Radical Change

When I first joined the AHA, I was living in Brooklyn and my homebrew shop (more like homebrew haven) was Bitters and Esters (RIP). That first “Learn How to Brew” class quite literally changed my life. I was captivated by the joy of fermentation. The ability to put ingredients together and eventually, hopefully, share the joy with others really hooked me. I feel like I’m not alone here…

Those elements, joy, community, and the thrill of learning, are all cornerstones of what makes the AHA special. We have the opportunity to take those elements and move them, shake them, and find all the ways we can live for another 50 years. Because making beer, cider, mead, hot sauce, kombucha, cheese, and other fermented goodies ain’t going away.

Yes, it’s true, we’re going through some challenging times, but who hasn’t? The times that challenge you, that make you want to quit, the moments where you question everything…those are the moments when something changes, where you decide to do whatever it takes, to push through, to make it happen. These are the moments where you show who you really are. 

As we come out of our most recent board of directors retreat and board meeting this month, I’ve been thinking about joy. Fun. Innovation. All the reasons we ferment and share in this wildly enthusiastic hobby. Where does the AHA fit into all of this? Why do we exist? We can really only answer that by learning from the past and looking to the future.

We are currently formulating our 2027 strategic priorities. We have several groups of engaged volunteers taking a hard look at our budget, our member benefits, and radical new ways to bring in revenue and spend member dollars wisely. We’re taking your feedback to heart. Thank you to the over 1,000 of you who weighed in on some big questions: what matters most to you and how we make sure the AHA can keep delivering it. Your dues, your time, and your trust matter. We owe it to you to make thoughtful decisions that give this community a future worth getting excited about.

And there is more already underway! We’re bringing Homebrew Con to Milwaukee in 2027, exploring how the National Homebrew Competition can evolve, and bringing our clubs, community, and education efforts closer together. We also just launched Zymie, the world’s only answer engine dedicated to homebrewing. And the A-Ha Foundation has launched to pursue grants and donations for education, safety, and resources that help homebrewing thrive. More to come on all of these initiatives soon!

You’ll hear more from us through quarterly “What We’re Doing” updates, because you deserve to know what’s happening, why it matters, and where you can jump in. This is your AHA. We want you to see yourself in what comes next.

Building an AHA that can serve homebrewers for another 50 years takes the same curiosity and willingness to experiment that brought us to this hobby in the first place. Sometimes, that means radical change. We’re an independent AHA now! Through that transition, we’ve kept your benefits coming without interruption and added new ways to learn, connect, and explore. That took a lot of work, and it gives us something to build on. Now, with a more stable foundation beneath us, we have to look at what comes next. Our membership is changing. The hobby is changing. The way we support both has to change, too. We’re taking a hard look at our business model, what you value most, and how we fund the experiences and resources that make the AHA worth belonging to—for today’s homebrewers, tomorrow’s homebrewers, and the people who love us and the fermented goodies we provide ;)

We are the brewers, the dreamers, the joy-makers! As we adjust our business model for radical change, we look to a new era of the AHA. A sustainable future where we continue to host the National Homebrew Competition, put on a world-class Homebrew Con, support local clubs, advocate for homebrewers at the state and local level, and provide the technical expertise you’ve all come to expect. The JOY of homebrewing will move forward, and we need you, our members, to stick with us and show us who you really are: the truly unique, radical, always evolving members of the AMERICAN HOMEBREWERS ASSOCIATION!