New Home Brew » American Homebrewers Association

Home beer-brewing and winemaking on the rise, survey shows – Florida Times

Mike Kitner — Thu, 13 Jun 2013 06:58:43 +0000

More people are making their own beer and wine.

The American Homebrewers Association said yesterday that its annual survey of retail beer- and wine-making supply stores showed gross revenue at those businesses grew by an average of 26 percent in 2012.

Some of the stores surveyed also sell other retail goods such as gardening supplies. For those that specialize in homebrew ingredients and equipment, gross revenues increased on average by 29 percent, the AHA said. That’s 2 percent higher than the 2011 survey results, and 10 percent higher than the results from the first AHA supply shop survey in 2009.

The AHA said 275 homebrew shops in 47 states participated in the survey.

“As homebrewing continues to grow, retail shops are responding accordingly, satisfying the needs of their increasing customer base,” said Gary Glass, AHA director.

About 80 percent of the shops reported increased sales of beginner homebrew equipment kits, indicating more people are getting into the hobby for the first time. Most of those fermentation newbies were in the 30 to 39 age range.

Sales of beer ingredients continued to outpace wine ingredients, with shops reporting an average of 35 percent of retail revenue coming from beer ingredients vs. 21 percent from wine ingredients.

In Jacksonville, Just Brew It operates two beer- and wine-making supply stores: Its main store in Riverside and a branch it opened in Jacksonville Beach in 2011. And Jacksonville’s Cowford Ale Sharing Klub (CASK) homebrew club has grown from about 150 to more than 300 active members in just a few years.

See the complete AHA report here.

Home Brewing Beer Boom Embraced By All 50 States

Terry Dustin — Thu, 30 May 2013 05:13:54 +0000

This piece comes to us courtesy of Stateline. Stateline is a nonpartisan, nonprofit news service of the Pew Charitable Trusts that provides daily reporting and analysis on trends in state policy.

Americans have been brewing beer in their homes since colonial times—both George Washington and Thomas Jefferson were home brewers. Even so, a recent explosion of interest in the hobby has created tricky questions for state alcohol regulators.

As of July 1, home brewing will be legal in all 50 states. But many states still prohibit home brewers from transporting their beer to club meetings or competitions. Some states also limit the amount a home brewer can produce in a year.

The remaining restrictions rankle home brewers, who say swapping samples and competing with other brewers is what their culture is all about. “You could just drink your home brew at home, but you’d be missing out on a large part of the community,” said James Spencer, who hosts a popular podcast about home brewing.

Some states have been lax in enforcing such rules, but the hobby’s popularity and the growth of home brew supply stores is making it harder to justify a hands-off approach. About a million Americans brew their own beer at least once a year, according to the American Homebrewers Association. The group now has 37,000 members, up from 8,700 in 2005.

The tension has sparked legislative fights in several states. In 2010, the Oregon Liquor Control Commission shut down an annual home brew competition at the Oregon State Fair that had been held for 22 years. In response, the Oregon legislature scrapped state restrictions on where home brew can be made and consumed, and legalized fees and prizes at home brew competitions. Oregon home brewers also can engage in small-scale professional brewing at pubs.

Other states have taken similar action. Wisconsin lifted many of its restrictions in 2012, after the Schooner Home Brew Competition was spirited to a nearby city to appease uneasy city officials. And this year, Georgia and Iowa approved laws allowing home brewers to take their beer out of their homes. State lawmakers in Illinois and Missouri also are considering measures that would allow home brewers to participate in public festivals and competitions.

But the American Homebrewers Association advises its members to proceed cautiously in state capitols. “If it is technically not legal to share home brew at a club meeting in your state, but there has not been any enforcement of that law, it may not be worth exposure of home brew club activities, when changing the law is not guaranteed and could end up taking years,” it says.

Moonshine Memories
In some states, home brewing restrictions have deep cultural roots. The last two states to legalize home brewing were Alabama, which legalized it on May 9, and Mississippi, where it will be legal starting July 1. The legislation wasn’t an easy sell in either state—in part because both still have dry counties and memories of moonshine.

“We’ve been working on this for five years,” said Craig Hendry, president of Raise Your Pints, which led the campaign in Mississippi. “One year it was an election year, so of course they’re not going to touch alcohol legislation then.”

Alabama’s debate was filled with filibusters and heated debate about the morality of allowing people to make their own beer.

“We’re just completely opening up the whole state to alcohol— every family, every home, every block,” Republican Rep. Arthur Payne said during a lengthy debate on the House floor. “I represent a district that has a strong family unit, and we don’t want to flood our neighborhoods with alcohol.”

Alabama’s anti-home brewing attitude was clear last fall when agents of the Alabama Alcoholic Beverage Control Board visited Hop City, a craft beer and home brew supplier in Birmingham.

“They came in and raided us and said that we can’t do any home brewing business,” said Spencer Overton, a former commercial brewer who was hired to be the store’s home brew manager. According to Overton, the agents threatened felony charges and confiscated $7,000 worth of merchandise. “They took some books about home brewing, which was very Fahrenheit 451 of them,” Overton said, referring to the futuristic Ray Bradbury novel in which fire fighters torch homes containing books.

Since home brewing was legalized, Hop City has stocked up on home brew supplies and Overton will be teaching home brew classes.

State Sen. Bill Holtzclaw said he pushed for the Alabama bill because many of his constituents are NASA scientists who were risking felony convictions—and their top-secret security clearances—by brewing at home.

“It was easy for me to get behind this as an individual rights issue, and as an economic development opportunity,” said Holtzclaw, a Republican.

He noted that many craft brewers started out brewing at home. “Rather than see it as threat, (craft brewers) see it as a way for folks who are really serious to leave the hobby realm and move over to the professional realm,” he said.

Swapping or Selling?
During some of the state debates, local beer distributors have cautioned against allowing home brewers to act too much like commercial brewers without paying for licenses.

But most home brewers say they are determined to keep their craft distinct from the brewing business, even though the required equipment and ingredients are expensive. “The spirit of home is not to make it to sell,” said Spencer, the podcast host. “The spirit of home brewing is to make it to share.”

Sometimes this involves walking a difficult line. At a recent home brew competition in Washington, D.C. sponsored by craft brewer Samuel Adams, participating home brewers were required to cover their own costs, and all proceeds of the sold-out event were donated to charity. “The beer is free, and Sam Adams is even providing some free snacks, but if you want to come you have to donate to a great local charity,” the invitation said.

Josh Hubner, who heads DC Homebrewers, said his group negotiated a corkage fee with the hosting bar under a District of Columbia law that allows consumers to bring their own alcohol to a restaurant for a small fee. “If someone came and they said ‘we want to drink the beer,’ we’d have to give it to them,” he said. “People are doing this totally for the love of home brew.”

Hubner said he doesn’t want it to be legal for people to sell home brew. “All I’d really want would be a general acknowledgement that this is something that people do, and that it is beneficial to the community,” he said.

Nevertheless, home brewing has become a training ground for craft brewers, which is why brewing companies such as Samuel Adams and Sierra Nevada have become huge supporters. Samuel Adams sponsors an annual national home brewing competition and mass produces the winning beers.

According to data from the Brewers Association, craft brewing sales have been increasing dramatically and taking over a greater share of the domestic beer market. Total craft beer sales grew 17 percent in 2012 and 15 percent in 2011.

Jim Koch, who founded Samuel Adams, started as a home brewer and created the first batch of Samuel Adams Boston Lager in his kitchen.

“Most craft brewing came out of home brewing,” Koch said. “This activity that used to be illegal everywhere has created 100,000 jobs in the last 30 years and probably encouraged the responsible consumption of flavorful beer. From the state point of view, the home brewer that you just legalized might be the employer of people in your state in the future.”

Koch’s advice to state lawmakers is to give home brewers the benefit of the doubt while putting reasonable safeguards in place: “Home brewers have an enormous amount of respect for the dignity of beer, so cut them a little slack,” he said.

Also on HuffPost:

Loading Slideshow

1. Bud Light
Cases sold: 269,135,600
Average price per case: $20.26
Total sales: $5,452,052,000
2. Budweiser
Cases sold: 101,760,300
Average price per case: $20.21
Total sales: $2,056,722,000
3. Coors Light
Cases sold: 101,651,900
Average price per case: $19.85
Total sales: $2,017,366,000
Miller Lite
Cases sold: 86,678,030
Average price per case: $19.80
Total sales: $1,716,281,000
Natural Light
Cases sold: 72,036,540
Average price per case: $15.41
Total sales: $1,110,150,000
Busch Light
Cases sold: 49,320,380
Average price per case: $14.96
Total sales: $737,926,300
Busch
Cases sold: 43,696,500
Average price per case: $15.39
Total sales: $672,443,100
Michelob Ultra Light
Cases sold: 43,696,500
Average price per case: $15.39
Total sales: $672,443,100
Miller High Life
Cases sold: 32,215,610
Average price per case: $15.49
Total sales: $499,148,300
Keystone Light
Cases sold: 32,654,530
Average price per case: $14.71
Total sales: $480,261,800
Natural Ice
Cases sold: 24,161,730
Average price per case: $14.91
Total sales: $360,287,600
Bud Light Lime
Cases sold: 11,354,010
Average price per case: $25.91
Total sales: $294,227,200
Ice House
Cases sold: 14,545,810
Average price per case: $16.20
Total sales: $235,627,900
Pabst Blue Ribbon
Cases sold: 14,690,570
Average price per case: $15.89
Total sales: $233,392,000
Bud Ice
Cases sold: 13,535,730
Average price per case: $17.05
Total sales: $230,767,400
Yuengling Traditional Lager
Cases sold: 10,036,280
Average price per case: $21.89
Total sales: $219,679,200
Bud Light Platinum Lager
Cases sold: 7,285,657
Average price per case: $26.31
Total sales: $191,701,900
Steel Reserve High Gravity Lager
Cases sold: 9,660,888
Average price per case: $18.29
Total sales: $176,728,700
Blue Moon Belgian White Ale
Cases sold: 5,215,089
Average price per case: $31.01
Total sales: $161,708,100
Coors
Cases sold: 7,635,134
Average price per case: $19.25
Total sales: $147,010,300

All 50 states embrace home brew boom

Terry Dustin — Tue, 28 May 2013 04:58:55 +0000

Local angle

Prior to 2009 Washington state legislation indicated home brewers could take up to one gallon of beer to a friend’s house, said Steve Bader, owner of Bader Beer and Wine Supply in Vancouver.

“That was pretty restrictive,” Bader said. “That had actually caused some problems in the past at county fairs and brewing competitions because of uncertainty about whether it was legal to transport beer (to the facility to be judged).”

Brewers in Seattle lobbied the legislature in 2009, and the law was changed so that home brewers could transport up to 20 gallons, he said.

“That’s much better,” Bader said. “That’s so if you want to have a wedding or other event and make your own beer, now you can do that.”

WASHINGTON — Americans have been brewing beer in their homes since colonial times — both George Washington and Thomas Jefferson were home brewers. Even so, a recent explosion of interest in the hobby has created tricky questions for state alcohol regulators.

Some states have been lax in enforcing such rules, but the hobby’s popularity and the growth of home-brew supply stores is making it harder to justify a hands-off approach. About a million Americans brew their own beer at least once a year, according to the American Homebrewers Association. The group now has 37,000 members, up from 8,700 in 2005.

The tension has sparked legislative fights in several states. In 2010, the Oregon Liquor Control Commission shut down an annual home-brew competition at the Oregon State Fair that had been held for 22 years. In response, the Oregon legislature scrapped state restrictions on where home brew can be made and consumed, and legalized fees and prizes at home-brew competitions. Oregon home brewers can engage in small-scale professional brewing at pubs.

Other states have taken similar action. Wisconsin lifted many of its restrictions in 2012, after the Schooner Home Brew Competition was spirited to a nearby city to appease uneasy city officials. And this year, Georgia and Iowa approved laws allowing home brewers to take their beer out of their homes. State lawmakers in Illinois and Missouri are considering measures that would allow home brewers to participate in public festivals and competitions.

Wait for laws to change

But the American Homebrewers Association advises its members to proceed cautiously in state capitols.

“If it is technically not legal to share home brew at a club meeting in your state, but there has not been any enforcement of that law, it may not be worth exposure of home brew club activities, when changing the law is not guaranteed and could end up taking years,” it says.

In some states, home-brewing restrictions have deep cultural roots. The last two states to legalize home brewing were Alabama, on May 9, and Mississippi, where it will be legal starting July 1. The legislation wasn’t an easy sell in either state — in part because both still have dry counties and memories of moonshine.

Alabama’s debate was filled with filibusters and heated debate about the morality of allowing people to make their own beer.

“We’re just completely opening up the whole state to alcohol — every family, every home, every block,” Republican Rep. Arthur Payne said during a lengthy debate on the House floor. “I represent a district that has a strong family unit, and we don’t want to flood our neighborhoods with alcohol.”

Alabama’s home-brewing attitude was clear last fall when agents of the Alabama Alcoholic Beverage Control Board visited Hop City, a craft beer and home-brew supplier in Birmingham.

“They came in and raided us and said that we can’t do any home brewing business,” said Spencer Overton, a former commercial brewer who was hired to be the store’s home-brew manager. According to Overton, the agents threatened felony charges and confiscated $7,000 worth of merchandise. “They took some books about home brewing, which was very ‘Fahrenheit 451′ of them,” Overton said, referring to the futuristic Ray Bradbury novel in which firefighters torch homes containing books.

Since home brewing was legalized, Hop City has stocked up on supplies and Overton will be teaching home brew classes.

State Sen. Bill Holtzclaw said he pushed for the Alabama bill because many of his constituents are NASA scientists who were risking felony convictions — and their top-secret security clearances — by brewing at home.

“It was easy for me to get behind this as an individual rights issue, and as an economic development opportunity,” said Holtzclaw, a Republican.

He noted that many craft brewers started out brewing at home.

“Rather than see it as threat, (craft brewers) see it as a way for folks who are really serious to leave the hobby realm and move over to the professional realm,” he said.

During some of the state debates, local beer distributors have cautioned against allowing home brewers to act too much like commercial brewers without paying for licenses.

But most home brewers say they are determined to keep their craft distinct from the brewing business, even though the required equipment and ingredients are expensive.

“The spirit of home is not to make it to sell,” said Spencer. “The spirit of home brewing is to make it to share.”

Something for charity

Sometimes this involves walking a difficult line. At a recent home-brew competition in Washington, D.C., sponsored by craft brewer Samuel Adams, participating home brewers were required to cover their own costs, and all proceeds of the sold-out event were donated to charity. “The beer is free, and Sam Adams is even providing some free snacks, but if you want to come you have to donate to a great local charity,” the invitation said.

Nevertheless, home brewing has become a training ground for craft brewers, which is why brewing companies such as Samuel Adams and Sierra Nevada have become huge supporters. Samuel Adams sponsors an annual national home-brewing competition and mass produces the winning beers.

Jim Koch, who founded Samuel Adams, started as a home brewer and created the first batch of Samuel Adams Boston Lager in his kitchen.

Birmingham Budweiser to sponsor home brewing contest

Terry Dustin — Fri, 24 May 2013 04:27:04 +0000

Birmingham Budweiser is sponsoring a home-brewing contest. (File)

BIRMINGHAM, Alabama – Birmingham Budweiser will sponsor a home brewing competition in celebration of the passage of Alabama’s “Right to Brew” law, the distributor said today.

Gov. Robert Bentley signed the home brewing bill into law on May 9, ending Alabama’s reign as the only state in the union in which it was illegal to brew beer and make wine at home for your own consumption. The new law allows those 21 and older to make up to 15 gallons of beer, wine, mead or cider every three months for personal use. The law does not apply in dry counties and dry cities.

Birmingham Budweiser President Jay Dobbs said the brewing contest will be co-sponsored and sanctioned by the American Homebrewers Association.

“Many of the fine craft beers we distribute have their roots in homebrewing,” he said in a prepared statement. “The winner of this brew-off may be the next big thing to come from the state’s growing craft beer market.”

Contestants will compete for a $1,000 cash prize and for the chance to have their beer produced by a local commercial brewery.

Entries will be accepted on June 10 at Birmingham Budweiser, 141 Industrial Drive, Birmingham, AL 35211. The deadline for registration is June 28. Judging will take place July 13 at Birmingham Budweiser.

Details can be found online.

Home brewing boom embraced in all 50 states

Terry Dustin — Fri, 17 May 2013 03:42:10 +0000

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Americans have been brewing beer in their homes since colonial times — both George Washington and Thomas Jefferson were home brewers. Even so, a recent explosion of interest in the hobby has created tricky questions for state alcohol regulators.

The remaining restrictions rankle home brewers, who say swapping samples and competing with other brewers is what their culture is all about. “You could just drink your home brew at home, but you’d be missing out on a large part of the community,’ said James Spencer, who hosts a popular podcast about home brewing.

Moonshine memories

In some states, home brewing restrictions have deep cultural roots. The last two states to legalize home brewing were Alabama, which legalized it on May 9, and Mississippi, where it will be legal starting July 1. The legislation wasn’t an easy sell in either state—in part because both still have dry counties and memories of moonshine.

“We’ve been working on this for five years,’ said Craig Hendry, president of Raise Your Pints, which led the campaign in Mississippi. “One year it was an election year, so of course they’re not going to touch alcohol legislation then.”

Alabama’s debate was filled with filibusters and heated debate about the morality of allowing people to make their own beer.

Alabama’s anti-home brewing attitude was clear last fall when agents of the Alabama Alcoholic Beverage Control Board visited Hop City, a craft beer and home brew supplier in Birmingham.

“They came in and raided us and said that we can’t do any home brewing business,’ said Spencer Overton, a former commercial brewer who was hired to be the store’s home brew manager.

According to Overton, the agents threatened felony charges and confiscated $7,000 worth of merchandise. “They took some books about home brewing, which was very Fahrenheit 451 of them,’ Overton said, referring to the futuristic Ray Bradbury novel in which fire fighters torch homes containing books.

Since home brewing was legalized, Hop City has stocked up on home brew supplies and Overton will be teaching home brew classes.

“It was easy for me to get behind this as an individual rights issue, and as an economic development opportunity,” said Holtzclaw, a Republican.

Swapping or selling?

During some of the state debates, local beer distributors have cautioned against allowing home brewers to act too much like commercial brewers without paying for licenses.

But most home brewers say they are determined to keep their craft distinct from the brewing business, even though the required equipment and ingredients are expensive.

“The spirit of home is not to make it to sell,’ said Spencer, the podcast host. “The spirit of home brewing is to make it to share.’

“The beer is free, and Sam Adams is even providing some free snacks, but if you want to come you have to donate to a great local charity,’ the invitation said.

Josh Hubner, who heads DC Homebrewers, said his group negotiated a corkage fee with the hosting bar under a District of Columbia law that allows consumers to bring their own alcohol to a restaurant for a small fee. “If someone came and they said ‘ we want to drink the beer,’ we’d have to give it to them,’ he said. “People are doing this totally for the love of home brew.’

Jim Koch, who founded Samuel Adams, started as a home brewer and created the first batch of Samuel Adams Boston Lager in his kitchen.

“Most craft brewing came out of home brewing,’ Koch said. “This activity that used to be illegal everywhere has created 100,000 jobs in the last 30 years and probably encouraged the responsible consumption of flavorful beer. From the state point of view, the home brewer that you just legalized might be the employer of people in your state in the future.’

Stateline is a nonpartisan, nonprofit news service of the Pew Charitable Trusts that provides daily reporting and analysis on trends in state policy.

Home Brewing Beer Boom Embraced By All 50 States – Huffington Post

Terry Dustin — Thu, 16 May 2013 03:39:42 +0000

This piece comes to us courtesy of Stateline. Stateline is a nonpartisan, nonprofit news service of the Pew Charitable Trusts that provides daily reporting and analysis on trends in state policy.

Alabama’s debate was filled with filibusters and heated debate about the morality of allowing people to make their own beer.

Alabama’s anti-home brewing attitude was clear last fall when agents of the Alabama Alcoholic Beverage Control Board visited Hop City, a craft beer and home brew supplier in Birmingham.

Since home brewing was legalized, Hop City has stocked up on home brew supplies and Overton will be teaching home brew classes.

“It was easy for me to get behind this as an individual rights issue, and as an economic development opportunity,” said Holtzclaw, a Republican.

Swapping or Selling?
During some of the state debates, local beer distributors have cautioned against allowing home brewers to act too much like commercial brewers without paying for licenses.

Jim Koch, who founded Samuel Adams, started as a home brewer and created the first batch of Samuel Adams Boston Lager in his kitchen.

Also on HuffPost:

Loading Slideshow

1. Bud Light
Cases sold: 269,135,600
Average price per case: $20.26
Total sales: $5,452,052,000
2. Budweiser
Cases sold: 101,760,300
Average price per case: $20.21
Total sales: $2,056,722,000
3. Coors Light
Cases sold: 101,651,900
Average price per case: $19.85
Total sales: $2,017,366,000
Miller Lite
Cases sold: 86,678,030
Average price per case: $19.80
Total sales: $1,716,281,000
Natural Light
Cases sold: 72,036,540
Average price per case: $15.41
Total sales: $1,110,150,000
Busch Light
Cases sold: 49,320,380
Average price per case: $14.96
Total sales: $737,926,300
Busch
Cases sold: 43,696,500
Average price per case: $15.39
Total sales: $672,443,100
Michelob Ultra Light
Cases sold: 43,696,500
Average price per case: $15.39
Total sales: $672,443,100
Miller High Life
Cases sold: 32,215,610
Average price per case: $15.49
Total sales: $499,148,300
Keystone Light
Cases sold: 32,654,530
Average price per case: $14.71
Total sales: $480,261,800
Natural Ice
Cases sold: 24,161,730
Average price per case: $14.91
Total sales: $360,287,600
Bud Light Lime
Cases sold: 11,354,010
Average price per case: $25.91
Total sales: $294,227,200
Ice House
Cases sold: 14,545,810
Average price per case: $16.20
Total sales: $235,627,900
Pabst Blue Ribbon
Cases sold: 14,690,570
Average price per case: $15.89
Total sales: $233,392,000
Bud Ice
Cases sold: 13,535,730
Average price per case: $17.05
Total sales: $230,767,400
Yuengling Traditional Lager
Cases sold: 10,036,280
Average price per case: $21.89
Total sales: $219,679,200
Bud Light Platinum Lager
Cases sold: 7,285,657
Average price per case: $26.31
Total sales: $191,701,900
Steel Reserve High Gravity Lager
Cases sold: 9,660,888
Average price per case: $18.29
Total sales: $176,728,700
Blue Moon Belgian White Ale
Cases sold: 5,215,089
Average price per case: $31.01
Total sales: $161,708,100
Coors
Cases sold: 7,635,134
Average price per case: $19.25
Total sales: $147,010,300

On Tap: Home-Brewing Supplies, Advice At Local Hobby Shop

Ken Masterson — Thu, 16 May 2013 03:39:39 +0000

Before Rich Loomis went to work for Brew and Wine Hobby, he was a massage therapist, a clerk at a package store and an assistant manager at Strawberries music store.

If you think the package store experience was the best preparation for his current gig, you’d be wrong.

“Somebody comes into a CD store and sings a bar, you have to know the artist and match them up with what they’re looking for,” said Loomis, now co-owner of the home-brew and winemaking supplies store.

It’s the same now. “They might know they want a red wine [kit] and they might know they want a stout,” he said, but it’s up to the staff to figure out what will please them most.

Bob Carangelo of Glastonbury was shopping there recently on a weekday afternoon, and he said he spends $30 to $40 on ingredients to brew beer a couple of times a year. He first shopped there almost 20 years ago, but hasn’t always been a regular customer.

“The fellow who runs the desk here is very, very helpful,” he said. “He’s extremely helpful and knowledgeable.”

That kind of customer service seems to be fueling steady growth for the store, though the economy is also playing a role, Loomis believes.

The growing popularity of craft beers can’t hurt. This week was CT Beer Week and Sunday is the American Homebrewers Association rally at Backeast Brewery in Bloomfield. Store staff will attend, and they’re donating prizes to the raffle.

Beer and Wine Hobby was founded 38 years ago, and Loomis started working there four years ago under the second owner, a wine lover who only owned it for two years.

Nearly three years ago, Loomis and a partner bought the place.

From the beginning of 2010 through the end of 2012, sales grew by 40 percent. And Loomis said while he hasn’t crunched the numbers in 2013, it seems like they’ve done four months’ worth of business in the first three months.

Brew and Wine Hobby moved in September, doubling its space to just under 5,000 square feet. Nearly all of its close neighbors are industrial businesses. But on a busy weekday, he’ll have about 35 customers, and on a busy Saturday, he’ll have more than 100.

Loomis now employs two people, though he’s about to lose Dana Borque to a new business Loomis will also have a stake in — Firefly Hollow, a brewery and tap room scheduled to launch in Bristol within two months.

Borque asked in 2010 if he could volunteer at Brew and Wine Hobby. Loomis said he’d hire him one day a week, because that was all he could afford. Now his employees add another 60 hours a week of coverage, not counting independent contractors who run hands-on classes.

Those workers make $10 to $12 an hour, and Loomis, who first decided to join the business because he had a child on the way, still makes just $40,000, about the same he did as a masseur, but he works at least 60 hours a week. “This wasn’t quite the jump up [in pay] I expected,” he said.

He hopes that as the store continues to grow, he might be able to pay himself more. Loomis supports a family of four on that salary.

A distributor’s representative told him recently: “I expect you to do about a million in gross sales” in a few years. His response: “Really?!”

Hands-on classes at the store began at the beginning of this year, and are held most Saturdays. Since they began, about 10 percent of customers each week are first-time buyers.

On a recent Saturday, Peter Olguin of West Hartford and his wife, Betsy, were among those bottling beer they had brewed in the store a week earlier, under Borque’s supervision.

“You have to be a little bit of a do-it-yourselfer,” Olguin said to Borque as they worked, describing who would get hooked on home-brewing.

While the DIY aesthetic has blossomed in recent years, Loomis said he thinks that segment is about 20 percent of his customers.

“Those are the people that stick with it the longest,” he said.

But Loomis said the largest segment of his customers are those looking to save money — and that motive is why he thinks the poor economy is driving growth. You can get nearly 50 bottles of beer for $30 of ingredients, and 28 bottles of wine for $100. The frugality motive is also a challenge for the store. Home-brewers “bargain-hunt everything,” he said.

And speaking of bargain-hunting, Loomis said a Living Social deal he offered on classes is working beautifully. Most of the class attendees on a recent Saturday got the discount. Loomis said of a typical 12-person class, two households will buy the equipment and supplies that day, and he thinks two others come in over the next few months.

“We had a huge influx of people who were online shoppers, didn’t know we were here,” he said. And each class usually has two couples who have never tried it.

Jen Kirchner, 31, of Berlin, bought the class for her husband, Shaun Cecil, 33. She said they’d definitely start brewing at home.

“It’s super easy, it’s a minimal expense,” she said. “It gives couples something to do together.”

Brew and Wine Hobby Shop is located at 12 Cedar St. in East Hartford, 860-528-0592.

Brewing it for Ourselves A short guide to the long history of American homebrew

Mike Kitner — Thu, 16 May 2013 03:39:37 +0000

Brewing it for Ourselves

A short guide to the long history of American homebrew

America has a long history with home brewing beer. The pilgrims did it in Plymouth because it was considered safer than the questionable water of their adopted home. George Washington and Thomas Jefferson made beer at Mount Vernon and Monticello respectively.

Home brewing fits with the American sensibility: It’s an improvised, self-sufficient, penny-wise activity that was carried westward with the pioneers. Brewing remained an important part of American society right up until 1920, when the 18th Amendment, more commonly known as Prohibition, outlawed “the manufacture, sale, or transportation” of alcohol for “beverage purposes.”

Now, true, Prohibition couldn’t stop home brewing, but it certainly forced it underground. And even the repeal of Prohibition in 1933 couldn’t bring it back. When the hangovers lifted, it must have come as a surprise to find that while the new statutes allowed for home winemaking, they neglected to include beer brewing, an activity that continued to be illegal for the next 46 years.

Finally, in 1978, President Jimmy Carter signed H.R. 1337, which allowed for up to 200 gallons of beer for personal use per calendar year to be produced per household. Even before the law went into effect in February 1979, some former underground brewers in Colorado formed the American Homebrewers Association (AHA).

Home brewing fits with the American sensibility: It’s an improvised, self-sufficient, penny-wise activity that was carried westward with the pioneers.

America’s restrictive laws on home brewing prior to H.R. 1337 seemed to enforce some narrow tastes when it came to beer. In 1978, the year President Carter brought home brewers out of the closet, there were only 89 breweries in the U.S. Plenty of people across the country had continued making beer clandestinely since Prohibition, but few were able to pass along their experience to other would-be brewers. With the door opened and national organizations like the AHA in place, hobbyists were able to communicate with each other, repeating successes and avoiding mistakes. Odd and interesting experiments yielded both good and bad results, and the narrow range of tastes offered by Budweiser, Miller and Coors began to seem increasingly less satisfying.

In 1982 the annual Great American Beer Festival began in Colorado. In the ’80s and ’90s, driven in large part by the increasing ambitions of hobbyists, microbreweries began budding up across the country making innovative, traditional, and forgotten styles of beer that further stretched the American palate. Today there are well north of 2,000 small, medium and large-scale breweries in the U.S. According to the Brewers Association, the trade organization representing the majority of American breweries; you’d have to go back to 1887 to find a time when there were more. Though craft sales remain a small percentage of total beer sales (something like 5 percent), they command enough attention that large national brands have generated lines to appeal to the craft beer consumer—I’m looking at you, Rolling Rock and Black Rock.

As testament to how far home brewing has come, even the current President has gotten in the game, recently making a honey ale with honey from the White House beehives. Considering the number of founding fathers that have brewed, it’s amazing that the Obamas are apparently the only First Family to enjoy home brewed beer in the Oval Office.

On Tap: Home-Brewing Supplies, Advice At East Hartford Store

Ken Masterson — Wed, 15 May 2013 03:34:10 +0000

Before Rich Loomis went to work for Brew and Wine Hobby, he was a massage therapist, a clerk at a package store and an assistant manager at Strawberries music store.

If you think the package store experience was the best preparation for his current gig, you’d be wrong.

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Maps
East Hartford, CT, USA

It’s the same now. “They might know they want a red wine [kit] and they might know they want a stout,” he said, but it’s up to the staff to figure out what will please them most.

“The fellow who runs the desk here is very, very helpful,” he said. “He’s extremely helpful and knowledgeable.”

That kind of customer service seems to be fueling steady growth for the store, though the economy is also playing a role, Loomis believes.

The growing popularity of craft beers can’t hurt. This week was CT Beer Week and today is the American Homebrewers Association rally at Backeast Brewery in Bloomfield. Store staff will attend, and they’re donating prizes to the raffle.