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This text is featured within the November/December 2024 Zymurgy journal.
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By Julia Herz, American Homebrewers Affiliation Govt Director
A novel theme for a passion journal? No, under no circumstances. As we every know, each time we brew, ferment, bottle, keg, switch, store, and share, there are obstacles. The place is my funnel? Crap, the provision store doesn’t have the hops I need. Hmmm, I’m noticing an off-flavor in my English Bitter that I’ve by no means seen earlier than. (&%$£!) Heat, sticky wort dripped out of my switch spigot as a result of I forgot the gasket the final time I put it again collectively. So, what’s a homebrewer to do?
We overcome obstacles by brewing, fermenting, and naturally consuming, as we study, develop, and excel. This additionally applies to the American Homebrewers Affiliation, a 46-year-long membership group with successes and challenges fairly distinctive com- pared to different passion teams.
The AHA began as a 501(c)(3) in 1978, and is now a person membership group, a part of the 501(c)(6) Brewers Affiliation (BA), primarily based in Boulder, Colorado. AHA members actually helped start the complete craft beer and unbiased brewer motion, and we’re a significant a part of the beer ecosystem. Massive sneakers. We take the AHA legacy, homebrewers’ significance in tradition, and member wants critically.
What’s high of thoughts proper now’s that the next aren’t as sturdy as they as soon as had been: homebrewing as a passion, provide store and craft beer gross sales, and membership numbers. Thus, for the previous two years, the AHA has strategically deliberate to formulate 2025–2027 priorities and assess new enterprise mannequin and affiliation standing choices. With management, assist, and an unbelievable period of time out of your AHA Committee and chair Shawna Cormier, together with BA employees, in 2024, we commissioned a member/non-member survey that garnered 3,755 responses (see infographic), a STEEP (Social, Technological, Financial, Environmental, and Political) evaluation, an unbiased monetary evaluate, and extra.
It’s important to acknowledge that all of us as members (I used to be an AHA member method earlier than I labored for the group) varies in our brewing and fermenting method, and our useful resource preferences. We are able to’t do all of it, however we DO ship on unbelievable issues. Need group? Take part in an AHA Annual Homebrew Vacation. Try the brand new AHA Discussion board (launched in September 2024). Be part of or rewatch a Zymurgy Reside webinar unique to AHA members. Need recipes, causes to brew, and rewards within the type of reductions? We’ve bought these too.
For instance, within the upcoming Jan/ Feb 2025 challenge of Zymurgy, you’ll acquire entry to validated gold medal-winning Nationwide Homebrew Competitors recipes from the 2024 competitors. Our unbelievable assortment of recipes grows every year. After each competitors, we offer taste-tested recipes awarded by BJCP judges you could’t get wherever else. Entry them at HomebrewersAssociation.org.
On the time of authoring this column (September 2024), it’s not decided what AHA evolutions might be prompted by what we’ve realized. Nevertheless, change will assist us maintain tempo, evolve, innovate, develop, and proceed to serve you. So brew on, and right here’s to the FUN of homebrewing and never letting obstacles get in the best way. We’d wish to thank the three,755 members and non-members who’ve helped form the way forward for the AHA by taking part on this spring 2024 survey.
Julia Herz is government director of the American Homebrewers Affiliation. You may comply with Julia’s homebrew talks and travels on Instagram @ImmaculateFermentation or e-mail her.
2024 State of Homebrewing Infographic
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