California 2023 Homebrew Convention

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It was supposed to be at Town & Country Resort back in 2021, so that makes sense that it would be there again for 2023.

Looks like they've been going to that location for awhile, just found an old link for 2015 where they were at that location as well.
 
I've been to two homebrewcons in San Diego so far and they've both been at the Town and Country. I'm actually a bit surprised that they are still doing it there because it was getting pushed to its capacity pretty hard. I remember the lines at the little cafe for a coffee and breakfast sandwich being pretty frustrating. There's a mall about 1/4 mile away that you can walk to.
 
Having never been to one, is it a newbie friendly thing to visit? I would make the trip from San Francisco and make it a little mini vacation for the wife and I. But, being pretty new to all of it, I am wondering if it would be over my head.
 
redrocker652002 said:
I am wondering if it would be over my head.
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I have attended in the past. There were were educational sessions across all experience ranges. I went to the topics I was interested in - even if they were described as more advanced than I was.

redrocker652002 said:
I would make the trip from San Francisco and make it a little mini vacation for the wife and I.
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If you go, don't overlook the various evening activities. I'll suggest planning so that you can attend club night.
 
I've been fortunate to attend half-a-dozen in the past 20 years and consider the NHC a pilgrimage that every homebrewer needs to make at least once. As mentioned, there are sessions for all levels and interests, and I find myself spending hours in the commercial areas talking over equipment and ingredients with vendors (and picking up freebies). Wife goes along on the social ticket (she enjoys the evening sessions), but is out doing her thing in the city during the day while I'm in sessions. We treat NHC very much as a vacation that we both enjoy.
 
The best news is they are returning to regional competitions, rather than having a single site comp. From the feedback, this past year left a lot to be desired.
 
I prefer single site. Pain in the ass to ship (and possibly re-brew) more than once. Will effect what i enter. Lets see if they lower the cost too.
 
505-Brewer said:
I prefer single site. Pain in the ass to ship (and possibly re-brew) more than once. Will effect what i enter. Lets see if they lower the cost too.
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This decision was made based on feedback from the membership. The quality and fairness of the judging will improve with a regional approach.

Their fees are too high, for sure.
 
redrocker652002 said:
If you are planning on attending, the hotel looks to be sold out for that weekend. I just checked and there are x's on that friday and saturday. Happy hunting.
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Doesn't necessarily mean that it's sold out. Could just be they are holding it for brewers and will open it up at a determined "Registration for Homebrew Con" date/time.
 
Observations related to upcoming competitions (spoiler alert: no inside knowledge)
If you're interested in learning more about the competition, follow the links and and sign-up get the notifications. I'm not "in it to win it" this year and won't be publicly tracking the discussion across the forums.

eta: bolded text for skimmers, those on their first cup :coff3:, and those on their 3rd pint :drunk:.
 
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Oleson M.D. said:
This decision was made based on feedback from the membership. The quality and fairness of the judging will improve with a regional approach.

Their fees are too high, for sure.
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Y. I read all that about the freedback.

I seriously doubt the judging quality is any better. In regionals ive gotten 3 sets of judges but typically two of the three are novice. Last years judges were all well qualified ( if you think bicp certification means that) Entering the same beer in multiple comps over several regions is the only way to get a general feeling for what people think. And not every well made beer will always win. Scores are relative and comments are only moderately useful. The only thing that counts is winning. 😂

I thought you were never entering again? If your looking for feedback i think you might still be disappointed in the two step process. But only one way to find out. Best of luck if you decide to enter!
 
505-Brewer said:
I thought you were never entering again? If your looking for feedback i think you might still be disappointed in the two step process. But only one way to find out. Best of luck if you decide to enter!
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Agree, before they dropped the regionals due to Covid, they had switched to the quicker checkbox type of scoresheets and feedback was limited on them.
 
Knightshade said:
Haven’t registered yet, but hoping to do so soon. Just wondering if anybody else was planning on going. This would be my first one.
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I can't go. Unfortunately they priced me out of it. 300 bucks per person to register, 50 bucks per person for each class, 90 bucks for the VIB and two days hotel at 250 a night plus taxes and gas from San Francisco to San Diego round trip (my wife does not fly). That puts it at over 1k for my wife and I. I suggested they try and reprice is to make it more affordable and was met with much resistance. I understand these things cost money, but a convention center vs a county fair facility might help the pricing a bit. Either way, unfortunately I would love to go, would be a fun weekend, but at over 1k for my wife and I, we just won't get that much out of it. Enjoy.
 
redrocker652002 said:
.. 300 bucks per person to register, 50 bucks per person for each class, 90 bucks for the VIB and two days hotel at 250 a night plus taxes and gas from San Francisco to San Diego round trip (my wife does not fly). That puts it at over 1k for my wife and I.
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Wow, that's steep for a hobby event! Do they at least give-out decent swag?
 
PCABrewing said:
Wow, that's steep for a hobby event! Do they at least give-out decent swag?
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Check out 2023 Registration - Homebrew Con for pricing.

To me, it looks like there is the 'traditional' conference package which, in 2023, includes
  • All Educational Sessions
  • 2023 Commemorative Beer
  • Swag Bag
  • Homebrew Expo
  • Social Club
  • Welcome Toast
  • Headline Speaker
  • Kickoff Reception
  • AHA Member Gathering
  • Club Night
  • National Homebrew Competition Awards Ceremony
  • Knockout Party
Click to expand...

There are also a couple of pre/post conference workshops/events (at an additional cost).

There's a lot more information at the web site. This year, the AHA forums have been a good place to ask questions regarding the conference (and it appears that there is 'contact us' information at the conference web site.
 
redrocker652002 said:
Unfortunately they priced me out of it.
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Conferences, of any type, have always been expensive. That's generally not the fault of the conference sponsor(s) as travel and hotel prices often go up around those event dates. And, with HomeBrew Con, there's the social aspect to the conference that adds value for many people.

Those newer to the hobby may find that $100 (or so) spend on good books (beyond How to Brew) or an "advanced" magazine/content package (like Craft Beer & Brewing) is money well spent. If there was interest, I suspect a number of us here at HomeBrewTalk could "crowd source" a list. A well curated list of ad-supported videos may also be interesting.
 
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BrewnWKopperKat said:
Conferences, of any type, have always been expensive. That's generally not the fault of the conference sponsor(s) as travel and hotel prices often go up around those event dates. And, with HomeBrew Con, there's the social aspect to the conference that adds value for many people.

Those newer to the hobby may find that $100 (or so) spend on good books (beyond How to Brew) or an "advanced" magazine/content package (like Craft Beer & Brewing) is money well spent. If there was interest, I suspect a number of us here at HomeBrewTalk could "crowd source" a list. A well curated list of ad-supported videos may also be interesting.
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While I would agree, The Good Guys puts on a heck of a weekend show and brings in quite a few hot rods who pay an entrance fee. The cost for a spectator is about 25 bucks a head. Now, that does not include any classes but they have all the vendor stuff and even a used cars for sale coral and swap meet. They put this on at the Alameda County Fairgrounds, which has at least 3 or 4 buildings that classes and all can be held and I have to guess it is cheaper than a convention center. But who am I to say. I am new and for better or worse I don't have that kind of cash to spen on a hobby. For all you rich guys, have fun. I wish I could justify it, but for 1k plus, just no way to do it.
 
redrocker652002 said:
As I read it, the vendors give some nice stuff. You are not going to get a Brewzilla or anything like that, but from what they say over at AHA, they do pretty well. But, for me, that isn't enough motivation to drop 1k on.
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Last year I got enough in hops, grain, yeast and misc swag to more than pay for my ticket. Hotel and transportation is a different story, but I look at it like any other vacation...vacations cost money.
 
redrocker652002 said:
I can't go. Unfortunately they priced me out of it. 300 bucks per person to register, 50 bucks per person for each class, 90 bucks for the VIB and two days hotel at 250 a night plus taxes and gas from San Francisco to San Diego round trip (my wife does not fly). That puts it at over 1k for my wife and I. I suggested they try and reprice is to make it more affordable and was met with much resistance. I understand these things cost money, but a convention center vs a county fair facility might help the pricing a bit. Either way, unfortunately I would love to go, would be a fun weekend, but at over 1k for my wife and I, we just won't get that much out of it. Enjoy.
Click to expand...
If you really want to go to multiple classes, just pay for the full package at $369 and all the classes are included. Or just do what I do and get the social package and get any presentation you are interested in for free online after the conference.

You also don't need the VIB add on to enjoy the conference, and can stay off-site at a much cheaper hotel and uber in for the conference.

You can easily enjoy the conference for way less than $1k if you really want to.
 
redrocker652002 said:
While I would agree, The Good Guys puts on a heck of a weekend show and brings in quite a few hot rods who pay an entrance fee. The cost for a spectator is about 25 bucks a head. Now, that does not include any classes but they have all the vendor stuff and even a used cars for sale coral and swap meet. They put this on at the Alameda County Fairgrounds, which has at least 3 or 4 buildings that classes and all can be held and I have to guess it is cheaper than a convention center. But who am I to say. I am new and for better or worse I don't have that kind of cash to spen on a hobby. For all you rich guys, have fun. I wish I could justify it, but for 1k plus, just no way to do it.
Click to expand...
The issue with the fairgrounds is that the only hotel with any capacity is a couple miles away, it's where all the hot rodders stay.
 
kingmatt said:
If you really want to go to multiple classes, just pay for the full package at $369 and all the classes are included. Or just do what I do and get the social package and get any presentation you are interested in for free online after the conference.

You also don't need the VIB add on to enjoy the conference, and can stay off-site at a much cheaper hotel and uber in for the conference.

You can easily enjoy the conference for way less than $1k if you really want to.
Click to expand...
I'll check hotels and see, I am a bit of a hotel snob and will not stay at a local dive or a motel 6. I will look at the packages again, maybe I read it wrong. But as I am reading it, the Beginning Brew and Intermediate Brew classes are a 50 dollar per person add on? I might be misreading. The Social package isn't too bad at 260 per person. What would be cool is if they let you bring a guest for free. Then it becomes much more affordable. Thanks for the post. RR
 
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Mostly an aside, but when one looks at the web site for the conference, there are no "classes"; there are "educational seminars" (part of the conference) and "workshops" (outside of the conference). Calling both of them "classes" may cause unnecessary confusion (or maybe not 🤷‍♀️ ).
 
BrewnWKopperKat said:
Mostly an aside, but when one looks at the web site for the conference, there are no "classes"; there are "educational seminars" (part of the conference) and "workshops" (outside of the conference). Calling both of them "classes" may cause unnecessary confusion (or maybe not 🤷‍♀️ ).
Click to expand...
My bad. Sorry for the confusion.
 

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