Now in its 18 year, the American Homebrewers Association’s (AHA) Learn to Homebrew Day has become a highly anticipated staple of the fall season for thousands of people around the world. On the first Saturday of every November, hundreds of homebrew clubs, shops, craft breweries, beer bars, and individuals get together to teach their yet-to-brew friends the art of making beer at home.
In 2015, the AHA partnered with 360 sites around the world to celebrate Learn to Homebrew Day (LTHD). More than 5,900 people brewed 6,284 gallons (23,787.5 liters) of beer in 936 batches. We were proud to have 47 states and 10 countries teaching new homebrewers the ropes!
The AHA is exited to partner with LTHD site hosts again this year. Past participants will already be familiar with our marketing timeline, poster, press release, and free Zymurgy intro issues, but here are a few ways that you can take your own LTHD to the next level!
1. Celebrate the whole week
It might be called Learn to Homebrew Day, but that doesn’t mean you should limit the fun to just one day! Sure, the first Saturday of November might be the one day each year completely devoted to teaching the art and science of beer brewing, but we encourage you to expand on LTHD and make it your own!
The spirit of camaraderie can be stretched out into a Learn to Homebrew Week that culminates in a grand event on Saturday. Here is a sample timeline that you can adapt to bring in new (or not-so-new) homebrewers throughout the whole week, with a themed brew or presentation each day:
- Seasonal Spice Sunday
- Maibock Monday
- Trappist Tuesday
- Weizen Wednesday
- Tripel Thursday
- Fruit Beer Friday
- Sessionable Saturday
- You get the point…
2. Give Back
With 5,931 estimated participants in the 2015 LTHD celebration, we taught a lot of people to brew last year. If every LTHD site registrant were to commit to adding a philanthropic effort to their event, we could help our host communities around the country. Not only will partnering with a non-profit benefit your neighborhood, it will instill excitement and pride among your attendees. Here are some ideas.
- Host a canned food, toy, or coat drive. Learn to Homebrew Day is hosted each fall, and Rotary clubs nationwide are looking for ways to engage citizens in their communities. If a coat drive isn’t viable, consider partnering with local food pantries to host a food drive, or host a toy drive of your own to benefit a Toys for Tots chapter in your area.
- Teach a Veteran to Homebrew Day. Held in honor of all US veterans and victims of war, Veterans Day is always November 11, which is a Friday in 2016. The American Homebrewers Association encourages you to contact your local Veterans Health Administration (VHA) facility to invite your local veterans out to celebrate Veterans Day early on Learn to Homebrew Day.
- Donate. Philanthropic organizations all over the country depend heavily on donations from their local communities. Instead of requesting cash or check donations at your event, you can work with a similar organization in your area (craft brewery, homebrew store, or craft beer bar) to host a raffle or silent auction to raise money. Partner with tourism offices
3. Partner with Tourism Offices
In 2013, Colorado.com estimated that 43 million people visited its website to find information on the region. The Festivals & Events section alone registered 450,000 visitors throughout the year, with upwards of 10,000 people visiting some of the most popular event posts. It just goes to show that your tourism office is a sure-fire way to attract a new audience to your LTHD event. We don’t recommend inviting thousands of people to your site, but the added exposure is sure to bring in some eager new faces!
At a minimum, you can register your event with local tourism websites. If you want to take it even further, you could request that your local municipality endorse your event in a public space such as a park or public forum.
4. Learn to Homebrew (Every) Day
Yes, we know that it’s called Learn to Homebrew Day, but why should the learning stop at homebrewing? Brewing beer is just the beginning! We all want to stay true to the brew, but let’s not forget that there is much more to quality beer than brewing processes alone. Here are just a few ways that you can teach your audience about beer while also teaching them to brew:
- Learn To Pair Beer and Food Day. What goes better with craft beer than food? Well, maybe more craft beer…but food is a pretty close second! Whether it be cheese, chocolate, or Cool Ranch Doritos, you’ll find great materials and pairing suggestions on the CraftBeer.com website.
- Learn To Blend Day. Some of the best beers in the world aren’t taken directly from fermentation to consumption. Many of them are blended with older or younger versions of themselves—or even with other beer styles—to craft a delicately balanced beverage. One of the best ways to discover an entire new world of beer is to learn how blending can open up new possibilities.
- Learn About Off-Flavors Day. OK, we fully admit that LAOFD probably has a better chance of becoming a text-messaging abbreviation than an acronym for Learn About Off-Flavors Day. However, learning about off-flavors is an important lesson for any homebrewer or craft beer enthusiast. Just doctor a well-made commercial beer with special off-flavor extracts and learn to detect problems from diacetyl to oxidation. AHA-recommended off-flavor kits can be purchased from our friends at the Beer Judge Certification Program
Sign Up New AHA Members with Brew Guru
The AHA’s new smartphone app, Brew Guru, will soon be launching a featured collection of content straight out of Zymurgy: An Introduction to Homebrewing. The app is free to download and offers users a 2-week trial AHA membership upon download. Attendees to your event can go home with catered homebrewing content, and a complete guide to setting up their first brew day all on their iPhone or Android device!
The post Relax, Don’t Worry— It’s Learn to Homebrew Day appeared first on American Homebrewers Association.
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