📬 Apply by November 10. Send a resume plus a short statement of interest to: Julia Herz, AHA Executive Director, ed@homebrewersassociation.org
Summary
Volunteer Chair Position, December 1, 2025 – July 31, 2026
The American Homebrewers Association (AHA) is seeking a volunteer National Homebrew Competition (NHC) competition chair to lead the world’s largest and most respected homebrewing competition. Duration of the post will be December 1, 2025—July 31, 2026.
This is a high-visibility volunteer leadership role. It is ideal for a passionate community leader who wants to influence the future of homebrewing and positively impact thousands of AHA members and volunteers.
The competition chair will receive a stipend to defray travel expenses and global recognition for their service as the face of NHC awards and judging.
Why This Role Matters
The NHC recognizes the pinnacle of brewing achievement, honoring the very best homebrewed beer, mead, and cider worldwide. The NHC competition chair ensures that the competition reflects the AHA’s mission to inspire, educate, and celebrate homebrewers and stewards the world’s top competition.
Key Responsibilities
- Lead NHC judging, entries, winner analysis, medals, and prize selection
- Serve as the primary point of contact for entrants, judges, and organizers
- Build and inspire a diverse network of competition volunteer leaders and Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP) judges, and has the option to seat a deputy chair to support
- Author, update, and communicate rules, categories, and deadlines
- Partner with AHA staff on logistics, entrant and judging technology platforms, and promotion
- Champion diversity by recruiting and supporting women and BIPOC judges
- Represent the NHC at Homebrew Con 2026, including announcing winners on the main stage
- Sit on the AHA Events Committee, with this group serving as a sounding board and supporting the team on NHC success
- Lead as the AHA’s liaison to the Beer Awards Platform (BAP) NHC’s competition software for judging
Key Milestone Responsibilities by Month
- December: Secure first-round sites, publish the competition schedule, and establish initial competition deadlines
- December to January: Secure NHC prizes for medal winners
- January: Open registration and begin judge recruiting
- February to March: Regularly communicate competition details to entrants and judges
- March to April: Conduct first-round judging at 7 to 9 locations in the U.S.
- June: Conduct final-round judging and announce awards at Homebrew Con
- June to July: Disburse medals, allocate prizes, complete entrant communications, and conduct post-event analysis.
Competition Chair Participation Details
- Classification: Volunteer
- Title: NHC Competition Chair
- Travel Stipend: Compensation for travel to two first-round location visits and to Homebrew Con for attendance at the NHC Awards Ceremony in June or July 2026
About the American Homebrewers Association (AHA)
The AHA, founded in 1978, is built and directed by members while we deliver unmatched reasons (Zymurgy Magazine), recipes (NHC validated), resources (HomebrewersAssociation.org), and rewards (AHA Member Deals, Annual Recognition Awards, and National Homebrew Competition Awards). The association serves a community of 20,000 members, and connects and celebrates homebrewers worldwide. Our vision is simple yet powerful: A homebrewer in every neighborhood and a homebrew club in every community. Join us.
About the National Homebrew Competition (NHC)
Founded in 1979 with just 34 entries, the NHC is now the largest homebrew competition in the world, honoring world-class beer, mead, and cider created by homebrewers everywhere. Since 2025, close to 170,000 entries have been evaluated annually, gathering beer’s best homebrewers, fermenters, top beer judges, stewards, and volunteer competition leaders.
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