Boulder, Colo. • May 16, 2007– Denver, home to the Great American Beer Festival sm, is going to also be home this year to 800 hombrewers. Avid homebrewing hobbyist will be in town June 21-23 for the American Homebrewers Association’s 29th National Homebrewers Conference.
 

The National Homebrewers Conference is the world’s largest conference devoted entirely to amateur brewers and bringing this conference to Denver was a natural choice.

 
“Being that we [Brewers Association] put on the Great American Beer Festival each year, we know this town appreciates great beer and brewing traditions,” says director of the American Homebrewers Association Gary Glass. “We have homebrewers from all across the U.S. traveling to Denver for the conference and to enjoy the great local breweries and Denver’s rich beer culture.”

 
Glass also says they’re also really excited to have our conference at Four Points by Sheraton Denver Southeast. Four Points recently initiated its Best Brewers Program and created a new Chief Beer Officer position. He says they’re fully committed to expanding America’s taste for great beer and were a natural fit for the conference.

In addition to their passion for homebrewing, conference attendees also have a passion for learning. The conference offers 14 educational seminars on beer and brewing given by national award-winning professional and amateur brewers.

 
Peter Bouckaert, brewmaster from New Belgium Brewing Co, is delivering the keynote address. But not all the fun can be found in the talks, two other night-time events are also stars of the conference. The Mining for Beers Pro-Brewers Night is an exciting evening event that showcases over 20 local breweries and their beer. It’s like a mini-Great American Beer Festival exclusively for the conference attendees. Club Night, held on June 22 features 33 clubs and their homebrew. Club members don themed costumes and attire from grass skirts to dredlocks.

 
“Homebrewing is a great collaboration of geeky and artistic stuff with a really cool end product - great beer,” says Chris Frey, a homebrewer from Michigan who’s attended the seven conferences in the last ten years. “And homebrewers make some of the most amazing fermented beverages in the world - hands down.”

The Awards ceremony on June 23 is one of the most anticipated events of the conference. The awards ceremony is for the winners of the National Homebrew Competition, the world’s largest homebrew competition. Glass says, “With a record of over 5,000 entries into this year’s National competition, there is certainly going to be some anxious people waiting to see if they win a medal.” Among the twenty-eight categories judged were Pilsners, Stouts, India Pale Ales, Belgian Strong Ales, Smoke-flavored and Wood-Aged Beer.

For more information about the 2007 National Homebrewers Conference, visit: www.AHAConference.org. Based in Boulder, Colo., U.S.A., the Brewers Association (BA) is the not-for-profit trade and education association for American craft brewers and the community of beer enthusiasts.

Visit the website: www.beertown.org to learn more. The association’s activities include events and publishing: World Beer Cup®; Great American Beer Festival®; Craft Brewers Conference and BrewExpo America®; National Homebrewers Conference; National Homebrew Competition; American Craft Beer Week (May); Zymurgy magazine; The New Brewer magazine; and books on beer and brewing. The Brewers Association has an additional membership division of 11,000+ homebrewers: American Homebrewers Association.

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