Nearly all of the stories you read and interviews you hear from Good Beer Hunting include professionals in beer. But one of the wonderful things about this beverage is you don’t have to be a working pro to make and enjoy it. And like other areas of the industry, there’s a growing collection of people who’ve embraced homebrewing that bring demographics and backgrounds historically underrepresented in beer. That’s a space we’re exploring in this episode thanks to Ray Ricky Rivera, the journalist behind one of Good Beer Hunting's Next Germination stories—a series produced in partnership with Guinness—that focused on the SoCal Cerveceros, the largest Latino homebrew club in the country that’s also been dubbed “email.pdf">one of the most important homebrew clubs in the world.”

As a member of the group, Ray brings a unique perspective to his story you can find on goodbeerhunting.com and one you’ll get a sense of here. Instead of recapping what was written, however, we’re going to share with you three acts to represent growth and change in homebrewing, with a highlight of what’s next. First, you’ll hear from Julia Herz, executive director of the American Homebrewers Association, to learn about the hobby and priorities for the organization. Then, Ray will take us to a SoCal hangout, where we’ll meet a couple members, learn about their involvement, and listen in during their brew day. Lastly, we’ll catch up with Ray to hear about the ongoing impact SoCal Cerveceros has on its members and local beer lovers in California.

This is the audio companion to “‘I See You’ — The Evolution of SoCal Cerveceros,” stories for our Next Germination series, produced in partnership with Guinness. First, we visit with Julia Herz of the American Homebrewers Association.