Home brewing - why is it so addictive?

I can tell that I'm not alone in becoming addicted to this home brewing caper.

Why do you think it's so damned addictive?

I like being able to create something from scratch, something I love and be able to enjoy it time after time again. And every time it could be a little different. It could be a pale ale, a porter, an IPA, etc. It is something that can be refined so precisely that it fits exactly my tastes. There is so much to homebrewing. To me homebrewing is so much like engineering and with an engineering background, I can see how it suits me well. It also feels good to be able to create something and share it with others to enjoy. It is an endless game to improve upon your previous result, there is something to always chase, it can always be better. That's why I believe it is so addictive....

Jwood hit it on the head.

Like creating a exquisite meal, smoking/bbq meat, etc.. home brewing is a release of creative energy.

Jwood said:

To me homebrewing is so much like engineering and with an engineering background, I can see how it suits me well. It also feels good to be able to create something and share it with others to enjoy.

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Yes!

cfonnes said:

Jhome brewing in a release of creative energy.

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Yes!

In a nutshell.

Creative release. (and you get to make beer too!)

I think it is the drive to always see how you can make it better or different. Just like smoking meat & bbq. plus I LOVE BEER.

It is a great creative outlet with a big benefit.....beer.

I know I am addicted.

It's a great creative outlet for me. I approach it like cooking (Which I'm also fanatical about)....

I think the process it self breeds obsession...

Think about it. You spend 6-10 hours on brew day. Then you get to wait 10-14 days minimum. Bottle and wait at least another week (three is best).

I don't know another hobby like this where you put in 10 active hours and 3 - 6 weeks inactive time. All of that inactive time encourages you to obsess.. Especially in the beginning

I love creating something from the most unassuming ingredients; grain, water, and yeast among others. But strangely enough I think I'm addicted to the airlock. After spending several hours creating something and then stepping back and waiting for results. To see that airlock start to perk and then go WILD... for me it's a rush like others would get from fishing, hunting, the perfet golf shot, name your poison. LOL

it's all of the above! but also creating something that can actually make friends' lives more enjoyable- who doesn't love having a few beers with a group of friends??? brings people together, dammit!

Grantman1 said:

it's ... creating something that can actually make friends' lives more enjoyable- who doesn't love having a few beers with a group of friends??? brings people together, dammit!

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Home brewers are in the happiness business!

Creation is part of it. But, I was thinking about this the other day. It's one big excercise in problem solving, which appeals to my nature.

What equipment to use, how to alter it...what ingredients to use, how and when to use them...all the different techniques that you can use and all their resulting effect on the outcome of your beer. It's extremely mentally stimulating. Oh yeah, and you get to drink beer.

I've always been a creative and artistic person. I've been a musician for over half my life (more than 16 years), I love coming up with food recipes just using several ingrediants I have on hand (I never write them down and just season/flavor to taste). If I were any good at the visual arts (painting, drawing, etc.) I would have been a tattoo artist. Since I suck at visual arts I find other ways to be creative. For the longest time music was my only creative outlet until I started trying to cook. After that, brewing came into the fold. This hobby allows me to be an artist in ways I never imagined before. If I want to make a Neapolitan Imperial Stout I can do so. Besides, there's a certain visual element involved in the brewing art form which kind of helps me fulfill the "visual" arts in which I normally suck at.

Because of that I guess you can say I'm "addicted" to brewing.

I think it's all of the above, plus this community. There's a huge pool of resources here with some VERY experienced people who go out of their way to help bring people into the hobby.

Sometimes I wonder how many homebrewers either wouldn't have started, or would have started and quit after being unable to solve a problem if this forum didn't exist..

How else can I get a Cilantro-lime Pale Ale?

It is the only hobby I know of which produces beer.

Xpertskir said:

It's one big excercise in problem solving, which appeals to my nature ... It's extremely mentally stimulating.

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Yes!

After all the questioning & contemplation & preparation & DIY projects, I made something that COMPLETELY blows the retailers away. I walk by the beer freezer at the grocery store and just scoff!

Folks invent reasons to visit my house, they just want the beer.

There's a strong theme of sociability emerging.

Besides the creative, problem solving & intellectual challenge sides of home brewing, it is joyful to share our precious home brew with friends and family.

strambo said:

How else can I get a Cilantro-lime Pale Ale?

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Mmmmm. Love cilantro and lime. Growing cilanto in garden. Recipe?

First of all I like the finished product, the fruits of my labor. Second, like cooking, you have an end product in mind, you do your best to follow the recipe, if it comes out good you want to share it, if not you choke it down or throw it out. Third, it's alive, it's living, breathing, and reproducing right there in your primary, you gave life to that organism we call beer. And your baby will put a smile on your face, and help you drift off into dreamland. But that's just me

And to here people say " Wow you made this?"

Homebrewing has all the ingredients of any engrossing pastime: history, fascination, complexity (complete with lots of variables), cool equipment, interesting people to share it with, and a great reward at the end. And let's not forget that homebrewing is an exclusive enough pastime that there's still a sort of "in group" cachet about it.
In my seventh decade of kicking around this planet, I've also been involved in gardening, photography (including developing color film), amateur radio, and shooting / reloading...all pastimes that share these same characteristics.

rico567 said:

Homebrewing has all the ingredients of any engrossing pastime: history, fascination, complexity (complete with lots of variables), cool equipment, interesting people to share it with, and a great reward at the end. And let's not forget that homebrewing is an exclusive enough pastime that there's still a sort of "in group" cachet about it.
In my seven years kicking around this planet, I've also been involved in gardening, photography (including developing color film), amateur radio, and shooting / reloading...all pastimes that share these same characteristics.

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You sir, are very well versed for being such a young'un.

I pick up a lot of hobbies. I typically get into them pretty hardcore for a couple years and then something else captures my imagination and I move on. I wondered after I started homebrewing if I should really buy a lot of expensive equipment and get serious with it if I was just going to end up dropping it after a year or two, but I realized I'm never going to stop liking beer so I figured this hobby might really stick. Now that I make my favorite beer and there is no suitable substitute to be had in the local commercial beer selection I know that I simply can't give this hobby up...How else would I get my favorite beer?!?

Franco said:

You sir, are very well versed for being such a young'un.

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Pretty young to be drinkin' that homebrew, too. Thanks for the heads-up. It's always nice to run into someone on the Internet who actually reads the posts......

It may also have something to do with the fact that the product of this hobby is addictive....