Joe Sherinski's home-brewed beer varies in color from light to dark.

You know you're a typical home brewer if your basement is filled with buckets, glass jugs, hoses, beer bottles and some malty fumes that seem to filter through the entire house when a batch of beer is being brewed.

More and more Americans are experimenting with beers and ales at home.

It's not a tidal wave yet, but a fairly steady drip into the bottles and kegs of the more than 1 million people to make their own beer at home, according to the American Home Brewers Association, headquartered in Boulder, Colo.

The idea of making home brew is not new. It was practiced even in Egyptian times.

Beer is one of the oldest alcoholic drinks in history. It was brewed as early as 4000 B.C. by the Egyptians, Greeks, Romans, Chinese and Babylonians.

Closer to home, the making of beer started a few short years after Pilgrims landed in America in 1620. A brewery in 1632 in New Amsterdam -- now New York, was the first brewer in North America.

Some famous names in U.S. history, including George Washington are said to have been home-brewers.

The latest culinary frontier in the United States, however, is a recent one. Home-brewing was outlawed, along with all other forms of alcohol during Prohibition. Home brew became legal in most states about 20 years ago, in 1979, when federal law made it legal to brew up to 200 gallons at home for home consumption.

However, a dozen or so states still prohibit home brewing.

Home brewing is now a $200 million industry, and the home brewers' association has more than 22,000 members nationwide.

A number of home brewers are found in Missouri, including Joe Sherinsky of Jackson and retired banker Ken Hayden of Cape Girardeau.

There are others, said Sherinsky, a landscaper and gardening expert. "I know several home brewers.

"We're looking into starting a club here," said Hayden, who brews up some five-gallon batches four times a year.

Some clubs host beer-tasting parties.

Many people brew at home because it's cheap, there are no taxes on the beer, and they can brew a beverage perfectly suited for their palate.

Five gallons -- over two cases -- cost from $15 to $25 .

"And, you can get started for a $100 bill," said Hayden."

A start-up kit for a two-stage fermentation process can be obtained from home brewing stores for $60 to 70. Add the fixings and you're still less than $100.

But home brewers are not folks looking to save money.

Some home brewers have as much as $1,200 in home-brew equipment.

The American Home Brewers Association describes the typical home brewer as a man with an annual income of $57,000, median age 35, and 79 percent college graduates.

Few women make their own beer, but the few who do tend to be good brewers, according to an AHBA spokesman.

The process is simple, agree Sherinski and Hayden.

The ingredients are the same as used at microbreweries -- hops, barley, malt, yeast and water.

"I started making home beer about three years ago," said Sherinsky. "I've experimented and now produce beers which range from water clear to dark."

The color, said Sherinski, has nothing to do with the tastes. The taste is derived form the types of grain used, to fermenting times.

Home beer usually ranges from 3 to 5 percent alcohol, but some home brewers have produced beer between 8 and 11 percent.

After a few batches, home brewers start getting creative, said Hayden.

Brewers can purchase a grain kit (malts) with the grain already ground. "Or, they can mash their own," said Hayden, who started his home-brewing hobby four years ago.

All kinds of malts are available and can be purchased from all over the world, said Hayden.

The entire beer-making process can range from three to seven weeks, depending on the time spent with fermenting and the aging process.

All brewers use the same basic brewing process.

Brewers simply mix barley malt with water and such grains as corn, wheat or rice. This mixture is heated to convert starches in the grains into sugar.

The excess grain is removed from the mixture, which is then boiled with hops to provide more flavor. Next, brewers add yeast to the mixture to start a fermentation process, which changes the sugar into alcohol.

Following fermentation, the beer is aged.

Commercially, this can take several weeks to months to improve its taste before being filtered into barrels, bottles or cans.

Home brew, made in smaller amounts, can be produced over a period of a few weeks.

The difference in the flavor of the many beers are achieved by varying the ingredients or the brewing times and temperatures.

Beer, commercially manufactured or home-brewed, is a favorite drink throughout the world. People drink as much as 22 billion gallons of beer a year.

In the United States, people consume an average of 24 gallons of beer a person a year.