Compared to just a few years ago, it seems the hobby of brewing beer at home is twirling the drain. What killed it? That’s the question we posed to Cat Pearce, former General Manager of one of the many homebrew stores that have sadly closed its doors recently.
13 thoughts on “The Brülosophy Show: HOMEBREWING IS DEAD. What Killed It?”
Based on my experience (I’m 69), another factor is the sexism in homebrewing culture. Fortunately, many women ignored that and excelled at homebrewing.
I agree online sales hurt local homebrew supply stores. For me, it was a conscious choice after getting flim-flammed too many times at my local shop in Baltimore.
The rise of CBD seltzers is another factor in the decline in homebrewing, as is the availability of legal cannabis in many states. People spend more time crafting their buzz, and sometimes alcohol takes a back seat, or is kicked to the curb entirely.
Left x Right polarized polítics has pushed people that think different appart, a lot of intolerance has surfaced and beer took the back seat. To deny this shows exactly why we could not deal with this situation.
Which is why our club doesn’t allow any political discussions at our official functions. We only make an exception for beer-related legislation.
Maybe snarky and salacious drive-by quips turn people away from the culture. I’ve been involved in the hobby on a steady basis for nearly 8 years now, and I’ve encountered plenty of people from all walks of life who love craft beer, and who brew it. I’ve never seen anyone ‘misbehave’ towards anyone else in any remote fashion that would discourage anyone from starting or continuing brewing. If the surveys each year on this site are truly representative, and yes, that means mostly men do the brewing, and the hobby is decreasing, then it isn’t sexism, because that means less *men* are brewing.
But I do think you’re on to something with the CBD angle. I’ll add that while BIAB (which I started with, and still use) made the hobby much more accessible than it would have been otherwise, I think the rise of all-in-one electric systems, has inadvertently set a higher *perceived* bar for entry at least with respect to price. I’m firmly convinced, simple extracts and partial-steep batches on the stovetop are the best gateway for people who no little or nothing about what is involved in making beer.
Personally, I haven’t brewed for myself in well over a year. (I have brewed for festivals and demos where our club is involved, and I’ve been to countless brewdays of friends) That’s because I have other priorities that took over at the moment. I fully intend to get back to it, but simply do not have the time at the moment. I’ve seen folks leave our club and the hobby, usually about the time they start having kids or change jobs. I don’t think anyone will be able to pin down anything that can be ‘acted upon’ to spur the hobby, other than a conscious effort by clubs to be out in public (festivals and brewpubs) and make it known they exist to teach the art of brewing, and then make an effort to show newbies using the simplest and least expensive means possible.
What can’t be solved, that lots of folks are just now starting to comprehend, is that inflation was way worse than people first thought. When finally compounded over the last 5 years, prices are insanely higher for ingredients and equipment. That means hobbies, especially the non-cheap ones, will take a backseat.
I miss Atlantic Brew Supply. They were my go-to online supplier.
I homebrew because I like traditional European beers. No NE IPA or sours or smoothies and pastry stouts for me – but most craft brewers don’t make beer I want to drink. I’m no longer part of the market the craft brewers rely on.
I’ve been home brewing for close to 30 years and I don’t brew as often as I used to largely because I don’t drink nearly as often as I used to. I’ve given some thought to giving up the hobby when I reach my 200th batch – i’m about five batches away from that. Alternatively I may start brewing 2.5 gallon batches instead. As I get closer to retirement I will have to sort those plans out.
The old-time homebrewers that have perfected their craft are now owners of brewpubs. You no longer have to brew your own craft beer when you can go get a pint at your local pub.
No one has money. I’m not trying to be crazy, but, if you look at the St Louis fed website, 3 out of every 5 dollars was printed after the great recession. This CRUSHES wages and causes inflation and appreciates assets that most Americans dont have. I would love to brew my own beer and I desperately want a kegzilla and fermzilla but I just can pool the cash. I am in a traditionally “well paying” job.
Businesses that serve hobbies need to adapt and not blame their customers. Expecting customers to meet you on what you settled on rather than finding what they want is limiting. Shops that expect customers to find them in an industrial park instead of going to the people and being in an active retail space are also not taking the chance to find new customers. I have watched the homebrew shops I love die from stagnation. I had a hobby based retail business that made the same mistakes. Cheap rent means swimming up stream to get customers. People grocery shop every day. Those shopping centers always have a space that the walk by traffic could benefit a hobby shop. Be visible. There is attrition in every industry. The strong and adaptable can and will survive. It’s not the clients. It’s the supplier that does not adapt that owns the business going under.
Some really good points here, all of which are probably accurate. That first point about access to beers and then the point about changing tastes – both definitely play into the drop off. I’d be curious if the numbers are similar to pre-Covid, like 2018 and 19?
I’d just add that while I love brewing, it’s not easy. I tried many times to do those short and shotty brews from Brulosophy, and getting a batch done including prep and clean up never got below 3 hours total. I used to say that I wished there was a choice on Apple Watch for brewing because it felt like a work out. I love the hobby, and I’ve taken a break for many reasons, but I’ll get back into it.
The online homebrew giants killed off the LHBS with wider ingredient selection, ease of ordering and low delivery prices.
The online aspect is impacting all businesses.
I was seeing a drop in homebrewing and attending craft beer festivals before Covid, but I agree that Covid really did push it over the edge at an accelerated rate.
I think there is a couple things that is killing off this craft. One is that every little town across America now has a brewery, and often two. All the dive bars are now also having a couple craft taps. So it’s soooo easy to access decent beer.
The other thing that might seem controversial, but throughout history it’s mostly been wherever Germans go, brewering beer follows. And so as demographics shift, popularity of brewing beer also shifts. Obviously I’m not saying it’s only Germans, and our local homebrew club has British, Italian, Scandinavian, and others that love brewing. There isn’t any barrier of entry to homebrewing (Morebeer doesn’t ask your age/sex/race/etc..), but homebrewing does seem to be an attractive hobby for people from a certain part of Europe.
Here are some suggestions from a 58 year old who just started home brewing last year. I’m a life long technologist by trade, and in practice.
1) Find out if your target market, in this day and age, is driven by the desire to create unique craft brews, or by cost. Where I live alcohol is heavily taxed, so I got into the hobby to save money on beer and be more self sufficient. I don’t have the time or inclination to be a master brewer, but I have been able to create some decent beers that are better than popular brands. That’s good enough for me.
2) 5 gallon batches are no longer relevant. The industry needs to transition to a smaller form factor in equipment and kit size. Maybe in the 70s and 80s you’d have massive house parties after a batch was ready but it’s 2025 people! You’re brewing for yourself close family and friends. It’s really annoying having to split a Cooper’s kit in two, for example.
3) I got into the hobby with an iGulu. Simple to use pressure fermenters are the holy Grail I believe. Ones that do a little more than 1 gallon, use standard ball lock fittings and have an easy path to bottling/kegging. I now have a Speidel and do bigger batches the old fashioned way but the iGulu is indispensable, bundling temperature control and providing automatic carbonation. It’s great for doing lagers in the summer, and testing new recipes.
The model for the industry going forward needs to be more like Nespresso/Keurig in the coffee industry. Homebrew can take some market share back from craft breweries if the right type of appliance becomes available.
My LHBS was a great source of advice and was my go-to for supplies, but when their lease expired on their tiny co-tenanted shop, they couldn’t find another lease within their budget so they went online-only. At that point they were competing with the big online suppliers and so they went out of business due to higher prices and less stock availability. Many people will do a brew every now and then so they don’t want to join a club, because clubs tend to assume that the club is your only hobby. So now there’s no local informal source of advice where I live. If I was starting now I’d find it much harder for this reason.