What You Can Learn in Homebrew Shops

There are many homebrew shops around the country and if you have the chance to visit one we advise you to do so. When you don't have the opportunity to visit one in real life you can also find them online. And these online homebrew shops are also a great source of knowledge. But what are the things you can learn at these shops?

You can find enthusiastic brewers at homebrew shops.

Most of the homebrew shops sell supplies and ingredients but they also offer a place to gain knowledge from other home brewers. Almost all shop owners brew themselves, have a homebrewery on the side and most know all the ins and outs of the home brewing process. They often have small production facilities and most like to show it to you and explain how they work. The online homebrew shops often have pictures and even video's online to show you how they do it and sometimes they have have video's of the whole brewing process.

Professionals on a small scale

Most owners of homebrew shops started just like you, they bought a home brewing kit or received one as a gift and just started doing it. They gained more experience and started with brewing special blends for friends and friends from friends and before they knew they had a licensed microbrewery and started their (online) homebrew shops. They will remember the time when they were just starting to brew and most of them are more than willing to help out and give advice.

Quality is in the numbers

You might think that the best ingredients can be bought at local homebrew shops but most of the time it is better to buy ingredients online. Local homebrew shops need to buy at a large scale and sometimes the ingredients don't get sold quick enough and the ingredients are not as fresh as you would like. Most online homebrew shops don't have stock they deliver direct from the producer this means you get super fresh ingredients and especially with hops that is very important.

Most home brewers will tell you that the taste is all in the hops, and they are pretty accurate with that assumption Because unprocessed hops dry fairly quickly and can turn the taste of the brew almost rancid, almost all local homebrew shops sell pellets or plugs, this will have a much longer shelf life. It is important that all your ingredients are as fresh as you can get.

History lessons at your homebrew shops

The process of homebrewing works has basically remained unchanged for hundreds of years. And may be the brewing equipment is more modern today the old brewing methods have remained the same. Most homebrew shops have a small section with some historical knowledge because of the Prohibition of Alcohol in the United States between 1920 and 1933. Home beer brewing was left out until a new law was passed in 1978. And even now you are only allowed to produce 100 gallons per year for every adult over 21 in the household, with a maximum of 200 gallons a year allowed by law. If you want to brew more you need a license and the owners of homebrew shops can tell you all about that because the need to have one themselves.

The author of this article, Peter Waterman, writes on his website HomeBeerMakers .com about his greatest hobby, making his own beer. Read his articles about home brewing system and Homebrew Ingredients.