A collective of local backyard beer enthusiasts turns 21 this weekend and is throwing a party to celebrate.
Tucson Homebrew Club’s 21st anniversary bash is at Dragoon Brewing Company, 1859 W. Grant Road, from noon to 10 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 23. Dragoon is itself the brainchild of homebrewers — father and son Bruce and Eric Greene, and Tristan White, who met via the Tucson Homebrew Club in 2009.
“They are just phenomenally supportive,” said Carl Case, who works for Dragoon packaging products in cans and kegs. He is also Tucson Homebrew Club’s education coordinator.
“They’re brewing our (commemorative) beer and donating the grand prize — which is an opportunity to brew with them — which is like a homebrewer’s dream.” Case said.
Called “Identity Crisis,” the IPA-style brew was one of four picked in an anonymous competition among club members and was ultimately chosen by Dragoon for production. Its creator, Forrest Mitchell,said the name comes from a case of mistaken identity in the yeast he chose, which “kicks off kind of a pineapple-mango flavor which blends with the tropical fruit and citrus of the hops. It’s fairly bitter with a light malt backbone.”
A portion of the beer’s sales will benefit the Easter Seals Blake Foundation, along with raffle proceeds.
The club now boasts a roster “just shy of 100,” and Mitchell said he hopes to keep that pretty consistent.
“We had a lot of fresh faces on the board, and only one member who had been there for a while,” said Mitchell, who has been the club’s president nearly three years.
While looking forward and outward for new membership is important, Mitchell also wants to rekindle a sense of connection to the club’s history. He hopes to see many former presidents at the party mixing with beer enthusiasts of all levels and tastes.
“This is probably the biggest event that we’ve ever done.” Mitchell said.
“I’m planning on attending, having a drink and raising a toast,” says founding member John Adkisson.
As head brewer and co-owner of Iron John’s Brewing Company, 245 S. Plumer Ave., Adkisson tells an origin story that is likely familiar to many a homebrewer. “My wife bought me a kit, just like every homebrewer starts with, and I played with it a bit and thought, ‘OK, that’s kind of cool,’ ” said Adkisson, who became determined to make an oatmeal stout smoother than any he had ever tasted.
“I was just kind of hooked. Something I created, people liked. And that’s been feeding my ego ever since,” Adkisson says.
He became a certified beer judge, and after a string of blue ribbons in competitions around the US, he says one of his brews, a Belgian peach nectar called “Hey Momo,” won the National Homebrew Competition two years in a row.
He also values the camaraderie among brewers.
“In the community everyone knows everyone. If I’m short a pound of hops or some yeast, I can make a phone call. We share spare parts and shift jobs back and forth,” Adkisson says. “No one brews alone.”
