How old were you when you started?

[Dragonfly]

I saw this other post and it got me thinking - how old was everyone when they started? I'm 19, which is pretty young, but I'm sure there are others on here younger than me. I know it's a touchy topic for some people - and I just can't wait until I turn 21 so I can actually taste my beer instead of giving it away

EDIT: I actually made my 1st batch when I was 18, but that was just a few months ago

 

[david_42]

Started what? Drinking? Had my first beer at 8, second at 19! Started brewing at 48.

 

[Waldo]

Started brewing at 40 been brewing for almost one month

 

[Flyer]

23 for me.

 

[ScottT]

Started brewing at 43.

 

[subwyking]

first beer..... not really sure. sometime along time ago. started brewing this month at age 23.

<--B-->

 

[Orfy]

First beer in a bar at 15.

First home brew 4 weeks ago at 37.

 

[AHammer16]

At 27. a few months ago

 

[sudsmonkey]

Had my first beer when I was 6 or 7 . A PBR ( purely blissful refreshment). Hated it, then learned to love it somewhere along the way. Started brewing at 35 with a Mr. Beer kit. Didn't try again until last April . Now, at 37, I'm an addicted homebrewer. There's worse things to be.

 

[Baron von BeeGee]

Sixteen. I had just inherited my grandmother's 1965 Corvair convertible and was on a double date with my best friend and two cheerleaders. We went...wait a minute...what's the question?

 

[Brew Runner]

I had my first whole beer around 17. It was actually many MGDs....in a funnel with a hose attached....Then there was the drugstore vodka, whiskey, and Bacardi that didnt play well together and had something to do with losing my keys, but thats another story. Gone are the days.

I brewed my first batch with the equipment kit from Midwest when I was 20. Didnt know what I was doing and made a godawful batch of Belgian Honey. It had tons of sediment due to careless siphoning, tasted terrible as a result, and was warm going down. Who knows, it might have had wild yeast or bacteria, but I couldnt tell what made it so nasty.

 

[kenmc]

I don't remember my first beer.
started homebrewing this year, 28.

 

[2nd Street Brewery]

Had my first beer when I was 14 or 15. Started brewing my own 3 years ago when I was 44.

 

[Darth Konvel]

Started brewing a couple months ago. Still 23 here. Had my first sample when I was small (7 maybe )

 

[justbrewit]

i started brewing around age 21, brewed for about 3 years, took an 8 year break and now i'm waiting for my stuff to come in the mail so i can start up again!!! no breaks!!!

 

[cowain]

First drink when I was 16. First brew at 18 (using Mr. Beer - don't tell anyone).

 

[SteveM]

I don't count the sips my Dad gave me when I was less than ten - the whole purpose of those was to KEEP me from drinking the stuff. It was Iron City or DuQuesne (an old Pittsburgh area brew).

My first actual drinking beer was when I was maybe 13 or 14. I started brewing them myself just short of a year ago, at age 51.

Edit - attempted spelling correction.

 

[Windaria]

First brew? 16. Haven't really done it at all since back then, only 3-4 batches at the time. I'm 25 now and have 3 in the primary, first attempt since then.

 

[Walker]

3 batches in the primary at once? Good lord, that's a lot. I hope you have a ton of empty bottles handy!

First taste of beer? maybe 8 years old.
First full can? 18 years old.
First homebrew? 22 years old.

-walker

 

[Windaria]

Well, I have 2 6 gallon ciders going, the concentrate one and the really expensive juice one, and I also have a 1 gallon craynberry and grape one (2/3 craynberry, 1/3 grape) concentrate one that is being done just out of curiosity.

It also struck me... can you, instead of using a lot of bottles, just use 1 gallon jugs? Be a decent serving portion... no?

 

[Walker]

sure, you can use one gallon jugs. if plastic, they will allow oxygen through and who knows what could happen (premature stale brew, likely). If glass, I see no issues.

-walker

 

[BlightyBrewer]

First beer at 15, in a pub frequented by undercover cops! My mates and I threw them back and left promptly!

First homebrew at 18 - tasted like vinegar!
Second attempt at homebrewing at University age 21 - tasted like vinegar!
Third attempt at homebrewing 3 months ago age 34 - tasted great - success at last!!

 

[andre the giant]

I was probaby 30 when my brother abandoned his homebrewing hobby. He gave me his supplies, and I did 22 extract kits over the next 4 years. I took two years off from brewing because I lost interest... THEN, I drank a porter at the local brewpub that made me want to brew again. I bought AG equipment and have brewed 18 batches in the last year.

So, at 37, I've found my true purpose in life!!! Brewing and consuming large quantities of homebrewed beer. Why did I bother with college?!?!

 

[OtherWhiteMeat]

Started homebrewing early this summer at 22.

 

[God Emporer BillyBrew]

My mom tells me our neighbor gave me my first drink of beer when I was 4. Started brewing 10 years ago, made two undrinkable batches, quit and then picked it back up again about 8 months ago. I stored my equipment all that time, I deserve to be making good beers now.

 

[Rhoobarb]

Had my 1st beer at 17; offered by a friend of mine's older brother. Carling Black Label. Brewed my 1st beer at 19 with the friend whose older brother offered that 1st beer.

At that time, 19 was the legal age for beer and wine in Illinois.

You ask me, in this age of our piss-poor government sending kids off to die, 19 should be the legal age for beer and wine across the US. But, that's another thread.

 

[Brewsmith]

Had my first beer, no joke, at 21. Luckily it was something good from a local restaraunt/brewery. Haven't looked back since. First homebrew last year at 25.

 

[Duvel]

Legal age being 18 here, I had my first beer around 12. Drank a lot at 16/17 then just mellowed out soon as it became legal, going more for taste than to get wasted. First tried brewing orange wine when I was 21 (complete muck), then moved brewing high ABV muck for distilling. That worked quite well but I ended up neglecting my studies as it took sooo much work to get so little out of the still. Plus it was just flavourless moonshine/poitin, no art to it, no flavour, no chilling with a brew, just wastedness and flavourlessness..

Then my uncle showed me his brew setup when I was in canada in August for my cuz's wedding. I tasted his beer and it reminded me of belgium so much, I fell in love instantly. It had never occured to me before that I could make beer like that. So I bought a load of equipment over there and have been in the swing of it since, on my third brew now and I'm 22.

 

[Greenhorn]

First home brew about a month ago, age 19, but I do not give it away, I drink every bit of it. I am somewhat of college "partier" but brewing my own beer has given me a new found appreciation for good beer.

 

[Driftwood]

I just started brewing earlier this year at 27, got 4 AG batches under my belt, none of which have been great, but I'm getting closer...

First beer at 17, took me a while to develop a taste for it. Before that, I was a wine drinker, liked reds a lot. Had my first wine at 3... Whenever my parents had guests leaving, they would spend half an hour chatting at the door... that was the perfect time to go to the dinner table and finish off their glasses... ahh, the good ol' days...