Monthly Club Meeting
We hold monthly meetings on the second Tuesday of every month starting at 7:30 PM, often with an educational Brew Guru session starting at 7:00 PM.
Our meetings are held at:
Swiftwater Brewing
378 Mount Hope Ave.
Rochester, NY 14620
585-530-3471
Click here for map and directions
Swiftwater’s kitchen will not be open for this event, but UNYHA will be providing pizza for this meeting. Beer will be available for purchase during the meeting.
There is no requirement that you bring homebrew to a meeting, but if you do, you will find plenty of folks willing to taste it and offer their feedback.
Beer Guru Sessions
We hold Beer Guru Sessions at 7:00 PM at Swiftwater Brewing, just before the monthly club meetings there which start 7:30 PM, focusing on individual styles recognized by the BJCP, and typically coincides with a style from our Brewer of the Month program.
The BJCP is an international organization whose purpose is to train people to become judges for homebrew competitions. UNYHA supports this goal by holding monthly beer tasting sessions, designed to help club members become better brewers and judges.
Brewer of the Month
One of the most exciting features of our monthly meeting is the Brewer of the Month competition! Participating members brew a different style each month and club members pay a dollar to vote for their favorite. At the end of the year the member with the most votes wins half the pot!
Upcoming BoTM 2018-19 schedule:
October – Dark Mild (BJCP style 13A)
November – American Brown Ale (BJCP style 19C)
January – Gose (BJCP style 27A)
February – Pastry Beer (more info here)
March – Czech Lager (BJCP style 3A, 3B, 3C, and 3D)
April – Barleywine (BJCP style 17D and 22C)
The rules are as follows:
Entrants must bring at least a six-pack or equivalent of their submission (growler, 2 liter bottle, etc.)
Only one entry per contestant!
Each entrant’s beer is poured into a pitcher. Any bottles, etc. are hidden/suitably anonymized to avoid influencing the judging.
People attending the meeting buy poker chips, for $1 each and vote for their favorite beer in the flight by dropping the poker chip into a bag in front of the appropriate pitcher.
The winner of the brewer of the month is determined by the number of votes received. The winner receives half of the money received from poker chip sales. In the case of a tie, the money is evenly split among the winners. The rest of the money goes into the pot for the Brewer of the Year.
Standings for Brewer of the Year are kept from month-to-month, with points being awarded as follows:
- 1st place – 10 points
- 1st place (tie) – 9 points
- 2nd place – 8 points
- 2nd place (tie) – 7 points
- 3rd place – 6 points
- 3rd place (tie) – 5 points
- Entering without placing – 3 points
At the end of the year, the person with the most points receives the other half of the pot collected over the course of the year, which can be a pretty hefty chunk of change.
The competition is designed to reward people who enter the competition every time, even if they don’t win.
Pub of the Month
Pub of the Month sessions are held on the third Wednesday of the month at pubs selected by our Pub of the Month Czars. It is an informal gathering of club members which starts around 5:30 PM and runs to about 7:30 PM. PotM selections are announced via the club mailing list and in the newsletter about a month in advance.