The Art of Homebrewing

What’s more D.I.Y. than craft brewing? The answer is Home brewing, which is something that is becoming easier and easier for the average beer lover. And home brewers are growing in numbers. The American Homebrewers Association estimates that there are an estimated 1.2 million home brewers in the US, and most started brewing their own beer within the last 15 years. In other words, many beer drinkers will be building the future of beer all by themselves.

On Thursday, July 20 at 7:30pm, the Larchmont Public Library presents Phil Clarke, Jr., founder and manager of Westchester Homebrew Emporium in New Rochelle, for an evening focused on beer. Proper ID will be required in order taste the beers presented.

Home brewing was illegal from the Prohibition until it was legalized in 1979 under President Jimmy Carter. The last states to officially legalize home brewing – Mississippi and Alabama – did so not until 2013. Nearly all of today’s most popular craft brewers - Ken Grossman of Sierra Navada, Jim Koch of Sam Adams, Sam Calagione of Dogfish Head – got their start as humble home brewers.

The American Homebrewers Association states that collectively, across the USA, homebrewers produce more than 2-million barrels of beer a year. The average age of the homebrewer is approximately 40 years of age, but the practice is growing rapidly to encompass a wide range of age groups.

Phil Clarke Jr. is a prize-winning homebrewer with twenty years of experience under his belt. Clarke is a past president of the Westchester Homebrewers Organization, New York City Homebrewers Guild and current president of the Dogs of Wort, which meets at his homebrew shop, The Westchester Homebrew Emporium, in New Rochelle. Says Clarke, Jr.: “If you can make Hamburger Helper, you can brew beer."