Homebrew club problems

[remilard]

You should buy a bunch of stuff to use as prizes for a HomeBrew Competition.

You can get that for free.

As for the OP.

1. Why did you elect officers who don't brew?
2. If the majority of the club feels so strongly different than the officers, replace them next year.
3. I wouldn't vote for buying a club system with that little money in the account.

I guess I have a hard time believing the story I've been handed which is that everyone in the club disagrees with and dislikes all of the officers. How does that happen?

 

[Grinder12000]

THE PROBLEM - is that many clubs are friendship bound so kicking a guy out has more ramification then just a regime change.

I'm the treasurer of a club and we collect $20 a year. The thing is we assume many people in the club do not brew but would like too. We feel that charging $20 a year keeps deads beat out of the club that just want to drink homebrew.

The Sun Prairie Worthogs is a very nice social club and it takes a while to figure out the direction you want a club to go! Keep it simple and enjoy the friendships before you do anything major and stressful.

We also have not really spent anything except on summer parties and so forth as there is not big consensus on what to buy. We have a bunch of money but with so many people in different stages of brewing it's tough to put it down on ONE thing that is fair to everybody!

 

[Homercidal]

What do the VP's want to do with the money?

Put it up to popular vote.

+1 That's all there is to it. The reason to have a club with voting is to do what the majority wants to do. There will come a time where the majority will want to do something that you don't like and it will be time to suck it up and deal with it. That's is what the Pres and other are going to have to do now.

IF I were to be part of a homebrew club, we'd have a very simple statement of what we wish the focus of the club is about, assessed and voted on once a year. And the by-laws etc. are minimal, if at all. Maybe voting rules.

If the direction of the club it to promote the hobby, then sharing/buying equipment for newbs to get them started is a worthy decision. If the focus is on appreciating homebrew, then buying unusual beers to compare with might be the thing to do.

Just take a vote and find out what the majority wants to do. Someone just has to make a motion and everyone raises their hand to be counted.

 

[Airborneguy]

The thing is we assume many people in the club do not brew but would like too. We feel that charging $20 a year keeps deads beat out of the club that just want to drink homebrew.

You don't need dues to do this. We had that problem bigtime. We had about 20 "members" at one point showing up to gatherings, and quickly realized that more than half of them weren't brewers. Myself and the founder of the club spoke about it, then told those involved not to come back.

Honestly, what we did was better. What's to stop someone from deciding $20 is an insignificant amount of money to pay to enjoy a year of free homebrew? And if they did pay, how do you kick them out then?

I still don't understand why anyone would want to burden their hobby - ie, fun - with rules and regulations. I like when this discussion comes up because I get to see the other side of the coin, but I will definitely never understand it.

 

[Zen_Brew]

I think Walker put it best. Decide what you want to get out of being a member in a brew club and then decide if your needs are being met. If not get together with other like members of the club and split off into your own club. Not every club structure fits every person. There are several clubs in my area from big ones with rigid constitutions, to informal ones that just meet up when they can and share brew and ideas. Some people belong to multiple clubs and get different experiences and needs met from different clubs.

I agree senior officers should be fairly regular brewers, except for maybe the treasurer. He just needs to know how to count well.

As to buying a club brew system, $900 will not stretch very far. In larger clubs, such as the one I belong to, I think you just wait it out until someone is doing an upgrade to a nicer system they have. Often times they will donate the old system to the club, or sell it at a deep discount. It is nice to have club equipment to check out, as our club has a brewing system and a couple jockey boxes available to check out for members in good standing.

 

[EinGutesBiersSWMBO]

Majority rules either way. It doesn't matter what any club officer thinks if it's passed by the majority.

I'm co-founder of a club, but we don't have club dues. We hold a yearly event that we sell tickets to that funds us for the year. We did have something come up where members wanted to be able to have club equipment, so what we did was offered a 'Premium Membership'. Premium Members pay $25 a year. That money goes to buying equipment. These members get their vote on what we buy and they are the only ones allowed to use it.

This worked well for us, because it's been my goal to keep the club free of dues. So the brewers we have that have their own equipment arn't interested in the 'Premium Membership' but nearly all of the new comers are.

Club items right now include; fermenters, kegs, bottling equipment, a lagerator, and free use of a brew system.

 

[-TPM-]

The thing that would bother me about club equipment for everyone to borrow is what to do if something comes back damaged, or not at all...

Our club has dues and bylaws, and the reason for it is more legal that anything else. One of the members checked with a lawyer when we where starting and (so they said) dues are required to be a club and the bylaws protect the people hosting in case something happens (who wants a law suit?).

 

[Ralelen]

Here are the bylaws of a local the at first I was going to join, but seemed to cliquish to me:

Membership is by invitation-only. That said, please read on to get some tips on how to be invited:

* You must be able to comply with the club code. This includes the age limit, for example.
* You must brew on your own. Your methods and experience does not matter, but you must brew in some shape or form.
* While membership is invitation-only , our club-brews and many of our events are open to all brewers and even to general beer enthusiasts. The most important criteria we'll judge you by is your participation at these events.
* Participation on the forum is highly suggested.
* You must be willing to continually improve your brewing skills and to help others improve. First and foremost, this is a homebrewing club, and producing quality beer is the main goal.
* Know that we want to keep the size of the group small. This makes planning events and making club-brews a reality. You may need to wait until a spot opens within the ranks. Again, you are welcome to the events and we will consider your participation and level of activity as the most crucial factor in recruiting members.
* Membership is limited to eight members.
Club Brewing System

* All members must own a share of the system. New members will buy in to the system at a cost of $150
* Members leaving the club will not get this money refunded to them
* It is advised but not mandatory that guild brews are conducted on the system so that all members can take home 5 gallons of wort.
* The system is open for use by all guild members outside of club functions as long as it is scheduled with the person currently in possession of the system. In this situation, members must completely fund all expendables including propane and ingredients. Any items damaged during a private brew must be replaced by that member (unless it was in a progressive state of deterioration as determined by the guild) and it must be cleaned and left in better condition than which it was found.
* Members are entitled to 2 absentee fermentors filled (1 max per brew) in a calendar year if they can not make an official club brew. Their fermenter will be filled last in case there is a shortage.


These guys need to RDWHAHB.

 

[remilard]

These guys need to RDWHAHB.

They don't need to conform you your preferences more than you to theirs.

RDWBSCB

 

[BrewThruYou]

Issue comes up that majority of the club would like to use money from dues for equipment for members of the club to use to brew. This would be for brewing beginners to get their feet wet, and also for experienced brewers who may not for instance have a plate chiller to use. Our club balance is about $900 right now.

Sounds like socialism - taking dues from everyone and redistributing it to the poor (beginners). I wouldn't want any part of that.

 

[frailn]

RDWBSCB

Relax Don't Worry Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast?

 

[jmf143]

Sounds like socialism - taking dues from everyone and redistributing it to the poor (beginners). I wouldn't want any part of that.

"Socialism is great - until you run out of other people's money."

Margaret Thatcher

 

[Grinder12000]

Membership is by invitation-only

THAT is harsh and sounds like a pretty stick club - screw that! More like a good ol boys club! Not really looking to add newbie to the group are they.

I REALLY dislike those by-laws!

 

[skeeordye11]

I'm affiliated with a number of clubs/(dis)organizations/brewing circles in this area. Granted, this a great area for homebrewers as there are a ton here. I get something different from each one of these groups. I can definitely say that each one has it's own personality and I know which ones fit my personality best. I only pay dues in one of these clubs (although I don't have to since I am the president) and that money basically gets used for our Christmas party and is there to pay for ingredients for events where we eventually get reimbursed for. We also may pay for food and such at these events as well.
In the OP's case, I think it's a good idea, but with only $900 I think it would be hard to get a decent system that people could use and learn on. What we even do in the dis-organization is have a brewday and when someone is done with their gear, a noob gets to have a go with it. This just happened recently actually. That way he can try it out and see how he likes brewing. He hadn't even ever done an extract batch before. What I'm saying is try to have a compromise and have a club brewday somewhere so people can learn. Use the funds to rent a space and/or purchase food for the event. That way it's educational (which I think most clubs claim they are, as I know mine does) and fun with probably little overhead. Just some thoughts.
At the end of the day, if you don't like the way the club is being run, try to become the president or find another club. Cheers!

 

[Bishop916]

"Membership is limited to eight members."

haha I guess unless someone quits or dies you are ass-out.

 

[malkore]

Using club money to buy people equipment sounds weird to me.
Our club funds pay for booth fees at events we attend, meat for the annual picnic/BBQ party, as well as covering whatever isn't paid for by tickets on bus tours to breweries (i.e. we need to fill 48 seats at $45 to break even so the club pays if 8 seats are empty), etc. also, club t-shirts.

when equipment is bought, someone may not 'own' it but it sits at their house all the time and is either their burden to deal with or their boon to brew with all the time.

 

[olllllo]

We're about to sign off on a $1200 annual insurance policy. Why? Because for us, it's the right thing to do. Can't do that without dues.

 

[Larsccw]

We're about to sign off on a $1200 annual insurance policy. Why? Because for us, it's the right thing to do. Can't do that without dues.

Interesting, I wonder if this $1200 insurance policy is required for all clubs?

 

[jfuriosi]

The local brewpub which hosts our meetings had to jncrease its insurance because people bring their own beers.