For Dean Horine, beer is more than an excuse to get drunk.
As a 19-year-old college student, when alcohol is synonymous with drunkenness and fun, the first-year business economics student said he sees beer as a different kind of beverage, one marked with craft and creativity.
Goaded by his connoisseur’s tongue, he said he drives down to San Diego once a month, where he and his brother brew their own specialized beers to quench their palate, and dream of one day creating their own brewery.
As conglomerations of macrobreweries flood the market with standardized lagers, a worldwide hops shortage is threatening the affordability of the chosen collegiate drink. Homebrewers, and college students such as Horine, are working to preserve the availability of delicious brews through homebrewing and consumption of craft beers in record numbers.
“I’m a homebrewer,” Horine said, proudly listing his brewing credentials including porters, stouts, hefeweizens and ales. “I enjoy the variety of flavors that beer has to offer.”
California law states that for people over 21, the manufacturing of beer for personal or family use is allowed as long as the aggregate amount of beer does not exceed 200 gallons. However, beer kits, which bundle the parts and ingredients into one easy package, do not require any form of identification to purchase.
Horine said he avoids legal complications because his brother is of age.
The beer-brewing process is an arduous one, requiring space, sanitation and, most importantly, time. But for Horine, brewing is a way to channel his creative freedom and enjoy a delicious drink.
“I like the creative freedom of working with the three basic flavors,” Horine said. “I currently use recipes found on the Internet, but I hope to eventually start formulating my own recipes.”
Horine said the magic starts when he walks into the homebrew supply shop. With a shopping list of barley, wheat, hops and yeast, he peruses the store, examining the ingredients with a brewer’s eye.
Upon returning home, he sanitizes his equipment, then pours water into the pot where he creates the mash, mixing the boiling water with grains.
“After about 10 or 15 minutes the hot break occurs, a large amount of protein precipitates out into some flakey-looking goo that swirls around and looks nasty,” Horine said.
After about 2 1/2 weeks, the beer is bottled and ready to drink.
“I brew in the kitchen of my brother’s house and the fermentation takes place in a shed in his backyard,” Horine said. “We have at least 10 gallons fermenting every brew cycle.”
Horine, who has been brewing for six months, also acknowledged the economic benefits of homebrewing, especially for cash-strapped college students.
For the beginning brewer, he suggested all-in-one beer kits.
“It’s far less expensive,” Horine said. “I started out with brew kits; it was definitely a starting point.”
The popularity of homebrewing is part of a growing trend in crafting beer.
The estimated sales of independent craft brewers has grown 58 percent since 2004, according to the Brewers Association Web site. The emerging market and popularity is due to the public’s desire for something different and new.
“Microbrews and craft beers are on fire through the whole country,” said Robert Cusani, general manager of Weiland Brewery Restaurant, located near Little Tokyo.
“Beer has a broader appeal as people are putting an emphasis on the different sources of taste,” he said.
Andrew Austin, a third-year molecular, cell and developmental biology student is another homebrewer in the UCLA community. He said beer is about the science of mixing the barley, hops, yeast and malt.
The scent of beer pervades Austin’s home. Lined up against his kitchen sink are empty beer bottles ranging from Red Stripe Jamaican lager to Arrogant Bastard Ale, which he said he scoured Westwood Village for. On brewing day, he donned his chemistry lab coat while gnawing on a tobacco pipe, and examined his brew.
“As an aspiring scientist, I appreciate the biochemical and microbiological aspects of the craft,” Austin said. “I like examining the old processes and illuminating the molecular nature behind them.”
Harkening an image of a scientist on the brink of invention, he bottled his creation and labeled it “Bruin Beer.”
“Beer is like fine wine,” Austin said. “Like a nice bottle of a 1947 Cheval Blanc, it’s one of the finer things in life.”
While sales of independent hand-crafted beers are increasing, a worldwide hops shortage is threatening microbreweries and homebrewers alike, who rely on this primary ingredient for the trademark bitterness of beer.
In the United States, where one-fourth of the world’s hops are grown, acreage fell 30 percent between 1995 and 2006. The shortages are threatening brewers as hops prices are increasing, according to The Associated Press.
While local brewers expressed the sentiment that the hops crisis had a nominal effect on their prices, AP reported that beer drinkers could see a minimum 10-percent jump in prices.
Gary Glass, director of the American Homebrewers Association, acknowledged that some styles of homebrew could become less popular as a result of the rising cost of hops, but he was confident that scarce varieties of hops will be available again.
“(There are) several varieties of hops that were formerly commonly available to homebrewers that are now hard to come by,” Glass said. “This is not as big an issue for homebrewers as it is for small commercial craft brewers who have to maintain a certain flavor profile to satisfy their customers. All indications are that homebrewing is still on the rise.”
While microbreweries are flourishing, macrobreweries which are financially resistant to downturns, such as a hops shortage, are merging to maximize efficiency and profits.
Anheuser-Busch and InBev, respectively the world’s largest and second-largest breweries, recently announced merger plans.
Horine said he believes this devalues the originality and character of beer.
“I took a trip to Bremen, Germany last year, where Becks is brewed, and there was a real hometown feel to it. Beers were being delivered on horse-drawn carriages,” Horine said. “I believe a lot of the character will be taken away (by the merger).”
Beer aficionados like Horine and Austin are part of a growing number of homebrewers who are working to eliminate stereotypes of collegiate beer-drinkers and advocate a craft that blends art and science. Horine said he believes beer should be evaluated not simply by the alcohol content, but on the merits of taste.
“If nonalcoholic beer tasted as good as regular beer, I would be brewing the (former),” said Horine. “I’m not a beer snob. I do enjoy mass-produced beers, but craft beers do taste better.”