I tried to give it a chance but the reason I read Zymurgy is for the love of beer and the processes, It is a beer magazine. If I wanted to make sauerkraut, cheese or kefeir there are many other magazines I could buy. Keep the beer magazine a beer magazine. Unless this is now a fermentation membership. Not liking the “You can ferment that!” section, you can do better, in my opinion.
+1
So unhappy with Zymurgy lately that I cancelled my AHA membership.
What about it is making you so unhappy?
Back in 2013 I read a posting from a wise old sage (Denny Conn) who said “If you don’t like the articles you can always write up something that you’d like to read and submit it.”
I personally think articles on food is a great idea.
Many enjoy good brew & food, and some seem to cook really good stuff.
Sorta like the Food & Wine magazine.
Good homemade Brew & Food is top on my list, and a marriage made in heaven.
Agree. I’m completely OK with the fermented food articles and would welcome a beer and food pairing article periodically (especially if the food side is practical and doesn’t require hours and exotic ingredients). Honestly, Zymurgy is only one reason that I choose to support the AHA. These are good discussions and shouldn’t be discounted just because we don’t agree with some people’s opinion.
I enjoy the magazine. Great information, helpful tips, and interesting recipes… and I really enjoy having access to all the past issues. Of course, it can get a bit repetitive and not every article is for me but that’s natural. (My least favorite of all is the “Best Beers in America” - I skip that in full). But the magazine keeps my finger on the pulse, so to speak.
Is the membership and magazine worth the money? Right now, for me it is, but I can understand why some would feel otherwise.
I simply found no more value in paying a membership for something that no longer met my needs. I was paid up through 2026 so I cancelled my membership and received a refund for the unused 5+ years.
Perhaps they can team up with a barbecue magazine, and call it BBQ & Brew.
Go quarterly and see sales skyrocket, just a random thought.
Big Deck BBQ and Brew. Where we never light the grill without a beer handy.
Zymurgy is a perk of AHA membership. You do not subscribe to the magazine. It’s sent to you because you’re an AHA member.
The AHA might want to consider that the magazine could be some members’ only connection to the mothership.
Along with certain discounts which have been more and more austere due to the pandemic, the requirement to enter certain competitions which are rarely taking place lately, and a requirement to be a member in some clubs who may/may not even meet anymore, the magazine could one of the only reasons people join/maintain their membership.
I dunno …but making it sound like members should be happy to get it at all is probably not the best PR angle.
You’ve actually described me pretty well.
I’ve never enjoyed the Brew Pub scene enough to go very often.
For a long time I could not fit a club into my work/family schedule so no clubs.
I don’t submit to comps. Not that I would like a medal or 3 but I don’t brew for that kind of thing.
My only connection to brewing in a social way is this forum, the AHA and BYO Magazine.
Yep! I’m boring and likely a bit anti-social but Zymurgy is still a good source of information, even if I don’t always appreciate every article.
Paul
I apologize it that was how it came across. My point was that you don’t buy a mag subscriptipn.
I like the new brewing cheat sheet they’ve been putting in every issue. I also like that they’ve been labelling more things as “Sponsored Content”, like the holiday gift guide. I’m not sure if that’s an effort to increase transparency or that they’ve changed how they pick things for the gift guide but it’s a good move.
I am not really interested in sauerkraut, vinegar, cider, kombusha etc. I brew beer. I try to keep an open mind to what else is out there. Articles on the aforementioned topics are OK, but I have to admit, when an issue arrives that’s almost dedicated to a non-beer topic, I’m bummed.
I’ve made beer, mead and cider. My wife is doing fermented vegetables. We have problems with articles about those subjects being covered in Zymurgy.
I get really ticked off when they have extract brewing articles. That was hyperbole, wrapped in some sarcasm.
How about electric brewing articles? I don’t brew that way, but it looks to be an attractive way to brew.
The magazine has to appeal and satisfy many different backgrounds and desires.
The “Best Beers in America” issue generates the most online hits and references to Zymurgy and the AHA. Gary Glass had stated that often. I have found some good recipes supplied by different breweries just for that one article. Brewery owners such as Vinnie Cilurzo and Larry Bell say that it is an honor to be voted #1.
We all don’t like some things. I don’t like NEIPAs at all, but I will save that for another rant.
I don’t mind the articles about adjacent hobbies nearly as much as I mind people who have chosen themselves to be representatives of the membership treating member feedback so dismissively.
If you mean me, I apologize. That was definitely not my intention.
I agree with this statement.
I get it. It’s their Swimsuit issue. You don’t like NEIPA’s, I don’t like the BBiA article. I find it to be an embarrassing groupthink, but probably not for someone coming at it for the first time, I guess. Though I will say that it was a bit farther buried away in the magazine this year than in years past. Not even a SNPA in a bikini on the cover!
I still very much enjoy the magazine in general, however.