Craft Beer Creating Young Entrepreneurs and Growing

Jeremy P. Meyer of The Denver Post writes that the majority of people benefiting from the craft beer craze younger than 30.

Bryan Leavelle sat back in a chair in the yet-to-open Our Mutual Friend brewery on Denver's Larimer Street, guitar in hand and the fragrant smells of roasting barley filling up his workspace.
Leavelle's maltstery, brewery and taproom await a permit that will allow it to join a rush of new breweries chasing the Denver craft-beer population boom.
Leavelle and his partners — all younger than 30 — represent a trend: Increasingly younger entrepreneurs and hobbyists are joining the brewing craze.

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Charlie Papazian was interviewed on Oct 11th by CNBC in an article titled "Craft Beer Bubble?  No way, Says Brewer"

Papazian is the founder of both the American Home Brewers Association and the Association of Brewers, which merged with the Brewers Association of America in 2005 to become the Brewers Association. He's also the author of multiple books on brewing including the "The Complete Joy of Home Brewing," which has sold more than 1.1 million copies since its release in 1984.

I mean how large can the craft segment grow?  Charles Papazian answers that question:

"It's an interesting question. There are a lot of people that think we're in a bubble and it's going to burst but we're not in a bubble. We are knee-deep in foam (laughing) and it's rising all around us. By 2017, [the Brewers Association] anticipates pretty confidently that we'll have 10 percent of the volume, and at that point, the momentum will take us pass that."

In the 90s there was a craft beer boom and bust:

"The late 90's, that was a bubble. There were a lot of micro-breweries, and interest in the beers was taking off and a lot of investment people got involved and people were getting into the business for the wrong reasons. They figured they could make some money off of it in the short term. But when you get into the beer business, it's a long-term proposition. Everyone [said] craft beer had hit the wall and it was the end. But we gathered ourselves and kept pounding at our message. People that stayed in the business were serious about it, serious about quality, serious about the beer drinkers, serious about the beers they were producing, their employees and developing their dream business. I think it was about 2005-2006 when we began to see that things were beginning to be on a roll. We went up to 8 or 9 percent growth and then we broke double-digits in 2007, or thereabouts, and we've been in double-digit growth ever since."

Its very cool, the craft beer industry is an example of doing things for the right reasons and creating a quality product that people can enjoy.  The bigger companies have tried and will to continue to fail because the craft beer community is unique and locally supported.

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I plan to brew this weekend, I am not sure what type of beer I will make.  All depends on the temperature of my fermentation chamber aka my closet and what I am in the mood for when I go to the homebrew supply store.  I know I need a better lauter system.  The setup I am considering is detailed in this post:

http://www.mainebrews.com/news/2009/04/zapap-lauter-system/

Seems simple enough and I have an extra food grade bucket that could be used as my primary fermenter.