How did you get hooked?

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How did you get hooked?

  • Mr. Beer's the man...

  • Through a Friend

  • Act of God

Results are only viewable after voting.
My father brewed for years when I was a kid. Ahhhhh back in the days before kegs, mashing, and most importantly autosiphons. nothing like teaching a kid to start a siphon for a yeasty, trubby racking. MMMMMmmmmmmm the memories!
 
wife bought me a starter kit for christmas.
within a year i was all grain with fermenters and empties everywhere.
she just can't believe what she started!
 
We went on a tour of Sprecher brewery with a friend who homebrews.
While sitting in the Sprecher 'Beergarden' and sampling lots of brew we talked about his setup and homebrewing in general. I decided it sounded like fun.
 
I'm a DIYer by heart. I'd rather make it or build it myself than buy it. Well, when a friend I met online told me he made his own beer, it got the wheels turning and with his help getting started, I decided to give it a try. 14 batches later, I'm still brewing.
 
I was bored at work one day and found Palmer's book and this site.

My uncle makes wine, so that's probably how I got the idea in the first place. So, I guess that's an act of god more than the others.
 
my cousin was brewing extract kits and we had a few beers one evening. they were pretty good compared to the swill we drank in the bars. this was in 2003... in december of 04 my brother shipped me a starter kit... went to all grain in july of 05 and haven't looked back..
 
It came to me when drinking brew at microbreweries and noted that if they can do it, surely there is a way to scale down their methodology and brew at the house. Quick internet search, and I was home.
 
I've dabbled here and there with making flavored spirits (a cherry "vodka" and a limoncello) and enjoyed it, as well as the end product.

My father made wine once, and is still nursing a few bottles of that, some of which are nearly 20 years old.

But the kicker was meeting my SO, who appreciates good beer. I bought her a brew kit for her birthday and we've embarked on this hobby together.

It's fantastic, and great to share with her.
 
I've worked at a brewpub, which is now just a pub, for eight and a half years. I moved a mile down the street from it about three years ago. A few months ago, a LHBS opened up halfway between the pub and my apartment. Destiny? I think so.
 
I'm a big soda (cola, pop) drinker and thought how cool it would be to make my own. A website I visited recommended picking up soda flavorings at the LHBS. I did and got hooked on the idea of brewing beer.
 
Bought a kit to make wine, I don't even remember where I got the idea for that.

One batch of wine, and I was on my way to beer.
 
The tipping point came for me in 1988. Prior to that I hated beer. The only thing I was exposed to though was the BMC beers that my father would drink. I thought they tasted like sweet Alkaseltzer. In 1988 I took my first trip to England and Germany. It was in England where I had my first pint of "Real Ale" at a small pub in Camelford. It completely surprised me. I thought, wow this beer has FLAVOR! Upon my return to the US, I began to seek out imported beers. (I was living in San Diego at the time and was not aware of the American Microbrew movement). I moved to Seattle in 1991 and rented an apartment downtown. I discovered Pike Brewing Company and next door to the brewery was Liberty Malt Supply a homebrew supply shop. It is there that I discovered homebrewing. 15 years later, I'm still at it and probably enjoy the hobby now more than ever.
 
I had a kidney stone several months ago and started drinking more beer because of it (I had been drinking beer only off and on for years since college, never regularly). I only had a passing interest in actually making beer until I went to a beer fest and met some of the local homebrew club guys. After that, it's all history.

At least now both I and SWMBO have an archaic craft hobby - I make beer and she knits and spins yarn.
 
Buford said:
I had a kidney stone several months ago and started drinking more beer because of it (I had been drinking beer only off and on for years since college, never regularly). I only had a passing interest in actually making beer...
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Nice choice of words...

I got into making beer because I like beer - and I read Papa Charlie's book.
 
In the late eighties, Sam Adams turned me onto better beer and then sometime around 1992, I stumbled upon a homebrew shop a couple of towns away. If it weren't for that shop (unfortunately long out of business), I probably wouldn't have realized there was such a thing as homebrewing for at least another 10 years. Needless to say, I voted "By Act of God".
 
My dad used to make wine. I used to make some also (covert like!) and sell to my classmates when I was 14. Nice profit maker (that and my mate nicking his dads scag mags and selling them - he had hundreds of them!)

Started making beer when I was 20 and took a break for about 13 years.
 
Yeah, my dad had a kidney stone years ago as well - the doctor recommended regular beer consumption to help flush the kidneys. (Too bad that to my dad "beer" means Natural Light and Busch.)

Ever since I got back into drinking beer regularly myself I don't know why I didn't earlier...
 
I received a wine making kit for Christmas from my folks years ago. Because I'm a cheap bastard, I brewed the wine for my wedding (which turned out to be a hit, surprisingly!) A couple of years later found me stumbling over John Palmer's website before a trip to the LHBS, realizing that my kit could do beer with little to no modification, and becoming a happy man.
 
I wanted to brew for many years, but It was'nt until I ran into a friend that brewed that I got realllllly turned on to it, now theres no stoping me. in fact I think i've surpassed my friend with brewphanailia!!!!!:ban:
 
My business partner purchased a "Brew Sack" (AKA spew svck) for her boyfriend's birthday & got me one as well. The results were shovel grabbing good, but we found the Oakbarrel LHBS nearby and got real, fast.
 
This site! I like beer and had heard you could brew your own without much trouble so I went on-line exploring. I soon found this amazing resourse and dove right in. I have yet to come up for air! :D
 
A few years ago a friend of mine at work used to talk about homebrewing and it sounded interesting. Then, about a year and a half ago the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel ran a series about homebrewing. The author included instructions on brewing a batch of beer, a description of what LHBS stores generally put in their starter kits and also I think a list of LHBS's in our area. A short time later I showed up at one of them, bought the equipment and ingredients for a batch of Milwaukee Amber ale and I was on my way. Well, sort of. I guess I was a little skeptical until I discovered that my second batch tasted way better than any commercial beer I had ever tried in my life. Haven't looked back since.
 
kleinbeer said:
dad brewed for a lot of years and when he decided he would just buy beer i stole all of his brewing gear and now im right into it.
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That's called retiring and passing down the pool.

Just remember to offer him some beer since he gave up the goat! He did plant the seed in your head after all!!
 
I did an article on a LHBS when I was in college, and then got interested but I knew my apartment wouldn't work (too warm). It wasn't until recently that I got a house with suitable storage room and temperature control where I could brew. At one point, I almost went Mr. Beer, but decided against it since I knew there had to be a better way.

Ironically, the wife was watching Clean Sweep or some other improvement show and they had a guy who was a brewer. Seeing his jugs got me hot and bothered. I had a fever, and the only cure WASN'T more cowbell, it was homebrewing. Plus, SWMBO was knocked up and I needed a hobby that kept me at home yet gave me an excuse to get out of the house.
 
I had always thought beer was nasty. After distilling a batch of Absinthe my proof hydrometer broke. So I went to the LHBS down the street to get a new one. The owner asked why I didn’t make beer and when I told him I didn’t like beer he laughed and told me I didn’t even know what beer tasted like. Then he brought out sample a glass and about 20 different beers I liked 15 of them. In the 3 hours I needed to sober up he had me all set to go brew beer and away I went never looking back.
 
Jsin said:
I had always thought beer was nasty. After distilling a batch of Absinthe my proof hydrometer broke. So I went to the LHBS down the street to get a new one. The owner asked why I didn’t make beer and when I told him I didn’t like beer he laughed and told me I didn’t even know what beer tasted like. Then he brought out sample a glass and about 20 different beers I liked 15 of them. In the 3 hours I needed to sober up he had me all set to go brew beer and away I went never looking back.
Click to expand...

Hey that's a pretty funny story.
 
I knew about HB from a former co-worker, and thought the idea was pretty cool, but never pursued it as a hobby. In fact, I was happy drinking some Lager and Pilsner imports and microbrews until we vacationed in London this past summer. It was there I discovered the many fine Bitters, Ales, Pale Ales and IPAs. Once we got home I realized only a smattering of imports would satisfy my taste buds.

I googled and came to this site, and the rest, they say, is history!
 
Jsin said:
I had always thought beer was nasty. After distilling a batch of Absinthe my proof hydrometer broke. So I went to the LHBS down the street to get a new one. The owner asked why I didn’t make beer and when I told him I didn’t like beer he laughed and told me I didn’t even know what beer tasted like. Then he brought out sample a glass and about 20 different beers I liked 15 of them. In the 3 hours I needed to sober up he had me all set to go brew beer and away I went never looking back.
Click to expand...


15 out of 20 in 3 hrs?
That also sounds like a great way to lose your virginity.:ban:
 

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