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Kevin Podsaid, 47, walked around Homebrew Con at the Baltimore Convention Center with a partially filled glass hanging from his neck and a blue helmet with a cylindrical plastic air lock on his head. Each time he squeezed the turkey baster attached to his belt, the liquid inside the air lock bubbled.

To the average observer, it's an odd contraption, but to the gathered beer-brewing hobbyists mingling Thursday, it's an inside joke and a nod to their craft.

“My wife bought me a Mr. Beer kit, and it snowballed from there,” said Podsaid, who traveled with his wife from Trent, Mich., to the gathering of home-brewing enthusiasts organized by the American Homebrewers Association that runs through Sunday. The conference, open only to association members, offers seminars, networking opportunities, beer samples and speeches from industry leaders such as Dogfish Head Craft Brewery's Sam Calagione.

According to association director Gary Glass, when the conference was last held in Baltimore in 2005, there were 850 attendees, and the association had 9,000 members. Since then, home brewing has mushroomed. The association now has 46,000 members, and the conference is drawing 3,000 of them.

As evidence of that growth, people came from all over the country and the world for the conference.

Jaap Van Doorn and Louise Titton made the trip to Baltimore from Curitiba, Brazil, in hopes of finding American suppliers for their home-brew shop.

“I think we are going to close some deals,” said Titton.

In the evening, the attendees gathered in the convention center ballroom for the keynote address by Calagione, founder of Dogfish Head, a Delaware craft brewer whose explosive growth has mirrored that of home brewing.

Before he arrived, the crowd was surprised by an appearance from Gov. Larry Hogan, who chugged a beer onstage — to cheers of approval.

“Home brewing sounds like a pretty cool hobby for when I leave office,” said Hogan. He then announced that Thursday through Saturday would be Maryland's official Home Brewing Days.

cmbakwe@baltsun.com