What got you into homebrewing?

Been home brewing non stop for the past 4 years. Over the past couple of weeks I have found myself sitting back with a beer late at night and being amazed on how damn good it is... It is almost magical that a pile of grain, water and hops can be transformed into this beverage.

That got me thinking as to why I enjoy home brewing so much?
I imagine, unlike most members of this forum, I did not drink much beer at all before I 'found' home brewing. I drank about 3-4 beers a year. That all changed when a couple neighbors of mine started home brewing and invited me to watch/help. Once I did it, and tasted the results, I was hooked. It was the "process" that did it for me. The idea that you can make a 'grain soup' add some hops and yeast and it magically becomes beer was addicting to me.
I'm a photographer by trade, thinking back on what hooked me into photography as a profession, it it was the darkroom "process" . The idea that projecting a negative image onto paper and a positive image would magically appear!!
So, for me, brewing has filled the void left from going digital and not having a photo darkroom anymore.
That is what I got into home brewing.... What keeps me doing it?
I still love the process & gadgets but I find that the social aspect of having fellow brewers over for brew days and sharing each others beers very rewarding.

Whats Your Story??

I'm a frustrated chef/restauranteur @ heart, I chose not to follow that carrier path, I made the decision that starting a family was more important to me due to the circumstances of the environment I was brought up in. Not knocking the profession, I know there are far too many distractions for me personally.

So that being said, I was intrigued with the fact so few ingredients and very subtle changes to the manner of how whey were prepared could make such a vast array of finished products. I also like the nuts and bolts aspect, building and evaluating equipment is a close second. Being of Irish descent and loving beer since I was far to young to purchase it legally also didn't hurt.

Got tired of drinking swill like Bud, Coors, MGD.
Even disappointed by Heineken and Becks....

Found beer from Frakenmuth Brewery, Paulaner, Mackesons, and eventually Sam Adams changed my palette...

It was the Jim Koch story at Sam Adams that led to the term "homebrew" and to Charlie Papazian and The Complete Joy. I read that book front to cover at least 6 times. This was back in 1995 when there was a much smaller Internet.

For me it was the Minnesota Renaissance Festival. I drank more mead than I should have. Shortly after I decided, Hell, I can make this at home. After making a few batches of mead I thought to myself, "I love beer, why not start brewing my own?!" That was about 2 years and 200 gallons ago. Now I've built an all grain system after doing extract and partial mashes and will brewing my first all grain batch in about a week.

CBelli said:

Been home brewing non stop for the past 4 years. Over the past couple of weeks I have found myself sitting back with a beer late at night and being amazed on how damn good it is... It is almost magical that a pile of grain, water and hops can be transformed into this beverage.

That got me thinking as to why I enjoy home brewing so much?
I imagine, unlike most members of this forum, I did not drink much beer at all before I 'found' home brewing. I drank about 3-4 beers a year. That all changed when a couple neighbors of mine started home brewing and invited me to watch/help. Once I did it, and tasted the results, I was hooked. It was the "process" that did it for me. The idea that you can make a 'grain soup' add some hops and yeast and it magically becomes beer was addicting to me.
I'm a photographer by trade, thinking back on what hooked me into photography as a profession, it it was the darkroom "process" . The idea that projecting a negative image onto paper and a positive image would magically appear!!
So, for me, brewing has filled the void left from going digital and not having a photo darkroom anymore.
That is what I got into home brewing.... What keeps me doing it?
I still love the process & gadgets but I find that the social aspect of having fellow brewers over for brew days and sharing each others beers very rewarding.

Whats Your Story??

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Four years of 80+ hour work weeks running a small business. I needed something that I could do on the weekends to keep me sane. The hobby can be really soothing and the skills I have picked up will keep me brewing/drinking after the apocalypse this December.

I talked about it for years, and a couple of years ago a LHBS opened near my home. I drove by one day and mentioned to my wife that it was something I wanted to try. She ended up buying me the equipment to get started.

I love to cook so to me it is an extension of that. I love the fact that you can take a bunch of ingredients and make something tasty. It also gets to my creative side. I really like formulating recipes that are to my liking.

Great hobby/ addiction.

I got tired of spending way too much money at the local bottle shop for quality beer. I was spending 40-50 bucks a week for a couple of sixers and maybe a bomber or two. While researching some brews on line I came across this site. Was intrigued. I like to cook, to drink good beer.....and I had a keggerator already. Hmmmmmm? Now I may stop by the liquor store once every 3 months or so. The rest is history.

Hammy71 said:

I got tired of spending way too much money at the local bottle shop for quality beer. I was spending 40-50 bucks a week for a couple of sixers and maybe a bomber or two. While researching some brews on line I came across this site. Was intrigued. I like to cook, to drink good beer.....and I had a keggerator already. Hmmmmmm? Now I may stop by the liquor store once every 3 months or so. The rest is history.

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Mine is very similar to this. Dogfish Head was another big inspiration. I did some reading and found out how much money I could be saving homebrewing. I really enjoyed the idea of taking something traditional and pushing it to its limits in my own creative ways. All the options and possibilities just seem unlimited. It's the same way I cook and I like it that way.

The seed was planted years ago with the good eats episode amber waves. Say what you want about all the mistakes he made, it intrigued me. I would half joke about getting it for Christmas and eventually my wife got me a starter kit.

Since then I've moved from stove top extract + steep to biab to mash tun and keggle. I've got an arduino controlled fermentation fridge/kegerator now and I'm working in setting up a grain mill.

Had gotten really into craft beer, got a Mr. Beer kit for Christmas... quickly shifted into the standard 5gal batch size and by my third batch went AG. Once it started, it really escalated quickly. Just brewed batch 50 today.

My brother bought me a coopers kit for Christmas. Best gift I've been given and started and obsession.

Erroneous said:

I've got an arduino controlled fermentation fridge/kegerator now and I'm working in setting up a grain mill.

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Love to get info on the Ardunio.... I think that has amazing possibilities! Please PM the instructions

This is a question I have often thought about, not so much as about why I did,why is it not for every one wo drinks beer? Out of all the countries where home brewing is an easy hobby to take up, why is it we are such a minority, what is it that makes some do and alot don't.Did something happen to make us homebrew sure cost is one factor but not such a big one, was it my mother feeding me great tablespoons of malt extract when I was young, having porridge for breakfast every morning, drinking Horlicks or Ovaltine of a night. I think it was my mothers fault I started to drink beer after being exposed to all that malt and barley at a very early age.(I must write and thank her)
I reckon if a survey was done with every one who home brews we would all have something in common but what that something is I don't know,but it gives all of us a self satisfaction

When I moved to where I am now I made friends with a couple guys who brewed at home, sat in on a couple brews and enjoyed it.
When a position opened up at work to brew I put in for it and got the job and have been seriously hooked ever since. Been brewing as a job since April of this year, started homebrewing in February of this year...quick study I guess.

Wife got me a Brooklyn Beer shop kit about two years ago on sale at William and Sonoma. She was trying to save it for Christmas but gave it to me in the spring instead (thank god for that!). Been brewing about a batch a week ever since.

I got severly injured at work a few years back. Couldn't work for three years. After around one year, my wife got me Mr Beer kit for Christmas to give me something to do around the house. It was a simple quick process and the beer wasn't too bad at all. So I got online and did some research into the bigger kits, and as soon as I was able to I purchased one and made an extract Pale Ale. Things quickly escalted from there and I'm almost 100 batches in now.

I like doing things the hard way. Like writing with a fountain pen, shaving with a straight razor, cooking from scratch. My then-girlfriend (wife now) got me a coopers kit almost 2years ago. I just ordered about 125# of grain in a bulk buy, and I'll probably be upgrading to a bigger kettle and burner soon.

I watched brewmasters and decided to give it a shot. A year later I have a 3 keg single tier rig and 6 Carboys.

My fiancée actually got me into home brewing. I didn't even like drinking beer till about 2 years ago. Went to France and learned to like it. Came home and six months later she got me the equipment kit. Been loving it ever since. Best gift she's gotten me!

My wife and I got my father-in-law a basic starter kit from a shop in Philly about 5 years ago for his birthday. He never ended up using it, but I found the process intriguing enough that I felt I had to give it a shot. So later that year my wife got me the same set up. The rest is history. (I still have the original hydrometer from that sucker).

I always wanted to try brewing my own beer. I saw a groupon for Midwest that had a starter kit and ingredients kit a little over a year ago. I bought it on a whim, and have since gone all grain after 5-6 extract batches and made some amazing beers since. Now enjoying a Stone Ruination clone AG (look up Yooper's recipe - its awesome)

When I moved to Eugene, Oregon in 1995, I had a roommate who worked in an architecture firm where one of the partners was a homebrewer. So my roommate got into it, and got me into it, and we brewed a bunch of batches. We also got to spend some time with that architect partner, whose picture is on Rogue's Hazelnut Brown Nectar because they bought his recipe. Yup, the famous Chris Studach. His homebrew version, by the way, was considerably better. But I digress...

So, years later, after quite a hiatus, I picked the hobby/passion/way-of-life back up again. Good times.

I was born and raised in Milwaukee when there were four large breweries going full-bore. In high school, the hops and yeast odors from Pabst and Miller would waft into our classrooms in spring and fall when the windows were open. So, I've always enjoyed beer. And I'm kind of a "hands-on" guy who likes to take on projects and see them through to completion. Standing back and enjoying the fruit of your labor is a great kick.

A few years back, I retired and it dawned on me that a wonderful hobby for a guy like me would be to make homebrew! Right around Christmas 2009, I ordered my first batch of equipment and ingredients, and it's been great fun ever since! And when I drink one of my homebrews, I truly enjoy the fruit of my labor.

My second oldest daughter is to be married in October 2013. She and her fiance have asked me to brew up some batches of beer to give to the reception guests as a "thank-you." I will be honored to do so...provided they find me enough pop-top beer bottles!

glenn514

It started about a year and a half ago. I was lucky enough to have a Brewery in my back yard on Long Island. Literally I used to walk or take my bike to Blue Point Brewery every Thursday,Friday and Saturday. I moved to NC and no longer had this option. Yeah there are lots of breweries here but I would have to drive. I had thought about doing it before but why? I had great beer in the back yard. After living here for 2 years and spending way too much on good beer it was time to start brewing. That all started on a fishing website from a post made by a homebrew member. The rest is history. I did 2 extract batches before going all grain. I currently have about 200lbs. of grain,30gallons of crappy homebrew on tap and a freezer full of hops. It has gone from hobby to obsession....I give most of my beer away. Its also a great way to spend time with the kids...their first science project will be how to make beer .

I started around 1995. My uncle first introduced me to the idea as he brewed beer at home. I was simply fascinated with the idea that brewing beer at home was even possible. At the time beer simply seemed a purchase I would make at the store where big companies with gear I could never understand or afford made the magic happen. My first brews were from a kit I bought with white bucket, racking cane, etc... I remember waiting for that first batch to complete, it seemed like it was taking forever! Over the years the gear grew slowly, mostly because I started this while still in college so money was much tighter then. I got a larger boil pot for my stove, moved into glass carboys, then I got a lead on some kegs and built up some kegging gear (no keg fridge yet at that time, bucket/tub of ice), all the while space in my home always a factor so I only brewed extract.

Cut to 17 years later I have a house, and can afford gear I want, so this year it hit me that I needed to go all-grain! I completed a Kal clone electric brew setup in my garage and have been brewing very regularly this summer. Oh, and eventually I did get that keg fridge .

This time 4 years ago I was enrolled in a guitar building class at the Indianapolis Art Center. I really needed a hobby. I play guitar, but I was really interested in learning how to build and repair them just for fun. Unfortunately the instructor had a family emergency and had to cancel the whole guitar building program. I was really bummed, so my wife said "you like beer, why don't you try home brewing." I had always wanted to try it, but my first and only experience up to that point with home brewing was a friends beer that was obviously infected. Once I bought my kit and completed my first brew day, I was hooked.

My dad has been homebrewing for 30+ years and I've occasionally helped with bottling, etc.--and always with the drinking. He's made a bunch of great brews over the years, which showed me how good a homebrew could be. I finally started my first batch last week with his equipment (extract partial boil)--a Blue Moon Belgian witbier clone. Primary fermentation started the other day, and I couldn't be more excited.

Another one of these threads, huh?

I loved craft beer, had helped a few friends brew, and was intrigued. I was in my second to last semester in college, and decided that my documentary for film class would be on homebrewing in the Keweenaw. I got a lot of free beer out of the gig, as well as equipment & advice. I'll never regret it

My girlfriend suggested I give it a shot since she knew I always wanted to try. Now she regrets it since homebrewing has become such an addiction!

CBelli said:

.......I have found myself sitting back with a beer late at night and being amazed on how damn good it is...Whats Your Story??

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It's amazing stuff when it works out right insn't it! That's a big part of what keeps me brewing, the fact that there are so many amazing styles of beer to sample and brew, and that there is always more to learn.

What started me brewing, was that my late wife was interested in home brewing and bought a book: "Homebrewing for Dummies". She was distracted by other things and never got around to reading the book. So, I picked it up one day....

i tried hinting to my family and friends for years that i wanted to learn to make my own beer. It seemed i could never get enough money together to buy a kit, and when i had the money, i didnt have a store. Well finally this last summer my oldest son had a job that paid 3 times what i made and decided that this was the fathers day he would go get me a kit. He still has the picture of my face lighting up when i walked into the room and asked what was wrong and what the emergency was and it took me 3 minutes to notice that he had the kit sitting right in front of me. When i finally figured out it was for me, i almost wept with joy!! Now we can share a brew and stories like good friends and he is happy to know that he made his dad a happy man

Fermenting foods,eating healthier fermented "live" unpasterized foods. Then it dawned on me about bottleconditoned beers then on to fermenting beers which I realized you could do right at home,like the things i was fermenting like kombucha,sauerkraut,and keifer. Only thing now is im a little excessive when it comes to the fermented beer part. Shure am enjoying a Revvy's Ketucky common right about now.After my jalepeno ale,Yoopers house pale ale also,not to metion a pumpkin ale.
I was really curious about the Mr.Beer,I just thought it would be cool to try,but as I reaserched on the internet about how to really go about it if you were serious,I stumbled upon this website which helped me tremendously start brewing the right way,not that mr.beer was the wrong way,more that I customized how I wanted to brew personally with some knowlege first. Then kinda did my own thing by brewing small batches,because I didnt know how it would turn out if i would like it and also I dindt want to invest into something I dindnt know or have enough friends interested in drinking this kind of beer anyway.

Anyways currently Im not brewing due to basement summer temps and having too much beer commercially and plenty enough of my own.Im slowly thinning my heard,and as much commercial craft beer I drink Im doubtfull of brewing again this winter,which I want but I just have too much,maybe I should just find some more mooching beer friends,ha. If I had a massive walk in fridge or cellar I think I would keep at it.

I wanted to find a natural way to supply cannabis with CO2 during the flowering stage, and beer brewing seemed like the only cost effective solution.

I've always been a beer fanatic, so last Christmas my girlfriend got me a true brew kit. Many gallons, and a college major change later I'm a home brew fanatic and majoring in fermentation science. She's a keeper!

My car's catalytic converter went out. The shop that fixed it was right next to the LHBS...................... so I went in to kill some time.

Picked up a beginners kit and the rest is history.

My wife and I were going through IVF trying to start a family.....it was a frustrating and stressful time and so much seemed out of my control. Brewing beer took my mind off the hardships and rewarded me with magic in a bottle....now my 3 year old daughter visits the home brew store with me....life is good.

One of my fondest childhood memories is that of my dad making homebrew and the smell of the malt extract going into the fermentor then the fascinating aromas emanating from the airlock for the next couple of weeks. It left a lasting impression. Getting to taste a little of the malt extract definitely enhanced the experience for this 4 year old too. Marmite, twiglets, horlicks, milk shakes made with horlicks were always something I loved. Family being from Yorkshire, east riding, born in Manchester then raised in Edinburgh, beer was always an integral part of life. Many of my relatives were homebrewing back in the early 70s. Just seemed logical to get into it myself at some point. Last summer I found out about Mr. Beer kits and launched myself into a new hobby. Done about 25 all extract, mostly 5 gallon, batches so far and about ready to give BIAB a try. The summer months here are not really conducive to brewing without a dedicated, temp regulated fermentation chamber/fridge so haven't been brewing for three months. Time to re-establish the pipeline. Craft beers are pretty limited in availability here in Japan, but more to the point ridiculously expensive so that makes homebrewing easily justifiable

I had been making mead a little (basically prison style). So i had some stuff. I use to play alot of d&d but i got to busy at work and home that i need a hobby i could contain in the house. About that time discovery's brewmasters came on and the way sam talked about brewing just spoke to my very soul. So i bought some ingredients and just winged it. Thats right no kit, didnt realy believe in them then and i still dont. The beer was awful. So i gave it all way to my friend that just lied to me. Brew number 2 however was amazing, also winged it. Then i was hooked.

I was over at my friends house and he was actually getting ready to store his brew gear under the house. So I took it off his hands and I have been hooked ever since.