American Homebrewers Association Rally – Recap

AHA (American Homebrewers Association)

Some things have to be seen in person to truly understand them. My first AHA rally at my local brewery, Dry Dock, this past weekend was one of those things. I am not sure I can put into words what I expected but the reality was even better. The beer vibe was strong, the beer knowledge was flowing, and the all-encompassing camaraderie was contagious.

The party starts when you walk in the door, greeted by members, handing out beer tickets, name tags, and pins. The rally, which I think easily surpassed a couple hundred people, was based out of the brewery and it’s brew supply store counterpart. Everyone congregates as they make their way towards the beer, swapping stories of massive successes and hilarious failures. It’s fun to see where everyone started and why as well as how far they have taken their hobby. The rally has occasional brewers, maybe three batches a year, to the serious brewers with more than three batches going at any given time.

My favorite room was the beer room but not for the reasons you might expect. Yes, the tickets got me beer from Dry Dock’s signature line but it was the other samples being offered that had my attention. Homebrewing clubs from the surrounding cities; Aurora, Centennial, Castle Rock, and Parker brought in more styles to sample than I could keep track of in the moment.

Huge Props To: Fermentologists (Centennial), Rock Hoppers (Castle Rock), Aurora City Brew Club (Aurora) and Hopaholics Homebrew Club (Parker)

Big Thank You To: Dry Dock Brewing Company

Thank you for opening up your brewery and brew supply (Brew Hut) store to this event. The beer was appreciated but the ability to go behind the scenes and ask the head brewer in-the-moment questions was something I will brag about. Most brewery tours talk about the basics, not this one, we got to ask whatever came to our mind – whether it be brewing temperatures, styles of brew, thoughts on big buyouts etc. – nothing was off limits which made it unique.

Until Next Time –