i feel like less people are getting into homebrewing than a few years ago?
perhaps its the ubiquity of decent craft beer everywhere, people feel like they can get what it is they want and might not even consider the option of homebrewing. but really: craft beer is more expensive than ever before when it shouldnt necessarily be, while homebrewing prices have been stable but i have much, MUCH more access to homebrewing supplies and equipment than ever before.
the people i run into who did homebrewing generally say "oh yeah, i tried it with some buddies once a few years ago." and they clearly did not continue on with it. i haven't run into anyone in the past 2 years here who is an active homebrewer. perhaps you guys have different experiences elsewhere. but this feels like less than even 10 years ago, when it was starting to build up.
craft beer is not worth the price to me most of the time. i try to get new stuff to test out, and the prices seem bloated for what it is nowadays. ive heard the responses before here, blah blah, inflation / "what was the price of a coke 20 years ago". the prices i see on beer have gone up about 150-200%, i seriously doubt there are many supermarket products that have gone up 150-200% in price without a clear explanation (ie. stocks of X fish type have depleted so that fish is more expensive, etc), and im not seeing the quality increase.
i know i keep ranting tonight about odd topics, but im thinking about beer as i write about beer for college.