Greetings Fellow Brewers!

[JoshBeer]

My name is Josh Ratliff, I'm 40 years old, and I'm a long time AHA member, but first time poster in the forums. I've been homebrewing for about 15 years now. For the past decade, I've been working in the homebrew supply industry. I have worked in 4 homebrew shops (managed 2 and started 1) over the years. For the past 3 years, I've been the Brewmaster for Mr. Beer (I'm sure you've heard of us...lol), which is owned by Coopers Brewing Co (Australia).

Mr. Beer is headquartered in sunny Tucson, Arizona, where I have lived off and on for over 20 years. As the Brewmaster for MRB, I design many of our recipes and test new products that will go on our website. I also run our 1st physical retail store in our 25+ year history called "Everything Homebrew". In addition to our retail sales, we also conduct classes and brewing/tasting events.

In addition to working within the industry, I'm also a BJCP Judge and member of the Tucson Homebrew Club. I also attend the AHA Conference annually as a Sponsor.

Because I've been so active within the homebrew industry and am very familiar with the vendors, trends, and other aspects within the industry, I've decided to run for the 2018 Governing Committee. I believe that I can be a great asset to to committee when it comes to industry matters. I also have a background in radio (10+ years) and community advocacy. I volunteered with a non-profit group called Media Island International for several years. I'm very familiar with volunteer recruiting, fundraising, and organizational management. I would love your vote for one of the 5 available seats that are coming up for election (voting starts in Feb). OK, that's enough shameless campaigning...lol.

My favorite styles of beer include anything "farmhouse" (saisons, grisettes, Bier De Garde, etc.), anything with Brett, sours, IPAs (West Coast and NE), stouts (especially milk stouts and BA stouts), and clean, crisp pilsners.

My other hobbies besides brewing, include cycling (mountain biking mostly, but I have a BMX racing background), online gaming, and reading about science. I also enjoy traveling and eating/drinking exotic foods/drinks.

Cheers! 

[denny]

Hi Josh!  Thanks for running for GC!

[JoshBeer]

Thanks for the welcome, Denny! I also just applied to enter 3 beers into the National Homebrew Competition. Hopefully they do well this year. I can't wait for the NHC in Portland! Minneapolis was fun, but Portland is one of my favorite cities and I have lots of friends there so it should be a blast.

Cheers! 

[denny]

Thanks for the welcome, Denny! I also just applied to enter 3 beers into the National Homebrew Competition. Hopefully they do well this year. I can't wait for the NHC in Portland! Minneapolis was fun, but Portland is one of my favorite cities and I have lots of friends there so it should be a blast.

Cheers! 

See ya there!

[hopfenundmalz]

See you in Portland. Good luck on the GC election.

[JoshBeer]

Hey friends, the GC election site is up! Please vote for me, Josh Ratliff for a seat on the committee! Cheers!

https://www.homebrewersassociation.org/membership/aha-governing-committee/election/

[JoshBeer]

A little more about my platform for running for the AHA GC:

As an AHA candidate with almost 10 years experience managing and operating homebrew supply stores between AZ and WA, I would like to create more interaction and mutual participation between the AHA and LHB stores.

One of my biggest concerns is the growing number of people purchasing their products online through large retailers such as Northern Brewer and Midwest Supplies (both AB-Inbev owned) instead of the LHBS. Some stores have been going out of business because of this.

As a member of the AHA GC, I would like to find ways to encourage people to shop at their LHBS instead of shopping online. I understand that for some people, shopping online is their only option and they are the exception here. But for those that do have an LHBS, yet still shop for supplies online, we need to incentivize the experience of shopping local instead. Maybe this will encourage the opening of newer stores in under-served areas. This is one of the issues I would like to address as an AHA GC member.

[BrewBama]

I understand your concern and I agree that it’s a shame the local shops are closing. However, in my case, the reason I order from an online source (neither of the two you mention) are a result of the LHB shop not meeting my expectations. I could go into detail but I’d rather simply say they do not meet my needs. The store I buy from online is a local shop to those that live near it so in a way I do buy from a local — just not my local. I do buy cleaning and sanitizing supplies and certain other small common items locally, but ingredients are all bought online. If they did choose to change and meet my needs I’d gladly buy from them. So, to blame the named stores for putting the local out of business is misplaced.


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[Phil_M]

I understand your concern and I agree that it’s a shame the local shops are closing. However, in my case, the reason I order from an online source (neither of the two you mention) are a result of the LHB shop not meeting my expectations. I could go into detail but I’d rather simply say they do not meet my needs. The store I buy from online is a local shop to those that live near it so in a way I do buy from a local — just not my local. I do buy cleaning and sanitizing supplies and certain other small common items locally, but ingredients are all bought online. If they did choose to change and meet my needs I’d gladly buy from them. So, to blame the named stores for putting the local out of business is misplaced.


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+1. While I'm currently not an AHA member, I have been in the past. I try and support my LHBS as much as I can, however I will not sacrifice quality of ingredients (Well, more specifically, there are certain brands I won't buy...) just to buy local. Seems the "middle men" between the ingredient producers (Wyeast, Thomas Fawcett, etc.) and the sellers (MoreBeer, LHBS, whatever) are pulling as many dirty tricks as beer distributors in terms of access and loyalty.

[Robert]

Like BrewBama said, online is local somewhere, for the most part.  I don't think my local would be doing very well without their online sales, and they've found it necessary to fulfill for Amazon too, which they say is a devil's bargain for numerous reasons.  They say even LD Carlson is cutting parts of their line and told LHBS to buy from MoreFlavor. It seems that not only is the brick and mortar space contracting, but only so many outlets can survive online.  Makes sense, that part.  Local once had the edge in convenience.  Now no one does.  I want a LHBS, and I can't resist the advantage of buying a lot of stuff online.  I'm conflicted.  Josh, it seems we need to carve out new roles for the LHBS, whether through involvement with educational or club activities, or something.  I trust you have thoughts on this.

[tommymorris]

Online versus local is an issue for many retail businesses. There is no easy solution. JoshBeer, what solutions do you propose to the problem? You mention “we need to incentivize the experience of shopping local instead.” What incentives do have in mind?

I shop online a lot. I get more selection, lower price, and convenience. I want to shop at my LHBS. But, when I do, I loose all three of the above.

[Phil_M]

Online versus local is an issue for many retail businesses. There is no easy solution. JoshBeer, what solutions do you propose to the problem? You mention “we need to incentivize the experience of shopping local instead.” What incentives do have in mind?

I shop online a lot. I get more selection, lower price, and convenience. I want to shop at my LHBS. But, when I do, I loose all three of the above.

What's most telling to me about the whole brick and mortar vs. online issue is Sears. Sears was the original mail order place, then they changed to brick and mortar when that became the fashion...and failed to remain flexible enough to change back. (Crappy products and poor management didn't help. They drug Craftsman through the mud.)

Maybe club area LHBS idea is the way to go? More like other hobby centers at that point, like the small bookstores that survive because of MTG.