Hello all,
I am new to the forum, but not new to homebrewing. I am looking to start a homebrew club in the NJ/NY/PA Tri-state area. Has anyone here started a club from scratch? Any suggestions/thoughts?
TIA,
Dave
I haven’t started one from scratch - it’s a challenge, but doable.
A couple of things I’d start focusing on:
- Are there any other clubs in your area? What are they doing right, what are they doing wrong
- What specifically do you want your club to be about - there are some clubs that center everything around brewing, competitions, education or just sharing and drinking beer.
- Do you have a local shop or brewery that can serve as a hub. A club will generally be way more successful with a public/semi-public meeting space that’s steady with consistent meeting times. Also, good to have recruiting reminders there
- Lastly, seriously think about how you move out of “the founder role” in a hurry - many clubs die because one person sets them up, runs them and then eventually runs out of energy with no one to take up the reins.
Oh and don’t forget to be flexible - start simply and let the people involve shape the org. Have fun with it and make traditions.
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