A Culture of Brewing
A Brewing Culture
The great appeal about home brewing is that it's more than just a hobby, it's a century's old tradition and culture with its own history and language. People have been brewing beer at home for about seven thousand years, and those old guys have got your back. We stand on the shoulders of the brewers who have gone before us.
The success of a show like "Cheers" in part plays to the fact that people really have been finding comfort and friendship in the fun and relaxing atmosphere of a good neighborhood pub or bar since "stopping off for a cold one" meant taking a dip from the communal bucket using your personal drinking cup. It's not an over statement to say that important moments in human history were hashed out by our founding fathers over a beer.
While our love of beer has been a steady part of human culture, the art of making beer has also had a special appeal to those who have heard its call through the generations. Due to the advent of inexpensive and easily accessible equipment, home brewing has seen a recent revival and local home brewing clubs and associations can be found in all states. This popularity is in no small part due to the fact that today's home brewed beers very often are far better than anything you can get from a commercial brewery. The recent success of local brew pubs is really nothing more than the revival of a centuries old business model that works because it speaks to basic human nature.
One common feature of the most successful home brewers is their immersion into the social culture of home brewers who get together to share their triumphs and tribulations.
Many a lifelong friendship has been found in the brotherhood of brewers. Beginning brewers will often run into problems and having a friend to call or consult with online can make a big difference in their success.
Today, the number of home brewers is growing fast and this trend towards beers with more character has definitely got the major commercial brewers concerned. This preference for richer flavored beers is actually more in line with traditional British beer consumption where pubs are part of the fabric of life and locally produced keg beers are the norm.
Besides the simple fact that home brewing is fun, one of the biggest reasons people like to brew their own beer is not only do you have control over the flavor of your beer but also the consistency and certainly the alcohol levels. You can also experiment with the different styles of beers produced by different brewing techniques. Home brewers tend to focus on flavor, color, and "kick" and they are always looking make the next batch better then the last. And of course, nothing matches the satisfaction of relaxing after a brewing session with a big glass from the batch you made last month.
The Home Brewing Family
No matter what level of involvement in home brewing you're at, you will find there are thousands of people willing to share their enthusiasm with you for this fun hobby. Most brewing supply shops sponsor home brewing clubs and even if you're unlucky enough to live in an area with no local clubs, there are thousands of websites and hundreds of forums on the internet devoted to home brewing and to helping each other in any way they can. Homemade beer competitions are also a great way to challenge yourself and to participate in the community of home brewers. Who knows, maybe there's a blue ribbon in your future!
Above all, brewing beer at home is about having fun and getting excited about a new recipe or a new technique or a new piece of equipment is all part of the fun and sharing that excitement with your fellow enthusiasts makes it even better.
So let's get together and have fun making great beer and making new friends and above all let's share our knowledge as we share our beer with others. Beer has never been just a drink. Since the dawn of brewing, beer has been about good times with good people in an atmosphere of fun and friendship.
