Greetings from Saint Louis

[ACESFULL]

Depends on where you live and how far you want to drive. There are lots of clubs in the metro area. The STL Brews http://www.stlbrews.org/forum/ GBS http://www.garagebrewers.com/ and STL HOPS http://stlhops.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=8 there are other clubs too. Jefferson County has a club too. I am partial to STL HOPS as thats the club I'm in. Meets at Perennial 2nd Tuesday of every month from 7 to 9pm.

Same with LHBS, used to be a huge buyer from Kent then his prices got a bit out of hand on base malts. Specialty wise I still shop there are prices on that are hard to beat. I now shop at Design 2 Brew in St Charles for my base malt. The have group buy pricing on full sacks of the most widely used and its closest to wholesale prices that I can find in the area.

Come to a meeting and check things out!!! Cheers!!

[siwelwerd]

Depends on where you live and how far you want to drive.

I'd say it also depends on your personality. I was a member of the Brews while I lived up there, the area's oldest (30th anniversary this year) and largest club. They tend to be a little more formal/rigid than the other clubs (partly out of necessity due to their size, the rest because they have some guys who have been members for 20+ years...). The other clubs are smaller and more laid back, which suits a number of folks' personality better. All are great groups, very welcoming, they're all full of guys who know a lot about brewing and are willing to pass on their knowledge. Some people even frequent multiple club's meetings, so don't feel like you need to pick just one--check them all out as time/geography permits.

Also I just saw that Chris, the owner/brewer of the in-the-works Stubborn German Brewing in Waterloo over on the East Side is trying to get a club organized to meet over there once a month. So it sounds like there will soon be yet another option.

[Superdave312]

I was looking at all three of those clubs, the Garage Brewers looked appealing to me, but I think I'll visit all three! I'll just have to decide what beer to bring to share.

I really enjoyed being in the Southern Illinois Brewers while I was SIUC, but its just too far to drive to. Thanks for the tips, I hope to share a pint with all of you!