This will be the first meeting of the new year. We will be collecting dues at the meeting in the form of cash or check. Please makes checks payable to D.R.A.F.T.  The educational portion of the meeting will be the “CAT” Competition for Category 10 American Ales. Make sure you bring some of your homebrew or your favorite craft beer and a sampling glass for a night of fellowship.

DRAFT meets every second Friday of the month at the Columbian Hall (4704 Burkhardt Rd., Dayton, OH 45403).  Our meetings begin at 7:00 p.m. with a social hour.  At 8:00, there is usually a brief educational presentation and business meeting.  The rest of the meeting is a continuation of social time with tasting, sampling and conversation for all.  Your first two meetings are free, so I encourage you to see if our club meets your expectations (risk free).

BrewTensils will be conducting an Advance Brewing class on Thursday March 5th at 7 PM. So if you’re ready to take your brewing to the next level they will be covering Advance Brewing Styles and Techniques,  Admission is free for everyone.  BrewTensils is located at 2617 S. Smithville Rd., Dayton, OH 45420.

DRAFTS  Category Competition for May is Category 16 which is Belgian and French Ales. Examples are Witbier (16A), Belgian Pale Ale (16B), Saison (16C), Biere de Garde (16D), and Belgian Specialty Ale (16E).  Please email Wes @  Astrohog55@hotmail.com on the style you would like to brew

We’re having a design competition! All members are encouraged to design a new logo for the club and bring with them a copy to March’s meeting. The winner will be decided by popular vote, and the new logo will be used on all promotional material: new banner, handbills, shirts, etc

After much discussion at the February board and membership meetings it was decided and voted by the members to increase our yearly membership dues from $24.00 a year to $36.00 starting in March .  The main reason for this decision was that if we kept the dues at their current rate the club would be in a deficit state by the end of the year.

Ladies and gentlemen, please join the Dayton area’s original homebrewing club for our first meeting of 2014, this Friday night at the Columbian Hall.  There will be an available dinner of homemade bean soup, courtesy of DRAFT’s new president, Gus Stathes.  There will be also be a brief educational presentation, followed by lots of time for conversation about brewing and tasting the “fruits of our labors”.  If you have been thinking of dropping in on a meeting or checking out DRAFT, please don’t hesitate to drop in.  You will meet others who share either your excitement about brewing or will get you even more excited about the best hobby in the world!

DRAFT meets every second Friday of the month at the Columbian Hall (4704 Burkhardt Rd., Dayton, OH 45403).  Our meetings begin at 7:00 p.m. with a social hour.  At 8:00, there is usually a brief educational presentation and business meeting.  The rest of the meeting is a continuation of social time with tasting, sampling and conversation for all.  Your first two meetings are free, so I encourage you to see if our club meets your expectations (risk free).  After that, yearly dues are only $24 per household.

BrewTensils will be offering its first homebrewing class of 2014.  The “Get to Know Homebrewing” class will present the basics and possibilities of the hobby of homebrewing.  For those who received homebrewing equipment and kits over the holidays, it is the perfect chance to learn how to use them!  For those who are interested in the hobby, and have never brewed before, this is your opportunity to get started.  Admission is free for everyone.  BrewTensils is located at 2617 S. Smithville Rd., Dayton, OH 45420.

Take a break from the stress of holiday shopping and join fellow homebrewers for the annual DRAFT Family-Friendly Holiday Party on Friday, December 13, 2013.  We will be opening the doors of the Columbian Hall (4704 Burkhardt Ave., Dayton, OH 45403) at 6 p.m. for this special event.  Members and guests are welcome to enjoy a dinner of succulent ham, provided by DRAFT.  Those in attendance are encouraged to bring a side dish and homebrew to share with fellow guests.  There will be door prizes and raffles, as well as a mystery bottle exchange (if you wish to participate-not obligatory).  As if that were not enough, brewers of the Rock-It Cup competition will be having a ”mini-cask fest” too.  Cheers!

BrewTensils will be hosting an advanced homebrewing class this Thursday night at 7 p.m.  This class is perfect for the extract homebrewer who is looking to make the “jump” into all grain brewing.  The class will be taught by BrewTensils’ own Frank Travers.  There will also be members of DRAFT on hand to discuss brewing techniques and Dayton’s very own homebrew club.  The cost for the class is free.  An RSVP to Frank at 937-252-4724 is appreciated, but not required.  Cheers!