So you’ve finally been thinking about giving homebrewing a shot. Perhaps you got a Mr. Beer set up for the holidays, or maybe you drove by a homebrew store, or perhaps you’ve just been interested about all the distinctive variations of beer that have been appearing at your local liquor store lately. If you’ve made it to this point, you’ve most likely already made up your mind that you would like to to create your own beer. Even if you haven’t made up your mind yet, here are 5 good reasons that you should start making your own beer!

1. Making Beer is an American Tradition

“Beer is living proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy.”            -Ben Franklin

Brewing is a historic tradition and has been practiced ever since our young nation was born. The Founding Fathers themselves were enthusiastic beer drinkers, and many of the ideas set forth in the US Constitution were conceived over quarts of beer at the local tavern. By making your own beer, you are voting NO to unfair taxation. Beer and other alcoholic beverages are one of the most highly taxed products in many locales of the US, but creating your own beer is 100% alcohol tax free. Aside from that, a large percentage of the raw materials such as barley and hops available to homebrewers are produced in the United states by small family farms. Because of this, creating beer supports American careers top to bottom. Farmers, truck drivers, homebrew stores, bottle makers, etc, all the way down the line.

2. Homebrewing Saves Money

In addition to cutting costs on heavily taxed pre-packaged beer, brewing beer is more budget friendly than buying it. One of the leading factors for this is delivery cost. Beer is 99% water, and every gallon of H2O weighs approximately seven lbs. A shipping trailer filled with beer is incredibly heavy, and it costs a lot to haul around. When you make your own beer at home, you provide all of the water, and for that reason are able to remove a large amount of the transportation costs. Purchasing a high quality brewing ingredient kit will usually cost about $30-$40, and will make just about 5 gallons of refreshing beer. Let’s take a quick look at the math:

5 gallons = 640 oz.

640 oz. divided by 12= around 53 bottles of beer (12 oz. bottles)

$40 divided by 53 bottles = right around .75 cents per bottle or $4.50 per six pack

If you’ve ever bought a 6 pack of top quality micro-brewed beer, you know that it’s going to cost no less than $7, if not more. Even the most inexpensive light beers have an asking price of more than $4.50 per six pack.

3. Making beer at Home is Easier Than You Think

Many people often believe that homebrewing is complicated. Because they’ve never learned about how beer is brewed, they presume that there would be voodoo enchantment and a number of intricate steps involved in the making of beer. Brewing beer is actually an exceptionally undemanding process! Essentially you make a big batch of barley tea, toss in a few hops for flavor, add yeast, kick back, and let the yeast do the rest of the work. Sound straightforward? It certainly is. Of course there is a lot of craft and nuance involved in the making of beer, but the basic process never changes.

One of the old wives tales that many people still believe is that if they mess the brewing process up somehow, that the beer will cause them to be sick (or even go blind!). In fact, both of those rumors are absolutely not true! Ale has been brewed successfully for hundreds of years, long before humans even knew what bacteria and sanitation were. In many areas of medieval Europe, beer was the only liquid consumed because it was actually SAFER than the contaminated drinking water. So if you’ve heard that brewing is difficult or hazardous, think again!

4. Crafting Beer is a Pleasurable and Addictive Hobby

There’s something that’s very awesome about sipping on a batch of homebrew that YOU crafted. Although making beer does take a little bit of work and a good amount of persistence, the finished results can’t be beat. Because of the wide variety of ingredients, yeasts, and brewing methods available, each beer is just a little bit distinctive. Like a professional chef or a starving artist, you strive to hone your craft and make the batch of homebrew consistently delicious. Having it end up exactly how you wanted it is a unique challenge, and the practice of education and perfecting makes it all the more fulfilling.

5. Brewing Will Make You a Beer Expert! (and Earn Esteem Amongst Your Friends)

OK, so perhaps you won’t turn into an authority. Not right away at least. As a fervent homebrewer myself, I can be evidence of the fact that your homies (particularly your male friends) will be in slight admiration and respect when you pour them a taster of your beer. Beer is masculine, and MAKING beer is MANLY in all caps! (There are some awesome female homebrewers that make beer as well, but the activity is by and large dominated by men)

Also, if you’re interested in learning more about beer, this is one of the best ways. By “getting beneath the hood” and seeing how it works, you’ll possess a newfound respect and admiration for well made beers. With enough practice, you may even be able to pick out individual ingredients within the beer (malt and hop varieties, candi sugars, etc) You will also be much more accustomed to problems within the beer itself. A lot of people new to the make your own beer community are astonished to discover how skunky and full of off flavors that certain brands of imported green bottle beer are.

So, if you were still on the fence about homebrewing, now you have five great reasons to get going. Get yourself over to the homebrew supply store, get some equipment and fresh ingredients, and start the path to homebrewing!

If you would like to learn more about how to make your own beer, visit my website at: http://make-your-own-beer.org

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