SIBA homebrewer membership

AJA · Oct 11, 2022

I was at Brewcon last weekend and noted that SIBA now have a homebrewer category of membership.
Anyone have any idea on whether this would be worth the £50. I'd be interested in going to BeerX but are there any commercial brewers on here that could comment?

https://www.siba.co.uk/homebrewer/Thanks

Druncan · Oct 11, 2022

Wow!,,, I have supported SIBA as a full (Commercial) brewery since 2017. Chuffed to get in and gets me into contact with a load of experts that have helped me in so many ways over the years. (Just like the HBF) The BeerX is brilliant. Can you get in as a H|B'er? Clever initiative getting HB'ers in to the fold! Mag is great
- But lots of brewers and breweries do not feel like me. I'm so small |I feel it's cost effective, but others would disagree. AFAIK no one else is fighting for the brewery industry unless you know otherwise?

AJA · Oct 11, 2022

Druncan said:
Wow!,,, I have supported SIBA as a full (Commercial) brewery since 2017. Chuffed to get in and gets me into contact with a load of experts that have helped me in so many ways over the years. (Just like the HBF) The BeerX is brilliant. Can you get in as a H|B'er? Clever initiative getting HB'ers in to the fold! Mag is great
- But lots of brewers and breweries do not feel like me. I'm so small |I feel it's cost effective, but others would disagree. AFAIK no one else is fighting for the brewery industry unless you know otherwise?

Yeah that link goes to the homebrewer membership which is a flat £50. I imagine for proper breweries it's a lot more.
It lists the benefits as:
Membership benefits include

Quarterly brewing magazine with a dedicated home brew recipe section
Entry into SIBA’s National Homebrew Beer Awards taking place at BeerX
Entry into BeerX – the UK’s biggest brewing event
Regular online ‘Ask the Brewer’ sessions for technical Q&A and advice
Access to SIBA’s ‘Member Toolbox’ offering business and brewing tools and advice on going pro
Attend regional and national SIBA events, judge at SIBA beer competitions and come along to social gatherings

To be honest I found Brewcon so useful that I'm minded to join.

Stu's Brews · Jan 7, 2023

I've just joined as a homebrew member so will try and provide a few updates in case there is anyone else considering it.

I'm hoping I might be able to make it up to BeerX but being mid-week in Liverpool isn't super convenient for me.

The homebrew competition seems interesting (brew a single hopped Pale Ale using HBC586) and I'm now more likely to enter since they've moved the delivery deadline closer to the judging at BeerX.

The toolbox is (as you'd probably expect) aimed at commercial breweries so nothing particularly of great value at the homebrew level from what I can see. It also seems a bit 'buggy' as some tools either don't load or throw you back to the homepage.

Not received the magazine or been invited to any Q&A or regional events yet. Will report back when that happens.

First impressions are that unless you go to BeerX then it's potentially an expensive magazine subscription / competition entry. But that is partly because I can't judge the value of the Q&As or regional events yet.

AJA · Jan 7, 2023

Yeah, I didn't join in the end as BeerX is midweek and in Liverpool.

Stu's Brews · Mar 14, 2023

I've managed to swing it so I can attend Beer X on Thursday, not sure if anyone else from the forum is attending?

Looks like there should be a few good talks, including one on transitioning from homebrewer to professional by Andy Parker from Elusive.

Hopefully the exhibitors will be interesting too but fully expecting it will be biased towards commercial brewing.

Should be some good beers at the bar too! acheers.

Caramel Ox · Oct 27, 2024

Just bumping this as I’m thinking about joining and entering the competition.

Very unlikely I’d make it to BeerX is anyone still a member and can comment on the longer term experience?

Stu's Brews · Oct 27, 2024

Caramel Ox said:
Just bumping this as I’m thinking about joining and entering the competition.

Very unlikely I’d make it to BeerX is anyone still a member and can comment on the longer term experience?

I've been a member for two years, in that time I have:

Attended two BeerX events. Both of which were superb. Not only is a fantastic learning experience, the atmosphere is great and you can usually nab a few freebies from the suppliers (I have been well stocked up on Yakima Chief hops).
Attended the 'homebrewer to pro' talk at BrewCon last year, which included free entry to the BrewCon afternoon session.
Entered both competitions (although I didn't actually submit my beer on the first year). The competitions always seem to revolve around a particular ingredient, which is provided free of charge - this year it is Maris Otter malt.
Attended the online webinar from Lallemand specifically about their Wit yeast, which was the focus of last year's competition.
Received the quarterly magazine, which includes a dedicated homebrew section (usually an interview with a pro brewer and one of their recipes). There is always some interesting reading in the rest of the magazine though.

For £50 a year, I'd say I'm getting my money's worth. I've definitely learnt a few things that I may not have picked up elsewhere.

SIBA homebrewer membership

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