Military dudes...a tad curious

[Somerville]

Many people on this forum work in the Air Force or Navy.
Pure coincidence?
Is there something about being in the military that facilitates a passion for beer brewing?
Has anyone asked this before?

 

[AlaskaAl(e)]

I think that being in the military facilitates a passion for drinking. Many of us begin just after High School and attack drinking as a competitive sport to be shared with friends. Over time as the path of excess leads us ever closer to the palace of wisdom we begin to see drinking as less of a passtime and think more of beer as the joy to be savored that it is. The next logical progression to enjoying beer is to brew your own. Of course these are my personal thoughts and I do not represent the Air Force as a whole (and who could pretend to understand the thought process of a sailor but a shipmate?).

Oh, and I don't recall this popping up before.

 

[homebrewer_99]

Well, don't forget the Army civilians...me!

 

[Dude]

I know of at least 8 other air force weather guys who are homebrewers. I find that astonishing, honestly.

However, for me it has nothing to do with the military. I've been fascinated with beer since I was pretty young. I knew at some point in my life I'd be making my own.

 

[cweston]

Just a total WA guess...

Is the military work routine more conducive to the time demands of brewing?

Isn't it typical for military personel to work very long shifts and then have larger blocks of off-time, as opposed to the more even routine of work hours in most civilian jobs?

Particularly for AG brewers, that could make a pretty big difference.

That wouldn't be why people start w/ the hobby, but it could explain why they stick with it. (I do know a fair amount of guys who have homebrewed at some point but didn't stick with it.)

 

[homebrewer_99]

You're poorly informed if you think they have time off.

Most they ever get is 3-4 day weekends (when there's a holiday involved) unless the entire unit is on "Block Leave".

 

[RichBrewer]

You're poorly informed if you think they have time off.

Most they ever get is 3-4 day weekends (when there's a holiday involved) unless the entire unit is on "Block Leave".

and a LOT of folks in the Air Force are deployed 4 months out of the year. For the USMC and the Army it can be up to a year or more.

 

[cweston]

You're poorly informed if you think they have time off.

Jeebus, no need to get testy.

Everyone has some time off, or they wouldn't have time to brew or to fritter it away here. No one said they didn't work hard or any such thing.

Heck, I even flagged my speculation as a "WA guess."

 

[SwAMi75]

In my case, travelling a lot was a big factor. I've always been open minded, and like to try new stuff. I found out that there's a whole world of good beer out there, and the idea of being able to make it myself was just too cool to forget about. I think that's probably a contributing factor for many military brewers. Plus, I think a lot of military folks have more of a "To hell with it, let's do it" kind of attitude.

As luck would have it, a certain co-worker of mine just happened to get a kit for Christmas, as did I. So, we went into it together. If it hadn't been for Dude, there's a good chance that original kit would still be sitting out in the garage.

Also, work schedules are different for everyone. Me and Dude do a lot of rotating shift work (him more than me), so some weeks you have a nice bit of time off, others it seems like you do nothing but work and sleep.

 

[Radarbrew]

As for me, the idea started in Britain when I was enlisted, because my British neighbor brewed. It was a cool idea, and I liked the chemistry of the whole thing. Then there was a bit of lag time, and I got back into it after I retired, both as a way to keep busy at the house, and to keep my fridge full.

 

[homebrewer_99]

Jeebus, no need to get testy...Everyone has some time off, or they wouldn't have time to brew or to fritter it away here. No one said they didn't work hard or any such thing.

Sorry, that was not my intention.