ok, so we see the beer industry morphing in such a way that microbreweries are taking off, and home brewing seems to be growing as well. I assume that this means that (among other things) that the American consumer (in this case) is again declaring their preferences where beer is concerned....and that preference is for "choice". To be able to choose/control what is available for them to enjoy (setting BMC drinkers aside, because they've made a different choice that we can respect). Taking this to a (ridiculous?) extreme: why couldn't, in a city like Denver let's say, a company that custom-brews 5 gallon batches for customers be successful? we custom brew batches for ourselves, many of our friends enjoy the fruits of our labor...but they don't necessarily want to go through the process/hassle of brewing it themselves. it would seem that if that company provided an "experience" that included educating thier customers on what ingredients produce what effects (with other sage advice), the customer could be provided the opportunity to create a beer (recipe) themselves...thereby making them powerful "owners" of the product they bought (never mind that 100 other customers may have created the same recipe)....this one is called KGB's brown ale. or whatever. ok, that's enough from me...just want to start the thread to see what others think. ridiculous?
There are a lot of people in this world that hear, "Honey, the bathroom needs redone." and think, "I can do that." and go about doing it. Granted, they may call in a plumber (maltster) or an electrician (yeast producers) but, in the end, they are doing the real work, making a new bathroom. I think the beer brewing culture is the same. You have the people that drink a beer and think, "Wow, I wonder how they did that, I think I'm going to give this a shot." These are the same kind of people. Amazingly, I've redone two bathrooms and a kitchen in my house as well, down to the studs.
So, to my point. I don't think the trick is finding the potential homebrewer in your every day person. Too many people are content to buy the beer at the store, ready to drink. I think the key is to find that market of people, who are somewhat on the "I can do that" side and focus on them. There are just way too many BMC drinkers I know to think that everyone has the potential to homebrew. It's a certain kind of spirit, drive, it's not about money, it's about making something yourself, finding the pride in that. Being able to sit at the dinner table, even it's it's by yourself, take a sip and think, "Yeah, yeah darn it, I made this, I started with grain or extract, I boiled, I waited and in the end, I made this beverage and you know what, no matter what anyone else thinks, it's beautiful."
The only real commercial drive i have, is that I would love for a commercial brewer to taste my beer and ask me for the reciepe and to give them a hand brewing it. That would be fun, but that's really the only "commercial" aspirations I have. I have no drive to re-do other people's kitchens or bathrooms either.