Things I Hate about Homebrewers

[homebrew212]

I love the hobby of homebrewing more than any other activity but sometimes it can get kind of overbearing and downright annoying. For that reason I've decided to compile a list of the things I hate about homebrewers in no particular order .Really my only goal is get people to think about their brewing and beer. This is just a list of things I've noticed by reading countless brewing forums and going to homebrew events.


1. Those homebrewers who denounce a process because it didn't work for them. ie) "I get nothing out of decoction mashing so therefore it must be crap."

2. Going to an event where homebrewers are pouring their beer and much of it is oxidized, too estery, or tastes like rocket fuel.

3. Those homebrewers who put just about anything into their beer and think it's awesome. I mean Sam Calagione has built a brewery on putting any random **** into his beer but that doesn't mean everybody should. I've had one too many Olive IPA's to think putting any odd thing into a beer is a good beer.

4. People who have had "great" results by brewing a certain way and therefore this process must work for everyone. ie) "I fermented my saison in my hot Texas shed for 90 days and it tastes amazing, THIS is the way to make a saison."

5. People who use the cost savings to justify their brewing beer. Brewing your own beer WELL does not save you money. Besides, what is wrong with buying great commerical beer, there are lots of breweries doing great stuff and they should be supported. We brew beer because it's fun, not because we're saving anything...time certainly isn't one of them.

6. Homebrewers who focus all of their attention on making a batch of wort but then underpitch, don't oxygenate, ferment at 100 degrees and then ask why their beer sucks.

7. Overly proud homebrewers...just because you won a ribbon or everyone loves your beer doesn't mean you're the end all or be all of homebrewing.

I am by no means an expert homebrewer but sometimes I just get pissed off by how our hobby conducts itself. Feel free to call me an idiot, POS, or any other name...or to add to this list.

 

[krackin]

I'm really trying to give a ratsass but am failing.

 

[Fuzzymittenbrewing]

Your #1 & #3 are a complete contradiction. And I hate that.....

 

[unionrdr]

Well, actually..., The thing that always annoyed me is when i try to tell someone something that works for me/helped me, someone always chimes in about how I'm full of it & completely wrong because " this guy's book says this & that guy's book says it too" kind of thing. I'm a writer too, & what is written isn't always written in stone. I mean, I speak from real world experience, not some lab conditions brew cave somewhere.

 

[madscientist451]

If home brewers are so annoying, perhaps you should just quit your local club, stop socializing with them, stop reading their irritating posts online and stay home and drink your brew in peace?
I enjoy the two clubs I am involved in. Sure there are some know it all annoying jerks, but those type of people are also at work and everywhere else. I like most home brewers I come across, and the social scene associated with home brewing. Its one of the reasons I do it. Cheers!

 

[govner1]

Sounds as if you need a new hobby where interaction toon w/ others (good or bad) is not involved & possible learning opportunities aren't needed!
Maybe growing mushrooms. That way you can stay in the dark & deal w/ only your ****!


Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew

 

[Smitty49686]

You want some cheese with that whine. Do you enjoy anything. All homebrew is good homebrew We all learn from mistakes and from others.


Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew

 

[homebrew212]

"All homebrew is good homebrew" is a terrible lie. When I first started out my beer sucked ass, I poured it straight down the drain and I got working on how to improve it. I would never turn that **** loose on some poor person. Presenting terrible homebrew to the non-homebrewing pubic sucks for everyone and makes people think that homebrewed beer is pond scum.

If you're going to brew, make it the best damned beer possible. Otherwise, what's the point? Same goes for the breweries out there making less than good beer. Quality is everything for beer.

 

[ChefRex]

A little light reading when you're on the crapper preparing to grow mushrooms,
http://www.amazon.com/dp/0671027034/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

 

[masskrug]

5. People who use the cost savings to justify their brewing beer. Brewing your own beer WELL does not save you money.

Bull. I can brew an excellent case of 22 oz bombers for $25. Try buying 24 bombers for that. You are going to spend on average, $6 per bomber, or $144 dollars.

Troll.

 

[poptarts]

I can actually agree or see where you are coming from on everthing cept 5. Even the "pros" making the "best possible beer" are turning profit. Last time I bough some RIS it was like 8$ a 4 pack. I can make it for half that with no issues at all probably even closer to 1/4 of that cost.

 

[kaconga]

5. People who use the cost savings to justify their brewing beer. Brewing your own beer WELL does not save you money.

Bull. I can brew an excellent case of 22 oz bombers for $25. Try buying 24 bombers for that. You are going to spend on average, $6 per bomber, or $144 dollars.

Troll.

Agreed. Especially when it comes to specialty styles like lambics and Belgians. Time is a finite resource for breweries and they have to charge a premium for it. I can let 5 gallons age for 3 years if I wanted and all it is doing is taking up a carboy. There are some great beers for a dollar for 12 oz but those are few and far between.

 

[Yooper]

I love homebrewers. They are by far the most laid back and geeky people I know (both compliments).

Only at a homebrewing conference could you have 5,000+ people drinking and not even a cross word. Homebrewers rock.

A few might not have gotten that laid back yet, and seem to be annoyed by petty stuff- but they'll get there.

 

[homebrew212]

I can actually agree or see where you are coming from on everthing cept 5. Even the "pros" making the "best possible beer" are turning profit. Last time I bough some RIS it was like 8$ a 4 pack. I can make it for half that with no issues at all probably even closer to 1/4 of that cost.

I knew that there would be a lot of blowback to my post but I stand by it. On the cost issue I feel that after all of the money I've spent getting the necessary equipment to brew good beer I will never recoup that money. A few thousand dollers will buy an awful lot of Lagunitas. Never mind the fact that I'm still in the beverage store every weekend hunting for something new.

 

[pricelessbrewing]

Well you don't need complicated equipment to make good beer. You can brew all grain biab for under 100 bucks easy, maybe less if you do small batches or can diy some stuff. Give me 100$for equipment, and 4 batches and I've saved money already.

 

[Fuzzymittenbrewing]

I knew that there would be a lot of blowback to my post but I stand by it. On the cost issue I feel that after all of the money I've spent getting the necessary equipment to brew good beer I will never recoup that money. A few thousand dollers will buy an awful lot of Lagunitas. Never mind the fact that I'm still in the beverage store every weekend hunting for something new.

I look at that part as an investment. Once I've made that investment sure I can make cheaper beer than buying it. But to me it really doesn't ever cross my mind. That's why its a hobby, a way I really enjoy spending my time. Time alone and with my fiancee, time to forget about being stressed about job perfection and missing budgets and all that other crap. When you get stressed about all that stuff what's the point?????

 

[homebrew212]

Well you don't need complicated equipment to make good beer. You can brew all grain biab for under 100 bucks easy, maybe less if you do small batches or can diy some stuff. Give me 100$for equipment, and 4 batches and I've saved money already.

Everything in my setup has been cobbled together but for a lot more than a hundred dollers. Plus, the cold side is where the beer is made and temperature controllers and fridges are needed for that.

 

[poptarts]

Everything in my setup has been cobbled together but for a lot more than a hundred dollers. Plus, the cold side is where the beer is made and temperature controllers and fridges are needed for that.

My 20$ craigslist fridge and 16$ stc do a damn fine job of temp control thanks

 

[geoffey]

I knew that there would be a lot of blowback to my post but I stand by it. On the cost issue I feel that after all of the money I've spent getting the necessary equipment to brew good beer I will never recoup that money. A few thousand dollers will buy an awful lot of Lagunitas. Never mind the fact that I'm still in the beverage store every weekend hunting for something new.

I kinda agree with this sentiment. I could probably make a crapload of decent beer with plastic buckets and a bare bones batch sparge all grain kit. And maybe after a couple of years I'd re-coup the $150-$200 I invested in the equipment. But I think a lot of people, especially on this forum, drop a lot of their spare $$ on addition brew equipment and bling because they enjoy the hobby so much. I sure know I do. I've spent SO much more on this hobby than I can ever justify in $$ saved on beer. Sure, if I ONLY account for the $30 in ingredients per batch I can say I'm saving money. But that's only if I ignore the hundreds or thousands of dollars I spent on building my basement electric brewery. So it would be disingenuous of me to say that I do it to save money on beer.


Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew

 

[Teromous]

I'm off to go brew my zucchini cumquat quadruple pale quad. DMS is a myth and has never been present in my beer so I plan to use 100% pilsner and execute this no-boil style. This is the only way to recreate my masterpiece but the best part is that it is free. That's right, not even free ninety nine...just free. I'll keep that secret to myself. Maybe I'll write a book to tell you how. Maybe just an ebook. I plan to let it sit outside near the compost pile because that's where my hops grow in pots and I can dry hop it straight off the bines without needing to pluck the hops off. Just bend them right over into the fermenter! I plan to use turbo yeast because that's the way they roll on that Moonshiners show. How else am I supposed to bring this mighty masterpiece of 2.000 OG of beautiful viscosity to bear alcohol? You can call me nuts, but I've found the best way to carbonate beer is with a Super Soaker. Plus it doubles as a beer gun at bottling time! I happen to have a room full of ribbons. My wife makes them for etsy. The best part of that business venture not taking off is that I have 100 blue ribbons for the 2015 state fair!

 

[pricelessbrewing]

I have chest freezer for free, and a stc 100 I installed for 28$. Lets add up my spendings so far.
38 stc 1000
Chiller 57
Beginner kit 69$
5g pot 25
Carboy 25
Extra bucket 15
Craigslist burner and 30qt pot. 15$
So about 250.
I'll end up selling the carboy, extra bucket, and pot. So 180.

Lets say I'll brew 70~ gallons this year, at a cost of about .30 $ a bottle. With a store cost of 1.5$ a bottle at least. Or 630 savings.

Done deal all day. 630/12=52.5$ savings a month. Initial investment recupped in 4 months.

 

[kaconga]

If all you drink is IPA/PA/porters then you definitely take longer to recoup your costs. However a decent Belgian dubbel is 3.50 at total wine for 350ml bottle. So multiply that by 50 to get 175 dollars for 5 gallons. So a nice homemade Belgian dubbel that you spend 60 dollars on in ingredients nets you a gain of 115 dollars. That means in 5-6 batches you have easily recouped your costs for most set ups. If you make some decent lagers (like doppelbocks/dunkels) then the cost recovery is about 50 dollars a batch for me. The idea that you cannot save money by brewing the beer yourself is patently silly. Just because people choose to brew beers that are easy and cheap to find doesn't mean you can't save some serious cash with brewing. It is a lot like cooking, if you are just making preformed burgers in a frying pan then you can certainly get the same from McDonald's or burger king for roughly the same cost. However if you take the time to properly make a delicious baklava or truffles then the savings is very obvious. Just my $.02

 

[scarekrow]

If you do a true cost savings analysis you need to factor in your time. Apples( total cost of labor, material, freight of store bought brew) to oranges(partial material costs, don't forget the water)

Most brews take at least 6 hours (brew day, transfer, bottling/keg, and the assorted cleanup)

Even if you enjoy your hobby time should be calculated in.
Just my $.02

 

[firerat]

Wait, people have hobbies to SAVE money?

 

[spetp]

I'm off to go brew my zucchini cumquat quadruple pale quad. DMS is a myth and has never been present in my beer so I plan to use 100% pilsner and execute this no-boil style. This is the only way to recreate my masterpiece but the best part is that it is free. That's right, not even free ninety nine...just free. I'll keep that secret to myself. Maybe I'll write a book to tell you how. Maybe just an ebook. I plan to let it sit outside near the compost pile because that's where my hops grow in pots and I can dry hop it straight off the bines without needing to pluck the hops off. Just bend them right over into the fermenter! I plan to use turbo yeast because that's the way they roll on that Moonshiners show. How else am I supposed to bring this mighty masterpiece of 2.000 OG of beautiful viscosity to bear alcohol? You can call me nuts, but I've found the best way to carbonate beer is with a Super Soaker. Plus it doubles as a beer gun at bottling time! I happen to have a room full of ribbons. My wife makes them for etsy. The best part of that business venture not taking off is that I have 100 blue ribbons for the 2015 state fair!

Funniest thing I have read this week! You are Hilarious


Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew

 

[Black Island Brewer]

Geez, some fuktard has his panties in a bunch. Effing troll.

 

[jbaysurfer]

I love the hobby of homebrewing more than any other activity but sometimes it can get kind of overbearing and downright annoying. For that reason I've decided to compile a list of the things I hate about homebrewers in no particular order .Really my only goal is get people to think about their brewing and beer. This is just a list of things I've noticed by reading countless brewing forums and going to homebrew events.


1. Those homebrewers who denounce a process because it didn't work for them. ie) "I get nothing out of decoction mashing so therefore it must be crap."

2. Going to an event where homebrewers are pouring their beer and much of it is oxidized, too estery, or tastes like rocket fuel.

3. Those homebrewers who put just about anything into their beer and think it's awesome. I mean Sam Calagione has built a brewery on putting any random **** into his beer but that doesn't mean everybody should. I've had one too many Olive IPA's to think putting any odd thing into a beer is a good beer.

4. People who have had "great" results by brewing a certain way and therefore this process must work for everyone. ie) "I fermented my saison in my hot Texas shed for 90 days and it tastes amazing, THIS is the way to make a saison."

5. People who use the cost savings to justify their brewing beer. Brewing your own beer WELL does not save you money. Besides, what is wrong with buying great commerical beer, there are lots of breweries doing great stuff and they should be supported. We brew beer because it's fun, not because we're saving anything...time certainly isn't one of them.

6. Homebrewers who focus all of their attention on making a batch of wort but then underpitch, don't oxygenate, ferment at 100 degrees and then ask why their beer sucks.

7. Overly proud homebrewers...just because you won a ribbon or everyone loves your beer doesn't mean you're the end all or be all of homebrewing.

I am by no means an expert homebrewer but sometimes I just get pissed off by how our hobby conducts itself. Feel free to call me an idiot, POS, or any other name...or to add to this list.

What I hate about homebrewers is that, apparently, their internet forums occasionally attract posts like this one.

 

[DSorenson]

When you say "things I hate about homebrewers", it really makes me believe you are going to say things that apply to all homebrewers.

People have opinions... I am over it.

 

[MikePote]

What I hate about homebrewers is that, apparently, their internet forums occasionally attract posts like this one.

I enjoyed reading this entire ridiculous post but this actually made me laugh out loud.

While OP has a couple good points, saving money (#5) is a MAJOR reason while I home brew. 5 gallons of good but simple pale ale cost me $15 without buying grain in bulk. How is that not saving money? I know if you factor in time it is a losing proposition but I dont factor time in something I enjoy doing.

 

[firerat]

.

 

[kaconga]

If you do a true cost savings analysis you need to factor in your time. Apples( total cost of labor, material, freight of store bought brew) to oranges(partial material costs, don't forget the water)

Most brews take at least 6 hours (brew day, transfer, bottling/keg, and the assorted cleanup)

Even if you enjoy your hobby time should be calculated in.
Just my $.02

If you want to make it a Hobson's choice then yes factor in the time. We can never ever make 5/10 gallon batches with the cost efficiency of big craft breweries when you factor in time/overhead. However when you look at the actual out of pocket costs to the consumer then home brewing wins by a landslide each time on expensive beers. For the record my 60 dollar batch of dubbel factored in all my out of pocket costs.

 

[Devinv]

but I've found the best way to carbonate beer is with a Super Soaker.

It's 7am Sunday morning, I just got off of work, I just woke the house maniacaly laughing, almost crying. Thanks.

 

[RM-MN]

What I see in this thread is that some people like to spend way more money than I to make beer and some take way more time to do so. If they enjoy brewing as a hobby, what they spend on it is of no concern. They might be collecting and restoring old cars. While they might enjoy restoring the cars, they are hard to drink when they are done.

 

[unionrdr]

True. I spend a day on mashing, sparging, boiling & chilling with pb/pm biab, besides the rest of the process. I've enjoyed going back to AE & E/SG this summer & they've been a lot better since I got my process tweaked for pm. So it is enjoyable regardless. Being time well spent, I don't really factor that in.
Otherwise, I am a minimalist & don't go in for a bunch of expensive equipment, etc. I make good beers that people seem to like, on the rare occasion I get to share some. The stuff I've got is paid for by now & works fine for me.

 

[ericbw]

I sometimes brew while I'm doing other things (including working), which is ok if you time things right. So it's not like you are spending 5-8 hours dedicated to watching a pot boil.

Same as cooking a roast. 10 minutes of active time followed by hours of waiting.

As for cost, grain is cheap enough, esp in bulk. Yeast can be cheap or reused. But how are you guys brewing $15 batches when hops cost $2/oz?

I bought a pound of Willamette a whole back, which allowed me to make some cheap beers. Without that,, it would add $5 per batch for hops. And Willamette is cheap.

 

[RM-MN]

I sometimes brew while I'm doing other things (including working), which is ok if you time things right. So it's not like you are spending 5-8 hours dedicated to watching a pot boil.

Same as cooking a roast. 10 minutes of active time followed by hours of waiting.

As for cost, grain is cheap enough, esp in bulk. Yeast can be cheap or reused. But how are you guys brewing $15 batches when hops cost $2/oz?

I bought a pound of Willamette a whole back, which allowed me to make some cheap beers. Without that,, it would add $5 per batch for hops. And Willamette is cheap.

For some varieties of beer you only use an ounce of hops. Not every brew requires multiple ounces.

 

[unionrdr]

Well, brewing pb/pm biab & using only a couple ounces of hops, I've done batches for about $15.50 with local spring water @ 25c per gallon. Rehydrated dry yeast or washed yeast. 5-6 pounds of grains to about 3 lbs of extract. That can lower the over-all cost of a batch. But with all the wildfires,etc the last couple of years, prices for grains & hops have gone up.

 

[catdaddy66]

Some longtime brewers have invested mega $ in their systems, while others ( like unionrdr and myself) are working with just above bare minimum requirements. What we make and others make is Beer! Quality comes from application of knowledge gleaned thru reading and learning as well as experience.

Some may not read or learn anything beyond the instruction page from extract kits. Others digest anything and everything they can on the subject.

Like any hobby it's what you, the individual, make of it. You can spend any amount you want to (kinda like golf as a hobby) but applied knowledge and experience will be how you improve your process and product.

Oh, and by the way, a$$ hats come in all walks of life. It's a fact... Deal with it! Lol!


Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew

 

[unionrdr]

I agree that it's applying the knowledge gained from experience & reading that make good beer. Making the most of what you have is the key otherwise.

 

[corkybstewart]

I love homebrewers. They are by far the most laid back and geeky people I know (both compliments).

Only at a homebrewing conference could you have 5,000+ people drinking and not even a cross word. Homebrewers rock.

A few might not have gotten that laid back yet, and seem to be annoyed by petty stuff- but they'll get there.

My wife and I have met homebrewers across the country through forums like this. She is constantly amazed at how friendly every brewer she's met has been, even the pro's at festivals.