What Does A Homebrew Club Do?

[waggastew]

Have been thinking about joining/starting a beer appreciation/homebrew/beer talk club in my area. Just wondering what format they tend to take? Would appreciate some ideas from people currently in clubs etc.

I am not serious enough (yet) to spend all night talking about attenuation and don't want to get pissed at every meeting. I was thinking along the line of once a month:

1. Taste/judge/comment on a few homebrews from club members
2. Do a blind tasting of a few (3?) interesting commercials of a particular style
3. Quick 10min masterclass on some brewing related topic
4. General chit chat and story spinning
5. Home to the wife and kids.

Is this the idea?

 

[Brewtus]

Canberra brews met once a month. The format is

1. Comments from the committee about upcoming events like comps, brewery tour, brew days, etc also about web site, money etc.
2. Meet new members and visitors
3. Announce raffle prizes of specialty beer, brew bling etc
4. some times guest speaker or education session on kegging, bottling, yeast starters, beer infections, thermometer calibrating, tasting interesting beers etc.
5. draw raffle

at all times home brew samples are swapped and critiqued by other brewers.

Fun and beer chat is had.

 

[Fourstar]

I am not serious enough (yet) to spend all night talking about attenuation and don't want to get pissed at every meeting. I was thinking along the line of once a month:

1. Taste/judge/comment on a few homebrews from club members
2. Do a blind tasting of a few (3?) interesting commercials of a particular style
3. Quick 10min masterclass on some brewing related topic
4. General chit chat and story spinning
5. Home to the wife and kids.

as the secretary of the Melbourne brewers (Presidents b1tch! ) i can concur with most of the above. tastings with the members happen weekly and club judging happens approx bi-monthly as well as general banter and typical formalities each month. these include wrapup of previous comps, updates of the club events and general news within the club and community. what you have planned is good and something required within a club. without format, its just a 'beer session'.best to look into the requirementns of starting an official club too. its not as simple as 'im a club'.

cheers.

 

[Fatgodzilla]

At the IBUs where tom foolery, shennanigans and speaking out of our arses is our new motto, we have someone say they will run a show at their place and watch while everyone makes excuses about why they can't be there. It's good fun. Otherwise, no formal structure, certainly a lack of real leadership but a marvellous ability to brew great beer, genorosity in mass dispensing same, a lot of dead meat for the carnivores and a vegetarian haggis for the unforunate souls. That's how we run things in the Illawarra.

You'll need to decide just what you want - a formal structure or just a (semi irregular) social gathering. First thing is to find out who and where your likely membership base live. Throw an open day and see you comes. Ask the new Hunter group (HUGs ?) if some of them can come up for a weekend and make the day a success (and bbring beer .. lots of beer!)

Good luck.