Homebrew Con Tips & Tricks

Tips & Tricks #1: Stay hydrated and fed

Beer will be served at the Social Club location in the Expo area. Beer will be served as part of many education sessions. Beer will be served for the Keynote addresses. Beer will be served during Industry Night and Club Night. Are you picking up on the theme? BEER WILL BE SERVED! You have to balance that out with food and water, or you could be hurting as early as Friday morning. Have something for breakfast. Many of you will have backpacks with you – pack some bars/snacks and a water bottle. (Bonus Tip: Bring a backpack to carry all the freebies you pick up at the Expo!) Try to knock out 8-12oz of water per 6 samples glasses of beer. Yes, you will need to go to the restroom often, but this is how you run the HBC marathon and cross the finish line having a good time without requiring medical intervention.

Tips & Tricks #2: Make Time for the Expo and Education

For those doing the education sessions, you may feel obligated to do as many of those sessions as possible at the expense of hitting the Expo where all the vendors will be set up Thursday through Saturday. Go through the education sessions and mark up the ones you are most interested in – you can use the HBC2022 app for that. Try to leave an opening on Thursday to do the Expo rather than an education seminar BEFORE lunch. Hit the Expo booths of highest interest first. I would recommend the hop vendors, especially the big ones on Day 1. They will run out of hops eventually, and the really interesting ones will go first. The malt giveaways will be available still on Saturday, so don’t feel like you need to fill your Briess bag right away. Once you’ve hit the Expo highlights Thursday, you can circle back to the other vendors during lunch breaks.

Tips & Tricks #3: Have a Plan for Industry & Club Night

If left unchecked, you could wreck your palate very early on Industry and/or Club Night. There will be a lot of unusual offerings and a lot of high ABV beers available. Try to go in stretches where you stick to a group of styles (ex. German lagers, Belgian, meads, etc.). Work in some lighter offerings after several strong beers. Break up your style groups with a little food to reset your palate. If you get a sample and it’s not very good, dump it – do NOT feel compelled to drink it all. Long lines will form where the good brews are located. Work together via text to find and taste the good stuff.

Tips & Tricks #4: Make Friends!!!

Some of the best stuff I’ve had at HBC were bottles of behind-the-scenes offerings that were not on tap or even advertised at the booths. Introduce yourself to others in education sessions. Find people who like similar brews. Engage in conversations about Club Night early. When you get to Club Night and see some of your new friends, they’ll become an extension of your network to find the best brews. They may also tell you to go see so-and-so and ask for such-and-such. (Remind them to mention Pete Rose when they visit the BCBS Speakeasy!) Bombers of specialty meads, ciders and barrel-aged beer will be made available to those that make the right friends!

Tips & Tricks #5: Relax! Don’t Worry! Have a Homebrew!

File this under “Duh!” if you need to, but remember to relax and enjoy the experience. Miss an education session? Don’t worry! They all get recorded and posted to the AHA website. Miss a particular giveaway at the Expo? Relax! Odds are everyone from the club who is attending got more samples than they can use and will be be happy to share. (At the 2019 HBC, I picked up a pound of cherrywood smoked malt that I ultimately gave to Cory, who then used it in his 2020 Throwdown winner, “Jen Made Me Do It.” Maybe I shouldn’t have been so generous.) Miss a particular beer at Industry or Club Night? Don’t worry! I’m betting you tasted plenty of amazing home-brews. And if you didn’t get your fill on each of those nights, you probably got lost and were at the wrong place.