The Orlando Craft Brew Club

The Orlando Craft Brew Club was founded in May 2011. March Madness had just ended and the founders of the club were wondering what we were going to do with our time. We were also wondering what excuses they were going to make to get friends together to enjoy good beer and fellowship. Brewing beer was proposed and immediately it seemed that nothing could stop the idea. Don't get me wrong, the idea wasn't new and it had been brought up before, but now seemed to be the perfect time and place to launch it.

The OCBC was started with 8 paid memberships that got it off the ground. All members paid $50, we ordered the Deluxe Beer Starter Kit from Northern Brewer, an 8 gallon kettle, and our first ingredient kit. The Club brewed 4 trial beers to get the kinks out, and to see what craft beer was all about. Needless to say, we couldn't stop. We invested in mini fridges and "Paul", an 8 carboy capacity chest freezer, for fermentation storage in the hot Florida climate. We also expanded the number of carboys and upped production to our full capacity.

Members of the OCBC can pick whatever beer recipe they want to try, brew it, and sell it to the members or keep it for themselves. This way club members get to try lots of different types of beers, we can efficiently keep the numbers of beer high, and the overall costs low for club members.

Who knows what the OCBC will grow into. Visions of kegs, taps, our own swag and recipes are all so close at hand that they don't seem like goals or visions, but rather just the next logical step. This blog is to report our progress, let you know what we are drinking and finding in our brewing, and to help share the art of craft brewing.

Brew on!