Browsing articles tagged with " Home Brewer"
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:
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3. Coors Light
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Miller Lite
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Natural Light
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Busch Light
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Miller High Life
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Natural Ice
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Blue Moon Belgian White Ale
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Coors
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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.
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 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.
“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 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.
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.
BRANDON
Ty Mathis just wanted a good beer.
Mathis, a Brandon resident for nearly the past two decades, called one of his buddies to make plans. His friend asked Mathis which pub they should go to.
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“I said, ‘Well, why don’t we go to …,’ ” Mathis said, his voice trailing off. “Then it hit me.”
So Mathis opened the Stein Vine at Bloomingdale and Kings avenues and joined the craft beer market that has grown into a national trend.
Craft and craft-style beer sales more than doubled from 2007 to 2012 — from $5.7 billion to $12 billion, according to a Mintel market study reported in the Nation’s Restaurant News in April.
This even though craft beer generally has higher prices.
The report also noted that the rest of the beer categories had shown flat to declining sales in the wake of the recession.
The developing following in the Tampa Bay area, reflecting the national trend, is obvious from retail to upstart independent brewers and from home-brew masters to pubs both big and small.
American staple
From our founding fathers to Homer Simpson, ales and lagers have become as much a part of America’s fabric as baseball and apple pie.
“Beer has had a place throughout history in nearly every society,” Jason Lyons, a Brandon area home brewer, said.
Through the advent of the railroads and lagering, America took its place at the top of the global beer market with megacompanies like Budweiser and Miller leading the way. But those beers, which are categorized by light flavor and body, now have to share the spotlight with craft beer.
Made on a smaller, artisan level, craft beer generally packs a more powerful punch of palate-puckering hops and sweet, roasty malt. As consumers’ appetites for these types of beers increased, so did production.
Exotic flavor combinations drew in adventurous drinkers. Searching out the newest products became chic. And the beers started becoming more prominently displayed and offered in everything from convenience stores to local bars.
“Almost any restaurant you go now, you’re going to find some good selections,” said Lindsay Nichols, a manager at the Brass Tap at Westfield Brandon.
The home brewer
Jason Lyons siphons a little beer out of a large glass container, pulls out a hydrometer and measures the alcohol content of his newest creation, an Oktoberfest. He takes a small swig of the still uncarbonated brew and approvingly nods while checking the color and clarity.
“I can’t wait for this one,” he says.
Lyons is one of many area residents who are dabbling in the world of home brewing. Startup equipment costs less than $100, and with a few ingredients and a recipe, a drinkable ale can be achieved in two weeks.
“You don’t need a degree in chemical engineering to make beer,” said Francis Booth, owner of Booth’s Brewing and Bar Supply in Brandon. “It just takes a little patience and practice.”
Of course, brewing drinkable beer and award-winning beer are two different things. Lyons mastered the first rather quickly and achieved the latter this year when he captured a gold medal at the Best Florida Beer Championships.
“It’s the Super Bowl for home brewing in the state,” he said.
His doppelbock, a dark malty sledgehammer of a beer, checked in at 7.2 percent alcohol. Most American macro lagers are less than 5 percent. (Fun fact: Doppelbock emerged in the late 18th century as a powerful lager variant of monks’ “liquid bread,” which they brewed for the Lenten fast, says the German Beer Institute.)
Lyons competes throughout Florida on the home brewers circuit and has plans to open a brewery locally within five years.
Fun with DIY
Booth’s, at 333 Falkenburg Road, and Bootleggers, at 650 Oakfield Drive, offer extensive supplies for novices and experts and classes for beginners. Booth’s will expand in the next two months to include an on-site brewery.
“Right now we are working on a Caribbean farmhouse ale that has some mango, ginger and habanero in it,” Booth said. “Beer has gone gourmet.”
Home brewing clubs are also a part of the scene. The Brandon Bootleggers Homebrew Club (no direct relation to the supply store) has seen its numbers soar in the past couple of years. The club (brandonbootleggers.com) started out with half a dozen or so members three years ago. It has nearly 100 now and offers home brewers a chance to bounce ideas and recipes off one another.
“It’s really exciting because we have people off all ages and from all walks of life,” said Bob Appleyard, director emeritus of the club. “And we have everything from serious competition brewers to people who just brew once a year.”
An arduous task
Taking the leap from making beer in the garage to a full-scale brewery is a daunting task. There is expensive, large-scale equipment to buy. A place to house all the supplies is necessary. And, of course, there are a host of zoning and permitting hoops to jump through.
“There is a lot of red tape to get through, on the state and federal level,” said Randy Reaver, owner of Three Palms Brewing.
Reaver opened Three Palms, at 1509 Hobbs St. in Tampa, about a year ago, turning out the company’s inaugural brew July 4. Local pubs like Brass Tap and Stein Vine serve some of his creations.
“But it was something I had talked about long before that,” he said. “There’s just so much that goes into making it actually happen.”
Three Palms features a compact interior, with an area dedicated to brewing and a climate-controlled room for fermenting. Heavy sacks of grain line one wall, while an ice chest holds vials of yeast. There’s a tiny room that greets patrons there for tours and an Entrepreneur magazine on one of the tables. Reaver, who brews twice every three weeks, does nearly everything himself.
“It presents a lot of challenges, and yeah, you have to wear a lot of hats,” he said. “If I’m not brewing, I’m out at accounts trying to build relationships and increase the profile of my brand.”
Reaver’s immediate goal is to get wet zoning for Three Palms, meaning he can sell beer by the pint or to-go growlers from a tasting room inside the brewery.
“I’ve already ordered all the necessary equipment, so I think there’s a good chance it goes through,” he said. “Then people could come in and try the different beers I make, and that helps with brand recognition. It would be a good source of cash flow and we could keep regular hours.”
The big guys
Big companies hoping to capitalize on the trend aren’t far behind. The Brass Tap opened at the Brandon mall nearly three years ago. World of Beer, just south of Causeway Boulevard, will open this summer. Both focus primarily on craft beer.
“We really have all type of people who come in here,” Nichols, the Brass Tap manager, said. “But what they all are is enthusiastic about beer and trying new kinds of beer.”
The Brass Tap features 60 beers on draft and hundreds more in the bottle. WOB is about the same.
“We are all about beer,” Nichols said. “Anyone who talks to me for two minutes can tell that.”
Nichols, 25, said she has noticed that younger drinkers are shying away from products like Budweiser and are leaning toward craft beer.
“People are making the choice of quality over quantity,” she said. “I think the younger generation realizes convenience isn’t better. They don’t want McDonald’s anymore.”
The little guys
Mathis has been involved with beer and food most of his life. He has cooked in a host of kitchens and worked as a sales rep at Pepin Distributing for 16 years before turning an aging bar at 827 W Bloomingdale Ave. into a beer lover’s paradise.
“I would get out of my job (at Pepin) and come work here until 3 in the morning,” he said. “It’s my baby.”
The feel inside Stein Vine is welcoming, with rich planks of wood, wrought-iron chandeliers and a bar covered in hundreds of heads-up pennies. Mathis brought the brick in from Ybor City.
In Riverview, Matt Brooks has turned the beer passion he honed in college into a friendly pub called the Talking Pint at 13428 Boyette Road. Brooks focuses on American craft beers.
“There is so much great beer going on in America,” Brooks said. “It has more character.”
Mathis said the craft beer craze has plenty of room to grow.
“This area is just starting to see the potential of where this can go,” he said. “There’s nothing I like better than giving someone a beer and they go ‘What is that? I’ve never heard of that and I want more.’ ‘
Times correspondent Eric Vician contributed to this report. Brandon Wright can be reached at hillsnews@tampabay.com.
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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.
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.
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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
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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
Santa Fe Brewing Company, a New Mexico microbrewery, is teaming up with Central States Beverage Company, a local distributor, on a beer that will be on tap only in Kansas City bars later this year. The announcement comes in the midst of American Craft Beer Week, a nationwide celebration of local and independent craft breweries.
The brewing team includes three cicerones (or certified beer experts), two or three home brewers, and a chef. At least two of the team members are from Kansas City: Home brewer Corey Wood and chef Josh Eans. Eans, the interim executive chef at The American Restaurant, was featured in Ink magazine as one of the biggest beer nerds in Kansas City.
The style of the microbrewery’s new collaboration beer hasn’t yet been determined — but Central States marketing director Jon Poteet says it will likely be a “bigger beer” with a relatively higher alcohol content, or ABV. The beer doesn’t have a release date, but Poteet says it will likely hit Kansas City taps sometime between September and November. The beer will be conceptualized in Kansas City but brewed in Santa Fe.
Santa Fe Brewing Company started distributing its beers, which include Happy Camper IPA, Imperial Java Stout, and Santa Fe Pale Ale, in Kansas and Missouri less than a year ago. Sidenote: A friend from Texas recently gave me a six-pack of Happy Camper IPA cans, and I’ve been hoarding them in my fridge. The beer has a bright floral, hoppy flavor and comes in a really cool, minimalist can (see photo).
In other beer collaboration news, Boulevard is teaming with Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. on Terra Incognita, a Smokestack Series beer that hits shelves in mid-June.
For more on Kansas City’s blossoming beer scene, check out this beer lover’s to-do list.
A diary entry from an Alabama home-brewer:
Tuesday, May 7
Dear diary,
My heart is heavy. I feel ashamed and guilty. If the law finds out, I could go to jail as a convicted felon. A convicted felon! I wish I had someone to talk to so I could get this burden off my chest.
But gosh knows my sinning was fun.
What a weekend! It was a rainy mess, so I stayed home and brewed another batch of my own peculiar style of homemade beer. I’m not quite sure if it’s a lager or an I.P.A. because it turns out different every time; I’m no master brewer heading to Boston to work for Sam Adams. I simply love to brew, just like my neighbor Steve loves to golf.
The difference is the state of Alabama says golfing is OK — but that I have committed a felony because it’s illegal to brew at home. To be honest, that makes me feel like a first cousin to dudes who cook up meth in their kitchen. As if.
It’s soooo Alabama, isn’t it? This state is the only one in America in which home brewing is still illegal. The only stinking one. It’s as if we live in some backwater place where people still think if you make a few bottles of beer at home each month that you’re automatically giving some to your 15-year-old nephew. Even Mississippi says it’s OK to brew a few beers at home. How embarrassing.
A few of my buddies still believe those jokers in the Legislature will finally pass this home-brewing law before they go home for the year. Yeah, right. Fool me once, fool me twice, or whatever they say. How many years has Montgomery skipped over or conveniently ignored a home-brew bill?
I’ll believe it when I see it.
In the meantime, I’m not sure what to do. Do I quit my hobby? I’m hurting no one. Do I stop making beer in my kitchen? I’m no criminal, and I do feel bad for doing something “illegal.” What if someone rats me out? I’ve watched those prison shows on TV, and I wouldn’t fare well there, if you know what I mean.
Until the Legislature brings Alabama into the 21st century, I suppose I have two choices — keep brewing illegally or stop brewing.
Guess which one I’ll pick.
Signed,
A Guilty Conscience in Alabama
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.
Continuing its support of home brewers, Port Jeff Brewing Company is sponsoring a competition this weekend where the winner will have beer brewed at the brewery and distributed to several bars on Long Island.
Taking place at Hoptron Brewtique in Patchogue this Sunday at 4 p.m., 25 home brewers will have their beers tested by five judges, including Michael Philbrick, founder and brewmaster of Port Jeff Brewing Company, and Niko Krommydas, creative director with the brewery and local beer writer.
There are no alcohol style or ABV (alcohol by volume) requirements for the beers submitted. Each of the five judges will get five beers and will choose two out of those five. The judges will then pick five finalists out of the 10 selected, and those finalists will go to Beerfields Beer and Music Festival on June 29 where those in attendance will choose the winner.
From there, the winner will get to brew at Port Jefferson Brewery and have his beer distributed to bars on Long Island. The brewing company continues its support of home brewers, having paired with the home brewing duo Ghost Cat last year.
“We’ve always been involved in helping out home brewers,” Krommydas said. “Mike was a home brewer for so long so that it’s close to his heart. There are always guys popping in asking for help and he takes time. He always does seminars locally as well.”
Some Charleston beer enthusiasts are hoping to spread their love of the sudsy beverage during a public demonstration of the art of brewing.
Members of the group dubbed K.R.A.Z.E., which stands for Kanawha Regional Association of Zymurgy Enthusiasts, have scheduled a free home brewing demonstration outside Moxxee Coffee on Charleston’s East End April 6. Zymurgy is the applied science related to fermentation.
The demonstration will begin about 11 a.m. in the patio section outside the East End coffee shop, said Rob Absten, 43, of Cross Lanes.
Absten is a home brewer and one of the founding members of the organization.
“A lot of people don’t know what home brewing really is,” he said. “They don’t know how difficult or easy it can be.”
The group’s members will show participants how to brew a stout beer and a hefeweizen.
The stout will be brewed using an all-grain technique, which is a bit more complicated, Absten said. The hefeweizen will be brewed using extracts, which is a simpler way to make beer, he said.
Absten has been brewing his own beer for about five years. He prefers to use the all-grain method for brewing beer.
All-grain brewing gives the brewer more control over the elements in the finished project, he said.
“You can make a good beer with an extract, but in my opinion, you can make an even better beer using all grain,” Absten said.
Using an extract means that the finished beer cannot be changed as much by the brewer, he said.
It typically takes about six weeks before the finished product can be consumed. Because of that, members of the group will have some home brews made beforehand available for sampling at the demonstration, Absten said.
He said the group will check IDs to ensure that everyone sampling the beer is of legal drinking age.
Absten believes the demonstration will help get more people in the area into home brewing. Home brewing can help people come to appreciate many different styles of beer that aren’t available in the area.
Absten is a local attorney who used to live in Pittsburgh, which is known for having many quality beers available.
He found it difficult to find a palatable drink when he moved back to the Mountain State.
That was when he got into home brewing.
Absten believes that it will be easier to get locals into home brewing if they can see the process take place right before their eyes.
“We want to show people how easy it really is to home brew,” he said.
The demonstration will take about three hours, Absten said.
Absten added that many home brewing associations around the country will be holding events on National Home Brewing Day May 4.
Contact writer Paul Fallon at paul.fal…@dailymail.com or 304-348-4817. Follow him at www.twitter.com/PaulBFallon.
