Independence! (of a homebrewer)

Like our forefathers, homebrewers are an independently-minded lot. After all, George Washington and his fellow Patriots made sure they had American-made brew around, and some even brewed themselves.

After Prohibition nearly destroyed the craft brewing industry, American beers became lighter in color and taste. Dissatisfied after years with little or no other options, homebrewers struck out to create their own craft brews.

Homebrewing didn’t really take hold in the U.S. until the late 70s and early 80s when the few craft beers available were expensive and usually imported.

Creating a beer takes ingenuity and a certain independent spirit. As Bruce Stott, a Cape Cod resident and master homebrewer showed me, homebrewers often have to fabricate their own equipment and tweak recipes in order to come up with just the right brew.

2006 Sam Adams Longshot Homebrew contest winner Bruce has learned a lot from his trial and error over the past 13 years. He has developed and designed a few tools to help him in the brewing process.

Above is a wort chiller made from copper tubing. Bruce bent the pipe into a spiral, then added fittings to attach a hose. He sets the wort chiller in the hot wort, running cold water through the pipes to cool the brew down and get it ready for the next step in the brewing process. He told me he couldn’t find one in any homebrew supply stores near him, so he just made his own.

See more of Bruce’s homemade equipment in a video of Bruce brewing up a batch of beer coming soon.

Until then–relax and have a homebrew (hopefully your own)!