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INQUISITIVE AND EXPERIMENTAL
Finding Reasons to Homebrew
By Tim Atwell
“Beermaking is about life and living it well,” wrote Charlie Papazian, the nuclear engineer turned homebrew legend who inspired countless up-and-coming beermakers with his guide, The Complete Joy of Home Brewing. “There are few things more satisfying in the world than to be involved with instilling a sense of discovery, happiness, and satisfaction in others. This is what homebrewing does.”
Homebrewing has evolved dramatically since the first printing of Papazian’s book in 1984. The first publishing occurred only five years after homebrewing was legalized in the U.S., when the government revisited a ban that had been in place since prohibition. In the 80s, the U.S. beer industry was dominated by light lagers from large, national breweries like Ansheuser-Busch, Miller, and Coors.
For Papazian and like-minded compatriots, homebrewing was an opportunity to venture into the vast, uncharted territory of craft beer. Recognizing an opportunity to improve the American beer scene, Papazian turned his engineering focus to discover the best way for a person at home to make their own versions of classic beers like English brown ales, German Oktoberfest beers, and Irish stouts.
Now, craft breweries have stepped in to satisfy the curious palettes of craft beer aficionados (especially those that enjoy IPAs). There are more than 80 breweries in Idaho, with dozens of options in the Treasure Valley alone. When it’s almost as easy to find good craft beer as it is to find a Starbucks, the question arises: Why is anyone still homebrewing?
“Homebrewers tend to be inquisitive and experimental. They usually have an interest in engineering, or they usually have some culinary interests, or they just have an interest in fiddling around with things,” said Jeremy Jones, assistant manager at Home Brew Stuff in Garden City. “And obviously, they have an interest in beer.”
While there remains a stalwart interest in beer, many homebrewers have begun shifting their attention to beverages they can make using ingredients from local farms and orchards.
“Idaho has so much agriculture, we have so many fruit trees and things like that. And if you’re a good beer brewer, you can make wine,” said Rich Burns, owner of Brewer’s Haven on the Boise Bench. “I sell as much for wine making as for beer. There’s a big push for mead. And a lot of people are making sake.”
Interest in homebrewing peaked in the early days of the pandemic, when people were spending more time than usual at home. Since then, the market has cooled, but Burns and Jones both expect the community to continue to grow over time. As long as people enjoy beer, wine, and any other type of alcohol, there will be people curious to try their hand at making it themselves.
“These things go on a cycle, and the cohort that is interested in homebrewing tends to skew older,” said Jones. “As they grow up, their kids or grandkids start poking around at what they were up to in the backyard. I would not be surprised to see a surge of interest just from the nostalgia, or wanting to connect a little bit more with their family.”
