Home Brewing

A Brief History of Home Brewing By Jack Potter

Anybody can go to the local grocery store and buy six pack of beer of their choosing, but it takes real dedication to learn how to brew and enjoy your own homemade beer. 7,000 years ago, when it is estimated that alcohol was first discovered and brewed, most people had no choice but to brew in their own home. Eventually, commercial breweries changed that when they learned how to mass produce beer for consumption. Still, even though commercial breweries exist and beer is easy to obtain, home brewing is still practiced today by connoisseurs and hobbyists.

In the 1800's, once commercial breweries began to take root, home brewing was heavily taxed in an effort to bring more profits to the breweries. Eventually, prohibition came about and banned all forms of alcohol, again making home brewing the only way to obtain it. Although the practice was risky, it was very popular until 1933, when the prohibition was lifted because of how it enabled organized crime and beer smuggling cartels. Although wine was the first alcohol that was again legalized in the United States, it took several more decades for beer brewing to be made legal again due to an error in the way the law was written.

Now, commercial breweries have forged their way into the fabric of Western society and although home brewing is legal and still practiced, it is far less practical than it used to be. Most home brewing has been left to the beer "snobs" and fanatics that find pleasure in creating their own recipes. Some swear that no commercial beer can compare with the taste of a home brewed beer, but because of the material cost and the time necessary to prepare a home brew, most do not take the time and/or effort to do so.

However, one popular trend that has emerged from the home brewing crowd is the "micro brew," which is somewhat of a hybrid between the home brewing elite and the commercial breweries. Micro brew is generally practiced extensively in the United States and is often sold at smaller micro breweries and pubs. Although micro brews are more expensive than traditional commercial beers, they are widely popular because of the unique taste and quality of the brew, which is something that a mass produced beer cannot duplicate.

Home brewed cider is also a popular trend in home brewing because it is much easier to create and is often more potent. For those that prefer a sweet alcohol to that of a lager or stout, cider offers a perfect alternative.

Although home brewing has generally declined over the past several years, there has recently been a rise in the practice because of the ease of obtaining materials and ingredients. Readymade home brewing kits and instruction and materials have tremendously reduced the learning curve required to brew your own beer. Typically, a home brewed beer can be produced in 6-8 weeks depending on the type of beer and equipment used.