37th AHA National Homebrewers Conference lands in San Diego

The 37th American Homebrewers Association (AHA) National Homebrewers Conference is right around the corner. The annual conference takes place in a different U.S. city every year—last year’s 2014 event was held in Grand Rapids, MI, while the 2013 event took place in Philadelphia. This year brings the conference to one of the most critical craft beer and home brewing hot spots in the United States: San Diego, CA.

“Homebrewers will flock to what has been described as the ‘hoppiest place on Earth’ for three days of homebrewing culture, companionship and competition,” states the event’s press release from the Brewers Association. “Special seminars and events cater to beer enthusiasts and amateur brewers of every level.” Some of the highlights of this year’s AHA National Homebrewers Conference include:

• A keynote speech by Tomme Arthur, co-founder and director of brewery operations for the award-winning Port Brewing and The Lost Abbey, preceded by a welcome toast from AHA director Gary Glass (Thursday June 11 / 4:30-5:30PM / Atlas Ballroom)
• A Welcome Reception beer festival amid the outdoor hotel gardens of the Town and Country Resort, sponsored by White Labs and featuring a growing roster of craft breweries from San Diego as well as top craft breweries hailing from Oregon to Maine (Thursday June 11 / 7:30-11PM)
• Final round judging for the National Homebrew Competition, acknowledged as “the world’s largest international beer competition recognizing the most outstanding homebrewed beer, mead, and cider produced by amateur brewers worldwide.”
• Winners of the National Homebrew Competition will be announced during the Grand Banquet and Award Ceremony, which will also feature a special dinner and beer paring. (Saturday June 13 / 6:00PM)

The conference also features an exhibition hall during all three days plus dozens of seminars with key industry leaders, discussing subjects from beer history and the finer points of brewing to pointers on homebrew supply retailers and going pro.