converted a co-worker

At one point, I sent out an email to my co-workers to request their empty beer bottles so that I could use them for homebrew. Immediately after this, I was hit up with a lot of questions from curious co-workers about homebrewing, and two guys expressed pretty sincere interest in giving it a shot.

I pointed both of them to www.howtobrew.com. One of them never mentioned homebrewing after this, but I can't speculate on the reason. Maybe he was intimidated, maybe he just got too busy to think about it, whatever.

The other guy occasionally came back every now and then with a few questions about where I shopped, whether I had recipes I could share if he got into it, etc.

Today, he came by my cube to tell me he was picking up some gear this weekend. I asked him what he was buying (so that I could offer suggestions or changes) and...

MAN!

this guy is going whole-hog!

He's getting enough glass to do 2 or 3 batches at a time, propane burner, 10 gallon SS pot w/ a tap, a fridge to control fermentation, and buying a complete kegging set-up for the fridge he already has in the garage!

Wow. Talk about jumping in with both feet!

-walker

Way to preach it! Repent and Brew, sinners!

(Yet another uneventful day at work if you must ask )

Yes, I too am a converted co-worker. Just started talking about it with a colleague and wham-bam I've got 2 batches worth of equipment myself. Is he going AG from the start?

beerlover84 said:

Yes, I too am a converted co-worker. Just started talking about it with a colleague and wham-bam I've got 2 batches worth of equipment myself. Is he going AG from the start?

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As far as I know, he's going the extract route first. I never really asked, just assumed that's what he would do.

He made no mention of mash tun or anything when he rolled off the gear he was buying, but I guess he could have made one himself.

-walker

beerlover84 said:

Yes, I too am a converted co-worker. Just started talking about it with a colleague and wham-bam I've got 2 batches worth of equipment myself. Is he going AG from the start?

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Me too. A co-worker had The Complete Joy of Home Brewing and I asked him about it. He let me take the book home and I read it cover to cover that night. I had my equipment and brewed a batch that weekend. I was all grain brewing about 8 months later. Ten years later here I am!

I started when a mate told me about how he had a friend who started his own brewery. I like the sound of it, but figured I had to start somewhere, so my interest in homebrewing was born.

Maybe someday I will have my own brewery...

Man, you're going to have to step your game up to maintain your alpha-brewer status of the pack!

I look at it as another chance to get good beer. Uh, dude, can I have more of oyur beer for comparison and research?

The more homebrewers the better, IMHO. I would love to see Budweiser continue to dip thier profits.

Baron von BeeGee said:

Man, you're going to have to step your game up to maintain your alpha-brewer status of the pack!

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I'm prowling on the perimeter.

BlightyBrewer said:

I'm prowling on the perimeter.

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I smell blood! Or is that hefeweizen?

I find it amazing how little a brewing co-worker and I are able to get done once we start talking brewing. We did a joint 10 gallon batch this past weekend. THat's about all we've talked about this week.

sudsmonkey said:

I find it amazing how little a brewing co-worker and I are able to get done once we start talking brewing. We did a joint 10 gallon batch this past weekend. THat's about all we've talked about this week.

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I don't think I could work with someone who is a home brewer. We would be fired for brewing at work!

We've both been to the HBS on the clock, bottled a batch of beer( without drinking any, of course) on the clock, and planned the conquest of our area through microbrewing. Only thing stopping us is that we don't want to give up our jobs to brew beer. Not when the Company subsidises all these brewing activities!

A peer of mine is a brewer as is a guy that works for me. Another guy that works for me makes his own wine.

There is a lot of wasted time going on. I normally bring in samplers for the guys that work for me that do not brew as well. I am thinking of having a "Brew-In" this spring if my friends want to hike their equipment over.

I work with about 300 people and there are at least 5 of them that I know are homebrewers. I was kind of surprised about that living here in Oklahoma, but then I got to thinking, this state had a lot of moonshiners back in the day and this is a pretty logical out come of that.

God Emporer BillyBrew said:

... I was kind of surprised about that living here in Oklahoma, but then I got to thinking, this state had a lot of moonshiners back in the day and this is a pretty logical out come of that.

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Plus, there is quite a German population there. I lived in Tulsa from the time I was two until I was 13 and there were a lot of Germans (I'm 1/3 German myself). Today, I understand Tulsa has one of the best Oktoberfests in America! I'd like to go to it someday and relive my childhood at the same time!

Back on topic , I work in an office with about 60 people, about 60/40 male to female ratio. I have coworkers who see me reading BYO and are curious. A few will tell a story of how they "tried that with some buddies once back in college and it tuned out..." But no serious takers.

Rhoobarb said:

Plus, there is quite a German population there. I lived in Tulsa from the time I was two until I was 13 and there were a lot of Germans (I'm 1/3 German myself). Today, I understand Tulsa has one of the best Oktoberfests in America! I'd like to go to it someday and relive my childhood at the same time!

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Haven't heard that, but maybe I'll try it out. I go to one out in the small town of Choctaw, OK that is very European and a very good time.

Rhoobarb said:

A few will tell a story of how they "tried that with some buddies once back in college and it tuned out..."

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I've heard that about a lot of things!!