Hey all - I’m planning to attend the AHA Rally at New Holland Brewery on the 23rd. This will be a first for me, and I was just wondering, from those that have gone to one of these before, what to expect. Do they tend to draw a pretty big crowd? Sounded like they have giveaways??
The one I went to ‘years ago’ had ~100 members. Owners from a bunch of local breweries were there besides the host. It was a casual hang out and drink beer kind of thing. Local breweries had donated a few kegs of beer to be sold in a tent (by the pint). And money from those sales were donated to local homebrew clubs.
The AHA is really excited for the New Holland Rally!
What to expect? In a nutshell… Expect to have fun.
Once that you ‘check-in’ to the Rally around 1pm at the New Holland Production Facility, the first hour of the Rally will be filled with VIP tours of the brewery by New Holland brewers. The Production Facility is not typically open to the public, so this is a great chance to see the brewery up close.
New Holland has invited attendees to bring ONE bottle of homebrew each to share with each other at the production facility- so bring your best bottle to share with some new friends. There will be local clubs & shops at the Rally with promotional booths set up.
Around 2:30, the Rally attendees are invited to join the 2nd half of the event at the New Holland Brewpub, where AHA Business Coordinator Steve Parr will be raffling off prizes (each attendee gets a raffle ticket) such as pint glasses, shirts, hats, and books. The brewpub will have a beer brewed in collaboration with local club, Brewers on the Lake on tap, as well as their seasonal release of White Hatter.
Finally, every Rally attendee will be able to take home a Dry-Erase Brew Log magnet. These gifts are brand new to the Rally program this year, and can only be found at AHA Rallies. New Holland also has a live band booked at the brewpub starting at 4pm, when the Rally ends, and encourages all attendees to stick around to enjoy the evening at the brewpub!
Edit - scooped by Mr. Boiling.
It has been awhile, but on entry i got a logo pint glass, some brewery Swag, some AHA Swag, a ticket for a free beer, and so on. There will be brewery people present, one or 2 local GC members, one or 2 from the AHA staff, and a bunch of AHA Homebrewers from around the area. It is a good time to meet people you know, make new acquaintances, and talk beer all afternoon.
Sounds like a great time, looking forward to it. I brew solo and am not a member of a club at all so will be good to get out and meet some fellow brewers!
so where do you do your Brewmaddness?
Hey brewmadness,
I’ll be at that rally as well. Look forward to meeting you 
The madness happens roughly halfway between Lansing and Grand Rapids.