HBT in today's New York Times

[JonM]

Homebrewtalk is mentioned in a homebrewing article in today's NYT.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/23/garden/home-brewing-need-a-beer-hit-the-basement.html

 

[osagedr]

Very cool--great find!

 

[samc]

Good to see that he was smart enough to mention only brewing 6 times a year @ 30 gallons.

 

[Dgonza9]

I was just about to post this! It's a pretty cool article. Is that our own Kal mentioned for his electric brewery? Cool article.

 

[the_trout]

Great find, thanks for posting.

 

[JonM]

I like the photo of the guy using a hydrometer and tube. We all instantly recognize what he's doing but I'd say only a tiny fraction of the rest of the Times' readers know what's happening in that photo.

 

[Palefire]

Just saw this article! Go Kal!

 

[JJL]

I love how these guys write these articles like they were the ones who discovered that people brew beer as a hobby. Also, they act like 2011 (or 2010, or 2009, or insert year article was written here) is the year of the homebrewing renaissance and that the last 30 years have been the dark ages.

I also like the picture at the top. Some guy with a massive stainless commercial-style rig. There's nothing wrong with that. I'd love to have it. But, the author acts like this is the norm.

For many people, home brewing summons visions of beat-up equipment that is stashed in a corner of a garage, dragged out only occasionally, powered by modest propane tanks normally attached to the barbecue and yielding just a few gallons........But as the ranks of amateur brewers grow, more of them are like the Artz family, people with high-end equipment who brew lots of beer and have a dedicated brewing space in their homes

Nonetheless, it's a positive article. But, I think it's a little heavy on the talk about laying out wads of cash for commercial grade equipment and a little light on the message you can get into the hobby for about $100, and make good beer.

 

[MadHopper]

But, I think it's a little heavy on the talk about laying out wads of cash for commercial grade equipment and a little light on the message you can get into the hobby for about $100, and make good beer.

That was exactly my feeling as I was reading the article. They seem to ignore what is perhaps the vast majority of homebrewers, people doing 5-10ga batches with simple equipments.

 

[NightTrainLayne]

I thought it was a fun article. Gave me something to dream about. But I guess I'll have to get my first batch bottled and conditioned before I shell out $6k for a monster brewery. :sarcasm:

 

[humann_brewing]

nice article, thanks for sharing

 

[Moonpile]

Nonetheless, it's a positive article. But, I think it's a little heavy on the talk about laying out wads of cash for commercial grade equipment and a little light on the message you can get into the hobby for about $100, and make good beer.

Exactly what I was thinking. I would have liked a paragraph or three and some pictures of someone with a more ordinary rig. However, it's a positive article, so we'll take it.

I was also glad to hear that the homebrew shops are doing so well.

Also Sabco sells approximately 365 Brew Magics a year!?!?! Wow.

 

[Hellfish76]

I wish I had the kind of money to get a high end set up. Oh well, my cheap set-up still makes damn fine beer!

 

[ChshreCat]

Time to get ready for an influx of brewing newbies on the forum soon. Gonna be like Christmas in July.

 

[63belair]

Good article! Maybe this will help quell some of the "are you making moonshine?" questions...

 

[osagedr]

Time to get ready for an influx of brewing newbies on the forum soon. Gonna be like Christmas in July.

Interesting thought...people read the article today or tomorrow...look up a LHBS this weekend or next...start their first brew say July 15th...about a week after that I'm expecting a spike in the number of threads started asking how long is it necessary to keep your beer in the primary before transferring...about a month after that a spike in the number of threads asking why my beer hasn't carbed up after 10 days in the bottle...

 

[ChshreCat]

Interesting thought...people read the article today or tomorrow...look up a LHBS this weekend or next...start their first brew say July 15th...about a week after that I'm expecting a spike in the number of threads started asking how long is it necessary to keep your beer in the primary before transferring...about a month after that a spike in the number of threads asking why my beer hasn't carbed up after 10 days in the bottle...

Happens every January.

Actually, it happens around this time anyway due to all the Father's Day brew kits.

 

[kal]

I was just about to post this! It's a pretty cool article. Is that our own Kal mentioned for his electric brewery? Cool article.

Yup! That's me. They wanted to send a photographer to take pictures of my setup but alas, it's all in storage as I get ready to move into a new house (bigger brewery of course). Grrr! Bad timing!

Christopher Bowen (mrbowenz) is also a member here.

Kal

 

[kal]

I also like the picture at the top. Some guy with a massive stainless commercial-style rig. There's nothing wrong with that. I'd love to have it. But, the author acts like this is the norm.

I found it interesting too since when John Holl (http://beerbriefing.com/) first contacted me about a month or two ago for the interview he said he was writing an article for the NYTimes about "homebrewers with professional brewing setups in their homes" which sounded kinda interesting... like one of those human interest stories you see on the news sometimes at the end of the week. The article doesn't read like that at all though now that I look at it. It's really just about homebrewing in general.

I suppose if it gives the average person pause in that they think "Gee, I didn't know I could make beer at home" they may consider doing it. I also agree that if they look at the pictures provided and the prices quoted, they'll think "Gee, that's too expensive".

Kal

 

[ArcLight]

Good to see that he was smart enough to mention only brewing 6 times a year @ 30 gallons.

I was thinking the same thing. 30 gallons a week * 52 = 1500 gallons a year, better make new legislation outlawing home brew

Nice article too!

 

[IXVolt]

Hey Congrats Kal and mrbowenz! Good article.

 

[JJL]

I suppose if it gives the average person pause in that they think "Gee, I didn't know I could make beer at home" they may consider doing it. I also agree that if they look at the pictures provided and the prices quoted, they'll think "Gee, that's too expensive".

Kal

This is the thought I had. It's a nice positive article about homebrewing in general. It gets the word out that we're not all moonshiners. My concern was that the author talks about how brewing in buckets out of your garage is sort of the old, dirty way of brewing and gives the impression that the only way to really get into brewing is having commercial-style set up. Could turn some people off completely.

 

[kal]

My concern was that the author talks about how brewing in buckets out of your garage is sort of the old, dirty way of brewing and gives the impression that the only way to really get into brewing is having commercial-style set up.

You actually brought up another point I didn't think about: I bet when some non-homebrewers see the buckets and other stuff that people usually use, *that* may turn them off of trying homebrewing too. Sabco did mention that they sold about 1 setup/day in 2010 so there's definitely people out there that don't want to brew in buckets. I suppose this *is* the NYTimes afterall. Anyone paying $5K/month for a place in Manhattan isn't going to cringe at a $5-6K setup cost (not that anyone has room to brew beer in Manhattan of course).

Kal

 

[JonM]

This is the thought I had. It's a nice positive article about homebrewing in general. It gets the word out that we're not all moonshiners. My concern was that the author talks about how brewing in buckets out of your garage is sort of the old, dirty way of brewing and gives the impression that the only way to really get into brewing is having commercial-style set up. Could turn some people off completely.

Too bad NYT isn't allowing reader comments on that article. We could make these comments right there and clear up some of those misconceptions.

 

[weirdboy]

Anyone paying $5K/month for a place in Manhattan isn't going to cringe at a $5-6K setup cost

I dunno my place runs almost $3k a month and if I spent $3k on a brewery the SWMBO would kill me and bury my corpse in it.

 

[JonM]

Is there room for a $5K brewing setup in a $5K/month Manhattan apartment?

 

[vtirish]

For the NPR types, On Point will be doing a story on homebrewing tomorrow. They did one last year that was great.

http://onpoint.wbur.org/

 

[BrewForMe]

For the NPR types, On Point will be doing a story on homebrewing tomorrow. They did one last year that was great.

http://onpoint.wbur.org/

Great to hear, now i wont wanna get away from my radio tomorrow, any idea what time?

 

[JefeTheVol]

Great to hear, now i wont wanna get away from my radio tomorrow, any idea what time?

Whats a radio?

 

[passedpawn]

Great article. Very positive in every way.

 

[brewit2it]

I love how these guys write these articles like they were the ones who discovered that people brew beer as a hobby. Also, they act like 2011 (or 2010, or 2009, or insert year article was written here) is the year of the homebrewing renaissance and that the last 30 years have been the dark ages.

I also like the picture at the top. Some guy with a massive stainless commercial-style rig. There's nothing wrong with that. I'd love to have it. But, the author acts like this is the norm.



Nonetheless, it's a positive article. But, I think it's a little heavy on the talk about laying out wads of cash for commercial grade equipment and a little light on the message you can get into the hobby for about $100, and make good beer.

I was thinking the same thing. When he said

For many people, home brewing summons visions of beat-up equipment that is stashed in a corner of a garage, dragged out only occasionally, powered by modest propane tanks normally attached to the barbecue and yielding just a few gallons. (Professional breweries measure output by the barrel — roughly 31 gallons each.)

I was like, hey that's exactly what I do, pull the stuff out of the garage (some of it 20 years old at least) and get it set up to brew. What the hell is wrong with that?

 

[boo boo]

Congrats Kal on the mention.

 

[osagedr]

I was thinking the same thing. When he said

For many people, home brewing summons visions of beat-up equipment that is stashed in a corner of a garage, dragged out only occasionally, powered by modest propane tanks normally attached to the barbecue and yielding just a few gallons. (Professional breweries measure output by the barrel — roughly 31 gallons each.)

I was like, hey that's exactly what I do, pull the stuff out of the garage (some of it 20 years old at least) and get it set up to brew. What the hell is wrong with that?

The equipment makes the brewer, dontchaknow...

 

[Laughing_Gnome_Invisible]

I'll keep an eye out for the letters page in the New York Times. "Is my beer infected?" ~ Worried, NJ

 

[passedpawn]

I'll keep an eye out for the letters page in the New York Times. "Is my beer infected?" ~ Worried, NJ

Bwaaaah!

 

[JJL]

You actually brought up another point I didn't think about: I bet when some non-homebrewers see the buckets and other stuff that people usually use, *that* may turn them off of trying homebrewing too. Sabco did mention that they sold about 1 setup/day in 2010 so there's definitely people out there that don't want to brew in buckets. I suppose this *is* the NYTimes afterall. Anyone paying $5K/month for a place in Manhattan isn't going to cringe at a $5-6K setup cost (not that anyone has room to brew beer in Manhattan of course).

Kal

You gotta love it, Sabco sells 1 Brewmagic a day. Granted that does mean some hobbyists are buying them, but that must mean the other 749,665 of us still drag the nasty, dirty buckets out of the corner of the garage to make our swill.

 

[kappclark]

Thx for the post - good, positive article, and congrats to HBT

 

[Teromous]

I was like, hey that's exactly what I do, pull the stuff out of the garage (some of it 20 years old at least) and get it set up to brew. What the hell is wrong with that?

I bet you're one of those strange individuals that keeps meat in freezers in your garage instead of your walk-in freezer! Weirdo...

 

[TxBrew]

It's great to see brewing articles in major publications.

 

[petey_c]

That was a good article. Thanks for posting it. Memorial day weekend, NYT had a good article about beer gardens making a resurgance in Manhattan and Brooklyn. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/29/nyregion/beer-gardens-growing-steadily-in-new-york.html
I know when I tell people I homebrew, I sometimes get that deer-in-the-headlights look. They're thinking he's; an alcoholic, making nasty tasting swill (okay, sometimes), or using Rube Goldberg's brewing set-up. (Maybe I should drop a small piece of dry ice in the fermenter). That gets worse if I tell them about Skeeter Pee...