Homebrew shops see revenue growth

Byron Howard unpacks Beer Kits at Homebrew Party. A second store opened last year. A third homebrew store, San Antonio Homebrew Supply & Bar, is run by Todd Huntress. Byron Howard unpacks Beer Kits at Homebrew Party. A second store opened last year. A third homebrew store, San Antonio Homebrew Supply & Bar, is run by Todd Huntress. Photo: Helen L. Montoya / San Antonio Express-News Photo: Helen L. Montoya / San Antonio Express-News Image 1 of / 6 Caption Close Homebrew shops see revenue growth 1 / 6 Back to Gallery

Todd Huntress' thirst to make beer at home has waned but his love for the hobby hasn't.

As the owner of San Antonio Homebrew Supply & Bar, it's his job to chat about beer and the brewing process. And lately, he's been talking to a greater number of enthusiastic folk interested in brewing their own sudsy concoctions at home.

For Huntress and other homebrew shop owners that sell beer-making ingredients and supplies, sales are up. The American Homebrewers Association released a national study last week, showing that homebrew store revenues increased 26 percent last year. That's on top of a 20 percent increase the year before that.

The growth in homebrew popularity is attributed to the availability of more craft-beer options, better educated drinkers and the movement to drink local, said Gary Glass, director of the AHA.

“You're not going to get more local than doing it at home,” said Glass, who has been a homebrewer for 20 years.

That's why James Stopper took up brewing as a hobby. For years, Stopper balked at taking the plunge, thinking the brewing process would be too difficult. But after making two batches, he's hooked, comparing the process to cooking a meal.

“I thought it was more complex than it turned out to be,” said Stopper, 49. “It's as easy as putting a recipe together. It's like you're cooking barbecue. And when you're done, you get the satisfaction of consuming something you made.”

It's estimated that 1 million people brew beer at home at least once a year, according to the AHA, which has 35,000 members.

Currently, there are about 700 homebrew shops in the United States. There are three in San Antonio.

Huntress has operated his business along North St. Mary's Street for 13 years. From time to time, curious passers-by wander in to sip a craft beer and talk shop or to gaze at the shelves of grains and stacks of brewing vessels throughout the store. At his shop, he sells ingredients and supplies for beer, wine, cider, sodas and coffee.

One by one, people trickle in to buy grains, hops, yeast or pre-assembled kits and recipes for novices, taking a crack at the hobby.

“The number of people coming in to ask questions has increased about 3,000 percent,” he said. “How that translates into sales, I couldn't tell you. But I think it comes down to people getting a taste for drinking better beers.”

Huntress walks them through the process and answers any questions they might have.

Although sales have increased, he's not interested in expanding his one-man operation.

But on the other side of town, San Antonio's other homebrew shop, Homebrew Party, had to expand to keep up with demand from its walk-in and online customers. After four years, a second location opened on the West Side along Bandera Road. The growth wasn't as dramatic as the survey average, but Stu Hutchinson, the shop's owner, said that there was a 6.1 percent uptick in revenues last year, marking the store's best year thus far.

“We're making enough to expand,” said Hutchinson, who has homebrewed since the 1980s. But “we're not getting rich by any stretch of the imagination.”

Although Huntress doesn't get around to brewing all that often, he's consumed with the craft daily. He jokes, calling his career choice a hobby gone bad. Still, some customers view his job in a different light.

When a customer asked him if what he does is a dream job, Huntress responded by saying, “Sometimes ... sometimes I dream about this job.”

vlucio@express-news.net