Jeff McCullor's Blog (25)

Hey beer fans,

We started our dues program last July, so if you paid via credit card, your card will be automatically dinged for the $12 annual fee. You get to keep the classic brown card.

If you paid cash for your membership, we'll add an expiration date to your current card and give you a new card when it's time to renew. (we've been watching you).

Renewals start in mid-July, so keep an eye out for the notice. If you have any…

Greetings beer fans!

Our very first attempt at this new thing dubbed “Erie Beer Society” took place on December 17, 2009 at

The Sandbar on West 8^th Street. If I recall, about 35 people showed up, which far exceeded the whopping 13 that RSVP’d. We knew we were on to something the next month when we literally packed U Pick 6 on upper Peach Street.

Erie Beer Society has featured 54 meetings in total (counting this month’s at Calamari’s) and a…

Last night was our first ever Erie Beer Society field trip - to the Erie Otters game against the Saginaw Spirit.  For our little group, which isn't so little anymore at over 1,600 members, this was a first - a group outing somewhere outside of the usual monthly meeting.

Here was the deal, for ten bucks you got a game ticket, beer and some food.  The unconfirmed attendance was around 200 people I believe, which was phenomenal.  The hockey game turned out to be pretty…

Its been a wild summer for us and with fall just around the corner, we thought a list of summer's great area beer festivals would be useful for everyone.  It wouldn't be hard to attend a fest every weekend between Erie, Cleveland, Pittsburgh and Buffalo.

So, what fun fests have you attended this summer?  Post your photos and comments!

May the beer be with you,
Jeff

I went (and poured some Rye PA) and I thought it was a great event.  The BrewErie at Union Station was PACKED with beer enthusiasts.  Like, concert packed.

Did you go?  What did you think?  If you took any photos click the handy 'Photos' button at the top of the page and add them…

For all those who attended our meeting at Skeeter's last night, thanks!  As I circulated around I heard good things about the beer and the venue. 

Demo, from Magic Hat Brewing Co., was our first Black IPA we've sampled (also known as Cascadian Dark Ale in some circles) and I think it was very well-received. 

Do you have any suggestions on where…

One of our own has been published!

Ray Barber, an Erie Beer Society member since January, 2010 was featured in a great February Lake Erie Lifestyle Article.  If you've had the joy of talking with Ray at any of our meetings you're aware he knows historical local beer history and brewerania.  

In fact, the article describes how Ray had to…

If you've ever been with me while drinking a few brews you've seen me "checking in" on Untappd, an app for exploring and sharing new beer with your friends.  If you have a phone you can take advantage - you don't even need a smart phone, dumb ones work too.  Here's how it works:

1. Buy beer.
2. Access Untappd (Use their native apps or visit http://m.untappd.com)
3. Find your friends.
4. Find your…

Well we did it.  We hit and quickly surpassed 1,000 Erie Beer Society members.  Our lucky number 1,000, Carolyn Kuhl, was gracious enough to stop by today and pick up her prize.  Thank you everyone for helping make this organization great.  We have a lot more beer to sample and more beer-related events in the coming months so stay tuned fellow beer-lover!

Here's Carolyn with her sweet…

Our official brown Erie Beer Society t-shirts are now available!  You too can own these high-quality, super-classy, uber-cool shirts like the EBS staff.  Get yours here! 

We're almost to 1,000 beer-loving Erie Beer Society members!  Just a few more sign-ups and I'll get to award a prize pack containing:

• Long Trail Brewing camp chair/cooler
• Long Trail Brewing hat
• Magic Hat Kindred Spirits Unite T-shirt
• Magic Hat Kindred Spirits Unite pint glass
• GoErie.com bottle opener keychains
• Erie Beer Society stickers (8 of them because they're awesome)

 …

I had the distinct honor of traveling around Erie with my co-worker and sampling some of Erie's local brews.  We visited Erie Brewing Co., Lavery Brewing Co. and The BrewErie at Union Station.  You can read the full story here.



We are all really lucky to have some great beer producers so close to us.  Plus, they're all easily accessible - just walk in to each brewery and…

Hey fellow beer fans,

After 21 months of operation, Erie Beer Society has recently surpassed 900 members!  WOO HOO!  We have sampled a lot of different brews at many of Erie's favorite drinking holes.  We have t-shirts and beer steins and a snazzy looking website (if I do say so myself).

My question to you is, what do you want us to do?  A brewery excursion?  Beer and cheese pairing sessions?  A beer festival?  Add a comment on this blog post…

Do you like drinking IPAs (India Pale Ale to the uninitiated)?  Maybe you've never tried one?  Well, today is your day.

Today is International IPA Day - a grassroots/social media effort to broaden the conversation surrounding IPA-style beer...and coincidentally it's my favorite style.  You can read about the founding bloggers here: http://ipaday.eventbrite.com/.

Tell us what your…

Howdy beer fans - I just updated the Brew Wear store with some new products.  You can check it out here: http://www.cafepress.com/eriebeersociety.  I'll get discounts from our e-shop partner periodically so I'll communicate those as I get them.

May the beer be with you!
Jeff

The other day I was able to do something a beer geek dreams about - brew beer on a large scale.  Jason Lavery and Jason Lynch (Jason-squared) of Lavery Brewing Company allowed me to guest brew seven barrels of Liopard Oir.  As you might expect, it was quite the experience.

If you have ever brewed beer at home you can really appreciate the large scale brewing process because it really isn't a lot different than making a batch in your kitchen.  Sure the containers, hoses and…

Are you going to any beer festivals this summer?  With the growth of craft breweries skyrocketing, so are the number of festivals.  Tell us where you're headed!

Attention beer fans!

I just added a new feature to the site - a video section.  You can add your own home videos of you and your friends enjoying a good brew or add in a favorite YouTube video.  I already added some clips I thought were worthy of sharing.



Are you not sure what to record?  How about a new beer review, a homebrewing success story or some video inside a recent brewery tour.  The easy answer is, it doesn't matter. 



So, get out the VHS…

I assume you love drinking different kinds of beer - that's why you signed up for our Erie Beer Society in the first place.  If you have a smartphone, I recommend you sign up for Untappd, the social network for beer lovers.

I've been using it for a few months now and I think it's fantastic.  It's really helped me learn about new brews from other people I follow.  For the nerd in me, I can collect badges after I have tried…

Are you on twitter?  We are!  Follow us: @eriebeersociety or http://www.twitter.com/eriebeersociety.  If you sign up you might win a prize!  (We always have stuff to give away)