Minnesota Twin Cities homebrewing clubs?

[BrewRaider]

I am interested in joining a homebrew club in the Twin Cities. There are a number of local clubs listed on the AHA website, but its hard to tell which ones are active, and what the clubs' philosophies/culture are all about. A couple of clubs that jumped out to me due to their websites are the St. Paul Homebrew Club, the Minnesota Brewers Association and the Nordeast Brewers Club. Can anyone give any insight as to how welcoming these (or other) clubs are to new members, how big they are, how active they are, focus on education/socializing/competition/mix, or any other characteristics? As for what I am looking for, I would like a club that includes brewers of all levels, educates its members without being over-the-top critical (its a hobby, after all), and is made up of regular folks of all walks who just want to periodically talk about and brew good beer. Thanks much for any insight!

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

IMO, three good clubs, all (likely to be) virtual in 2021. Maybe join all three for a year & see where it goes?

FWIW, based the club affiliation of people who "medal" in regional home brew competitions (MN Mashout, Hoppy Holloween, MN State Fair, NBA Homebrew competition), there appear to be some active clubs in the Monticello / Big Lake / St Cloud area and in the Rochester area. Also, chatting with brewers at one of your local / regional craft breweries may help find clubs in that are local to the brewery.

edits: typos

 

[NeoBrew]

I have attended a few events of the Minnesota Home Brewer’s Association. Really nice bunch of people. They seem pretty active and have a regular e-news mailing list.

 

[Cisko]

St. Paul Homebrew Club, the Minnesota Brewers Association and the Nordeast Brewers Club.

Did you ever join any of these clubs? I've been looking for an active club that is meeting in person. From their website, it looks like St Paul Homebrewers Club has pretty regular meetings. Nordeast seems to post things on their website, but nothing about meetings. I can't find Minnesota Brewers Association, unless it's name changed to Minnesota Brewers Guild, and I can't find anything about meetings in their website either.

It would be really nice if the AHA website could get an updated list of current clubs.

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

@Cisko : As of early 2023,

• MN Home Brewers Alliance is here: Minnesota Home Brewers Association. The site says they met monthly and there is contact information.
• Nordeast club calendar includes meeting information and is here: Calendar & Events | Nordeast Brewers Alliance. There is a digital calendar at the bottom of the page. There is contact information on their site as well.
• St Paul Homebrew Club is here: St. Paul Homebrew Club. Feb 2023 meeting information is available.

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

It would be really nice if the AHA website could get an updated list of current clubs.

also for those who read quickly and haven't checked AHA's web site recently.

Find a Homebrew Club

"Search the American Homebrewers Association’s (AHA) worldwide database of over 2,200 AHA-registered homebrew clubs.​

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"Add, edit or delete a homebrew club listing through our simple online form. Allow up to two weeks for the homebrew club information to appear in the database.​

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"Your local homebrew club is an excellent resource for learning, experimenting, and meeting like-minded people passionate about zymurgy! Clubs can be philanthropic, formed around a theme or identity, host competitions, and even help share the cost of ingredients. There’s a club for everyone—search below to find yours!​

There are 50+ entries for MN and 50+ entries for WI.

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And, if that's not enough, /r/homebrewing is likely to be another place to ask about clubs in a particular area.