By Melissa Voss

Brewery owners regularly tell us their industry is unusually collegial and collaborative. Colorado’s professional brewers are competing for customers, but they also work together and even share tricks of the trade with amateurs.

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Today is the last day to shop the Learn to Homebrew Day flash sale at Brewers Publications.

To that end, breweries and home brewing stores across Colorado hosted events on Nov. 5 to celebrate the 2022 Learn How to Homebrew Day. The Colorado-based American Homebrewers Association created the themed day to help craft beer enthusiasts engage in a day full of community, curiosity and beer.

Julia Herz, executive director of AHA, says that through homebrewing, a new community and appreciation for brews is found.

“Homebrewing makes life more delicious, and introducing friends and family to the joys of the hobby is a leading charge of the American Homebrewers Association,” said Herz.

It’s not too late to get involved in homebrewing this holiday season. Homemade beer makes a thoughtful and unique gift. This year’s special recipe for Learn How to Homebrew Day is a cross of an American-style amber ale and a hoppy IPA that is easy for brewers of all skill levels – the Hoppy Amber Ale.

Are you ready to start homebrewing? Here is where you can start:

Collect brewing essentials

A fermenter, an airlock and bung, a brew pot/kettle, a siphon/tubing, cleaner and sanitizer, a hydrometer, and a heat source. Check out the AHA’s recommended brands.

Gather your primary ingredients

Ingredients will vary depending on what type of brew you will be making, but for classic beer, you just need four main ingredients: malt, hops, yeast and water. The AHA also provides recipes for mead and cider.

Educate yourself on the basics

Watching a variety of tutorials is a great place to start, from all-grain brewing to all-extract brewing. The AHA also provides a series of web seminars, brewing articles, and the AHA forum to connect you with brewers around the world.

Explore and expand your taste buds

Once the basics are down, the world is your oyster: try out the 2022 Learn to Homebrew Day official recipe, Hoppy Amber Ale, or the thousands of other recipes that the AHA provides. Or, experiment with your flavors and share them with the forum so other homebrewers can give them a try.

Connect with your local homebrewing community

Want to get connected with local homebrewing enthusiasts? Check out the AHA’s homebrew club locator to find a club based around learning, experimenting, and meeting like-minded brewers.

A northern Colorado homebrew club has two upcoming events and fundraisers.

The Weiz Guys Homebrewing Club hosts a turkey drive from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 12, at Zwei Brewing in Fort Collins. Take in a frozen turkey (to be donated to the Larimer County Food Bank), and get a free pint.

The group also hosts a forum with Tim Bohling, the city of Loveland’s water quality services manager, at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Sept 15, at Verboten Brewing.