How often do you buy beer as a homebrewer?

[Elkobrewer]

I like to buy the seasonal beers when they come out and also when I'm out of town. This week I'm in Iowa so there will be many toppling Goliaths in my future.

 

[str1p3s]

I like to have a lot of options. I only have two taps and one stomach so I buy a six pack of something else every couple weeks or so for the variety.

 

[Bamsdealer]

Typically some Miller lite or something like a founders all day for things like golfing, vacation, fishing, etc. Even then I often take some homebrew. I reserve my experimenting or drinking one of my favorites for times when I'm out and want something on draft. Rarely will i drink craft brew at home unless someone bought it for me.

There aren't many beers out there I enjoy drinking as my own. Plus, I can brew pretty much anything for under $0.50 a pour

 

[McGarnigle]

I usually buy for styles I don't brew. This could be something experimental or something seasonal. I'll buy one or two bottles of Pumpkin beers every fall. That's about as much of it I want to drink.

 

[jtrentpearson]

Pretty often. I like to try new things so I can tweak my recipes.

 

[BrewKnob]

Since I started homebrewing, I rarely buy beer anymore. I've created a steady stream of beers I want to drink. Usually the only time I buy beer now is if I'm out of town, out on the town, or see something I really want to try.

How has brewing changed your beer buying?

Never!

 

[FloppyKnockers]

Next to never. I'll stock up on some BMC when I host (Super Bowl, Memorial day, the 4th, etc.) and my simpleton friends want beer, but not for regular consumption.

 

[Kent88]

This week I'm in Iowa so there will be many toppling Goliaths in my future.

I went to that brewery once. I think half of their beers were IPAs. Not my kind of place.

 

[beernutz]

I assume you are referring to buying beer to bring back to where I am staying for consumption and not about buying at restaurants etc to consume there.

If I have all four keezer taps pouring as I do now I rarely buy commercial beer. I was in Florida for vacation on June 30th which was the last time I bought beer to go. If I didn't brew again the keezer pipeline would be full for at least another month so that would be 2 months straight without buying grocery beer.

 

[brewcat]

As long as I have beer on tap, hardly ever. I'm even out at the moment and still haven't broke down to buy beer. I just need to get to brewing. 4 empty kegs.

 

[Lefou]

I will usually buy bottled beer once in a while to scrounge up extra bottles. It makes it easy to share because MY 22oz bottles won't be given away as friendly samplers.
These bottles, most of which are the smaller German imports, are great to re-use an refill for other people. I don't expect to get them back.
The local store has an OK selection of craft beer, but much of it is the over-hopped IPA variety. I make styles you can't find on the shelf, drink the affordable ones I might want to brew, and give away extras for special people. For me, spending $10 or more for craft beer is mostly out of the question and it has to be something out of the ordinary - like two corked bottles of Chimay Blue Grand Reserve, something I've never tried in my life, stowed away and hidden for a special occasion.

 

[betarhoalphadelta]

I buy a lot of commercial beer. Part of it is that I don't brew as often as I'd like. Part of it is that sometimes I feel guilty about "wasting" my homebrew on myself when I put so much work into it that I want to make sure it stays on tap for visitors. And I'm a big guy, so if I'm putting away a couple pints a night, I could go through it pretty darn quick.

So I'm commonly buying interesting things I see at the store. If I was a little less busy and was brewing more frequently, it'd slow the commercial purchases, but I don't have NEARLY as much time as I'd like to brew.