One of my NY resolutions is to brew smaller batches more often and enter a few competitions. Starting now; heating mash water for an imperial oatmeal stout. I may or may not throw in a few coffee beans when fermentation is complete. Still loving my electric all in one. Shorter brew days and easier cleanup. Still working on starting water volumes but getting there.
Given the lack of activity on the Homebrewing forum over the past couple/few years, it will be interesting to see how much participation will occur in this thread. In a few days I will be homebrewing my reconstruction of the original Michelob beer of 1896. I have a Bohemian (Czech) Pilsner in the primary right now and I will be transferring that beer to the lagering vessel in about 5 days. My most recent batch is an Altbier (Sticke version) which is bottle conditioning right now. All of the above are 5 gallon batches. I received a shipment of ingredients a couple days ago for upcoming batches: Czech Dark Lager and Classic American Pilsner. Cheers to homebrewing!
Well, homebrewing has historically picked up when the economy falters so we may see a renaissance. When times are good many of us are too busy and things get put aside.
I hope you are correct here! The AHA membership numbers have declined over the past few years and they had to cancel their annual conference for the past two years. My local LHBS is not very local to me but I will go there when I have other reasons to be in that area. During my last visit I spoke to the owner on how things were going and she responded (with a rather pensive look) that they are keeping their heads above water for the moment. That store won the AHA award for Homebrew Shop of the Year. I have my fingers crossed that this might drive a bit more business their way. I would shop there more but combining the amount of gas and toll money to get there...I just can't justify it. Cheers! Edit: My LHBS which was local to me closed up.
I think the AHA is separate from homebrewing at large. When I started brewing Zumurgy was really the only information source. Now there are more online resources than anyone can possibly read. And LHBS are suffering the same fate as all the small businesses extinguished by Amazon.
The membership of AHA is the only metric (i.e., number of people) that I am aware of to characterize the level of homebrewing activity. Do you have an alternative source of information for a metric? On a related note, a decade ago there was waaay more activity on the homebrewing forum here. Nowadays this forum is almost 'silent'. Is that an indicator? Cheers!
Well, my metric at the moment would probably be total sales at all homebrew suppliers, but it is a very hard target to nail down. A slightly scarier interpretation occurred to me because my BA page is covered with ads for AARP today. We are all getting older, and I think maybe the next generation is just not embracing homebrewing. Partly because you can walk into a store and have such a wide selection - ironically due to the craft brew revolution that was initiated by homebrewers. Did we kill our hobby? The pendulum may swing though. The IPA shelf takeover has restricted choice just as BMC did 50 years ago. I'm almost exclusively brewing styles that I can't find on the shelves, or cost megabucks per very old 12oz bottle. If I want an IPA I'll generally just buy one. No hopheads in my household and I can't drink a batch before it goes stale.
I have no financial figures to share with you but at my so called LHBS, which is the AHA Homebrew Shop of the Year, they are not currently having a brisk business. If viewing the people who attend Homebrew Con conferences, when they occcured in the past, homebrewing was very much a hobby for old(er) folks. And in Zymurgy article which feature homebrew clubs there are photos of lots of folks with gray hair. I think this indicates a 'maturing' aspect to homebrewing. I still a homebrew a few (3-4) batches of hoppy beers (e.g., IPAs, DIPAs, APAs) a year but as you can read in post #2 I also homebrew lots of non-hoppy Pale Ales as well. Including beer styles that you just can't buy (e.g., 1896 Michelob, Sticke Altbier,...). As I mentioned in post #4 I hope your wish for a renaissance comes true. I did reach out to the AHA to see if I could be helpful but I am not part of the 'clique' so that went nowhere. They say if you aren't part of the solution you are part of the problem but if folks want to be insular here... Cheers!
My goal is to brew at least two beers. Last decade has just not been high on output since most of my drinking buddies have resided 400 miles away. Thinking probably a lager in late winter / early spring and maybe make a Belgian or Barleywine type thing ahead of winter.
At the 2002 VT Brewers Festival we spotted Bernie taking an evening walk along the rec path. Went over to say hi across the fence and he asked what we were drinking. We slipped him a taste; illegal, but it was Bernie... That fest was also memorable for the dog we brought with us, a very friendly Siberian Husky. Everyone wanted to say hello, and she stole sips of their beers while they were petting her.
When all the shops around me closed, the spontaneous brewing took a hit. I've cut back a lot; but, have never gone a full calendar year with no batches since I started over 20 years ago. This past fall I upgraded my mash and boil kettles and have already done an imperial pilsner. I'm hoping for a better 2026.
Have not pulled out a map and compass but I'm fairly sure that there are no longer any shops within a 2 hour drive from me.
The plan is to brew a several 10 gallon batches of favorite lager styles and let those lager until we get back from our Spring trip to NM. The Homebrewing boom is over. Many of the LHBS in SE MI have closed. The closest ones to me are an hour drive away. Online orders from them or other Internet shops is how I'm getting ingredients. The AHA is now independent of the BA. I'm looking forward to a reconstituted HomebrewCon in Asheville NC in June. It will be smaller and hopefully break even. The last several HomebrewCon's lost money, as attendance was down.
Permit me to recommend Wyeast 3787 (or the White Labs equivalent WLP500) to you. This is my preferred yeast for brewing my Dubbel (I make two batches per year). I make it a point to ferment very warm (e.g., 72-73 degrees F) to encourage both the formation of esters and phenols that this yeast produces. Cheers!
Brewing a German Pils today... Estimated 5% ABV, 30 IBU give or take with Hallertau Magnum, Perle, Spalt and Mittelfruh. W-34/70.
Brewing a robust porter today. Using WLP004 Irish Ale yeast. Going to add in 14 oz of molasses at flame out. Using a Brewers Edge Mash and Boil. Projected mash size 5 gallons.
Currently have a Porter fermenting. First time using WY1028. Been chugging away since Sunday morning. Going to soak some oak chips in Elijah Craig and add them to mimic barrel aging after ferm. Cheers
