi-bin/discus/board-auth.cgi?file=/758/3035.html
http://www.legislature.mi.gov/documents/2009-2010/billintroduced/House/h...

Let's make this happen! Pass this along to all your fellow homebrewers.

This is a friendly reminder that we will be having our monthly meeting this coming Monday, February 15th at 7:00pm. We will have John Mallett, production manager at Bell's Brewery, as a guest speaker. You may have also heard his name mentioned in conjunction with the recent collaboration between Bell's and De Proef Brewery in Belgium. John will give a brief talk about his experiences in the brewing world and will take a short Q&A session.

http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/3521/51550

Appropriately, we will be having the meeting at the BELL'S ECCENTRIC CAFE in downtown Kalamazoo. As this is a licensed drinking establishment, we please ask that you DO NOT BRING OUTSIDE DRINKS and instead partake in all that the Cafe will have to offer. Please remember Bell's is a cash-only location.

This is a friendly reminder that we will be having our monthly meeting coming Monday, January 18th.  This month's presentation will be on hop and flavor extracts given by our friend Trevor from Bell's General Store and a representative from Kalsec.

http://www.kalsec.com/products/hop-extracts/

We have confirmed that we will be having this month's meeting at Old Dog Pub, formerly known as the Star Building and Kraftbrau.  The meeting will take place on Monday the 18th at 7:00pm.  Hope everyone can attend!

402 E Kalamazoo Ave
Kalamazoo, MI 49007
http://maps.google.com/maps?q=402+E+Kalamazoo+Ave+Kalamazoo,+MI+49007

This is a friendly reminder that this Monday, December 14th, we will be holding our special club Holiday Meeting. This is a more informal celebration than our normal meetings and we welcome all of you to come share it with us. At the center of the event will be a variety of hand-selected Trappist ales purchased by the club for everyone to enjoy. In addition, there will be some appetizers including crackers / bread, pate, mushroom pate, meatballs and a couple other fine (hopefully Belgian) delicacies. If you would like to bring additional beverages and food, please feel free.

Unfortunately, we do have a last minute VENUE CHANGE for this meeting. Sue Hartman will be hosting our meeting at her home on Douglas Ave., just outside of downtown Kalamazoo. Carpooling is encouraged to try to limit the amount of parking needed. We are sorry for any inconvience and the short notice. Sue's address and a map can be found below:

5209 Douglas Ave., Kalamazoo, 49004
http://maps.google.com/maps?q=5209+Douglas+Ave,+kalamazoo,+MI

If you have any questions, please contact Chris Elston (chris@klob.org). We hope everyone can attend.

Happy Holidays!