2014 AHA National Homebrewers Conference Registration Details

In response to member feedback, the American Homebrewers Association (AHA) is introducing a new registration system for the 2014 AHA National Homebrewers Conference that reduces the stress of the time-sensitive, first come, first served approach. The new system invites members to apply for a chance to register for the conference when it is most convenient for them during the one week application window. Read on to learn more about the new system.

Does Everyone Get In?

Due to capacity constraints, we must cap attendance for the National Homebrewers Conference. If demand does not exceed capacity, all members who have applied will receive a registration confirmation email directly from Altitude Tickets, our third-party registration partner, with instructions on how to complete their purchase online.

Should demand exceed capacity, a random lottery conducted by Altitude Tickets will be used to draw names of those who have applied to register.

We expect the majority of those interested in attending to get in. The application window provides an even playing field for all interested in attending with no “race to enter” stress; the lottery process provides a solution for random selection of attendees, should we experience greater demand than capacity allows. Capacity allows for a 20 percent increase in the number of attendees over last year.

Application Window

Opens: 10:00 a.m. MST, February 19, 2014
Closes: 10:00 p.m. MST, February 26, 2014

Registration Confirmations

Before March 8, 2014

The time at which an application is submitted will have no influence on securing conference registration; there is no need to sign up as soon as the application window opens, nor any value to waiting until the last minute.

Application to Register Details

Registration Fees

On Tap in Grand Rapids

Are you ready to take a trip to BeerCity USA?

After nationwide polls in 2012 and 2013, Grand Rapids was named BeerCity USA for two years running! Here are a few reasons why this Michigan town’s craft beer community is so special:

According to RateBeer.com, Founder’s Brewing Co. is the third best brewery in the world, and it serves one of the planet’s top 10 beers.
RateBeer also designated Hopcat (right) as the top brewpub in the nation and the #3 beer bar on Earth.
Brewery Vivant was one of Midwest Living‘s top 25 new places in 2012.
The Street listed Grand Rapids as one of the top 10 Best Vacation Cities for Beer Lovers.
More than a dozen craft breweries are located in the metro region, and new ones are popping up all the time!

Oh, and there’s more than just beer.

Grand Rapids offers visitors a huge variety of things to see and do, like world-renowned art, museums and historic sites for cultural vacationers. Enjoy some time outdoors at beautiful golf courses and beaches. Plus, Grand Rapids offers tempting farm-to-table restaurants for foodies and wholesome fun for families.

It’s no wonder Grand Rapids and Michigan’s Gold Coast was named the #1 Place To Visit in 2014 by Lonely Planet.

And if you just want to soak in the Great Lakes State vibe, visit one of the best downtowns in the Midwest.

Club Night & Social Club: Register Now!

Clubs, we know you’re anxious to showcase your finest brews at AHA National Homebrewers Conference this summer. Register your club now and reserve your spot at Club Night and Social Club!

On Friday night event, conference attendees gather for Club Night—perhaps the most thrilling event of the whole conference week! You’ll find silly costumes, stunning booth decorations and amazing homebrewed beer, mead and cider. Clubs from all over the U.S. will bring their A-game to impress fellow attendees.

Club Night Registration Form

Social Club allows clubs to showcase their beer during Homebrew Expo’s daytime hours on Thursday, Friday and Saturday and during two evening sessions on Friday and Saturday. The AHA’s beautiful handmade bars allow each club to pour up to 12 taps to attendees at a time.

Social Club Registration Form

2013 Conference Seminars Now Available!

First Time Attendee Guide

Hey Newbies! Check out our First Time Attendee Guide

Keynote Speakers Announced

We’re excited to announce that the 2014 keynote speakers won’t have to travel far to make it to the AHA conference. Dave Engbers and Mike Stevens of Founders Brewing Company are about as local as it gets. They’ll regale thousands of attending homebrewers with stories of their experiences starting one of the fastest-growing and most decorated breweries in the nation.

Mike and Dave were both born and raised in Grand Rapids, Michigan, but they didn’t meet until their days at Hope College, where the pair spent their undergrad years dreaming of opening a brewery. After a few years spent on unsatisfying career paths, Mike and Dave decided they never wanted to look back on life with regrets. They wrote a business plan, secured funding and opened the doors of Founders Brewing Company in 1997.

Building the brewery from the ground up, the pair spent time in every role—from bartending to the business office, from bottling to sales. Today, Dave holds a marketing-focused role as the face and personality of Founders, while Mike leads the business side of things.

Founders has seen its annual barrel output nearly double each of the last six years while distribution has expanded from seven states to 27. In 2011, the company expanded its facility to keep up with demand. The expansion included a new 85-barrel brew house, new kegging and bottling lines and the addition of twenty 400-barrel fermenters, increasing Founders’ annual capacity to 140,000 barrels. In late 2012, they expanded again, adding new cellar space. In 2013, Founders added two new vessels to the 85-barrel brew house, installed a pilot brew house, expanded their taproom and built a new beer garden, educational facility and offices. Founders finished 2013 with around 115,000 barrels produced and their facility currently has approximately 320,000 barrels of annual capacity. Founders projects to increase their production to 180,000 to 200,000 barrels in 2014.

As if there weren’t enough great reasons to have a Founders beer! Now, if you make it to Grand Rapids for the National Homebrewers Conference, you’ll have to make sure to taste a few and perhaps even visit the brewery.

Competition Registration Update

A number of changes have been made to the registration process for the 2014 National Homebrew Competition, with the goal of maximizing the number of American Homebrewers Association (AHA) members that can participate in the competition while reducing the stress of the first come, first served registration process of previous years. Read on to learn more about these changes.

Open Registration

Registration for this year’s AHA National Homebrew Competition (NHC) will be different than previous years. To avoid the time-sensitive nature of the first come, first served model of past years, the 2014 competition will have an open registration period from Monday, January 27 through Sunday, February 2, during which members of the American Homebrewers Association can register for the competition. The time at which registration is submitted will have no influence on registrants, so there is no need to sign up as soon as registration opens, nor any value to waiting until the last minute.

Read more about all of the additional changes for 2014.

New! Welcome Reception & Toast

New in 2014, conference attendees will enjoy a welcome reception on Thursday evening.

Sample beers from local craft brewers and snack on appetizers in a fun, intimate event alongside other registered attendees. AHA Director Gary Glass will officially kick off the conference with a group toast. Stay tuned for details on participating breweries.

The welcome reception is Thursday’s final official conference event of the day. After the reception ends at 7:30 pm, consider exploring Grand Rapids for dinner and beers at nearby breweries and beer bars.

Beers, Brewers & Fun: Conference Photos!

2013 Commemorative Beers

A fantastic four commemorative craft beers were brewed for this year’s National Homebrewers Conference attendees. Local craft breweries, homebrew clubs and other supporters chipped in to create a panoply of beers that’s sure to please any palate.

Sly Fox Beer’s bottle conditioned Bruclear Rye Saison is available in cork finished 750ml bottles and was brewed in collaboration with fellow Pennsylvanians from the Bruclear Homebrew Club. The effort was also supported by Hopsteiner, Weyermann and BSG Handcraft.

The second beer attendees receive at registration is Cluster’s First Stand. This German pilsner is brewed with American hops by Round Guys Brewing Co. of Lansdale, Penn., and it clocks in at a sessionable 5% ABV.

But wait, there’s more! We’ll also serve Iron Hill’s Headbanger IPA and Manayunk Brewing Co.’s Philadelphia Porter on draft. Look for these two beers at Thursday’s Welcome Toast and Friday’s Keynote Address. Both events are open to all conference attendees.

Welcome to Philadelphia, and bottoms up!

Tom Peters— Working Hard to Serve Great Beer

Tom Peters stood before a packed house of homebrewers, and as he began delivering the keynote address, you could hear the jaws hitting the floor. It’s staggering that one man has had such a profound effect on city of 1.5 million people, but he’s done just that in Philadelphia.

The story began with Tom’s first trip to Belgium in 1984. He walked into a Brussels bar and ordered a Heineken. As he finished, a kind bartender asked him if he’d like to try a real beer, and that’s how Peters ordered his first glass of Duvel. Although he was initially put off by the beer’s voluminous head, he soon experienced “His Belgian Epiphany.” Then, he sampled Orval and Chimay Blue, and not surprisingly, he tore up a train ticket to Paris and stayed in Brussels.

Once he returned to the U.S., Peters convinced his manager at a Cajun restaurant to order a case of Chimay. Although the patrons fell in love with the beer, he quickly realized he’d made a huge mistake—”I forgot set aside a bottle for myself!” Since then, Tom’s diligently sampled his wares for… you know… quality control.

Since he began introducing Belgian beer to Philadelphia in 1985, Tom’s been a busy guy, sometimes traveling to Belgium as often as seven times per year. He’s been involved with numerous collaboration brews and has found ways to introduce Belgian brewmasters to the delights of American beer culture. One year, at Philly Beer Week, he claims that 3 Fonteinen’s Armand De Belder said, “People think Belgium is beer paradise. Philadelphia. That is beer paradise.”

Indeed, Peters has done his part with Monk’s Cafe, but he isn’t content to simply serve great beer. He takes care of his employees, bringing a massage therapist by the bar twice a week to soothe sore backs or shoulders. Tom also cares for his community, holding charity events to benefit Alice’s Lemonade Stand, a foundation for childhood cancer. At one event, Monk’s tapped Pliny the Younger and raised $15,000 in one afternoon. Russian River Brewing Company was so pleased that they chipped in another $5,000 to make it an even 20 grand for the charity.

As he wrapped up his address, Tom admired the homebrewers’ passion: “After coming to this event, I want to start homebrewing myself—like I need another addiction!” he joked. Hopefully we’ll see him at another National Homebrewers Conference in the years to come, as an attendee.