I'm sure prices may have increased slightly for both shelf beer and HB ingredients. I just spent $20.55 on ingredients for 2.5 gallons of Caramel Amber, milled and shipped (recipe on HBT). I had some hops that I needed, but my total would still have been under $23. My local grocer (best beer prices around) charges $8-$13 for most craft 6'ers and a 24 of Bud is $22. So for the same cost I can have a case of a steller Amber ale or Bud. Hmm, tough choice.
Sure a hefty IPA might cost more to brew because of the hops, but a 6'er of something like that would probably run 11-13. I can't imagine designing a homebrew that would cost me $44-$52 for 2.5 gallons. So in terms of direct costs I'm doing great brewing my own and having a great time. And since I am now doing simple stove top BIAB using basically the same stuff I used for extract, my equipment costs have been pretty small.
To the question: will more people get into brewing? Not sure. It's not a difficult hobby, but it does take a commitment and many people would rather just plunk down the $'s for someone else to make that effort. Crafts of any kind never seem to be massively popular until there is an economic/societal issue that makes it worth the effort. Lots of people learned to brew during prohibition, people learned to sew and garden during the depression.... It's kind of like the car repair industry in Cuba, people down there have learned to do amazing repairs with a blow torch because getting parts is near impossible.
When getting good beer becomes more expensive and more difficult, more people may take up brewing their own. Hope so, the more the merrier, literally.
Sure a hefty IPA might cost more to brew because of the hops, but a 6'er of something like that would probably run 11-13. I can't imagine designing a homebrew that would cost me $44-$52 for 2.5 gallons. So in terms of direct costs I'm doing great brewing my own and having a great time. And since I am now doing simple stove top BIAB using basically the same stuff I used for extract, my equipment costs have been pretty small.
To the question: will more people get into brewing? Not sure. It's not a difficult hobby, but it does take a commitment and many people would rather just plunk down the $'s for someone else to make that effort. Crafts of any kind never seem to be massively popular until there is an economic/societal issue that makes it worth the effort. Lots of people learned to brew during prohibition, people learned to sew and garden during the depression.... It's kind of like the car repair industry in Cuba, people down there have learned to do amazing repairs with a blow torch because getting parts is near impossible.
When getting good beer becomes more expensive and more difficult, more people may take up brewing their own. Hope so, the more the merrier, literally.
![Craft A Brew - Safale S-04 Dry Yeast - Fermentis - English Ale Dry Yeast - For English and American Ales and Hard Apple Ciders - Ingredients for Home Brewing - Beer Making Supplies - [1 Pack]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41fVGNh6JfL._SL500_.jpg)
