How homebrewing ruined my life

There I was, happily drinking the beer that Corporate America told me was good. It not only tasted great, it was less filling. The King ! The beer with a taste for food. Cheap and plentiful. Then I started brewing. I still drank commercial beer between batches, but I didn't enjoy it as much as I had before. Now, I go out to dinner or to a bar and don't even think about a Bud or Miller. It's got to be something more expensive to satisfy my palate. My tastes no longer agree with my wallet. I'm drinking beyond my means! A $5.99 twelve-pack used to be my heart's desire. Now it just pisses me off.

I just bottled a batch of Mumbling Monkey Amber. Tommorrow, I'll start a batch of Bock I found online this morning. I see why so many of you brew constantly. I, too, plan on being a perpetual brewer. Thanks, Homebrewing !

Heh...microbrews used to be an occasional treat for me. But once they hit your lips, they taste so good! Soon I discovered this beer thing was true: Budweiser was the Devil and Jesus was a homebrewer previous to his career as a prophet. All of a sudden, I found myself in love with the world and there was only one thing left to do: brew a big batch of my favorite beer all day long.

Cheesefood said:

...and Jesus was a homebrewer previous to his career as a prophet. ...

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And don't forget, carpenter! He's the most famous carpenter that ever lived, next to Norm Abrams! And Norm looks like he's polished off a few Boston Lagers in his lifetime.

Speaking of, Sammy has a dual-pack of Boston Lager and Hefe available now. I almost bought one, but went for a Hacker-Pschorr Weiss instead.

Thank you ALL for raising my standards. I now drink ONLY good beer. No more Utilitybrau.

It's partially because my wife (a Miller Lite devotee) isn't drinking, but also because I'm convincing myself that I actually am a beer snob.

It's killing both my wallet and my waistline. I love big beers, and man, I can definitely tell how many more calories they have when I look in the mirror.

Sam75 said:

It's killing both my wallet and my waistline. I love big beers, and man, I can definitely tell how many more calories they have when I look in the mirror.

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Careful, my waist line is the whole reason I left the Air Force. I couldn't keep my weight down to AF standards so I didn't re-up a second time.

Luckily (sorta), there's no more weight standard. There's a new fitness test, wherein your waist (across your gut) measurement counts for 30% (or is it 40%?) of your score, along with a run and pushups/situps. I gotta run my friggin' butt off.

Man! I wish they'd have had that when I was in. Staying in shape was no problem but keeping the pounds off was. Hell I was running 3 miles a day back then.

Every other Thursday is "Pub Night" with the work mates. Now that I've started homebrewing I don't really like the beer I get there. No flavor, body, and very dissapointing on the alcohol content.

We need a calorie guide for our beer.... NOT!!!!!

That is the last thing we need.

Flavor without calories is a myth, Brothers and Sisters ! But who cares ? In Brewing Heaven, we'll all weigh the same.

I had a few pub beers last night. Man I feel rough as a badgers arse today...this never happens when I have a few homebrews!

One of these days I'll find a way to brew Budweiser at home. Until then, I guess I'm stuck slurping down this amateur tripe.


You can laugh now.

There's nothing wrong with wanting to make a budweiser clone. If that's what you like, you should try to brew it.

However, having said that, a few more things need to be said:

(1) brewing a light american lager can be tricky. The flavor is delicate (some might say non-existant), and ANY imperfection will stick out like a sore thumb. It's also crystal clear stuff, and that's kind of hard to get with homebrew (they have very expensive filtering equipment and we don't.) A.Busch's brewing method is VERY refined and precise.

(2) after you drink several batches of your "amateur tripe" you will VERY likely find that you enjoy it very much. You might also find that you have trouble tasting american lagers (they will seem very watery). Even a light-bodied, simple ale will pack a much bigger flavor punch than budweiser. Don't be surprised if, by the time you feel skilled enough to try a budweiser clone, you find yourself no longer calling that style of beer your favorite.

Brew on. If you want Bud, brew it.

-walker