When did you realize, yeah, this is the hobby for you?

I've only brewed five batches so far, and am only about 3 months into this obsession, but I know that this is the hobby for me. I knew the moment the rolling boil on my first batch began. I knew I was in it for the long haul, even though my first batch ended up tasting like crap.

I just cracked open my second batch, a high gravity imperial IPA, and although I can taste that I didn't dry hop long enough, and even though this IPA is malt first, rather than hop strong, and cold haze has tainted the crystal clarity of my beer, it is amazing delicious, deceptively powerful, and oh so drinkable.

Mixing Ed Worts Apfelwein, and a stepped-up IIPA is medicine for a drunken night.

Before I even started

I like good beer. Making good beer sounds awesome. Making my own recipes and perfecting them sounds awesome. So, I jumped right into All Grain. My first recipe (my FES) was so good, it kind of reiterated that this is what I should do.

My girlfriend bought me Mr. Beer this past Christmas. Didn't touch it until February.

I now have a 5gal setup, 5gal glass carboy to beef up my pipeline, copper immersion chiller, constantly think ways to expand, moving on to all-grain, even thinking about building a garage or barn to expand operation.

I'm 42 and have a pathetic track record with hobbies.

I think I might have finally found one to stick with.

To quote Steve Martin from The Jerk: "Things are going to start happening to me now....."

I like to cook, drink beer, and I'm lazy... Is there another hobby for me????? This is perfect....

I'm 28, tend to get a new hobby and drop it every 3-6 months. Been brewing for 7 months, no sign of getting bored yet ;-).

So many good things about the hobby:
1) Ya end up with something at the end. Sometimes it may be awesome, sometimes a step above the goat piss the rest of America drinks. Every once in a while you'll get a dumper - but ultimately you'll ingredient wise spend less than on commercial.
2) What better way to kill a day for $30 AND have an excuse to be drunk at 2 in the afternoon?
3) Ya know that $30? Well forget that because you'll blow the money you "saved" on beer on new equipment - but the fun part there is you can design it if ya want, build or buy it if ya dont.

I think this is one of the few hobbies I'll keep for a while...

When I realized I could drink beer and brew at the same time. Base jumping, Paintball, motorcross, biking, model building, none of those hobbies can you drink while doing . Haha, but seriously, I love good food, and good beer. So I figured it would be a natural step after enjoying cooking and good food. I guess I also use it as a substitute for cooking. I love to cook and prepare meals, but living in a cramped apartment with my SWMBO can make it difficult. The kitchen is too small to cook, But just big enough to brew in .

Plus I enjoy the connect you can have with people to brew as well as people who don't brew. Everyone loves beer. If they don't, they are lying to themselves, haven't had good beer, or are wine snobs. I think brewing is something that almost all people are slightly interested in. Maybe not enough to start brewing, but at least a little curious to talk about. Its very easy to talk to someone about the brewing process that isn't a homebrewer. Everyone has made tea, and boiled water. Try getting into something like building motorcycle engines and talking to someone who has never ridden a motorcycle. It can get kind of difficult to have a conversation if the person is lost when you start talking about a Pan-Heads and Shovel-Heads. Plus I think it's great being able to share something that you make with people. If someone likes beer, there is no way they will turn down an offering of Homebrew. Also you can bribe people with beer.

Quite a while back. It's a great match for my widely varying interest level. I can make three batches in three days, then do zip for a couple months and still have beer. Unlike the garden, which requires almost constant attention and only produces a few weeks out of the year; I can brew almost any time and it only takes a few hours. Brewing doesn't rust-out, the batteries don't go dead, and it's very low maintenance. If I buy makings and leave them in the freezer for weeks, no problem. I can add gear piecemeal and there is effectively an infinite number of styles, so I don't get bored. I've got a motorcycle, but leaving my house I can go south and I'm in Timber Town battling logging trucks, or go north and it's a nice, but long ride to the coast with only two ways back. Okay, but I've been here five years and there are still only two choices.

As soon as I realized I could make beer I was sold.

The day I first tasted beer I said to myself "I wonder if you can make this..." and so it began.

I decided to make my own beer when I was introduced to home made wine.

As I tasted that foul tasting vinegar, I thought: 'Man, this stuff tastes like crap', but others appeared/pretended to enjoy it.

So, I said to myself: 'Self, you can do better that this foul tasting swirl", so I bought a beer kit. I went into the store thinking wine, but came out making beer, somehow ....

I think I realized it was a good hobby for me back in 1995 when I went to a friend's house on a Sunday morning to watch/help him make a batch of beer. The smell of the boiling wort and the fact that I was smashed before lunchtime on Sunday is what got me hooked...

Me and the SWMBO like to have fun making things.

We made probably 50 pounds of guacamole before we settled upon a recipe. Same with Salsa. 20 steaks later we know the butcher and cuts we want that are better than the store, so on and so forth. We just like making things our way, to our tastes, and working at it until its better than what we can buy.

Let me tell you that our gatherings are always packed with people, and we love having them Our biggest expense ended up being beer (we grew the veggies, usually kebab'd elk that I hunted, etc). Even when people BYOB'd the parties would usually last longer than everyone expected and we'd have to dip into our stash (everyone brought a 6er to our 11am soccer lunch BBQ that ended up lasting until 1am)...

She bought me a Mr. Beer for Christmas. I did one batch with it, told her that I've made Mac & Cheese that's more complex than that and that I wanted to spend $200 on getting supplies and learning to make some good beers. Now she probably drinks more of them than I do! She gathers requests and has a list for me to make....lol, I have to sneak in the beers that I want to try!

Later this summer we're planning on a "hand crafted" BBQ where everything is as from scratch as it can be...

I just did my first double-batch AG where I mashed, and boiled. Then while the first beer was almost done boiling started the second mash, and let me tell you that if I only get to do that one a month or two that I'll always be hungry to brew more.....

Of course, the first time I saw my wife, she was wearing a "I Heart Beer" shirt. I knew that it was all going to end well

When I first shared it! My dad, cousin and I did a kit from Boots (high street chemist) quite a while ago whilst we were doing up his house. It was lager from a tin, we used sugar (1.5x the recommended amount for some kick) and it was foul! We were too impatient to let it finish so after a couple of weeks (maybe one) we just started dunking tankards into the fermenting bin and drinking it like that. It may have been pretty bad stuff, but we had fun (bear in mind that we were living on a building site - hardly the lap of luxury - the only working toilet was in the kitchen, and there was no ceiling there!)

It was about three years before I discovered proper beer, and then another one before I tried brewing again. Protracted illness and then living in university halls forced me to take another year and a half off before I finally moved off the kits and the lack of equipment and shifted into brewing as a hobby.

I was always into good beer since I went to college and lived in a fraternity house. One of the kids living there worked at the beer distributor in town and was very close to the owner. The owner would let us come in and keep any cases that we would find that were expired. Being that it was basically a town full of broke students, guess which cases were never bought?...THE CRAFT BEERS! We would time the deliveries so that we would be there the day they would reach expiration. My passion for beer was born.... I wanted to know everything and taste everything I could. Last year on my 21st birthday I got a starter kit and a class at my LHBS. I was hooked the day I walked in and smelled them boiling wort. My God I love that smell! So here I am, a year later, probably 100 or so gallons into my obsession. I would say that on average I spend five hours a day thinking about brewing, researching brewing, or on this site. So if it wasn't for college and my friend at the distributor (he got fired awhile ago, no more free beer!) I would probably be sipping on Natural light like everyone else around here.

I have been making beer on and off for the last 30 years but in the last 4
years since I have gone all grain, I have realized that yes, this is my hobby.

I was hooked as soon as I found out about homebrewing.

For someone int he OP's position, I highly suggest planning for a nice setup. You will save a lot of money int he long run by having a bit of forethought about your system, and purchasing items with an eye on the future. I wrote a short blog about what I would buy if I was starting over.

I wore out the BMC (where in this case B stands for Busch Light) by the time I was 20. We partied for years before that on kegs of the stuff. My friend was getting into craft beers and I started with a Scotch Ale from a local brewpub and never looked back. Fast forward 5 years later and my taste in beer is what my family and friends refer to as "more than snobbish." I had thought about making it for years but never took the jump... I had a nightmare semester of Grad School this year, and some extra money laying around, so I bought all the stuff and decided to finally do it. I knew it was for me the first time I laid eyes on the equipment.

I've come a long way from puking in my friend's washing machine on the last day of high school after drinkine a single Labatt Ice to now, where I can drink Ruination and beg for more!

My obsession started before it even began. I've always loved to cook and will spend hours in the kitchen without even thinking about it. Many months ago I heard a friend of mine say they were thinking about trying to home brew. I knew it was possible but never looked into it very seriously.

Then one day I was just thinking about it again and figured what the hell, let me hop on google and see what the interwebs have to say about home brewing. And from that moment on I was hooked.

I'm still only a few weeks into my home brewing career, but I spent months reading sites like HBT every day even before buying my first piece of equipment. Picked up and read all the classic home brewing books from front to cover, and virtually used every spare minute I had each day to try and absorb as much information as possible.

Brewed my first batch early this month and loved every minute of it. In fact the very next day I went online and ordered my next recipe kit so I could get started on my next batch ASAP. That batch is already fermenting away and I'm itching to get started on another even without tasting any of the fruits of my labor thus far.

I'm already dreaming about beer at night and thinking about how to convince my wife to let me buy bigger and better equipment and possibly turn the 10'x15' shed in the back yard into a brewery.

This is the hobby for me :rockin:

I think when I realized a few months ago on about my second batch that I could make beer that rivals anything commercial. Been making wine for say 15 months and it's tough to get something really good, even using a high-end wine kit and giving it a long time to age (friends of mine have stuff aged three or four years).

By comparison, good beer is fairly easy to make, the novice brewer can progress from kits to partial mash to all grain as they feel more comfortable, there are pretty much an infinite number of recipes, and you can be drinking something fantastic you made yourself in six weeks or less. What a great hobby!

When I was a teenager, there was a guy in a little town not far from us that made home made beer from scratch. There were no Home Brew stores around and I think he actually got everything from a little grocery store. I know he used rice in it because he was a rice farmer. We would save our long neck bottles for him and he would give us a case of his brew. It was always very nasty and very high alcohol. Kind of like we would drink it and see who could puke the farthest! A few years later, a friend of mine did a project in Australia. They all brewed beer where he worked. When he came back, he brought some Vic Bitter kits with him. We made one and while it was aging in the bottle, I told another friend about it and his Dad bought him a starter kit for Christmas. Next thing you know, it's almost 25 years later and both of my sons brew. I was hooked from the first time I saw a kit. - Dwain

My moment came when I finished my first batch and had to resist the impulse to go out on the front porch and yell at the top of my lungs "I... MADE... BEER!!!!!!"

I have always been a totally enthusiast beer lover, even thought i enjoy a good beer buzz, i can honestly say the taste of beer is what turned me into beer for starters, my first full beer was a Budweiser can drank at my uncle at the age of 15 after a hard working day at his place when he was building his house, (was helping him along with a few uncles with the framing and overall structure works).

I recall at the end of the day my uncle threw me a can as he did for my uncles saying "Thanks for the great work pals!"
So i just sat there on the pile of 2 by 4's and stuff and started sipping it down... man... i was instantly hooked, i loved both the taste and the feel that was slowly creeping in as i downed it.

So when i learned i could brew my own 3 years ago... i said... oh yeah!! this is the ultimate thing as a hobby!

When SWMBO got me two 2.5 gal. cornies to take on road trips and for tailgating. She then confirmed her support of "my hobby" when she got me a second chest freezer this year for keg storage.

I hate beer, well store bought beer and I wanted to try a GOOD beer. I looked into how to make beer and there ya go; That and my brother said homebrew tasted like top ramen and I wanted to prove him wrong...I did...he still hasn't apologized.

And old neighbor gave me some of his homebrew several years back and within a few months I already had all the basic equipment to brew. A few years later I built a kegerator. No hobby is cheap, but it sure is fun.

I decided that I was interested in this hobby after deciding that regular beer just wasn't tasteful enough for me and I wanted to be able to say that I could make my own beer and wine and not go out and spend alot of money on beer which I didn't really think tasted all that good.That being said though I'm more of a wine and cider man myself and I have made small brews one gallon or less before that were pretty good and I just said I want to make more just like the people after prohibition said we want our right to drink given back to us.

I almost forgot something. I really remember when it was.

It was when I was about 11 years old. I saw an informercial for the Mr. Beer kits. I was so captivated, about the process, adding the yeast, and fermenting. I couldn't stop watching it and thinking about how good that beer would taste. Mind you, I was about 11 years old. I had no idea what beer tasted like, never had any desire to drink beer, and if I were t try anyone's beer at that age I probably would have spat it out immediately. But there was something about the shot that had various shades of amber colored beer, in pilsner-esque glasses that looked so desirable. I had to have it. I had to brew it. I guess that shows that I would like beer even if it never had any alcohol in it what-so-ever.

That. That was the day I wanted to homebrew. I actually thought about it often until I actually decided to start brewing. I waited until I was 21 to actually start drinking good craft beer and brewing, that way I really had something to look forward too.

I guess the guys doing the informercial did a god job selling the product. Although I just skipped the whole Mr. Beer process because I new I would want to take the next step from it already.

Im hooked and I haven't started my first brew yet. I will be starting Thursday and I can't wait. I hope everything goes well!

3 years and thousands invested.


I'm undecided. But I am always willing to weigh the pro's and con's over the latest beer.

It's an endless cycle.

As soon as that first handful of bittering hops hit the wort I was hooked. The smell of wort in the kettle is one of the best sensory experiences ever. I love the self-sufficiency aspect of it too. If I was marooned on an island I know at least I could make beer...as long as my island has hops and barley anyway.

This happened twice:

1) When I tasted my first homebew that myself and a friend did together and it turned out better than any beer I ever tasted.

2) Last weekend at the GABF where I realized that I brew better beer than quite a few of the pro breweries. There were some down-right sucky beers at GABF.

I gave it a shot, didn't hate it, brewed some more batches, and my beer turned out all right, which encouraged me to brew more beer and refine my techniques, which produced better beer, which encouraged me to go all-grain, which again produced better beer....

It's a delicious cycle

I've enjoyed good beer for a long time, and especially since moving to Portland, where there is great craft beer on tap everywhere. With that much good stuff around, I was content to just explore breweries, taprooms, and bottle shops around here and didn't consider getting into homebrewing.

But then last Christmas I decided to give my brother a beginner equipment setup and made the first batch with him. We both like to cook and I knew there would be some similarity there, but I had no idea that it would be so mad-scientist as well! Add this ingredient at this time to create this quality in the beer, etc. Awesome.

Since then, my inner dork has been obsessing with learning about the science behind the various techniques and styles, the DIY'er in me has loved putting together my own MLT cooler, IC, and water-bath fermenting bucket, the pack rat got to amass 4 carboys, 100+ bottles, and bottling equipment, and the beer drinker in me has a vastly improved palate and is busier than ever.

SWMBO isn't a big fan of the hobby nor my obsessive nature with it, but so far that's not slowing me down.

I started out with mead (thanks to the Kevin Costner Movie "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves"), and tried wine. I loved the mead, hated the wine, and somehow had the mental picture that I would have to malt the grains myself if I ever wanted to make my own beer.

So I went into a LHBS (not my current one, but another one with more advertising -- my current one doesn't advertise, but is Newspaper's Choice Award Winner many years running), and looked around. I didn't feel like dropping a Benjamin on wine, and while I was looking around, I found a can of ... "Pilsner? Isn't that beer?"
"Yes."
"How do you make beer?"

I'll have to post my SWMBO's favourite ale recipe, and I've had a few people asking about my Two Pound Oatmeal Stout -- from a can. When I can get to it, I'll do it

I had always wanted to brew but never knew where to start. A couple years ago a friend convinced me to pick up a basic starter kit and give it a shot. I figured I have spent a ton more money on much dumber things, so what could it hurt. As soon as I saw it fermenting I was hooked. SWMBO is very onboard with this too since I work very hard and she likes seeing me relax and enjoy something.

Also convinced SWMBO last night to start making wine. She is more of a wine drinker and I mostly drink beer, so I think it would be neat if we each brewed what we drink.

I knew it was for me when i realized i could make the kind of beers i really love, like european beers (belgians, bavarian etc.) and not have to pay $10 for a six-pack or so.

besides, beer.... what else is there to say

As soon as I took my first sip of my first batch.

"As soon as that first handful of bittering hops hit the wort I was hooked."

This is the truth. I knew I was going to love brewing, but was forcing myself to take it slow and give the hobby a chance to really grow on me. I have a track record of starting hobbies and losing interest after a few months.

I was enjoying myself up until the point when I added the first packet of liberty pellets into my wort. My entire house filled up with the aroma, and I knew that I was a home brewer for life. Can't wait to get home from my work trip so I can bottle my first batch and start a new one!

I realized this when I discovered you could home brew. I have tried a few different hobbies and not one of them has kept my intersts besides ripping things apart, finding out how they work, and then putting them back together. And the love I have for imagining things I want to build or create.

So, home brewing just made sense. Beer was the one thing I hadn't tore down to the basics and rebuilt. I knew what was used to make it but I had never done it before. So, when I went to my LHBS (mistake, never do that again) and bought a kit. I have only made one batch so far because I was recently laid off, but I have already fallen in love with it and can see myself doing it for many many years.

Here's to beer and to not conforming to what society says beer should be.

dutch-brew said:

I knew it was for me when i realized i could make the kind of beers i really love, like european beers (belgians, bavarian etc.) and not have to pay $10 for a six-pack or so.

besides, beer.... what else is there to say

Click to expand...

That pretty much sums it up for me. I was sick of paying $12 for a good 4 pack of barley wine or even $9 a sick pack for Sam Adams. I also knew someone who made her own wine and some beer so I knew it was possible. I also only have a part time job right now while my woman finishes school. I basically sit at home all day and watch my son. I needed an enjoyable hobby and I love beer.