Nic Henke is a home-brewer, just as his German-American grandparents were two generations ago.

You could say that beer is in his blood.

"Yeah, and it's probably measurable some days," jokes Henke, whose love of the craft is evidenced in the several-thousand-dollar home-brewing room in the basement of his Mendota Heights home.

Henke, who brews two or three styles of beer each month, is a member of the St. Paul Homebrewers Club, which meets monthly to talk beer and critique their brews. Members then pit their beers against others from across the nation. Tonight, they'll find out whether they keep their title as the American Homebrewers Association's Homebrew Club of the Year.

They've won three years in a row, following extensive judging in regional contests and the National Homebrewers Conference. The event is being held in the Twin Cities this week for the first time in its 32-year history.

With more than 6,000 entries, it's believed to be the world's largest beer competition, said Gary Glass, director of the AHA, which puts on the event. The final round of judging was Thursday, and the winners will be named tonight.

There are about 800 home-brewing clubs in the country. Being named the best shows that "we know what we're talking about up here," says Chris Smith, president of the Minnesota Home Brewers Association and a member of the St. Paul club.

The St. Paul club's success in the national competition boils down to one thing, says member

Steve Fletty of Falcon Heights: "We're honest with each other."

Members aren't afraid of criticizing each other's beers in taste tests, Fletty says. If beers are good enough, they can earn points for the club at the home-brewers conference, moving them one step closer to club of the year.

The club has about 120 members, though not all are currently active, Fletty says. That's a far cry from the club's founding in 1998, when it was "just five or 10 guys sitting around in someone's garage, watching 'Die Hard' and sharing some home-brews," he says.

THE BEER CIRCUIT

Helping fuel home-brewing in the area are Northern Brewer and Midwest Homebrewing Supplies — two of the nation's largest home-brew supply stores, with both being based in the Twin Cities.

Chris Farley, owner of Northern Brewer, says the Twin Cities are probably one of the top spots in the country for home-brewing. He's watched his retail and online business continue to grow despite the recession.

"We've seen pretty steady ... double-digit growth over the past several years," says Farley, who has retail shops in St. Paul and Milwaukee.

The popularity of home-brewing is gauged by supply sales, says Glass, adding that national sales rose 16 percent last year. He estimates there are about 750,000 to 800,000 home-brewers across the U.S.

Helping boost the growth is the rise in the craft beer movement and increased interest from younger beer fans.

"Almost everybody who starts in home-brewing is already a craft beer enthusiast, so they're just making the step to making those beers at home," Glass says.

That's particularly true in the Twin Cities, where several new breweries have opened in recent years, say home-brewers.

Smith has noticed a rise in twentysomethings picking up the hobby, which "obviously has a lot to do with the craft beer growth in the area," he says.

Yet two constants apparently remain among the home-brewing demographic, Farley says.

"It is, for some inexplicable reason, largely males with beards," Farley notes. "I can't explain it, but it's the honest to God truth."

BEER, FROM SCRATCH

Many taking up the hobby begin with a starter kit from a home-brew supply store. It's easy to find someone — whether at a store or in a home-brew club — willing to help a newcomer get started, Farley says.

"People get kind of evangelical about home-brewing," he says.

A starter kit can cost around $100, while more elaborate setups might run into the thousands of dollars. Some people save time by buying beer kits that contain all the necessary ingredients, while others get involved in the equipment aspect of the hobby and use only ingredients from scratch.

"It's a longer process," Fletty says of the latter. "You have more flexibility but you have to know what you're doing."

Beer making, however, doesn't have to be complicated.

"It's a pretty simple process," says Farley. "If you can boil water — that's the main skill."

Beer is typically made from malted grain, water, yeast and hops. But the ingredients can vary wildly. Some makers add things like coriander, cinnamon, nutmeg and even coconut milk to their brews, Farley says.

And beer isn't the only thing brewing in people's basements. Wine, cider and mead — a wine made from honey — all can be made at home.

Another thing that sweetens the deal for home-brewers is the hobby can be a money saver, though not if you're after the King of Beers.

"It doesn't really make sense to try to make Budweiser at home — it's difficult to do and it's not very cost-effective," Glass says. "But for home-brewing craft-style beers, it is cost-effective. It's cheaper than buying beers at the store."

It also doesn't take long to recoup the costs of basic brewing equipment, says Henke, 30. He doesn't know if that will be the case, however, with what he calls his "Brew Palace and Cigar Emporium," which he built to move his home-brewing operation out of the garage.

Luckily, his wife likes what he's done with the place, even though it replaced her exercise room, says Henke, a computer software programmer for Cray.

"She kind of gets wife of the year," he says.

Andy Rathbun can be reached at 651-228-2121.

ONLINE

For more information on local clubs, visit sphbc.org and mnbrewers.com.

  • 750,000 home-brewers and 800 home-brew clubs in the U.S.

  • 300 home-brew competitions held annually in the country.

  • Home-brewing is legal in every state except Alabama, Mississippi and Oklahoma.

    Source: American Homebrewers Association