How has brewing changed you in other aspects of life?

[AMessenger]

Homebrewing replaced all interest in the time suck that is World of Warcraft and the $$$ suck that is golfing.

I find Homebrewing to be a much more engaging hobby and you get free beer at the end

 

[BoB Lever]

The dude abides...

imbibes

 

[geejay]

I go to events more. I'm not very social, but I make way too much beer and events are an obvious way to get rid of a few dozen gallons of beer.

 

[treacheroustexan]

It hasn't been all positive for me.
I drink more than I should, gained weight and feel like crap in the morning more than I would like.
But recently I've cut back on drinking, started running again and loosing some of the weight I've added.
Home brewing has pretty much ruined me for visiting breweries and trying the what they offer.
My home brew is better (to me) than a lot of mediocre commercial beers. It has to be really good for me to want another pint.
Since I've been brewing, I planted a small hobby cider orchard and added a bunch of raspberry bushes, so brewing added to my interest in those areas.

This is my life story, minus the cider/raspberry thing.. although that doesn't sound like an awful idea. I still love going out to breweries when on vacation/out of town and what not, but it unfortunately ruined a lot of local breweries for me.. Brewing has got me more into cooking from scratch and it definitely makes me feel more creative. I will say I love that now that I have my system down, I can brew 5 gallons for $20 rather than buying a bomber of a single mediocre beer for $8.99.

 

[SteveH aka shetc]

I have become an even bigger font of useless knowledge.

 

[divrack]

I've become the kind of arsehole that useds different glasses for different types of beer. I even specify in pubs when they make a mistake.

 

[JohnSand]

Only that when I travel, I always seek local beer and breweries. Also on nice weekends, we often take a ride that stops at a brewery.

 

[pinchegil]

Brewing has really made me question the definition of good beer. Standard knowledge would say we can judge it buy guidelines. But who sets up those guidelines? A bunch of people that think they know beer, based upon beer that has been brewed for centuries but probably doesn't taste the same today as it did 30 years ago. Microbreweries which were once the bastions for craft beer have gone to using San Diego Super Yeast for everything because of the short ferment time and the need to please investors. John Palmers Book, a great place to start, but the trouble with John Palmers book, is its John Palmers book, people read it and assume that it is the whole truth, when it is actually a great place to start but brewing is much more complicated. How has brewing changed me? It has made me question everything, I will never use any kind of yeast who's name indicates that it should wear a cape, read Palmer as well as Brulosophy and decide for yourself, never sell out to Inbev, and check your guidelines at the door, brew what tastes good to you . my $.02

 

[Transamguy77]

I don't think brewing has changed me, I have always been a person who pays attention to detail and enjoyed the process of things and brewing is all about detail and process so it was a perfect new hobby.......well new 8 years ago now.

 

[Frank-the-Tank]

I've been brewing for eight years now and the attention to detail, measuring, and desire for a little bit superior product or process has seeped into a couple of other parts of my life.

Coffee. I started doing pour over coffee and the next thing I know I'm on YouTube looking up process videos, adjusting my water temperature, bean grind, and pour process, while taking notes on the changes. Not to mention the search for different varieties and roasts of bean. Next thing I know I'll be rotating my own beans.

And then there's shaving.

Different razor blades, soaps, face oils, and aftershave looking for the perfect shave. What used to take 10 minutes with canned foam had become a 30 minute process involving different techniques for brushing up my own shaving cream, different shaving techniques, and again lots of notes on the results.

And then there's cooking.

So how has brewing changed your approach to unrelated aspects of life?

I noticed many try to go all Adolphus Busch and stop shaving altogether.