'Every brew is a challenge and every glass of a good beer is an achievement': home brewing and serious leisure. Issue 1 (2nd January 2018) - Duarte Alonso, Abel
ABSTRACT: This exploratory study contributes to the body of knowledge of leisure research, investigating various dimensions related to home brewing, particularly reasons for and benefits from engaging in this activity through the lens of the Serious Leisure Construct (SLC). Although evidence suggests that home brewing has increased in popularity, to date, it has received limited attention from the academic literature. The study is based on the responses of 219 home brewers in Australia. The employed content analysis and word association identified the feeling of a rewarding and enjoying experience, affordability, sharing, brewing-to-taste, and socialising opportunities as key perceived benefits. In addition, various links between the findings and the SLC were identified. Overall, the findings revealing the seemingly multifaceted nature of home brewing, which combines tangible elements such as producing the craft beer, and intangible, for instance, sharing and socialising, highlight important theoretical and practical implications for leisure involvement.