How big is the home brew scene?

[jennyss]

After watching the interesting story about the hop industry, and wondering where hop pellets are made; I started thinking about just how big is the home brew section of the beer industry. I fished around on the internet and came up with this  article in Brewer & Beer from 2020 titled "home brew sales trend bubbles along".  This is interesting, but scroll down to the bottom of the page and click on "Coopers; A Great Australian Success Story" for more info about the history of Coopers, and the home brew market. https://www.beerandbrewer.com/home-brew-sales-bubble-along/ 

[ozdevil]

its an interesting one , i remember when i lived in Adelaide before stopped brewing , i knew a bloke that would enter comps and he would touch a drop he drank
and brewed and fermented and bottled or kegged till finished and if you happened to be at his place you would get a sample  and then the rest down the drain

He was very good brewer  though  but he had type 1 diabetes  , not sure wether he brews now or not

Adelaide when i lived there had a very big following for along time  and had some great meet ups     specially when  Grumpy's was operational
and a brew shop down Glenelg on old tapleys hill rd  (cant think of his name but  he used to be part of  Grumpy's.


Alot people do home brew wether it is because it is cheaper then going to the pub and having  beer or betting the box of beer prices at the bottle shop or dans

I think if you looked at it over all  and you looked over just Uncle dans and coopers diy kits  they are only catering for the extract brewers and there is alot of them
where as the likes of Grain and Grape and Kegland ,keg king, and  Cheaky peak etc that offer both extract and all grain   its a fair chunk

i would say 25% of Aussies would dip there hand at brewing and i think over time it will increase 


 

[Classic Brewing Co]

43 minutes ago, ozdevil said:

its an interesting one , i remember when i lived in Adelaide before stopped brewing , i knew a bloke that would enter comps and he would touch a drop he drank
and brewed and fermented and bottled or kegged till finished and if you happened to be at his place you would get a sample  and then the rest down the drain

He was very good brewer  though  but he had type 1 diabetes  , not sure wether he brews now or not

Adelaide when i lived there had a very big following for along time  and had some great meet ups     specially when  Grumpy's was operational
and a brew shop down Glenelg on old tapleys hill rd  (cant think of his name but  he used to be part of  Grumpy's.


Alot people do home brew wether it is because it is cheaper then going to the pub and having  beer or betting the box of beer prices at the bottle shop or dans

I think if you looked at it over all  and you looked over just Uncle dans and coopers diy kits  they are only catering for the extract brewers and there is alot of them
where as the likes of Grain and Grape and Kegland ,keg king, and  Cheaky peak etc that offer both extract and all grain   its a fair chunk

i would say 25% of Aussies would dip there hand at brewing and i think over time it will increase 


 

Recently I was talking to the owner of Brew Maker from Holden Hill, he handles a fairly big range of Coopers malts in the AG range & in the retail section shelves of Coopers extracts including the Mr. Beer range. He has been in business for approx 35 years & at his current location for over 30 years, he sort of acts as a retail arm for Coopers & also wholesales to quite a few LBHS stores including rural areas.

We were discussing how many home brew shops used to be in Adelaide from the Adelaide Hills, Brighton Road, Tapley Hills Road, Henley Beach Road, Port Road Semaphore Road & so on.

Most have closed down now with other bigger franchises opening with several stores each. Nothing much has changed apart from the newer equipment, technology etc.

I remember Grumpy's well in Verdun as I do many of the others as some used to sell Darts Supplies, Pool accessories even fishing gear to supplement their turnover. I used to call on them selling Darts supplies among other items.

With the internet & all of the big online suppliers it would be a tough gig unless you were well established or part of a franchise.

 

[Classic Brewing Co]

6 hours ago, jennyss said:

After watching the interesting story about the hop industry, and wondering where hop pellets are made; I started thinking about just how big is the home brew section of the beer industry. I fished around on the internet and came up with this  article in Brewer & Beer from 2020 titled "home brew sales trend bubbles along".  This is interesting, but scroll down to the bottom of the page and click on "Coopers; A Great Australian Success Story" for more info about the history of Coopers, and the home brew market. https://www.beerandbrewer.com/home-brew-sales-bubble-along/ 

Yes, it is always interesting reading about the growing craft beer scene, it really is huge with new ones opening in all states.

[Oldbloke]

Thanks for the link @jennyss. 

 

I've been at it since May '88 and wonder how many stick with it. Always a lot of used HB gear available for sale. I suspect about 50% last less than a year.

 

Edit: I don't, but I believe hops is pretty easy to grow.

Edited April 14, 2023 by Oldbloke

[jennyss]

2 hours ago, ozdevil said:

its an interesting one , i remember when i lived in Adelaide before stopped brewing , i knew a bloke that would enter comps and he would touch a drop he drank
and brewed and fermented and bottled or kegged till finished and if you happened to be at his place you would get a sample  and then the rest down the drain

He was very good brewer  though  but he had type 1 diabetes  , not sure wether he brews now or not

Adelaide when i lived there had a very big following for along time  and had some great meet ups     specially when  Grumpy's was operational
and a brew shop down Glenelg on old tapleys hill rd  (cant think of his name but  he used to be part of  Grumpy's.


Alot people do home brew wether it is because it is cheaper then going to the pub and having  beer or betting the box of beer prices at the bottle shop or dans

I think if you looked at it over all  and you looked over just Uncle dans and coopers diy kits  they are only catering for the extract brewers and there is alot of them
where as the likes of Grain and Grape and Kegland ,keg king, and  Cheaky peak etc that offer both extract and all grain   its a fair chunk

i would say 25% of Aussies would dip there hand at brewing and i think over time it will increase 


 

@ozdevil,  Interesting stories about early home brewing in Adelaide; and very good points about the different suppliers Unca Dan, Coopers and then Grain and Grape, Kegland etc. The only way to really find out about the number of home brewers would be to add up sales figures or put a question in the census ha ha.

[jennyss]

As I have whinged on several occasions, there is no home brew shop in Dubbo, a city of 37,000 people. Moruya, a town of 4,000 people has an independent shop called 'Brewing, Camping, Fishing'. The brewing supplies and equipment is about 1/4 of the floor space. The owner says more and more people in the Moruya district are getting into homebrew.

[Oldbloke]

39 minutes ago, jennyss said:

As I have whinged on several occasions, there is no home brew shop in Dubbo, a city of 37,000 people. Moruya, a town of 4,000 people has an independent shop called 'Brewing, Camping, Fishing'. The brewing supplies and equipment is about 1/4 of the floor space. The owner says more and more people in the Moruya district are getting into homebrew.

Perhaps there is a small business opportunity there. 

[ozdevil]

4 hours ago, jennyss said:

As I have whinged on several occasions, there is no home brew shop in Dubbo, a city of 37,000 people. Moruya, a town of 4,000 people has an independent shop called 'Brewing, Camping, Fishing'. The brewing supplies and equipment is about 1/4 of the floor space. The owner says more and more people in the Moruya district are getting into homebrew.

whats stopping you @jennyss is there a niche in dubbo for this kinda thing

why not learn as much as you can and give it a crack for Dubbo   you get 1000 people in to home brewing you will be solid

you may say you know little but you know more then alot of the risk takers

 

[Greenyinthewestofsydney]

5 hours ago, jennyss said:

As I have whinged on several occasions, there is no home brew shop in Dubbo, a city of 37,000 people. Moruya, a town of 4,000 people has an independent shop called 'Brewing, Camping, Fishing'. The brewing supplies and equipment is about 1/4 of the floor space. The owner says more and more people in the Moruya district are getting into homebrew.

Have been to that place at Moruya. Have always thought the key to stores in country locations is education. No offence to coopers but a lager tin and a BE1 isn't going to get people trying again anytime soon. A small store advertised and with a few free "how to" sessions and you would build a clientele fairly quickly when they can make good quality beers.

[jennyss]

9 hours ago, ozdevil said:

whats stopping you @jennyss 

Retired and risk averse!

[Aussiekraut]

11 hours ago, Greenyinthewestofsydney said:

No offence to coopers but a lager tin and a BE1 isn't going to get people trying again anytime soon. 

I agree that the choice of kit for a first brew isn't the greatest but the idea behind it all is to make it easy. Including a ROTM kit with the starter kit would be a little overwhelming for the new brewer. For the first brew, it doesn't really matter what is included. Yes, the OS Lager tin wouldn't be my preference but the first time you brew, the result is good, even if it isn't great. The mere fact that you made beer is quite satisfying IMHO. There isn't much effort to put in and people will try other tins sooner or later. If they continue that is. When I bought my first kit back in 99 or so, it was exciting to see things happen. 

[Aussiekraut]

Covid undoubtedly gave home brewing a boost for several reasons but I'm pretty sure a lot of people stopped again not long after. People were bored during lockdowns, pubs were closed, and money was tight for many, so the investment in a coopers kit was worth it and amortised the outlay rather quickly, considering the cost of beer these days. But when restrictions eased, many didn't see the need for it anymore. I'd be surprised if more than half of the people taking up brewing during the Covid lockdown periods are still brewing now. 

[Pale Man]

17 minutes ago, Aussiekraut said:

Covid undoubtedly gave home brewing a boost for several reasons but I'm pretty sure a lot of people stopped again not long after. People were bored during lockdowns, pubs were closed, and money was tight for many, so the investment in a coopers kit was worth it and amortised the outlay rather quickly, considering the cost of beer these days. But when restrictions eased, many didn't see the need for it anymore. I'd be surprised if more than half of the people taking up brewing during the Covid lockdown periods are still brewing now. 

I remember that, I was getting into kegging at that covid peak, not because of covid but because i was ready. It was hard getting anything.

I was lucky enough to have a fridge good to go and got my bits from Hoppy. It was madness at the time. Second hand fridges were selling like hot cakes.

[jennyss]

13 hours ago, Greenyinthewestofsydney said:

"how to" sessions

I like that idea @Greenyinthewestofsydney. Youtube is fantastic for how-to's and info, but at a 'live' session you can ask questions and swap ideas. I saw online a few months back that the SA Brewing Club https://sabrew.com/ seems to run classes and competitions and tours. 

[Classic Brewing Co]

50 minutes ago, jennyss said:

I like that idea @Greenyinthewestofsydney. Youtube is fantastic for how-to's and info, but at a 'live' session you can ask questions and swap ideas. I saw online a few months back that the SA Brewing Club https://sabrew.com/ seems to run classes and competitions and tours. 

I have been along a couple of times as a guest member as I was considering joining & they meet monthly at the http://wheatsheafhotel.com.au/

but I didn't really want to commit to monthly meetings etc. It is great for learning, outings etc & it is only $60.00 a year to become a member.

[Pale Man]

3 hours ago, Classic Brewing Co said:

I have been along a couple of times as a guest member as I was considering joining & they meet monthly at the http://wheatsheafhotel.com.au/

but I didn't really want to commit to monthly meetings etc. It is great for learning, outings etc & it is only $60.00 a year to become a member.

If I lived in Adelaide i'd be a life member 

[Cheap Charlie]

On 4/14/2023 at 4:44 PM, jennyss said:

As I have whinged on several occasions, there is no home brew shop in Dubbo, a city of 37,000 people. Moruya, a town of 4,000 people has an independent shop called 'Brewing, Camping, Fishing'. The brewing supplies and equipment is about 1/4 of the floor space. The owner says more and more people in the Moruya district are getting into homebrew.

I did a search for you at one stage, the best I came up with is that they had some stuff at the Mitre 10, but then the owner sold it and probably the new owners don't do it anymore - of course you would know better than me. Other than that, zip in dubbo. Maybe there is a business opportunity there?

[Classic Brewing Co]

On 4/15/2023 at 10:38 AM, Pale Man said:

I was lucky enough to have a fridge good to go and got my bits from Hoppy.

My situation was similar, I was able to convert my old brew fridge to a keg fridge (well Hoppy did) & I course he supplied all of the necessary accessories.

I just thought of something @Pale Man it is Hip to get stuff from Hoppy because he makes you Happy. 

[Oldbloke]

13 minutes ago, Cheap Charlie said:

I did a search for you at one stage, the best I came up with is that they had some stuff at the Mitre 10, but then the owner sold it and probably the new owners don't do it anymore - of course you would know better than me. Other than that, zip in dubbo. Maybe there is a business opportunity there?

You can run that sort of business from a garage I believe.

[Pale Man]

10 minutes ago, Classic Brewing Co said:

My situation was similar, I was able to convert my old brew fridge to a keg fridge (well Hoppy did) & I course he supplied all of the necessary accessories.

I just thought of something @Pale Man it is Hip to get stuff from Hoppy because he makes you Happy. 

Happy Hoppy is a Hippy!!!

[Malter White]

On 4/14/2023 at 4:14 PM, jennyss said:

As I have whinged on several occasions, there is no home brew shop in Dubbo, a city of 37,000 people. Moruya, a town of 4,000 people has an independent shop called 'Brewing, Camping, Fishing'. The brewing supplies and equipment is about 1/4 of the floor space. The owner says more and more people in the Moruya district are getting into homebrew.

A quick Google maps search tells me there's fodder store in Dubbo called Furneys. Maybe a word with the proprietor might see him/her stocking brewing gear. Sourcing grains shouldn't be an issue for them. It'd be an opportunity to diversify and grow their business.
https://furneysstockfeeds.com.au/product-category/grains/

[jennyss]

15 minutes ago, Malter White said:

Furneys.

That's a very interesting idea @Malter White, Furneys are a very go ahead local company. They have just opened a new retail fodder and rural supplies shop. They also operate a flour milling business. I will talk to them.

[Oldbloke]

On 4/19/2023 at 8:10 PM, jennyss said:

That's a very interesting idea @Malter White, Furneys are a very go ahead local company. They have just opened a new retail fodder and rural supplies shop. They also operate a flour milling business. I will talk to them.

Did you talk to Furneys?

[jennyss]

9 hours ago, Oldbloke said:

Did you talk to Furneys?

No, not yet @Oldbloke. I will aim to report back within the next four weeks!