Am I a homebrewer? NO!

[ericbw]

I actually think it's kind of dumb when people get their identity from one thing they do. So the pride some take in being a "homebrewer" has always struck me as odd.

I think the OP is thinking of moonshiners or something.

 

[TexanBrewGater]

I'm a BrewGater cuz I do it Tailgating style.

 

[unionrdr]

The ignorance of the general public to home brewing can be annoying sometimes. But I'll correct them in a heart beat. I home brew craft beers. Close enough.

 

[levtbeas]

Maybe the OP lives in an area where it hasn't been popularized yet? I could see what he means. When I handed a bottle of my first, overly sanitized, carefully monitored batch to friends and family, they all looked at me and asked "is this safe to drink?" They may have been joking but there's truth in jest. It could just be that the people around the OP are uneducated about what home brewing is.

I understand people not taking this thread seriously haha, but maybe it's actually a problem for him/her. In which case you should start educating those people about home brewing. Lesson 1: drink a home brew.

 

[chicken]

Perhaps the term "homebrewer" has negative connotations for some, but calling myself an "artisan brewer" would feel kind of silly. And I can easily imagine people having no idea what I meant by that (or thinking I was being pretentious), so I'd have to explain, leading them to wonder why I didn't just say I was a homebrewer in the first place.

Besides which, I doubt that this would change the negative impressions some people have of the hobby. People who are anti-alcohol, or think that if you brew your own you must be an alcoholic, or think making it at home is dirty and unsanitary or tastes bad, or just plain think it's a weird hobby are not going to care if I'm a "homebrewer" or an "artisan."

 

[HumulusHead]

Wow!

My favorite thread on Artesian Brew Talk!!


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[troy2000]

I'm not an artisan brewer; I'm a homebrewer. Artisan sounds a little too precious and pretentious for someone doing it as a hobby.

I dunno., though Is it still a hobby if I do it because it's the only way I can afford large amounts of good quality beer? That's one of the reasons I cook, too - because I sure can't afford to make a habit of eating out and ordering the foods I like....

 

[Phunhog]

I actually agree with the OP. Why don't we just call it brewing/brewer?

 

[VladOfTrub]

I think that an artisan brewer stirs wort clockwise on even days and counterclockwise on odd days. To be an artisan kit brewer, it is a requisite to own an expensive electric Euro can opener to chop the lids off tin cans of syrup, while watching Rocky and Bullwinkle and sipping beer from a demitasse cup with the pinky finger held at a 90 degree angle from the rest of the fingers.

 

[boydster]

I think that an artisan brewer stirs wort clockwise on even days and counterclockwise on odd days. To be an artisan kit brewer, it is a requisite to own an expensive electric Euro can opener to chop the lids off tin cans of syrup, while watching Rocky and Bullwinkle and sipping beer from a demitasse cup with the pinky finger held at a 90 degree angle from the rest of the fingers.

Proper sipping technique demonstration:

I'm a home brewah. Ayuh. No fancy-pants artisan pinky sipping. Just good beeahs.

 

[ntempleton]

I am not saying you can not make a great beer at home but you have nearly zero repeatability and the variables that go into a batch smaller than 3bbls are far to many to control.

Cite? That's a very strong claim & one contrary to my experience.

 

[JonM]

I've always said it as a thing I do rather than as an identity - "I brew beer" rather than "I'm a homebrewer."

 

[Zamial]

Cite? That's a very strong claim & one contrary to my experience.

This is more of a common knowledge thing. If you are making the same IPA or RIS sure it will taste good but the same? Prob not and here is just a few reasons why!

Hops: Hop quality varies from farm to farm and year to year. The stuff in a homebrewers small oz-lbs bag can be a grade A to grade C hops and I am guessing you do not test each pack opened. Do you track the age of the hops and storage conditions to determine degradation? (Most homebrew hop packs lack the required info...) Do you purge the O2 out and reseal the hops you do not use or discard them?

Grains: Like hops they alter from farm to farm and year to year. Do you track the lot numbers and shake test your crush? Do you measure your mash temps down to .1F or closer? What about mash thickness?

Water: Do you start with DO or RI water and measure salts/acids accurately enough to determine the ppm to .1? What about ACCURATELY monitoring PH levels during mash, lauter, boil and fermentation to .1 or closer?

Yeast: Do you do a cell count on the yeast you are going to pitch and then afterwards to ensure the correct number is in the wort? What about testing/knowing the O2 levels in the wort previous to pitching? Yeast growth/activity is also influenced by moon phases.

If you answered No to the bulk of the above questions your beer does not taste the same. All of things can and will alter the flavor of the finished beer, your palate may not be able to detect it but other peoples can. At work we keep RIDICULOUS records, including weather conditions and tasting notes and we have issues with repeatability. Knowing this I can easily say that 99.9% of homebrewers, that have less equipment/less accurate equipment and keep less records can not do it.

Once again this is not saying homebrewers are getting close or making bad tasting beer but to claim to be on par with commercial breweries is flat out outlandish when talking about repeatability.

/end thread jack

 

[HawgDaddy]

With all due respect, I don't give a rats a$$ what the name is, but I have total respect for your opinion. I'm a brewer plain and simple. Being a whiskey aficionado, I rely prefer the term "small batch" brewer if I had to choose but that one is being used. As you, I'd place myself against ANY commercial beer as we know $$$$$ spent on advertising is what really kicks our ass. Brew on brothers and sisters, sticks and stones bladdy blah.....cheers!

 

[HawgDaddy]

P.S. personally the artisan and craft monikers are a bit snooty falooty for me..... but that's just me. I'm sticking with small batch brewer.

 

[RandomBeerGuy]

I've too never heard of home brewer used negatively. I'll tell everyone that I'm a home brewer and their reaction is wow that's cool and we move on.

 

[smizak]

I just had a discussion with a local beer buyer about the word "art" and brewing being used together as much as I've seen it lately. It's a little crazy, we know how to heat water to certain temperatures and follow a recipe. It's not art, it's a hobby. Don't get me wrong, I love doing it, but I'm no artisan.

Guys like Jean van Roy at Cantillon, Vinnie Cilurzo at Russian River, Ron Jeffries at Jolly Pumpkin, those guys are artisans.

 

[WileECoyote]

I don't think homebrewer is a derogatory term. Further, if someone out there has a negative image of homebrewing, that's their problem. I have no time for that kind of attitude.

Well said !

Cheers

 

[passedpawn]

Anyone remember this? For those who weren't here for it, we (a bunch of members here at HBT) made this video about 5 years ago. The thread is here. I'm in there about 5 times.

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwy6XMN30CA&noredirect=1[/ame]

 

[WileECoyote]

Anyone remember this? For those who weren't here for it, we (a bunch of members here at HBT) made this video about 5 years ago. The thread is here. I'm in there about 5 times.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwy6XMN30CA&noredirect=1

Very touching video, Im at a loss for words.

nestar:nestar:nestar:nestar:nestar: out of 5 !

Cheers

 

[passedpawn]

Very touching video, Im at a loss for words.

nestar:nestar:nestar:nestar:nestar: out of 5 !

Cheers

If you go check out that thread, you'll see that Greg Koch (of Stone Brewing) and Charlie Papazian commented on it. It was a grand moment in time for our forum.

 

[boydster]

I just looked at that thread a second ago - very cool! Thanks for sharing, I like the video

 

[unionrdr]

I went back & looked at it again. I've watched it several times since it was posted on Youtube. It def made me feel proud once again to be a home brewer. I got one more kit coming in to get the pipeline going again after finally getting financial fortunes to go my way. That video trult re-inspired me! Thanks for the inspiration once again! Had to do the cheers part with an SNPA,but it still counts!

 

[Renoun]

I suppose if semantics matter one can always call themselves a "hobby brewer". I don't care, I mostly make cider anyway so I usually end up reminding my housemate that I'm not a brewer and don't have a brewery.

 

[jonmohno]

I haven't homebrewed in over a year now. But when I go to make a sandwich I may consider myself a sandwich artist?

 

[betarhoalphadelta]

Once again this is not saying homebrewers are getting close or making bad tasting beer but to claim to be on par with commercial breweries is flat out outlandish when talking about repeatability.

Agreed, *when talking about repeatability*.

However, I do believe that quality-wise and flavor-wise, the best homebrewers are absolutely on par with commercial brewers.

Just as a home baker can put out loaves of bread every bit as tasty as a commercial bakery although the loaves may not be quite as uniform, the same is true of home brewers vs commercial brewers.

 

[Pappers_]

I usually refer to the beer I brew as 'hand-made beer' rather than 'homebrew' if I'm talking with someone who is not a homebrewer, for similar reasons as the OP. I also like artisan brewing - that is exactly what we do. If I'm with other homebrewers though, we usually just refer to beer and brewing.

 

[Pappers_]

Anyone remember this? For those who weren't here for it, we (a bunch of members here at HBT) made this video about 5 years ago. The thread is here. I'm in there about 5 times.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwy6XMN30CA&noredirect=1

I forgot all about this - thanks for resurrecting it!

 

[istuntmanmike]

I brew at home.

Therefore, I am a homebrewer.

"Artisan?" Pbbtt. Makes me think of some pretentious ********* baking bread with his pinky sticking out at all times.

Ain't a damn thing wrong with being a homebrewer.

 

[plath]

I definitely don't think I'm an artisan. Maybe someday. Right now I'm using other people's recipes, kits and ingredients I don't know enough about to instinctively make changes like I could with other "crafts" I have more experience with. Brewing, to me, is more a science at this point.


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