About Us
The State of Franklin Homebrewers meet on the second Monday of each month. For 2009 we will begin rotating meetings between 3 different locations per the schedule below. The hyperlink on the location shows you a map. Members begin arriving about 6pm with their latest concoctions and snacks to share, and business begins at 7pm. Afterward is an informal tasting and sharing session. The meeting ends around 9pm. Stop by for a visit if you are ever in the area.
Meeting schedule, 2010
| 1/11/10 | Epicurean Outpost, 817 W Walnut, JC |
| 2/8/10 | Kingsport Grocery Co, 514 W Main, Kpt |
| 3/8/10 | Depot Street Brewery, 904 Depot St, Jonesborough |
| 4/12/10 | Epicurean Outpost |
| 5/10/10 | Kingsport Grocery Co |
| 6/14/10 | Depot Street Brewery |
| 7/12/10 | Epicurean Outpost |
| 8/9/10 | Kingsport Grocery Co |
| 9/13/10 | Depot Street Brewery |
| 10/11/10 | Epicurean Outpost |
| 11/8/10 | Kingsport Grocery Co |
| 12/13/10 | Depot Street Brewery |
Club Officers
Our officers are elected each year at the December meeting from nominations made in November. The officers make up the Executive Committee, and will meet at least once yearly outside of regular meetings to develop strategies and policies. Here are our current officers:
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Membership Benefits
We have annual club dues of $20 per person due in January. Family memberships are $25. Non members are welcome for a fee of $3 per visit (first time is FREE). Dues are pro-rated for new members who join during the course of the year. Following are some of the benefits of membership:
Club Library
Access to a library of brewing literature. It includes many issues of Zymurgy and Brewing Techniques, several of the Styles book series, and several other books contributed by members. Anyone wishing to check out an item from the library should contact the Librarian (VP) and it will be brought to the next meeting. You can go to our library page and select the item you want. Click on the Request Checkout button to send an email to the librarian. There is a wealth of information available online that we have either copied to our site or have created links to them.
Club Competition
In 2009 we are changing our club competition. Instead of a monthly comp that only gets 3 or 4 entries (on average), we will hold a competition modelled after a typical BJCP competition. This will happen in May, probably on Friday, May 1 at the campout. It will only be open to members of the State of Franklin Homebrewers. Points from this competition will go toward the State of Franklin Homebrewer of the year and the SFH New Brewer of the year. We will not include Meads or Ciders, and we will drop our 1-year experiment with a Mead comp (very few entries). More details can be found at Competition.html
Flavor/Aroma learning sessions
Every few years we run a series of Doctored beer sessions, featuring one specific flavor/aroma component every month for about 15 months. This event features samples of doctored beers in an effort to educate our palate on flavor/aroma components. Some are considered off-flavors, others are considered desirable flavor components in some cases, but at any rate we do a different one every other month.
We use a light standard American lager to feature the flavor. These beers have very little flavor of their own to get in the way, and so it is easier to perceive the flavor adulterant. These adulterants are made of food grade products, such as artificial butter flavoring, mixed with ethanol. The beers are doctored by opening them, adding the adulterant, and re-capping them. Other flavors are achieved with other methods. For example, to feature oxidation, beers are opened, a spurt of oxygen is blown into the bottle, then it is recapped and stored at 90-100 degrees for a few days to accelerate aging. These are very informative sessions, and when coupled with the Commercial Challenge (blind sampling of several commercial examples of the same style) on alternating months it is a very good basis for training to become a judge.
Club Campout
Our premier event of the year is by far our club campout, usually in mid-August. We camp at the Riverpark Campground on the banks of the Nolichucky River, the finest whitewater rafting river in the southeast. This event runs from Thursday afternoon till Sunday noon, and Friday night is usually Big Beer night, where everyone brings some Strong/Old Ales, Imperial Stouts, Belgian Strong Ales, or Barleywines to share, both homebrews and commercial brews. We rent half of the campground, then divide the cost by the number of person nights to determine the fee. This ranges from $7 to $12 per person per night depending on how many attend. We have had as many as 40 campers, with up to 60 total for our Saturday evening dinner (something special - often a Low country boil).
Annual member parties
2 of the biggest events every year are a St. Patrick's Day party and an Oktoberfest party hosted by a couple of avid members. I won't tell you who or where - you've got to join to be able to reap the benefits!
Brewing Knowledge
If you want to learn how to brew, or advance your existing brewing knowledge, then you've come to the right place. We did a member survey a few years back when we had about 15 members, and between us we had about 75 years of brewing experience, 30 or more of which was all-grain experience. We have several medal winners amongst ourselves, and we ocassionally hold beginner brewing classes. We also encourage members wishing to increase their knowledge to pair up with some more experienced brewers during their brewing sessions to experience more advanced techniques. Just ask one of the more experienced members if you can participate in their next brew session - most likely you will be very welcome as we love to brew with friends.
And just plain fun
Yep, that's what our ultimate goal is - to enjoy the camaraderie among friends, brewing beer, discussing beer, sharing beer, get the picture? Come on out to a meeting - I'm sure you will enjoy it and want to come back.
Club Bylaws
Click here to view our bylaws
Click here to view TCA 39-17-708: the Tennessee Homebrew Law.