Brew Dudes

If you were to say that most American homebrewers are

• 40 years old
• College educated
• Have a household income of at least $75K
• Married
• Started homebrewing in 20o5 or later

I would say – I resemble those remarks.

So if you have not seen it already, go check out the survey that the AHA just released.

It’s always interesting to see the results of a survey.  This one was no joke either.  They collected information from over 18,000 people.  Most surveys I see are from groups with counts in the hundreds or low thousands.

Some thoughts we had:

I wonder what the split was by gender.  Was it overwhelming male or not?  Did they decide not to publish that metric because they weren’t confident with the  data or did they not collect gender?

The Northeast needs to get their act together.  The percentage split was way too small.  We need to get our numbers up.  The South had a bigger slice of the pie and a few of that region’s states just legalized homebrewing.  Come on, Northeast.  Let’s get organized.

The three online shops bit – Does that mean the average homebrewer uses three different online shops a year or does it mean that three online shops see the most online shoppers a year?

I like that our tribe is 1.2 million people strong. I think that number has been growing steadily year over year. How much will it grow? Could it be 10 million people in 10 years?

Homebrewers, on average, spend 800 dollars a year on the hobby. I have been having some thoughts on this subject. Is it better to throw a whole bunch of money into a hobby right up front or spend it over time as your fondness and abilities grow?

Overall, the data satisfied a few needs I had. It did quantify the audience for our blogging exploits, which is nice to know. Also, it set a starting point in which to gauge future survey results to see if the hobby is growing or declining.

Brew on.

*** I received some more information about the survey:

“94% of survey respondents were male, though 30% indicated that they brew with a spouse or domestic partner, which would indicate that the actual number of women participating in the hobby is much higher than 6%.”

“Also, the stat on homebrewing shops mean that average homebrewer uses three different online shops a year, not that three online shops are the most visited.”

Homebrew shops send me their catalogs in the mail.  When I flip through the pages, I check out the special deals and the latest and greatest products.

The recipe kits are always presented attractively.  I see the pictures and read the descriptions and it makes me want to brew and taste each one.

Reading the descriptions, in a few of the catalogs, the claim of “most popular recipe” was given to the Irish Red ale kit.

I never gave it much thought but today I started to think about why the Irish Red ale kit is the most popular one.

Is it because it’s easy to brew?  An easy to brew and tastier than Bud recipe is a good entry point for any brand new homebrewer.  As someone starts out, they want to feel comfortable and confident that they are going to brew something that would seem well-crafted.  An Irish Red ale kit is a good candidate for that requirement.

Beyond beginners, are there more experienced homebrewers brewing that kit on a regular basis?

Maybe it was just me, but I wanted to brew different styles every time I got my brew pot out.  To keep going back to the same kit each time, month after month, would make it seem like I was missing out on something.

I would love to ask a homebrew shop owner what their most popular kit is and why.  If it is popular because they offer it in all the beginner equipment kits as well, then I would have a definite answer.

It’s interesting to me that there would be a most popular style.  Plus, what is the definition of popular?

How much does the kit outsell others?  Is it by a large margin or a slight one?

As you have read, I have many questions.  I wonder if I could interview a homebrew shop owner for the answer to each of these questions and more.  It would help me and others to better understand the hobby.

Watch this space for interviews.