A pint well made

HOME brew was once a phrase that struck terror into the heart of the civilised drinker. In the 1970s, a friend offering to crack open a bottle of foul muck made in a cupboard under the stairs was a common threat and the prelude to an appalling hangover. But the fad took hold because of the dull alternatives and the fact that it was, at least, cheap. Times have changed. The winning entry in a nationwide home-brewing competition went on sale in October in Waitrose, a fancy supermarket, at £2.50 ($4) a bottle.

Thornbridge Brewery, a well-regarded small beermaker and one of the sponsors of the tournament, will produce 10,000 bottles of Graham Nelson’s Vienna IPA, which beat over 200 other tipples to take the title. Mr Nelson (pictured) is one of a new batch of home brewers for whom quality rather than parsimony is a guiding principle. To make top-quality beer home brewers can buy equipment that is like a miniature version of a commercial brewery. Discerning drinkers are buying crateloads of pricey craft ales made on a small scale in a fast-growing collection of microbreweries. And like foodies, who roast their own coffee beans or bake sourdough bread, some want to have a go at making the stuff themselves.