After hearing some podcast with the new aha Director, I really feel that aha is going in the right direction. I feel it’s going to focus more on what the name is homebrewing and less about pro brewing. I don’t know maybe it’s just me but this new Director is doing good by doing all the podcast you can make a post on here and everywhere else. It’s nice to see a director put themselves up front for us all to interact with that person. So to the new Director congratulations and please keep it up
Since you mention the focus on probrewers, I’ve always thought it odd that the AHA is just a subunit of the BA. That limits the transparency into the organization and the autonomy of leadership.
There was a time, decades ago, where you could plausibly argue the interests of homebrewers was sufficiently-aligned with the interests of nascent micro-then-craft probrewers for this to make sense.
These days I don’t really see the billionaire “big craft” brewers the BA is tasked with supporting, having much, if any, overlap with homebrewers.
I just never understood why they had a major focus of pro brewers. In the past. I also don’t recall any Director on any podcast in the past. Again I feel aha is going in the right Direction now focusing on homebrewing.
The stated mission of the Brewers Association is “to promote and protect small and independent American brewers, their craft beers and the community of brewing enthusiasts.” The AHA is just a subcommittee of the BA. The AHA cares about the “community of brewing enthusiasts” but within the mission of supporting the interests of the trade group.
Makes sense then blending the two together then. I still like the focus on just home brewing tho. I mean I love brewery’s and the owners. How ever we are a Tightknit community. What other organization can you talk to podcast host can you talk to people that are running an organization you don’t see that anywhere else other than homebrewing an American homebrew association that’s why I like to focus on homebrewing.
Words to consider for sure but…every day is a new day and the AHA is a legit priority of the Brewers Association, and…in 2022 in many new ways. Please keep the faith and I’m here to say we aim to make homebrewers proud all the while helping us each reach our homebrewing goals.
As for the Brewers Association “billionaire big craft brewers the BA is tasked with supporting” the Brewers Association promotes and protects all craft breweries with the major majority brewing less than 1K barrels of beer a year. We have a Brewpub Committee, Tap Room Committee and many resources devoted to helping the smallest of the small.
I do appreciate you engaging with people on the forum and with me specifically. There are some easy ways to improve transparency that are “best practice” in the nonprofit industry. I know you’re not in charge of the BA but you do have experience working with them. The BA’s 990 is incorrect and incomplete. The audit report is not made available to the public (to my knowledge) by the BA. However, the audit report is available on the Federal audit clearinghouse, but doesn’t break down expenses by individual program (another NFP best practice). Personally I would rather see the AHA independent of the BA but I don’t that’ll ever happen.
Unrelated, and I know it wasn’t your decision, but the BA coming out in support of the Monster / Coke purchase of Canarchy is the opposite of everything I believed the organization stood for and the opposite of what drew me to the AHA almost two decades ago.
I have to go back and listen to them. I listen to all the back Episodes while I brew. It’s not a good brew day unless I listen to experimental brewing or Brülosophy.