Your Local Homebrew Club
A homebrew club is a group of dedicated hobbyists eager to share wares, discuss techniques, and trade a few barbs. The collective brewing knowledge and experience accelerates your learning while exposing you to a lot of fun.
Just as no two homebrews or homebrewers are alike, neither are two clubs. Some are dedicated to competitions, others want to party, and yet others emphasize the brew day. If you don't like a club's approach, try another. Some people can't get enough and belong to three or more clubs.
America's oldest homebrew club is the Maltose Falcons. They were founded in 1974, five years before homebrewing was legal in the United States. Founded by a half dozen brewers, they now boast 250 members at home and in craft breweries. See their 25th anniversary IPA.
Finding a Club
How do you find a local homebrew club? The first stop is your local store. Smart retailers sponsor clubs and give membership discounts. The shop benefits from a steady stream of loyal customers, while the club benefits from new members. You, the brewer, win the brewing jackpot: an audience that understands your passion.
If your store doesn't sponsor a club, ask if there are any clubs in the area. Check the American Homebrewers Association's (AHA) Club Locator for registered clubs in your state. A simple web search returns a list of nearby clubs' websites. Good club sites list meeting dates and upcoming activities.
If there are enough brewers to sustain a shop, but no club, start one. The AHA publishes a “Start Your Own Club” kit to help you become a Brew Generalissimo. Talk with members of other clubs and scout ideas online to structure your club and activities.
The Meeting
Functioning as a social hour, lecture hall, and tent revival, the membership meeting brings the community together. Meetings have a social period where brewers share samples. Club business and announcements keep the club on track for their next bout of goofiness. An organized education includes tastings of commercial beer along with a presentation by brave brewers.
Located in the middle of nowhere? With no homebrew club around, turn to the Internet. Homebrewing thrives on the Internet as brewers from across the globe trade secrets and jabs. What the online boards lack in direct social contact they make up for in alacrity of their answers. Each website takes on a character and preferred techniques.
Even after reading this book, you're bound to have brewing questions. For generations, brewing's trade secrets were passed from master to apprentice. Clubs have group brew days to teach brewing. Members get to learn and the club gets beer for later events.
Veteran club members invite people to their breweries and walk folks through a brew day. The subject tackled can be anything from the simplest extract batch, your first all-grain brew, or super-complicated projects.
Clubs often arrange discounts on grain and hops. Now you can learn on the cheap. Take advantage of the discount and brew something outrageous.
