What does your SWMBO think of your brewing hobby(lifestyle for some of you)

[BeastMaster]

I got into brewing a few months ago and other than casually mentioning it to my girlfriend I never really brought it up. She isnt a big beer drinker and doesnt really share my tastes on it. However, I had to run to my LHBS the other day to grab a few things and she went along. Next thing I know she is weighing and crushing grain for the Hefeweizen she wants to help me make! She had a bunch of questions and is looking forward to our brew day together. I'm so glad to have someone to sanitize and bottle with.

 

[PVH]

I am very lucky to have a wife who loves beer and brewing as much as I do (although she is not as obsessed). It is a great thing to make recipes together and talk about what we will brew next. Plus, brewing is way easier with two people who know what they are doing. It's pretty much just hanging out for half the day talking about beer between brief periods of actual work.

 

[Runyanka]

My SWMBO is a wine lover so we make that together. As far as beer goes, the only beer she will really drink is my American wheat beer! She's pretty understanding of my obsession.

 

[beergolf]

SWMBO bought me the equipment kit to get me started. Later when she figured out that I was waiting for a fermenter to free up for another batch she bought me a second fermenter.

I guess that means she approves my hobby. errrrr... I mean addiction.

 

[Malric]

Mine detests beer. The taste, aroma, everything. However, she did buy me a blichmann 10 gallon pot for Christmas and never complains when I tinker on some new project. (stir plate, heat stick, keezer)

 

[jer204]

I got home from work one day and my wife said to me...

"Why don't you run down to Eastman Party Store and buy one of those kits to make your own beer?"

How do I a turn that down. And now, I brew once a week.

 

[SkewedBrewing]

My SWMBO is fairly interested in my obsession, she'll hang out and ask questions, etc. on some brew days.

Although she doesn't really share my DIY mindset and doesn't really understand why I enjoy homebrewing, and everything that goes along with it, as much as I do. So there are times when its completely over her head.

 

[snevey]

My wife also detests beer, and when I was an extract brewer hated how the smell would spread throughout the 3400 sq ft house. I loved it.

SHE bought me the kit for my birthday two years ago. Nice kit too, came with a 6.5 and 5 gallon glass carboy, SS pot, bottling bucket, hoses, racking cane, auto-siphon, capper, hop sacks, grain bags, etc.

I let her by shoes, purses, clothing, etc, she lets me brew.

 

[Yooper]

I brew and do all the "work" and Bob drinks it. He is supportive, and often brags about my beer but doesn't have any interest at all in brewing himself. He does have a great palate, though, and makes constructive criticism that helps. He'll say, "I like this beer but I wish the malt would shine a bit more and I'd like to see a reddish color and have more late hops", for example. I'll then tweak that recipe to accomodate his requests. He gardens, and grows three kinds of hops for me. He also helps with dumping my mash tun into the compost.

He helps more with the winemaking- he'll pick the fruit and crush and help with carrying carboys. Wine is more his thing than beer.

 

[WenValley]

I'm so glad to have someone to sanitize ...

Starsan? Pics?

 

[bruin_ale]

My wife and I brewed our first couple batches together, but since then she hasn't been that interested in helping with the brewing. She's fine with just being the taster.

 

[Shooter]

My wife doesn't drink beer, but tolerates my hobby. I can't ask for anything more. She does enjoy my mead though.

 

[vortexla]

My SWMBO doesnt like any beer other than lambics and "wild" beers, but she tolerates my hobby and puts up with the chest freezer in the living room though so I can't really ask for more.

 

[brettwasbtd]

SWMBO doesn't like beer, Im still trying to create something she will like though! She is a Horse Lover and ecstatic that I have encountered a hobby that I am a tenth as passionate as she is with horses.

 

[undrtker66]

well when i told SWMO that i wanted a brew kit fot Christmas she said "you don't need no brew kit you will stay drunk all the time" and then I informed her that if I want to get drunk that I would just go across the street to the store and bye a case... after that she has no prob with it....she don't like to drink beer but she asks questions and likes to sample ever batch .....and i prefer to brew when no one is home...

 

[jfr1111]

Girlfriend started to comment that I spend too much time brewing. I have no other hobbies and it's not like I'm brewing every weekend. I'd say she tolerates it as much as I tolerate her talking to me about the finer points of every volleyball game she plays.

 

[mikebowman]

My girlfriend isn't a huge beer lover, and isn't really that interested in the process. She does like that I've found something to be so passionate about though. Although I imagine I've got things fairly different than many people on here, as we don't live together

 

[Homebrewtastic]

My wife allows my hobby with a grudging toleration. She sees it as a waste of time and money and thinks my obsession with beer is stupid... FYI it's never a good idea to reply to that with "Yeah well your face is stupid"... trust me.

But if you brew a fruit beer from time to time (my wife loves the Celis Raspberry) it keeps it her happy enough. I would sometimes get her to help at bottling. But now my 3 year old son is my official bottling assistant.

She allows me to mash grains inside, but the wort must be boiled outside. She loves the smell of mashing grains but hates the smell of hoppy wort.

All in all I could have it worse. She bought me a barleycrusher and a big sack of 2-row for Christmas. If I play my cards right I can get a sack of Belgian Pils and a sack of Maris Otter for my b-day in a couple months.

 

[kinnasst]

My wife is something of a hophead, and thus, tends to be very supportive of my homebrewing. Two years ago, after the end of a particularly stressful project at work, she told me "You've put in a lot of overtime. You should build or buy a kegerator whatever you think will be more fun." I love my wife.

 

[OldManHouston]

I'm one of the lucky ones. My girlfriend likes to drink my beer and gets excited when I have a new batch though she prefers her cheap bourbon. She helps out on brew day every now and then and has never complained!

 

[A4J]

My wife is fully supportive. She was the one that bought the kit for me 3 years ago. She doesn't help with the actual brewing process but she's there for moral support. She loves every beer I've made and brags about them to her friends (which means I have to brew a lot of fruit beers for her friends).

 

[jafo28]

My wife hates beer, and hates the smell when I brew. She typically goes to her mothers house when i'm brewing. Other than that she is quite supportive.

 

[rsklhm10]

My wife fully supports the habit. She actually recommended the keezer build. Her only issue was when I used to do extract in the house, she was not a fan. While she doesn't care to help brew, she does enjoy beer and thus I try to brew something she would like every couple of batches.

 

[devilishprune]

My fiance actually bought me my kit to get me started in the hobby. She drinks beer, but not as much as me; I can't really get her to drink my beers either, but I'm trying to work with her on making something that she will like. She is fully supportive of my brewing habit but she hates how it smells in the house when I do it, so I moved outside. Now we're both happy lol.

 

[Rev2010]

My wife got me started with homebrewing. I'd been beer connoisseuring for over 10 years. She got me a Cooper's kit and within a week or two I ordered another. Now I have more equipment as well of course. She is my brew partner as well. She helps with everything during brewing and bottling. The only thing I do all myself is the cleaning and sanitizing - well that and removing the foil and labels off the Franziskaner bottles I'm harvesting for my own brew use. Definitely a happy man!


Rev.

 

[superjunior]

mine doesn't like beer, the smell of beer, me when I'm drinking beer or the fact that I've extended the brewery into the laundry room. but she puts up with it. wifey's a trooper

 

[sensibull]

My wife not only adores beer and consumes nearly as much as I do, she is also an archaeologist who specializes in (among other things) ancient dining and drinking. Hell she even let me drill through our kitchen counter to install a tap. Yep... she's a keeper

 

[Bulls Beers]

My wife is totally supportive. She's not a beer drinker, but is happy when I'm happy. And Visa versa....

 

[mr_goodwrench]

SWMBO & my daughter got me my starter kit for Father's Day about 5 years ago. She enjoys beer (mostly drinks wine these days though) and really has no problem with my hobby. She doesn't care for the smell during brewing and loves to tease me about it. She will try every batch I brew, even the styles she isn't a fan of.

She is into scrapbooking like I am into brewing, so things work out well for us. We pretty much stay out of each others hair while engaging in our respective hobbies. I don't give her the business about what she spends on her hobby and she does the same for me.

 

[rudu81]

My wife encouraged me to start brewing, and the only negative thing she's said is that maybe I don't need to brew every couple of weeks right now. We settled on once a month, which is fine for me. She did brew once with me, but I think she likes drinking my beer better than brewing it.

 

[smokey]

My wife is supportive, she knows how much I like brewing. She bought me brewing classic styles, extreme brewing, and brewing related magazines and mailed them to me while I was deployed. She didn't complain much when I put the beer fridge and the fermenter cabinet in the office. The downside is she hates the smell of the wort, it makes her gag, so I am banned to the garage/outside for mashing/boiling.

 

[Gated312]

As many said before, so long as there is wine made SWMBO is happy. Unfortunately she hates the smell of wort/hops and as we live in a 1bdrm apt, I have to be careful how I brew. Still, she supports my hobby and when we move into a house, suggests I make myself a brew cave.

 

[count_dookie]

Starsan? Pics?

+1, I need more reasons not to fear the foam

 

[thisgoestoeleven]

Mine bought me my equipment for our anniversary, and designs my bottle labels. It's safe to say she approves.

 

[ksbrain]

Mine is more of the tolerating type. She doesn't drink much, but will try a taste every now and then. I have three kids and one more coming, and still I get to brew once a month, so I call that supportive. Plus she never counts how many I have in a night, or at least never confronts me with her data. So I can't complain.

 

[wolverinebrewer]

well when i told SWMO that i wanted a brew kit fot Christmas she said "you don't need no brew kit you will stay drunk all the time" and then I informed her that if I want to get drunk that I would just go across the street to the store and bye a case... after that she has no prob with it....she don't like to drink beer but she asks questions and likes to sample ever batch .....and i prefer to brew when no one is home...

It's about time. I was wondering when I'd finally see it this way......without the B. :rockin:

 

[butler1244]

My fiance bought me a kit for Christmas. She has helped brew my first two batches and is in charge of sanitizing everything. This past weekend she cut and zested all the oranges for my blood orange hefeweizen and was as excited as me at the smell coming out of the airlock.

 

[ExHempKnight]

SWMBO is kind of indifferent. When I talk about beer, her eyes glaze over like they do when I talk about cars.

Though at least she enjoys the beer. She really hates my car.

 

[Weizenwerks]

When I started brewing my wife wasn't too fond of me starting another hobby. Hobby turned into way of life. She kept complaining, I'd brew more often. She complained more I told her "You know where I am and what I'm doing. If you prefer I can give up brewing and get hammered at the bar spending even more money and possibly sleeping with random women out of sheer boredom like other guys. What do you prefer?" She hasn't said one word about it yet.

 

[ReverseApacheMaster]

My gal enjoys beer almost as much as me and likes our homebrew. She definitely is not as interested in homebrewing as I am but she like capping and playing with the pH strips and is willing to help handcrank the mill, hold stuff and pour things in the boil while I stir. Most importantly, she hasn't been upset that I took over substantial parts of her house with equipment and beer when I moved in.