45 years of homebrewing. One platform to run it all.
How the Oregon Brew Crew — one of America's oldest and largest homebrew clubs — manages memberships, competitions, and a community that launched some of Portland's most iconic craft breweries.
The organisation
The Oregon Brew Crew is one of the oldest and largest homebrew clubs in the United States. Founded in 1979 — shortly after the nationwide legalisation of homebrewing — the club is headquartered in Portland and traces its roots to the very beginnings of craft brewing in Oregon.
Early members like Kurt and Rob Widmer (Widmer Brothers), John Harris (Deschutes, Full Sail, Ecliptic), Alan Sprints (Hair of the Dog), Alex Ganum (Upright Brewing), Shane Watterson (Level Beer), Michael Kora (Montavilla Brew Works), and Rick Strauss (Bent Shovel Brewing) went on to open some of Portland's most iconic craft breweries. The tradition continues — the OBC is a launching pad for brewers who turn passion into profession.
In 2018, the American Homebrewers Association named the Oregon Brew Crew the Radegast Homebrew Club of the Year — recognition of the club's commitment to education, community, and the craft. Monthly meetings are held at F.H. Steinbart, the oldest homebrew store in the country, and nearly always include an educational component covering topics from malt and hops to water chemistry and yeast management.
The club is also a force for good. Through festival and event support, the OBC donates to the Bob McCracken Scholarship Fund for the Oregon State University Fermentation Sciences program and the Glen Hay Falconer Foundation, which sponsors full-tuition brewing education scholarships to the Siebel Institute. They co-developed the Oregon State Homebrewer of the Year program (OSHBOTY), now jointly managed by multiple clubs, and partnered with Oregon State University on the first three-club group brewing and blending collaboration.
The challenge
Running a homebrew club with 45 years of history and hundreds of members means managing far more than a mailing list. The Oregon Brew Crew runs two meeting formats per month, hosts six or more competitions annually, coordinates group brewing sessions across the Portland metro, organises brewery trips, and manages a scholarship and philanthropy program — all with volunteer labour.
Membership itself has layers. Individual members pay $35 per year on a rolling 12-month basis. Family memberships cover two people at the same address for $55. Dues fund the monthly newsletter, educational workshop materials, food at meetings, a compassion fund, scholarship donations, and club overhead including taxes, insurance, and a P.O. Box. Tracking who's financial, who's lapsed, and who needs a renewal reminder is constant work.
Events add complexity. “In” meetings at Peninsula Odd Fellows Lodge include check-in, a business session, education, and tastings. “Out” meetings rotate to bars and breweries with different attendance rules — new members generally can't join at out meetings and must register online beforehand. Competitions need entry management, judge coordination, and venue logistics. Group brewing sessions happen simultaneously at members' homes across the city with assigned styles and deadlines.
For a club that has shaped Portland's craft beer identity for over four decades, the administrative overhead was becoming the bottleneck — not the brewing.
“The OBC traces its roots back to the beginnings of craft brewing in Oregon. Early homebrewers and members went on to open some of the first craft breweries in Portland.”
How TidyHQ helped
TidyHQ gives the Oregon Brew Crew a single platform for everything the club runs — memberships, events, public pages, and communications. The club's entire public presence lives on TidyHQ: event calendars, membership sign-up, club information pages, and member resources.
Membership management is straightforward. Two tiers — Individual at $35 and Family at $55 — are handled with automated billing on a rolling 12-month basis. New members join online with a credit card and receive instant confirmation. The system tracks who's financial and who's due for renewal, eliminating manual follow-up. Members who want to join before an “out” meeting can do so online at least one day prior and bring their confirmation email.
The events calendar handles the full range of club activities — monthly in meetings at the Lodge, rotating out meetings at breweries, multi-day group brewing sessions across the metro, annual competitions like Lager Days and Heart of Cascadia IPA, and the summer picnic and holiday party. Members see what's coming, RSVP, and get the details they need without chasing emails.
For a club that hosts competitions drawing entries from across Oregon and coordinates judges with other clubs in Bend, Eugene, Corvallis, and Washington state, having a central system for event management and member communication means the volunteers who run the club can spend their energy on education and community — not spreadsheets.
Competition calendar
Six or more annual competitions — from flagship all-style events to niche lager and IPA contests — all managed through TidyHQ.
Homebrewers Cup
The club's flagship competition — open to all styles, drawing entries from across Oregon.
Lager Days
A dedicated lager and Central European ale competition celebrating traditional brewing styles.
Heart of Cascadia IPA
A regional IPA-focused competition hosted at Gigantic Brewing, accepting all IPA styles per current guidelines.
Fall Classic & SheBrew
Seasonal competitions that keep the community engaged year-round, including events championing women in brewing.
Beyond the monthly meeting
Group Brewing Sessions
Members brew collaboratively at homes across the Portland metro, then taste and critique results at the next meeting. Teams are assigned a shared style and recipe constraints.
Master Homebrewer Program
A structured achievement pathway for dedicated members who want to deepen their craft and earn recognition within the club.
BJCP Study & Judging
Beer Judge Certification Program resources and judging classes — members regularly judge competitions hosted by other clubs across Oregon and Washington.
Brewery Trips & Education
Annual trips to visit remote breweries, learn commercial techniques, explore barrel maintenance, and study regional styles.
The results
The Oregon Brew Crew runs its entire operation through TidyHQ — from the membership sign-up page that greets new brewers to the event calendar that coordinates competitions across the Pacific Northwest. What was previously scattered across email threads, separate websites, and manual tracking now lives in one place.
Membership management that used to mean chasing renewals by email is now automated. Two tiers with rolling 12-month billing handle themselves. The committee knows at a glance who's financial, who needs a reminder, and who's new — without maintaining a separate spreadsheet.
The club's public pages serve as both the front door for prospective members and the reference point for existing ones. Meeting details, competition schedules, club history, membership benefits, and governance documents are all accessible without a login — exactly how a public-facing club should work.
For a 45-year-old institution that helped launch Portland's craft brewing scene and continues to educate the next generation of homebrewers, the admin should be invisible. The brewing is the point. TidyHQ keeps it that way.
45+
Years of homebrewing heritage
6+
Annual competitions managed
1
Platform for memberships, events, pages, and communications
TidyHQ features used
Your club deserves better than spreadsheets.
TidyHQ gives hobby clubs, homebrew associations, and community groups the tools to manage memberships, run events, and keep members connected — so volunteers can focus on the craft, not the admin.