North Carolina Homebrew Invitational

Information Sheet

Event Date: 10/18/2025

Overview:

North Carolina Homebrew Invitational (NCHI) is the largest and oldest NC homebrew event hosted in NC by Cabarrus Homebrewers Society (CABREW) to promote fellowship among regional home brewers and encourage interaction between brew clubs and most of all, to share our homebrew.

Our event is put together by homebrewers for area homebrewers and is a beer focused adult event intended for active roster members of invited clubs and their significant other only. This is a private event offered to an invited list of clubs. Every effort is made to comply with all ALE laws and provide a safe and relaxing environment for your enjoyment. We suggest that each club have AHA insurance for their members.

Event Cost:

Putting on this event costs CABREW a non-trivial amount of money. We ask each club for $75 to help cover the cost of porta johns, food, paper goods, etc. This allows all of your club members to attend the event for free. We do not do this to make money but only to try to cover the cost of the event. You can easily pay online via our web portal. Please pay by July 31.

Overnight camping will cost $5.00 per person per night. Have exact change in cash when you check in. This money goes to the event land owner.

Event reservation for clubs:

Please go to our square site and reserve your space using this link: Club Reservation
When processing your reservation please ensure that you properly choose your club name from the dropdown.
Once the available tent spaces are filled registration will be closed.

Event Location:

GreenLife Family Farms
281 Odell School Rd, Concord, NC 28027
Upon arrival, closely follow the instructions of the parking and check in teams. We want to get everyone checked in as efficiently as possible and with your help the process will go smoothly.

Event Schedule:

Club Tent Setup: 9:00 - 11:30
Attendee Arrival: 11:30 am - 1:00+ pm
Event Start: 12 noon
Awards: 5:00 pm - 6:00 pm
Music and after party to follow
Quiet Time: 10:30 PM

Event Rules: (these are everyone’s responsibility)

Do not let anyone drive while impaired.
Do not let anyone under age drink.
If anyone seems to be over imbibing please intervene appropriately.
Safety is everyone's responsibility.
Obey instructions from event staff.
No Open Fires. Fire Pits, Charcoal grills and camp stoves are permitted (away from tents).
All Illegal Substances Prohibited!
No hard alcohol.
Pets are NOT allowed on the property at any time. (Service dogs will be approved on a case by case basis.)
No firearms or weapons of any kind.
No unauthorized vending.
All attendees must agree to hold harmless any liability or claims against management, volunteers and GreenLife Family Farms.
You are on private property – Please be kind to the grounds. Please respect it, pack out what you pack in and obey all posted signs.
We have neighbors. Quiet time is at 10:30 PM.

Club Notes:

Each club should bring 6 to 10 kegs and occupy no more than one 10x10 space. Each club is expected to bring everything they need to serve their beer (tent, tables, taps, tubs, tools, ice, signs, lights, etc). Please bring enough ice to chill your kegs and jockey boxes.
Please bring a 2nd popup for event attendees to use as shade. This tent will go in front of your beer tent.
We suggest that each club bring an extension cord, a splitter, and a string of LED or christmas lights to illuminate your serving area once it gets dark. Go wild, make your club space look great!
Homebrew bottles/growlers are also welcome. Beer is self-serve so there is no need for anyone to be stuck behind a jockey box.
Bring labels or something to identify your beers. Some people bring a copy of the recipe or details of their beer and put it by their tap so other brewers know about your beer.
If you are hauling club equipment, tell the parking team that you have equipment and they will direct you to the unloading area where the guides will help you. Unload as quickly as possible to make room for others.
As part of the day, we have a friendly Brewer’s Choice competition with the winner taking home the coveted Brewers Choice trophy. Please have labels on your taps so attendees can easily identify your beer.

Attendee Notes:

Please drive slowly when entering or exiting the event area so as not to run over people or equipment. Pay attention to the parking team.
Always back your car into the spot designated.
As soon as you arrive, promptly check in with the check in table.
To speed the check in process, have your valid ID ready for age verification. Without it you will not be able to drink homebrew.

Safety is everyone's job so please be alert for anyone who may be doing something potentially unsafe and step in to help keep them safe. We have never had even a minor injury at NCHI and we intend to keep it that way. Make the event fun and safe for everyone.

We are all homebrewers attending to have a good time. During the day if you see something that needs to be emptied, filled, or carried; jump in and help out. It will only take a moment and it keeps the day fun for everyone.
Help us out by taking home a bag of trash and disposing of it at home.

What should I bring?

Taster glasses
Lawn chairs
Pen or pencil to write with.
Flashlight
Appropriate clothing for the weather. We have seen rain, cold and 95F heat in past years.
A dish for the potluck table.
Camping gear (if spending the night)
If camping you will need to bring food for yourself for breakfast or night snacks
Bring your musical instrument and join us for the evening jam session/karaoke.

Questions and Answers

Question:

If I am a professional brewer can I still attend with a beer?

Answer:

We are specifically a homebrew event but if you want to bring a beer as a pro brewer, just don't bring a production beer from your line. If you want to brew on your homebrew or your pilot system a one off beer or an experimental brew you are welcome to do that.

Think about the spirit of the event: You could bring one of your production beers with a different name and nobody would ever know... but you would. The day is really about fellowship, education, and passion, not the competition.

Question:

Can I bring my dog, cat, spider monkey, boa constrictor, or duck billed platypus?

Answer:

No. Pets are not welcome on the site.

Question:

Why is there a curfew?

Answer:

There are people living on both sides of the event space who are sensitive to noise violations. We don’t want to cause problems for our host Dustin and by extension problems for the NCHI event itself. Please stress to everyone that the curfew of 10:30 must be respected and quiet must be maintained after hours. This is a hard rule as it could get our event banned for future events.

Question:

I need a CPAP to help me sleep overnight. Is there power available?

Answer:

We have a camping area with power outlets nearby. Bring an outdoor extension cord and a splitter to connect your machine. Let the parking team know your needs when you arrive.

Question:

Can I come Friday afternoon/night?

Answer:

If you are far from the event and need to come Friday so you can be ready on time Saturday morning please make arrangements with event planners in advance if you are coming on Friday so we know when to expect you. We may put you to work to help set up as Friday is a setup/work day. 🙂

Question:

Can I bring a camper/RV?

Answer:

RVs are welcome but with the restriction that it will be a dry camp. No filling, No dumping, No land power. All RV trailers must be in the designated area on Friday afternoon at 6:00 PM and will stay in place until Sunday morning.

Question:

I love to brew, can I bring 6-10 beers of my own?

Answer:

The spirit of this event is that it is a club event, your club should participate as a group to foster enthusiasm among your club. It is highly suggested that each brewer should not bring more than 2 beers per club they are a member of. Meaning that if one individual is a current member of 3 clubs they could bring up to 2 beers with each club coming to NCHI.

Exceptions can be made for small clubs that are struggling to get a minimum of beers for their jockey box. Bring what you have. I would rather have 4 great kegs than 6-8 so-so kegs.

Question:

How can my club get an invite to NCHI?

Answer:

Send an email to: brewcave@gmail.com

Or FB message to: https://www.facebook.com/bitspheres/

Let us know your club name, location and leave some contact information and we will get back to you to start the discussion. It’s possible that there may be a waiting list.

Have other questions?