Homebrew Essay Q's

[KingThursday]

I'm a student at UW-Milwaukee and I'm writing a short essay on the culture of homebrewing for one of my classes (I'm also a newly christened homebrewer, with one batch 5 weeks bottled and another undergoing secondary fermentation). I'm sending out a few e-mails hoping to get just a few, brief comments on homebrew culture, the state of the scene and'/or what it means to you.

These don't have to be all addressed or the answers definitive, but if I could get a few thoughts sent my way I would very much appreciate it! I'm sending these questions out with a bad case of hindsight, having started my rough draft, so anyone who wouldn't mind responding could send me whatever, whenever, that would be amazing. Thanks!

Q's:

How long have you been homebrewing? Do you do this for specific occasions or do you like to keep a rotation going? Do you have certain people that you brew batches with, or do you brew alone?

Do you seek out localized products (IE: Hops grown in your state), stick to a known brand or use what's available? Are there homebrew shops in your community? Are they family-owned or chains?

Have you ever entered into a homebrew competition? Do you participate in any homebrew groups? How do you feel about the homebrew community? Have you had any experiences with homebrewing events (IE: Three Floyd's Dark Lord Day, which draws a wide range of homebrew enthusiasts)?

What role do you feel homebrew plays in the world of microbrewing and macrobrewing? What do you appreciate about the experience?

Lastly: Any Homebrew horror stories? (My own involves 3AM, a glass carboy and a bathtub filled with ice water, although it still turned out all right!)

That may be several questions, but--again--feel free to answer the ones you feel easiest to respond to. My key thing is I'm trying to obtain a few usable quotes, so a couple of short-but-animated responses will work much better than a list of succinct answers. If I do quote you, I'll just use a first name a brief description of your role (IE: Has a blog on homebrewing, works in a homebrew store...). This isn't for publication, it's just for a course project. If you would prefer to go nameless, though, just let me know.

Thanks for at least reading this, even if you choose not to respond! If you do reply and you could include your first name/role in homebrewing ('enthusiast' works just fine!) that would be extremely helpful.

I'll check back to this thread over the next few days, but the best way to reply to me would be via e-mail. You can reach me at clerksfan[at sign]gmail.com.

Thanks again, I really appreciate it!

-Landon

 

[frazier]

With all those questions, it sounds more like a book than an essay!

I'm a recent enthusiast. I do it because I like good, flavorful, and distinctive beer. I don't drink much though - probably averaging one beer a day. So I give away much of what I brew. I love seeing the eyebrows go up at the first sip! Followed by "Wow, I dodn't know beer could taste like that!"

Brewing for a special occasion is a lot of fun, but requires planning. I'm just starting a stout, in preparation for a 75th birthday celebration in June.

 

[KingThursday]

With all those questions, it sounds more like a book than an essay!

I'm a recent enthusiast. I do it because I like good, flavorful, and distinctive beer. I don't drink much though - probably averaging one beer a day. So I give away much of what I brew. I love seeing the eyebrows go up at the first sip! Followed by "Wow, I dodn't know beer could taste like that!"

Brewing for a special occasion is a lot of fun, but requires planning. I'm just starting a stout, in preparation for a 75th birthday celebration in June.

Yeah, I did my first batch in 2008 off of a Mr Beer Kit, and I was surprised at how completely drinkable the result (an IPA) was. I intended to slowly wean off of the plastic products, but didn't do any more with it until last year, when one of my friends bought a house with a nice, spacious basement--complete with large, convenient wash basins.

I have a Brewer's Best Imperial IPA (bottled, 5 weeks) and an Amber from Northern Brewer that is overdue for Secondary Fermentation. For the IPA we stuck to the script, although we went straight from the brewkettle into a glass carboy and it was terrible trying to get it cooled down (IE: 3 in the morning, bathtub with ice water, worrying about possible leakage) but it still turned out. For the Amber I added a *small* amount of sugar to bring up the ABV a notch or two (~1.5%, from 4.5 to 6) and I'm going to try to use oak cubes to give it a smoked flavor. We'll see how this turns out.

Thanks for the response--as I wrote above, I've got a rough draft that I'm trying to fill out, but my outside source content is far lighter than it should be. Anything helps!

 

[frazier]

I also wanted to add that I love the methods, the interaction with a living process, and the science behind it. Predictable in many ways, uncontrollable in others.

 

[sp1365]

I'll try to take them one at a time:

1) I have been homebrewing for just under a year. I brew between every week and every two weeks. No special occasions or anything, my goal in life is to be a professional brewer and own my own brewery. Homebrewing is my way of teaching myself many of the aspects of beer. I generally brew alone here on campus, but I have also taught friends how to brew as well as I have brewed with my father back home. In all honesty I don't mind it either way.

2)Much of my brewing focuses around English styles as they are what I like the most, thus much of what I brew with are traditional English ingredients (Maris Otter, Goldings, Fuggles, etc.). Even when not brewing English styles, I try to match what I am brewing with ingredients that are traditional to that area. In my area right now there is a very nice homebrew shop. As to ownership, I have no idea.

3)I have not participated in competitions and groups, yet. I plan on finding a group once I graduate in a few weeks and head back home. I love the culture of the homebrew community and to extend it out the brewing community as a whole. I think that most people in brewing are laid back, helpful, and willing to share their knowledge. Brewing is collaborative and I enjoy that.

4)The role that homebrewing plays in commercial brewing is big. To my knowledge, many of the professional craft brewers you see today started in their kitchens homebrewing. I think for that fact alone the worlds of craft brewing and homebrewing will be always be linked to an extend. I believe that the bond between the two makes both stronger as people on both sides are willing to share information.

Hope that helps.

 

[archiefl98]

I've been brewing since 2000 technically. Although I took a couple years off until about a year ago. My brother had gotten me into brewing back in the day. He handed me a glass of roasty porter followed up by a glass of honey wheat ale and I was hooked. I try to keep a rotation going of the beers that seem to go very quickly: APA, Cream Ale, Hefeweizen, Dry Stout, Irish Amber etc. Then of course you have to do your special one-off batches of RIS, Wee Heavy, Barleywines -- it's pretty much a full-time job.

I mainly brew alone (with the help of SWMBO and the youngins). I've had a few friends over for brew days. I've also gotten a few coworkers into brewing after they tasted my beers. It's a nice feeling to know that you've inspired.

Around here we have 3 LHBSs. Two are part of a chain, one's a major beer retailer that also has a homebrewing section. After looking around I decided to buy my equipment from online retailers or Craigslist. I buy my malt from a guy who has an empty truck and picks up orders in bulk and then slings 55-lb sacks for $50. I started undertaking the task of making my own crystal malts and other specialties out of all this base malt I have laying arond. I order my hops from whoever has the best price on the types I need and then use a Foodsaver to store them in the freezer. I buy my yeast once a year and then freeze and wash them to keep that cost down. I also ordered up rhizomes this year so hopefully after a few years I'll be able to have some nice flavor/aroma hops that are paying for themselves. If I spend $30 on a batch of beer then it's probably a high-gravity, high-hop miracle of modern drinking.

I don't enter competitions and I don't belong to the local homebrewer's association, although I have thought about it. HBT is my homebrew club and has better information and insight than I could hope to find locally. I also have a bunch of well-enlightened friends who offer feedback and criticism. I brew for me. I may not be changing the world with my recipes, and I know I'm not hitting the BJCP style, but I'm happy and I LOVE my brews.

Horror story: A friend came over to brew. Bought his 19 lbs of grain from the LHBS for a RIS. I had the water heated and in the tun by the time he showed up, so I just stirred as he poured in the grain. Stuck sparges left and right. The braid manifold came off inside the tun and we had to transfer to another vessel and fix it. Hot wort EVERYWHERE in my garage from splashing and sploshing. After the second round of batch sparging we were at about 1.040 instead of 1.090. I lent him some DME and we continued on with the boil. I looked afterwards and the grain he had "Crushed" with the LHBS mill was only cracked in the center. Still in one piece! I'm amazed we got any extraction out of it. Not the worst thing in the world, but the worst brew day I've encountered.

I'd love to see more and more people take up brewing. It's great when you get a few people who appreciate good beer and would take one of your homebrews over a BMC every time.

 

[Teromous]

How long have you been homebrewing? I started brewing about a month before I joined the forums.

Do you do this for specific occasions or do you like to keep a rotation going? A little of both. I like to keep beer/wine/cider in stock but I make special items for people or occasions.

Do you have certain people that you brew batches with, or do you brew alone? My wife brews with me. She has a professional culinary background and is constantly giving me advice on how to do something better. She's also there as a voice of reason when I'm about to go off the deep end with a recipe...

Do you seek out localized products (IE: Hops grown in your state), stick to a known brand or use what's available? Are there homebrew shops in your community? Are they family-owned or chains? I try to buy local when I can, but the items my LHBS get are not normally local. I believe my LHBS is not a chain. I think it's better to buy local because you build a relationship with other experienced brewers or even farmers.

Have you ever entered into a homebrew competition? Not yet, but I'm planning to. I have to catch it at the right time.

Do you participate in any homebrew groups? I don't, but I've talked with other homebrewers in my area.

How do you feel about the homebrew community? It is awesome. People share the same passion for the hobby and are willing to help.

Have you had any experiences with homebrewing events (IE: Three Floyd's Dark Lord Day, which draws a wide range of homebrew enthusiasts)? Yes, things like tastings or brewery events, festivals, etc.

What role do you feel homebrew plays in the world of microbrewing and macrobrewing? I think that homebrewers contribute to new styles and some end up becoming brewers for these companies.

What do you appreciate about the experience? Making something from scratch, and sharing it with others. It also teaches a great deal of patience. With the time it takes to make beer, it is understandable to see why it takes so long to truly master it. This makes you appreciate quality beers even more.

I hope this helps you out some with your paper. Good topic!

 

[ReverseApacheMaster]

How long have you been homebrewing? Do you do this for specific occasions or do you like to keep a rotation going? Do you have certain people that you brew batches with, or do you brew alone?

Almost a year; rotation; I always brew with my girlfriend.

Do you seek out localized products (IE: Hops grown in your state), stick to a known brand or use what's available? Are there homebrew shops in your community? Are they family-owned or chains?

No; what's available; yes; family-owned.

Have you ever entered into a homebrew competition? Do you participate in any homebrew groups? How do you feel about the homebrew community? Have you had any experiences with homebrewing events (IE: Three Floyd's Dark Lord Day, which draws a wide range of homebrew enthusiasts)?

No; no; it's very laid back and welcoming; no. My experiences with others is limited because I work full time and also attend law school.

What role do you feel homebrew plays in the world of microbrewing and macrobrewing? What do you appreciate about the experience?

Not much. I appreciate the experimentation of brewing and the satisfaction of drinking the product.

Lastly: Any Homebrew horror stories? (My own involves 3AM, a glass carboy and a bathtub filled with ice water, although it still turned out all right!)

I added 2.5 ounces instead of 2.5 grams of salt to a mash. It turned into super-salty beer. Completely undrinkable, however it's great for adding to food/cooking meat in.

 

[KingThursday]

Thanks, everyone! I really appreciate it.