What got you into homebrewing?

[Curtis2010]

.......I have found myself sitting back with a beer late at night and being amazed on how damn good it is...Whats Your Story??

It's amazing stuff when it works out right insn't it! That's a big part of what keeps me brewing, the fact that there are so many amazing styles of beer to sample and brew, and that there is always more to learn.

What started me brewing, was that my late wife was interested in home brewing and bought a book: "Homebrewing for Dummies". She was distracted by other things and never got around to reading the book. So, I picked it up one day....

 

[wolfshado]

i tried hinting to my family and friends for years that i wanted to learn to make my own beer. It seemed i could never get enough money together to buy a kit, and when i had the money, i didnt have a store. Well finally this last summer my oldest son had a job that paid 3 times what i made and decided that this was the fathers day he would go get me a kit. He still has the picture of my face lighting up when i walked into the room and asked what was wrong and what the emergency was and it took me 3 minutes to notice that he had the kit sitting right in front of me. When i finally figured out it was for me, i almost wept with joy!! Now we can share a brew and stories like good friends and he is happy to know that he made his dad a happy man

 

[jonmohno]

Fermenting foods,eating healthier fermented "live" unpasterized foods. Then it dawned on me about bottleconditoned beers then on to fermenting beers which I realized you could do right at home,like the things i was fermenting like kombucha,sauerkraut,and keifer. Only thing now is im a little excessive when it comes to the fermented beer part. Shure am enjoying a Revvy's Ketucky common right about now.After my jalepeno ale,Yoopers house pale ale also,not to metion a pumpkin ale.
I was really curious about the Mr.Beer,I just thought it would be cool to try,but as I reaserched on the internet about how to really go about it if you were serious,I stumbled upon this website which helped me tremendously start brewing the right way,not that mr.beer was the wrong way,more that I customized how I wanted to brew personally with some knowlege first. Then kinda did my own thing by brewing small batches,because I didnt know how it would turn out if i would like it and also I dindt want to invest into something I dindnt know or have enough friends interested in drinking this kind of beer anyway.

Anyways currently Im not brewing due to basement summer temps and having too much beer commercially and plenty enough of my own.Im slowly thinning my heard,and as much commercial craft beer I drink Im doubtfull of brewing again this winter,which I want but I just have too much,maybe I should just find some more mooching beer friends,ha. If I had a massive walk in fridge or cellar I think I would keep at it.

 

[iambeer]

I wanted to find a natural way to supply cannabis with CO2 during the flowering stage, and beer brewing seemed like the only cost effective solution.

 

[wuilliez]

I've always been a beer fanatic, so last Christmas my girlfriend got me a true brew kit. Many gallons, and a college major change later I'm a home brew fanatic and majoring in fermentation science. She's a keeper!

 

[Slyko]

My car's catalytic converter went out. The shop that fixed it was right next to the LHBS...................... so I went in to kill some time.

Picked up a beginners kit and the rest is history.

 

[RockLobster]

My wife and I were going through IVF trying to start a family.....it was a frustrating and stressful time and so much seemed out of my control. Brewing beer took my mind off the hardships and rewarded me with magic in a bottle....now my 3 year old daughter visits the home brew store with me....life is good.

 

[Ogri]

One of my fondest childhood memories is that of my dad making homebrew and the smell of the malt extract going into the fermentor then the fascinating aromas emanating from the airlock for the next couple of weeks. It left a lasting impression. Getting to taste a little of the malt extract definitely enhanced the experience for this 4 year old too. Marmite, twiglets, horlicks, milk shakes made with horlicks were always something I loved. Family being from Yorkshire, east riding, born in Manchester then raised in Edinburgh, beer was always an integral part of life. Many of my relatives were homebrewing back in the early 70s. Just seemed logical to get into it myself at some point. Last summer I found out about Mr. Beer kits and launched myself into a new hobby. Done about 25 all extract, mostly 5 gallon, batches so far and about ready to give BIAB a try. The summer months here are not really conducive to brewing without a dedicated, temp regulated fermentation chamber/fridge so haven't been brewing for three months. Time to re-establish the pipeline. Craft beers are pretty limited in availability here in Japan, but more to the point ridiculously expensive so that makes homebrewing easily justifiable

 

[uncommonsense]

I had been making mead a little (basically prison style). So i had some stuff. I use to play alot of d&d but i got to busy at work and home that i need a hobby i could contain in the house. About that time discovery's brewmasters came on and the way sam talked about brewing just spoke to my very soul. So i bought some ingredients and just winged it. Thats right no kit, didnt realy believe in them then and i still dont. The beer was awful. So i gave it all way to my friend that just lied to me. Brew number 2 however was amazing, also winged it. Then i was hooked.

 

[el_horno]

I was over at my friends house and he was actually getting ready to store his brew gear under the house. So I took it off his hands and I have been hooked ever since.

 

[billf2112]

I saw an infomercial on Mr Beer years ago and thought about trying it. I really lij
E a quality brew after living in Germany years back. I never acted on it. A few years ago I got sick and a side effect caused me to give up my hobby. I came across a new LHBS with my youngest daughter and she said "Dad, here is a new hobby for you". The rest is history. She is my best taster and critic. How many 18 girls can tell what hops are in a beer by tasting them?

 

[eanmcnulty]

Back in 1989 I was getting into imports and Belgians, and a friend of mine started brewing. That's when I gave it a shot. Back then all we had was Papazian's book and a little advice from a homebrew shop. I brewed about five mediocre batches.
Fast-forward to 2009 when I watched Good Eats with Alton Brown and his presentation of brewing. I figured I would try it again. Well, 2009 was a stark contrast to 1989. The internet changed everything. A homebrewer can brew excellent beer very quickly with the great advice of those who came first. The new books and great websites and Beer Smith have made brewing a lot of fun, and tasty!

 

[RayOhm]

A couple of friends starting brewing a few summers back, I loved beer and was starting to get sick of paying $2 a bottle for ratpiss beer, so i was very interested. Had a month in between semesters last year so I bought a kit. I really got into the hobby this summer, just brewed my 4th batch of the summer yesterday.

 

[suicider]

i wanted to make my own intoxicating beverage and knew beer was too much work, found an article on making a simple cider and made that. ( hence my handle) i first came on here to obtain cider info. i still remember the first time i got drunk on my own creation and how rewarding it was. i guess after proving to myself i could make decent alcoholic beverages i bit the bullet and borrowed a buddies seldom used starter kit and made and extract batch. it was good but you don't see bottles of extract adorning beer promotions, you see grain. ( nothing against extract, i just found it unfulfilling) so i watched a tutorial on youtube on how to convert a cooler into a mash tun made that. my first batch was a pale ale and like everyhombrewer ever drank it green and was disappointed. however by the last bottle it tasted pretty damn good! i still drink green beer but know it will improve...oh yeah and saving beer bottles has become almost a compulsion...must...not...save....

 

[edmanster]

Because I live in slc Utah! Do I have to say more
Its not really the fact of only having 4%abv on draft and in grocery stores but more along the selection in the state stores that are dictated by a bunch of non drinking morons at the DABC, ops I mean Mormons.. I agree that the selection is getting better but up until recent we only had a couple examples of any given style and they were what they chose for you not what's best.. oh, did I forget to mention the markup that the state adds.. I would go broke!

 

[koopa]

I had gone through a 2 year beer trading spree where I did 200 trades in that time. Once I started realizing just how much I was spending in retail purchases coupled with shipping costs, I decided that if I was going to put a good amount of money into beer I'd put it into learning how to make my own beer.