What got you started in brewing?

[NicoleBrewer]

So I thought it would be interesting to hear how everyone got into this hobby. Ill start:

My ex boyfriends sister was getting married and she was a hippy and liked making things herself. Their family loved wine so I wanted to make her a homemade wine as a gift. After making that and getting the supplies I found that I could also brew my ow. Beer with a lot of the same equipment and it evolved from there! Now almost 10 years later I try to brew 5 gallons a week

 

[FalconsBrew]

I had a friend that was taught by the head brewer of Burnt Hickory Brewery in Kennesaw, Ga. My friend taught me and open of my other friend how to brew. Now we are referred to as the "grandchlidren" of the head brewer. lol Fun times!

 

[GrogNerd]

US Navy, mid '93, I read this article in Details magazine while on Med deployment

 

[bleme]

I was over at a friend's for dinner. After dinner he is flipping through the channels and I saw Moonshiners. I asked if he had seen it. He starts telling me about it. I say that we should become moonshine millionaires. We ask the wives if they will keep the business afloat when we go to prison.

Somehow the conversation eventually evolved into legal homebrewing (which makes you poorer instead of richer). So I went home and did some research and about 2 months later we ordered equipment and ingredients online.

 

[Brewtah]

I loved the idea of making my own beer. After visiting friends in Idaho that had about 100 beers in stock from their homebrewing, I was sold.
The important thing is what "keeps" me brewing. I really enjoy research and reading about different yeasts, styles, techniques, etc.
I learn from every batch.

 

[dpatrickv]

Me and a couple friends had been contemplating it for awhile. I ended up brewing a couple batches on their stuff then decided to get my own. Been a downhill slide since then.

 

[vNmd]

I did a few small bottle batches of wine in high school when other people were trying to get fake IDs. Not really good, but I enjoyed it. Tried it (gallon batches) again when I lived in the UK, nothing spectacular, but I enjoyed it. Have been very busy with work and stuff for 10 - 15 years, never really thought about it. Dated a woman that was very into wines. I mentioned I used to make wine. The rest was history (along with the woman). I still enjoy it.

 

[danielofthedale]

I have always like things that are easy to learn and hard to master like poker and golf. I was starting to get into craft beer and wanted to learn more about beer. Was in the library looks for books about beer when I saw The Joy of Homebrewing. I checked it out and saw that making extract beer was not to hard but I would never be able to make a perfect beer which is one of the things that drives me. It also is a creative outlet and not being the most handy guy it allows me to make and craft hints that are totally unique like a woodworker or hot roder.

 

[Cheesy_Goodness]

My dad has been doing wine for several years and my grandfather on my mother's side got into it in the past 5 or so.
I remember dad would tell me all about his wines and what he has fermenting and when he plans on racking and the whole time I was just bored out of my mind!
They weren't all that great at the beginning but as he got better I got more curious about the process. I did a few batches of wine on my own with varying success and after getting a bit frustrated with a bad batch I looked into beer.
I love cooking too so it's a nice fit

 

[unionrdr]

Well,my grandma made the best keg charred moon I've ever had. Cut teeth on it. Her cherry wine was damn good too. I swear she could can anything! Pop made wine & then beer. His extra stout was strong. I made wine from age 15 till about 30 when wife,kids,& my job took center stage. Then flash forward to December 2010. My middle son asked me if I'd concider making wine again. My wife & I were watching youtube videos over some beers. I immediately got the bug to search for home beer making videos. Steeljan,pho,craigtube,revolutionary brewer...& God forgive me...TSA. But it was craigtube That impressed upon me how easy home brewing had come to be at that point. "Hey...things that make ya go hmmmmm". On my 2nd brew,that kit-n-kilo thing was completely changed. Too bad the bloody can of Cooper's OS Lager was to years old. I soldiered on with hops & plain Munton's DME anyway. Made a small starter for the old 7g yeast packet. It was then when I learned the word Blowoff.
Anyway,the beer was so good,that Home Brewer TV gave me the full three thumbs up against a commercial ale that go two! It's been a downward spiral ever since. You could feel the tension...man whata ride! Goin down the road,both me & the probe,carryin a load.

 

[Quixoticosis]

I just woke up one day and said, "I think I want to start making my own beer." Of course, I was in the middle of an internship when this happened, and the 60+ hour weeks make doing anything resembling a hobby difficult, so it was another year before I got around to getting started.

Actually, I'm pretty big on making things myself, and beer making is just an extension of that. Next on the list is going to be learning to make cheese and, one of these days, moving into a place that has room for a garden and chickens. In the meantime, though, I make beer.

 

[unionrdr]

We wanna get the kitchen aid mixer with all the attachments. We wanna start making sausages. We have a recipe for Slovak sausage,where mom is from.

 

[rockbasementbeer]

My family has been brewing forever, I was raised with it! (Search Stanton brewery, great-great-uncle had it up in Utica, NY)

 

[FlatcapBrew]

Me and a couple friends were sitting in german class talking about good beer then one said why cant we make it? The next day we bought equipment and ingredients. The rest of the guys I started with have moved on to other hobbies but 7 years later im still pluggin away.
I brew a lot less than I used to but its still great! In fact I have a full mash tun for the first time in over a year!

 

[MuddyCreek]

My In-Laws bought me a very inexpensive homebrewing system kit. What I made from that kit was absolutely terrible. But I was hooked. I started making tremendously awful beers about 7 or 8 years ago.

Now I make relatively awful beers!

 

[JonM]

My girlfriend and I went to a neighborhood brewpub for dinner and a beer or two. On the way out, she grabbed a Northern Brewer catalog off a display in the entryway. When we got home, she thumbed through it and said, "I think you'd be good at this."

Started brewing shortly thereafter and I married that girl.

 

[NicoleBrewer]

My In-Laws bought me a very inexpensive homebrewing system kit. What I made from that kit was absolutely terrible. But I was hooked. I started making tremendously awful beers about 7 or 8 years ago.

Now I make relatively awful beers!

Haha they can't be that awful if you continue to brew 8 years later!

 

[Kolsch_Meister]

My daughter and son in law gave me a fermenter and an extract kit for Christmas. I brewed the kit and loved the beer. Now I'm totally hooked...

 

[luke_d]

I am really close to a couple of pastors at my church, who brew. I always thought it was interesting. I was working for a beer distributor when I saw the Brooklyn Brew Shop Everyday IPA kit with the ingredients and basic equipment for 20 bucks! I thought, why not? Been hooked ever since!

 

[chrisgood1]

I know now that it was very flawed but Alton Brown's Good Eats is what got me going. Got my first kit for my 21st bday because I saw him brew and I thought it was so cool. He had always inspired me to try new things. Just so happens this one really stuck. Seven years later here I am.

 

[skw]

I live in Germany, but travel to the US a lot. I slowly got intro craft beers, discovering that I really like west coast IPA. Since they don't have any at the local stores in Germany, I decided I had to learn how to make my own.

 

[gdoyle]

A friend of mine got me a mr. Beer kit for Christmas and I did that a few times about a year later I broke my ankle and had a lot of down time to research and watch videos and I decided I wanted to make real beer. So I grabbed my parents credit card and bought a fermenting bucket. Me and my girlfriend have been brewing for about 4 months now and just finished our 2nd all grain BIAB batch and 5th batch overall!

 

[sfrisby]

I know now that it was very flawed but Alton Brown's Good Eats is what got me going.

Ha! Same with me. Figured I'd have to be the only guy on here with that story.

 

[fowlintent]

I took a bacteriology course my senior year in college ('78) and as a lab "experiment" we brewed a batch of beer. After the final exam, we had a Christmas party at the last lab session. I had 3 maybe 4 beers. What I didn't realize is that the finished product was around 10% abv. Long story short, I was scheduled to play Santa that evening for my gf's dorm. I don't remember a whole lot, but I have been told (by my gf, now wife) that I had a great time with all the girls sitting on my lap telling me what they wanted for Christmas, and me telling them what I would like to give them.

 

[Eugenio]

I just woke up one day and said, "I think I want to start making my own beer." Of course, I was in the middle of an internship when this happened, and the 60+ hour weeks make doing anything resembling a hobby difficult, so it was another year before I got around to getting started. Actually, I'm pretty big on making things myself, and beer making is just an extension of that. Next on the list is going to be learning to make cheese and, one of these days, moving into a place that has room for a garden and chickens. In the meantime, though, I make beer.

This. For me, I eventually wanna get a project house and build my own sailboat.

 

[Eugenio]

My girlfriend and I went to a neighborhood brewpub for dinner and a beer or two. On the way out, she grabbed a Northern Brewer catalog off a display in the entryway. When we got home, she thumbed through it and said, "I think you'd be good at this." Started brewing shortly thereafter and I married that girl.

That's a keeper!

My girlfriend just told me "when are we having another brew weekend? I liked it!"

 

[NicoleBrewer]

I took a bacteriology course my senior year in college ('78) and as a lab "experiment" we brewed a batch of beer. After the final exam, we had a Christmas party at the last lab session. I had 3 maybe 4 beers. What I didn't realize is that the finished product was around 10% abv. Long story short, I was scheduled to play Santa that evening for my gf's dorm. I don't remember a whole lot, but I have been told (by my gf, now wife) that I had a great time with all the girls sitting on my lap telling me what they wanted for Christmas, and me telling them what I would like to give them.

Awesome professor... And gf/wife for being a good sport about it!

 

[vinylrooster]

When I was 18 I bought my dad a homebrewing kit for his birthday and we did it as father-son bonding. Best $100 I've ever spent.

 

[wheathead]

I friend enrolled me into the Beer of the Month Club a several years back which included many varieties that I was not accustomed. Once that ran out, I started with Mr Beer and tried different kits and experimented with additions. Got tired of the “Campbells Soup” condensed add water route, so I jumped into all grain, 5-gal batches.

 

[cooldood]

My wife bought me kit and that is all it took.