Home brewing and winemaking are apparently making a big comeback:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2009/nov/06/home-brew-return-money-saver

I haven't got round to it yet, but with beer often costing more than £3 a pint in the pubs now, and homebrew typically costing 50p or less, I have to say the idea is quite appealing. By all accounts micro brewing equipment has improved enormously since the seventies and you can now make beer that tastes as good as or better than what you get in a pub.

You can buy good quality, well-priced brewing kits from:

http://www.brewuk.co.uk/store/

and 

http://www.thethriftyshopper.co.uk/

There was a fantastic article in the Guardian a couple of years ago about home and micro brewing, by Chris O'Brien the author of "Fermenting Revolution: How to drink beer and save the world", which touches on some of the more philosophical aspects of brewing your own:

Official Beer is the Answer "New ideas from microbreweries are leading the way for sustainable business". Chris O'Brien, The Guardian Thursday 26 April 2007