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Are homebrewers hipsters?

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My friend that first exposed me to homebrewing is part of the hipster culture.

I'd call him a hipster flat out, but he's in a stable relationship, has a good job and his bike has all its original gears. He left a PBR in the back of my fridge once... I found that lonely PBR to be even more ironic than a normal one.

Anyway.

I took a 6-pack of homebrew to his house for a party once. He hadn't brewed in a while due to moving and working a lot, so some of his newer friends and especially his wife's friends hadn't been exposed to much homebrew.

These hipsters thought it was just about the coolest thing ever that they all tasted different things in their unlabeled longneck bottles of Alaskan Winter Ale. One said she tasted flowers, one thought he smelled coffee and chocolate, etc etc...

I almost didn't want to tell them they were all drinking different beers.
 
JediJoel said:
I swear Long Beach, Ca has to be the hipster capitol of the world. So many V-necks-showing-man-cleavage, fixie-riding, and too-obscure-for-you-to-have-ever-heard-of-them band listening hipsters, its unreal. I guess you know my thoughts about hipsters by now. Some of them are cool people. Some of them are jerks with their constant cooler-than-you bout.

That said, I haven't come across many hipster who homebrew. I brought a hipster friend of mine in when I started but he has stopped homebrewing. Although it does have a large DIY base I think the homebrewing community is so diverse that it also happens to include hipsters.

And for everyone's entertainment...

Look at this f-ing hipster
Warning: some nudity and many disturbing images.
Click to expand...

I now have a new definition of disturbing. Are those pictures recent? Are hipsters putting something "special" in their PBR?

I am happy to not count myself in the hipster category after that montage.

Edit: BK, not hating just not relating.
 
Boerderij_Kabouter said:
Wow... there is a lot of hate for hipsters on this board. That's sad. I am sure all of you are amazingly interesting though.
Click to expand...

No hate here. One of my good friends is pretty much King Hipster himself in Columbia, MO. He is actually talking about starting a hipster bar in an old warehouse building that features home brew from local brewers in the area. Nevermind the legality of it.
 
rexbanner said:
I know a ton of hipsters and the answer is no. Not a single one of them brews beer. That would take effort, and most hipsters just want cache that is easily obtained. Claiming to like a band is generally the extent of the effort that they will go to.

Most homebrewers are dorky middle-aged white men.
Click to expand...

I know a bunch of dorky middle aged white men, and none of them brew. Unless I'm now middle aged, which I don't think I am yet.

It kinda fits the defenition. We're rebelling against the mass beer culture.
 
I don't think homebrewers are hipsters.

However, I'd rather be compared to a hipster than one of those damn emo kids.
 
EMO kids don't survive past puberty... lol. Just kidding, I love EMO jokes, and hipster jokes, just seems odd to me since I have always thought of brewing as kind of a hipster hobby. If not done by hipsters then at least very enjoyed by them.
 
rexbanner said:
Most homebrewers are dorky middle-aged white men.
Click to expand...

Possibly true, but I wouldn't assume that's necessarily so.

passedpawn said:
No. It is not "hip" to homebrew or everyone would be doing it. It's nerdy. We might as well be building our own crystal radio sets.
Click to expand...

Well, when I first heard of "homebrew", I did have some thoughts of college kids trying to make cheap alcohol. Once I started, I found that it was way too much work (and too expensive) for it to be a cheap and easy hobby. When I met other brewers, I found that most of them are engineers or other engineering types. Some of the "nerd stuff" appeals to them. One of the reasons I still love brewing is because it makes me think. Water chemistry, ingredients, fermentation, temperature control, kegging, etc, all require some thought and planning. Even my love of great beer comes from a nerd point of view, not a cooler-than-cool point of view.

I most assuredly am NOT cool. I am also not a middle aged man. But I am a homebrewer.
 
Synovia said:
I know a bunch of dorky middle aged white men, and none of them brew. Unless I'm now middle aged, which I don't think I am yet.

It kinda fits the defenition. We're rebelling against the mass beer culture.
Click to expand...

Are you rebelling against McDonalds when you grill your own hamburger? Are you rebelling against IHOP when you make pancakes at home? Maybe you're rebelling against something. I'm not rebelling against anything by brewing. I'm just sometimes making at home what I could buy at the store. I have nothing against the "mass beer culture" and tend to drink a lot of their product.

There is NO single defining element for a home brewer other than they all happen to brew beer at home. Some are nerdy engineering types. Some aren't. Some are DIYers. Some aren't. Some are even hipsters. Some aren't.
 
I don't consider myself a hipster, but I'm afraid the label might fit. I wear ironic t-shirts (right now, I'm wearing my college's sobriety night shirt), eat local, and generally have a disdain for anything popular (aside from Lady Gaga squee!).

I also can. That's hip, right?
 
hal2814 said:
There is NO single defining element for a home brewer other than they all happen to brew beer at home. Some are nerdy engineering types. Some aren't. Some are DIYers. Some aren't. Some are even hipsters. Some aren't.
Click to expand...

+1,000,000,000

Though I think the other thing is that we are passionate about beer. Even if we're not brewing it, we still drink it, read about it, etc......
 
TVarmy said:
I don't consider myself a hipster, but I'm afraid the label might fit. I wear ironic t-shirts (right now, I'm wearing my college's sobriety night shirt), eat local, and generally have a disdain for anything popular (aside from Lady Gaga squee!).

I also can. That's hip, right?
Click to expand...

I don't even watch TV very often so I don't know who "celebrities" are when they appear. I have no idea about pop culture. I'm very far removed from that kind of stuff. Of course, I don't have a cell phone or play video games at all. I spend most of my time in non-motorized (silent) sports. Kayaking, snowshoeing, etc. I have never even seen a Blackberry.

I'm just an aging hippy, though. I mean, I've been growing my old food for more than 25 years, and aside from coffee and a few other things I buy, I've always eaten local when I can. I even harvest my own wild game. I can my own produce, and even my own venison. I haven't had a doughnut in more than 25 years. I always just thought these reasons are why I'm "weird" though.
 
hal2814 said:
Are you rebelling against McDonalds when you grill your own hamburger? Are you rebelling against IHOP when you make pancakes at home? Maybe you're rebelling against something. I'm not rebelling against anything by brewing. I'm just sometimes making at home what I could buy at the store. I have nothing against the "mass beer culture" and tend to drink a lot of their product.

There is NO single defining element for a home brewer other than they all happen to brew beer at home. Some are nerdy engineering types. Some aren't. Some are DIYers. Some aren't. Some are even hipsters. Some aren't.
Click to expand...

Totally agree. The only thing I'm rebelling at is high beer prices. That being said, I'm thankful for BMC for providing cheap beer.

Homebrewing rocks because its so cheap and I love having beer on hand all the time.
 
YooperBrew said:
I don't even watch TV very often so I don't know who "celebrities" are when they appear. I have no idea about pop culture. I'm very far removed from that kind of stuff. Of course, I don't have a cell phone or play video games at all. I spend most of my time in non-motorized (silent) sports. Kayaking, snowshoeing, etc. I have never even seen a Blackberry.
Click to expand...

And I'm a 23 year old male who works for an ad agency. I'm on my iPhone frequently and due to my job am forced to stay up with pop culture.

I reckon it takes all kinds.:mug:
 
At an ad agency? I'm a t-shirt and skinny jeans kind of guy myself. Although, Mad Men is starting to make the office dress up a little.
 
Hipster homebrewers are rare around here. As was pointed out, homebrewing take more effort than memorizing band names from utility pole posters.
 
What differentiates us from hipsters is

1. We are all different views, likes, dislikes. (I hate hipsters and their machiatos, all I want is a large bold coffee, gtfo the line. )
2. We come from all walks of life. (Fire Fighter, Paramedic - student, Pool cleaner.
3. We do something because we like it, not because it's cool. Others opinions on our beers may annoy us, but we still like the way it tastes over commercial stuff.
4. We're not in it because of the damn crowd.
5. My calves are bigger than your thigh, nuff said.
 
I love to listen to the latest indie rock while brewing, but I sure don't dress like those hipsters on the hipster site.

And hipster bars DO serve the best beer!
 
I know 1 hipster that brews.
I also know 1 hipster in total.

So, hipsters must be brewers.

Knowing my group that we brew with - everyone is a dork in some manner. Either the D&D player, the software engineers, the accountant...all dorks.

That said...Data, if you join in here- would Madman be a hipster? I sorta see it, minus the skinny jeans because god knows we do NOT want to see that.
 
If you home brew while wearing skinny jeans, Wayfarers and after you just got done riding your fixed gear bicycle maybe.
 
my friend and I had a brew day a few weeks ago on my driveway. It was a nice day and a group of people were out for a walk, got curious, asked us what we were doing. We told them we were brewing beer and explained the process. They said, that's cool... it sounds very green! We chuckled after they walked away... looking at the pool of water that collected on the street from our chillers.
 

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