Brewing is Better with a Buddy

Homebrewing is more than a mere hobby - it is a way of life. But it doesn't start out in this manner and is actually a life long journey. In the beginning, normally, you first became interested in homebrewing when a friend brought over a fancy looking beer and he "humbly" announced to everyone that it had cost $4 per bottle. You took a swig, and it was delicious, much better than what your father drank after a hard day's work. So you started visiting local breweries and began building up your beer palate. And then one evening, after sipping on a mild IPA, a kernel of an idea planted itself, "Why don't I try to make my own beer?" You got online, ordered a homebrewing kit, and began brewing. At first there was a little bit of a learning curve, but you followed the directions and after a couple of tries you started making more "drinkable" products. Now you want to improve and aren't sure where to turn next. Well, this article will help you find homebrewing like-mind individuals who will help you to the next level.

National Homebrew Organizations

American Homebrewers Association (AHA) is the largest American homebrewing organization. Founded in 1978, AHA is a not-for-profit organization based in Boulder, Colorado, and it is dedicated to promoting the community of homebrewers and empowering homebrewers to make the best beer in the world. The two most exciting parts of AHA’s website are the Let’s Brew and Competitions pages. Let’s Brew page is beautifully organized by sections for beginners, intermediate, and advance brewmakers, and each section is further segmented in to skill appropriate topics: how to brew, equipment needed, ingredients, recipes, and tips. Moreover, you can find additional information from their multimedia resources on their social media platforms. After you have become comfortable with homebrewing and are ready to take your skills to the next level, it is time for you to enter competitions. AHA’s Competition Resources include a competition calendar, sanctioned competition rules, and even how to become a judge, if you so desire. Even if you do not consider yourself competitive, attending competitions is one of the easiest and most exciting way to become involved with the homebrewing community. Quick Facts: - Has over 46,000 members - Advocates for homebrewers’ rights in the United States - Is governed by a committee of homebrewers elected by its members. - Hosts the world's largest beer competition. - Publishes Zymurgy magazine - Hosts multiple events promoting home beer, cider, and mead making - They have a strong social media presence: Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram   National Homebrewers Conference allows homebrewers another opportunity to network with fellow homebrewers in a larger and more formal and educational setting. The conference runs three days long, and the entire time is bursting from the seams with beer services and seminars. For examples, here are some of the titles of seminars scheduled for the next conference: “How to Brew Like an All-Star,” “How Specialty Malts Influence Foam,” “Trouble-Free Tart Beers: Alternative Souring Methods,” “Food & Beer Pairing,” “DIY Kegerator/Keezer Design Using Off the Shelf Components,” and “Welcome to the Dark Side! The Evolution of Porter.” These are all opportunities for you to learn more about your craft and to find others that are just as interested and excited as you are.

Local Homebrewing Organizations

Find Your Local Homebrew Club

The resources of American Homebrewers Association has a seemingly limitless depth of helpfulness; you can use AHA to find a Homebrew Club. This is a worldwide database of over 1,700 registered homebrew clubs. After plugging in your country and state, you will find a list of active clubs, along with their website and contact information. Find Your Local Meetups

Meetup.com is a good way to find local homebrewing organizations within your city or town. It is website, a social networking portal, that facilitates offline group meetings all throughout the world, and the website provides a smooth user experience that allows the meetups organizers to manage functions associated with in-person meetings: dates, locations, event descriptions and mandatories, and who is planning on attending. - Visit Meetup.com - The homepage provides a search field with a default setting of 50 miles of your location (based on your IP address). - Set the distance you’re interested in searching: 2, 5, 10, 25, 50, 10, or any distance. - If needed, reset your location: city or postal code. - Type in “Homebrewing” or “Beer Brewing,” for example. If you don’t find a meetup group within your city or town, you could always Start a Meetup Group. The website walks you step-by-step through the process. Find Your Local Facebook Groups: Facebook is basically the social epicenter for a billion people, and I would be totally remiss in my work if I didn’t show you the power of finding other homebrewing beer lovers via this social media powerhouse. - Finding a homebrewing group on Facebook is pretty straight forward: - Log into your Facebook account - Search for “Homebrewing” in groups. Feel free to play around with different keywords too, such as your location and homebrewing. - Done, there will be a list of groups you can request to join. The exciting part about Facebook groups is that the highest ranking results are the groups that your Facebook friends have already joined; thus, you already know people who participate in these groups. - Whether you're looking for a national or a local homebrewing community, there are an ample amount of resources out there for you to take your homebrewing skills to the next level. We encourage you to explore these opportunities.