"homebrew" news and stories

Happy National Homebrew Day!

As serious foodies become increasingly smitten with eating local -- perhaps also pushed by the testy economy -- "home" cooking of all varieties -- pickling, curing one's own meats, even brewing beer in-house -- are experiencing a Renaissance across American kitchens and homes. Sumerians explored homebrewing as far back as 3000 B.C., women made their own brews in colonial American homes, and today, the American Homebrewers Association estimate some 750,000 Americans brew their own beer over the course of a year.

Made primarily from simply malt extract, malt, hops, water and yeast, homebrewing allows brewers to experiment with flavors to taste, much like crafting one's own gourmet meal. For information on how to get started (which involves an initial investment of about $80 for equipment), visit the HomeBrewers Association's website.

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Kyle Spencer, 23, and Xiao Yu, 24, are barely of drinking age and have been brewing beer for less than a year, but nonetheless wear their ambition, literally, on their sleeves.

"Brewing for a living is something we both wanted to do," says Spencer, promoting his nascent brand by wearing a gray, short-sleeved Beta Beer T-shirt alongside partner Xiao Yu. Despite his expert presentation, Spencer is nervous: For the first time his product will be tasted by "actual people who have beer backgrounds."

This kind of fledgling enthusiasm was par for the course at the Brooklyn Beer Experiment, a new cook-off in a city obsessed with cook-offs, part of the groundswell of our nation's craft-brewmania and a first from competitors turned co-organizers Theo Peck and Nick Suarez. "We were cook-off rivals," says Suarez, "and decided we could do this as well as anyone else could." Sunday afternoon at Brooklyn's the Bell House -- a space primarily used as a music venue -- more than 25 chefs infused their eats with beer, and local homebrewers like Spencer and Yu hawked their wares.

Utah became the first state in the past 10 years to legalize the homebrewing of beer, leaving just four states where the practice is still illegal, according to the Brewers Association. Governor Jon M. Huntsman, Jr. of Utah signed the "Exemption for Alcoholic Beverage Manufacturing License" into law Tuesday.

The new legislation might seem like small potatoes to those not close to the beer industry, but for the development of microbreweries and brewpubs, it's important to have a thriving homebrew culture.

Though not a well-known fact outside of beer circles, as Jennifer Talley, a brewmaster in Salt Lake City, states, "Most professional brewers I know were once homebrewing." Additionally, as I reported earlier this month, topflight homebrewers are often major industry contributors, whether it be by passing on innovative product ideas to their professional counterparts or participating as beer judges at major brewing events.

Homebrewing has been legal on a federal level since 1978, and the American Homebrewers Association estimates that there are approximately 750,000 homebrewers in the United States today.

Let's hope we can get those last four states on board and make it legal for every American to brew their own beer. Alabama already has an active legalization movement. Something tells me this latest development in Utah will help spur movements in Kentucky, Mississippi and Oklahoma as well.

[Via beertown.org]

Last week, we discussed the possible financial benefits of homebrewing. After last night's Extreme Beer Homebrew Challenge at Jose Pistolas for Philly Beer Week, I was reminded of one of the other major advantages of homebrewing: The ability to experiment.

The event brought out some of Beer Week's finest: Sam Calagione of Dogfish Head was anointed the "Uber Joe Pro" and happily dropped by to help serve up his Palo Santo Marron and Red & White. Though not offering up brews of their own, Lost Abbey's Tomme Arthur and Avery Brewing's Adam Avery were also a few of the notable names who showed their support.

But clearly, the night belonged to the dozen plus homebrewers who proved that though they might not be "rock stars of craft brewing" like their previously mentioned contemporaries, they are certainly on the frontlines when it comes to making small batch experimental brews that only a homebrewer would have the balls to try. And though these guys might be lawyers and IT professionals during the day, many of them have superhero-like secret identities as certified beer judges and casual creative consultants to their big-name counterparts.

Earlier today, the blog Michigan Beer Buzz posed an interesting question for these tough economic times: "Is it cheaper to brew your own?" They referenced an article on everyman financial advice site, The Simple Dollar, discussing "A Walkthrough and Cost Breakdown of Brewing Your Own Beer."

Let's cut to the anticlimactic chase. The answer: It depends. The Simple Dollar states: "If you are comparing the cost of homebrew to the cost of well-made craft beers...homebrewing is actually quite cost effective. I used $35 worth of ingredients to make seven six packs of porter, a cost of roughly $5 per six pack. [However] this doesn't include...the cost of the equipment."

And again, these saving only translate from homebrew to upmarket craft beer. "If you're content just buying some Miller Genuine Draft," The Simple Dollar continues, "Homebrewing isn't going to save you much money (if it saves you any at all)." Plus this cost analysis is sans equipment (which can be less than you might think, but is still a cost). If you throw down for equipment, or start buying ingredients in bulk, that will save you money in the long run, but if you quickly discover that homebrewing isn't the hobby for you, you'll end up eating that initial investment as a loss.

So my advice: Attempt homebrewing as a hobby first, and then see if savings come in time. The Simple Dollar does a straightforward job of laying out all the basics -- even providing a recipe for a porter -- and, trust me, plenty more websites are dedicated to homebrewing if you want to get in on the craze.

But also beware of this counterintuitive twist: If you think you'll buy less beer, you might be surprised. As Michigan Beer Buzz says, "In fact, I think I buy more. You tend to want to try all of the new craft beer [because it] inspires you on future batches." If you're really looking to save money, you might just want to give up drinking all together!

[via Michigan Beer Buzz and The Simple Dollar]

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