Homebrewing

Homebrewing is the brewing of beer on a small scale for personal, non-commercial purposes.

Beer has been brewed on the domestic level since its advent, thousands of years prior to its commercial production. Through the years its legality has varied according to local regulation.

History

Beer has been brewed domestically throughout its 7,000-year history, beginning in the Neolithic period in Mesopotamia (modern Iraq), Egypt and China. It seems to have first developed as thick beers; during this time meads, fruit wines and rice wines were also developed.

The Greeks and Romans cultivated both grape wine and beer, to a lesser extent. Roman women often directed production in larger households while the labor was performed by slaves.

By the Tang dynasty, homebrewing seems to have been a familiar domestic chore in China, albeit the lower classes had to make do with poorly-filtered mash. Laws against making alcohol were enacted and repealed between the Zhou and Ming dynasties.

The 18th century Industrial Revolution brought about such innovations as the thermometer and hydrometer. These tools increased efficiency to the point that mass production of beer was possible for the first time in history. In 1857, French microbiologist Louis Pasteur explained the role of yeast in beer fermentation, allowing brewers to develop strains of yeast with desirable properties (conversion efficiency, ability to handle higher alcohol content).