With their pockets low on cash, many college students are finding it difficult to afford a night on the town. And so, some are deciding to make their own fun--with homemade beer.

"It's so much cheaper than anything else," SF State student and home brewer Russ Horvath said.

Every two to three weeks, Horvath and his housemates brew a large batch of beer. And they're not alone. Home brewing culture has been slowly growing all over the bay area. Stores like San Francisco Brewcraft on Clement Street, assists the individual brewer by offering classes and equipment, whereas Brewmaster in San Leandro caters to the more experienced brewers who sell their product restaurants and bars.

Brewmaster employee and fellow brewer Mike McCullough notices that there has been a significant rise in the interest in homemade beer among college students. Although Brewmaster itself supplies large shipments of brewing equipment to places like San Francisco Brewcraft, curious individuals still come round to get information on how to make their own beer. Sometimes, the Brewmaster staff have brewing parties behind the shop, where they drink the beer they made weeks before while cooking another batch.

McCullough himself first got into home brewing when he lived in Texas. As an 18-year-old, McCullough figured if he couldn't legally drink beer, he might as well make it. But not all of his brewing creations turned out as he hoped. Sometimes, McCullough would add too much malt syrup--"the backbone of any good beer" as he calls it--the end result resembling a thick maple syrup rather than an IPA.

But he got the hang of it after a while and eventually went on to teach others how to craft their own special brews. "You can be very creative with your ingredients," McCullough explains. "Around the holidays, you can add honey and cinnamon for a more Christmas feeling. You can make the grains that you steep in the water into beer-flavored cookies. There's no end to the possibilities."

He even recalls one man who mixes red wine in with his beer, naming it a "Red and White." Now, McCullough studies poetry at SF State, and brews in his spare time.

As home brewing's popularity grows, there are many resources to assist the novice brewer. Several blogs and websites devote their entire content to the steps of creating a nice Pale Ale or a Bavarian Wheat. Every Monday night, Brewcraft hosts a workshop where people can come to learn the skills. But classes can be difficult since brews require several weeks to ferment before they can be bottled.

However, beer making can contribute to one's intellect as well as one's intoxication level. Horvath originally got into home brewing to learn the science behind the process. And McCullough admits his knowledge of physics has grown dramatically since he began brewing.

Most of all, brewing seems to be a good answer to the need for lost-cost fun. "We brew in short bursts," Horvath said, "but it's always nice to do with friends."

Here are some recipes, courtesy of Brewmaster. For more a demonstration on how to make your own beer, see accompanying video.

Sierra Nevada Pale Clone
Materials:
1 lb. Crystal 20l
1/2 lb. Carapils
Both of these materials must steep for 30 minutes.
6 lbs. Light dried malt extract
1/2 oz. Perle hops - boils for 60 minutes
1/2 oz. Magnum hops -boils for 60 minutes
1/2 oz. Cascade hops - boils for 15 minutes
1/2 oz. Cascade hops - dry hopped
Ale Yeast
3/4 cup of corn sugar at bottling
Bavarian Wheat
Materials
6 lbs. dried wheat extract (60 percent wheat - 40 percent barley)
1/2 lb. Crystal malt - 10L
1 lb. Carapils/Dextrin Malt
Both of these items are steeped for 30 minutes
4 oz. wheat flakes - added for the last 10 minutes of boil
3/4 oz. Tettnang hops - boil for 60 minutes
3/4 oz. Tettnang hops - boil for 25 minutes
1/2 oz. Tettnang hops
Yeast
3/4 cup corn sugar at bottling
Rich Red Ale
Materials:
1 lb. Crystal- 40 L
1 lb. British Crystal - 90L
1/8 lb. Chocolate Malt
Each of these materials is steeped for 30 minutes.
6. lbs. light malt syrup
1 1/2 lbs light dried malt extract
1 oz. Northern Brewer Hops - 60 minutes
1/2 oz. Cascade Hops - 30 minutes
1 oz. Cascade Hops
Ale Yeast
3/4 cup corn sugar at bottling
Steam Beer
7 lbs. pale malt syrup
1 lb. Crystal - 40L
The Crystal should steep for 30 minutes
3/4 oz. Northern Hops - boil for 60 minutes
1/2 oz. Northern Hops - boil for 30 minutes
3/4 oz. Northern Hops 0- boil for 15 minutes
Lager Yeast
3/4 cup corn sugar at bottling
Instructions:
1. Add three to five gallons of cold water to a large pot and turn heat on high.
2. If using flavoring grains, add grains in a filter bag with cold water.
3. When water comes to a boil, remove flavoring grains (if used), turn off heat and add malt extract and stir until dissolved.
4. Turn heat back on and return to a boil.
5. Add the first addition of hops and start brew timer for 60 minutes.
6. Add other hop additions according to hops schedule above.
7. After boiling for 60 minutes, remove from heat and cool.
8. transfer wort to fermenter, and if necessary, top off with water to equal five gallons.
9. Add yeast when temperature is below 80 degrees. Attach airlock and ferment.
10. After two to three weeks the beer is ready to bottle.
Transfer the beer to a bottling bucket, add the priming sugar, and bottle.