Home Brew Clubs in CyBeer Space
Mark Tumarkin

This past month Bradley (our Propagandist, Newsletter Editor, and Web Geek extraordinaire) got us up on the Web, live and electrified. Glasses have been raised in toasts, and the beer has been flowing ever since. We had actually been on the Web before, but our old site at http://www.afn.org/~brewers/old-index.html hadn't been updated for years, and can't hold a cyber-candle to our new site. I'm not going to put in the URL for the new site--duh, you already have that or you wouldn't be reading this now.

I'm sure you already have a homebrew in hand to drink that toast to Bradley; but if you don't, go get one now and we'll get started on a CyBeer Tour of some of the other club sites on the Web.

The Janitors of the Home Brew Digest, Pat Babcock and Karl Lutzen, graciously provide web space for our page. We're in great company, as the HBD provides space for a number of other clubs as well. So that's as good a place to start as any (and better than most). Point your browser towards the HBD, look for the Clubs link on the left-hand side of the page.

The URL for the HBD is http://hbd.org/

There are several other sites that list a number of clubs.

BT offers a free subscription to homebrew clubs (we should be getting our first issue shortly). Not all clubs listed on their site actually give URLs for websites. This is also true of the AHA and Brewery sites. There are clubs that are not listed on the above sites, but I think there are enough here to get you started. Also, many of the listed clubs have links to other club pages. So you can extend this tour if your having too much fun to stop.

Having a good website provides the same functions for a club as a newsletter used to; it provides info to the members, ties the club together, and provides a point of contact for anyone interested in the club. In fact, many clubs now have their newsletters on line as part of their website. This is a great way to get a feel for what that club is all about.

A lot of clubs have sites on the web. Many of them leave something to be desired. Many try hard but lack an able WebMeister like our Propagandist--so I want you all to recognize what a great job Bradley is doing. Here are just a few clubs that have quality acts as far as web sites. I don't mean to slight any of the other clubs that have really good web sites--and there are many more, but these are some that I have looked at recently that are doing something right.

One last note; be sure to check out C.H.A.O.S., at http://hbd.org/~chaos/ This is a club that exists solely on the Web. They are truly an example of the way homebrewers everywhere are part of a global community.

And now back to our regularly scheduled program...