Announcing The Session #132: Homebrewing Conversations

The SessionWe’ve been shy on hosts for The Session in recent months, and didn’t have a firm commitment for February, so I have stepped in to host our 132nd edition which will take place this Friday, February 2.

With the news last week that Charlie Papazian would be exiting the Brewers Association next January, it got me thinking as to the impact and influence he had on the American beer scene. Arguably, the beer landscape in this country would look quite a bit different if not for Papazian, and in my mind that all comes down to homebrewing. So I’m going to run with it!

It’s been nearly 11 years of The Session—we’re one month shy—and in all that time we’ve only had two topics dedicated to homebrewing: #41 Craft Beers Inspired By Homebrewing, and #92 How Did Homebrewing Change Your View of Beer? That last one took place in 2014—so, it’s time to tackle a homebrew-related theme once again.

It’s been on my mind quite a bit lately: I’m starting my second year as president of Central Oregon’s homebrew club, COHO, which means helping to organize brewing events and competitions, and tasting a lot of homebrewed beer. Part of being president of a club is evangelism and education which is admittedly a bit out of my comfort zone. But it’s been a good experience and has opened some doors and some conversations I likely would not have had otherwise.

So in this spirit of homebrew education and evangelism, I want to open up this Friday’s Session topic to be on homebrewing—the good, the bad, your experiences, ideas, (mis)conceptions, or whatever else suits you, as long as it starts the conversation!

Here are some ideas and questions to get you started:

  • Do you homebrew, and if so, for how long? How did you get started?
  • Talk about the best beer you ever brewed at home—and your worst!
  • Are you a member of a local homebrew club (or even the AHA)? Tell us about your club.
  • Describe your home set up: do you brew all grain? Extract? Brew in a bag? Unusual mashing/sparging/etc. methods?
  • Have you ever judged a homebrew competition? Talk about that experience.
  • Are you a BJCP or other accredited beer judge? Talk about the process of becoming certified/official.
  • Never homebrewed/not a homebrewer? No problem! Consider these questions:
    • Do you know any homebrewers?
    • Have you ever tasted someone’s home brewed beer?
    • Would you ever be interested in learning how to brew? Why or why not?

Write up your Session post by this Friday, February 2, or even on the weekend since it’s short notice, and then leave a comment on this post pointing to your contribution. Alternatively, you can tag me on Twitter or on Facebook (or even Instagram) with your post, and I’ll round up all the entries early next week.

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