Home brewing has become something of a phenomenon in the last few years, and to see why, one only has to look at where it came from.
Think back to the beer you saw your father drinking when you were child.
I remember my father had his favourite (he still does) and he stuck to it.
There really wasn't a great deal of choice available to him.
There was the one he liked, and two similar and equally popular brands.
There was the one our nation is famous for, but strangely enough no one here drank.
For the rich folk, there was that classy looking beer with the gold label, and for the pretentious, there was a small selection of imported beers.
Beer was a tradition, passed down from father to son, and was chosen more for family loyalty than for actual preference.
It was set in stone.
Was.
I can't remember when it happened, perhaps gradually, but one day, during a trip to the liquor store I found myself staring at a whole wall of beer.
It was foreign and unfamiliar and I loved it immediately.
I set about trying as many as I could, and to my surprise, the difference between them was astounding.
Craft Beer was here.
Gone were the days of old, the days of few choices, and even fewer flavours.
Beer Drinkers everywhere were spoilt for choice.
If one liked their beer dry and crisp, there was a whole range of Lagers and Pilsners available.
If floral and hoppy was the flavour of choice, the Pale Ale range was it.
Dark and smokey? Plenty of stouts to choose from.
I believe that the surge in home brewing is closely related to the enormous growth in the range of beer available to us, and is actually partly responsible for it.
Here's why.
The people brewing all these fantastic flavoursome craft beers we enjoy so much are real enthusiasts who have decided to make a living out of doing something they love.
The pride they take and the care they have for the finished product was there before the profit margin was calculated.
Where did they start? No doubt many started with a micro brewery in their own home.
These Pioneers fearlessly went forth and carved their niche out of a market which for so long was dominated by two or three major breweries.
This in turn has had the effect of feeding the industry it came from, and igniting a while new flame under the feet of people everywhere, inspiring them to get involved and create a beer of their own.
Thus, home brewing is alive and in full swing again.
Home Brewing was a fickle hobby for so long, full of set backs like infected beers and exploding bottles.
The growth of the industry has seen huge improvements in supplies such as sanitising and cleaning solutions.
No more chlorine based or sodium meta be-sulphate sanitisers to poison the yeast, or bacterial infections to spoil the beer.
These out-dated products have given way to a new style of no rinse chemicals.
The yeast itself has come along way.
Gone are the days of "one size fits all" yeast sachets and born is a new era; a brewer can use safale or saflager yeast to brew authentic ales and lagers.
Limited only by their imagination, one can brew whatever they want these days.
The range of hops available to us is enormous, with most specialty shops stocking dozens of different varieties at least.
By combining different hops and different malts, one can mimic their favourite styles or create something new.
If a new home brewer is serious about getting some fantastic results from their labours, a good rapport with a specialist home brew shop is an enormous advantage.
Without the range of products and the knowledge available in such an establishment, a new brewer is not taking advantage of the developments made possible by the courageous men and women who stepped out of the mainstream and brought about this new era.
A budding home brewer must be careful with the information they choose to follow, as the Internet is saturated with conflicting titbits, therefore paying for solid information is sometimes a better option.
Each batch brewed has a turn around of 6 - 8 weeks and really only requires a few hours of solid labour and two weeks of care while it ferments.
The benefits far outweigh this small toil.
The money you save will be nice bonus, as you can brew a lovely beer for as little as twenty to thirty cents per serve, and the compliments you receive won't hurt either.
This isn't as important as the process itself, or the fact that you enjoy what you are doing, and the fruit of your labour.
With family and friends...
or by yourself.
What have you got to lose? Besides your weekly trip to liquor store? Give it a shot.
Think back to the beer you saw your father drinking when you were child.
I remember my father had his favourite (he still does) and he stuck to it.
There really wasn't a great deal of choice available to him.
There was the one he liked, and two similar and equally popular brands.
There was the one our nation is famous for, but strangely enough no one here drank.
For the rich folk, there was that classy looking beer with the gold label, and for the pretentious, there was a small selection of imported beers.
Beer was a tradition, passed down from father to son, and was chosen more for family loyalty than for actual preference.
It was set in stone.
Was.
I can't remember when it happened, perhaps gradually, but one day, during a trip to the liquor store I found myself staring at a whole wall of beer.
It was foreign and unfamiliar and I loved it immediately.
I set about trying as many as I could, and to my surprise, the difference between them was astounding.
Craft Beer was here.
Gone were the days of old, the days of few choices, and even fewer flavours.
Beer Drinkers everywhere were spoilt for choice.
If one liked their beer dry and crisp, there was a whole range of Lagers and Pilsners available.
If floral and hoppy was the flavour of choice, the Pale Ale range was it.
Dark and smokey? Plenty of stouts to choose from.
I believe that the surge in home brewing is closely related to the enormous growth in the range of beer available to us, and is actually partly responsible for it.
Here's why.
The people brewing all these fantastic flavoursome craft beers we enjoy so much are real enthusiasts who have decided to make a living out of doing something they love.
The pride they take and the care they have for the finished product was there before the profit margin was calculated.
Where did they start? No doubt many started with a micro brewery in their own home.
These Pioneers fearlessly went forth and carved their niche out of a market which for so long was dominated by two or three major breweries.
This in turn has had the effect of feeding the industry it came from, and igniting a while new flame under the feet of people everywhere, inspiring them to get involved and create a beer of their own.
Thus, home brewing is alive and in full swing again.
Home Brewing was a fickle hobby for so long, full of set backs like infected beers and exploding bottles.
The growth of the industry has seen huge improvements in supplies such as sanitising and cleaning solutions.
No more chlorine based or sodium meta be-sulphate sanitisers to poison the yeast, or bacterial infections to spoil the beer.
These out-dated products have given way to a new style of no rinse chemicals.
The yeast itself has come along way.
Gone are the days of "one size fits all" yeast sachets and born is a new era; a brewer can use safale or saflager yeast to brew authentic ales and lagers.
Limited only by their imagination, one can brew whatever they want these days.
The range of hops available to us is enormous, with most specialty shops stocking dozens of different varieties at least.
By combining different hops and different malts, one can mimic their favourite styles or create something new.
If a new home brewer is serious about getting some fantastic results from their labours, a good rapport with a specialist home brew shop is an enormous advantage.
Without the range of products and the knowledge available in such an establishment, a new brewer is not taking advantage of the developments made possible by the courageous men and women who stepped out of the mainstream and brought about this new era.
A budding home brewer must be careful with the information they choose to follow, as the Internet is saturated with conflicting titbits, therefore paying for solid information is sometimes a better option.
Each batch brewed has a turn around of 6 - 8 weeks and really only requires a few hours of solid labour and two weeks of care while it ferments.
The benefits far outweigh this small toil.
The money you save will be nice bonus, as you can brew a lovely beer for as little as twenty to thirty cents per serve, and the compliments you receive won't hurt either.
This isn't as important as the process itself, or the fact that you enjoy what you are doing, and the fruit of your labour.
With family and friends...
or by yourself.
What have you got to lose? Besides your weekly trip to liquor store? Give it a shot.
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