[brulosopher]

I'm gonna go rogue here with my thoughts.  This is the American HOMEBREWERS Association.  It's the National HOMEBREW Conference.  If there's a conflict between homebrew and commercial beer, 86 the commercial beer.  I can live without it.  I'm there for the homebrew, after all.  I realize this viewpoint won't be widely shared and sure, like everybody else I'd love to have both.  But if having commercial beer is gonna limit access to homebrew, ditch the commercial beer.

Hell yes! 100% this! A resounding AMEN!!

If my opinion isn't clear, I vote for homebrew over commercial.

[yso191]

This will be my first NHC.  Will most people be bringing homebrew, or just those that drive in?  I've flown with wine bottles and both times there were broken bottles  .  So I've been thinking I wouldn't be bringing any.  Is there something I am missing?

[AmandaK]

I'm gonna go rogue here with my thoughts.  This is the American HOMEBREWERS Association.  It's the National HOMEBREW Conference.  If there's a conflict between homebrew and commercial beer, 86 the commercial beer.  I can live without it.  I'm there for the homebrew, after all.  I realize this viewpoint won't be widely shared and sure, like everybody else I'd love to have both.  But if having commercial beer is gonna limit access to homebrew, ditch the commercial beer.

Hell yes! 100% this! A resounding AMEN!!

If my opinion isn't clear, I vote for homebrew over commercial.

Amen!! 100% agreed Denny & Marshall.

If we can't have homebrew at the homebrewers conference, I won't be going back in 2016. The best part about many things is the homebrew. The best part about the banquet is the homebrew. I will not be happy if I can't sit with my Iowa/Minnesota/Oklahoma/Nebraska friends at the banquet and drink glorious homebrewed ciders/meads/beers.

I hope this is cleared up ASAP.

[mabrungard]

Yes! There will be homebrew. Its just that we are seeing another case of alcohol law dumb-assery. We can't mix the two classes of beer.

[AmandaK]

We can't mix the two classes of beer.

So how does this work for the banquet? Right now I am imagining that there is no beer-sharing in the line to get in and there are security guards at the doors to take away our homebrew.

Mr. Glass? Care to weigh in?

[brulosopher]

Yes! There will be homebrew. Its just that we are seeing another case of alcohol law dumb-assery. We can't mix the two classes of beer.

It's dumbfounding, the amount of dumb-assery...

[theDarkSide]

I hope the laws for venue next year aren't this screwed up.  Where is that going to be again? 

[brulosopher]

I hope the laws for venue next year aren't this screwed up.  Where is that going to be again? 

Mars?

[theDarkSide]

I hope the laws for venue next year aren't this screwed up.  Where is that going to be again? 

Mars?

Well damn...I better leave now to make it on time.

[denny]

Everyone please keep in mind that I was just expressing a fever-driven opinion.  As much as I'd like it to be that way, it really isn't practical.  How could enough homebrew for the banquet be produced?  There really is no choice but to have commercial beer and I'm grateful for the brewery sponsorships.  However, that doesn't change my feelings about the fact that this is a homebrew conference and there shouldn't be limitations on bring the beer we make and that are the basis of the existence of the AHA.  So, maybe the solution is we don't return the conference to CA until things change?

[dbeechum]

Here's my reasoning on all of this:

It sucks if we can't have homebrew in the banquet. Hopefully there are ways zoning and licensing and the rest can be swung to work.

After last year's fight to get homebrew at a "festival" event legalized, the AHA sure as hell can't thumb their nose at the rules laid down by the legislature and hope to ever get anything passed in the state again.

Want to know who's to blame? After all - the ABC really couldn't care less about homebrewers in general. We're not a big enough potential issue to worry about with all the other crap they have to deal with in our state. But you know who they deal with when they do deal with homebrewers? The guys who are pretending to be commercial breweries and pouring at a beer festival or bar. Maybe their local really loves their beer and wants to put it on tap - doesn't matter, it's a no-no. Maybe they're in the midst of a kickstarter campaign to open a brewery and what better way can there be to drum up funds than through a festival tasting? Still really doesn't matter. But those are the two classes of homebrewers that the ABC deals with on a semi-regular basis. Hence the explicit stipulations in the law concerning separating homebrew from commercial beer. Normally for a day long beer festival, not a big deal - the conference is it's own special beast with extra complications.

Still sucks though.

[hopfenundmalz]

Here's my reasoning on all of this:

It sucks if we can't have homebrew in the banquet. Hopefully there are ways zoning and licensing and the rest can be swung to work.

After last year's fight to get homebrew at a "festival" event legalized, the AHA sure as hell can't thumb their nose at the rules laid down by the legislature and hope to ever get anything passed in the state again.

Want to know who's to blame? After all - the ABC really couldn't care less about homebrewers in general. We're not a big enough potential issue to worry about with all the other crap they have to deal with in our state. But you know who they deal with when they do deal with homebrewers? The guys who are pretending to be commercial breweries and pouring at a beer festival or bar. Maybe their local really loves their beer and wants to put it on tap - doesn't matter, it's a no-no. Maybe they're in the midst of a kickstarter campaign to open a brewery and what better way can there be to drum up funds than through a festival tasting? Still really doesn't matter. But those are the two classes of homebrewers that the ABC deals with on a semi-regular basis. Hence the explicit stipulations in the law concerning separating homebrew from commercial beer. Normally for a day long beer festival, not a big deal - the conference is it's own special beast with extra complications.

Still sucks though.

Thanks for the background info. Have any of those types you mentioned gotten their hands slapped for those actions? Curious due to some local thing that are borderline.

[dbeechum]

Thanks for the background info. Have any of those types you mentioned gotten their hands slapped for those actions? Curious due to some local thing that are borderline.

Nary a clue. Just know the CA ABC has a real jaundiced view of homebrewers due to what makes up the majority of their interactions.

[denny]

Of course, it's obvious that that AHA did not cause the situation with the law.  The law is what it is and we have to comply.  But I would hope that in the future more consideration would be given to something like this when selecting a conference site.  I fully realize that due to the growing size of the conference there are increasingly limited choices about where it can be held.  But I hope that accessibility of homebrew becomes a more major concern in the future.  And I can say that because I'm not on the GC any more and YOU guys have to deal with it! 

[narcout]

There will be blank nametages so you can wrote your forum handle on them to ID yourself.

I was actually planning on wearing one of those all weekend, since I will know absolutely no one by sight (well, other than you and Drew perhaps).