What is Homebrewing?

 

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"Brewers enjoy working to make beer as much as drinking beer instead of working."
-Harold Rudolph

Homebrewing refers to the making of beer or similar alcoholic beverages for personal consumption, free distribution at social gatherings, amateur brewing competitions or other non-commercial reasons. The main thing needed to homebrew is patience. The brewing process, depending on the style of beer, can take anywhere from two weeks to several months or even years. Most homebrewers typically brew in batches of 5 gallons but there are some enthusiasts that brew beer in far larger quantities than the typical 5 gallon batch. When you get hooked on homebrewing you will probably find that several batches in different stages of completion are necessary to ensure a ready supply.

People homebrew for a variety of reasons; homebrewed beer can be cheaper than commercially equivalent brews, however most homebrewers eventually customize their recipes to their own tastes, which tends to be more expensive. If you are a fan of bitter beer, you can hop your beer far beyond what would normally be considered excessive. Move over Sam Adams! Dark beer enthusiasts can create beers, such as Russian Imperial Stout or Porter, that are the complete opposite of the paler style that is commercially dominant, particularly in the US.

Additionally, homebrewers are able to create specialty beers that are either extremely rare or entirely unavailable on the open market. Moreover, homebrewers have complete control over the amount of alcohol produced (based on the amount of fermentables placed into the wort), allowing for the production of beers containing very low amounts of alcohol or very high amounts of alcohol.

Some homebrewers strive for perfection of specific styles of beer and enter their products in competitions. Others simply brew to have styles of beer on hand to drink and share that are otherwise commercially unavailable.

One of greatest draws of homebrewed beer is the opportunity to enjoy beer that is 'live'. Since almost every beer available is pasteurized, it is almost impossible for the average beer drinker to enjoy beer in its natural state. Pasteurization requires the beer to be cooked, which results in the disappearance of any carbonation. Commercial brewers collect the boiled off alcohol, mix it with the pasteurized beer and force carbonate the brew. The disadvantage of this is the fact that all of the yeast is killed in the process. Therefore, the beer tastes considerably dissimilar from ‘live’ beer (that is, beer containing live yeast). Moreover, the beer will not age without live yeast. Homebrew is never pasteurized producing a more natural flavor, and the beer will age, changing in taste, texture and color over time.

Many homebrewing related articles and books mistakenly claim that, in 1978, President Jimmy Carter signed into law a bill explicitly allowing home beer and winemaking, which was at the time illegal as a holdover from the prohibition of alcoholic beverages (repealed in 1933). In fact, the U.S. Congress passed an Act in 1978 exempting a certain amount of beer brewed for personal or family use from taxation. President Carter signed the Act, which addressed other issues as well.

States remain free to restrict, or even prohibit, the manufacture of beer, mead, hard cider, wine and other alcoholic beverages at home. However, most states permit homebrewing, allowing 100 gallons of beer per person over the age of 21 per household, up to a maximum of 200 gallons per year. Because alcohol is taxed by the federal governments via excise taxes, homebrewers are restricted from selling any beer they brew. This similarly applies in most Western countries.