Homebrewing in Korea

Sorry it's been awhile. Things were busy for awhile here.

The other day I was talking to a friend and he informed me that a few years ago, homebrewing was quite the trend in Korea. I was quite shocked to hear this because in my experience, and my knowledge of the free market, most Koreans haven't bothered to acquaint themselves with quality beer and the big companies surely aren't suffering by pumping out their pisswater.

After doing a little research on the internet, I found some encouraging information. This article is by a guy who discovered homebrewing in England and starting a club in Seoul which quickly gained widespread press.

"In Korea, homebrewing is not easy. It is very difficult to get good malt and hops, not to mention yeast! There is only one local homebrew supply shop here...However, the situation here is getting better, because the Korean laws were recently changed. Before the new laws, building and operating a microbrewery was illegal. Koreans only had three big breweries from which to choose, and they only brewed lagers. Importing beer was next to impossible, because of the enormous duties and restrictions. As a result, most Koreans simply did not know about the many varieties of beer that are brewed worldwide. Now, after the new laws were passed, many, many Koreans are learning about the numerous styles of beer." (bold added)

This guy also runs a microbrewery in Seoul. The site is in Korean, so maybe only Alvin will want to check it out. Too bad I didn't discover this until after my trip there last weekend. Another time perhaps.

Another site I found was called Homebrew Korea. A guy decided he wanted to continue homebrewing and so set up a website and forum for other foreigners who wanted to do the same.

Unfortunately a lot of this activity and supply stores are up by Seoul, but now it has me thinking of possibilities...