Why do you homebrew?

I'm new to the homebrewing idea, and right now I'm sort of just feeling it out to see if it's something I would be interested in doing. The primary reason for me wanting to do it is that it just sounds fun! However, in addition to "having fun" there's always the lingering thought that perhaps home brewing might make "better beer" or "cheaper beer" or "more interesting beer". Is it unrealistic to think these things?

With regards to "better beer", I've seen some threads on these forums where people argue whether homebrew can be better than commerical beer. From those threads it seemed like most people believe that the vast majority of home brewed beer is inferior to commerical beers. Why is this? I understand that homebrew has got to be a pretty variable process with some differences in the final product due to incomplete control over brewing conditions, but I would have naively thought that one would be able to brew a better brew than can be done commerically when one doesn't need to turn a profit?

In terms of "cheaper beer", I guess it depends on how much you make. If you're making and drinking a lot of beer, one would probably be able to recoup the cost of the equipment. But once you factor in the cost of your time it's probably more expensive to homebrew eh?

As I said, I'm mostly interested because it sounds fun. But if I'm consistenly brewing beers that are inferior to what I can buy my fiancee is going to murder me in my sleep for buying the brewing equipment

I'd appreciate any comments, and hearing why you brew yourself!

It is damn fun and damn addictive to!!!! It is very possible to make commercial quality beer homebrewing. There is just a learning curve and of course the big M word involved. The more you get into it the more you want to do it and spend money on it. A great F'ing vicious cylce. Try it!!!

GammaPoint said:

. . . . "having fun" . . . make "better beer" or "cheaper beer" or "more interesting beer". Is it unrealistic to think these things?

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All these things are why I make my own beer. Initial startup is going to take a while to pay for itself, but if you start with one of the cheaper starter kits to see if you like it, then you're not out much if you don't. Beware though, if you do like it there is almost no end to "upgrades".:rockin:

GammaPoint said:

With regards to "better beer", I've seen some threads on these forums where people argue whether homebrew can be better than commerical beer. From those threads it seemed like most people believe that the vast majority of home brewed beer is inferior to commerical beers. Why is this?

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The reason is because brewing good beer takes a combination of skill, practice, and patience. No new brewer is perfect when just starting out and almost all new brewers lack patience. This means a lot of home brewers rush their beer, skip steps to try and save a few bucks, or don't take the time to really learn about what makes a good beer. Because of this, they may be giving beer to friends that might not be of the best quality, therefore those people get an impression that homebrew is not as good as commercial beer. You also have brewers who make a few poor beers early on and give up thinking it's impossible to brew beer as good as what they can buy in the store and walk away with the impression homebrew can't be as good.

In no way does this mean homebrew isn't going to be good. It's really just a typical first impression a lot of people who haven't been around the hobby or experienced a lot of homebrew in the past end up experiencing.

As far as saving money goes, this isn't the hobby for you if you think you'll be saving money Yes, if you're careful, can source a lot of free or cheap used equipment, and buy ingredients in bulk then there can be a savings. But as most people in this hobby will tell you, it can get expensive pretty quick as you get hooked and constantly want to buy or build new equipment.

But to answer your question directly, I brew because it's fun and I love beer. I've always been a bit of a home chef so being able to expand from just creating my own food it's awesome to be able to create my own drinks as well. It's fun to experiment with different ingredients, it's fun to learn all the processes involved in making beer, and best of all, it's fun to drink and share your creation with others.

Don't even ask me how much money I've spent on brewing. I don't want any evidence of that anywhere on the internet where my wife may stumble upon it But it's safe to say that the money, not to mention time I've spent brewing could pay for a decade of beer. But what I gained from it is priceless. I've made awesome beer, and I've made beer that made me gag, but there's no stopping me now.

1. Gratification...I brewed this!!!
2. So I don't have someone else deciding for me what REAL BEER is supposed to taste like...
3. So I don't have to pay $4.00 for a beer at the bar and the only entertainment I get is the drunk standing next to me pissing his pants...
4. So I don't have to drive home drunk (30 miles)...
5. The lap dances at home are free... Wait, this isn't my house...

6. ...I'll think of something...

I brew because I enjoy it as a hobby and its very rewarding to taste something you made. I also enjoy gardening and cooking so it all goes hand in hand really. Do I save money on beer brewing my own? Nope. I use to drink Bud Light mostly, at 16.00-20.00 for a case of 20 bottles that last me 2 weeks. I can make beer cheaper than that, however once you consider cost of equipment, ingredients and as you said time. No way does making beer save you money. But, I enjoy it and no longer buy Bud Light . One thing this hobby has done is broaden my beer palate. I don't consider myself a beer snob but if someone offers me a BMC or something I have never had before, I will try something different. Just to see what it taste like and if it might be something I want to try and brew. Its a fun hobby in all its aspects and I really like the research involved If you really think about it you can justify it any way you want but I think everyone needs a hobby and there are alot more expensive ones out there. But you cant really share most hobbies with your friends or family.

It depends on what commercial beer you are comparing to. I personally think all of my brews have been better than coors or buttwiper. Cheaper? Well my ingredients for a Belgian cost me about $50 for 5 gallons. If I bought 5 gallons of commercial Belgian beers I could spend upwards of $400. I am not saying mine is as good as Chimay, but I enjoy it... a lot. And yeah you can make more interesting beers without a question. Commercial beers have to sell. You just need to enjoy your beers. You could make a Strawberry Chocolate Milk Oatmeal Stout. Try finding that in stores.

Why not?

Most of my beer is as good or better than what I can buy and I could not afford to buy that quality of quality beer. Frankly I do it because I'm good at it.

i thinks its fun. i think its cheaper. I do not count my time, i do it with my free time and thats MY time, i don't take off work to brew. My equiptment is modest and i brew AG. As stated if you like Bud light or something it ain't cheaper. But i enjoy good quality beer.

My homebrew beers are as good as commercial counterparts. I'm still new. I have the advantage of the highest quality ingredients and freshness, so very often they are better for that reason.

The best part is I can make any damn beer i can dream up.

Satisfaction of creating something that I really enjoy. It's like cooking, but I like beer better than food. Hmm ...

Also, I brew the beers that I want to drink, namely flavourful, lower-alcohol beers. I love beer and love drinking it in quantity, but hate hate hate hangovers. I cannot be hungover for work whatsoever, so being able to quaff two or three pints of lovely, malty, hoppy, complex-flavoured beer is fantastic.

It's cheaper than living in the UK, whose ales I love.

You won't brew beer that is better than good craft beer. You can easily match those, though.

Of course, your beer will immediately be better than all BudMillerCoors beers.

Its great to have a hobby that I can immerse myself in and be constantly learning and growing. Plus I get to drink the results!

JNye said:

i thinks its fun. i think its cheaper. I do not count my time, i do it with my free time and thats MY time, i don't take off work to brew. My equiptment is modest and i brew AG. As stated if you like Bud light or something it ain't cheaper. But i enjoy good quality beer.

My homebrew beers are as good as commercial counterparts. I'm still new. I have the advantage of the highest quality ingredients and freshness, so very often they are better for that reason.

The best part is I can make any damn beer i can dream up.

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Amen to that, I forgot to mention that part.

Also, as posted by Nugent, you don't get the hangover from HB you get from BMC.

A great radio host Tom Leykis would tell his listeners, if you live in Podunk wherever and enjoy something not from your region go there. If you like wine, hit France, Argentina, someplace. If you like fast cars Italy. There are places that have what you enjoy.

Homebrewing is the ability to bring that home, your product to your home and brew styles and tastes that would only get in far off places.

I have been around the world and enjoyed great beers. The ability to bring them in my house, after some fun work, makes it all worth while.

~Diz

Short answer= Because I can.

Long explanation= I brew because I enjoy learning things, and experiencing things, and I wanted to learn by more than just reading, but by doing. I like beer. I wanted to be able to know how to make my own GOOD beer, just like I like being able to do my own brakes on my Jeep, build my own workbench, load my own bullets, or mend my torn clothes. Because I can. I'm not great at any of these things, but I like the idea that if someone was to stop producing something that I care for I wouldn't have any problems because I know how to make it myself.

Oh, and I like the idea of not paying taxes on my finished product.

GammaPoint said:

With regards to "better beer", I've seen some threads on these forums where people argue whether homebrew can be better than commerical beer. From those threads it seemed like most people believe that the vast majority of home brewed beer is inferior to commerical beers.

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Here's my take: Is my beer better than "commercial" beer? Tough call. I like it better because I brewed it to appeal to me and my friends taste. Does it appeal to as broad of a market as any commercial beer? Probably not. Unless you include Rogue's Chipotle Ale (What the H*** were they thinking?).

I started brewing beer because the selection is not good here, and I was bored without a hobby several years ago. Strangely enough, I drink a lot less now, because my free time is used up by reading and obsessing over this hobby. Before it was spent drinking liquor/beer/whatever out of boredom. My wife says I'm a much better person since I immersed myself in beer. If only she realized the investment over the years...

FYI, it was originally something I tried in college as a cheap way to make bad beer....it worked, but not really a great way to go.

I brew because it's fun and challenging, and of course because I get beer when I'm done.

People can DEFINITELY make beer as good as any "professional" brewery. Just like brewpubs, homebrewers can vary in their quality. It takes knowledge, patience, and practice to become a real good homebrewer, but almost anyone can start making real good beer almost right away. To consistently score high in competitions, and consistently make beer as good as your favorite microbrewer might require a bit more money, and a lot more skill, but it's definitely doable.

And yes, you CAN make beer cheap. But we rarely settle for the basic setup once we get hooked. There is always at least one little trinket to buy to improve the beer, or to make the brewing process better or easier.

And then some of us seem to actually like spending thousands on semi-automated Stainless Brewing Systems built from scratch. Some of us simply don't have the skill or money to have that. 8(

I brew for most of the same reasons already stated in the thread. Brewing is fun and addictive as hell. Plus you can make this hobby work for you. You can keep it simple, brewing only extract beers with a basic setup, or you can move on to very complex brewing systems that cost tons of money. It all depends on what you prefer.

I'm starting to realize how you can constantly want more and more equipment to try to improve your beer. I thought when i got my soda kegs for my kegerator, that I'd be content and not need any more equipment. Since then I've bought a cooler for mashing and I'm looking to buy a small fridge so I can better control my fermentation temperatures and start brewing lagers. I'm sure once I have that there will be something else I'll want to get.

As for the quality of the beers, I don't think I've topped many of the craft breweries yet. But I've certainly brewed beer that destroys the crap made by macro-breweries. I've brewed some nice Bavarian style hefe weizens. They aren't better than the ones from Germany (I've been brewing for 8 months, they've been brewing for hundreds, even thousands of years), but they're pretty damn good.

By the way brewing your is definitely cheaper. I had my kegerator long before I started brewing. A slim keg (5 gallons) of a quality craft brew usually cost me anywhere from $70-100+. The ingredients for my 5 gallon brews normally cost $30-50, so there's definitely some savings.

Once you get the hang of it and you really understand what makes beer work it's very possible to make beer that's as good as most of the beer you can buy in stores. You can also make beer that you can't buy in stores. I still have my favorite commercial brews that I haven't been able to match but I'm still learning and my beers are still getting better.

IMO it's a LOT cheaper than buying "good beer". If you just drink to get drunk and you could care less what it takes to get the job done then it's cheaper to buy 30 packs of PBR. Most micros start at $8-$9 per 6 pack around here, though. Get into all grain and start buying ingredients in bulk and you can get the same beer for $5-$10 per case easily. The sky is the limit on how much you want to spend on your brewing setup but if you're not going out of your way to upgrade all the time, you keep an eye out for sales and you buy used when given the opportunity you can keep things really cheap. I still use the turkey fryer and ale pale that I started brewing extract with years ago. Cheap, good beer is my biggest reason for brewing so I keep my equipment cheap by making what I can myself and not getting overly complicated.

several reasons I brew: Social, more variety, cost. Drinking more beer is probably just a side effect of having interesting brew on hand.

The primary reason I brew is social: every brew day is a group activity. We have a regular group of beer-loving guys, but now and then a new guest will join us. We're from different walks of life and live 20-30 miles apart, and might not otherwise have met or hang out, but we have something in common that we love to share, and have developed friendships.

Also, each time we brew, we experiment with a different style, so we're always learning something new about the brewing process. We we drink the product, we're experiencing styles of beer we may have never bought even if we could have found them in the grocery store (one can buy beer in grocery stores in Ohio, though mostly mass-market stuff). Next weekend, we're brewing our first all-grain (an English bitter). Broadening our horizons...

Cost. Consider Great Lakes, Goose Island, Sierra Nevada, (or even Sam Adams) as examples of craft beer available in stores near me. In six-pack form, a 12-oz. serving costs ~$1.50 or more. I can brew from extract kits at a cost of $0.95-1.20 per 12-oz serving, and project all-grain costs of $0.60-0.90 per serving, depending on the style and season.

As far as equipment cost, I don't consider it in the cost of brewing. Since I'm not a commercial enterprise trying to depreciate equipment for tax purposes, I consider it a "sunk cost". That is, I have paid whatever I paid for it, and that will not change whether I brew more, less, or not at all.

That being said, my equipment costs are not very high. I inherited some carboys from my brothers, our brew club uses brew kettles and wort chillers that other members own, and I have spent a few bucks on Home Depot buckets, tubing, and some basic accessories from my LHBS (hydrometer, racking cane, etc.).

I probably drink more beer now than if I didn't brew, just because I have more styles available in my inventory, and I am always letting others sample them, which means I HAVE to have one, too.

Not every home brew is "better than commercial". Early in my brewing experience, some of my "bad" beers were too yeasty (for the style), or too flat in carbonation. Both of these can be eliminated with proper planning and execution. Some people are put off by my beers not being as clear as a commercial brew, but this is something I am improving as we learn about some "new to us" steps like fining and cold crashing and bottle aging.

Go for it. What's not to like?

graybeard

I’ve had various hobbies over the years and my interest in them always seems to dwindle. It just seems like there are so many hobbies that are one dimensional and have a finite shelf life. For example, if you are really into building a home theater then you have an ultimate goal. Once you have your ideal TV, Blu Ray player and speaker system you are done. That’s it. Sure you get to enjoy your set up but the passion is gone because you have done all you can.

Brewing is so much different. Between mashing, fermenting, aging, kegging, joining brewclubs, growing hops, experimenting with ingredients, joining message boards, building equipment, searching Craigslist, entering contests, reading books, etc……. this “hobby” becomes less of a hobby and more of a lifestyle. Your brain really starts thinking of everything in terms of brewing. You will find yourself agreeing to go out shopping with your wife because there may be something at Macy’s or Home Goods that can be applied to brewing. You will wake up in the middle of the night and have to jot down a wild recipe for a Watermelon Lager. You will start having parties as an excuse to brew 15 gallons and share it with your friends.

It is amazing how quickly this consumes you. There is also a bond between fellow brewers that is very difficult to explain.

I guess, in short, go for it! It will be one of the most rewarding things you have ever done!

I am new to this hobby and would love for it to be a profession (dreaming..I know). Anywho, my first home brew is spectacular. My friends, who do not sugar coat things, were amazed. If you do it you will be hooked. As for all your beers being as good or better then what you buy, well, time will tell. But, if I keep making anything close to my first batch, I will not buy beer again.

Well, that is probably a lie, I love Dogfish Raison and 90 minute, as well as Arrogant Bastard and Le Fin du Monde and Leffe Blonde and Ephemere....

Well, ok, my beer will decrease my purchases of some beers. Go for it man, you will not regret it!

________________
Primary - Deschutes Black Butte Porter Clone
Primary - Dogfish 60 Clone
Bottled - San Diego IPA
On Deck - Nut Brown Ale

To keep my sanity(Married w/ 2 kids). And I like to make stuff.

My priest got me involved in homebrewing. Our church sponsored a homebrew class featuring Kelly Harris, award winning brewer and owner of the "Homebrew Headquarters". After that, we held a Homebrew contest where there were two churches involved with 16 brew entries. Believe it or not, I came in 1st place with my Bock beer. We now have a traveling growler as a trophy that the winning church keeps until the next contest. We use AHA contest rules for fairness.
Now I brew because I love it and I think most homebrew tastes better.

Bottom line is beer.

But I homebrew for the same reason, I woodwork, grow my own vegetables, built my own home, fix my own car, bike and whatever else i can figure out, and build most of my own brewing equipment. If I had time to learn I would also weld, leather work.

When I walk around fairs and farmers markets I admire the craft work some people create and wish i could work at that level or be that creative. As I brew more interesting and creative beers i feel my work is approaching the level of craftsmanship. I just wish I could open up a stand at the farmers market too.

I saw some people above me allude to this, but I'll say my reason anyway: variety.

I love specialty beers. Big chocolate stouts are near the top of my list. I can't find any good chocolate stout during the summer, except on my tap.. I like to think that I make beer as good as the commercials do, but I tend to make things the commercial guys don't. You won't see an oaked old ale with cinnamon, vanilla and a ton of wildflower honey in the NJ liquor marts...

Thanks for much for the thoughtful responses everyone! I'm really glad to hear that it's not unreasonable to expect one's beers to be as good as the craft beers in the supermarket if one is patient and spends time studying the craft.

My fiancee and I do enjoy "good" beers. We like Ommegang, Stone, DogFish, Flying Dog, Deschutes, etc., so we aren't going to be comparing our beer to BMC (either in taste or cost). If we could produce a beer on par with Ommegang I would be absolutely stoked. And I also think it's an exciting idea to be able to create our own brews (although obviously at first I would try someone else's recipe).

I love hobbies that involve studying for them. At the moment my other primary hobby is cycling. It's great because it's fun and it keeps me in shape. But I would love it if I had a hobby that I could read about in my free time, and brewing seems like the perfect thing for that.

We currently live in a small apartment in Berkeley (going to graduate school here). My fiancee is worried that we don't have space for much equipment (which is true). But it seems that this area has a lot of great home brew stores and would be a very good place to learn the craft. We could always expand into more elaborate setups once we move away.

I ordered Palmer's book the other day, and will start reading it as soon as I get it. I figure that'll give me a good overview of the brew process and what I might be wanting to do with it. Then I'll check out the local brewstore (also live within an hour of a MoreBeer retail site) and I can look at what sort of initial set-up looks good for what I want to do.

Thanks for the help everyone. I look forward to learning from you all

i found the process of making beer genuinely intriguing to begin with (was 20 at the time). then when i found out how simple it is, and how great the results can be with patience, attention, and a little bit of skill, i was hooked.

i love beer, and i LOVE homebrewtalk

homebrewer_99 said:

1. Gratification...I brewed this!!!
2. So I don't have someone else deciding for me what REAL BEER is supposed to taste like...
3. So I don't have to pay $4.00 for a beer at the bar and the only entertainment I get is the drunk standing next to me pissing his pants...

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I agree on the gratification and not having someone else deciding for you what beer is, but going out to a bar/pub to have a drink is more of a social event and not to get hammered drunk.

I would rather spend the extra money going out than sitting at home by myself drinking a homebrew.

Not sure what dirty bars your going to where the guy standing next to you is pissing his pants, but i suggest you look for a new place

Because IT IS MINE

jordanpace said:

I agree on the gratification and not having someone else deciding for you what beer is, but going out to a bar/pub to have a drink is more of a social event and not to get hammered drunk.

I would rather spend the extra money going out than sitting at home by myself drinking a homebrew.

Not sure what dirty bars your going to where the guy standing next to you is pissing his pants, but i suggest you look for a new place

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I live in a small village of 1100 people (so the sign says). We have 2 bars. I've never been to either of them because I know they don't have any beer I would drink...Bud and PBR country...

I don't this guy, but I thought I'd add it for humor...

I'm on my 14th extract kit. I cook on my electric stove using a 3 gallon pot.

You know what's more fun than having friends over for a drink? Having them over to try your homebrews. So much fun, exploring different styles.

I find brewing & bottling to be therapeutic. Kinda real, you know? Like having a dog, if you know what I mean.