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Choosing the Right Software for Your Competition: BAP vs. BCOE&M Showdown!

  • Speakers: Andrew Melchers Keith Peace
  • Track: Clubs & Competitions
  • Homebrew Con 2026
  • Asheville

Description This session compares two leading competition software platforms: Beer Awards Platform (BAP) and Brew Competition Online Entry & Management (BCOE&M). Attendees will learn the key differences, strengths, and limitations of each system. Ideal for organizers seeking clarity on which tool best fits their competition's…

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Collaboration, Connection, & Curiosity: How Clubs Grow Better Together

  • Speaker: Elizabeth Burgess
  • Track: Clubs & Competitions
  • Homebrew Con 2026
  • Asheville

Description  This session explores how bringing homebrew clubs together creates connection, shared learning, and real collaboration. Through the Colorado Homebrewers Conference, we saw how simple connection leads to lasting relationships, better coordination, and shared problem-solving. Attendees will learn how to foster collaboration across clubs,…

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Competition Brewing Strategies: Brewing for Medals, Finals, and 43+ Scores

  • Speaker: Andy Scherzinger
  • Track: Clubs & Competitions
  • Homebrew Con 2026
  • Asheville

Description´ Competition brewing isn't one game, it's at least three. Strategies that win local circuits, succeed at national competitions, or produce 43+ scores are different. This session explores how goals shape recipe design, category selection, and brew planning so brewers can align their approach with…

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From Brew Day to Award-Winning Beer: Strategies for Competition Success

  • Speakers: Ross Stuart Tyler Miller
  • Track: Clubs & Competitions
  • Homebrew Con 2026
  • Asheville

Description This presentation explores what drives success in homebrew competitions, bridging the gap between brewer expectations and judge evaluations. Drawing on data from hundreds of competitions and thousands of scoresheets, it highlights how feedback, scoring trends, and common pitfalls shape results. Emphasizing process over recipe…

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From NHC to World Beer Cup, Homebrew Style

  • Speaker: David Byer
  • Track: Clubs & Competitions
  • Homebrew Con 2026
  • Asheville

Description Learn homebrew inspired and focused techniques that Diatribe Brewing co-owner Dave Byer still uses at his brewery to win medals at competitions like the World Beer Cup and GABF. From breaking from the rules on aging temperatures and yeast techniques to taking pride in…

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From Pours to Partnerships: Brewing Community Events

  • Speakers: Katrina Edwards Tom Zacher
  • Track: Clubs & Competitions
  • Homebrew Con 2026
  • Asheville

Description Brewery partnerships can open doors to collaboration, taproom pours, and events, but what happens next determines success. This session explores how relationships create opportunities and how clubs turn them into meaningful experiences through collaboration across clubs, partnerships with professional breweries, charitable purpose, and events…

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Homebrew Quick-Tip Concentrate! A Rapid Fire of Short Easy Clever Tips!

  • Speakers: Denise Brake Ron Minkoff
  • Track: Clubs & Competitions
  • Homebrew Con 2026
  • Asheville

Description Want to up your brewing savvy and create award-winning, tasty homebrew but your attention span isn't, shall we say, robust? You're in luck as we open a can of Homebrew Quick-Tip Concentrate loaded with a vetted collection of useful techniques in short easy bites,…

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How to Keep a Small Club Alive

  • Speakers: Douglas Bendinger Joseph Aistrup
  • Track: Clubs & Competitions
  • Homebrew Con 2026
  • Asheville

Description Learn how to keep a small homebrew club thriving without burnout. This 45-minute session covers simple, low-hassle meeting ideas, engaging activities, and practical approaches to organizing a small group. We'll share real-world strategies for maintaining momentum, building participation, and creating a fun, welcoming culture.…

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Mind the Gap: Keeping Members Engaged Between Monthly Meetings

  • Speakers: Khrysti Hunsworth Matt Huntsworth
  • Track: Clubs & Competitions
  • Homebrew Con 2026
  • Asheville

Description  Is your club stuck in a "once-a-month" rut? Join Brewers Anonymous to learn how to bridge the gap using a powerful digital ecosystem. Discover actionable strategies for integrating a functional website, a persistent Discord community, and consistent social media content to keep members…

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Mind the Gap: Keeping Members Engaged Between Monthly Meetings

  • Speakers: Khrysti Hunsworth Matt Huntsworth
  • Track: Clubs & Competitions
  • Homebrew Con 2026
  • Asheville

Description Is your club stuck in a "once-a-month" rut? Join Brewers Anonymous to learn how to bridge the gap using a powerful digital ecosystem. Discover actionable strategies for integrating a functional website, a persistent Discord community, and consistent social media content to keep members engaged…

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Hey! Where’d Everybody Go? Member Retention Dos and Don’ts

  • Speaker: Mike Todd
  • Track: Clubs & Competitions
  • Homebrew Con 2022
  • Pittsburgh

Understand common reasons why people leave member groups, specifically homebrew clubs; Identify areas in need of improvement within your own club; Walk away with actionable best practices for retaining members you can implement immediately.


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Members Only: Organizing Club Homebrew Contests

  • Speaker: Aaron Pigors
  • Track: Clubs & Competitions
  • Homebrew Con 2022
  • Pittsburgh

What it takes to make a winning beer in a club competition; Discuss how to organize a club event and beer contest; Share examples of several successful homebrew club contests and event ideas;


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The Art of Inclusive Communication

  • Speakers: Emma Celeste Marc Meyer
  • Track: Clubs & Competitions
  • Homebrew Con 2022
  • Online

This webinar will help participants explore their own personal and cultural identities and learn how they relate to communication styles


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Running a Club in the New World: Ideas to Keep Your Members Engaged

  • Speaker: Matt Bolling
  • Track: Clubs & Competitions
  • Homebrew Con 2021
  • Online

The homebrewing spirit cannot be kept down, even by a global pandemic! This presentation will lay out ideas for keeping your homebrew club thriving in 2021 and beyond. Hear about ways that your club can focus on not only engaging your current members but also on recruiting new faces to…

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Educational Seminars and Guest Speakers for Your Homebrew Club

  • Speaker: Mike Todd
  • Track: Clubs & Competitions
  • Homebrew Con 2019
  • Providence, RI

Effectively coordinate educational topics and speakers for your homebrew club to promote continued learning, active membership, and club longevity. Homebrew clubs that encourage members to remain up to date and informed are much more successful than so-called “drinking clubs.” This seminar will help you start a regular educational segment at…

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How to Facilitate a Club Barrel-Aging Program and Produce Quality Beer

  • Speakers: Aaron De Boer & Matt Johnson Tyler Bye
  • Track: Clubs & Competitions
  • Homebrew Con 2019
  • Providence, RI

The Nordeast Brewers Alliance has been running a barrel-aging program since 2012. Our French oak barrel project was featured on Chop & Brew episode 7, “Roll Out the Barrels.” In this presentation, we will outline ways to facilitate a club barrel program and produce a successful experience for the club…

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How to Survive Your Local Homebrew Competition

  • Speakers: Evan Comeaux Joshua Fogg & Steve Gravel Matthew Dirckx
  • Track: Clubs & Competitions
  • Homebrew Con 2019
  • Providence, RI

Want to host a homebrew competition? Ever coordinated a competition before? If so, then you know how fortunate you are to be alive right now. Join our team of battle-hardened competition coordinators for tactical insights on how to survive and conquer your competition. You will hear our war stories, learn…

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Is Your Beer Special? Deciphering the BJCP Specialty Beer Categories for Entrants and Judges

  • Speaker: Dennis Mitchell
  • Track: Clubs & Competitions
  • Homebrew Con 2018
  • Portland, OR

“Where do I enter my beer?” “Should this beer be judged in this category?” “Why would someone brew this?” With the expansion of specialty beer categories in the 2015 BJCP Style Guidelines, entrants and judges both new and old might find themselves unsure where a beer belongs. This presentation will…

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Running Club Events and Education Sessions

  • Speaker: Bruce Buerger
  • Track: Clubs & Competitions
  • Homebrew Con 2018
  • Portland, OR

Want to take your homebrew club to the next level? If so, you won’t want to miss Bruce Buerger’s discussion of how to organize club events and educational programs. From hosting style reviews and tastings to scheduling study sessions, you and your club will benefit from learning the dos and…

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The Art of the Pro-Am

  • Speaker: Adam Boyd
  • Track: Clubs & Competitions
  • Homebrew Con 2018
  • Portland, OR

In this detailed look at commercial and homebrewing collaborations and competitions, attendees will discover the benefits of the Pro-Am for homebrew clubs and breweries and learn strategies a club can use to create their own events. This presentation examines the Pro-Am concept and takes a detailed look at a variety…

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Becoming a Better Beer Judge

  • Speaker: Amanda Burkemper
  • Track: Clubs & Competitions
  • Homebrew Con 2017
  • Minneapolis, MN

Becoming a BJCP judge is hard enough, but it’s after you become a judge that the learning really begins. Why is that, and what can we do to become a better beer judge? Entrants pay money to enter competitions, and we owe it to them to offer the…

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Building Great Homebrew Clubs

  • Speakers: Drew Beechum Jason Randall Martin Brungard Ron Minkoff
  • Track: Clubs & Competitions
  • Homebrew Con 2017
  • Minneapolis, MN

Join representatives from three former Radegast Award–winning homebrew clubs—the Carolina Brewmasters, Maltose Falcons, and the Hogtown Brewers—for a spirited discussion on what makes great homebrew clubs. Attendees can expect to learn new, exciting ways to engage their memberships and take club events to the next level.

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In It to Win It: Tips, Tricks, and Strategies for Competing Your Way to Better Beer

  • Speakers: Derrick Flippin Dexter Garner
  • Track: Clubs & Competitions
  • Homebrew Con 2017
  • Minneapolis, MN

With great beer comes great awards! Learn how homebrew competitions can improve your beer and ultimately make you a better brewer. Find out how to maximize your chances at winning gold from two highly successful competition brewers who have a history of going against each other, tooth and nail, to…

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Growing Up: Building a Lasting Homebrew Club

  • Speaker: Josh Weikert
  • Track: Clubs & Competitions
  • Homebrew Con 2016
  • Baltimore, MD

Most homebrew clubs experience growing pains: there comes a time when meeting in your own kitchens to share homebrew and chat goes by the wayside. Those pains and pitfalls can be avoided or eased, though. This seminar will provide information about finding meeting locations, growing your membership without overwhelming your…

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How To Start and Grow a Homebrew-Focused Charity Event

  • Speaker: Brian Verdi
  • Track: Clubs & Competitions
  • Homebrew Con 2016
  • Baltimore, MD

The Three Rivers Underground Homebrewers (TRUB) started Brewing Up A Cure in 2005 as a small, friends and family-oriented tasting event. The goal was to raise money and awareness for a charity while promoting homebrewing. Come learn how Brewing Up A Cure has grown from humble beginnings to a premier…

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Launching a Communal Sours Program

  • Speaker: Andy Gamelin
  • Track: Clubs & Competitions
  • Homebrew Con 2016
  • Baltimore, MD

In this discussion we will focus on the practical and social aspects of developing a successful sours program within your homebrew club and techniques that can be used to ensure the production of high quality sour beers. Areas of focus will include communal brewing, scaling yeast and bacteria, fermentation, blending,…

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More Than a Hobby: Developing Club Leadership For Long-Term Club Success

  • Speaker: Sean Wolfe
  • Track: Clubs & Competitions
  • Homebrew Con 2016
  • Baltimore, MD

Many clubs start the same, it’s not formal, it’s a group of friends, and no one is formally in charge. One person or a small group drives the club, and all is good. Fast forward a few years and now you have regular, structured meetings of 50+ people, members who…

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Homebrew Club Insurance Program

  • Speaker: Luke Dobrich
  • Track: Clubs & Competitions
  • Homebrew Con 2015
  • San Diego, CA

This seminar provides an overview of the AHA-endorsed homebrew club insurance program. Homebrew club and individual club member’s liability exposures and risks will be discussed. Participants will also learn about appropirate risk transfer procedures to mitigate insurance exposures for their clubs and members.

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