You know you're a home brewer when?

When you walk into the local package store and see that microbrews are going for $10 a four pack and nearly poo yourself.
You don't remember them being more than $8 for a six pack
and you don't recall seeing microbrews in cans at your package store

Then you realize you haven't been to the package store for beer in quite some time...

You spend your lunch break wandering the aisles of Lowes or HD looking for the parts you need for your <insert project build here> build and then go home and spend the rest of the time making things work.

When you kill time in the plumbing section of Home Depot even though your plumbing works fine.

mcangeli said:

You spend your lunch break wandering the aisles of Lowes or HD looking for the parts you need for your <insert project build here> build and then go home and spend the rest of the time making things work.

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Lol, didn't read that until after I posted. Great minds think alike, huh?

When you're drinking a beer at a restaurant and think about how to smuggle the bottle out to use for your homebrew. Then the wife says "don't even think about it" before you even say anything.

bigskygreg said:

When you're drinking a beer at a restaurant and think about how to smuggle the bottle out to use for your homebrew. Then the wife says "don't even think about it" before you even say anything.

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Just ask them? Doubt they would care, seeing as you are reducing their waste disposal cost. Unless you live in a deposit state.

bigskygreg said:

When you're drinking a beer at a restaurant and think about how to smuggle the bottle out to use for your homebrew. Then the wife says "don't even think about it" before you even say anything.

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Or when you're think about how to smuggle the dregs of the bottle to pitch into homebrew.

bigskygreg said:

When you're drinking a beer at a restaurant and think about how to smuggle the bottle out to use for your homebrew. Then the wife says "don't even think about it" before you even say anything.

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I had my wife fit 11 Bell's bottles in her purse after her company party, she's much happier that I can literally keg everything now

When you've gone from, "What can I brew that tastes like what I buy?" to "What can I buy that tastes like what I brew?"

Qhrumphf said:

Or when you're think about how to smuggle the dregs of the bottle to pitch into homebrew.

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I actually have my wife carry a sanitized mason jar (8oz) in her purse for just that reason. I have tons of 1056 and 1028 because of it. Now I just need to get some really good Irish ale yeast for a red that I want to do...

Mozart said:

When you've gone from, "What can I brew that tastes like what I buy?" to "What can I buy that tastes like what I brew?"

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Awesome.

Oktoberfest is the only one I buy anymore.

You wear out a churchkey.

When forced to choose between a job with a 45 minute commute and one with a 10 minute commute you choose the 45 minute one because it means you can hit up the bottle shop on the way home

cody6173 said:

When forced to choose between a job with a 45 minute commute and one with a 10 minute commute you choose the 45 minute one because it means you can hit up the bottle shop on the way home

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You pick the one 10 minutes (or 9.6 miles) so you can get a batch started before the wife gets home

Malty_Dog said:

...when you briefly consider dumping a few bottles of that Sam Adams Summer Ale in order to make room for a few bottles of your latest batch. Of course you don't but you were this close to breaking a beer commandment.

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The commandment is not broken if you pour six of em in a plastic pitcher so you can have the bottles, knowing you have to drink the pitcher before going to bed lol

You agree to live with your SWMBO and her mother for a few months and one of the primary reasons is the capacity to brew on the deck because of the NG hookup, and the ability to have brewing equipment all over the basement.

johnpcook1 said:

The commandment is not broken if you pour six of em in a plastic pitcher so you can have the bottles, knowing you have to drink the pitcher before going to bed lol

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Did the same thing with a gallon jug of wine a while back. Yeast was pitched that night for a batch of JAOM and the wine was gone in a week or two :rockin:

When you pay slightly more for five 1 gallon bottles of apple juice to make hard cider jus so you can get five 1 gallon "carboys" to make 5 different experimental batches of the same beer (varying yeast and spices)

When you're watching Breaking Bad and think two things:

Man that RV looks like my closet

Hank should keg so he doesn't think there are gun shots in his garage

Hulud said:

When you're watching Breaking Bad and think two things:

Man that RV looks like my closet

Hank should keg so he doesn't think there are gun shots in his garage

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I thought about the keg thing too! Lol

pb

plumber_bob said:

I thought about the keg thing too! Lol

pb

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Haha yea man. I just got turned on to the how and have gotten to episode 11 in season 3 in a week. Show is addictive....much like meth

When you're up close to midnight on a Tuesday, delabeling 30 empty bottles from a get together this past weekend, because, well...when else are you going to do it?

MacDub7 said:

When you're up close to midnight on a Tuesday, delabeling 30 empty bottles from a get together this past weekend, because, well...when else are you going to do it?

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A real home brewer would have done it as each bottle was finished at the get together

When you're up til nearly 1 on that same Tuesday night (Wednesday now I guess), and after you finish delabeling bottles, you decide you should slice/freeze the peaches your mom gave you this weekend, because there super ripe, and you're going on a trip for your anniversary this weekend, so you want to make sure they keep for a peach cider the following weekend. You're already up too late...so what's an extra hour?

Hulud said:

A real home brewer would have done it as each bottle was finished at the get together

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Rinsed out each bottle as we went that night, but the labels (mostly Victory) were too hard to take off... So they've been soaking for a few days.

MacDub7 said:

Rinsed out each bottle as we went that night, but the labels (mostly Victory) were too hard to take off... So they've been soaking for a few days.

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Well played sir

beaksnbeer said:

Back when the wife and I lived in WI we planned ALL vacations,and weekends to get to all the small/craft breweries (bypassed the miller/Icehouse) at the time we hit 53 out of 54 in 1year.

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Might get some BOOS for this... But being a Coloradoan, toured the Coors brewery in Golden when we we were up there a week ago. Say what you will about BMC, but it's a super impressive facility.

MacDub7 said:

Might get some BOOS for this... But being a Coloradoan, toured the Coors brewery in Golden when we we were up there a week ago. Say what you will about BMC, but it's a super impressive facility.

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I'd love to tour one of those facilities. Hate the beer, the politics etc. But there are so many toys and brew bling in those buildings it's nuts. Their system is extremely efficient.

I have toured all 3 BMC breweries (B and C in Colorado and M in Milwaukee) and they are super impressive despite to filth that they bottle. Then, when you turn down the street to go see a micro brewery, it's interesting to see how different the operations are. Hell, Avery BC was closed when my buddy and I drove up, and the brewmaster opened the doors, let's us in, gave us a personal tour, then proceeded to provide full pint samples. We were there for a good 3 hours after closing. It was pretty awesome.

They also love to hear you're a homebrewer too. Its about the humble beginnings.

Yup. From small acorns mighty oaks grow...

Mozart said:

When you've gone from, "What can I brew that tastes like what I buy?" to "What can I buy that tastes like what I brew?"

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This

When one site has cheaper grain prices & just when you think you'll save money over your usual site,the hop prices drive the total up higher than your usual site. Save on some things,loose on everything else. Gee,what does this remind us of???

unionrdr said:

When one site has cheaper grain prices & just when you think you'll save money over your usual site,the hop prices drive the total up higher than your usual site. Save on some things,loose on everything else. Gee,what does this remind us of???

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I support my LHBS with the purchase of specialty grains but buy everything else in bulk or online. I usually choose my vendor by the selection and price, so if one has everything but is a bit more expensive I'll still bite. Shipping can be a huge factor too!

back on topic...

When wifey gives the toddler on daddy's birthday a shirt that says "Homebrewed"

funnycreature said:

I When wifey gives the toddler on daddy's birthday a shirt that says "Homebrewed"

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That is one of the cutest things I've ever seen!

kombat said:

When your wife catches you surfing the "Freezers" section of Craigslist when you already have 3 in the basement ("But 2 of them are for food!")

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Kiggru said:

When you walk through the store and see air pumps and before you can say anything your wife says, "I know it can be used for beer, no you can't have it"

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When wife wars are fought over CF of storage space....

Erroneous said:

You could have stuck them in the fridge to stop the yeast. Less risk of infection, but the beer might not be to style.

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When you brew for style and not for flavors.

tylerverry said:

While writing the employee handbook at work, Every time you mean to write "termination" you start writing "fermentation."

Think I've got tomorrows brew day on my mind?

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Not at all. Every employee hand book should be fermented well... otherwise it goes bad within days and never gets to mature in the hands of a dedicated employee.


You walk into your house and the family tells you there is some bad news... And the first thing you think is "What beer got dropped/infected/bottle bombed?"

honreth said:

You walk into your house and the family tells you there is some bad news... And the first thing you think is "What beer got dropped/infected/bottle bombed?"

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When you find out that it was a family member you didn't really know/like, you wonder which batch you don't mind parting with at the funeral/viewing/potluck...

Catch yourself laying on the ground watching yeast go haywire in the carboy for 20+ minutes. It's like a huge, biological, beer producing lava lamp.

greencoat said:

Catch yourself laying on the ground watching yeast go haywire in the carboy for 20+ minutes. It's like a huge, biological, beer producing lava lamp.

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This a hundred times this

funnycreature said:

I support my LHBS with the purchase of specialty grains but buy everything else in bulk or online. I usually choose my vendor by the selection and price, so if one has everything but is a bit more expensive I'll still bite. Shipping can be a huge factor too!...

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No joke. My usual online place has great shipping prices, but everything else is a little higher then other places. On balance, the shipping prices being low wins out.

I did the dishes. Now the kitchen is ready for brewing.

greencoat said:

Catch yourself laying on the ground watching yeast go haywire in the carboy for 20+ minutes. It's like a huge, biological, beer producing lava lamp.

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It's slightly more addictive than watching the sprinklers run. There's just something comforting about both