Am I a homebrewer? NO!

[MindenMan]

Taking time away from important duties like hulling strawberries, I read through this entire thread. I think I may have heard one questionable comment made, ever. I tell people right off the bat (did anyone else try to brew on a bat?) I make my own beer and hard cider, and the results are always positive. People that really appreciate quality beer will ask what styles I have made, and what do I have on hand? I tell people if they want to try one, call first. My wife is a teacher, and everybody knows I brew my own beer, and there is no conflict given. One of the ladies she works with is a pain in my ars, it is ready yet, is it ready yet? She claims my brown porter is the best she ever tasted, and that is a huge compliment to me. Does anybody think she might be sucking up for more beer.? Sorry off topic. Do I drink BMC beer? Every great once in a while to taste something new. Am I a craft brewer? No, but I am a home brewer. If you want my mash tun, you can pry from my cold dead fingers.

 

[Yooper]

Oh, I have people say stupid things to me all the time. Brewing isn't really all that popular where I live.

Just recently, I've heard:

Do you use your bathtub to make it?
Isn't that illegal?
Are you an alcoholic?


Also, people think homebrew = free beer, and so have no problems with asking for beer since it's free.

So I definitely understand (and sort of agree with) where Sudbuster is coming from. I think that we just need to be firm in the fact that while the term itself may have negative connotations from the past, that it is NOT a "bad" way to refer to what I do presently.

I brew, at home, and so I am a homebrewer. I also make my own soap, wine, grow my own food, etc. That makes me a home soapmaker, home cook, and home winemaker. I have no issues with those terms.

 

[Clonefan94]

I can see I'm barking up the wrong age group of brewers. How quickly we foerget or never knew. "homebrewing" was a very derogatory term before Papazian. The term implied swill and squalor. Only the lowest made homebrew. I was among the lowest then. But now, I am above that all. I hate the term " homebrew". You all are just too young to grasp the implications. Cheers

I'm no spring chicken at 43, but still I have yet to ever encounter anyone who hears me say I'm a homebrewer who isn't genuinely excited to try my beer. My family made their own wine when I was growing up as well, so I've been around the term for a while. I don't ever remember anyone concerned about homebrew being a negative term.

I'm not saying you are wrong, maybe I grew up in a different environment than you were in in your days of brewing. I just never perceived the negativity you have.


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[weirdboy]

Years ago, whenever someone found out I was a homebrewer at parties or whatever, I would very often get questions about using my bathtub, the occasional botulism FUD, etc.

In more recent times it has mostly just been, "oh, that's cool! Did you bring any I can try?" That, or they already have a friend or family member that is interested in it and wanting to learn, or already doing it.

The meaning of words changes over time. Get used to it.

 

[SudsyPaul]

I think "homebrew" may have had a negative connotation to it because the stuff made in the 70s/80s wasn't very good... even my dad's stuff in the 90s wasn't very good. My dad discouraged me from branching into homebrewing, but when he tasted my beer, he was amazed at how it tasted (good).

I tell people I make my own beer... most people make jokes about alcoholism or moonshine or something. I don't take it personally. Most people enjoy at least one of the beers that I taste. Anybody that thinks that homebrew is inferior to macro or micro stuff can lose out on my fun products... their loss, not mine.

I get how homebrew had a stigma in the 80s and 90s... but in the last 5-10yrs, it's come around hard. There are homebrew kits in all the fancy bookstores in my town, homebrew competitions at the huge beer festivals. People love homebrew now... the stigma is mostly gone. The only reason why the stigma may remain is due to people that abide by that old time image and do little to postively promote the term "homebrewer"

 

[CreamyGoodness]

If we actual nerds have had to put up with a bunch of *********s we would have wanted dead in high school proudly calling themselves "nerds" today I think it stands to reason that an epithet like "home brewer" could change over the span of decades as well.

 

[SudsyPaul]

If we actual nerds have had to put up with a bunch of *********s we would have wanted dead in high school proudly calling themselves "nerds" today I think it stands to reason that an epithet like "home brewer" could change over the span of decades as well.

American High Schools sound scary.

Luckily... I only know 1 person from high school... and he's a normal guy.

 

[HawgDaddy]

Oh, I have people say stupid things to me all the time. Brewing isn't really all that popular where I live.

Just recently, I've heard:

Do you use your bathtub to make it?
Isn't that illegal?
Are you an alcoholic?


Also, people think homebrew = free beer, and so have no problems with asking for beer since it's free.

So I definitely understand (and sort of agree with) where Sudbuster is coming from. I think that we just need to be firm in the fact that while the term itself may have negative connotations from the past, that it is NOT a "bad" way to refer to what I do presently.

I brew, at home, and so I am a homebrewer. I also make my own soap, wine, grow my own food, etc. That makes me a home soapmaker, home cook, and home winemaker. I have no issues with those terms.

Like ++++ Yooper! Sort of what I meant when I spoke of friends over/indulging. If they knew what was involved although how enjoyable, they may not see it that way....

 

[rico567]

I brew. I do it at home. Res ipse loquitur.

 

[MindenMan]

Damn Yooper, I wish I had the knowledge you had without having to be as old as you.
(j/k). The first home brew beer I ever tasted, was made in the HBS I tasted it in. It was 1993, and I just thought it was cool, and wanted to try it out, When the conversation came up at a Christmas party a couple were making some sort of a cherry beer, I thought it was odd, and didn't want to try it. Oh, how foolish I was, and didn't ask for a taste, my life would have been so much better, back then I could have become so much more a pain in the arse.

 

[MarathonMurse]

If we actual nerds have had to put up with a bunch of *********s we would have wanted dead in high school proudly calling themselves "nerds" today I think it stands to reason that an epithet like "home brewer" could change over the span of decades as well.

Hahaha, yeah... this is a little frustrating. I was a loser for playing Zelda and reading Lord of the Rings. Now all the cool kids are playing Skyrim and talking about Game of Thrones. Guess we were just ahead of our time!

 

[passedpawn]

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qFOHwq9Zii0[/ame]

 

[rocketsan]

I blame Mr. Roper who used Mrs. Roper's stockings to make beer for Jack Tripper. He's responsible for the negative perception of homebrewers.


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[ghohn]

Some people think too much.


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[sudbuster]

I'm no spring chicken at 43, but still I have yet to ever encounter anyone who hears me say I'm a homebrewer who isn't genuinely excited to try my beer. My family made their own wine when I was growing up as well, so I've been around the term for a while. I don't ever remember anyone concerned about homebrew being a negative term.

I'm not saying you are wrong, maybe I grew up in a different environment than you were in in your days of brewing. I just never perceived the negativity you have.


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Yeah, You are a Spring Chicken at 43...

 

[sudbuster]

IMO, homebrewing is clearly superior to commercial brewing.

Denny. WTF you doin' over here?? Go home!

 

[sudbuster]

When I think of "artisan" products, I think of products that are pretentious, over-priced, and generally poorly made. Coincidentally, that's been my experience with "artisan" beers.

Most homebrewers I know care deeply about their product and are constantly striving to improve their brewing process or to try out new ingredients. I'd so much rather people call me a homebrewer than some hipster "artisan" ********* label.

Do you buy "artisan" bread? "Craft" has been robbed by the "homebrew" bunch that thought they could compete with BMC. Few make it , most crump. My beers are "artisan". They are not brewed at "home", but rather in a dedicated brew shop. Research goes into the development of recipes and then brewed. Should the result be faulty, the results are thrown out. If the results are satisfactory, my friends and family indulge. If the results are extraordinary, I present them to competitions and friends and family still indulge. You may be a "homebrewer", I am not. I am an "artisan" brewer even though, at 74, I hardly consider myself a "hipster" or even a *********.'
Thanks for the reply though. Cheers..

 

[MarathonMurse]

I hardly consider myself a "hipster" or even a *********.'

Hipsters, *********s, and hipster-*********s rarely considers themselves such.

Kidding, of course. You can call yourself and your beer whatever you want. I might steal... er, "co-opt" that 'dedicated brew shop' thing for my garage, to keep out those pesky cars.

 

[MindenMan]

If artisan means something is hand crafted by someone who has practiced year after year, and really gives a shi* about where the ingredients come from and the final product at finish, then I am an artisan baker. Old school recipes, old school methods, top quality ingredients, and trying something new with what I have to work with, then yes. For me personally to call myself a artisan brewer, would be in my opinion, pretentious. My dedicated brew room is where my wife's car parks in the winter. Do I research the style I want to produce, of course I do. Do I search for the best ingredients, yes I do. Do I regulate every step during the brewing so I can repeat this recipe time after time, I had better. Sudbuster, I have no knowledge of how long you have been brewing, and I tip my hat to your experience simply from your post. I have only won one best of category, and to me it was a huge deal. Had my wife not have incessantly prompted to enter it, I wouldn't have. So, if my wife tells me again to enter a competition, I will. Otherwise, I don't brew for contest judges, I brew for me what I like, the way I want it made. Of course, SWMBO always has the last say

 

[Devilsnight]

You may be a "homebrewer", I am not

Well, I for one will agree with you. When I brew at home I'm a brewer. When I cook at home I'm simply a cook, not a homecooker! I've talked "homebrew" with a few people since i've been brewing that had a very negative outlook on "homebrewing" so, I see what your saying.

Anyone will show up for a home cooked meal, not everyone will show up for a home brewed beer. To each his own.

 

[seabass07]

IDGAF what some ignorant people might think about the term homebrewer. I brew at home as a hobby, so I'm a home brewer. I cook at home in my kitchen, but I would not tell people I'm a cook because that would imply that it is my profession. I cook and brew at home, so call it whatever you want. I could care less about what kind of perception that gives to the uninformed. I bake bread at home, but I'm not a baker by profession. I bake sh!t at home. Call it whatever you want. But I think the negative perception is a thing of the past, so call yourself what you want and STFU about it.

 

[electrolight]

I see your angle OP... but I feel like artisan is a little over the top. Sounds arrogant.

 

[boydster]

I hardly consider myself a "hipster" or even a *********.

<throws ironic scarf over shoulder and exits room>

You hipster, you.

-Sent from a typewriter connected to my iPhone while sitting in my Prius and vaping. You probably wouldn't understand what that is. Scoff.

 

[GrogNerd]

I am an "amateur zymologist" and I "conduct experiments" in my "brewing laboratory'

I am also an amateur photographer and a semi-pro musician

 

[Denny]

Denny. WTF you doin' over here?? Go home!

Didn't you forget a smiley?

 

[Clarke]

I find the term Artisan to be uppity...

 

[hunter_le five]

I'm an accountant.

I don't think I've ever told anyone I'm a "home brewer". I make beer. At home. But I also make food at home, and I don't use a special term for that. I mow my own lawn but I'm not a landscaper, and I clean my own home, but that doesn't make me a maid.

I make beer because I like beer and I like the process. But it's not who I am.


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[smizak]

I'm an accountant.

I don't think I've ever told anyone I'm a "home brewer". I make beer. At home. But I also make food at home, and I don't use a special term for that. I mow my own lawn but I'm not a landscaper, and I clean my own home, but that doesn't make me a maid.

I make beer because I like beer and I like the process. But it's not who I am.


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Well said. I don't feel the need to label myself either.

 

[btbnl]

I'm not a home brewer, I'm a brewery resident.

 

[Calichusetts]

Do you buy "artisan" bread? "Craft" has been robbed by the "homebrew" bunch that thought they could compete with BMC. Few make it , most crump. My beers are "artisan". They are not brewed at "home", but rather in a dedicated brew shop. Research goes into the development of recipes and then brewed. Should the result be faulty, the results are thrown out. If the results are satisfactory, my friends and family indulge. If the results are extraordinary, I present them to competitions and friends and family still indulge. You may be a "homebrewer", I am not. I am an "artisan" brewer even though, at 74, I hardly consider myself a "hipster" or even a *********.'
Thanks for the reply though. Cheers..

pre•ten•tious

Attempting to impress by affecting greater importance, talent, culture, etc., than is actually possessed.

Having or showing the unpleasant quality of people who want to be regarded as more impressive, successful, or important than they really are

1: characterized by pretension: as
a : making usually unjustified or excessive claims (as of value or standing)
b : expressive of affected, unwarranted, or exaggerated importance, worth, or stature