Hooked On Your Own Brew(s)?

[Panthro63]

Curious question:
Once you began making your own beer and you became pretty skilled and good at it, have you found yourself drinking more of your own stuff vs. buying beer from the store or bar?

 

[Rockn_M]

I will typically go for homebrew first but if I'm running low or I am out I will look for something new at the store.

 

[dadshomebrewing]

i buy a lot less bad beer...

i like to go to the local craft beer store (it's less than a mile away), and try new things once in a while

and, i drink my own.

since i brew small batches (1 gallon), I don't have lots of brew hanging around, so i don't feel bad.

sort of the best of both.

also... it's a good excuse to try new things, and then try to brew them.

 

[ThunderpantsBrewing]

I still buy just as much commercial beer as I used to, mostly because, for instance, I like things like porters, but I don't like them enough to have an entire keg of them, so I'll buy a 6 pack when I'm in the mood for it, and save my keg space for beers I can drink a whole keg of.

 

[m00ps]

I do about 50-50. I feel guilty drinking my own stuff sometimes because I like to give it out to people and do tastings. Like if I only have a 6pack of a great brew left, each one I drink is like 3 or 4 people that won't be able to try it at a tasting....

 

[firerat]

I probably buy more craft beer now than previous.

Research and development baby!!

 

[TheCADJockey]

I don't know why, but I really do not drink much of anything aside from water while I am actually at home. When I go to my friends house for football or the obligatory Friday night destruction however, I will take over a 6 pack of hb, a 6 of something local and a 12 of cheap crap for my friends that don't like to (or can not afford) to pitch in. If I ever finally make one that I fall completely in love with, I will put it on tap and this will likely be a different story.

 

[Psylocide]

Yes.

I'm my own worst enemy right now... I'm trying to get a pipeline established, but I keep drinking them.

I relish these homebrews because I made them... are they world class? No. Can they stand up to most commercial craft beers? Not yet.

Do I enjoy them more? Yes.

 

[Murphy2012]

I'm a 50/50 mix as well. Being in NH, I am lucky to be within a couple of hours of lots of very good breweries (Portsmouth Brewery, Smuttynose, Maine Beer Company, Funky Bow, Hill Farmstead, Alchemist, From the Barrel, etc) so I like to get their stuff simply because they all make fantastic beer.
However, I love to drink my own beers and also share them. I get more excited having a buddy over and watching their faces change once they smell and taste something that I have made myself. I have a couple of big time beer snob friends that couldn't believe that I put together some of the recipes that I have.

 

[DU99]

majority of the time i prefer my own brew.we have a excellent craft beer pub about 1/2hrs drive.i go there occasionally to try new styles and new microbrew beer's

 

[Remmy]

Definitely hooked.

 

[SmokeyMcBong]

I drink homebrew exclusively, haven't bought any beer in a very good while.

 

[chuckcomm]

I remember sitting outside one summer day drinking one of my own beers and thinking....I like this more than the stuff I buy.

 

[poptarts]

I buy a 4 pack or a bomber of something special once every few months, the rest is homebrew.

 

[ArkotRamathorn]

I would say 80-20 now, homebrew drank to commercial beer drank. Right now I have a surplus of bottles sitting around so I don't need extra bottles and delabling can be so time consuming. Used to be completely reversed because my pipeline was rather empty and I wanted to give lots away for tasting.

I'm trying to gear up for entering stuff in competition and I want to taste things repeatedly each week so I can start to pick out when its peaking. Some of the my own beers I drink just because I enjoy them in general and I get a massive amount of satifaction out of taking a sip and remembering the brew day, the recipe, the smell of it boiling, and thinking "I friggin made this dude" with no plans of entering it into competition.

If I am drinking commercial brew, its probably somethign special I cant really brew myself. Or its a local place that I want to support and its delicious beer (shout out to Lazy Monk Brewery in Eau Claire). Sours/Lambics/Lagers, or canned beer when I go camping as I just dont want to risk broken glass/losing perfectly good bottles to drunken camping stupidity.

 

[Moose_MI]

I drink home brew exclusively at home.....I don't want my fermenter to ever catch me cheating on her....it would break her heart.

What happens at the microbrewery stays at the microbrewery

 

[m00ps]

I drink home brew exclusively at home.....I don't want my fermenter to ever catch me cheating on her....it would break her heart.

What happens at the microbrewery stays at the microbrewery

Haha, by that way of thinking, I'm a polygamist with 8 or 9 wives that bring's floozies home several times per week. Oh and I've got about 700 neglected children lying around various spaces of my apartment.

 

[Moose_MI]

Haha, by that way of thinking, I'm a polygamist with 8 or 9 wives that bring's floozies home several times per week. Oh and I've got about 700 neglected children lying around various spaces of my apartment.

I prefer to think of that as Old Testament brewing :cross:

Brew on!

 

[Malty_Dog]

Always prefer a homebrew over commercial. I really don't buy cases any more. Just sixes for ideas or inspiration. Probably at least 90% homebrew vs 10% commercial at this point.

 

[JohnSand]

Mostly homebrew, but it took me a year brewing to get to the point where it compared favorably to craft beer. I still buy six packs for Sundays at my brother's house, or cases of good craft beer on sale.

 

[fimpster]

At home I drink mostly homebrew, especially when I have a good pipeline going (like right now ). I do however pick up sixers or bombers of good beers I haven't tried yet, or beers I like, but don't want a full keg of. I'd say its about 85/15 homebrew/commercial at home.

I do still go to the pub or bar just as often as I always have, so I am still drinking plenty of commercial beers there.

 

[fimpster]

I'm a polygamist with 8 or 9 wives that bring's floozies home several times per week. Oh and I've got about 700 neglected children lying around various spaces of my apartment.

Haha! Someone needs to add this to their sig.

 

[lhommedieu]

I tend to drink my own. When I go out and buy beer, I'm out of home brew and it's always a great beer that represents a "standard" for which to aim when I am brewing again. I am happy to say that I am getting close enough that it really doesn't make a difference to me anymore.

 

[CorporateHippie]

I brew a TON...probably too much... Right now I have 6 full 5 gal carboys, 6 1 gal jugs of "experiments" , two jugs of kombucha, 1 jug of sake, and I'm gearing up for a batch of Tepache in the next couple days.

HOWEVER

I buy a ton of beer too. I love to try new offerings from the local bottle shop. I would say I go 50/50 on homebrew and store bought.

I think I drink too much

 

[Wolfbayte]

Both. I do get hooked on homebrew, but if a particular batch is really good, it's gone before you know it. I also get burned out and need something new, so I'll brew something different and pick up a 12 craft brews I haven't tried yet. Plus I end up drinking whatever SWMBO picked up that she doesn't like, so I can fill those bottles with homebrew.

 

[Psych]

I buy WAY more (read: never bought any before) single serve craft beers now. But that's maybe like 1-2 per month, and the rest of the time it's strict homebrew.

 

[rodwha]

I drink mostly my beer, but every other week I pick up a 12 and a 6 of something, and then there are the days we go out for dinner or to events.

 

[wardens355]

I have so much homebrew that drinking commercial beer is impractical, especially considering the space I have taken up in my fridge/freezer with hops and yeast cultures in mason jars. Everyone once and a while I buy a variety pack at Costco, but it lasts me a pretty long while. Right now I have an English Mild, American Brown, American Pale, Oktoberfest, Dunkel, Saison, Double IPA, and Oatmeal Stout on tap (several ready to be exhausted). A couple carboys of American Amber that are being kegged tomorrow. I guess I would say I am hooked on homebrewing, and becoming addicted to homebrew (at least 2-3 beers a night).

However! I still buy special brews (sours, other age-ables) and store them throughout the house. Pop one of them in the fridge every week.

 

[Nivekt]

Its about 50/50 for me right now but I would like to be exclusively homebrew. I just cant keep up with myself. Ill polish off a corny in a week. I need to get a better system and pipeline going. I think once I get a grain mill and start buying bulk grain it will be a little easier to balance out.

 

[sputnam]

I used to buy 6-8 craft beers each week (never same thing twice) then I got pretty good at brewing and I have bought less than 12 in 16 months (and most of those were dinner at a restaurant).

 

[CB_in_Tokyo]

At home, almost exclusively homebrew. At the cottage a mix of homebrew and local craft beers.

 

[Black Island Brewer]

It's been a long time since I brought more than a bottle of commercial beer into my house, as my pipeline is nicely full with on-par to commercial beer. I'll buy the occasional sour, or other style I'm jonesing for, but just a bomber.
At the same time, I relish going out for beer, whether it's to other people's homes, or to the pub, or, my favorite, a brewery. I get my variety in that way, and often get good feedback at the same time - friends, my wife, myself all noticing that my homebrew is better!

 

[mrdauber64]

I buy beer for R&D mostly. When I get set on a style to brew I'll buy a bunch of different brands of the style until I find what I like. I just did this with Porters and I found I like Boulevard and Big Butte more than Edmund Fitzgerald. Now I know to look for recipes that match the two I like.

I'll also buy beer if I run out of a style at home or limited edition beers(anniversary beers and seasonals). For the most part though I drink homebrew.

 

[kh54s10]

I drink a lot more of my homebrew. A didn't drink much beer before homebrewing.
I drink a lot more beer.
I do drink more commercial beer (research)

By percentage commercial beer is less than 5%

 

[Deafmeadmaker]

When I see a craft beer in the store or a craft beer pub opens, I give it a try. The trouble is I drink/share with friends. There isn't enough time in the world to brew to build up the buffer of stock I want.

 

[buzz1670]

I take a six pack of homebrew with me when I tend bar because bud light tastes like crap now.

 

[Psylocide]

Oh God... I have a problem. 4 homebrews (same kind even) yesterday, I need to make a lot more.

 

[smiffbrewing]

It didnt slow me down from buying commercial beer one bit. I am a beer geek. i want to try others beer and get inspiration and new ideas from them. I think any brewer that only drinks their own beer is polorizing thier view of beer. Dont get me wrong we brew so we can have just what we want but sometime you dont know what you want until youve tried it else where.

 

[Yooper]

I drink mostly my own homebrew, but I do love certain craft beers and I love trying new releases from some of my favorite breweries.

Luckily (or unluckily), I live in a craft beer wasteland so I rarely get the chance to buy any, so I do save a lot of money just from not having any beer around to buy!

 

[NunoAraujo]

My 7th and 8th AG batches (a saison and a black ipa) turned out so awesome I think I might get even more hooked...I'm finally brewing AG beers that I REALLY like and that's extremely rewarding