What percentage of your beer is homebrew?

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CatHead

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I am just starting out and am actually bottling my first batch tomorrow. While thinking about it I got to wondering how much I drink in the future will be commercial and how much will be homebrew. So approximately what percentage of your consumption is homebrew/commercial?
 
passedpawn said:

This. I only buy beer when, God forbid, Im unable to brew for a while and run low on homebrew. This has only occurred once, fortunately!
 
About 70-30% Homebrew/Commercial. I live across the street from a grocery store that has an incredible selection of beer. I drink about a six pack a night and so does my girlfriend. I brew about 5 1/2 gallons a week. I need to start brewing 10 or 11 gallon batches.
 
Congrats on your first batch:mug:!
First year or so was 90% commercial 10% homebrew, I had a lot of fun drinking craft beers to save the bottles for homebrew. Those have gradually switched places as the pipeline filled up and I moved to kegging so I didn't need a supply of bottles.
 
I would guess I am about 60% home brew. I buy a fairly substantial amount of commercial beer because I like to try new/rare offerings from local breweries or when I travel. That being said, a lot of the commercial stuff I buy are single bombers. I think that trying new beers is essential to keeping me motivated to brew quality beer. Finally, there are a handful of breweries out there that produce such a good product that it would be a crime not to enjoy one every once in a while.
 
None except for a run to the not so local bottle shop, unless I go out on the town or run out of homebrew. Ive been doin good lately about keepin the pipeline flowin
 
75% homebrew. I like Deschutes and elysian quite a lot. Sometimes I grab a Sam Adams mixed pack when I want variety. Occasionally I treat myself to a few 90 minutes from dogfish head. Typically homebrew is cheaper and is more the flavors I prefer.
 
at most 50% but more likely 10 to 25%... Mostly because I don't brew enough to keep up.
 
At home: 100% homebrew.
If I'm out at a restaurant, it all depends. More often than not, I don't pick a beer when I'm at a restaurant. When visiting family, 100% homebrew. I supply them with homebrew. They usually let me know when it's running low, or I'll just bring a few bottles with me. Now that I also have some 1 gallon corny kegs, I'll be more inclined to just bring that (I can easily fit one into my small, hard igloo, cooler. :D Probably fit a CO2 bottle and regulator in there too. :rockin:
 
Seems my estimates were pretty much in line with reality. I kind of figured that I would end up drinking 75-90% homebrew. Didn't figure that it would make sense to pay more for a product that seems equal or in some cases worse than what experienced homebrewers make. I don't know if I can go 100% because I sometimes see a beer I've never had and am compelled to buy some.
 
Seems my estimates were pretty much in line with reality. I kind of figured that I would end up drinking 75-90% homebrew. Didn't figure that it would make sense to pay more for a product that seems equal or in some cases worse than what experienced homebrewers make. I don't know if I can go 100% because I sometimes see a beer I've never had and am compelled to buy some.

In the 2 years I've been brewing, I've not purchased any beer from a store (to drink at home). I've not seen anything on the shelves that was a big enough draw, for me, to purchase. With the better stocked beer stores in NH, that might change, but I'm more inclined to think it won't.
 
98% I really only buy a beer I have never had it or if it's style I am interested in brewing (research). ;)
 
80%. When I brew something new, I buy commercial examples to calibrate against. I also visit breweries as frequently as I can and I tend to try to keep up with new things they are trying. When I was building my bottle collection up, I had a lot of Sam Adams around.
 
Most, because I don't get out to stores much. When I am out shopping though, about twice a month, I like to buy a good commercial brew. Or, if I am out to eat, again, about twice a month. Besides, most of what I brew... I'd have to drink at least 6 of a commercial variety to get the same relaxation sensation I get from 2 or 3 of my own.
 
I just started brewing in June, and my first batch was "drinkable" by the end of July. That first batch is down to the last 6-pack, I've polished off a batch of BierMuncher's Centennial Blonde and have the second batch of that bottle conditioned already, and I have 3 others that are conditioned and in the rotation already. I'm also winding down the first batch of my Edwort's Apfelwein (batch #2 is 4 months in the fermenter this week, about time to bottle!). I've got a couple of beers to bottle this weekend (Bass clone and a Fat Tire clone), and a couple more to bottle in a few weeks (Guinness clone and a Spotted Cow clone). In other words, plenty of variety.

Last night was the first time I've bought beer since that first batch was conditioned enough to drink. I bought a 4-pack of New Glarus Saison (never had a New Glarus beer I didn't like, and that is continuing with this one), and a 6-pack of Sam Adams IPAs (2 each of 3 different kinds) because I'm getting ready to brew my first IPA and wanted a few before I embark on that journey.

Once you get a pipeline going, there's really no need to buy beer from the store unless there's just something you want to try.
 
75%. In charleston we have 4 excellent micro brews and I will grab a growler from them. Holy city just down the street just won gabf gold medal for their porter.

Plus all of them are homebrew friendly. I seem to find an extra bag of hops or a neat little recipe to try in the bag when I get home.
 
90% I rarely buy craft anymore - mostly when I'm traveling somewhere. The price of craft beer is outrageous these days - $25 for a 750 please
 
Maybe 50/50. With a four month old, I don't has as much time to brew as I'd like. This means a relatively small variety of homebrew. Regardless, I don't think I would ever exclusively drink my own beer. There's just too much out there to only experience my own vision of what beer is.
 
Well as of now it's about 95%. Once the next 4 brew days are finished there will be 4 full kegs and a leftover case so.... 100% HB
 
99% homebrew. I don't buy much commercial unless it's a special brew or something new. I usually have 4 different brews on tap and 1 or 2 waiting in line. I do usually have a fair selection of commercial in the fridge though, my friends buy a 6 or 12 of something and end up drinking my beer.
 
About 85% is homebrew for me. The rest is either when I'm not at home or when I want to try some new or seasonal commercial brews for variety and research
 
Maybe around 80% homebrew 20% commercial. I don't buy beer for regular drinking, just tracking down beers I really want to try. I don't get out of the house enough to drink a lot at bars but if I did the amount would definitely increase on the commercial side. My wife drinks more commercial beer but that's because I've made a few so-so beers this year working on experiments and I don't expect her to drink homebrew that she doesn't like. We usually keep a six pack of stuff for her to drink when I don't have any homebrew she likes in the fridge.

When I first started homebrewing it was all I would drink because I wanted to get through it all so I had enough clean bottles to brew again. Now I just drink what I want but it usually tends to be homebrew.
 
about 75% homebrew for the most part its better. I do like to drink new offerings in the craft and premium import section at the liquor store but I hate that over 50% of what I pay for beer goes to the BC government. That's why I brew my own, the government needs to take there hands completely out of the liquor distribution business. Hops, malt, and yeast (including extracts and pre hopped kits) don't even have sales tax on them here, I like that. Other then when I buy new equipment the government doesn't get a cut of my beer!

Edit: The only beer I have had in Canada that is actually better then what I make at home is actually an import here. Dead Guy Ale from Rogue that is f@cking awesome! Though it really is more of a lager type beer (pacman is a lot like notty at lower temps very clean an neutral and highly attenuating). I intend to clone it :D
 
Yeah I would say about 98‰ homebrew. As was mentioned I usually only grab a few commercial brews if I need bottles.
 
Once you get a pipeline going, there's really no need to buy beer from the store unless there's just something you want to try.

I don't agree with you or 95% of the posts here. I could be wrong but in my estimation, as an artist or craftsman, creating is only a small part of the job/hobby/lifestyle. Exploring what is new and being part of the community of a larger part of it. You gotta try other beers on a regular basis. Consuming your own beer is fine and well but it's odd. If you want to keep the hobby interesting, you must maintain a higher standard than your capability. Therefore, "research" as one poster called it... is a constant effort.
 
iambeer said:
I don't agree with you or 95% of the posts here. I could be wrong but in my estimation, as an artist or craftsman, creating is only a small part of the job/hobby/lifestyle. Exploring what is new and being part of the community of a larger part of it. You gotta try other beers on a regular basis. Consuming your own beer is fine and well but it's odd. If you want to keep the hobby interesting, you must maintain a higher standard than your capability. Therefore, "research" as one poster called it... is a constant effort.

That all depends on your approach to the hobby- I've tried enough craft beer in the past to know what I like to drink and brew.

Just like a beginning painter you should go out to every art venue in your area and abroad and check out all the art you can. Once you've been at it a while you will develop a style of your own and not look as much for influence.
 
That all depends on your approach to the hobby- I've tried enough craft beer in the past to know what I like to drink and brew.

Just like a beginning painter you should go out to every art venue in your area and abroad and check out all the art you can. Once you've been at it a while you will develop a style of your own and not look as much for influence.

Well said.
 
About 30:70 Homebrew to Commercial. Definitely too low of a ratio. However, I suspect that it will be 70:30 once my 15 gallon setup is complete.
 
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