Every holiday has its trappings. The Fourth of July has fireworks. Thanksgiving has turkey and football. For many people, Oktoberfest is the beer holiday, but there’s a better choice that celebrates homebrewed goodness. When Congress in 1988 declared May 7 as National Homebrew Day, it was a nice recognition of our hobby. Year after year, the American Homebrewers Association (AHA) honors this day with a worldwide Big Brew on the first Saturday in May (which is next Saturday, May 6).
Big Brew is a grassroots event. Each one may be organized by a homebrew club, a local homebrew shop, or any collection of spirited brewers. It’s a time for homebrewers to gather and brew together, sharing their experience and love of the hobby. The AHA offers tips and suggestions for hosting a Big Brew along with some recipe suggestions.
You might wonder why it’s worth packing up your gear to go brew. It all comes down to a single word:
Community
The “home” in homebrewing can be isolating. On your own, it’s easy to fall into a rut of making each batch the same way and stagnating as a brewer. But connecting is a great way to grow. Big Brew draws a pool of talent together where everyone can contribute and take advantage. We all solve the same problems, but we bring unique experiences and ideas to bear. You might find new pieces of equipment to build or buy, or you could learn a new technique and improve your process.
Shopping for Gear
At a Big Brew, you’ll see a host of other brewing rigs in action. You might pick up an idea for a better brew stand or see how a pump could improve your sparge. It’s not just passive browsing either because you can get directly to the practical details. Seeing a bit of gear in use and talking to the brewer reveals way more than an online review. You might even get the chance to try out one of those other rigs yourself. When I’ve taken my Brew Sculpture to a Big Brew, it’s generally pushed through two or three different batches and only one was my own.
Class is in Session
Whether you’re a newbie or an experienced brewer, a Big Brew provides a glimpse of the brewing multiverse. How many ways are there to quickly chill the wort down to pitching temperatures? I can think of four off the top of my head, but you might learn how to optimize the process for water reuse.
Every little process step you watch could yield an improvement to your own brewing. I’ve been brewing for almost thirty years, but I’ve still picked up new tricks at Big Brew sessions, such as positioning an oxygen air stone in the runoff flow to fully oxygenate the chilled wort. Prior to that, I had always dropped it into the carboy and run it until the foam overflowed.
Rather than looking for random inspiration, you might go to a Big Brew with an agenda. Maybe you’d like to learn more about decoction mashing or step mashing. If you’re an extract brewer, you’ll never get a better chance to see the ins and outs of all-grain brewing, with many different approaches to mashing and sparging.
Even if you don’t consider yourself an expert, you might turn out to be just the teacher some other brewer needs, and some technique you took for granted is a cool new idea for someone else.
Camaraderie
Of course, you should never discount the simple fun of it. A typical Big Brew is a party/cookout, where you can socialize with your fellow brewers over some great beer. You can take some of your recent batch to share and also find out what others have been up to. These may be people you’ve known for a while or fresh faces, but it’s a great environment for developing deeper friendships.
You’ll end up with shared stories that last far longer than the beer you brew. My Big Brew memories include late-start batches that pushed the brewing into the evening, swampy lessons in dealing with runoff water, and nightmare sparges due to collapsed false bottoms.
Diving In
If you’re interested, the first step is check out your local homebrew club or homebrew shop. Odds are that someone has already organized a Big Brew in your area. Even if you’re not in the club (yet), they’re sure to welcome you to the party, especially if you bring some beer to share.
If you can’t find a Big Brew in your area, check in with the AHA. If you’re still left hanging, start your own. Invite the brewers you know over to your house and even open it up to your non-brewing friends. They may catch the Spirit of Homebrewing. That’s the best way to celebrate.
Cheers!
PHOTO: JAMIE BOGNER