Wednesday, October 31, 2007

How Many Homebrewers Are Out There?

I pose this question not as a survey, though you're welcome to comment and share information, but rather as the rhetorical thought that popped into my head when some friends and I were contemplating a homebrew club in our little town.

As it turns out, a lot.

The inaugural meeting of our Indiana Homebrewers Club met last Tuesday at The Coney here in Indiana. Other than word of mouth and a few fliers posted at perhaps two establishments in town, we had done no real advertising. Despite that, the attendance was amazing.

Most people had done some brewing, a few had not yet brewed. The majority were doing extract, and a few of us are familiar with partial mash and all-grain. There seemed to be a current of excitement in the room as people mingled and met fellow enthusiasts; almost a bit cathartic to find out that "hey, I'm not the only person who likes to homebrew".

Our first 'regular' meeting will be in a few weeks, and one of our more experienced brewers is going to give a presentation on the basics of extract brewing. Several of us are going to bring six-packs of homebrew to share at a small tasting.

I hope that attendance will keep around this level, and that we can craft a club that meets everyones needs. It promises to be quite an adventure.

PS - don't forget that this coming Saturday is Teach A Friend to Brew Day!

2 comments:

Adam said...

I think your right. THere are more than you think. I'm surprised how many people "know somebody" who brews beer.

Ted Danyluk said...

This is good to hear. Way to go...bringing brewers together.

Here in Chicago, in the past year, and since blogging, I have also come across many relatively new home brewers. And then some who brewed years ago, and are out of it.

I'd like to start up a club for brewers interested in sharing higher-end equipment, storing aging beers, lagering capacity, and perhaps bulk ingredient storage.

All of these things can help bring the cost of brewing way down, and provide the means to produce the best beer possible.

By what you write here, it looks like it could be a good possibility.

Thanks to adam, I'm a newcomer to your site. I look forward to becoming a regular. Thanks.