My dilemma:
I'm the only person I know in this area who makes his own stuff. This cannot be the case in reality, I'm sure. There are no local groups that I know of (local being a relative term -- if I have to travel a long way I'm sure not going to want to sample too many home crafted beverages at get-togethers -- and others would probably feel the same). An additional problem in this immediate area (southern Navajo county, AZ) is that it's a very religious place, Mormon and fundamentalist Christian mostly, where drinking of any kind is considered sinful (even coffee). This is not a dry county, by any means -- the local economy, until very recently, was dominated by the cattle industry, and cowboys are well known for their drinking skills -- but many people here who might have been inclined to pick up a fermenter in years past would have felt social pressure to pursue some other hobby. Consequently, tastes in beer and wine (we won't even mention mead, since, to most people hereabouts, it doesn't exist) are basic; Bud Lite and Carlo Rossi appear to be the two most popular names in the hooch aisles -- along with a wide assortment of "fine malt liquors" in the convenient 40 oz. size.
Ideas that have sprung to mind:
1.) Put ads in the local papers.
2.) Put out feelers on AZ homebrew websites.
3.) Mention it to the people I already know, whether or not they have any apparent interest themselves (they could mention it to others, after all).
Any other thoughts? Church groups and most established local organized social gatherings (Elks Club, etc.) are out for the previously stated reasons. Many people on this board belong to homebrew clubs, so any suggestions would be appreciated.
-David
I'm the only person I know in this area who makes his own stuff. This cannot be the case in reality, I'm sure. There are no local groups that I know of (local being a relative term -- if I have to travel a long way I'm sure not going to want to sample too many home crafted beverages at get-togethers -- and others would probably feel the same). An additional problem in this immediate area (southern Navajo county, AZ) is that it's a very religious place, Mormon and fundamentalist Christian mostly, where drinking of any kind is considered sinful (even coffee). This is not a dry county, by any means -- the local economy, until very recently, was dominated by the cattle industry, and cowboys are well known for their drinking skills -- but many people here who might have been inclined to pick up a fermenter in years past would have felt social pressure to pursue some other hobby. Consequently, tastes in beer and wine (we won't even mention mead, since, to most people hereabouts, it doesn't exist) are basic; Bud Lite and Carlo Rossi appear to be the two most popular names in the hooch aisles -- along with a wide assortment of "fine malt liquors" in the convenient 40 oz. size.
Ideas that have sprung to mind:
1.) Put ads in the local papers.
2.) Put out feelers on AZ homebrew websites.
3.) Mention it to the people I already know, whether or not they have any apparent interest themselves (they could mention it to others, after all).
Any other thoughts? Church groups and most established local organized social gatherings (Elks Club, etc.) are out for the previously stated reasons. Many people on this board belong to homebrew clubs, so any suggestions would be appreciated.
-David
;D There are way, way too many people on the opposite side of the spectrum, but it sounds like you already know that!
