What steps would you have to take to form your own Homebrew Club? I’m in central Ohio and I was just curious what kind of a process would go into forming your own Homebrewing Club.
a club shouldn’t cost money to join. it should be a group of people who want to trade information and talk
about brewing. though this stems from a southern california home brewer who has to drive 45 minutes into the valley for a nice brew shop experience as opposed to driving 10 minutes to a place where you don’t even get a hello when walking through the door. why should we pay slightly less for ingredients we’re going to buy anyway? a discount is no reason to “join” a club.
First step would be finding a few nearby homebrewers who are also interested in forming a club. A local homebrew shop is also a good place to start. Have a few informal meetings and talk about what you want the club to do. Then contact the AHA for some resources and go from there.
I’m not sure sparkleberry has the same idea of a club as me. Many clubs have dues and I’m sure most don’t offer discounts on ingredients. But they probably hold events (BBQ’s, contests, etc) that cost money.
Here’s a guide from the AHA on starting a homebrew club.
http://ahaclubs.homebrewersassociation.org/StartingAndRunningANewHomebrewClub
Good Luck!
i guess my idea of a club was a bit smaller. i was thinking more of a low key group of brewers. i’ve done a little research and see that with the dues various clubs allow access to bigger brewing gear, functions and other fun. i don’t think i actually realized all the benefits to be had. anyway, sorry my previous post wasn’t really one that gave any solid steps.
Thanks for the comments I’m in one homebrew club, but I moved an hour and a half away. Also, the one in my area doesn’t run year round, so I might see if can generate a some interest here in central Ohio.
Just curious, where in Ohio? If you want to talk about clubs, you ought to come to Beer & Sweat next weekend. OK, it’s just over the border in Kentucky, but you’ll meet a lot of people from Ohio. Last year they had over 250 kegs, I think.
Hey Gordon,
I’m in central Ohio (Grandview Height/ Columbus Area), I’ve heard positive reviews of the Beer & Sweat Fest from friends that live in that area. I’ll have to try to make it down there. I’m actually glad I got a post form you, because I’ve been looking into a BJCP license. I got to be a judge recently and would like to be certified to do i more often. I’ve seen you help handle certain events and tasting, are there any classes or tastings that would be good practice for the test?
You should look into the SODZ club in Columbus. I went to a meeting of theirs in May and they had around 80 people. They do judging classes from time to time. I think they have at least a half dozen National judges and a Master judge in their club. I’ve gone to a few of their meetings and people are making good beer there too. Frank Barickman is the go-to BJCP guy in the club.
It’s OK to be affiliated with several clubs too. People use clubs for different reasons. Sometimes it’s just to find people who live near you and want to brew together. Depending on your experience and goals, you’ll interact with the people differently. The best clubs are those that not only have people who are looking for answers, but those who know what they’re talking about and are willing to provide answers.
I’m a friend of SODZ and will probably be at their October camp-out. I’m also a friend of the Bloatarian Brewing League and will be having a good time next weekend at Beer & Sweat. Probably for the 15th year or so. Come hang out. If you’re looking for something different, you can always do something formally or semi-formally with a group that has different goals. But different groups almost always will be cooperative (even if in a competitive way), so don’t let that bother you.
Thanks, I really appreciate the advice, I looked into SODZ for a while. I was planning on going to a few meetings at SODZ, but I think they take a hiatus during the summer months. I believe they begin meeting in September again, so I plan to start going once they are back to having their monthly get togethers. Hopefully, I can get the ball rollling on the BJCP training here in the near future. Still trying to get an idea of how to study for the tasting potion, but I’m guessing the people at SODZ will have a few study tips as well.
Thanks again,
Nick Filipow
OK, didn’t know they took summer off. I see many of them because of all the summer judging. Seems like I’ve been judging 2 weeks out of 3 all summer.
Best way to study for the tasting portion is get out there and judge in competitions with other BJCP judges. Tell them you’re new and want to learn. Most good judges will jump at the chance to give you some direct instruction. Second best way is to do structured tastings with BJCP judges, some of which you can find at club meetings.
The hardest part about starting to judge is learning how to assign scores. That comes with practice and calibration with other judges. The second hardest part is learning what things you’ve only read about actually taste like. So if you’re at a competition, let people know you’re new and ask them to give you any beers with classic faults so you can have a sensory memory of them. You can learn how to describe beer from reading. Those other things take practice and experience. Go out and get them.
Come introduce yourself sometime. I’ll be the guy selling books 
I actually did get to do that for the Ohio Brew Week Judging. I got to sit with a BJCP judge (Mike Yingling), and had him help give me pointers on what to look for and how to score. I ended coming up with scoresheets that had flavors and scores consistant with him and the rest of the group. So, that was definitely helpful, and then they let me help judge the category best of show. I’ve begun scoring and tasting scoresheets for my own brews for extra practice. Anyway, I’m going to keep at it, and see about about getting certified once I feel I’m ready for the exam. By the way, is there a website that lists all the BJCP competitions nearby that you can judging practice.
P.S. I’ll keep an eye out for you selling books at competitions, and be sure to introduce myself if I find you.
Yeah, it’s the BJCP website… Look at the competition calendar. The AHA site lists it too. You have to figure out which ones are close to you, though.
I’ll definately check it out. I want to go to every judging competition, but thats sometimes easier said than done. Anyway, I might hit you up for certification questions from time to time as I go through the studying process if you don’t mind. Once again thanks for all the advice.
P.S. I look forward to getting a chance to read your book, hopefully I can find you at one of the events to buy it in person.
I’ll be at Beer & Sweat on Saturday. I’ll be at the Dayton competition in September. I’ll be at the GABF. I’ll be at other Cinci events in October. Lots of chances, come on out.
Saturday sounds like it’s going to be the day I start moving into my new apartment. But I am definately going to do what can to make some of the others.
I just put an ad in the local newspaper, got a total of two calls and I knew both of the guys. We set a time and had our first meeting, and then each of us recruited one or two people. We also let friends come who just like beer but don’t brew, they will bring a sixer of craft beer. Now we have about eight people brewing, and we still let nonbrewers come because that way we might have 10-12 people which is a nice number for a meeting. Our meetings are informal tastings, we all bring food and just talk about brewing and other fun stuff.
I would recommend that you set a certain day of each month (third Thursday or Saturday) so people know when it is without having to be called each time. Seems theres never a time when everyone is available and its maddening to try and find a date that suits the whole gang.
I am in Dahlonega, Georgia, and the local growler shop has tentatively agreed to let a homebrewer group meet there once or twice a month. The AHA link on forming a local chapter doesn’t work, and the local AHA chapter that was here doesn’t appear to still be in business. Can somebody give me a few concrete steps to take?
This is an old post and the URL, alas, has gone stale. Does anyone know if the page has found a new URL or if something else comparable exists today?
As a member of Sodz (although not very active) I can say that the club while supposedly off during the summer is quite active. We had a virtual meeting in April and quite possibly the May meeting will be too. There is a joint meeting with HOPS (Powell, OH) and DOH (Delaware, OH) in June. There will be Iron Kettle and the summer picnic.
Because of the virtual meeting in April, they gave copious notes on the website. From reading the minutes, you’ll see all that is going on.