It's an awesome hobby. In northern climates, you can grow your own hops. While it's cheaper to buy decent bier than it is to make your own, there's great satisfaction and reward in learning the mysteries behind the making.
I actually bought a hops rhizome last spring, but my slackness putting in a garden killed it. But NEXT year, next year will be better. The way the economy's going, it'll have to be.