Has brewing changed your drinking habits at all?

[El Nino]

Just curious about people's experiences after getting into this hobby/addiction, if it changed the way you drink. I thought I'd be drinking the same amount, or even more, but I've actually been drinking less. Instead of slamming 2-3 beers in the first hour of drinking, I find myself sipping more and studying the taste of beer, hence drinking a lot slower. Now it takes me about 30-40 mins to finish my first beer, and then I'll usually drink a glass of water and wait 10 more mins before grabbing another, to allow my taste buds to reset.

I was worried I'd turn into a heavier drinker or alcoholic after getting into brewing but the opposite happened haha. Though my batches have been going pretty fast still as a result of friends / family drinking my beers

 

[bleme]

I'd say I drink slightly more. I still drink the same 1 beer with dinner when dinner is at home but it is now often a pint instead of a 12oz bottle. I also didn't go to homebrew meetings or beerfests before.

 

[Rob2010SS]

Oh yeah, changed mine drastically. I used to drink craft beers and be like "Wow, I really like this one, it's delicious." Now I drink them and I study them, as you said. What's the color/clarity like? How's the head retention? What flavors can I pick out on the malt side and on the hops side? Hows the bitterness after you swallow it? How would I go about making one like this?

It has given me a whole new appreciation for the flavors in beer and hopefully, one day, I'll own a brewery where people come in and do the same!

Oh, and I drink a significant amount more now, LOL. It's just so easy! Walk in the garage door and there's the kegerator, just waiting to pour you a nice glass of homebrew. I feel like I'm hurting the kegerator's feelings if I DON'T have one, hahahaha.

 

[flars]

I'm drinking more beer and less wine. Also buying more beer to taste new styles and variations on the styles from different breweries for something I may want to brew.

 

[brewbama]

It has changed my drinking habits: I drink like a brewer. I have multiple taps and a pipeline behind them but I may drink a beer after work and a couple/three on each weekend.

 

[Andrew Hodgson]

Booze bag before brewing, hopefully soon to be educated brewer booze bag.

 

[Redpappy]

I would have to say, it has changed my drinking habits. Instead of grabbing a brew (a bud) and slamming it I grab a homebrew and enjoy it. I actually thought I would have to brew more often to keep up with my habit... but surprising my brew schedule is working out great.

 

[grampamark]

Well, I don't drink anymore. Of course, I don't drink any less, either.

 

[catdaddy66]

As the OP said, I now drink more 'cerebrally' in that I study each beer and its many characteristics. I don't tee total anymore as I would prior to turning 30! I sometimes go a week between beers, which is strange since I am never out of beer.

If I need empty bottles then I will do 4-5 over a weekend, and 1-2 each day during the work week. Moderation, am I right??

 

[Kent88]

Nope.

I would drink more, but I get headaches sometimes, also I don't want to if I have been or will be eating a bunch (or hardly anything) around that time, and my wife is a good cook.

I think the young people call that a first world problem

 

[Qhrumphf]

I drank a lot. Then I started homebrewing and still drank a lot. Then I went pro and still drink a lot.

Only thing that's changed is the cost of drinking at each step.

 

[Morrey]

Like the OP, I'd say I now drink less. I may have 7 - 10 kegs at various stages with room for 5 on tap. The other kegs are in lagering chambers aging and mellowing. I have picnic taps on them for short samples and recipe printouts for tasting notes as the beer lagers.

I typically use 4 ounce sample (tulip) glasses so I can have a taste of this and a taste of that, but rarely do I set sail into large pints of anything in particular. My habits have basically changed from drinking beer to sampling beer if that makes sense.

 

[geek_chaser]

I drink less, but more open to different varieties. I only drank Corona or Land Shark like it was water. Now I take my time, drink to taste the profile, and learned I like IPAs more than I thought I would.

 

[FunkedOut]

Rum really missses me often.

 

[nickatnite26]

My drinking habits while out to dinner or with friends has certainly changed. Before I would drink what ever was offered, now if it's Budwieser or an IPA ( no offense to you IPA drinkers, I'm just not a huge fan of them), I politely refuse and drink something else. If I'm out to dinner and my wife offers to drive so I can have a beer ( Class A license 0.04 is a DUI) I check to see if what they have on tap is worth the $6 a pint. Most of the time I don't drink any beer there, but have one when I get home.

In the end, I usually drink less beer, but better quality beer. Now I'm willing to spend $10-20 on a six pack of beer I like than buy a case of 'ok' beer. It may just be age too. I've noticed the same thing applies to liquor, I drink less, but buy better quality. The amount of money spent is the same, the quality is better, but the volume is a lot less.

Now I'm trying to decide......Crack open my bourbon porter stout or the New Holland Dragons Milk! [emoji38][emoji481]
Then there is that Bourbon too......hmmmmmm.

 

[SEndorf]

I think kegging has added a lot more versatility. I come home from work and savor 3 or 4 flite pours of what I have on tap. Most nights that's enough.

 

[day_trippr]

I drink much better beers than before I started brewing...

Cheers!

 

[buckinin]

My drinking habits while out to dinner or with friends has certainly changed. Before I would drink what ever was offered, now if it's Budwieser or an IPA ( no offense to you IPA drinkers, I'm just not a huge fan of them), I politely refuse and drink something else. If I'm out to dinner and my wife offers to drive so I can have a beer ( Class A license 0.04 is a DUI) I check to see if what they have on tap is worth the $6 a pint. Most of the time I don't drink any beer there, but have one when I get home.

In the end, I usually drink less beer, but better quality beer. Now I'm willing to spend $10-20 on a six pack of beer I like than buy a case of 'ok' beer. It may just be age too. I've noticed the same thing applies to liquor, I drink less, but buy better quality. The amount of money spent is the same, the quality is better, but the volume is a lot less.

Now I'm trying to decide......Crack open my bourbon porter stout or the New Holland Dragons Milk! [emoji38][emoji481]
Then there is that Bourbon too......hmmmmmm.

I’m with you on the drinking less at restaurants. It’s got to be a good beer for me to be willing to pay for a beer with dinner. There’s almost always better beer waiting for me at home, so why spend $6 on a coors light?

 

[Tom Foolery]

Same amount of beer. A lot less bottles and cans in the recycling. [emoji16]

 

[jaybo]

I have found that I drink less since I've been brewing, but that's not saying much. I used to drink a minimum of a 6 pack every day. Now it's less than 4; but better beer. I buy a lot of craft beer to get ideas for my next brew day. I do it now for the enjoyment of what I have created, instead of just drinking to get a buzz going.
Edit: on a side note; if it hadn't been for me living in Europe for 3 years, I'd probably still be drinking BMC and not caring about quality instead of quantity.

 

[PeteSeattle]

In my 20s when I started brewing I was pretty tolerant of large volumes of booze. I just slept it off the next morning. Years later not so much. Tonight my body proved to me that my limit is just 3 pints. This has been consistent since I hit my mid 40s. Even the taste buds turn against me. And no way can I touch hard liquor anymore ... just makes me gag. Weird how things change when middle age hits.

 

[schematix]

I used to only drink a couple days a week and maybe dozen beers total.

Now it’s usually closer to 6/day. Quality of life is much better though.

 

[brewcat]

I drink a lot of homebrew these days. I'll drink less if I feel like I need to ration. Sometimes I want to share. Lately I've been drinking more otherwise I'd probably go crazy. Still might.

 

[6Tap]

My consumption has increased as well as my R&D Dept. (Stomach) has expanded.

 

[boxboybrewing]

I used to only drink a couple days a week and maybe dozen beers total.

Now it’s usually closer to 6/day. Quality of life is much better though.

Right there with ya'!

 

[boxboybrewing]

In my 20s and 30s when my kids were at home, I rarely drank at all. And as a cop back then, I saw ALOT of unruly and stupid drunks. So, I didn't want to be like that.
But, as I've aged, and the kids are grown and gone, and a couple of divorces later, I am totally comfortable saying "I love beer." Like alot of you, I try many different styles and savor the flavor as much as possible, BUT, I can put away a 6 pack of BMC away and barely feel anything. My Irish genetics, I guess. Lol.
I'd rather buy a 6 or 12 pack of flavorful beer and drink to my hearts content at home than spend 6 or 7 bucks for a BMC at a restaurant or bar.

 

[homebrewer_99]

I had a beer at a (1) brewpub last year. Other than that, it's been at least 8 years since I've had a couple of beers on the town. I rarely buy beer anymore (less than 4 - 6 packs (a case) in a year). I just drink mine at home.

 

[pascalxricher]

Having the beer kegged makes it easy to pour a pint... I would say that I drink beer slightly more than before

 

[catdaddy66]

Having the beer kegged makes it easy to pour a pint... I would say that I drink beer slightly more than before

This my brother's main reason not to keg his beer. If he could just pull a pint whenever he wanted, raging alcoholism would not be far behind! Lol

 

[Hopsimus]

I wasn't a big beer drinker before starting the hobby, so, now, my consumption has gone up a lot.
I also buy more commercial beers now because I like to try out different styles before attempting to brew them myself.

I think I need to start giving away more home brew to my friends

 

[bleme]

This my brother's main reason not to keg his beer. If he could just pull a pint whenever he wanted, raging alcoholism would not be far behind! Lol

This was my wife's argument against me getting a keg system for many years. In my case, it might have increased consumption by 6% so all that worrying was for nothing.

 

[Ozarks Mountain Brewery]

I have a 4 tap system and full most days, you would think I would drink more but I actually drink less just more often, a couple every night and I'm good

 

[BrewZer]

I'd say it's the other way 'round... drinking has changed my brewing habits... the more I drink, the more I brew, the more I drink...

It's a vicious, delicious cycle.

 

[treacheroustexan]

I used to drink a lot of craft, now I still drink a lot of craft but even more homebrew. I also consume double IPA's and labatt blues at the same pace. Doesn't usually work out in my favor.

 

[jstringer1983]

I am truly in love with beer haha, i drink a lot of it. Its one of my favorite things about brewing. I drink the same amount, but i appreciate every nuance because i built it for me. My beers are tailored to my tastes from extensive r&d and recipe development lol. Itd be a waste not to consume it fast while its still fresh.

 

[Jtk78]

I do drink more, especially since kegging. Before I brewed, I didn't drink at all during the week, or at least very rarely. When I bottled, I may have 1-3 during the week. Now I'm up to 3-5 during the week, though usually 10oz pours. Weekend consumption has stayed about the same.

Having one beer a night I don't see as trying to catch a buzz, I view it as selecting the beverage currently available that taste the best to me. No different than selecting a can of soda over ice tea. Doctors may disagree with me.

 

[TGFV]

Drink more beer but better beer.

I had just finished a 2 year sober period (nothing wrong, just busy with my first born) and when I ended up drinking again was mostly crap adjunct lagers which didn't cut it for me. Started home brewing to save money while drinking beer and from there started drinking craft beer and branching out to styles I never would have tried otherwise.

Though I have had to switch to counting my beer drinking by the gallon so it doesn't sound bad to some of my co-workers and family.

 

[brewcat]

A boot is only one glass.

 

[grampamark]

I gave up drinking for a month. Wait-punctuation matters.

I gave up. Drinking for a month.

 

[DownstairsBrewing]

Biggest difference for me is that my beer taste has gone haywire. I still like all the beers I used to, but now I have a new appreciation for all sorts that I never liked before. I have become brew-promiscuous.