[hopfenundmalz]

are we gonna see you next June in Minnesota? 
...It's time Jim.   

Did we just give away next year's location?

"It's not a secret" - someone from AHA, like 6 weeks ago.  I'm sure there's a possibility that sales could be hurt slightly if news of future locations came out too early, so I haven't said anything publicly until their discounted hotel period was over.  *shrug*

Sounds like we are getting into a rotation. Kinda doubt I'll go to MN if that is the location next year since I've already been there with the conference. Same reason I skipped San Diego last year. I see the conference as a means to visit areas pre-conference and to go to the conference. Finding space for the conference is becoming more and more difficult it seems.

The conference has been East, Middle, West in the last few years. That is not by accident.

San Diego has enough sights that we didn't repeat activities in our beercation. New breweries to explore didn't hurt either.

[klickitat jim]

Is it always the same weekend? My predicament is having to choose vacation for the next year in october.

[jeffy]

I would definitely go back to Minneapolis mostly because last time I barely got off campus.  When the conference is out in the suburbs it's hard to get out and see what the area has to offer.

[hopfenundmalz]

Is it always the same weekend? My predicament is having to choose vacation for the next year in october.

It has always been in June (unless you go way back) but not the same weekend.
http://www.homebrewcon.org/conference/past-conferences/

We can keep our eye out for the 2017 information that will be published at the conference. Keep you eye out on the 8th or 9th. Someone will post it on the forum.

[guido]

I would be cool with MN again. The summers are cooler than Philly and Baltimore (aside from the occasional tornado) and it stays daylight longer. However, it would be nicer to have a hotel closer to town. It's a shame nothing could be worked out for Austin. I hear it's a great town.

[brewinhard]

Is it always the same weekend? My predicament is having to choose vacation for the next year in october.

It has always been in June (unless you go way back) but not the same weekend.
http://www.homebrewcon.org/conference/past-conferences/

We can keep our eye out for the 2017 information that will be published at the conference. Keep you eye out on the 8th or 9th. Someone will post it on the forum.

Those early June dates are always so tough for me to make it. Hard to take off that time of year when you teach 140 kids till the end of June.

[guido]

Is it always the same weekend? My predicament is having to choose vacation for the next year in october.

It has always been in June (unless you go way back) but not the same weekend.
http://www.homebrewcon.org/conference/past-conferences/

We can keep our eye out for the 2017 information that will be published at the conference. Keep you eye out on the 8th or 9th. Someone will post it on the forum.

Those early June dates are always so tough for me to make it. Hard to take off that time of year when you teach 140 kids till the end of June.

Understand totally. My wife and I both were scheduled to work the weekend of June 11-12 and had to sell our souls to go, making double switches with our co-workers because Sunday the 12th is the start point for a new pay period. I have weekends screwed up into August. Problem is that whenever it's scheduled, someone is gonna be inconvenienced.

[hopfenundmalz]

I would be cool with MN again. The summers are cooler than Philly and Baltimore (aside from the occasional tornado) and it stays daylight longer. However, it would be nicer to have a hotel closer to town. It's a shame nothing could be worked out for Austin. I hear it's a great town.

The hotel in Bloomington MN would not hold ~3000 attendees.

The conference is big enough to be at convention centers in the city, with the pluses and minuses that those venues bring.

[MDixon]

I think there are plenty of places to hold the conference, but the issue is the behind the scenes work which is handled by the host club(s). For instance the conference could easily be held in Charlotte with side trips to many local breweries and a pre-conference party bus to Asheville, but it would tax the clubs in NC to almost the breaking point. CBM in Charlotte has a large membership, but they put on a beer festival every year in the autumn for charity which sells 5K tickets and in May they host their homebrew competition. I just don't see them having enough gas in the tank to handle all the logistics of the conference immediately following their comp with their festival coming up a few months after the conference.

I don't actually know everything which goes on behind the scenes, but I'm told all the volunteers still pay for the conference despite many never seeing anything other than the room as they deliver beer from the central cooler. I'm not sure how other organizations do it, but it would seem to me if there was a means to not burnout while hosting the conference there would be many more places who could host.

[theDarkSide]

Is it always the same weekend? My predicament is having to choose vacation for the next year in october.

It has always been in June (unless you go way back) but not the same weekend.
http://www.homebrewcon.org/conference/past-conferences/

We can keep our eye out for the 2017 information that will be published at the conference. Keep you eye out on the 8th or 9th. Someone will post it on the forum.

Philly was great...due to a scheduling conflict it was held later in the month.  The I tacked on a few extra vacation days and it took me all the way through July 4th.  I think the teachers appreciated it being later too. 

[toby]

Finding space for the conference is becoming more and more difficult it seems.

Part of me thinks that finding a willing local committee to get the legwork done is also a big factor.  The process for getting a future site selected isn't exactly well published, so having some available people that have done it before (at the very least in an advisory capacity) is an advantage that places that have already hosted have over new sites.

[denny]

I think there are plenty of places to hold the conference, but the issue is the behind the scenes work which is handled by the host club(s). For instance the conference could easily be held in Charlotte with side trips to many local breweries and a pre-conference party bus to Asheville, but it would tax the clubs in NC to almost the breaking point. CBM in Charlotte has a large membership, but they put on a beer festival every year in the autumn for charity which sells 5K tickets and in May they host their homebrew competition. I just don't see them having enough gas in the tank to handle all the logistics of the conference immediately following their comp with their festival coming up a few months after the conference.

I don't actually know everything which goes on behind the scenes, but I'm told all the volunteers still pay for the conference despite many never seeing anything other than the room as they deliver beer from the central cooler. I'm not sure how other organizations do it, but it would seem to me if there was a means to not burnout while hosting the conference there would be many more places who could host.

Mike, if you think it's that easy, you should run for GC.

[denny]

Finding space for the conference is becoming more and more difficult it seems.

Part of me thinks that finding a willing local committee to get the legwork done is also a big factor.  The process for getting a future site selected isn't exactly well published, so having some available people that have done it before (at the very least in an advisory capacity) is an advantage that places that have already hosted have over new sites.

The AHA has a document relting to that and in the past we've publicized it.  I'll dig  up the link.

[toby]

The AHA has a document relting to that and in the past we've publicized it.  I'll dig  up the link.

That would be cool.  I searched for it quite a bit and couldn't find it.

[hopfenundmalz]

I think there are plenty of places to hold the conference, but the issue is the behind the scenes work which is handled by the host club(s). For instance the conference could easily be held in Charlotte with side trips to many local breweries and a pre-conference party bus to Asheville, but it would tax the clubs in NC to almost the breaking point. CBM in Charlotte has a large membership, but they put on a beer festival every year in the autumn for charity which sells 5K tickets and in May they host their homebrew competition. I just don't see them having enough gas in the tank to handle all the logistics of the conference immediately following their comp with their festival coming up a few months after the conference.

I don't actually know everything which goes on behind the scenes, but I'm told all the volunteers still pay for the conference despite many never seeing anything other than the room as they deliver beer from the central cooler. I'm not sure how other organizations do it, but it would seem to me if there was a means to not burnout while hosting the conference there would be many more places who could host.

The cellar crew became a paid position around Philly timeframe. I don't know the pay rate. You see the same guys every year.