Whether you’re celebrating Independence Day with friends and family at a party or looking to spend the evening out, Black Star Co-op is here for you!

For those of you spending your holiday at a party, we’re offering $50 house kegs from now until July 5th.  If your festivities don’t require 64 pints of beer, we have growlers too!

And for those of you looking to celebrate the Fourth of July at your Co-op, we’re got the following specials all day long:

Food Specials: Smoked Windy Bar Ranch all beef hot dogs and Richardson Family Farm pork jalapeño sausage from Salt and Time with picnic sides, and $1 off Pork Ribs.

Drink Special: $3 Pints of High Esteem to get you in the patriotic spirit.

If you’re interested in running for the Black Star Board of Directors this fall, you will need to attend at least one Candidate Information Session and one Board Meeting this summer.

The next Info Session is Tuesday, July 12th, at 7pm in the brewpub. It should last about one hour.

The next Board Meeting is Sunday, July 17th, at noon, also at the brewpub.

If you can’t attend either of those, you still have time to meet these requirements for running for the board. We have another Info Session scheduled for Saturday, August 6th, at 4pm, and our August board meeting is Sunday, August 21st, at noon at the brewpub.

Prospective candidates can download the candidate application and get all the info on running for the Board. Applications are due on August 16th. Elections will be from September 15 to our Members’ Assembly meeting on October 16th.

Please consider serving your Co-op by running for the board. We are democratically elected by our fellow member-owners, and your participation counts!

Black Star’s membership linkage committee will meet in the Brewpub on Tuesday, July 12th, from 6-7pm. Member-owners are free to join us as we discuss ideas for better connecting with our 2,600+ fellow member-owners. A big current focus is the upcoming Board Election.

Normally I wouldn’t be blogging about a book release, but there’s something really awesome about this one besides its subject matter: Black Star Co-op (and Wheatsville Co-op) are featured in the book!

It’s called Locavesting, by Amy Coretese. It discusses the innovative ways in which people are investing in their local businesses and sidestepping more traditional methods of investing their money, with a focus on local revitalization and job creation. Amy approached Black Star to discuss our Member-Investor Share Offering, in which we raised over $600,000 for the construction of our brewpub. I participated in a number of interviews with her for the book, and I’m very happy with how it’s turned out. It’s a great book, so if you’re interested in local investment and revitalization, please check it out! You can find it at Book People here.

I was also lucky enough to be able to attend the book release party in Brooklyn since I happened to be in town, and Amy welcomed me and praised Black Star to the group. It was a lot of fun! Here’s a picture of Amy signing my book and one of her talking to everyone at the party. Thanks to Amy for inviting me!

I had a great time and we were very fortunate to be featured in the book. Go check it out!

For Avery’s 18th anniversary brew, they’re created a dry-hopped Rye Saison with five different Belgian yeasts. The hefty addition of rye helps dry this beauty out and lends another spicy component to the flavor. This beer weights in at just over 8% ABV and tastes great.

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We’ll be pouring Rahr & Son’s Bucking Bock, a traditional German Spring Bock Beer. Tony Drewry, “the Beer Peddler,” will be in the house with some swag and good cheer.

You know the format – buy the beer, keep the glass!

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Each month members of our Board of Directors gather in our brewpub to share a pint with YOU, our member-owners. This tradition goes back several years (before we even had a brewpub!)

All member-owners enjoy $3 Rational pints on Tuesdays. That’ll have you covered through 9PM, and then our new Inverse Happy Hour kicks in until 11PM, so feel free to stick around after the Pub Hours are over for $3 seasoned chips and beer nuts.

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Last month we invited Member-Owners out to design our next Irrational Beer. The attendees had great ideas and discerning noses for spice aroma and we discussed the malt bill, hops, brewing techniques and overall impression for our new beer. We are pleased to announce our next Rational Series beer–Elba.

This American Wheat Ale is brewed with lemongrass, bitter orange peel and grains of paradise. Light, crisp, and aromatic, join us on Sunday, June 19 as we unveil our newest Black Star Co-op brew. For one day only, we’ll be offering it for $3 in celebration of it’s debut!

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Fellow Black Star Member-Owners, now is a great time to help lead our Co-op! There are three (3) seats open this fall on the Board of Directors.

You will need to have attended at least one Black Star Board meeting within the last year and attend a Candidate Orientation Session. If you haven’t yet been to a Board Meeting, you have a few more chances before the Fall Members’ Assembly meeting on October 16th. Board meetings are usually 12-3pm on the third Sunday of the month; however, check the website in case of any changes. Candidate Orientation Sessions are scheduled for June 19th at 4:00 p.m., July 12 at 7:00 p.m., and August 6th at 4:00 p.m..

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Black Star Co-op is going to the Great American Beer Festival!

In order to raise the entry fees and travel funds, we are having special GABF Rare Beer Tasting Event on Sunday June 26th at 3:00. Attendance is limited and admission is $25. Attendees will taste past GABF winners, the Co-op submissions into GABF, rare commercial beers, and from the depths of the Black Star cellar, Jeff will dig up the remains of Vector and Moontower. We’ll also have a brewery tour and time to talk about the 2011 GABF.

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