2013 NHC in Philly! Who's going?

[Denny]

They need to have a table reservation system for the banquet.

That would be nice, but don't hold your breath.

 

[remthewanderer]

As someone who works at a non profit some of our fundraising events are sit down lunches and dinner banquets. I'm in IT and part of what I have been trying to find is a vendor at can manage tables in a simple manor. It is the HARDEST thing about these types of events. We do corporate tables which would be the same concept as what we are talking about for NHC.

 

[AnOldUR]

Sometimes, I would just say, "What kind of engineer are you?" after hearing them talk for 30 seconds. Usually, it was electrical but sometimes chemical. :cross:

Yeah. It's easy to tell those wanabees from the real mechanical engineers.

 

[njale]

club night split into 2 nights would work...they could of done club night on Wednesday than again on friday right? or do it on friday night than again on saturday afternoon? do all the east coast clubs on one night, all the west coast clubs on the other

 

[sweetcell]

Second, I would ask more of the local brewer's to participate. Sure I want DFH and Stone there, but there are so many small breweries on the East Coast within 3 hours of the event that we could have had two pro nights!

just to be a pain: Milton, DE is less than 2 hours south of Philly... so DFH is a local brewery by your definition

<hides>

 

[TBBrewer]

Yeah. It's easy to tell those wanabees from the real mechanical engineers.

Ha! Fellow ME here.......

 

[Yooper]

Ha! Fellow ME here.......

Oh, yeah, well.......................MEs too!

I spent a lot of time talking about electric brewing, so that was really fun. No one around where I live (except for my buddy lschaivo, who happens to be an EE ) cares about any brewery items let alone a control panel with a PWM and a PID.

But the folks I chatted with totally geeked out with me. :rockin:

Oh, and I now have the coolest tap handle at my cottage on the little kegerator, due to one of my geek friends! Thanks, AnOldUR! I'll be staying at the cottage overnight tonight, and I'll take a picture. Quinn helped me put it on, and pronounced it "cool"!

To be fair, of course, I knew Firebrewer was a fellow paramedic (and firefighter), and eyedocTodd is self explanatory. But otherwise, I felt like the only non-engineer or IT person around for long stretches.

 

[claphamsa]

They need to have a table reservation system for the banquet.

I agree, the rush sucks

 

[brewguyver]

Oh, yeah, well.......................MEs too!

I spent a lot of time talking about electric brewing, so that was really fun. No one around where I live (except for my buddy lschaivo, who happens to be an EE ) cares about any brewery items let alone a control panel with a PWM and a PID.

But the folks I chatted with totally geeked out with me. :rockin:

Oh, and I now have the coolest tap handle at my cottage on the little kegerator, due to one of my geek friends! Thanks, AnOldUR! I'll be staying at the cottage overnight tonight, and I'll take a picture. Quinn helped me put it on, and pronounced it "cool"!

To be fair, of course, I knew Firebrewer was a fellow paramedic (and firefighter), and eyedocTodd is self explanatory. But otherwise, I felt like the only non-engineer or IT person around for long stretches.

I wonder if the conference has something to do with the demographic. I don't think most of the folks in the Pittsburgh group buy are IT/eng, but both of the folks I hung with at the conference are Chem E's.

Maybe it's natural selection on the registration process - the geeky folks were much faster on the draw.

 

[stonebrewer]

We were talking about this today at work. Most brewers I know are engineering types as well (most people, for that matte,r that I know are engineers). Process oriented, like electronics and chemistry, mechanically inclined. I can see why we are drawn to the hobby. Add to that stress filled jobs and the desire to relieve stress with a cold beverage and it is a natural fit. That said, I know accountants, musicians, health professionals, etc. that are into brewing as well...but most folks I know that do it are engineers.

 

[sweetcell]

there is a thread about this: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f14/whats-your-profession-294887/

seems like the most common reply from folks here - or at least the ones who have chimed in on this thread - is indeed "engineer."

 

[milldoggy]

there is a thread about this: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f14/whats-your-profession-294887/

seems like the most common reply from folks here - or at least the ones who have chimed in on this thread - is indeed "engineer."

I love trains, wish I was an engineer

 

[ChugachBrewing]

I had a fun time but was expecting higher quality seminars... Maybe some advanced and some beginner ones - however how much can you really pack into an hour?
I tried two really good sours (for those of.you who dont know me I do all wild beer) and a few other nice brews on pro night.

Highlight for me was having someone try my spontaneously fermented beer, then asked me to be on their radio show in NYC - which is where I went next! They were super nice and it was a blast.

Wish I has brought more wild beer, I only brought 4 bottles. Had no idea what to expect. Was fun meeting a lot of you even if I didn't know who you were. Prost!

 

[TNGabe]

I had a fun time but was expecting higher quality seminars... Maybe some advanced and some beginner ones - however how much can you really pack into an hour?
I tried two really good sours (for those of.you who dont know me I do all wild beer) and a few other nice brews on pro night.

Highlight for me was having someone try my spontaneously fermented beer, then asked me to be on their radio show in NYC - which is where I went next! They were super nice and it was a blast.

Wish I has brought more wild beer, I only brought 4 bottles. Had no idea what to expect. Was fun meeting a lot of you even if I didn't know who you were. Prost!

I was bummed I didn't get to meet up with you Saturday. I was hanging out with a Philly local who makes great wild beers. I agree on the seminars, a couple were very good, but there was a lot of fluff, too. I would have liked to see some local pros speaking, there are some very talented brewers around there.

 

[remthewanderer]

I had a fun time but was expecting higher quality seminars... Maybe some advanced and some beginner ones - however how much can you really pack into an hour?
I tried two really good sours (for those of.you who dont know me I do all wild beer) and a few other nice brews on pro night.

Highlight for me was having someone try my spontaneously fermented beer, then asked me to be on their radio show in NYC - which is where I went next! They were super nice and it was a blast.

Wish I has brought more wild beer, I only brought 4 bottles. Had no idea what to expect. Was fun meeting a lot of you even if I didn't know who you were. Prost!

I just listened to you via the fermentaboutit podcast! That was a great conversation.

 

[Piratwolf]

Agreed on the seminars. Maybe that's a comment on the effectiveness of HBT, the Bn, and other brewing media?

Yooper, I'm hurt you don't remember me from club night We had quite an animated conversation about how you could take down John Maier in a blink. Then again, it WAS near the end of Club Night and like most everyone else I was impressed by the quality and range of beers I tried. Plus, it seems like a lot of folks got distracted by our club name (BARF), although as I told them, "When your name sets the bar so low, pretty much any beer is a pleasant surprise."

Already trying to figure out Grand Rapids for next year!

 

[Yooper]

Agreed on the seminars. Maybe that's a comment on the effectiveness of HBT, the Bn, and other brewing media?

Yooper, I'm hurt you don't remember me from club night We had quite an animated conversation about how you could take down John Maier in a blink. Then again, it WAS near the end of Club Night and like most everyone else I was impressed by the quality and range of beers I tried. Plus, it seems like a lot of folks got distracted by our club name (BARF), although as I told them, "When your name sets the bar so low, pretty much any beer is a pleasant surprise."

Already trying to figure out Grand Rapids for next year!

I have no recollection of that at all! Geez. John is pretty small, though, and he was probably the smallest guy I saw all evening so I probably could have taken him down. I just don't remember that at all- weird!

 

[Piratwolf]

BTW, a shout out to WHALES. We (I) poured next to them at Social Club 4-6 on Thursday and they were great. That iced cider was amazing!

Also, agreed on the somewhat disappointing pro night offerings. My wife & I set out to try only beers we'd not had (Alewerks is 45 mins from us, so happy to hear the love for Bitter Valentine!). We had a good Berliner Weiss from Round Guys, a tasty Oktoberfest from Chestnut, and that was pretty much it. We tried maybe 7-8 more and dumped em, then went back to DFH, Stone, etc. Bummed.

 

[Piratwolf]

I have no recollection of that at all! Geez. John is pretty small, though, and he was probably the smallest guy I saw all evening so I probably could have taken him down. I just don't remember that at all- weird!

Well, to be fair, I'm not sure I specified I was from HBT. I'm just giving you a hard time, though. Just another reason to meet up next year!

 

[Yooper]

Well, to be fair, I'm not sure I specified I was from HBT. I'm just giving you a hard time, though. Just another reason to meet up next year!

AT least I didn't hit you! Stonebrewer said, "C'mon, give me a body check like in hockey", and I destroyed him apparently, as well as the people 10 feet away.

 

[brewguyver]

AT least I didn't hit you! Stonebrewer said, "C'mon, give me a body check like in hockey", and I destroyed him apparently, as well as the people 10 feet away.

Apparently Bruce Lee was 135 (so says the Mini Cooper add), and look at all the damage he caused. Woulda loved to see rat hip check!

 

[ChugachBrewing]

I just listened to you via the fermentaboutit podcast! That was a great conversation.

Thanks! I haven't listened to it yet, glad I came across somewhat coherent.

 

[LupulinMan]

Also, agreed on the somewhat disappointing pro night offerings. My wife & I set out to try only beers we'd not had (Alewerks is 45 mins from us, so happy to hear the love for Bitter Valentine!). We had a good Berliner Weiss from Round Guys, a tasty Oktoberfest from Chestnut, and that was pretty much it. We tried maybe 7-8 more and dumped em, then went back to DFH, Stone, etc. Bummed.

I spoke to a friend of mine about this who works for a local brewery. All the beer at pro night is donated by the breweries -- they aren't compensated for it at all. So it's not surprising that many of them aren't willing to offer much beyond their flagship beers.

Makes me wonder, what does AHA do with all their cash anyway?

 

[brewrangerx]

I spoke to a friend of mine about this who works for a local brewery. All the beer at pro night is donated by the breweries -- they aren't compensated for it at all. So it's not surprising that many of them aren't willing to offer much beyond their flagship beers.

Makes me wonder, what does AHA do with all their cash anyway?

they also had to pay for a spot at pro night.

i heard they weren't told the beer was to be donated until they showed up...ergo why there were people on the list that weren't pouring...again just what i heard.

 

[Denny]

they also had to pay for a spot at pro night.

i heard they weren't told the beer was to be donated until they showed up...ergo why there were people on the list that weren't pouring...again just what i heard.

That's pretty hard to believe. They're all BA members, which is the parent organization for the AHA, so communication is pretty good. Having been involved in 8 NHCs so far, I know that in years past all the brewers knew they were donating the beer. I'm also not sure they had to pay. Can you document that?

 

[Piratwolf]

I spoke to a friend of mine about this who works for a local brewery. All the beer at pro night is donated by the breweries -- they aren't compensated for it at all. So it's not surprising that many of them aren't willing to offer much beyond their flagship beers.

Makes me wonder, what does AHA do with all their cash anyway?

Makes sense. Thanks for posting this--I feel better about the whole thing knowing this!

 

[claphamsa]

they also had to pay for a spot at pro night.

i heard they weren't told the beer was to be donated until they showed up...ergo why there were people on the list that weren't pouring...again just what i heard.

talked with a local pro, they did have to pay and the reason many did not show up is the insane PA liquor laws.

 

[Denny]

talked with a local pro, they did have to pay and the reason many did not show up is the insane PA liquor laws.

Interesting...I want to talk to the AHA about this.

ETA: I emailed Gary Glass about this but he's on vacation til the 15th so it'll be a couple weeks.

 

[ChugachBrewing]

At least they can pour. Here in Maine at "the Festival" volunteers were the ONLY ones who could touch the beers, and the brewers couldn't use their own jockey boxes! Ha!

 

[Denny]

they also had to pay for a spot at pro night.

i heard they weren't told the beer was to be donated until they showed up...ergo why there were people on the list that weren't pouring...again just what i heard.

I just wanted to correct this. I contacted Gary Glass, director if the AHA, and he told me that the breweries definitely did NOT have to pay for a spot. They did donate the beer, but that has never seemed to impact the quality of beer served on pro night in past NHCs that I've attended. They knew from the moment they volunteered to be there that the beer would be donated. I don't know about Philly, but there is usually a waiting list of breweries who want to be in on pro night becasue of the publicity they get for their brewery.