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.
4 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.