AHA Director’s Cut: Overcoming Obstacles

This article is featured in the November/December 2024 Zymurgy magazine.

* * *

By Julia Herz, American Homebrewers Association Executive Director

A unique theme for a hobby magazine? No, not at all. As we each know, every time we brew, ferment, bottle, keg, transfer, shop, and share, there are obstacles. Where is my funnel? Crap, the supply shop does not have the hops I want. Hmmm, I’m noticing an off-flavor in my English Bitter that I’ve never noticed before. (&%$£!) Warm, sticky wort dripped out of my transfer spigot because I forgot the gasket the last time I put it back together. So, what’s a homebrewer to do?

We overcome obstacles by brewing, fermenting, and of course drinking, as we learn, grow, and excel. This also applies to the American Homebrewers Association, a 46-year-long membership community with successes and challenges quite unique com- pared to other hobby groups.

The AHA started as a 501(c)(3) in 1978, and is now an individual membership group, part of the 501(c)(6) Brewers Association (BA), based in Boulder, Colorado. AHA members literally helped birth the entire craft beer and independent brewer movement, and we are a vital part of the beer ecosystem. Big shoes. We take the AHA legacy, homebrewers’ importance in culture, and member needs seriously.

What is top of mind right now is that the following are not as robust as they once were: homebrewing as a hobby, supply shop and craft beer sales, and membership numbers. Thus, for the past two years, the AHA has strategically planned to formulate 2025–2027 priorities and assess new business model and association status options. With leadership, support, and an incredible amount of time from your AHA Committee and chair Shawna Cormier, along with BA staff, in 2024, we commissioned a member/non-member survey that garnered 3,755 responses (see infographic), a STEEP (Social, Technological, Economic, Environmental, and Political) analysis, an independent financial review, and more.

It’s essential to recognize that every one of us as members (I was an AHA member way before I worked for the organization) varies in our brewing and fermenting approach, and our resource preferences. We can’t do it all, but we DO deliver on incredible things. Want community? Participate in an AHA Annual Homebrew Holiday. Check out the new AHA Forum (launched in September 2024). Join or rewatch a Zymurgy Live webinar exclusive to AHA members. Want recipes, reasons to brew, and rewards in the form of discounts? We’ve got those too.

For example, in the upcoming Jan/ Feb 2025 issue of Zymurgy, you will gain access to validated gold medal-winning National Homebrew Competition recipes from the 2024 competition. Our incredible collection of recipes grows each year. After every competition, we provide taste-tested recipes awarded by BJCP judges that you can’t get anywhere else. Access them at HomebrewersAssociation.org.

At the time of authoring this column (September 2024), it is not determined what AHA evolutions will be prompted by what we’ve learned. However, change will help us keep pace, evolve, innovate, grow, and continue to serve you. So brew on, and here’s to the FUN of homebrewing and not letting obstacles get in the way. We’d like to thank the 3,755 members and non-members who have helped shape the future of the AHA by participating in this spring 2024 survey.

Julia Herz is executive director of the American Homebrewers Association. You can follow Julia’s homebrew talks and travels on Instagram @ImmaculateFermentation or email her.