An Exploratory Study of Home Brewers’ Motivational Factors

Eric D. Olson
Kevin Stephen Murphy, University of Central Florida
Heejung Ro, University of Central Florida

Abstract

Recently there has been growth in the home brewing of beer. The purpose of this exploratory study is to identify the motivational factors for becoming a home brewer and the motivational factors for continuing to participate in the home brewing activity. A mixed-mode study utilizing semi-structured interviews and a survey instrument was used to understand home brewer motivational factors. The results indicate that home brewers engage and continue to participate in the activity primarily because of intrinsic motivational factors of fun, excitement, and enjoyment, and to a lesser degree by extrinsic motivational factors of learning opportunities and non-monetary savings.