The Brewers Association (BA) is an American trade group of over 1,000 brewer

Brewer

Brewer may refer to:*Brewer, someone who makes beer by brewing*Brewer , a disambiguation page that lists people with the surname Brewer*Brewer, Maine, a city in southern Penobscot County, Maine, United States, near the city of Bangor...

s, particularly concerned with the promotion of craft beer and homebrewing

Homebrewing

Homebrewing is the brewing of beer, wine, sake, mead, cider, perry and other beverages through fermentation on a small scale as a hobby for personal consumption, free distribution at social gatherings, amateur brewing competitions or other non-commercial reasons...

.

The BA was established in 2005 through a merger of the Association of Brewers and the Brewers' Association of America, intending to "promote and protect small and independent American brewers, their craft beers and the community of brewing enthusiasts."

Two of the largest programs supported by the BA are the American Homebrewers Association (AHA) and the annual Great American Beer Festival

Great American Beer Festival

The Great American Beer Festival is a three-day annual event hosted by the Brewers Association, held in Denver, Colorado, in mid to late September or early October. This year, 2011, the festival runs from 29 September through 1 October. The GABF brings visitors from around the world to sample more...

 (GABF).

The current president is Charlie Papazian

Charlie Papazian

Charles N. "Charlie" Papazian is an American nuclear engineer who founded the Association of Brewers and the Great American Beer Festival, and wrote The Complete Joy of Home Brewing. Papazian is the current president of the Brewers Association...

.

American Homebrewers Association

The American Homebrewers Association is a division of the Brewers Association focused on homebrewers

Homebrewing

Homebrewing is the brewing of beer, wine, sake, mead, cider, perry and other beverages through fermentation on a small scale as a hobby for personal consumption, free distribution at social gatherings, amateur brewing competitions or other non-commercial reasons...

 of beer

Beer

Beer is the world's most widely consumed andprobably oldest alcoholic beverage; it is the third most popular drink overall, after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of sugars, mainly derived from malted cereal grains, most commonly malted barley and malted wheat...

, cider

Cider

Cider or cyder is a fermented alcoholic beverage made from apple juice. Cider varies in alcohol content from 2% abv to 8.5% abv or more in traditional English ciders. In some regions, such as Germany and America, cider may be termed "apple wine"...

, and mead

Mead

Mead , also called honey wine, is an alcoholic beverage that is produced by fermenting a solution of honey and water. It may also be produced by fermenting a solution of water and honey with grain mash, which is strained immediately after fermentation...

. The AHA was founded in 1978 by Charlie Papazian in Boulder, Colorado

Boulder, Colorado

Boulder is the county seat and most populous city of Boulder County and the 11th most populous city in the U.S. state of Colorado. Boulder is located at the base of the foothills of the Rocky Mountains at an elevation of...

. The AHA runs the world's largest homebrew competition and also organizes several homebrew events in the US and Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

. Gary Glass is the current director. The AHA publishes the magazine Zymurgy six times per year to all paid members.

Every year the AHA hosts the following events.

• National Homebrew Competition
• National Homebrewers Conference (including the finals of the National Homebrew Competition), held the third week in June
• Big Brew, held the first Saturday in May
• Mead Day, held the first Saturday in August
• Learn to Homebrew day, held the first Saturday in November

Ninkasi Award

The Ninkasi Award is the prize given by American Homebrewers Association for the brewer who gains the most points in the second round of the National Homebrew Competition judged at the National Homebrewers Conference. Points are gained from the brewer's winning entries in the 23 categories of beer

Beer

Beer is the world's most widely consumed andprobably oldest alcoholic beverage; it is the third most popular drink overall, after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of sugars, mainly derived from malted cereal grains, most commonly malted barley and malted wheat...

 and several categories of mead

Mead

Mead , also called honey wine, is an alcoholic beverage that is produced by fermenting a solution of honey and water. It may also be produced by fermenting a solution of water and honey with grain mash, which is strained immediately after fermentation...

 and cider

Cider

Cider or cyder is a fermented alcoholic beverage made from apple juice. Cider varies in alcohol content from 2% abv to 8.5% abv or more in traditional English ciders. In some regions, such as Germany and America, cider may be termed "apple wine"...

. At least 2 points (1 bronze placement) must come from a beer entry. The winner of the Ninkasi Award is widely considered the best homebrewer of the year.

The Ninkasi Award is named in honor of Ninkasi

Ninkasi

Ninkasi is the ancient Sumerian matron goddess of the intoxicating beverage, beer.Her father was Enki, the lord Nudimmud, and her mother was Ninti, the queen of the Abzu. She is also one of the eight children created in order to heal one of the eight wounds that Enki receives. Furthermore, she is...

, the Sumerian goddess of beer.

Past winners

1992 - Steve & Christina Daniel

1993 - Walter Dobrowsky

1994 - Michael Byers

1995 - Rhett Rebold

1996 - Tom Bergman & Chas Peterson

1997 - George Fix

George Fix

George J. Fix was an American mathematician who collaborated on several seminal papers and books in the field of finite element method. In addition to his work in mathematics, Fix was a beer and homebrewing enthusiast and educator, as well as the author of several books about brewing...

1998 - Art Beall

1999 - Tom Plunkard

2000 - Joe Formanek

2001 - Brian Cole

2002 - Curt Hausam

2003 - Curt Hausam

2004 - Jamil Zainasheff

Jamil Zainasheff

Jamil Zainasheff is an American internet radio host and author on the topic of homebrewing.-Biography:Jamil Zainasheff has worked as a software engineer. He lives in Elk Grove, California, USA. Zainasheff started homebrewing in 1999, and was awarded the prestigious Ninkasi Award in 2004 and 2007....

2005 - Paul Long

2006 - Joe Formanek

2007 - Jamil Zainasheff

Jamil Zainasheff

Jamil Zainasheff is an American internet radio host and author on the topic of homebrewing.-Biography:Jamil Zainasheff has worked as a software engineer. He lives in Elk Grove, California, USA. Zainasheff started homebrewing in 1999, and was awarded the prestigious Ninkasi Award in 2004 and 2007....

2008 - Gordon Strong

2009 - Gordon Strong

2010 - Gordon Strong

2011 - Paul Sangster