[theDarkSide]

I heard rumors that the NHC was in Manchester, NH once...I'm sure it has grown 10 fold since then.  I couldn't imagine it here now.

Philly, Boston, DC all sound good to me.  Unfortunately I think NYC would be too expensive in June.

[bluesman]

Think cheesesteaks, pretzels, the Liberty Bell and Beer!

Where's the G-MAN when one needs him?

Several clubs are working to bring the NHC to Philly in 2012 or 2013.

That's a good thing. I hope it can happen. I am about an hours drive from center city.

[bo_gator]

I would not complain too much even if it came to Atlanta

[dbeechum]

I heard rumors that the NHC was in Manchester, NH once...I'm sure it has grown 10 fold since then.  I couldn't imagine it here now.

Almost, but not quite ten fold since the conference back then. We now need a hotel that can comfortably accommodate a thousand homebrewers. Typically that requires a relatively adjancent set of overflow hotels. (witness this year and how quickly the main hotel went full or the number of hotels that we spread across last year in Oakland.) Fortunately, hotel selection is the sort of thing that the convention folks can help you with.

[MDixon]

I know this will offend someone, but Alanta kinda sucks for beer. There are certainly some good spots, but they are not centralized and most don't have a Hotlanta address - think Sandy Springs, Decatur, etc. As far as Asheville, there is no place large enough for the conference hotel that I am aware of and flying into Asheville, while possible, is not a great move financially. The best prices for flights would be Charlotte, or maybe Greensboro or Greenville and then you're looking at a drive. Now the beer scene would be perfect for the conference. Darn near everything within walking distance of everything else (if there was a hotel).

Another rub is what Drew mentioned, local support. MALT has a strong club, but probably not enough to pull off the conference by itself if held in Asheville. Just the cellarmaster job and their staff would be a nightmare with 760 beers in the second round, so 2280 bottles (95 cases of beer). Couple that with club night with around 400 5gallon kegs and ProBrewer's Night with 50 (or more) 15 gallon kegs and one starts to understand the task at hand! How do you keep that many beers cold and organized can be a logistical nightmare. Most cellarmasters don't see much of the conference.

My hat's off to those who are up to the challenge!

[hopfenundmalz]

The NHC has grown a lot since I started to attend.  Been to Chicago (03), Denver, Cincinnatti, and Oakland (last 3).  Each year  of the last 3 the growth is noticable, and 2010 will be the same.

The NCAA final 4 used to be played in arenas around 20k,and medium sized cities.  Now it is in stadiums in large cities with the amount of hotel rooms that the NCAA requires.  This limits the number of host cities to a few.

The NHC appears to have a similar path, as it grows some past venues like Manchester NH can't meet the new requirements to put on the conference.  This is one of the downsides of growth, but the growth indicates that the hobby is healthy. 

[bo_gator]

I know this will offend someone, but Alanta kinda sucks for beer. There are certainly some good spots, but they are not centralized and most don't have a Hotlanta address - think Sandy Springs, Decatur, etc. As far as Asheville, there is no place large enough for the conference hotel that I am aware of and flying into Asheville, while possible, is not a great move financially. The best prices for flights would be Charlotte, or maybe Greensboro or Greenville and then you're looking at a drive. Now the beer scene would be perfect for the conference. Darn near everything within walking distance of everything else (if there was a hotel).

Another rub is what Drew mentioned, local support. MALT has a strong club, but probably not enough to pull off the conference by itself if held in Asheville. Just the cellarmaster job and their staff would be a nightmare with 760 beers in the second round, so 2280 bottles (95 cases of beer). Couple that with club night with around 400 5gallon kegs and ProBrewer's Night with 50 (or more) 15 gallon kegs and one starts to understand the task at hand! How do you keep that many beers cold and organized can be a logistical nightmare. Most cellarmasters don't see much of the conference.

My hat's off to those who are up to the challenge!

I think our best bet is Bill Lynch's group with some support from the other clubs.

[bobby_m]

The WHALES are always willing to lend a hand. Get in touch. We want to see it in Philly too!

[SiameseMoose]

I would just add a couple notes to the growth: the conference was here in Cincinnati only two years ago, in 2008. The conference has already added additional growth to the point that there are no hotels big enough here any more.

Concerning hotels, it's not just, "Are they big enough?" They have to allow outside alcohol without any corkage fees. Alcohol sales are a big part of a hotel's convention business, and they are loath to give it up. (Plus, there are some states where it would probably cause legal issues.) When I toured hotels here prior to our making a bid for the conference, multiple hotels were eliminated on this one issue alone. And one hotel (a Hilton) that made a bid was forced to withdraw it because the corporate offices vetoed it.

[dbeechum]

I would just add a couple notes to the growth: the conference was here in Cincinnati only two years ago, in 2008. The conference has already added additional growth to the point that there are no hotels big enough here any more.

Sadly, it seems like throwing a world class kickass beer party takes a ton of work, luck and circumstances falling into place.

And seriously, if the host hotels were really on the game, they'd change up their normal hotel bar lineup and fill it with craft beer and take that chunk of sales. You'd be surprised just how many guys are in the bar buying beers (because they don't see them at home, etc). I remember in Chicago, the hotel made a move to bring in a "little" Goose Island before we arrived and sold out of it so quickly that they brought in a ton more before the conference was over. Of course that was also the same year we shared the hotel with a Southern Baptist group and an AA group.

[SiameseMoose]

Of course that was also the same year we shared the hotel with a Southern Baptist group and an AA group.

I well remember those groups.

Before the opening luncheon, a group of us Bloatarians was in the main hall practicing for our "opening ceremony". (We had been asked by Randy Mosher, one of our founders and life members, to do an abbreviated version of our secret ceremony.) We were loud. A very angry guy came storming into the room, and insisted we had to be quiet. He was the "facilitator" for the group in the next room, and they needed quiet for their serious session. We were already done, but informed him we were doing it for real in 30 minutes for the full group. That was unacceptable to him, and he insisted we reschedule our lunch of hundreds to accomodate his group of 20. We said tough, and he went storming off to the hotel manager. Never heard from him again. His group? A support group for parents whose kids were going into detox.

[dbeechum]

See, this is why I really love these conventions... sometimes you just end up with the wackiest things going on.

Of course I was asleep for one of my favorite ones I've heard. At the Vegas Conference, someone got the fool idea of having the Hospitality Suite open 24 hours a day. (yikes) The Falcons took one of the overnight shifts and at some point (3AM-4AM?) I stretched out on a couple of stackable chairs and zonked. Meanwhile, the other guys who stayed awake reported that at some wee hour, a working girl came walking into the suite and hung out with them for a while, just shooting the s*** and drinking beer. Apparently didn't even try drumming up any work from them. (Homebrewers in general don't seem to be an ideal target audience for that market)

[denny]

See, this is why it's great that NHC has gotten big enough that we take over the whole hotel these days!

[bobby_m]

Not true Denny. I saw a wedding going on in Minneapolis. Somehow I don't think we minded their presence as much as the other way around ;-)

[denny]

Not true Denny. I saw a wedding going on in Minneapolis. Somehow I don't think we minded their presence as much as the other way around ;-)

Actually, it looks like they joined us for some mead!  Take a look in the events section.