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The Inaugural Northwest Homebrewers Conference!!

Scott Ickes

Grandmaster Brewer
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Location
Vancouver, WA
March 4-5, 2016
Vancouver, Washington


The inaugural Northwest Homebrewers Conference https://www.pnwhc.com/ will bring together homebrewers from Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana and British Columbia to share a homebrew, learn tips and tricks, share ideas and celebrate our fun hobby.  This event will be held at the Downtown Vancouver, Washington Hilton Hotel.

The website is in the link in the previous paragraph.  You can register there.  There is also a block of hotel rooms, at special pricing for the event.


NOTE!! - You must register and pay in advance to attend this event!  There will be no walk-in attendees.  We can only serve homebrew at private events in Washington State, so you must register and pay in advance to attend!


The cost ($150) includes a goody bag at registration, plus:


Friday, March 4th:

•Workshops from 2 p.m. to 4:15 p.m.

•Dinner from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.

•Pro Brewers Night - Brews from local Pros served to all attendees. (Taste what the Pacific Northwest Pro Brewers are creating!)


Saturday, March 5th:

•Exhibit Hall open from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

•Workshops from 9 a.m. to 11:15 a.m.

•Lunch with a Keynote Speaker from Noon to 2 p.m.

•Workshops from 2 p.m. to 4:15 p.m.

•Dinner from 5:15 p.m. to 7 p.m.

•Club Brewers Night from 7 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. (Taste what the Homebrewers are creating!!)
◦I belong to the Cascadia Brewers Alliance in Vancouver, WA and will have my 5 tap Keezer at the Club Brewers Night so that you can taste what our club is brewing (from wild yeast fermentations, to Cascadian Dark Ales, Imperials and everything in between). 

◦This is your chance as a homebrewer to share your creations with homebrewers from all over the Pacific Northwest!



Bus Tours:
Note:  There is a separate fee (noted below) for the bus tours, that is in addition to the conference fee....

The brewery bus tours are scheduled for Thursday, March 3rd and Friday, March 4th.  If you've never visited this area on a beer themed vacation, you have no idea what you're missing.  I travel for my day job, and I have never been to a better beer scene than what we have in this area!

Thursday, March 3rd:


Hood River Bus Tour ... 10:30 am - 3:15 pm - Fee is $65
Travel from the Hilton to Hood River and visit Full Sail Brewing, Double Mountain Brewery and Pfriem Family Brewers. Besides the beautiful scenery through the Columbia Gorge, Hood River is a great town you’ll want to visit again. Beer, goodie bags, bus transportation and lunch are included in each tour.

Portland Bus Tour #1 ... 10:45 am - 2:30 pm - Fee is $55
For four hours, this tour will head to the Northeast and Southeast parts of Portland to visit Laurelwood Brewing, Co., Breakside and The Commons Brewery. Each of these breweries are perennial GABF winners. Beer, goodie bags, bus transportation and lunch are included in each tour.

Friday, March 4th:


Portland Bus Tour #2 ... 9:30 am - 1:00 pm - Fee is $55
An eclectic group of breweries make up the last tour before the conference festivities commence. Don’t miss Ecliptic, Basecamp and Occidental and experience a glimpse at the wide range of craft beer offerings in the great Pacific Northwest. The tour leaves the Hilton at 9:30 am and returns by 1:00 pm. The first conference workshops don’t start until 2:00 pm so you won’t miss a thing.

I hope to see some of you at this event!
 
Here is the list of seminar speakers for this event!  It is an incredible line up of people!!

Brewing the Really Lazy Way
Zot O'Connor - unofficial Mad Scientist of the Mt. Si Homebrew Society

Brewing Award-Winning Beer with Extract
Alex Brehm - Best New Brewer at the 2015 Slurp & Burp

Cider Yeast: Which One Should I Use?
Paul Anderson - Brewer, Deschutes Brewery

Beer Flavor Profiles & Recipe Formulation
Rodney Kizbey - Winner of Samuel Adams Longshot competition twice & Midwest Homebrewer of the Year

Beer Judging 101
Steve Antoch - BJCP Grand Master II Judge, BJCP Assistant CEP Director

Burton Ale
Bill Schneller

Czech Beers - What I learned brewing from the Czech Masters
Annie Johnson - 2013 Homebrew of the Year, BrewMaster Recipe R &D at PicoBrew

Mead Making Basics
Tim Leber

Brewing and Serving Cask-Conditioned Ale at Home
Ben Edwards - 20 year homebrewer with 4 Cask Conditioned kegs at home!

Lessons I've Learned - Recipe Design and Beer Evaluation
Denny Conn - co-author of "Experimental Homebrewing" and the upcoming "Homebrew All Stars"

Going Pro: What Does a Beer Really Cost and Can You Make Money?
Mellie Pullman

Iron Brewer (Club Homebrew Competition)
Jeremy Speer

My Beer Does Not Taste Like IBUs
Jack Harris - Co-owner and founder of Fort George Brewery and Public House in Astoria, OR, 25 year brewing veteran

Big Beers 1.080 and Up
Jason Barker

Hard Cider 101: The Basics
Jeremy Frey

Wild Yeast 101
Matt Spaanem -  in 2014 only brewed with wild yeast he had harvested

Cleaning and Sanitation for Homebrewers
Chris Jackson & Donald Jones, Wesmar Co. - 25 year veterans of the cleaning and sanitizing business for professional breweries.

So, You Want to Go to Sierra Nevada Beer Camp?
John Lovegrove

Going Pro: Panel Discussion with PNW Brewers
Cameron Johnson - Founder, Incubator Brewery and Taproom.

Understanding the Power of Inverted Sugar
Jim Ladd - Founder of Cascade Beer Candi Company

Making Enzymes Work for You
Randy Scorby - 2011 National Homebrewer of the Year & BJCP continuing education director

Specialty Malts for Brewers
Teri Fahrendorf - Malt Innovation Manager for Great Western Malting, 20+ years of Brewing at Steelhead, 2014 Winner of Brewers Association's lifetime achievement Recognition Award
 
Just sent this out to members of the Oregon Brew Crew. Would love to see some of you guys join us in early March!

10 Reasons to Attend Pacific Northwest Homebrewers Conference!

1- Learn From The Pros

This inaugural event features some real celebrities of the Northwest homebrewing scene. Hear great tips and tricks from gurus like Denny Cohn, Randy Scorby, Rodney Kibzey and Jeremy Frey, plus Pink Boot Society founder Teri Fahrendorf. The conference’s 24 educational seminars will cover a range of subjects including high ABV brewing, cask-conditioning, cider and mead making, hop growing, beer judging, specialty malts and how to go professional. There are seminars for every level, from the novice homebrewer to the veteran zymurgist alike.

2- Pre-Conference Brewery Tours

Ever wanted to visit breweries in Hood River? Haven't had your fill of beer tours in Portland? Signup for pre-conference bus tours to GABF winning breweries like Breakside, The Commons, Laurelwood, pFriem and Double Mountain. Additional fees apply for bus tours.

3- Three Meals and Two Parties

Don't worry about packing a lunch or finding dinner in the Vancouver area. PNWHC has you covered with two dinners and a keynote lunch, plus lots of beer sampling throughout the day.

4- Club Brews Night

If you have ever heard about Club Night at the National Homebrewers Conference, you know it is not to be missed! OBC will be represented in style, complete with a decorated booth, a "space" theme and other secret goodies still in the works. Take advantage of the PNWHC discounted hotel rate at the Vancouver Hilton and party like the homebrew star you are!

5- Pro Brewer Night

The PNWHC Pro Brewer Night will feature a stellar lineup of regional breweries. Come meet and chat with professional brewers and brewery owners who started out just like you! Already convinced? Just register here. If not, here are 5 more...

6- The Latest Gadgets and Ingredients

The Expo Hall will feature the widest variety of homebrewer gear and ingredients found anywhere in the Northwest. Come geek out on new brew stands, brewing software, yeast strains the the latest hop varieties from sponsors like Larry’s Brewing Supply, Bader Beer and Wine Supply, F.H. Steinbart Company and Yakima Valley Hops.

7- Did We Mention Beer?

Homebrewers will be pouring their beer. Professional breweries are pouring their beer. Even exhibitors will be serving beer at their booths!

8- Over $1,000 in Awesome Prizes

Attendees will get to win lots of cool prizes from sponsors like homebrewing equipment and gift certificates. Winners will be announced during lunch and dinner sessions as well as during the educational seminars.

9- Learn From Other Attendees

Come hang out with hundreds of fellow homebrewers who are passionate about making great beer like you. This regional conference is designed to focus on homebrewers in Oregon, Washington, British Columbia, Montana, Idaho and beyond! You might learn just as much from attendees as you will in the educational sessions.

10- Schwag Baby!

Missing some new stickers for your kegerator? In addition to the nifty conference bag and tasting glass, fill up on goodies from your favorite homebrew shops, breweries and vendors!
 
Jim,
Thanks for assisting with the promotion of this great inaugural event!

I'm looking forward to hanging with the OBC bunch and talking homebrew.

I'm with the Cascadia Brewers Alliance homebrew club in Vancouver, WA.  My keezer, pictured here, will be at the event on club night in our booth, with 5 kegs on tap at all times.  We'll also have a jockey box with additional kegs on tap during some of the seminars, that our members will be giving.

I look forward to meeting you and your fellow homebrew club memebers in a month!
 

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Many thanks to those of you that signed up for this event.  It has sold out.  The limit was 400 attendees.  I'll post some photos and give some feedback on this great start to a new homebrewing conference.
 
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