Does your SO support your brewing?

[popecrisco]

I Just started brewing beer about 2 and a half weeks ago, but thus far my wife has been really supportive and excited about it. It took a little persuasion to let me take up another hobby that involves intoxication (I am an avid pipe and cigar smoker), but despite the results of my first beer being in question as its not even been bottled, yesterday she was really excited when I suggested that i would like to get another fermentation bucket and the grains for a brown IPA.

She loves that I am getting my grains and malt from a local beer and wine store, and not out of a box. I made her smell the freshly milled grains and she commented "Smells like cookies!," and she loves the smell of hops.

It also definitely helps that I allow her the opportunity to help choose what i brew, get her input on what each beer is called, and allow her to assist in the label design.

Since buying the starter kit she has rallied friends for bottles, asked me a lot about the process, and beer in general, and has even agreed to go to N. Georgia during apple season to get the raw material for a fresh cider attempt.

Does your brewing get cheers or jeers from your spouse?

 

[jessebymail]

Wow sounds like you have a future brew partner! I will just say that my fiance is tolerant lol. I just sunk a good portion of my tax return into all grain but she doesnt know the half of it ; ) I am trying to get her motivated though we are going to make an mead(cyser) and maybe that will get her into wine. I wish she were as excited about it as me but that is probably too much to hope for. At least she makes runs to my LHBS for me.

 

[Law_Brew]

My then girlfriend, now wife bought me a starter kit from MidWest and the rest is history even though she does not partake in the process or product.

 

[JetSmooth]

My wife supports all but the cost of the hobby.

She's got a business degree. I put myself in a self-imposed hiatus after she opened a conversation with, "how much money do you think you've spent on this hobby in the past year?"

Now that I'm "back in the black", she's all for me starting again . . . just need to re-buy all the equipment I sold on craigslist.

 

[Demon]

My wife fully supports my brewing. She knows how much I enjoy it and loves seeing me happy.

 

[Wberry]

Got home from work late last night and caught the SWMBO buried in the "Beer Chicks" website!!! She has been very supportive of my efforts and I hope this is the grooming of a brew partner!

 

[bufitfn]

My wife is a pharmacist, you would think she would be into the "recipe formation"
But she only takes a sip of my new creations and says "not bad" or "I don't like that"
But she doesn't complain that I spend my time in the Brew shed, so I shouldn't complain.

 

[hybrid3y3]

The missus hates the smell, is jelous of the time I spend on my hobby rather than on her, doesn't drink much herself and very rarely beer and generally dislikes anything I do which could be considered bad for me! But as I already gave up smoking I told her to deal with it! =) Saying that her supportivness ranges from sweet f a, to chuckling when I do a little dance through the flat becasue I got my OG spot on. A complicated woman is my missus, but i wouldn't have it any other way?!?!...

 

[JeepDiver]

She talked me into doing it in the first place. Ocassionaly gets a little upset about the amount I drink (boy if she only new me before we met). She did see the basement of the new house in CO and said I could have it for brewery/beer related/poker/big screen TV, so over all she is very supportive.

 

[dfc]

She sure does. She doesn't like the smell or taste of beer, but fully supports me brewing.

 

[Focus]

My wife supports to varying degrees from time to time, but she's almost always on the positive side. Only time she really takes offense is when I don't clean up properly and in a timely manner.

She also holds her own in terms of brewery operations - if not science. She can talk mashing, boiling, hops, etc. etc. with the best of them. She even brewed a batch on her own - actually with my brewing partner's frau, but they did it all on their own. Apart from the raspberry extract, the batch would have been good, but we gave her a pass on the experiment. We dubbed it "The Bitches Brew" a la Miles Davis - and yeah, that was long before Sam Caligone at Dogfish Head brewed his special batch of the same name.

 

[jbrookeiv]

She definitely supports it. In fact, we are about to bottle a few batches together.

 

[coypoo]

She supports me 100%. She makes me make the higher alcohol/IBU beers b/c that is what she prefers (her fav commercial beer is Hercules). I think she thinks that I am a little crazy with it sometimes, but she likes the final product

 

[jeffjm]

She definitely supports me, because I try to keep her in doublebock, imperial stout, or anything else that's malty, dark, and rich. Plus, if I don't complain about her knitting addiction, she can't complain about my brewing.

 

[jtkratzer]

Yes, the wife helps out and enjoys picking the recipes. I think she'd be even more supportive if I was able to keep everything in one place, but between fermentation, bottle washing, removing labels, hops in the freezer, LME in the fridge, and then storing all the equipment I'm not using...extra buckets, carboys, bottles, and misc gear. I need to get some things organized in the house and garage after buying a house and just block off an area for brewing.

 

[jvcjbl]

Lemme quote SWMBO:

"Brewing beer at 2:30am WTF?!?!?!"

 

[Homercidal]

One question: What does SO stand for?

 

[scubapoet]

SO = Significant Other

 

[GeoGirl]

Does it count that my BF is who bought me my brew kit? He bought me the set-up and bought one for himself

 

[Mischief_Brewing]

She's put up with it for about 5 years now, so she's stuck...

Honestly, she gets a little bent when I spend more time brewing than other house projects, but she loves the giant parties we throw at our house and knows that without a well-stocked pipeline, they wouldn't be the same.

 

[matthewmurray]

My wife, who also doesn't have a taste for beer, is my biggest supporter. She wasn't as exited as I was when I showed her the pallet of beer bottles that I am going to put in our garage (2,200 12oz), but she always has my back.

One of my daughters is a big fan, also, and loves to stir the mash.

 

[DSorenson]

Heck yes friend. You've got it made. My girlfriend also "doesn't have a taste for beer" but always puts up with my brew days. I also love it when she contributes to beer nerd conversations by interjecting with what she's learned about beer.

"Hops, grains, water, yeast!"

 

[dtgrdn]

My wife got me the full starter kit for Christmas and fully supports me. She at times shakes her head and says "What have I gotten into here by getting you that stuff." But she loves what I've brewed so far and doesn't mind all of the money I've been spending on it

 

[kharper6]

My girlfriend lives for IPAs, ambers, and notably... Belgian beers.

She helps me brew and helps me drink.

 

[Temptd2]

I guess I AM the SO! Because a friend of mine brews mead (with her husband) I brought up the subject to KOTC as a possibility. After finding out how LONG it would be before we could actually DRINK any of it, we decided to go with beer instead - and have been having a ball ever since, a little over a year now! I tend to be laid-back and relaxed, he tends to get wound up about stuff, so we make a good team. Brewing together is a lot of fun, we both enjoy it, generally he decides what the next recipe will be and then we go from there. He knows which ones I like best and he always makes sure we brew them often enough so that I have some of the good stuff (London Porter! Yum!) on hand.

We have dedicated the spare bedroom to being "the brew room" but we do the actual brewing in the kitchen, then move the stuff to the ferment chamber and next to the conditioning chamber, after bottling, all of which are in the brew room.

I don't understand why SOs, and it seems mostly women, get all bent out of shape when their partners want to engage in a hobby? If it's not illegal, immoral, or hurting anyone - ??? I am apparently the "odd woman out" when it comes to stuff like that!

 

[lousbrews]

Yeah she supports. Drinking it all lol!!

 

[Puddlethumper]

My best friend and partner for almost 45 years has been a great supporter of this hobby. She's been very tolerant of the expenses involved with equipment but is also wise enough to see that now I'm making excellent home brew at about the same cost as bottled water, so the payback is coming (did I mention that she's pretty savvy about money?)

She really likes the lighter beers and I make it a point to keep a good supply of cider on hand for her and her friends. It has become a source of pride, a little bragging and ongoing enjoyment.

 

[knelson13A]

My wife is very supportive, like many of you. She's not a big beer drinker, and she's very particular about what she does drink, but doesn't mind when I brew something she doesn't like (which is most of the time). I did my first batch in the kitchen on the stove. She wasn't thrilled that I made the house smell like a brewery, so she bought me a propane burner so I can brew outside or in the garage! She also recently bought me a 16-gallon SS kettle and some voile fabric for a BIAB bag.

Oh, and she likes helping to name my beer, and helps me proofread my blog! The next beer is going to be named after our dog on her suggestion. He's an English Springer named Enzo (from the book Art of Racing in the Rain), and the beer is going to be an ESB named Enzo English Ale.

 

[Valtyr]

My wife is a huge supporter. She's not a big beer fan, but she loves my mead and the couple batches of cider I've gotten around to making. She's even made a couple batches of mead herself. I'm sure she'll try her hand at making beer eventually.

 

[broadbill]

She wasn't as exited as I was when I showed her the pallet of beer bottles that I am going to put in our garage (2,200 12oz), but she always has my back.

wut?

You know you can keg this sh*t, right!!??!!

I'm a hardcore homebrewer, but even I would balk at that amount of bottles.

 

[govner1]

My wife and kids got me started in home brewing about 3 years ago w / a 1 gal starter kit. That escalated quickly to AG & a brew stand w/ pump, ale ferm chamber , lager ferm chamber, 3 tap kegerator, True 2 door cooler, etc. It is an addiction!!
All love beer. Anything from IPA's to stouts.


Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew

 

[ill4delph]

My wife got my my first 1 gallon kit for my birthday last year. Since then i have upgraded a bit and she has been mostly supportive (except when she came home to 2, 5 gal ball locks in the basement). We are moving to florida in July and ive put the brakes on any more equipment purchases, and i have my last batch of Scottish ale in my fermenter for the "leaving NJ party". So id have to say she's supportive, while aware that she's "created a monster" as long as that monster cleans up the kitchen before she gets home on brew days

 

[carlpb]

My wife loves it. She does not like most beers but likes the smell and the process. She is the best brewers assistant and enjoys spending time together doing beer related stuff.

The only time she doesn't like it is when I spend too much money on brewing equipment, but even then she usually gets a new outfit or two to make her happy.


Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew

 

[dkevinb]

My wife bought me my first Beer Machine many years ago, and the kids bought me a Mr. Beer a few years ago. I've only moved up to brewing 5 gallon batches from recipes in the last few months.

I'm not sure "support" is quite the right term. More like "tolerate". She's a wine drinker, hates the smell of boiling wort (I brew in the kitchen), tells me the kitchen smells like a bar when I bottle, and complains that the spare bathroom smells like a brewery (probably because the tub is full of fermenters). Other than that she's fine with it. There may be a propane burner in my future, though.

 

[JBOGAN]

My girl supports,helps and has even been to a club meeting.She absorbs almost 90% of what i babble about all week and could take a lot of novice brewers to school on knowledge of brewing practices.Almost as big of a beer geek as me plus she is a wine snob(as in 20 dollar and up french wines)but hey to each their own.

 

[CountryGravy]

I'm not sure "support" is quite the right term. More like "tolerate".

+1

She bought me the starter kit, but now I spend all of my free time reading about beer, browsing these forums, or brewing.

This is my only true hobby that doesn't have an outside-the-hobby application. I play and practice guitar, but I play at church. I cook, but the whole family eats. I do web development and love technology, but I make money on the side using it.

I brew beer. I consume it. I spend a good chunk of time and money doing it (maybe not compared to others, but for our household, it's plenty). My wife wants me to enjoy things, but I think she believes I've taken to a new level - one she didn't expect.

I spend more time with her and the kids and church and work and cooking and cleaning and working out and and and... than I do beer, but those all have a benefit outside of myself.

 

[betarhoalphadelta]

My wife doesn't drink beer, and with three kids under 7, she does get a bit annoyed by the time needed for brewing. (Of course, she also gets annoyed by the time I spend at work earning the income providing for her capability to be a stay-at-home mom, and keeping those kids dressed and fed.)

That said, she knows it's my passion, she knows I'm good at it, and when our friends come over and rave about my beer, I think she is happy.

I am trying to get her into cider (she likes sweet things, so when I make apfelwein it's too dry for her), and may make some of that for her at some point...

 

[max384]

My girlfriend loves that I brew and takes an interest in it. She actually likes real beers (stouts and porters are her favorite), and can intelligently talk about beers. She has a chemistry degree and used to work in a brewery as a chemist, so I've actually gone to her once when I had a beer chemistry question. Although she used to work in a brewery, she's never seen the entire brew day process on a small scale, such as my 5gal AG batches. A brew day is a definite future date we've talked about. She's excited about it, and needless to say, so am I!

 

[ColoHox]

While my wife only likes very strongly flavored IIPAs, she has tried every single one of my beers through every stage of the process.

Fortunately (and unfortunately) our work schedules are pretty opposite, so I usually get every Saturday to brew or do beer things, uninterrupted. We also don't have kids (yet), so that might throw a wrench into her approval of my obsessive hobby.

 

[dfess1]

Not only does my wife approve, she brews her own as well (has a very tasty saison recipe). Oh, and we both run a local homebrew club.