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It all started with a simple message to a local homebrewing email list: "Guys, anyone want to get together and brew a bunch of beer for a wedding?"
For several years Ottawa homebrewer Alan McKay maintained a small email list to allow local homebrewers to keep in touch. It was never very active - a few messages a month at most, usually in the fall when one brewer would make the trip to Montreal to buy bulk malt, and a few others would pitch in to buy a sack or two.
And then in the winter of 2002 something interesting happened. A few new brewers started joining the list. And then a few more. And then still more - and the messages started becoming more frequent as the list reached "critical mass". The list allowed brewers from around the Ottawa region - Almonte, Gatineau/Hull, Ashton, Merrickville, and Ottawa - to share ideas, local sources for equipment and ingredients, and plan group purchases. And even a few "outliers", brewers from Montreal, Winnipeg, and Fredericton, joined up. Now more than a dozen posts a day flew across the list, and some days it had more content than the Homebrew Digest.
John Scime's request for help brewing beer for his friend's wedding turned into our first big event, participation in the AHA's Big Brew on May 5. Eleven local brewers (including two from Montreal) showed up early Saturday morning in Alan's back yard and brewed 45 gallons of homebrew on three systems - the first all-grain experience for some brewers, and the first "club event" for us all. We named our local brew "Big StrangeBrew" after the event's sponsor. The event inspired at least three brewers to make the jump from extract to all-grain brewing, which meant there was a need for new equipment…
Patrick Brochu impressed us all with his home-made digital temperature probe - a device that allows his PalmPilot to record temperature readings of a mash. He soon impressed us even more with his counterflow chiller design, affectionately named "ChillyWilly." This made for a perfect excuse for our second club event, a group chiller building party that resulted in three more "Willies" for club members.
Soon after, John Scime hosted a "Big Strange Keg Conversion" work party, where several members converted stainless sanke kegs for use as brewing vessels. All this new equipment means that there will be many systems up and running at our fall big brew - Big StrangeBrew II, planned for September 21.
At one point we decided we needed a catchy name, as "Ottawa Brewers" was getting tedious, and didn't reflect the fact that at least half of the members were from outside Ottawa proper. A large number of possible names were debated on the list, and narrowed down to "Members of Barleyment (MOB)" and "Hull/Ottawa Zymurgic Enterprises and Research Society" - and after a close vote, MOB won out. (Ottawa is also home to Canada's federal politicians, who named themselves the Members of Parliament in deference to our club).
While we're not a traditional club with monthly meetings and tastings, we have a format the seems to suit the geographically diverse nature of the club. Those working in Ottawa get together for an occasional lunch at one of the better pubs in town, several newer members have paired up with experienced brewers to brew their first all-grain batches, and we all keep in touch on the email forum. In the past year we've organized several "bulk buys", operating at times like a small homebrewer coop. Brian Lundeen organized a bulk buy for dry yeast, Drew Perron bought and distributed many pounds of hops, John Scime found a source for stainless steel fittings, and Rock Proulx (as usual) made the trip to Montreal for grain. But this time he had to rent a trailer to haul 1650 pounds of malt back to town!
Homebrewers in Eastern Ontario and Gatineau interested in joining the MOB should contact Alan McKay at amkay@neap.net.
Last Updated Wednesday, October 30 2002 @ 08:44 AM EST 
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