Drinking more HB then before.

[EricT]

So I know I'm a NOOB at brewing but I just cant stop drinking my first home brew. SWMBO has mentioned a couple times already how I been drinking more beer than usual. I usually have one 12 oz beer with dinner, maybe two. I am now drinking a 12oz and a 22oz on average and tonight I put down two Pints of my Amber Ale, its friggin good. Cant wait for my Scottish to finish fermenting but I may actually run out of HB before its done.

 

[dummkauf]

I discovered that my SWMBO loves wheat beers(not just HoneyWeiss), and I am brewing up a wheat batch for her as I type.....find a beer she likes, that would probably help

 

[Suthrncomfrt1884]

Funny thing about homebrewing...it makes you want to drink more.

When I first started, I would spend hundreds of dollars a month on buying a trying new beers. I wanted to sample everything I could to get an idea of what I really wanted in a perfect house beer.

I brewed about every 2 weeks for 4 months straight and got a steady stream of bottles going. Once I realized I could make more whenever I wanted and it actually sunk in...I slowed down a bit. I brew about once a month now and usually only drink a pint or two every few days. You'll settle down once the "shiney new toy syndrome" wears off.

 

[dunnright00]

This is why I don't keg yet. SWMBO's afraid I'll be pulling pints all night every night.

I'm kinda afraid I would too.

 

[seanybubbles]

If I kegged my glass would always be full. At least then I could say I was always still 'working' on that first beer....

 

[Sigafoos]

Kegging certainly makes it easier, though I'm still only at 2 pints max a night. The danger is the half full glass that gets refilled! (also the damn keg gnomes that drink when you're not looking)

When I got into craft beer I drank more and my weight went up. I worked that off and now my weight is up for entirely unrelated reasons

 

[vtbeerman]

I think I drink less with kegging. I used to want just half a beer sometimes after having a pint already. I'd end up opening a bottle and have to drink it all. Now I just fill half a glass and I'm done. Plus who really wants to clean bottles anyway?

 

[wrestler63]

Funny thing about homebrewing...it makes you want to drink more.

When I first started, I would spend hundreds of dollars a month on buying a trying new beers. I wanted to sample everything I could to get an idea of what I really wanted in a perfect house beer.

I brewed about every 2 weeks for 4 months straight and got a steady stream of bottles going. Once I realized I could make more whenever I wanted and it actually sunk in...I slowed down a bit. I brew about once a month now and usually only drink a pint or two every few days. You'll settle down once the "shiney new toy syndrome" wears off.

I too love trying new beers. Part of the reason I started homebrewing.
My " shiney new toy syndrome" has not worn off though. I love making a brew and then making it again and "tweaking it " to make a slightly different product the next time. ( changing hop varieties and schedules, changing crystals and such. )
Once my pipeline was full I then starting drinking one of everything when i sat down to enjoy all there different qualities. Then comes the kegerator. Having 4 different brews on tap and a variety of bottled beers keeps my taste buds happy.
Then comes 10g batches so I can keg 5g and bottle 5g. Ahhhh, life is good.
My only problems is I can't bring myself to brew a session beer. I like hoppy, 7%+ ABV Ales. I keep some PBR in the fridge when I want a lawnmower beer.
My spare tire is slowly turning into an 18 wheeler !!!!!
Enjoy

 

[IrregularPulse]

It's a new hobby and it's exciting. After 2 years of brewing now, my drinking has settled back down to the level it was before and I just drink good beer instead of crap.

 

[JetSmooth]

I know my consumption will go up as well. But ony because I'll want to monitor how the beer ages.

SWMBO is, unfortunately, not drinking right now. New baby and all. So I can't entice her with beer. Maybe in a year once the kid is weaned.

 

[Sigafoos]

Beer helps with milk production.

(Seriously.)

 

[Suthrncomfrt1884]

I too love trying new beers. Part of the reason I started homebrewing.
My " shiney new toy syndrome" has not worn off though. I love making a brew and then making it again and "tweaking it " to make a slightly different product the next time. ( changing hop varieties and schedules, changing crystals and such. )
Once my pipeline was full I then starting drinking one of everything when i sat down to enjoy all there different qualities. Then comes the kegerator. Having 4 different brews on tap and a variety of bottled beers keeps my taste buds happy.
Then comes 10g batches so I can keg 5g and bottle 5g. Ahhhh, life is good.
My only problems is I can't bring myself to brew a session beer. I like hoppy, 7%+ ABV Ales. I keep some PBR in the fridge when I want a lawnmower beer.
My spare tire is slowly turning into an 18 wheeler !!!!!
Enjoy

I suppose I should have said the "shiney new toy syndrome" for me...it moved from actual beer to the beer making gadgets. I've built so much and invested so much money into this hobby that it's starting to get a bit crazy.

I'm with you on the bigger beers too. I prefer ABV above 6-7%. I do still create a few sessions though for the summer cookout months. I don't want to be at a cookout drinking with buddies and get blitzed off a 6 pack.

 

[NorCalAngler]

I started brewing in Feb and I just had to reassure my wife that it will calm down once the initial excitement wears off. I have a feeling that this "cooling off" period will be much longer than usual because there are too many styles to brew! I have three batches bottled and one in primary. Honestly, kegging would help the situation because it takes so much time and so much counter space to bottle it's much more "in her face" when I bring out 50 bottles to clean, then sanitize, then siphon, then fill, then cap, etc. I'm thinking about getting the Tap-a-Draft kit.

 

[motobrewer]

that'll happen

 

[EricT]

I do want to Keg, just waiting for a great deal I cant pass up, checking Craigs list daily as well as Ebay. I have a full size refrigertator in my garage for bottled beer already. Nice to know others are "enjoying" the fruits of their labor as much as I am

 

[JayInJersey]

...also the damn keg gnomes that drink when you're not looking...

i knew it!

 

[Erythro73]

As I don't exercise a lot, I don't drink a lot. Maximum 3 bottles/week. Right now, I'm averaging one homebrew/week (the two others being commercial). Don't get me wrong, I like my beer, a vanilla stout (a good one!), but it's still nothing as good as some other beers. It's not a good Belgian ale, nor a good 10% Baltic Porter.... And keeping my consumption this low helps SWMBO in accepting my hobby .

 

[ddahcmai]

I've been brewing for four years now and unfortunately (or not!) am still speeding up my consumption. I currently have 20 gallons kegged, about 3 left in bottles, and another 20 ready and waiting to be kegged. I'll also be brewing at least 10 more gallons in the next two weeks. I think I've gone through about 70 gallons this year with the help of friends.

I really enjoy being able to enjoy a glass that I would pay 5 to who knows how many dollars for in a bar for about 50 cents. Also, where I live there is no pub atmosphere where everybody gets together as friends and goes out for a drink on a regular basis, so it's nice to be able to fill in that gap among my circle.

Don't worry about it! Certainly there's the new and exciting shiny thing syndrome going on, but I find the more I drink homebrew, the more reasons I find to make more homebrew, namely, that I keep refining and developing my tastes, and that I keep getting better at making what I want. Also, like dummkauf said, find something for SWMBO to enjoy and you're golden. I have honestly not had a single person who did not like the ubiquitous caramel vanilla cream ale that can be found here at homebrewtalk. I actually had a friend who liked it so much that he made a list of all the beers he would like to have and gave me half the money it would cost to brew them. Try it!

And man, I wish you posted this in drunken ramblings, because I didn't realize until now that you can get as talkative while typing as you can in person. Strong ale indeed.