Homebrewing, a hobby that’s becoming more and more professional

Over the last thirty years, the history of beer as a hobby has taken over the kitchens and garages of more and more homes in Spain. Homebrewing has spread among beer enthusiasts. Many homebrewers started out brewing with just a few pots and a stirring ladle. Today, all that has changed. Homebrewing has evolved. There is now better equipment, quality raw materials, and training. The result of this development is the professionalization of homebrewers, who are creating the best craft beers.

Most small breweries—if not all—have been launched by a brewer who started out as a homebrewer. Other beer enthusiasts have chosen to open businesses such as beer bars, brewpubs, shops and distributors.

In Spain, the Spanish Homebrewers Association (ACCE) was founded in 2009 to resolve the uncertainty that had existed up to that point around homebrewing. On its official website, the association explains that its goals are “to promote home and craft beer brewing, to foster a quality beer culture committed to style diversity, history and the quality of raw materials, the benefits of beer, as well as to develop activities related to our hobby.”

It is no coincidence that five years later, in 2014, the Spanish Association of Independent Craft Brewers (AECAI) was founded. We can see that the number of microbreweries increased by 1,600% between 2008 and 2015. This trend is a sign of the evolution that homebrewers have undergone as they opened their own breweries. In recent years, many homebrewers have created companies—the origin of craft beer. Homebrewers have become professionals.

Homebrewing hasn’t been driven solely by the ACCE. Brewing beer at home cannot be understood without the digital community and all the content users create around this hobby. Blogs such as HomeBrewer.es, Cerveza Rudimentaria, Hanselbier and BirroCracia, among others, are a source of knowledge and up-to-date information. As for video tutorials, there is “Día de la Cerveza” on YouTube, one of the most-followed channels on how to brew beer at home.

Likewise, we should highlight the book “Craft Beer: How to Brew Beer at Home” published by Albert Tintó, Francisco Sánchez, Jose Manuel Vidal and Pablo Vijande in 2004, five years before the ACCE was founded. It may be one of the most widely read homebrewing manuals in Spain. With this work, the authors were quick to respond to the new beer trends.

Nowadays, there is no shortage of shops and breweries offering courses and workshops to learn how to brew beer at home. The market is responding to a growing and increasingly professional demand. When it comes to beer ingredients, it’s now easy to get the most extraordinary hops, malts and yeasts, either from homebrew shops or via e-commerce.

In fact, this professionalization has led many breweries to work with homebrewers to produce their recipes. It’s a new line of business. This is the seed of what is known as gypsy or nomadic brewing: brewers without their own facilities who produce in other breweries’ plants.

Nowadays, homebrewing offers unlimited possibilities for turning a hobby into a profession. The trend is towards progress. Homebrewers can turn their passion into a job or even a business, and those who decide to stay at home have the resources they need to brew the best beer in the world in their garage or kitchen, always seeking the best craft beer ingredients and the benefits of beer.