Homebrewing On The Rise As A Hobby!

October 5, 2011

2011, General posting

I found an article while looking on the internet about how more people are home brewing. I copy and pasted it below, found it to be very interesting as well as put in my two cents.

I hope that you find it as interesting.

Results Indicate Growth, Increased Diversity

Boulder, CO • July 20, 2011—For the second consecutive year, the American Homebrewers Association (AHA) conducted a survey of homebrew supply shops. The 2011 survey, conducted in the spring, saw a dramatic increase in respondents—67 percent increase over 2010′s survey. Across the board, the results indicate that homebrewing is growing consistently, leading to a more diverse demographic of homebrewers and new shops catering to local enthusiasts.

I’ve seen this to be very true. When first opening the shop, most of the customers were from the baby boomer generation. That is not the case any more, we have all walks of life come through our door. A lot of generation X & Y.

Overall, homebrew supply shops grew 16 percent in gross revenue in 2010, which matches the previous year’s growth rate and reflects a steadily increasing demand for the ingredients and equipment needed to brew at home. Additionally, 82 percent of shops saw an increase in sales of beginner kits in 2010, another strong indicator of the growing interest in the hobby.

I can not tell you how happy it makes me to help a customer with their first beer. At Jay’s Brewing one of our most popular items that is sold is the starter kit. A

Also of note, 43 percent of retailers indicate that the most common age group for beginner equipment purchasers is those under 30., which points to homebrewing’s widening demographic. AHA Director Gary Glass explains: “Traditionally a hobby dominated by middle-aged males, the influx of younger homebrewers bodes well for the future of the pastime.” In that same vein, on an anecdotal basis, shops surveyed indicated that they saw the numbers of female homebrewers gradually ticking upwards.

This is not to big of a surprise to me, but that’s because I am in that group that they are talking about. People in there 20’s are in a generation which is about customizing and uniqueness. We started to get spoiled with ring tones then it progressed. Naturally what we drink we want to be made to our specifications. I wasn’t to surprised with women either. We have quite a few female customers, I applaud women who know what a good beer is.

With growing demand for homebrew supplies and equipment, homebrew shops are responding to the trend and benefiting from the growth. In 2010, 25 percent of shops indicated they’d been open for three years or less, showing that many new shops are springing up to meet the needs of homebrewers in underserved regions and towns.

The AHA will continue to conduct this survey annually to track industry trends and to supply retailers with data relevant to their businesses. Future surveys will incorporate suggestions from retailers on additional data they would find useful.

To me home brewing is in the up and up. Most of the findings in this article I know to be true. It makes me happy to see so many people brewing their own beer. In my humble opinion it’s one of the best hobbies out there. Your going to drink beer anyways, why not make a hobby out of it? Especially when you get into kegging it just makes it that much easier to really get into because you won’t have to clean bottles. Speaking of, I will be posting soon the biggest shortcut you can take with cleaning bottles that I’m sure will blow your mind as well as save you bundles of time.