Looking for a good club to join.

Well guys i figure it is high time to join a club after a year of brewing.Starting to get a lot more serious about brewing and i need some constructive criticism and on hand advice from people besides friends and family(the ones who will lie to your face as not to hurt you).There is one that is close to me but i have heard they are more of a social club and do little actual brewing.Looking for a club with mixed age people not just 50 and over and club that brews more than once or twice a year.

you're not to far from CRAFT. Not sure if that's the one you were referencing in your post. They have monthly meetings where topics are discussed and formal (Master Brewers Program for limited beers-sign up in advance) and informal feedback is given. We probably have the most BJCP judges at our meetings than any other club in the area. As for brewing as a club I don't really see how that would work unless you had access to a large system. I think KGB does something like that? I can't recall. I personally wouldn't get anything out of that. Feedback on my beer and group brews are where I get the most out of the club. Especially feedback. CRAFT does group brews for both the big national brew days (may and november) we also have 2-3 "buddy brews" throughout the year where people can get together and brew. The "buddy brews" are more informal and are usually at someone's house. Whenever someone is willing to volunteer their house lol.

Normally I just research these things mors, but seeing your creds I guess I'll just hijack this an toss it out..

I'm going to be moving back downstate from TC in the Spring, maybe sooner. I think we are going to move to Marshall at this point..

Do you have any suggestions for me, even if a half hour drive or so. My thoughts of a club are the same as yours.

Sorry I'm not familiar with many homebrew clubs out that way. I'm sure there are some I just don't know them. I know you have KLOB in Kalamazoo that meet out of Bell's and Prime Time Brewers in Grand Rapids... These are probably the largest clubs out that way as I have actually run into their members fairly often. Looking on the AHA site I can see there is 1 club based in Marshall... Though I have never heard of them so I don't have any other info. Here is their info listed on the AHA site as well as the AHA site if you want to have a look around yourself. Hope this helps.

Elm Paddle Brewers
Marshall, MI 49068-1441
Phone: (269) 781-9172
Email: [email protected]


http://www.homebrewersassociation.org/pages/directories/find-a-club

I'm an active KLOB member. If you're moving to the Kalamazoo or Battle Creek area, come and check us out. We had 170 paying members in 2013, and attendance of 50-75 members at every club meetings. We meet the third Thursday of every month at Old Dog Tavern (across the street from Bell's Eccentric Cafe). Our meeting format goes something like this... show up and order a pint and grab a seat with someone you don't know and start talking about brewing. I meet new people every month some have been brewing for 20 years and some have brewed 0, 1 or 2 times. Our club president will do about 10 minutes of announcements which consists of upcoming events, competitions, past competitions winners, etc. A knowledgeable member will then do a presentation for 30 minutes or so. If the presentation is specific to a style of beer then the club will provide 3-4 commercial samples of that style to try. Once that's over the second hour is social, where we wander around sampling each others beer. We have 6 BJCP judges plus 1 certified Cicerone (level 2), most attend every month and are happy to give feedback on beers.

Lots of events, lots of fun, great people. Come check it out. Our website is http://www.klob.org/

We have a club about 40 mins North of you Lapeer Area Brewers.