Clifton Homebrew Store Brewing Success

in historic downtown Clifton is simple. A single wire rack is filled with homebrew starter kits as giant bags of malt lay piled on the floor.

In this store, there’s no need for fancy décor or comfortable furniture, it’s all about the knowledge streaming from behind the counter.

“Derek is a big help, he has lots of pointers,” said Andrew Lewandowski, a relative newcomer to the homebrewing scene. “I’m a loyal customer.”

Derek Satz, owner of Jay’s, explained beer is almost literally in his blood—his parents, grandparents and great grandparents all homebrewed their own beers. Having grown up in a beer-saturated environment, Satz, 25, explained it is more than a hobby but a family tradition and lifestyle. Admittedly, however, at least some of his success is also coming from the era we live in.

“There is a craft beer revolution underway right now,” the George Mason University graduate said. “There is a big move away from big corporate beer companies to small and home brewers now. You see it at beer festivals. Before it was just a bunch of nerds there, now it’s everyone from hot chicks to married couples.”

The numbers from the American Homebrewers Association back up what Satz is describing. The Boulder, Colo.-based association surveyed homebrew supply retailers in 2009 and 2010 and found there was a 16 percent annual growth in gross revenue.

The association also reported a jump of 139 percent in their annual membership numbers from just five years ago with nearly 27,000 members on their books this year. Satz's store is mimicking the national trend with a reported 100 percent increase in sales for his business.

In this tough economy, the natural reaction is to think homebrewing is a cost savings, but Satz disagrees. An average starter homebrewing kit at Jay’s runs about $33 and yields somewhere close to a galloon of beer, or two six-packs of a 12 oz. beer. That’s a pretty steep price tag if one is shooting for the econo-priced beer.

“It’s not much of a savings, but the taste and quality is the much better,” Satz said. “There are two schools of thought if you will: there is the older 40s and 50s crowd who are much more technical; and the younger crowd who just want to personalize everything and everything has to be unique. This (beer) is just another thing they can customize—like their screensaver.”

So what makes this new generation of homebrewers want to ditch their highly customized laptops for a small storefront in Clifton? While Satz does still sell online, it's the personal attention to customers like Lewandowski that keep his clients loyal.

“This second batch is a wheat ale and one I was talking a lot about it with Derek. I told him I wanted to add some fresh fruit, cranberries, and he gave me lots of pointers and helped me along. It’s for the seasonal flavoring, but my wife and I are actually expecting our first child—a girl, so instead of handing out cigars, we’re handing out the beers. With the cranberries in the beer it’ll be a bit pink, so he was a big help in all that.”

One in a continuing series on how local residents are pursuing their version of the American Dream.

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