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Hey! Where’d Everybody Go? Member Retention Dos and Don’ts

  • Speaker: Mike Todd
  • Track: Clubs & Competitions
  • Homebrew Con 2022
  • Pittsburgh

Understand common reasons why people leave member groups, specifically homebrew clubs; Identify areas in need of improvement within your own club; Walk away with actionable best practices for retaining members you can implement immediately.


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Members Only: Organizing Club Homebrew Contests

  • Speaker: Aaron Pigors
  • Track: Clubs & Competitions
  • Homebrew Con 2022
  • Pittsburgh

What it takes to make a winning beer in a club competition; Discuss how to organize a club event and beer contest; Share examples of several successful homebrew club contests and event ideas;


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The Art of Inclusive Communication

  • Speakers: Emma CelesteMarc Meyer
  • Track: Clubs & Competitions
  • Homebrew Con 2022
  • Online

This webinar will help participants explore their own personal and cultural identities and learn how they relate to communication styles


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Running a Club in the New World: Ideas to Keep Your Members Engaged

  • Speaker: Matt Bolling
  • Track: Clubs & Competitions
  • Homebrew Con 2021
  • Online

The homebrewing spirit cannot be kept down, even by a global pandemic! This presentation will lay out ideas for keeping your homebrew club thriving in 2021 and beyond. Hear about ways that your club can focus on not only engaging your current members but also on recruiting new faces to…

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Educational Seminars and Guest Speakers for Your Homebrew Club

  • Speaker: Mike Todd
  • Track: Clubs & Competitions
  • Homebrew Con 2019
  • Providence, RI

Effectively coordinate educational topics and speakers for your homebrew club to promote continued learning, active membership, and club longevity. Homebrew clubs that encourage members to remain up to date and informed are much more successful than so-called “drinking clubs.” This seminar will help you start a regular educational segment at…

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How to Facilitate a Club Barrel-Aging Program and Produce Quality Beer

  • Speakers: Aaron De Boer & Matt JohnsonTyler Bye
  • Track: Clubs & Competitions
  • Homebrew Con 2019
  • Providence, RI

The Nordeast Brewers Alliance has been running a barrel-aging program since 2012. Our French oak barrel project was featured on Chop & Brew episode 7, “Roll Out the Barrels.” In this presentation, we will outline ways to facilitate a club barrel program and produce a successful experience for the club…

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How to Survive Your Local Homebrew Competition

  • Speakers: Evan ComeauxJoshua Fogg & Steve GravelMatthew Dirckx
  • Track: Clubs & Competitions
  • Homebrew Con 2019
  • Providence, RI

Want to host a homebrew competition? Ever coordinated a competition before? If so, then you know how fortunate you are to be alive right now. Join our team of battle-hardened competition coordinators for tactical insights on how to survive and conquer your competition. You will hear our war stories, learn…

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Is Your Beer Special? Deciphering the BJCP Specialty Beer Categories for Entrants and Judges

  • Speaker: Dennis Mitchell
  • Track: Clubs & Competitions
  • Homebrew Con 2018
  • Portland, OR

“Where do I enter my beer?” “Should this beer be judged in this category?” “Why would someone brew this?” With the expansion of specialty beer categories in the 2015 BJCP Style Guidelines, entrants and judges both new and old might find themselves unsure where a beer belongs. This presentation will…

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Running Club Events and Education Sessions

  • Speaker: Bruce Buerger
  • Track: Clubs & Competitions
  • Homebrew Con 2018
  • Portland, OR

Want to take your homebrew club to the next level? If so, you won’t want to miss Bruce Buerger’s discussion of how to organize club events and educational programs. From hosting style reviews and tastings to scheduling study sessions, you and your club will benefit from learning the dos and…

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The Art of the Pro-Am

  • Speaker: Adam Boyd
  • Track: Clubs & Competitions
  • Homebrew Con 2018
  • Portland, OR

In this detailed look at commercial and homebrewing collaborations and competitions, attendees will discover the benefits of the Pro-Am for homebrew clubs and breweries and learn strategies a club can use to create their own events. This presentation examines the Pro-Am concept and takes a detailed look at a variety…

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Becoming a Better Beer Judge

  • Speaker: Amanda Burkemper
  • Track: Clubs & Competitions
  • Homebrew Con 2017
  • Minneapolis, MN

Becoming a BJCP judge is hard enough, but it’s after you become a judge that the learning really begins. Why is that, and what can we do to become a better beer judge? Entrants pay money to enter competitions, and we owe it to them to offer the…

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Building Great Homebrew Clubs

  • Speakers: Drew BeechumJason RandallMartin BrungardRon Minkoff
  • Track: Clubs & Competitions
  • Homebrew Con 2017
  • Minneapolis, MN

Join representatives from three former Radegast Award–winning homebrew clubs—the Carolina Brewmasters, Maltose Falcons, and the Hogtown Brewers—for a spirited discussion on what makes great homebrew clubs. Attendees can expect to learn new, exciting ways to engage their memberships and take club events to the next level.

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In It to Win It: Tips, Tricks, and Strategies for Competing Your Way to Better Beer

  • Speakers: Derrick FlippinDexter Garner
  • Track: Clubs & Competitions
  • Homebrew Con 2017
  • Minneapolis, MN

With great beer comes great awards! Learn how homebrew competitions can improve your beer and ultimately make you a better brewer. Find out how to maximize your chances at winning gold from two highly successful competition brewers who have a history of going against each other, tooth and nail, to…

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Growing Up: Building a Lasting Homebrew Club

  • Speaker: Josh Weikert
  • Track: Clubs & Competitions
  • Homebrew Con 2016
  • Baltimore, MD

Most homebrew clubs experience growing pains: there comes a time when meeting in your own kitchens to share homebrew and chat goes by the wayside. Those pains and pitfalls can be avoided or eased, though. This seminar will provide information about finding meeting locations, growing your membership without overwhelming your…

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How To Start and Grow a Homebrew-Focused Charity Event

  • Speaker: Brian Verdi
  • Track: Clubs & Competitions
  • Homebrew Con 2016
  • Baltimore, MD

The Three Rivers Underground Homebrewers (TRUB) started Brewing Up A Cure in 2005 as a small, friends and family-oriented tasting event. The goal was to raise money and awareness for a charity while promoting homebrewing. Come learn how Brewing Up A Cure has grown from humble beginnings to a premier…

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Launching a Communal Sours Program

  • Speaker: Andy Gamelin
  • Track: Clubs & Competitions
  • Homebrew Con 2016
  • Baltimore, MD

In this discussion we will focus on the practical and social aspects of developing a successful sours program within your homebrew club and techniques that can be used to ensure the production of high quality sour beers. Areas of focus will include communal brewing, scaling yeast and bacteria, fermentation, blending,…

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More Than a Hobby: Developing Club Leadership For Long-Term Club Success

  • Speaker: Sean Wolfe
  • Track: Clubs & Competitions
  • Homebrew Con 2016
  • Baltimore, MD

Many clubs start the same, it’s not formal, it’s a group of friends, and no one is formally in charge. One person or a small group drives the club, and all is good. Fast forward a few years and now you have regular, structured meetings of 50+ people, members who…

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Homebrew Club Insurance Program

  • Speaker: Luke Dobrich
  • Track: Clubs & Competitions
  • Homebrew Con 2015
  • San Diego, CA

This seminar provides an overview of the AHA-endorsed homebrew club insurance program. Homebrew club and individual club member’s liability exposures and risks will be discussed. Participants will also learn about appropirate risk transfer procedures to mitigate insurance exposures for their clubs and members.

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Organized CHAOS: Taking Your Club to the Next Level

  • Speakers: Dave WilliamsKen GettyLucas Morris
  • Track: Clubs & Competitions
  • Homebrew Con 2015
  • San Diego, CA

CHAOS Brew Club of Chicago has done something that few, if any, other clubs have done: create a dedicated community space for people to brew, socialize and share. This seminar will focus on the ups and downs of the club’s journey so that other clubs and brewers can learn from…

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Homebrew Competitions: How to Run One & How to Enter One

  • Speakers: Brian JoasBruce Buerger
  • Track: Clubs & Competitions
  • Homebrew Con 2014
  • Grand Rapids, MI

Homebrew competitions involve more than just collecting and judging entries and handing out medals. To be successful, they require some vision and strong planning ahead of the judging date. From the entrant’s perspective, there are multiple competitions to choose from. They are a great way to gain feedback and tips…

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How to Improve Club Events and Empower Leaders

  • Speaker: Bruce Buerger
  • Track: Clubs & Competitions
  • Homebrew Con 2013
  • Philadelphia, PA

There is a lot of good homebrewing talent out there, but more often than not, those organizing events have difficulty tapping into it. This session aims to empower club leaders, elected or otherwise, with tools to make their events successful. We'll talk about classic pitfalls, the fear of failing in…

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Club Panel

  • Speakers: Chris P. FreyDrew BeechumNate MullerWill Fredin
  • Track: Clubs & Competitions
  • Homebrew Con 2012
  • Bellvue, WA

Homebrewing's growth is affecting every aspect of the hobby, including your local homebrew club. This forum is less about talking to experts and more about helping everyone get a handle on how to make your club run and have a ton of fun. Come with your questions and ideas, and…

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