Why and when did you start brewing?

I thought it would be interesting to find out why and when people on HBT started brewing. I am sure there have got to be many good stories out there.
I started brewing 7 years ago when I was 20 after losing my doctored ID in college. My friend and I flipped on the TV when I got home from court and saw a commercial (ironically the only homebrew commercial I have ever seen) for Hennessy Homebrew Emporium in Rensselaer NY. It was like a light got turned on in our heads and we had to know more about this wonderful sounding hobby. We had talked (like so many college students) about the day we would open a bar, and now we had the opportunity to start a home brewery. We were on cloud nine. We took a drive out there, talked with some great people at the store and bought a basic equipment kit and an ingredient kit for a Sam Adams clone. We brewed it that night, made a royal mess and had a great time. We were hooked and we both continue to brew to this day. 7 years later, I have a brew journal with 50 or 60 brews recorded in it and have had my most productive year to date with 65 gallons brewed.

After a month-long trip to Europe with my wife (before kids) we realized that most of the beer back home was seriously lacking in flavor, or so we thought. A little while later, we watched Alton Brown's beer episode, and a local show on homebrewing shops in the same week. That weekend we went to the LHBS and got out kit. That was about 5 years ago. That first year we brewed about 100gl and have averaged about the same ever since... might have to ramp that up though...

2 years ago. I discovered craft beer and decided that I needed to learn how to make it. I also live in Mississippi so it is easier to brew good beer than drive 3 hours to New Orleans to buy some.

I started in College as well. Me and a buddy figured it would be a cheap way to get decent beer. We made about 5 batches in a year and got discouraged because they all had "that" flavor. Like most new brewers we WAY underestimated the importance of pitching rates and fermentation temp control.

A couple years after that, I had moved to a new town and was bored with no friends (wiping lone tear from eye). I went online and somehow stumbled upon a homebrew supply store and ordered a deluxe kit. My first batch was delicious (a vanilla hefe-weizen), and I had read the Complete Joy of Homebrewing cover-to-cover before it was done fermenting. I was hooked. I'm at a total of 10 years in, and about 7 years of "enlightened" brewing in.

It was cold and dark night, 4 score and 7 year ago, we were trapped in a blizzard and the water pump froze...

Nah. It was hot and sunny. Buddy an I were on a porch drinking Budweiser and talking about the expense of better beer. The damned fool mentions "You know, I read somewhere that this stuff is easy to make at home and I think there is a shop for the stuff up the road".

I was at that shop the next day. That was 4 or 5 year ago. I brewed beer like I was building up the world supply. Then I bought a pre-fab RIMS and practically stopped brewing altoghther. Having kids helped.

A co-worker challenged me to make a batch of beer. I started Jan 16th of this year and will reach 200 Gallons before the end of the year.

I love beer, cooking and math. I'm surprised it took me so long to discover the hobby.

I started last saturday. I need a winter hobby when i can't golf.

I only started seriously back in April of this year and probably have about 10 batches under my belt so I am still a noob. I have always loved quality craft beer, even in high school and college when my friends were swilling Bud and PBR I was trying to elighten them to the joys of a delicous IPA or stout (a good number of my friends hated craft beer then but have recently come around and will drink nothing but the best!).

For xmas a few years back, my ex-girlfriend's mom bought me a Mr. Beer kit and I quickly brewed it up. I then proceeded to place it in a closet and completely forget about it for about 5 months. Needless to say that after months of stifflingly hot temps, the beer was quite disgusting and I dumped the whole batch. After that, I knew that I wanted to and could make better beer so when I moved into a bigger place this past year, I bought my starter kit and the obsession began

Even though I have only brewed about 10 batches, I (and all my friends who have tried my brews) can taste a definite difference in quality from those first couple brews to my current beers (thank you johnson controller and starters!)

Can already tell that this will be a lifelong hobby!

Before I discovered craft beer, swmbo & I were into wine. We'd buy about two cases a year. As for beer, Heineken & Yuengling black & tan were what we mostly drank.

I had been thinking of brewing beer for about two years, and for 2009 Father's day swmbo gave me a couple books on homebrewing. I decided it was time to take the plunge, so we went to the LHBS & got a starter kit and an IPA ingredient kit. Papazian's book made all the difference to me; stopped me from worrying & helped me relax thru the process the first time.

That was 20 extract batches ago. Friends, family, co-workers all like my beer. I love the sound of bubbling airlocks. It's fun just to think about what's fermenting & planning what to brew next. I also enjoy taking an inventory of the cases of bottled beer, like some dragon sitting on a pile of treasure on a cold winter night at the heart of a mountain. Nights like that call for a nice porter or stout.

But what I didn't expect was how much I enjoy socializing with other brewers at our monthly meetings. So much fun to get together, drink & talk beer.

What a fun, fun hobby.

It was a pretty simple thing for me. A couple of my friends were talking about it at work so I decided to try it.

I've always loved craft beers and often thought of brewing my own beer. I love to cook as well. I just brewed my first beer in Sept of this year and it came out great which has inspired me to keep brewing.

Bartended at a local brewery back in college and had always kicked around brewing my own. I was just never motivated enough to actually get started. Fast forward to last Christmas and my wife bought me a setup out of the blue, as I'd never discussed it with her at all.

Needless to say, hands down best present ever.

I've always loved craft and foreign beers. In high school and college while everyone else drank the usual BMC swill I was drinking stuff nobody had ever heard of.

Then in my mid-20s my wife (then my girlfriend) bought me a homebrewing kit for Christmas. I briefly read the instructions and never used it because it sounded complicated and I was lazy. The kit sat in my basement collecting dust for 5 years. Then a year and a half ago my friend got a kit and made a pretty good amber ale from a recipe kit. That got me thinking about finally trying the kit. Then a few months later another friend brewed a beer from one of those Mr. Beer kits. His beer sucked, but he still went through with it.

After that i figured "If those two morons can do it, then dammit so can I!"

I read John Palmer's website. Then I grabbed my kit from the cobwebs, cleaned and sanitized it, and brewed a Brewers Best Imperial Nut Brown Ale recipe kit. It turned out to be really good and that was it. I was hooked. It's been a little over a year since then, and I have over 20 batches under my belt already. I bought a three gallon cooler so I can brew PM recipes, and I have two corny kegs for my kegerator.

The funny thing is, my two friends both gave up on brewing. One didn't have the patience or love to continue with it. The other one kept cutting corners in his sanitizing process and got discouraged when his beers got messed up.

I don't see myself ever giving up this hobby. I absolutely love it.

Starting brewing in college when I was 19 w/ a Mr.Beer kit, 4 years later I have a 5 gal setup. Hopefully in 4 more years I'll up grade to something better...

The bug bit me way back in March 2010. My stepfather (well... the first one XD) had tried to make beer in the past, and it was horrible. BUt I'd always wanted to try, but only seriously looked into it back in March. SWMBO asked me to hold out on starting this new hobby (as I needed -some- kind of hobby outside of gaming) until we moved.

August, we moved. I got a spot in my basement for working on and fermenting beer.

The beer was set up two weeks later :rockin:

I was given a Mr. Beer as a christmas gift. Of course I try to never half ass anything so I went online and googled alot before attempting my Mr. Beer. The funny thing is, is that the Mr. Beer is still in my brew closet un-used. After researching online, I got bit and went to the local homebrew store and bought a deluxe brewing kit.

Been brewing for about a year and a half.

Had some friends who did it back in college and always wanted to try. My wife loves to cook, so we talk about recipes and the techniques about making beer from scratch.

Have acquired equipment over the last year and recently got into kegging.

I have a ton of hobbies, but brewing is hands down the most rewarding and is quickly edging out the others for $$ spent.

I was just looking for something new to do. I was bored and was tired of shelling out money on games and things. I had an idea that it would awesome to make beer. I started research at the start of October and had a kit and beer in the fermenter by the end of the month.

The wife got me a Mr. Beer kit for Christmas about 12yrs ago. I did a few batches with that but wasn't really happy with the results. A year or so later we were at a home show and the LHBS had a booth set up selling starter kits so I decided to give it another try. Brewed a lot for a couple of years then between work and family I didn't have that much time to brew. I got back into it about 3yrs ago, built a kegerator and have been brewing every chance I get. I've slowly been colleting everything I need to go all grain and should be ready to go in the next couple of months. Not going to do anything fancy just a 3 tier gravity feed system. Already got a couple of kegs and cooler to convert just need some burners and all the fittings.

I was never a big drinker, now that I think about it I don't drink "a lot", just often. Throughout high school/undergrad in college I never partied. I don't like the idea of hanging with a lot of people in small places guzzling yak piss. My dad got me in to JW Dundee Honeybrown and that was my gateway beer. From there I tried Sam Adams Black Lager (or was it Saranac Black Forest?) and was in love. I was trying some different micros when I thought, gee, I am a science geek. I like over-thinking things. I bet I could save some money by brewing my own. That was it, I started this past January. I am loving it, I don't brew as much as I would like due to my current financial situation (not broke, but no need to spend extra cash right now). That will change soon with the upcoming job...

I was a bud light drinker for 15 years. Got turned on to Guinness, then slowly German style beers. ( Props to the sunset grill in Boston). A little more 3 years ago I saw a commercial for the Sam Adams homebrew contest. I thought hmmmm, I can make my own beer.. Never really gave it a thought..I went to my LHBS and bought a kit and entered the contest.. The rest is history.

The only bad thing is why I didn't start brewing beer years ago. I'm so thankful that I got into homebrewing. It really opened my eyes to so many wonderful beer styles. Too bad more people didn't have the awakening that I did. Cheers....

My son was off to college for his freshman year, when he reported to us that he'd discovered home brewing and was going to brew beer and sell it to his friends. We persuaded him not to produce and sell out of his dorm, but he did produce, and introduced me to the craft. Being a serial hobbyist, I ate (drank) it up. I hadn't previously been a beer aficianado by any means, though I'd advanced beyond the usual BMCs. I'm a serial hobbyist, and my idea of the perfect hobby is one that has a low threshold of initial success (unlike, for example, golf) but virtually unlimited horizons for continued improvement and learning. Home brewing fits those criteria very well. But... being an incorrigible serial hobbyist... I've just harvested my first 50 pounds of honey from my backyard hives and I've lately been spending more time on the beekeeping forums than here. No surprise... next batch is a mead with my own backyard, wildflower honey!

Like Many I saw Mr. Beer and figured it would be cool so I asked for it for Christmas last year. Even better my sister got me a basic starter kit from the local brewshop and a brewhouse kit, the brewhouse kit was so simple, it took 10 minutes on brewing day. Then when I went into the LHBS to buy 500mL PET bottles I started asking questions, they sent me here, I read up all I could and quickly progressed from extract to all-grain and now I'm 18 batches deep since Christmas.

I got into brewing via sheep...

To explain - I have been a fiber nut for a long time. I can take wool from on the sheep to a pair of socks and have lots of fun doing it. My son got into a group called the SCA and they have a bunch of people also interested in fiber arts so we joined up. During one of the local collegiums there was a class on brewing quick mead. The class sounded like fun and I didn't have any other classes for that 4 hour timeframe so I thought I would check it out. After that class, I purchased my first carboy and other equipment and made my first quick mead (boiled on the stove...) The instructor of this class was insistent on having good sanitation and stressed many times during the class how bad sanitation can ruin a lot of hard work.

I stuck with meads for about 6 months, enjoyed what I was making but wanted something that would be finished faster than a year or two. I looked into brewing ales and started with an extract plus steeping grains batch. I stuck with extracts for about 6 months then made the jump to all-grain and have been doing that for a few years.

I am loving all of the different ales I have made. I have now started back with meads and melomels after taking a hiatus for a few years. Brewing beer has given me a yummy beverage to drink while waiting for that oh-so-long time for the meads to get finished!

Started really getting into beer when I was a teenager. Then my brother bought me some brewing kit for my 18th birthday and I started from there. Brewed from kits for a while and recently made the jump to all grain brewing.

I know it's a little early but I really love beer and want to make beer for a living.

I started for fun in ~1979. Full boil extract recipes were available. Did about 10 batches (5 were good, 4 were ok and 1 i threw out.) Moved and didn't start brewing again until last month.

Biggest change is variety of kits, yeasts and larger focus on temperature, sanitation and wort chilling.

My dad always made wine when I was a kid (horrible, horrible wine...but got me mighty drunk when I was in high school ). I bought him a beer kit for Christmas one year when I was in college figuring it might be something we could do together, and I wasn't so interested in wine. He wasn't really that interested in beer, but I was. I've been brewing since (~15 years).

Interesting enough, I just found out from an aunt that one of my great grandfathers brewed beer during prohibition. I wish there were some records, a recipe, or some piece of equipment I could have to relate. unfortunately my aunt said that it was really just for family and friend consumption, and was absolutely done in secrecy, so no records were kept.

I started homebrewing for real three years ago. In 1970, my uncle gave me a few old pieces of equipment (including my grandfather's old bench capper from prohibition) and told me about it, and I made an abortive attempt to try to brew.....but no suitable ingredients were available. I did find Blue Ribbon Malt Extract at the grocery store, dried hops in a box at the drugstore, and Budweiser yeast at a bakery. With these ingredients plus table sugar I made a product in a green plastic wastebasket that I became accustomed to drinking, but which no one else could stand.
So, within a year, I quit. Then, in 2007, my son helped persuade me to start again. Been doing it ever since, and going strong.

Always been a big craft beer geek. My now-wife bought me Sam Calgione's Extreme Brewing when I was in college. I made a few so-so batches in my tiny apartment. After we got married, I went on a one year hiatus because our new apartment was just way too small and I didn't want to stress out my new bride too much too soon. So I made her promise me after we got a house I could make up lost time and get a real set-up.

Scored a ton of all-grain equipment and ingredients off some guy getting out of the hobby for $325 and have been brewing monthly since.

Toast to the awesome SWMBO's who got us into this hobby :rockin:

When I was 19 my boss at the time was brewing 10 gallon batches every other weekend. I had been drinking a lot of imports, mostly stouts and british ales, so I already had an appreciation for good beer. Anyway, one day he had a party at his house for all the employees and he had two beers on tap. One was a generic macro and the other was homebrew (brown ale I think). I drank the homebrew all night and couldn't believe how good it was. He told me how easy it was to make and gave me the basic info I needed to get started. I order a kit (Scotch Ale I think) very soon after and borrowed a pot from the restaurant I was working at. There were three of us who began brewing after that party. One made 2 or 3 batches that were terrible, the other went on to get a degree and brew for a living, and me; still homebrewing 13 years later.

I am taking a college course on brewing science. Figured it would be worth trying out. Only cost me around $100 to get started. Now I already spent another $50 on a turkey fryer and am going to get a mash tun and immersion chiller soon

For me it started in 2006. A old buddy of mine from the neighbourhood happened to be in a college class with one of my housemates. He invited the guy over to reconnect and reminisce.

Buddy shows up with a pile of beer with no labels. As background, this man can drink... Him polishing a case off by himself a night was not unheard of. Needless to say, when you drink that much economics come into play. Additionally his brand was John Labatt Classic, one of the 'premium' lagers up here at the time. He had long before started brewing a clone of JLC at a 'brew on premises' place in our hometown. For what he was paying, and the quality of the brew, it was a no-brainer that I start. At the time I was drinking McEwan Scotch exclusively (@ 13.60 for a 6'er) so it really helped motivate me to give homebrewing it a try.

I went to the 'homebrew' place that my friend went to. It is the sort of place they brew it up and all the patron does is pitch the yeast (making it homebrew under our liquor laws). Choose your recipe and come back in a few hours to pitch, a few weeks later to bottle. That is all there was to it.

Being a very curious person, I wanted to see how it was all done first hand. This must have been unusual, because the girl on the counter had to go back and make sure it was OK. After some negotiation, I was allowed back to see my brew being made. I couldn't believe what I saw... This place had pallets of boxed brew kits (pale ale flavour) and were simply adding steeped adjuncts and hops to create one of the recipes in their book. I was disgusted to put it mildly. Hell I though, if that is all they do I might as well cut out the middleman. That was my first and last batch with them.

I checked the interwebz and found a LHBS. I went in and got a starter kit and bulk extract, adjunct grain, and hops. The rest has just been a progression. I now do all grain, have 4 primaries, 4 secondaries, 9 corneys and a four keg kegorator. Building a electric RIMS currently.

One of the best hobbies going. I'm glad that my buddy introduced me to it... All by chance. I can't image life without brewing. I've since lost touch with the guy who got me going (again). On the off chance he is a member here, thanks Earl!

I started brewing because I just straight up love beer. I was 22 when I first started researching about home brewing once I found out that the BMC crap that I had been drinking since I was 16 wasn't even in the same league as awesome craft beer. I've always been a hobby oriented person so home brewing seemed like the best way to get the most out of my recreational dollars. After that first brew I was hooked.

I love to do it myself when it comes to food (smoking BBQ, baking bread, whipping mayonnaise, making wine, etc.) Basically, I try to remove as many middlemen between me and my vices. Beer was an obvious next step, but I have been intimidated by the equipment I would need and all the amazing craft beer all around me here in Asheville, NC.

A friend of mine who taught with me at my school moved overseas last year and sold off lots of his stuff cheap beforehand. I snagged a $125 brewing starter kit for $25 and was thus out of excuses.

My first batch two months ago was a super-simple all extract pale ale with a packet of dry yeast I pitched straight in. I found out later I made lots of noob mistakes, but the beer was awesome! Tomorrow I'm brewing that recipe again a little smoother, and it will be my sixth batch.

My fermenter always sits on my bathroom counter--the only place in my apartment that is cool, dark, and safe from my children. When I'm between batches I feel a little lonely when I'm brushing my teeth (or whatever) because I don't have my little yeast farm bubbling away keeping me company farting CO2 and pissing alcohol.

Fortunately, my wife also loves good beer and can do the math to compare $8 six-packs from the store vs. $30 worth of hops, grain, and extract to make 50 bottles. When I'm out of this apartment and my kids grow a little older I'm looking forward to all-grain, full-batch, and kegging.

I started brewing about two years ago when I moved to a tiny town in SE Arkansas. I have to drive an hour to even think about getting some craft beer so I decided to make some for myself. Now I'm hooked!

A) I've always enjoyed beer, and wanted to know the 'why' and 'how' beer gets to be... beer.
B) As echoed before, I like doing stuff for myself. And honestly, the handbag I carry, made out of an old handyman's book, says so ... 'Do It Yourself'... I like canning, gardening, home repair, hate preparing meals from boxes, and love McGyvering stuff.
C) Got into it about a year and a half ago with a Groupon for a starter kit from Midwest. Haven't looked back. Enjoy the process and truly enjoy the tasty beers. Wonder why I didn't start sooner.

My dad would be so proud.

My Dad brewed when I was a kid. All I remember was a big glass jug with a glass curvy thing sticking out the top in the basement though.

When I got older I found his home brew book and read it. I wish I knew what happened to it but by the time I got to college I knew it could be done so I went out and bought "The Complete Joy of Home Brewing". All I had was the book and a local home brew store located at the Montgomeryville Mart and that's how I got started in about 1995.

I wish I had all the resources available to new brewers today. It would have saved many bad batches, siphoning, bottling, and sanitation issues, and I probably wouldn't have quit for several years out of frustration at ruined batches.

I was almost 22 y/o (2002), living in the Pacific Northwest (Bellingham, WA), and drinking a ton of commercial and brewpub (Boundary Bay) beer. One of my colleagues at a group home I worked at mentioned he brewed his own beer. This intrigued me. The next weekend, I purchased an Irish Red kit from North Corner Brew Supply. My roommate and I brewed 8 batches (extract) the following 8 months.

Then I got married and moved to Fresno, CA... and started grad school. I was broke and it was hot. I helped some friends brew, but my gear gathered dust. Then...

I graduated and started working... income! After a few months, I brought up the fact I used to brew with the dude I carpool'd with. This intrigued him. That weekend (January 2011), we bought ingredients for an old IPA recipe I designed back in 2002. After that batch, I've yet to turn back. I now brew 11 gal batches every other week on a single tier system, all grain, pumps, plate chiller, etc, etc. My pal, krispy3d on HBT, has since moved (lame) and brews smaller batches often. It is a priority in my life... just after my family

BendBrewer said:

I love beer, cooking and math. I'm surprised it took me so long to discover the hobby.

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For some reason I read this and thought it said "I love beer and cooking meth" lol

KuntzBrewing said:

For some reason I read this and thought it said "I love beer and cooking meth" lol

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I thought the same thing....