Homebrew shop sees decline in homebrewing, growth in wine kits

Modern Brewery Age, Feb 7, 2005

AP--Plentiful supplies of good beer almost tapped out the home brewing trend five years ago, but wine and women saved Mr. Steve's Homebrew Supplies in Manchester, PA.

The home brewing hobby led to the resurgence of commercially available higher quality beers in America in early 1990s. At one point it seemed like everybody and his brother was opening a brew pub or micro-brewery, said Steve Stoppard, who owns his York County shop with his wife, Christi.

Suddenly the national market was saturated with the likes of Pete's Wicked Ale and Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, and Pennsylvanians could enjoy beers by the Appalachian Brewing Co. and Troegs Brewing of Harrisburg, and Stoudt's Brewing and Lancaster Malt Brewing in Lancaster County.

"Then people didn't have to brew their own," Stoppard said. By 2000, sales at Mr. Steve's had gone flat. The number of homebrew supplies stores in the U.S. has dwindled from a high of almost 1,000 to about 500, according to the Brewers Association industry group.

But innovative products and a new breed of customer got rid of the industry's hangover. In 2004, sales at Mr. Steve's were up 15 percent, thanks largely to a growing trade in winemaking supplies.

When the Stoppards opened their shop in 1993, almost 90 percent of their sales were of beer-making supplies--and almost all were to men. Last year, sales were evenly split between wine and beer kits, and the ladies had joined the party.

One wall of Mr. Steve's is lined with boxes filled with grape juice and other ingredients used to make wine. The juices come from California, France, Italy and other wine regions. "You're getting the real deal," Stoppard said, "not cheap juices."

In years past, you almost had to be a chemist to make your own wine, but the manufacturers have greatly simplified the process. "You can take someone who doesn't know anything about making wine and in about 20 minutes we can show them how to make (the equivalent of) a $10 to $15 bottle of wine," Stoppard said.

Manufacturers of beer-making supplies have done their homework, too, Stoppard said. New methods have reduced the "kitchen time" for home brewers, making it more attractive for those who don't have an hour or more to stand around boiling barley.

Something else made home brewing more attractive: higher taxes at the beer distributor, Stoppard said. "Last year we saw a tremendous increase in new brewers," he said. "What I'm hearing more and more is it's the high cost of beer."

Home brewers can make a batch for half the cost of many commercially made beers, he said.

But Stoppard said there aren't enough sales to make the home-brew shop a full-time job for him. He has a day job in the local parks department, and comes to the shop six nights a week. "For the last 12 years I've been working 70 to 80 hours a week," he said. "A lot of people aren't willing to do that."