The Difference Between Homebrewers and Commercial Brewers

Reads 3505 • Replies 12 • Started Tuesday, October 29, 2013 7:36:34 PM CT

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Message pellegjr beers 396 º places 16 º 19:36 Tue 10/29/2013 Which competencies do the average homebrewer need to attain in order to make the leap to commercial brewing?
Message DietPepsican P beers 1592 º places 63 º 19:39 Tue 10/29/2013 Concepts of brewing and ability to do it on a scale much larger than previously done. I’d say 99% of homebrewers don’t have this and 98% of commercial based on samples. Plenty more to think about, but that’s the big one.
Message JoeMcPhee P beers 12092 º places 543 º 19:51 Tue 10/29/2013 Experimentation is highly valued in both, but the ability to produce a solid, consistent product is much more important for commercial success than is the ability to chase the latest homebrewing fad.
Message DietPepsican P beers 1592 º places 63 º 20:04 Tue 10/29/2013 An IPA that stands up in the market would be part 2 and fit in with my part 1. It’s this generations amber ale and the generations before that 5% stout.

Message pellegjr beers 396 º places 16 º 20:10 Tue 10/29/2013 Originally posted by pepsican An IPA that stands up in the market would be part 2 and fit in with my part 1. It’s this generations amber ale and the generations before that 5% stout. This is a fantastic side bar: what defines "stands up in the market"? Total cases sold? Cache among craft consumers? Both? Can an IPA (or any flagship beer for that matter) successfully assert a brewery in the market if it’s not on solid footing in both volume sold and acceptance among influential craft consumers?
Message drewbeerme beers 3921 º places 1 º 21:22 Tue 10/29/2013 Originally posted by pellegjr Which competencies do the average homebrewer need to attain in order to make the leap to commercial brewing? In terms of today’s craft boom and my local market: Besides basic experience with brewing on a larger scale system, one’s ability to have a decent business model and the drive to see it through (creating and running a business) is the most important difference from your average homebrewer. With all these breweries popping up nowadays, there’s a narrowing gap between some pros and amateurs. Most of these new breweries just expect their consumers to pay for their learning curve and experimentation based in the principle that new and local is better. I’m not sure how long that model will work. IMO, making good beer at home has only a little to do with being a good commercial brewer. As far as what you can do within the homebrewery; experiment constantly, always be learning, and hone in on a handful of styles you want to master and brew commercially.
Message SamGamgee P beers 2452 º places 182 º 23:11 Tue 10/29/2013 Just think of all of the issues of brewing on a large scale, like heating and cooling liquids, moving liquids, protecting beer from oxygen, correctly using a myriad of chemicals, and keeping a sanitary process. Professional equipment is a lot more complicated to operate, with stuff like steam power, pumps, compressed air/CO2 and glycol systems. Lots of plumbing and lots of wiring. Pro brewers also have to think a lot more about product stability: microbiological, flavor, and colloidal. Even the difference between brewpubs and regional breweries is night and day on these issues, and a brewpub is a lot more like a big homebrewery. Consistent, stable beer takes more process control, especially of fermentation, and lab work like testing yeast viability, density, and fermentation performance becomes necessary. Homebrewing will get you very far as far as recipes and flavors go, but the process is just another game altogether and there is a big learning curve.
Message MacBoost beers 2074 º places 37 º 03:15 Wed 10/30/2013 Originally posted by pellegjr Which competencies do the average homebrewer need to attain in order to make the leap to commercial brewing? None if you sell your homebrew at cigar city

Message lithy beers 2996 º places 156 º 04:41 Wed 10/30/2013 Originally posted by SamGamgee Just think of all of the issues of brewing on a large scale, like heating and cooling liquids, moving liquids, protecting beer from oxygen, correctly using a myriad of chemicals, and keeping a sanitary process. Professional equipment is a lot more complicated to operate, with stuff like steam power, pumps, compressed air/CO2 and glycol systems. Lots of plumbing and lots of wiring. Pro brewers also have to think a lot more about product stability: microbiological, flavor, and colloidal. Even the difference between brewpubs and regional breweries is night and day on these issues, and a brewpub is a lot more like a big homebrewery. Consistent, stable beer takes more process control, especially of fermentation, and lab work like testing yeast viability, density, and fermentation performance becomes necessary. Homebrewing will get you very far as far as recipes and flavors go, but the process is just another game altogether and there is a big learning curve. Basically a better post saying what I came here to say. My basic dumbed down version would simply say: The jump between a competent homebrewer and a competent commercial brewer has nothing to do with brewing.
Message RABinCO P beers 1511 º places 103 º 04:59 Wed 10/30/2013 whatever necessary licenses you need to be labeled a commercial brewer. plenty of awful breweries around here that are selling what amounts to crappy homebrew recipes.
Message blipp beers 14843 º places 219 º 06:19 Wed 10/30/2013 Gnarliness of beard.