Welcome to Midlands Craft Brewers
Since the late 1990s, Midlands Craft Brewers (MCB) have been an independent group of enthusiastic home brewers who live throughout the Midlands area.
Members experience varies widely from those who have been brewing for decades whilst others are at the beginning of their brewing odyssey!
You do not need to be an experienced brewer to benefit from belonging to the MCB. Anyone new to brewing who would like to benefit from attending a brew day with an experienced member before attempting to brew themselves should get in touch with us. We will try to put you in contact with a home brewer local to you.
The tasting and feedback of members’ beers is the most important aspect of our group as it is the only way to improve the beers we make.
Over the years, the overall standard of beers brought to meetings has improved greatly with members having success at competitions throughout the country and some members who have gone on to be professional brewers!
Core Values
To share our skills & knowledge of brewing.
To learn from each other.
To taste our beers and give constructive feedback enabling us to improve the beer we make.
To promote and encourage brewing at home.
To have fun!
Structure
We have a small team in place covering the following: MCB Coordinator, Treasurer, and Webmaster. These positions are renewed annually by a simple vote. All members are welcome to put themselves forward for these positions each year. We encourage members to get involved with the running of the group, such as chairing meetings, organising brewery visits etc.
Membership
There is small annual membership fee.
For 2024 this will be £6 pro-rata.
Any casual members are welcome to join us for their first meeting at no cost. Casual members are not entitled to club benefits.
The membership fee goes towards; funding the website, speakers’ expenses, materials used at meetings for example flavour testing kits, commercially available beers, other events and purchases (e.g. subsidising club t-shirts) etc.
Meetings
As we cover a large area, our meetings are usually held on Saturdays. We typically meet around 11:30 for a pint before starting the meeting at midday. Meetings are run by the members. Each meeting is structured with a chairman and agenda. The focus is on sharing knowledge and expertise.
Typically, we start with the most important part…members’ beer tastings with honest constructive feedback. Do not worry if you have a beer which is not right. Bring it to our “beer clinic” at the meeting. Members will feedback on what they think can improve your beer. We also try to have one detailed topic / discussion presented by a member or a talk from an external speaker.
Meetings usually finish around 4.30pm, but many of us often stay on for another pint or two.
Venues
Meetings are held equally between east & west Midland venues. Since 2014, we have held meetings in the following places: Derby, Leicester, Nottingham, Loughborough, Burton, Birmingham, Nuneaton, Walsall, Rugby, Chesterfield, and Ilkeston.
Meetings are held in pubs/tap rooms which serve good beer. We often arrange a buffet if members require.
We aim to arrange meetings within walking distance / short bus ride from the nearest train station.
Events
In addition to our usual meetings, we aim to have one or two brewery visits each year and a summer and Christmas social. We have also previously held from time to time other events such as a corny keg afternoon and a yeast propagation day.
Mailing List
If you wish to be added to our mailing list rather than becoming a member, please contact us. All details are held confidentially and will not be forwarded to any other member without your consent.
We hope you find this information of interest. Whether you have never brewed and are just thinking about it or you have been brewing for years and are looking to improve your beers, please contact us and come along.
Join Us!
If you wish to join our club or visit a meeting, or just to chat....