The Ames Brewers League

As you can see above, the Ames Brewers League meets twice each month. The first meeting in the month is slightly more formal, with old and new club business being discussed and the Style of the Month competition following. After the competition has ended, members will talk amongst themselves about various brewing related topics and share any homebrews that were brought. Bringing samples of your homebrewed beer is always appreciated.

During the second meeting of the month, the club will try to invite a guest speaker to discuss topics relevant to beer and beer brewing (for a list of past speakers, scroll down to the bottom of the page) After the speaker is finished giving his or her presentation, we will open the meeting to general discussion including recipe formulation, brewing gadgets, or anything else members wish to talk about. Bringing samples of homebrew is encouraged, as a large portion of this meeting will be sampling members' homebrew and giving feedback. These meetings may occasionally be moved to a different location, so be sure to check the website and Yahoo! Group before coming.

How to Join

Joining the Ames Brewers League is easy: just attend one of the monthly meetings, either at Wallaby's or Olde Main. Also, sign up for the Yahoo! Group in order to receive the latest club information and updates. To sign up, click HERE or use the link on the right side of the homepage. You will need to create a Yahoo! account if you don't already have one. When creating the account, you have the option to forward the email to your primary email address so you won't have to check multiple mailboxes.

Mission Statement

We are the Ames Brewers League. Our mission is to help educate the region of central Iowa centered around Ames, IA, about the brewing and enjoyment of beer. The production of beer is a conceptually simple process of fermenting a hop-infused sugary solution with yeast, but it is much more than that. Our purpose is to help our membership to brew better beer, and to educate the public about the many and varied styles of beer made in the world today. We also have a great deal of fun at our monthly meetings, trading experiences and exchanging information about new techniques and established practices. We always have something interesting to discuss at every meeting.

History

Our club has been growing steadily since its inception in March of 1999. We currently have between 20 and 30 members. These members come from every walk of life, and every level of brewing experience is represented from absolute beginners to commercial brewers. We also have members at every level of brewing complexity from all extract to full, multi-step mash regimes.

Past Guest Speakers

Jeff "Puff" Irvin - Head Brewer at Olde Main Brewing, Ames
Steve Zimmerman - former Head Brewer at Court Avenue Brewing Company, Des Moines
Laurel Maney - Once of Miller Brewing, now the Director of the Brewing Program at Milwaukee Area Technical College
Paul Kreutzfeldt - Head Brewer at Rock Bottom Brewing, Des Moines
Dave Coy - Head Brewer at Raccoon River Brewing Company
Rob Moline - American Homebrewers Association Board of Advisors, Winner of the 1996 Gold Medal for Barleywines at GABF