Club Launch!

Well, it's more or less official: St. Michael and Albertville, Minnesota, have a Catholic men's group/homebrewing club called Bottomless Pint Brewers! We are finalizing a draft charter -- our preliminary mission statement is below.

Mission
Bottomless Pint Brewers seeks to create lasting fraternal bonds among its members by:

• Encouraging the art and science of homebrewing, improving the knowledge base of aspiring brewers, and fostering the responsible enjoyment of well-crafted beer;
• Reinforcing the joy and vitality of manhood and the essential role of men—husbands and fathers; sons and brothers—in preserving our families, communities, and country; and
• Deepening the faith of its members through shared activities and casual conversation with other Catholic men, as well as other more formal opportunities for evangelization and catechesis.

We hope to ramp up slowly through this spring and summer. Activities under consideration for the club include:

• Club brewing sessions,
• Homebrewing-related discussion groups or guest speakers,
• Beer tastings and club socials for members and their spouses or guests,
• A “Theology on Tap” guest speaker series, with beer (of course) and topics relevant to Catholic men and their spouses or guests,
• Pub outings, brewery tours, or brewing courses in the Twin Cities and the surrounding area,
• And competitions or other special events.

We are in the process of being recognized and listed by the American Homebrewers Association -- that, and official membership cards should earn members a discount at Midwest Supplies and other local brewer stores. We are considering modest annual dues (on the order of $10) to help offset the cost of producing membership cards, to pay for shared supplies like cleaner and sanitizer, etc. We hope the discount and camaraderie will more than make up for this charge, but please feel free to weigh in with a comment.

If you think you may be interested in the brewing process, in brewing your own beer yourself, or even in just trying homebrewed beer, we would love to hear from you! Email us at bottomlesspint@gmail.com or find us on Facebook at Bottomless Pint Brewers. Cheers!