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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.

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.

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

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.

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

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“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 today 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.”

REIDSVILLE — April is the inaugural North Carolina Beer Month and Eric Smith couldn’t be happier.

Smith, 38, is a home brewer — an excellent one at that — and a fan of beer. He’s doing his part to get the word out about craft beers and brewers in the state.

He has a blog — ncbeers.blogspot.com — that details his visits to craft breweries in the state. He participates in brewing demonstrations, attends beer festivals and anything else that will get others as excited about home brewing as he is.

He’s also celebrating beer month in an appropriate fashion.

“My goal for the month of April is to only drink North Carolina beer,” Smith said.Continue Reading

It all began for Smith with a simple beer kit, a birthday gift from his wife, Kelly, in 1996.

An untapped talent emerged.

Smith, after years of brewing, can break down the ingredients of any beer he drinks.

“I can taste a beer and tell you what hops were used and typically what malt was used and typically what yeast was used,” Smith said.

An impressive feat, but Smith said it’s something he picked up from years of tasting the ingredients while brewing beer. He tastes them before and during the process. Not many brewers do this, according to Smith.

He is also a talented brewer. Smith keeps several recipes on file and brews according to his mood. Sometimes he goes to a home-brew supply store and creates his recipe while he’s there. Other times, he drinks a beer he likes and he wants to recreate that taste.

He’s often asked why he doesn’t create his own brewery.

“I already turned one hobby into a job,” Smith said. “I don’t need two.”

His job as a welder is something he’s been doing since he was 10 while watching and learning from his father. Smith turned this hobby into a job after he was laid off from his airline job in 2002.

He is happy with welding as a job. Smith likes brewing, but he said he doesn’t feel like brewing every day. It will stay a hobby.

A hobby that still keeps him busy, even if he doesn’t brew every day.

Smith is in the opening stages of a project that will take him to every brewery in the state. It took a year to plan, and he hopes to finish his statewide tour by the end of the year or at least by March 2014.

His reputation as a brewer often precedes him, and he gets a more extensive tour than advertised. His wife often acts as his driver on these tours. It’s only fair since she’s the one who got him started in the first place.

When he’s not touring breweries and making beer, Smith said he will continue to encourage others to take up home brewing. Beer kits are inexpensive, and hobbyists can invest in as little a $100-150 for a top-of-the-line brewery system.

And it’s not hard to make the beer.

“If you can boil water, then you can brew beer,” Smith said.

Brewing is not the only thing on Smith’s mind. He is interested in several topics and enjoys sitting at a bar getting to know the person beside him.

“I don’t care what your religion is,” Smith said, “I don’t care how you voted. If you like to drink a good beer, then I’m going to sit down and drink a good beer with you.”

Just remember not to bet him in guessing what kind of beer you are drinking.

Contact Brad Kesler at 373-7060, and follow @Brad_Kesler on Twitter.

EAST LANSING, MI — Wearing hardhats and flanked by city officials, the businessmen behind the new HopCat – East Lansing restaurant celebrated the start of construction on their new establishment by breaking a little ground of their own: planting the hop bines that will grace its outdoor patio in August.

Hops, used in the beer brewing process, are the flowers of the hop bine. The bines will germinate in 20 days; after that, they’ll grow a foot each day.

The bines were planted today by HopCat owner Mark Sellers, East Lansing City Manager George Lahanas, East Lansing Mayor Diane Goddeeris and other city officials at the site of the new restaurant.

HopCat-East Lansing will open at the beginning of August, owner Mark Sellers said.

Sellers owns four other restaurants, all in Grand Rapids, including the popular HopCat brew pub.

He said it was important to him, as a Michigan State University alumnus and lifelong Spartan fan, that his first restaurant outside Grand Rapids be in East Lansing.

The East Lansing location, like its Grand Rapids forerunner, will feature an extensive selection of craft beers, with more than 100 on tap, Sellers said.

A few beers will be available in bottles, he added, but only those that were impossible to secure in draft form.

HopCat – East Lansing will occupy the entire first floor of The Residences, near the campus of Michigan State University.

The eight-story building, located at 300 Grove Street in East Lansing, will feature one-, two- and three-bedroom loft-style apartments.

It’s currently under construction and will be finished at the same time as the restaurant, said Kevin Kozak, project manager for Wolverine Building Group.

Wolverine, a Grand Rapids-based construction and contracting firm, is building The Residences and HopCat – East Lansing.

The project is on schedule to open at the beginning of August.

According to a media release, the bines are all Michigan-sourced and serve as a reminder of the growth of the Michigan brewing industry and sustainable principles BarFly, the parent company of HopCat, integrates into its businesses. 

Related: USA Today lists Michigan among best best craft beer states in the country

The Iowa Alcoholic Beverages Division notified el Bait Shop earlier this month that it was breaking a state law that allows home-brewed beer to be consumed only in homes. No action is being taken against the bar, according to the agency.

The bar’s Jimmy Carter Happy Hour — named in honor of former President Jimmy Carter, who signed into law a bill that allowed home brewing — has been a weekly staple. But officials sent the warning after getting an anonymous phone tip about the event.

Bar manager Mike Gauthier said it’s the first time legal concerns have been raised in the five years or so the event has been held.

“It’s an unfortunate thing for us,” he said. “We didn’t have this thing just because we wanted a bunch of people giving away free beer. We want these people in the business.

“They’re enthusiastic about beer. They’re enthusiastic about brewing. Those are some of the people that we really, really want to have around.”

Gauthier said the bar stopped holding the event so its liquor license wouldn’t be imperiled.

“In the short term, we’re working with the home-brew clubs, trying to figure out what we can do to still keep them engaged as part of the community until we have word one way or another.”

Keanan Ludeman, president of the Iowa Brewers Union, said events such as Jimmy Carter Happy Hour help increase the popularity of craft beers.

“We rely on these events to promote home brewing and educate people about beer and home brewing and the processes behind it all,” Ludeman said.

El Bait Shop’s owners are hopeful the event will resume.

Legislation signed by Gov. Terry Branstad on Wednesday will take effect after July. It allows home brewers to share their concoctions so long as no money is exchanged.

For now, el Bait Shop plans to keep hosting Iowa craft breweries on Thursday nights. Co-owner Jeff Bruning said the state’s willingness to embrace craft brewing advances the movement in Iowa.

Copyright 2013 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

“Change is very slow in Alabama, especially when it comes to alcohol laws,” said Rich Partain, with local Huntsville brewery Straight to Ale. “Most states legalized home brewing in the mid-seventies.”

Recently Mississippi became the 49th state to legalize home brewing. Leaving Alabama as the last state in the Union to ban people from brewing beer in their homes.

Why the slow progress? According to Representative Mike Ball, a supporter of House Bill 9, misconceptions about home brewing.

“Homebrewers are not like moonshiners up in the mountains,” said Ball. “It`s mostly hobbiests, or people who are interested in the chemical process. It`s just a hobby.”

It`s a hobby that can often lead to a profession. Such is the case with the brewers at Straight to Ale.

“Most professional brewers start out as home brewers. Everywhere but Alabama that`s perfectly legal,” said Partain.

Straight to Ale has invited local home brewers to come legally brew some of their recipes at Straight to Ale’s facility on Saturday March 30th. Twenty-four home brewers will be offering samples of their craft beers to the public.

The event starts at 2 p.m. at Straight to Ale’s brewery on Leeman Ferry Road.

If you want to encourage your legislator to vote for or against House Bill 9 you can at Alabama Home Brewing’s website.

The home brewing bill is sponsored by Representative Mac McCutcheon and is scheduled to be brought up for a vote on Tuesday April 2nd.

The craft brew craze is exploding in the U.S. and small brewers are popping up in towns across the country.  But keeping track of the newcomers and knowing if any brewer is worth the trip can be hard to figure out.

Now, you can jump on one of the hoppiest, most tasteful road trips that cuts all the confusion – and best of all, you don’t need to worry about doing the driving. Beer Tours USA takes people on personalized tours of breweries around the country.

Beer tours operate like winery tours and they’re gaining in popularity as Americans discover their love for craft beers.

“As they start drinking that type of beer, there might be something else they might want to try,” said Robin Fuchs, founder of Beer Tours USA. “People have fun when they are going around.”

Fuchs, a financial adviser who lives in Springfield, Ill, started Beer Tours USA in 2011 after he discovered some small-batch brewers producing some big beers. Fuchs, who says he is currently in the planning stages for his 2013 beer tours, has a host of trips to choose from, including historical themed tours.  Groups typically go to between 6 to 8 craft breweries and brew pubs to look at how the beers are made and to sample its products.

His tours, offered throughout the U.S., include hotel stays, a continental breakfast, and background information on breweries. No need to bring along a designated driver — because transportation to all of the breweries is provided by a chartered bus, so guests can enjoy every last drop of the many brews they will taste along the way.

Visitors can sample beers in tasting rooms, tour breweries, and check out the town. The two-day trips start at $179.

Here are some of Fuchs’ favorite beer tours:

Potosi Brewing Company
Potosi, Wisconsin

Founded in 1852 – but then abandoned in 1972. Locals came together and re-opened it as a non-profit in 2008. “This has got to be one go the best places in America to stop if you like beer and American beer history,” said Fuchs. The National Brewery Museum is on site. The brewery has a lagering cave that was to brew the beers before the days of mechanical refrigeration. “We still use the cave to age the barrel varieties that our brewer creates,” said Larry Bowden, member of the Potosi Foundation board of directors.

Great River Brewery
Davenport, Iowa

Desks turned to beer taps! The brewery was designed in what was once an old school in the Hawkeye state. Here they print their own labels on their cans allowing them to be more versatile with their products. It’s a friendly atmosphere. “We encourage social drinking and meeting new people through the art of conversation,” said master brewer Paul Krutzfeldt. Some of their brews include Roller Dam Red, 483 Pale, Farmer Brown, and Redband Stout all on tap at $4 a pint. Fuchs said the brewers know their products well. “A huge amount of talent and knowledge.”    

Triumph Brewing Company
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Located in the “old city” area of Philadelphia, this brewery is walking distance from the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall. An old building with a modern feel – “there are never-ending rooms and seating,” said Fuchs.  The brewery opened its doors in 2007. Come hungry, because brewer Josh Gambrel said the tasting experience is delicious with the food they offer. “All the pairings and all the flavors,” he said. Popular on tap: The Amber and Bengal American IPA.  Much of the décor came from scraps of the building renovation. Other locations are in New Hope, Penn. and Princeton, NJ.

Six Row Brewing Company
St. Louis, Missouri

Fuchs described this stop as “very small and charming.” The building was first used by the Falstaff Brewing Company, which opened in 1911. Here they offer 24 brews at a time.  Brewmaster Evan Hiatt said “the tasting experience is much like you would taste a wine. We look at the color of the beer then the aroma and finally the flavor and tactile (feeling) of the beer.” They are also famous for their meatloaf. “Our main dining room is just small enough to get a pleasant aroma of good food cooking in the kitchen along with beer brewing in the kettle behind the glass curtain wall,” said Hiatt.

Galena Brewing Company
Galena, Illinois

The small town of Galena had 9 breweries in the 1800s and the last one closed in 1938, according to Warren Bell, owner of the Galena Brewing Company. “(We’re) unique in connecting Galena residents and visitors with Galena’s rich brewing history.”  They opened their doors in 2010. “This place explodes with fun and charisma!” said Fuchs, who complimented their live entertainment.  “Walk the streets till late, and you’ll always find something fun going on.” Tastings are also included in their tours. Their Nutbrown Ale won a silver award at the 2012 World Beer Cup.

Patrick Manning is part of the Junior Reporter program at Fox News. Get more information on the program here.

Fort Myers, FL (PRWEB) March 27, 2013

Beecher Brewing Company today announced plans for a new microbrewery in downtown Fort Myers, Florida. The microbrewery will be the first in the greater Fort Myers’ area and will serve high-quality craft beers accompanied by food selections that complement the beverages. The brewery will be located in the historic McCrory Building at 1525 Hendry Street, in close proximity to the waterfront. The 3,500 square feet facility is expected to be completed in August and a grand opening is planned for later this year.            

Bill Frazer, the founder of Beecher Brewing Company, is engineer turned beer brewer and entrepreneur. After spending more than a decade in the automotive industry working for companies such as Saleen, Fisker Automotive and CODA Automotive, Inc., the Florida native now turns his engineering abilities toward craft brewing. His interest in brewing began as a hobby years ago when he started crafting beer with friends, and quickly turned into a passion as he perfected various beer recipes. Early in 2011 Bill made the decision to open a microbrewery and began researching the options.

Bill commented, “It’s amazing how well engineering skills translate into fine beer brewing. The attention to detail required and the equal importance of technical and creative skills are all key components of both successful engineering and brewing. I am excited to bring great beer to the Fort Myers area. Great beer is for everyone and I’m thrilled to share it with the people.”

Beecher Brewing Company plans to have 25 craft beers on tap, with an average of six brewed onsite, and a regularly rotating schedule of beers based on seasonal demand. The brewery will include a three barrel system, capable of brewing 90 gallons at a time. Food menu options will include chef selected appetizers and small dishes recommended to complement each of the beers. Further, Beecher Brewing Company expects to employ at least seven people initially and add more as the business grows.                        

About Beecher Brewing Company:

Beecher Brewing Co. was started in 2011 with the idea of a new era in craft beer brewing. By opening our doors to all the home brewers and beer lovers, we are tapping into the beer industry’s greatest resource. We are providing the opportunity for the best beers to be offered on a continually rotating basis. How do we know they are the best beers? Because you told us so. Our operation practices on the fundamental concepts of the democratic society this country was founded on: a beer company of the people, by the people and FOR THE PEOPLE. We work with our beer drinkers to ensure that we offer the brews that people want the most.

The foundation of Beecher Brewing Co. is the customers themselves. It is our customers who determine our product by submitting the recipes and then voting for the best ones. By doing this, we ensure every ounce of beer that hits the shelves with our name on it is delicious.

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“You could tell it was, like, a first date,” O’Brien recalled. “She kept asking questions, and this guy just kept making up stuff to answer her questions.”

O’Brien, 31, could have easily set him straight. A sales representative for Tallgrass, a craft beer brewed in Kansas, she’s also a certified Cicerone – kind of a sudsy version of a sommelier.

Although O’Brien didn’t correct the man at the bar, she had the satisfaction of knowing that the men-know-beer/women-prefer-wine cliché could be on its way out, thanks to a growing wave of interest by women in craft beer.

Groups for beer-drinking women are springing up nationwide, including Barley’s Angels, an international club that started a Milwaukee chapter last fall.

Craft beer sales in general have doubled in the last six years and are set to triple by 2017, according to BeerPulse.com. Many of those customers are women between 25 and 34 who appreciate the nuanced flavors of small-batch beers.

They’re also the ones surprising bartenders with orders for IPA instead of Chardonnay, and they’re brewing their own at home, too.

According to a 2012 Gallup poll, beer has been the favorite beverage among drinkers since 1985. It typically held second place as the adult beverage of choice for females, but recently, beer has edged out wine among women ages 18 to 34.

O’Brien and three other women started the local chapter of Barley’s Angels dedicated to beer education and discussion. Monthly meetings, held at various locations, are open to the public and are announced on the group’s Facebook site. They draw as many as 40 women, most in their 20s and 30s, who talk about beer, share home-brewing tips and, of course, sample their subject matter.

“I like craft beer a lot, and this seemed like a good opportunity to meet with other people who like beer,” said Sarah Booth, 29, during a recent Barley’s Angels class about pairing beers with food at the Rumpus Room downtown. “It’s just what I like to drink. It feels more personal drinking something that’s brewed in a small batch.”

Julia Herz, the craft beer program director for the Colorado-based Brewers Association, has her own theories on why many women are moving toward craft beer, defined as the product of a brewery with annual production of 6 million barrels of beer or less.

Women in their 20s and 30s are in “the sweet spot” for craft beer consumption, Herz said. They’re the same quality-minded people who are buying artisanal cheeses and fair trade coffees and who don’t mind waiting for a bartender to shake a craft cocktail.

Craft beer is an affordable way to buy artisanal. The cost of a bottle of beer, usually less than a bottle of wine, affords aficionados a chance to sample several craft beer flavors for a “simple trade up in price compared to wine,” Herz said.

Wine aside

When Holly DeShaw, 31, opened Blackbird Bar in 2008, she decided to sell 80 varieties of craft beer because that’s what she likes to drink. She says her customers are knowledgeable about craft beer, and the state’s craft beer in particular.

“We do have wine, but it’s not our focus,” said DeShaw, whose tavern is part of a hub of craft beer bars in the Bay View neighborhood, including Sugar Maple, Romans’ Pub and Palm Tavern, which made Draft Magazine’s list of the top craft beer bars in the country.

Some women DeShaw’s age jokingly refer to wine as “mom juice,” because their mothers drank wine or girly cocktails, thanks in part to the Cosmo craze popularized by “Sex and the City.”

Image also factors into the reason that women are gravitating to craft beer.

“This is bold for me to say, but beer in the past has been marketed as a gender-specific beverage to men,” Herz said. While some macro beer producers use women in tank tops to sell beer, the 2,300 craft brewers in the U.S. generally market in a way that’s not gender-specific.

One exception is Monroe’s Minhas Brewery, which makes Chick Beer, a light beer created by Shazz Lewis and her husband, Dave, founding partners in an upscale beer, wine and spirits store in Maryland. When their research showed that women drink 700 million cases of beer a year, Shazz contracted with Minhas in 2011 to create a 97-calorie brew. Chick Beer is sold in Wisconsin and several other states and comes in a six-pack carrier made to look like a purse.

Tapping old beliefs

If craft beer producers have learned to make beer a genderless beverage, bartenders are still on a learning curve. Beer expert O’Brien recalls the time she ordered a $12 glass of Angry Monk. The bartender asked what she thought of it, and she mentioned that it seemed a little sour – a term meaning that the beer would benefit from more time in the bottle to mature the taste. He offered to add soda water.

Milwaukeean Lucy Saunders, author of “The Best of American Beer and Food: Pairing Cooking with Craft Beer” and beercook.com, says those bartenders are missing the boat by underestimating a woman’s palate and knowledge of beer.

When Saunders goes out to drink, she said, “they hand me a wine list.” At some bars, if she orders a beer she gets steered toward fruit beers.

Many women, such as Christine “Boo” Wisniewski of Milwaukee, found their way into craft beer by learning to brew it. The former Milwaukee Brewing Co. brewer is particularly fond of IPA – although, she said, some bartenders seem surprised when she orders it. It’s the beer she prefers to brew herself.

For Andrea Miller, 31, learning about craft beer at a holiday beer exchange at work turned her from wine drinker to beer connoisseur and home brewer. “I’m a bottling bad-ass,” said the group sales manager at the Milwaukee Public Museum. “I can bottle a beer in 19 seconds.”

Still, beer “is a little bit of a boys club,” said Rachel Reiman, during a home brewing session of Barley’s Angels in Milwaukee. She notices that whenever she and her husband tour a brewery and mention that they’re home brewers, “they immediately start talking to my husband.”

There were even fewer female brewers in 1989, the year Wisconsin native Teri Fahrendorf became only the second woman craft beer brewmaster in the country. Bucking the male-dominated beer culture wasn’t easy, but the former systems analyst has known that she was destined for her current career since she was 9. That’s when she spent a dime on a book about fermentation and brewing at a St. Pius X rummage sale in Wauwatosa.

“I was disappointed to learn that you had to have a factory,” Fahrendorf said, laughing.

In 2007, she hit the road to meet other brewers and blog about her travels. She called it the “pink boots tour,” named for her version of the rubber boots brewers wear. Her travels led to the formation of the Pink Boots Society, an organization for women who earn an income from beer. She’s the specialty malt account manager for Great Western Malting in Vancouver, Wash. Beer cook Saunders has found a few places, including Sugar Maple, where she’s comfortable sitting by herself and ordering an IPA without being steered in a different direction. It’s a sign of changing times for women who are serious about beer.

Said Saunders, “I think women ordering more diverse styles of beer as a matter of personal taste and not being guided into the light and pretty category is evolving.”