Club history
In October 2012, Grzegorz Goleś and Konrad Drewniak met by chance at an antiques fair in Rzeszów. After talking together, it turned out that they both collect beer-related items and know several people from the area who also collect them. Grzesiek decided to integrate this small local community of collectors. He came up with the idea of organizing the first local beer-related fair. Due to its small size, he decided to call it the 1st Rzeszów’s Birophiles Meeting.
The first meeting could take place largely thanks to Krzysztof Prucnal, owner of Kuźnia Pub in Rzeszów. When Grzesiek was looking for a place for the event, Krzysiek agreed without hesitation and provided the premises.
The 1st Rzeszów’s Birophiles Meeting took place on December 8, 2012. It was attended by about 20 people from Rzeszów, Rakszawa, Stalowa Wola, Błażowa, Głogów Małopolski, Krasnystaw and Świdnik. Many collectors met for the first time that day and established contacts. Our local meeting was warmly received, filling the exchange meetings void in this part of the country. There were voices to repeat the meeting and organize it cyclically in the future.
The 2nd Rzeszów’s Birophiles Meeting took place on March 23, 2013. It occured together with the 1st Carpathian Home Beer Competition organised by the Carpathian Branch of the PSPD (Polish Home Brewers Association). The event exceeded our expectations, as over 40 people took part, both collectors and brewers. The great interest in the meeting was influenced by the regional newspaper Nowiny, in which announcements of our event were published.
During both of our meetings, shy ideas were floated to create a club of beer-related items collectors in Rzeszów. These ideas gathered strength after the success of our second meeting and their culmination took place in April. The decision was made to establish the club. A competition for the club logo was announced and was won by Jacek Cisek – a member of our club. Throughout May, activities were carried out to finalize our idea and create the foundations for the club. Club regulations, a website, T-shirts and a banner with the logo were created.
The club was officially established during the 1st General Meeting of Members, which took place at the Kuźnia Pub in Rzeszów on June 9, 2013.
