About Us

What is homebrewing?

Homebrewing is the art and science of producing small batches of high-quality beer, mead, cider and wine for non-commercial purposes…. you guessed it – at home. People get into homebrewing for different reasons. Some have a casual interest in learning to brew in the same way they might occasionally want to learn to cook a new dish for dinner. Others, particularly beer brewers, are zealous and passionate about the hobby, studying brewing resources, asking and answering questions on internet bulletin boards, brewing every weekend, entering competitions and, with respect to many beer styles, often brewing better beer than can be purchased. Some are rigorous in observing established style guidelines and others care nothing about what others say a particular style ought to be.

The homebrewing culture and interest in homebrewing in the United States has exploded, beginning slowly following a limited legal exemption enacted by Congress in 1978 and skyrocketing since the late 1990s with increasing brewing knowledge being shared through website message boards and blogs. Homebrewing is a craft that brings all kinds of people together who share an appreciation for, or some might say a devotion to, gourmet beer, mead, cider and wine.

Many homebrewers have gone on to open or work in brewpubs and microbreweries all around the United States. There’s no better way to learn. In fact, an Auburn area homebrewer was one of the first brewers at the Olde Auburn Ale House, brewing there for two years before moving to Nevada to operate a brewpub. The current brewer at the Ale House is a homebrewer from Dothan who commutes up each weekend to help keep the taps flowing. Boston Beer Company (a.k.a. Sam Adams) sponsors a national competition, called the Long Shot, among homebrewers each year and produces and distributes a reproduction of the winning recipe. But the reality is also that the vast majority of homebrewers don’t have commercial aspirations. Most just love to brew good beer and be able to share it with good friends. It’s magic.

What is the history and motivation behind the Auburn Brew Club?

There have always been homebrewers in the Auburn-Opelika area. Some have brewed by themselves or in pairs or small groups for many years. But until mid-2007, there hadn’t been a website, method of communication or regularly scheduled meeting to bring all the homebrewers in the Auburn-Opelika area together. Regular meetings and modes of communication can really serve to re-inspire long time brewers and give beginners easy access to knowledge and hands-on experience. Tips and techniques are shared and blindspots revealed.

The development of auburnbrewclub.org, the club’s registration with the American Homebrewers Association and postings on few website message boards got the ball rolling and led to a few face-to-face meetings and then regular monthly meetings. That initial group consisted of a variety of ages and types of people, including molecular biologist, a pharmacist, a veteran of the war in Iraq pursuing a master’s degree in software engineering, a geneticist, a physicist, an environmental engineer and a healthcare attorney. But you don’t have to have 3 degrees to brew good beer. Anyone can do it. The only requirement to become a truly great brewer is a passion for excellence. It just so happens that the Auburn-Opelika area is saturated with talent, knowledge and skill.

The Auburn Brew Club is destined to become one of the best homebrew clubs in the southeast, indeed the nation. In fact, the desperate individual who initially developed the auburnbrewclub.org website and began pulling area brewers together was a new Auburn resident experiencing withdrawals due to his separation from Alabama’s oldest homebrew club, Huntsville’s Rocket City Brewers, a club with nearly 50 very active homebrewers and that has won the title of Mid-South Homebrew Club of the Year in 2003, 2004 and 2006. Other, smaller homebrew clubs exist in Mobile, Dothan, Montgomery, Ozark, Jacksonville and Birmingham.

Are there prerequisites that need to be met in order to be in the club? Do you have to be a student of Auburn University?

The Auburn Brew Club is not affiliated with Auburn University. The only requirements for participation in the club are to be an active homebrewer or to be actively working toward learning to brew. Beginners are welcome. Underage drinkers are not. Beware: learning to brew, experiencing the thrill of producing great craft beer and sharing it with others who love it as much as you do can become a lifetime addiction.

When and where does the Auburn Brew Club meet? How much does it cost? What exactly do you do?

The club has monthly meetings during the second week of each month, except for one month in the spring and one month in the fall when the club hosts major events, such as the Fall Big Brew. A Big Brew involves all the club members bringing their brewing equipment to one spot, usually a member’s house, with everyone brewing throughout the day (and of course there’s always a lot of good food and finished homebrew available), sometimes brewing the same recipe in order to combine, for example, into an old wine barrel or bourbon barrel for extended aging, or everyone brewing whatever they choose. The regular monthly meetings involve everyone bringing one or two brews they’ve completed recently to share. Brews are passed around, one at a time, with each in attendance pouring a small amount into a tasting glass to enjoy and discuss (the discussions can be quite lively!). The meetings are very informal and take place in various members’ homes. Everyone has an opportunity to volunteer to host a monthly meeting.

Of course, some members love getting together and tasting and discussing homebrew so much, they can’t wait an entire month for a meeting. Those are the really sick individuals… or perhaps they are the enlightened ones. So there are always opportunities between meetings, throughout the month, to get together to re-sample, try something new or brew together.

The club might be characterized as self-controlled anarchy. It has no dues, budget, elections, committees or bureaucracy… just people who pay for things or step up and make good things happen for the benefit of the club. The club has no commercial interests or affiliations… after all, it’s all about brewing at home. There are no regulations or bylaws… just great brewing and obscene amounts of fun.

If that sounds like something you’d be interested in, contact us.