Ever get suspicious neighbors?

We got a new neighbor that just moved and keeps to himself. A couple weeks ago I was moving a bunch of brewing equipment into the house from my truck. I saw him outside but he didn't come over, he went inside probably to watch. Yesterday the neighbor came up acting really friendly which is very unusual. After some really weak small talk he asks me what was up with all the equipment. I told him and after I got done he was like oh ok well I gotta get home. Just came over to ask that.

I brew right out in front of my house, so I get all kinds of wierd looks. I mean, it's not every day you see someone with two ten gallon coolers and a beer keg set up in stair-step fashion. Not to mention the roaring burner.

My immediate neighbors know what I'm doing, but I get some funny looks from passers-by, both pedestrians and drivers. The running joke around here is, if anyone asks, the answer is, "Oh nothing....just cooking up a batch of crank!"

The only person who caught on was the FedEx guy. He came up one day with a package, and asked what we were doing. He said, "I thought you were probably making beer!" I think what really clued him in was all the boxes coming from places like "Beer, Beer, and More Beer," "Homebrew Adventures," and "Northern Brewer." It doesn't take a genius.

Since I live in the primary Meth area. I get all kinds of questions from the neghbors on brewing day.

Sam75 said:

I brew right out in front of my house, so I get all kinds of wierd looks. I mean, it's not every day you see someone with two ten gallon coolers and a beer keg set up in stair-step fashion. Not to mention the roaring burner.

My immediate neighbors know what I'm doing, but I get some funny looks from passers-by, both pedestrians and drivers. The running joke around here is, if anyone asks, the answer is, "Oh nothing....just cooking up a batch of crank!"

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The look on the Chinese food delivery driver's face was priceless....BOTH times he walked by he almost ran into the car. LOL....

After inquiring about what I was doing, my pizza delivery guy has come to love my home brew. I wonder if I can get a job as cool as his... driving around in an old convertable and drinking on the job! Of course I only let him have one since he is driving...

My neighbors are hyper-religious. Not the "we go to church every Sunday" kind of religious, but the "we go to chruch twice on sunday, once on tuesday, once on thursday, home-school our kids, and wear 'Jesus Rocks' t-shirts" kind of religious.

Now, don't get me wrong, I don't have any problem with religious folks at all (unless they try to cram their beliefs down my throat), but I sure am starting to get strange looks from the Patriarch of the family on the weekends when I run back and forth from the kitchen to the garage carrying loads of laboratory-looking equipment.

They're friendly folks, and I KNOW they are curious as to what I am up to, but they haven't asked me anything, and I don't quite know how to offer the info without making some weird out-of-the-blue comment like, "Hey, Billy! I'm making beer over here!"

-walker

--- and with this post, I have become a senior member ---

No inquisitive looks/stares from the neighbors yet, but I haven’t gone to an AG setup that would require me going outside for brewing. Do get plenty of questions from friends on brew day though, usually along the lines of "what is that smell?!"

LupusUmbrus said:

Do get plenty of questions from friends on brew day though, usually along the lines of "what is that smell?!"

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The answer; Liquid Heaven.

-walker

Most of my neighbours are, how should I put it, very fond of booze I made the mistake of letting it slip that I had made some homebrew, and I couldn't get rid of one of these guys for hours! Eventually I had to just shut the door in his face and wait till he went back upstairs to his flat!

I finially had to tell my neighbor - "start brewing if you're drinking."

He should have his equipment shortly..... No free ride here.

My newest neighbor is an older Hindu man. I gave him a bottle of my first brew - a Brewers Best IPA and he liked it. It was way too bitter in my estimate. I should have filtered out the trub and used a secondary. OH yeah, and learning how to clean would have been a good idea. But he liked it and told his relatives about his homebrew neighbor.

it is pretty funny watch'n the cops drive by while i have my brew system going out on the driveway!!! i have the postman hounding me for brews, along w/ one neighbor. the others think i'm just cooking a HUGE batch of crawfish or moonshine.........

My new next door neighbors were watching me from the corner of their eyes. It took them a couple of months to ask but curiosity got the best of them and the wife finally yelled out, what are ya cookin over there? I said, Beer!
They were quite happy to hear that because questions started coming and the next day Mr. neighbor came over scoping out my brewery. They really love beer they said, so , I offered a couple . They have been pretty good neighbors since then.

Sudster what area of Austin do you live in?

I'm lucky enough to live across the street from a private christian school. All the little kids hang out at the playground fence yelling "HEY what are you making?" I have decided to take the decent route and tell them its coffee. The next door neighbor, on the other hand, has a recovering alcoholic son living with them so needless to say the coffee bit didnt work on him... He proceeded to come over and hang out during the entire boiling process talking about how he used to brew his own beer with one of those one-step process, put the gallon jug under your bed for a week, and you have "beer" kits. ::sigh::

My mother- in-law(the Ogre) thinks that homebrewing is illegal. I'm not about to tell her any different. When she stays too long, I bust out the Evil Homebrew and start in on it. Doesn't take her long to leave. Love that woman !

sudsmonkey said:

My mother- in-law(the Ogre) thinks that homebrewing is illegal. I'm not about to tell her any different. When she stays too long, I bust out the Evil Homebrew and start in on it. Doesn't take her long to leave. Love that woman !

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LOL

sudsmonkey said:

My mother- in-law(the Ogre) thinks that homebrewing is illegal. I'm not about to tell her any different. When she stays too long, I bust out the Evil Homebrew and start in on it. Doesn't take her long to leave. Love that woman !

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You mean I'm not being a lawless rebel? Man, I was so much cooler when I was bucking the system.

i have a mate comen around to day to show him how its dun and to set him up no more free beer for you

i have amate comen around to day to show him how it is dun and to set him up no more free beer for you

I used to live in a townhouse where I had a plant light for growing orchids which was pretty clear from the street (the plant light, that is). I guess it got suspicions up because later the police were called on me for suspicion of a meth lab because of a "strange odor" which was in fact due to me roasting coffee out on the deck. A couple cups of coffee and a tour of the orchid room and all was well with the PD.

In my new neighborhood my biggest problem with homebrewing is all the neighbors coming over "to help". Talk about every cook wanting to stir the pot (even if they don't know exactly what's in the pot or why they should or shouldn't be stirring it).

My uber-religious neighbors finally know what's going on in my kitchen. I couldn't figure out how to tell them, but my wife is pretty bold. She just walked over to the lady of the house to chat (they do this often) and asked, "Do you guys drink at all, because my husband makes his own beer and we thought you might like some."

They do drink, and they did want some. Now I'll have to set up the sentry guns to keep them at bay.

-walker

Ever get suspicious neighbors?

Not since the last ones mysteriously disappeared.....

I have so many different hobbies that my neighbors have gotten used to seeing strange contraptions in the driveway. I still have to laugh when I get my big 5 foot long 16 inch dia. telescope out in the evening, all the curtains get drawn and the blinds pulled, as if I would set out in my drive way with a huge telescope and look in their windows, DUh! I have little one upstairs for that

I still have to laugh when I get my big 5 foot long 16 inch dia. telescope out in the evening, all the curtains get drawn and the blinds pulled, as if I would set out in my drive way with a huge telescope and look in their windows, DUh! I have little one upstairs for that

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LOL

Can we turn off this stupid "10 character minimum" requirement?

After only 5 batches "under my belt" (its actually going over my belt!!!) I have had folks of different opinions. First is that group that says "Hey, this is really good stuff! I can't believe you made this yourself!" Then there is the group that looks at you with that stupid grin and says "Why don't you just go to the store and BUY beer?" The first group is really hard to get rid of and the second I can't get rid of quick enough!

You ever get the ones that just wrinkle their noses as you swill your homebrew and look at you like you're drinking kerosene, or something ? One of our horse boarders and I got ripped on homebrew out at the corral the other night while our wives were working with a horse. He turned to me with a straight face and asked " Don't you make this with grapes, or something ?". He was serious ! I don't eat brussel sprouts, but I know that they're made from some sort of Belgian uh... sprout. Damn ! Lost my train of thought. :cross:

sudsmonkey said:

One of our horse boarders

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Is that anything like a sail boarder?

sudsmonkey said:

while our wives were working with a horse.

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