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Chaddyb
Well-Known Member
Sorry to hear about your loss, that's something no parent should have to go through.
Why or how did you get into homebrewing?
- Thread starter Chaddyb
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Sorry to hear about your loss, that's something no parent should have to go through.
Breaks my heart. I've got 3 of them around that age.
Let us know what you need. We're all a general group of asscracks around here, but we're also humans and glad to help another.
I saw a Sam Adams commercial talking about a homebrew contest. I never entered the contest but I did get online and do some research and then bought a kit. I went about 6 years with out brewing and just reignited the flame last year. I have to say the torch is burning brighter than ever!
Satisfaction
Well-Known Member
My wife was diagnosed as a Celiac and we were determined not to allow this to affect our life. She took over the cooking and I supply the beer.
As a household we have made no sacrifices and our quality of life has gone up since then.
As a household we have made no sacrifices and our quality of life has gone up since then.
Bigcorona
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I began this hobby by searching the internet for alternative energy. Heat engines, lead to steam engines, lead to wind power, lead to ethanol for fuel, lead to ethanol for drinking, lead to home brewing. Home brewing (all grain) seems to have an economic and personal payoff. The others had challenges I was not able to master. Not that I have mastered home brewing, but I am having fun trying.
Diver165
Well-Known Member
Google...
That's it really...it was googles fault. I was bored basically. Sitting at home browsing the net while drinking SNPA. Googled that...then found a mention of a "clone recipe" ... then one thing led to another. Now I have 3 blichmanns, 4 tap keezer and a chest freezer/fermentor....damn.
I mean I guess it's good I didn't google methamphetamine...
That's it really...it was googles fault. I was bored basically. Sitting at home browsing the net while drinking SNPA. Googled that...then found a mention of a "clone recipe" ... then one thing led to another. Now I have 3 blichmanns, 4 tap keezer and a chest freezer/fermentor....damn.
I mean I guess it's good I didn't google methamphetamine...
Diver165
Well-Known Member
We had a homebrew class at my church. Seriously. That got me going!!
Catholic?
Satisfaction
Well-Known Member
Diver165 said:
Or watch Breaking Bad..
Stauffbier
Well-Known Member
My buddies call my brewery "the meth lab", but I think it more resembles a "bio diesel lab"...
I had wanted to brew for a long time after starting to get into craft beer during college. My good friend/groomsman ended up getting "us" a basic brewing setup as a wedding present...that still sat unused for a while, but after we finally moved to a real house with some room to breathe and brew, I started brewing a few months later. My actual first batch was a gallon of mead (actually was pretty similar to a JAOM, although at the time I'd never even heard of JAOM...) and a couple days later an extract English bitter that was too hoppy for style b/c I told the LHBS I liked hoppy beers and they gave me an extra ounce of Cascade to add at flameout and to dry hop with.
Needless to say I was hooked, and over 5 years and a couple hundred gallons later, here we are...
Needless to say I was hooked, and over 5 years and a couple hundred gallons later, here we are...
petey_c
Senior Member
That has to be the worst. Your kids are supposed to bury you, not the other way around. I'm so sorry for your loss.
petey_c
Senior Member
I was thinking Irish Catholic...
I remember the "Little Shop of Hops" in Manhattan had an ad in some local newspaper and I gave it a try. I had a young child and it was a hobby that you did at home and there wasn't much to buy except the kit. This was about 15 years ago. I did a bunch of batches that came out OK, but stopped because it was a lot of work.
Then, about 3 or 4 years ago, my daughter needed a science project. I thought, why not beer? It showed yeast producing CO2, the change of sugar into alcohol, and the effect of enzymes. Of course, all I cared about was making beer. We should have measured the CO2 produced, to coincide with the gravity readings, but we didn't. She didn't win any prizes but the science teacher took an interest in the final results.
Then, about 3 or 4 years ago, my daughter needed a science project. I thought, why not beer? It showed yeast producing CO2, the change of sugar into alcohol, and the effect of enzymes. Of course, all I cared about was making beer. We should have measured the CO2 produced, to coincide with the gravity readings, but we didn't. She didn't win any prizes but the science teacher took an interest in the final results.
I studied chemistry and biology in college. As soon as I helped a friend bottle a batch and heard him explain the process, I had to try it. Picked up the Joy of Homebrewing and a starter kit shortly thereafter, been at it ever since!
wailingguitar
Well-Known Member
Like most people, I had tasted beer a number of times when I was a kid. I liked it, but when I began reading things like Lord of the Rings and All Creatures Great and Small, I was reading the author's descriptions of the beers the character's were drinking and they didn't match my experience. I wanted to taste THOSE beers. When I was in college (mid-late 80's), I got my hands on beer from all over, trying different things, experimenting... it was at this time that I had my first American micro-brew; a couple of Bell's products. I was hooked.
There was mention in one of James Herriot's books that one of his clients made a "nutty brown ale", I figured if that old, Yorkshire farmer could do it, I could too. I went to a bookstore and looked for a book on beer making. Found Papazian's book and read it over and over. I needed a job at the time and went to Bell's thinking that would be the best job EVER. The knowledge that I had gained from Papazian's book was instrumental in landing the job... simpler times! I was actually working in the brewery before I ever brewed a drop at home, and was assistant brewer after only 4 or 5 homebrews under my belt.
There was mention in one of James Herriot's books that one of his clients made a "nutty brown ale", I figured if that old, Yorkshire farmer could do it, I could too. I went to a bookstore and looked for a book on beer making. Found Papazian's book and read it over and over. I needed a job at the time and went to Bell's thinking that would be the best job EVER. The knowledge that I had gained from Papazian's book was instrumental in landing the job... simpler times! I was actually working in the brewery before I ever brewed a drop at home, and was assistant brewer after only 4 or 5 homebrews under my belt.
IrishBrewer74
Well-Known Member
My neighbor up north started home brewing and always hinted that I should try it. I put it off as I thought the whole thing was way too involved and intimidating. He ran with it and now has a successful Nanobrewery in northern WI. After talking quite a bit about it and watching him in the brew house, I finally jumped in. Fortunately he guided me on what to buy in order to get started (rather than buy a starter kit) and I got started for a minimal investment. I already had a two tap keezer that he guided me on building set up for sanke kegs, a few modifications later for cornys and I was homebrewing and kegging right from my first batch.
This is truly a awesome hobby. My only regret was not starting years ago.
This is truly a awesome hobby. My only regret was not starting years ago.
my sister who doesn't even like beer bought me a mr beer at a bed, bath, and beyond for christmas. i like chemistry (even though i'm a computer geek by trade), so i made it. several years later, with a keggle hlt, keggle mash tun, and brew keggle, and an igloo 58 qt tun, and an igloo 40 qt tun, still looking to better my setup
1Q84
Well-Known Member
My fiancee and I have been interested in craft beers and all that for quite a while, and I guess over time the desire grew to try making our own stuff. Guess one day I got tired of talking about it, ordering a bunch of equipment, and here I am now!
Alucard1983
Well-Known Member
My mom's father brew wine and my father's father brew beer and sold it so my father brew wine and beer. So I carry on the legacy so I brew wine and beer
To be honest, it was simply living in San Diego county during the craft beer boom around 2007. I was lucky enough to see Stone become the driving force it is today, and literally dozens of other smaller craft brew companies take shape. Along with the expansion in beer availability, the market for homebrewing also went up, and I was told about a homebrew store in Oceanside through a friend I had that worked the bar at Stone Gardens. The rest, as they say, is history.
CentralWABrewing
Well-Known Member
It is something passed down from generations in our family. I brew the beer and my sister makes the wine.
BeerAlchemist
Active Member
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I got bored one day, typed hobbies in google and it gave me a list, I picked a number at random, then counted through the lists and landed on home brewing. And now iv been doing it for little under a year, started on building my AG system 
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downtown3641
Well-Known Member
petey_c said:
I was thinking Unitarian.
I had a few friends who were into homebrewing after college. I was really into craft beer and making my own seemed like a natural progression. I helped a friend with an extract batch then purchased a starter kit last March using a Groupon (with some extra goodies purchased at the same time). I waited a couple of months to start my first brew. We were house hunting and our rental had horrible temperature control issues. Once we were homeowners, I ordered a turkey fryer and got six extract batches under my belt. I brewed my first all-grain batch in December, but then didn't have the right combination of free time and nice weather to brew again. That should change this weekend. I hope to crank out as many batches as I can to get the process down before my daughter is born this summer.
My wife and I (fiancee at the time) rented a home whose backyard butted up to a now defunct micro breweries parking lot. Needless to say, we spent 5 out of 7 nights a week in that bar. We became good friends with the assistant brewer, and started attending the homebrew club meetings. 10 years later we now run the same homebrew club, albiet at a different location. Have enjoyed every bit of the process, and club, since.
CharlesKelley
Active Member
Thanks, everyone. The last couple of months have been hard. HBT and brewing have provided a distraction that has helped keep me going.
I feel ya man. If I wouldn't have shot off my big mouth about his 1st sleep over,my lil brother might be alive today. I was 1 mile away picking wild strawberries with my sister,when I heard the crash.
You never forget such things,but time makes them easier to live with. Just keep brewing,& whatever else keeps you going. Get into it so as not to think about the bad so often. It'll mess with your mind if you don't try to move on.
You never forget such things,but time makes them easier to live with. Just keep brewing,& whatever else keeps you going. Get into it so as not to think about the bad so often. It'll mess with your mind if you don't try to move on.
DonutMuncher
Well-Known Member
I've always loved beer, all different types really. After I graduated college, I realized I needed a hobby to help fill all the extra time. Being an engineer, I like to know how things work. I always wondered how beer was made. So I researched around, bought a Mr. Beer kit, made some batches, upgraded equipment, brewed more batches.. and there's no end in sight
Well,on to my experiences. My dad got a 1 gallon wine making kit when I wasd 14 or 15. He said when I asked that I could try it if I wanted to. So I did,& made wine till I was about 30. I grew quite weary of waiting at least a year to sample my creations,so I stopped. Flas forward some 25 years to January 2011. My wife & I were watching videos on youtube with some beers on Friday night,& got to talking when we saw vids on the list next to the viewer for home brewing. Our middle son walks in & says I aught to start making wine again. I explained to him why I wasn't interested in wine atm. We then started watching craigtube,steeljan,fo,revolutionary brewer,& many others I'm sure you're all aware of. We searched around various sites,& bought the Cooper's micro brew kit from makebeer.net. Looking back,I probably should've went with Midwest. But this kit had everything shy of a brew kettle,which I knew I could get localy a lot cheaper. But that micro brew FV has proven to be a tough lil FV over the last year+. Easy to clean & rugged. We now have the equipment for us both to be able to brew at the same time when I get tax$$ to fix the stove. The beers are getting better all the time,& finally got around to re-brewing our favorites.
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