This week a new website was launched by the Brewers Association for the Homebrewer segment of their membership. Not only is the new site more visually appealing than the old segment of the AHA site, it is far more functional.
One of the biggest functionality and association building aspects of the new site is that the forums are open for reading and participation to anyone - not just members. Simply register on the site (for free) and you can jump right into the conversation. This is a great move for building community and encouraging more potential members to “check things out”.
The new wiki also looks encouraging, with tons of recipes and a useful brewing dictionary. It’s nice that this site was launched with lots of valuable content, rather than just as a blank canvas, making the site useful right out of the gate.
I applaud the AHA for offering free access to many of the valuable resources on there (but certainly encourage any active homebrewers to pony up the $40 for a membership – there are tons of additional advantages). So cheers to all of those involved over at the AHA – the site looks great. Check it out yourself at www.homebrewersassociation.org
Both Timberly and I have to extend a huge thank you to the Masholes brewing club for letting us intrude on their day and enjoy their beer and hospitality. As well as to the AHA for keeping us involved despite our YouTube problems…
It didn’t take long that day to see where the story was going for the video – the camraderie, friendship and energy that we were surrouded by that day were each contagious. Watching the other great Big Brew Day videos showed that it is clearly not an isolated experience. The passion of homebrewers and the spirit of ininuity and creativity (and of course the love of beer) is really something exciting.
It’s great to see this annual event growing each year and we are happy to do our part to spread the good word about home brewing.
Thanks again to the AHA and of course, our new found friends – the Masholes!
1st Place – Most Viewed Video (8,700 and counting)
1st Place - Spirit of Big Brew
Thank you so much to the Masholes for hosting us and working with us on this project. If you are in western Massachusetts and interested in home brewing – hook up with these folks on their facebook page!
In this episode, my friend Timberly and I check out an AHA National Home Brew Day event with the Masholes, a fun group of home brewers in Massachusetts.
Six home brewers brought their equipment to one house and throughout the day brewed six different beers. Gathering as a group gave these home brewers (and the thousands of others who participated in similar events around the world) an opportunity to explore different techniques and share tricks of their craft. Of course, it also was a great opportunity to share the fruit of the labor, the beer! With the Masholes we found a group of people who were brought together by a common thread, the love of craft beer and the passion for creating it. We’ve said it several times, beer should be fun – and the Masholes have definitely figured out how to have fun while brewing good beer.
If you are in the Western Mass area and would like more information about the Masholes check out their Facebook page. If not, you can get information about home brew groups in your area at the Brewers Association website www.beertown.org Hope you enjoyed meeting the Masholes, we certainly did! We will see you next time on Here for the Beer.
Please Note: As you know, we don’t usually use YouTube, but the AHA is running a contest, for the best and most watched video from National Homebrew Day, so we are throwing our video in. So please, share this with your friends, family and fellow beer enthusiasts. Lets make the Masholes famous! You can see more about the contest on the Big Brew section of the AHA website.
Update – YouTube has banned this video as “Inappropriate” and therefore I suppose we are out of the contest…(Thanks to the AHA for keeping us in!) But we have uploaded it to our regular source, Blip.tv and hope that you enjoy it.
This week a new website was launched by the Brewers Association for the Homebrewer segment of their membership. Not only is the new site more visually appealing than the old segment of the AHA site, it is far more functional.
