The lure of homebrewed beer continues to draw new adherents

Modern Brewery Age, August 29, 1994

More than two years have passed since Tor Mohling brewed his first batch of beer. Since then, he has made cases and cases of the stuff.

He makes an event of it, enlisting friends to stir the bubbling wort (that infusion of malt and simple sugars that will ferment into beer) and experimenting with every batch, always trying some new spice or flavor or grain. The brews have ranged from raspberry wheat to cinnamon and clove to his own favorite, imperial stout.

"Once I started doing it, it was a landslide," says Mohling, a graduate student and former brewer for a local brewery. "It fills the kitchen with great smells, it's satisfying, and you end up with your own beer."

Mohling may not fit the profile of the average home-brewer, which the American Homebrewers Association in Boulder describes as about age 35, has an annual income of $57,000, and has been brewing for 4.75 years. But he is in on a hobby that is rapidly gaining popularity.

In the past five years, Americans have become obsessed with expensive, personality beers. As a result of people wanting to try their hands at the art or wanting to save money, the home-brew industry has experienced 20 percent to 35 percent growth each year, according to the 20,000-member AHA.

"Home-brewing definitely picked up about five years ago," says Walt Dudley, an employee at Denver's Wine & Hop Shop. "It's become really trendy and a lot of people have gotten into it. Home-brew stores are popping up all over."

The basic starter kit, which includes makings for the first two cases of beer, runs about $50 to $60. Subsequent batches cost about $20 for two cases--much cheaper than premium beer at the liquor store.

Trowbridge says she is a "beer snob." Her favorite beer costs $11 a six-pack at the liquor store.

"You do it (home-brewing) to kind of support your habits," she says.

The store sponsors a club, one of about 400 nationwide, providing an arena for competitive tasting. The get-togethers range from a once-a-month meeting of groups with names like "The Unfermentables" to a full-scale, seven-day, national home-brewing conference called "BrewStorm '94." This year's event, which was held June 19-25 in Denver, drew more than 3,000 entries in its competition.

When asked where an aspiring novice home-brewer should begin, Trowbridge heads straight for the cookbook rack and holds up what she calls "the bible of home-brewing," Charlie Papazian's "The New Complete Joy of Home Brewing."

The book helps, but most home-brewers shyly compare horror stories of batches gone bad. Timing, temperature, bacteria and the gods of fermentation are all variables that can combine to produce ill-tasting brews.