How We Got Here and WHY We Celebrate
By Shawna Cormier and Julia Herz
Hello everyone. We hope you each had a fantastic and healthy holiday season filled with good homebrew, family, friends, and rest. Today the American Homebrewers Association® (AHA) is sharing big news! We have filed for incorporation in the state of Colorado as a step to becoming an independent 501(c) nonprofit organization. View the press release.
Founded in 1978, the AHA has operated as a division under the umbrella of the Brewers Association℠ (BA)—the not-for-profit trade association dedicated to small and independent American craft brewers—since 1983. Before the end of 2025, the AHA will operate as a nonprofit organization autonomous from the BA. We have created a new founding board and are in the final stages of discussions to hire an association management company to carry out AHA operations.
The AHA’s founding board, comprised of chairperson Shawna Cormier, members Drew Beechum, Sandy Cockerham, Gary Glass, and Greg Roskopf, and staff liaison and current executive director Julia Herz, will act as a transition committee to steward the AHA to organizational independence in 2025 and establish the nascent organization’s bylaws, vision, mission, strategic priorities, and leadership elections to happen in 2026. To view the board’s job description, click here.
The transition allows the AHA to prioritize the needs of homebrewing and the community in new and exciting ways. It also elevates membership to have a board of directors, bringing more opportunities for member engagement and contributions. The AHA had the option to stay with the Brewers Association, but with fewer members since 2019 (AHA’s height is 46,000 members, and today we have 23,000) comes fewer resources.
Experimentation, innovation, and overall strategic planning are all areas the AHA has been looking to develop but could not be fulfilled based on the current structure at the BA. As shared in the AHA’s November/December 2024 Zymurgy, AHA members helped birth the entire craft beer and independent brewer movement, and we are a vital part of the beer ecosystem. We take the AHA legacy, homebrewers’ importance in culture, and member needs seriously, and this change will exponentially lay a path for new growth and member engagement.
Will my benefits stay the same? – Yes (!) for 2025, AHA member benefits will stay the same. In the future, look to see benefits refined based on member input. See the current summary of the AHA membership benefits.
Why and when did the move toward independence start?
- Over the past few years, we’ve been increasingly hearing from members and the AHA committee that we need a reinvigorated new vision. Staff also voiced their desire to transition to an independent organization.
- This decoupling move is mutually supported by both current AHA and Brewers Association leadership and board of directors.
- Establishing the AHA as an independent entity allows for tailored governance, an evolved staffing model, and strategic flexibility to address member needs and market dynamics.
- Extensive research in 2024 supports a continued need and demand for a national organization focused on homebrewing.
What was the process that led to this move?
- In 2024, the AHA embarked on a comprehensive strategic planning process.
- Research that informed the AHA’s new direction included a review of the AHA’s mission and relevance, membership and retail supply shop trends, staff input on operations and program impact, committee and stakeholder insights on member benefits, a member/non-member survey that garnered 3,755 responses; a STEEP (Social, Technological, Economic, Environmental, and Political) analysis; and an independent financial review.
What happened to Homebrew Con?
- Unfortunately, we have yet to find a suitable partner to execute a cost-effective 2025 Homebrew Con (HBC), the AHA’s annual member gathering, and the usual location of the awards ceremony. However, we are on track with an ongoing search for options to bring back HBC as a valued and important annual event in 2026.
- We hope to host the National Homebrew Competition (NHC) awards ceremony on-site in Kansas City after the final round of judging. We will share additional details as soon as we have them. Stay tuned for more information.
Thirsty For More?
- Here is an overview of the AHA volunteer opportunities. See here.
- Here is a recent update on AHA’s current activities and incredible history of helping change the world of beer as we know it.
- Renew or join the AHA to help be a part of this incredible history as it unfolds.
- Sign up to get the AHA’s What’s Brewing newsletter here.
- Participate in the AHA conversation and community on the AHA Forum here.
- Enter the 47th National Homebrew Competition to compete with AHA members worldwide. The entry window is from January 28 to February 19, 2025. Enter here.
We hope you share our enthusiasm for the opportunities our new independence brings. We appreciate your membership, enthusiasm, and feedback as we work to steward the association into its next chapter. It’s essential to acknowledge that future AHA members and volunteer leaders will walk, brew, and ferment in the footsteps of thousands of pioneer homebrewers who helped make the AHA, and craft beer what it is today. What the AHA is tomorrow is now up to us, and we invite members to submit input on the AHA’s vision. Respondents must be active AHA members. To submit comments, go here.
To check your membership status, see here or contact our team via phone or email here.
Here is to a fantastic new future for the incredible, fun, and rewarding hobby of homebrewing,
Shawna Cormier & Julia Herz
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