Imagine if you will the trees filled with leaves, a warm breeze gently dancing with the steam coming off your boil kettle. You are sitting back in a lawn chair drinking your last stout from winter. The air is heavy with 7 varieties of hops totaling 21oz, as you brew up some of your famous “Facemelter IPA”. This is the average Spring scene for a home brewer.

Just because the weather hasn’t been perfect doesn’t mean RIBS and its members have been sitting idle. Elections were held in December and we have been putting our trust in our new President Chris M., Vice President Josh F. and Secretary Kate M. Both Josh and Kate have been crushing their new rolls making the club run like a well oiled machine. Kate has brought a level of organization not previously experienced by the club and we’re lucky to have her. Josh and Chris taking the helm with Jenn P. from JBREW and running the Ocean State Home Brewing Competition for the second year in a row and the 6th OSHC overall.

It doesn’t stop there, a few months prior we posted about Long Live Beer Works opening in Providence. While many RIBS members have been visiting the brewery we haven’t given it the love it deserves. So with in the next few weeks we hope to do a write up (with sweet beery pictures) of the brewery.

We have also expanded our inter-club activities to include beer experiments, this was an idea stolen inspired by the Brooklyn Brewminaries. Our latest experiment was 5 different regional yeasts in the same wort. The base was a Traditional English Bitter that was was split into 5 – 1gallon samples. Each of the wort samples had English varieties of yeast pitched. The varieties were Whitbread I, Whitbread II, London, English, and British. The results were very stark and really inspired members to branch out with their yeast choices. We have also continued our inter-club competitions with our latest competition being Irish and Scottish Styles.

We are always welcoming new members and are excited to see what the Spring and Summer months are going to bring!

This Saturday, January 9th, is a red letter day for “Long Live Beerworks” as it will be the first time they open their doors to the public. Owner, Brewmaster and founding Rhode Island Brewing Society member, Armando DeDona is following the dream we all hold. Armando has worked hard, studied harder, and brewed beers that do not compromise quality. We wish him good luck and are looking forward to checking out his brewery right in downtown Providence. Cheers!

For more information check out the Long Live Beerworks website!

http://www.longlivebeerworks.com/

The usual monthly meeting for December is cancelled in favor of our annual Holiday party and beer swap for members only. If you would like to attend please check back in with us after the new year. Our next public meeting will be January 14th.

Till then, grab some Porter or Scotch ale, light a fire and share it with your loved ones. Stay safe for the Holidays, don’t drink and drive.

The summer heat is over and the leaves are starting to change meaning outdoor brewing is way more tolerable. This also means that RIBS headed up to New Hampshire for the New England Homebrewer’s Jamboree. This was our second year at the jamboree and as the year before, it was a great time! You can see some pictures here.

Even though we are a New England based club, we haven’t just been wandering around the Northern Kingdom with a bunch of other brewers. RIBS has been making diplomatic relations with other home brew clubs. We had the opportunity to spend some time with Sheri Jewhurst who is the dictator of Brewminaries out of Brooklyn, NY, when she joined us for a monthly RIBS meeting. We had a chance to exchange some ideas and see how the club and brewers handle their beers. We look forward to possibly doing collaborations with them in the future and visiting their club!

RIBS President Charlie Baron presenting honorary RIBS schwag to Brewminaries Dictator Sherri Jewhurst.