It's Official: I got the "it's an illness" speech

[McKBrew]

I feel your pain about not really being able to talk about beer/alcohol at work. I'm in the NAVY and there is a huge "alcohol deglamorization" campaign going on. My superiors at my last command were cool with my homebrewing and actually asked for some bottles, but now at my new duty station I brought up the fact that I brew and they looked like they wanted to send me to counselling. Oh well hasnt stopped me yet, and it wont!:rockin:

That sucks.

I'm Navy too, and have 3 active brewers in my office, one in a different rate across the hall, and a guy who used to do it who is talking about starting up again in December. :rockin::rockin:

 

[Displaced MassHole]

That sucks.

I'm Navy too, and have 3 active brewers in my office, one in a different rate across the hall, and a guy who used to do it who is talking about starting up again in December. :rockin::rockin:

Yup that damned "Right Spirit" campaign. What the hell was wrong with the drunken sailor image anyways.......lol

Here's to "drinking to the foam"

 

[mysteryberto]

I think some people get jealous that others have hobbies that they passionately pursue...

I haven't had anyone tell me I was an alcoholic for brewing. But others thought it was illegal. It's not moonshine people.

 

[carnevoodoo]

I'm lucky. I started brewing because I'm a beer nerd and most of my friends are beer nerds. I live with two of my friends who love beer. I told my parents I wanted to quit my real job to work at a brewery next year and they are supportive. I work at a video game company with a lot of heavy drinkers who support my habit by buying ingredients for me to brew. They get beer in return and I get more practice.

Maybe it is an illness. I don't think most of us here are alcoholics. We're just passionate about the craft we love.

 

[GregR]

Peaking at other people's SWMBO's? That'll get ya shot!

LOL! look but don't touch right?

 

[Wicked Daddy]

I also hunt. I'm a meataholic as well.

I build my own motorcycles... I'm a bikeaholic.

I searched for and married a woman... I'm a womanaholic.

Etc, etc, etc.

 

[Saccharomyces]

If this hobby/obsession/whatever is an illness...










... COUNT ME IN!!

 

[RiverSwillBeer]

If this hobby/obsession/whatever is an illness...

... COUNT ME IN!!

Right on there Blue Shorts Dude :rockin:

 

[BugleBrew]

Tread carefully... If she's already getting ancy it could only get worse if you're not carefule.

Though, ****, my wife is just glad I have a hobby. And when she points out how much room all my stuff takes up I just point out that the stuff for her hobbies takes up MUCH more space, though all of the individual pieces are much smaller.

The only resistance I get is sometimes she says, "We have so much beer, we should probably wait awhile before brewing again...". (I love the royal "we"). I simply smile, and start up the next batch as planned.

Bonus, her boss just emailed and demanded that I make beer for the president and VP of her company. Got to get to "work"

 

[karbinator]

"I've got a fever... and the only prescription is, MORE CARBOYS!"

I gotta have more carboys!

 

[fat x nub]

As long as ur not brewing 10 gallons and finishing it in a week then u dont have an illness

 

[mysteryberto]

As long as ur not brewing 10 gallons and finishing it in a week then u dont have an illness

Everyone knows it needs at LEAST three weeks to age. Geesh.

 

[CarlosM]

yea in the 9 months of brewing ive gotten goo gobs of "brewing" and they all thing im an alchy for making it. SCREW THEM

there is something so gratifying in embracing this age old tradition. My uncle has contracted me to start brewing him beer (German and Czech Pils) He even said he'll get a chest freezer for me so i can get em done right.

 

[Cape Brewing]

Try slapping her.



OHHHH C'MON... IT"S A JOKE!!!

 

[bergman1118]

my girlfriend somehow takes both sides of the argument.. she complains b/c all my brewstuff is an "eyesore" (a glass carboy w/ a black trash bag over it ain't an eyesore.. what's going on underneath is glorious!) and is beginning to take up space.. but then again she loves the stuff i brew, being a beer enthusiast herself. so i asked her whether she would rather have clutter and excellent beer or no clutter and back to buying $9 six packs.. she obviously made the right choice cause i'm still around here!

but really, she has no room to complain. she basically never has to provide money for beer anymore, b/c i buy all ingredients and am able to provide her with a very drinkable, delicious product. that and the time i spend at home brewing keeps me around her and outta trouble

 

[SkinnyShamrock]

I'll drink one of my 9% Red IPAs in honor of your "illness" (and mine) tonight!

 

[Taper123]

I have an old freezer I use with a thermal controller to brew my beer in. My wife just laughed today when I took a riciprocating saw and cut the shelves out of the door so I could fit three fermenting buckets in it....

Make sure you make her something she likes, or at least make the attempt to brew her something she might like.

If you bottle/brew in the kitchen... cook now and then... and then clean the heck out of the kitchen to make sure it's a perfect place for your beer making toys. Find a way to kill two birds that way.... all about balance.

Lol... so far I've yet to brew anything the wife likes, but after 20 years of marriage she humors me at least... and likes that I cook a night or two.

 

[JalaPeno]

If you bottle/brew in the kitchen... cook now and then... and then clean the heck out of the kitchen to make sure it's a perfect place for your beer making toys. Find a way to kill two birds that way.... all about balance.

SOP here on bottling nights. It keeps me in good graces.

 

[neuron555]

It's odd the range of reactions we get. Everyone where I work (a medical office) wants to try what I've made, and nearly everyone I tell that I am a homebrewer starts grilling me on how it works and how I decide what ingredients to use.

 

[GunnerMan]

I catch some flak for the cost. The only reason it costs more is because everyone ends up drinking all of my homebrew and I end up needing to go buy commercial stuff for myself. Go figure

 

[juse]

Try slapping her....

I did try, but she ran behind all my brew equipment & I couldn't find her


She actually does support my brewing, I think she is just freaking on the shear amount & size of the equipment that is quickly accumulating. I've been finding such good deals on craigslist lately... REALLY good deals. It'll turn into a non-issue as soon as I quit dragging truckloads of gear home and settle into a good brew groove.



...

 

[Jaeger48]

Yup. I stopped bringing it up at work too. It's sad, because being an engineer... I thought that my coworkers would be interested in the science of brewing. Shrug.

One of the best moments at work with a bunch of engineers was when a former section manager brought up that he could go for a beer and I said I'd bring him a 6'er of my home brew. He said he also home brewed but it had been a while... 15 minutes later and after his story about building his own wort chiller I felt more at home at work than I had in quite some time.

I love this hobby.

 

[XtremeBrew]

My wife thinks it's bith a cool and kinda silly thing that I'm homebrewing, but she got really excited when she found out that I can do wines and ciders as well. So maybe all you need to do is change your sales pitch!

I'm doing another beer after the one in primary now and then I'm gonna make some of Ed;s Apfelwein to keep her happy.

 

[user 19629]

I just started a new job and haven't mentioned homebrewing yet, and probably won't, at least until I get a feel for the people.
My wife puts up with my brewing pretty well, but I do get conflicting signals.
I showed her a picture of some ones super automated system in the photo gallery, and she said " that would be nice you could put it in the back yard"
Then I was washing up some brew gear in the kitchen and she said " you need an out door kitchen" I already brew outside but with comments like these I start envisioning building a brew house, automated systems , kegerators, fermenting fridges, and all kinds of brewing coolness.
Then while brewing yesterday I had a boil over in my 7 gall. turkey pot and mentioned to her I could use a larger kettle, her reply was " why don't you just make less beer."

 

[Rick_R]

yea in the 9 months of brewing ive gotten goo gobs of "brewing" and they all thing im an alchy for making it.

Yea, verily.



Rick

 

[Pi Kapp Beer Guy]

Well when they have home brewer's anonymus, I'll show up!

 

[bottleopener]

her reply was " why don't you just make less beer."

Preposterous!

 

[beerthirty]

My workplace didn't have a problem at all with it until I wore a t-shirt in that said "To Ale is Human and Ferment Devine". Now I get grilled for any absence even though they are few and far between.

 

[Duckfoot]

Two months?

Only took me 3 weeks to get the "I have created a monster" speech...



Working on whipping up some hard lemonade for SWMBO while she away for work....

:cross:

 

[Arneba28]

All my friends thought that I was an alcoholic when I started brewing untill I would bring a bottle of chimay or a crown pleaser like Circus boy and someone would say that they didnt like that style. Then I get to explain what that style is. I have a friend though I was just a raging alcoholic with my homebrewing. But once I showed that I actually have a knowledge of styles and IBU's, FG, SG, Ferm temps he realized that I am just a science dork stuck in a beer loving body. He originally said that he was allergic to dark beers so we did an experiment with different beers with varying IBUs and SRM, as luck would have it he is not allergic to dark beers, but High IBU's, Anything over 30 gives him a headache. It just happens that every "dark beer" he had ever had were Barley Wines, and RIS. But untill I showed him the science and explained it he though I had the illness.