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American Homebrewers Association Independence and Momentum Update

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đŸ» The AHA Is Driving A New Association and Members Are Leading the Charge

Happy November! As the weather cools and our fermenters warm up, we’re raising a glass to YOU—the members who power the American Homebrewers Association (AHA).

2025 has been a watershed year as we are now fully independent. With independence to become our own stand-alone nonprofit comes significant progress and even bigger plans.

✅ A Sample of Accomplishments Since our April Board Update

A Clear Vision for Growth

Did you catch the AHA’s new Strategic Plan, including our new vision?

✅ A homebrewer in every neighborhood and a homebrew club in every community.

A Strong Start as an Independent Association

  • We’re this close to announcing Homebrew Con 2026, scheduled for June 19–20 (with Final Round Judging of the National Homebrew Competition on June 18). We’ll share the U.S. location and venue once contracts are finalized. Keep an eye on your email!

We’ve Also


  • Built a new dedicated AHA team partnering with Strategic Association Management, with continued leadership from Julia Herz as AHA executive director and Amahl Turczyn as editor-in-chief of Zymurgy Magazine.
  • Launched five volunteer committees with 30+ passionate volunteers to brew the AHA’s magic sauce.

Greater Opportunity as an Independent Nonprofit

Thirsty to Know More?

Don’t miss:

đŸ“ș Special Zymurgy Live — November 5
Open to everyone (membership not required)! Join live here.

  • We’ve filed for both 501(c)(6) and 501(c)(3) status
    • Yeah, you read that right. We filed for both!
    • 501(c)(6) allows us to continue as a dedicated ‘membership’ organization.
    • 501(c)(3) will expand our ‘public’ focused work to promote homebrewing to the masses as a culturally significant hobby—plus it opens the doors to grants and donations.
    • The IRS approval is underway. Anticipate updates in 2026 as the process takes many months.

Community & Celebration

This Year, we Proudly:

  • Hosted the 47th National Homebrew Competition (NHC), driven by seven first-round sites with the Kansas City Bier Meisters homebrew club expertly hosting final-round judging.🙌
  • Continue to publish medal-validated recipes from the NHC (an exclusive for members). See 2025’s gold medal winners in the latest issue of Zymurgy, the world’s only print magazine dedicated to homebrewers.
  • Published a call for a new leadership position: NHC competition chair.
  • Offered members access to presale and discount tickets to the Great American Beer Festival, once again. And the AHA exhibited at the fest.
  • Launched the new AHA Happy Hour organized by the Community & Education Committee. October featured a Q&A with John Palmer!
  • Increased homebrewing’s visibility with coast-to-coast keynote presentations from Julia Herz, including to BrĂŒlosophy, the Colorado Homebrewers Conference, and from AHA board member Drew Beechum to the Foam Ranger’s Dixie Cup Competition.
  • Fielded numerous media interviews. Check out this Denver Post article ‘Homebrewing is Poised for a Resurgence’.

đŸ”„ What’s Simmering Next

Here’s what’s brewing for 2026:

  • AHA Board Elections in Q1
  • 2026 NHC entry info + first-round locations (January)
  • AHA’s Annual Homebrew Holidays: Big Brew (May), Home Fermentation Day (August), and Learn to Homebrew Day (November)
  • Publication of AHA Advocacy Statements starting with legalization of homebrew shipping to competitions (coming soon)
  • Meetings with global homebrewing organizations and suppliers. Wanna schedule a call? Email Julia at ed@homebrewersassociation.org.
  • Publish a policy on artificial intelligence (AI) and member/AHA usage
  • And much, much more

💡 Better Benefits Ahead

We’re investing in member service upgrades:

  • New website search and virtual brewing assistant (member exclusive!)
  • Evolving AHA Member Deals + Club and Shop directories—the most extensive listings in the world for homebrewers
  • Saved recipe access—email info@homebrewersassociation.org to retrieve your previously saved recipes (relevant only for members who used this before July 2025).

Your patience fuels progress—thank you for giving us time to tackle all the above.

🎉 Stay Involved—Your Community Awaits

Explore & participate:

And don’t miss:

đŸ“ș Special Zymurgy Live on November 5

This special Zym Live is open to everyone—it’s usually a member-only exclusive! Hear directly from your founding board (us) about the future. Join live or catch the recording.

đŸș The AHA Exists for You—and Because of You

You make this all possible. Thank YOU. More members will bring more advocacy, resources, innovation, community, and more homebrewing. 👉 Join or renew today, and invite another brewer to do the same. Together, we’ll ensure homebrewing thrives for generations.

Your AHA team is honored to continue delivering unmatched reasons (Zymurgy Magazine), recipes (NHC validated), resources (HomebrewersAssociation.org), and rewards (AHA Member Deals, Annual Recognition Awards, and National Homebrew Competition Awards).

The AHA Founding Board