What made you start brewing?

Williams 728
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I used to drink pretty standard fare, all the cheapest or what was available. My job took me to Germany for 3 years followed by one year in the Bristol, U.K. During this time I learned that there was something better out there. I was amazed at the lack of a headache from German Bier (Still felt like crap though).

Now I am back in the US and I cannot (will not) go back to the usual fare. Add to that the fact that I like to cook (poor chef but I think I'm 5 star) and beer just made sense.

Last but not least, I am an engineer and I love gadgets. I am already plotting some new equipment. By the end of the year, I'll post my fully automated AB brew set-up. If I can't conquer the world, I will conquer my liver.:mug:
 
I like making things. I blacksmith. I was talkign with another blacksmith he talked about brewing beer, it sounded cool so i resreached and have my first batch fermenting now. I had a lot of fun brewing, I am pretty sure i will have fun drinking it. oh, and I am cheap but like good beer. Hopefully I will make some.
 
When I started enjoying beer, I started disliking macrobrews. I then switched to microbrews. Then I really enjoyed beer. Next step was my obsessive personality kicking in. I have to understand things I really enjoy. I become slightly obsessed, soaking up as much info as I can. That, naturally, lead to me making beer myself.

I love knowing the why. That is my favorite question to have answered. Luckily for me, brewing has a ton of "whys" for me to learn.
 
I can't honestly tell you. My father in-law introduced me to the world of craft beers and that sparked my curiosity. I began looking into brewing and found homebrewing. I didn't even know people made their own beers at home before that. Ever since then it's become a SERIOUS addiction.
 
One of the companies I do business with is located near the local brew store. I would drive by it at least once a week. One week I stopped in, and the rest is history.
 
I'm a hands on kind of guy. I like to understand things and the best way to do that is to make things.

I had pretty much quit drinking beer because it wasn't worth it. Then my son got me started drinking craft beers. (Grimbergen Double was the tipping point).

So it was a matter of time. Almost 2 years between being exposed to decent beer and the need to "understand" by making it.

What a great pastime. Hobby is too weak, obsession really is closer.:tank:
 
Penguin said:
it all started when i watched the alton brown episode on food network......i thought that doesnt look to hard i can do that. then my wife got me a william's kit for christmas. the rest is history.
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I'm surprised your the only one that's credited this to your interest in the 5 pages of this thread.

I also saw that episode, and since I like good beer, and I'm a great cook, it made sense to me. I know that episode has been trashed up and down by some people, but it is a good introduction to how it can be done at home.
 
for some reason i feel silly admitting this but for me it was the tv commercials for sam adam's "long shot" homebrew contest. i went to sam adam's website and watched jim koch's long shot videos where he makes an extract version of his boston ale.

i ordered a starter kit from the web and never looked back.
 
Parents got me a Mr. Beer kit for x-mas 2008, ive been looking the the kits on midwest for two weeks now... this hobby is more addicting then... Ham radio, Hiking, video gameing... i could go on and on, the wife is a little happier this hobby isn't as expensive as... the 850 dollar ham radio i got but... still trying to get her to agree to getting a 79 dollar kit from the LHBS, but i metion it every day, she will cave soon :)
 
I saw a show on "How Stuff Works" about the beer industry and how beer is made. It was very interesting and discussed the ingredients, fermentation process and had some good information on the craft brewers. There was also a small segment on home brewers. This was enough to get me motivated to buy the equipment and get started. I have thought about doing home brew for awhile but just needed somthing like the show to get me started.
 
My wife gave me a Mr. Beer kit for my birthday. After making a couple of Mr. Beer batches, I was hooked, and wanted to brew my own. Now she wishes she had never given me that gift. :D
 
chance85 said:
Parents got me a Mr. Beer kit for x-mas 2008, ive been looking the the kits on midwest for two weeks now... this hobby is more addicting then... Ham radio, Hiking, video gameing... i could go on and on, the wife is a little happier this hobby isn't as expensive as... the 850 dollar ham radio i got but... still trying to get her to agree to getting a 79 dollar kit from the LHBS, but i metion it every day, she will cave soon :)
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Tell her you want to start cave diving, Home thats my website. You will need about 6-10k worth of gear and training it should be an easy sell for a $100 beer kit. I have about 15k in dive gear. some of the dives that I do cost 80-100 in breathing gas, and I have nothing to show but memories. So brewing beer is cheap, for the time being.
 
I was a young man stationed in (the former) W. Germany 1985-88. Having grown up in Texas on ice-cold Bud, I was confused and recalibrated by the local Schwabian brews (mainly weizen in that area).

Since wheat beers were not widely distributed in the US at that time I vowed to learn how to make it so I could have wheat beer in America. Ordered a brewing kit from Williams as they were the only supplier willing to ship to an APO. Got the kit and my geekery kicked into high gear. This was the hobby for me.

I don't remember if wheat LME was unavailable, expensive, or what, but I didn't actually make any wheat beer unti I was discharged. Found a supplier of wheat and started doing 66% 6row / 33% wheat mashes on the stovetop and sparged in a Zapap bucket setup...

Now you can buy wheat beers at the corner Stop-N-Rob. :)
 
I was a poor starving grad student back in '86 and had a taste for exotic beers (at least exotic back then) but couldn't afford them. Actually there wasn't really a craft beer scene then, it was almost all imports, mostly British or German beers. I found a LHBS and started in. It appealed to the scientist and cook in me.
 
Excellent thread.

For me, it really started with trying to be more overall food conscious - paying attention to what I ate and cooked. I started making bread from scratch for my kids' sandwiches after reading the ingredient list on store-bought bread (don't do this unless you want to start baking bread every week!). I try to buy organic and local whenever I can. In the summer we grow our own veggies (or buy from a farmer's market). We get a monthly share of organic, local farm-raised meat. In addition to feeling better about what I put on the table, I enjoy the process of creating something tasty. It was just a natural jump to home brewing. It's creative, you control what goes into each batch, and, best of all, it's really good. Now, if only I cold grow and malt my own barley....
 
I'm English, but have lived in the States for 15 years. I like beer. I'm a biochemist.

I was talking with a friend about beer around Thanksgiving, and we talked about homebrew. We had both helped out before with various friends, but never did it. When my wife asked what I wanted for Christmas a few days later, I said a homebrew kit, so she got me one. I've already added a second bucket so I can brew two batches at once :)
 
My wifes boss always goes to Victory brewing Co here in PA so a bunch of people from her work were going and we decided to go. All the different types of beer they had there got my interested in what makes these beer different and the best way to learn is to brew yourself. I got tired of drinking just Miller Lite but didn't like the bitterness of ales, pilsner, etc so if I can make a beer that is hoppy without such a bite with a hint of malt taste that would be the perfect beer. I just completed my 3rd patch and will start doing 2.5 gallon SMaSH so I can get familair with the different grains and hops. My 1st batch which is about a month old is almost gone and probably will be after the super bowl and everybody seems to like it. So far I am enjoying brewing and I'm glad I got into this hobby.
 
Interesting thread!
I belong to another unrelated board, some of the folks are home brewers and post about it occasionally. Sounded like they were having a lot of fun and they got me interested.
Several post here also. I followed their advice and came over, been doing a lot of reading and hope to have my first batch of nut brown ale in the fermentor before the end of the week,
 
I hate to admit it but my brother-in-law finally did something right. Last time I was on the west coast he insisted (insisted!) that we all go to the Pelican Brew Pub for lunch and to sample the beers.

I did not particularly like beer at the time and was somewhat reluctant to take nearly a full day out of my vacation to drive all the way to Pacific City just for a beer.

To say that I was pleasantly surprised by the establishment is an understatement. The food and service were first rate. The beer (is that the right word for what they make...beer?) was a revelation.

The tasting flight of award winners was what did me in. I forget what varieties were on it but I was damned sure I would not like the IPA because my previous experience with "ale" had been unpleasant (never mind what brand, I'll never tell).

These brews were, each and every one, the best beer I had ever had. Much to my infinite surprise and amazement the IPA was my favorite.

I have not had a beer anywhere near as "fresh" tasting as those I enjoyed at the Pelican Brew Pub although I have sought them out whenever beer was called for.

So much for background. As to how this happened, every year my wife asks what I want for Christmas even though she knows I hate the question. This past year to nip the inevitable question in the bud I casually mentioned one day out of seemingly thin air that I would would like to learn how to make beer.

My wife knows someone who has brewed at home extensively, and I've been married long enough to know that she would consult him and that he would steer her in the right direction.

I brewed a batch of kit Hefeweizen between Christmas and New Years and we have both really enjoyed the results. I am inclined to call it something other than beer, however, because that word can be applied to so many things that I simply will not drink. The follow-on American Pale Ale kit is clearly still green although I can taste the potential in it.

I also have an oatmeal stout brewing that I am very much looking forward to with an IPA and a cream ale kit on the way via UPS.

That is the story of how. Now a few words on the why...

First, we are into the whole slow food ethic as another poster mentioned above and this fits in well with that way of doing things. Knowing that there are no chemicals in my brew is very satisfying. I also like the idea that the brew is still "live" in that there are yeasties doing what they do inside. As another poster mentioned about himself, I too am an inveterate tinkerer and like to know how things work and whether I can do it myself, whatever "it" might be. Finally, I am a scientist by training and making beer is much like experimentation in the laboratory, with the exception that the data is always good.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it.
 
Just before xmas, I had someone else's homemade wine. It was just like an ugly child - it could only be loved by the parents. It was rough tasting and no smoothness at all. I hate home-made wine.

Then I told myself: "Self, you are going to make some home-made beer. Not just regular beer, but the best tasting homemade beer possible."

So .... my mission began .....

:ban::ban::ban:
 
i really started getting into different beers and craft brews and my father in law suggested it to me. I never thought that I would be this into it. In about 6 months I have gotten the kit, started kegging, built a kegerator, and am just wrapping up my all grain setup.

I just like having something to do all the time and I love beer so why not. I just dont drink it all that often. While I love beer and brewing I cannot bring myself to drink a beer or more each night for health / guilt / weight reasons.
 
One of my buddies has been homebrewing for the last 7 - 8 years and always made some really good beer. As I grew from thinking Labatt was good beer and got into craft and microbrews, I thought to myself, "there's thousands of people who (probably) aren't any smarter than I am that are making beer. Why not me?"

Then for my wedding last year, a couple of my buddies (including the one that brews) got me a starter kit from AHS. I've got two batches under my belt know and I'm hooked.
 
Back in like 2003 I was in college and read someone's website telling about how he had to get out of brewing because he was drinking too much. I thought to myself, "Brewing... that could be fun..."

After getting married two years ago, I started bugging my wife every once in a while about when I could buy the equipment. Living in an apartment, though, made things difficult, so she told me not until we got a house.

We bought a house in October, and within two weeks I had a Scotch Ale fermenting in the basement.

For a little background on me, I'm a computer programmer who loves to think about how stuff works. When I see a program do something cool, I automatically start working through how I would write something to do the same thing.

Add to that the fact that I love to cook, and like to tweak my recipes in little ways to see how to make them a bit better each time, and you've got someone just itching to be infected by the brewing bug.

As for the whole "and the rest is history" thing, PLEASE come up with some other phrase.
 
The number of experimenters and tinkerers in this thread really made me sit down and think about the overall number of different beers there are floating around in peoples homes.

And the disturbing fact that I'll never taste 99.999% of them. :(
 
Hegh said:
After getting married two years ago, I started bugging my wife every once in a while about when I could buy the equipment. Living in an apartment, though, made things difficult, so she told me not until we got a house.

We bought a house in October, and within two weeks I had a Scotch Ale fermenting in the basement.
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Heh, I had the same problem. There just wasn't any room to brew in our apartment. I'm sure that my wife wishes we were back in the apartment when I'm brewing and the whole house smells like boiling hops.
 
Stupidest answer ever: Aaaaanold Schwarznegger's character in the movie Twins mentioned that the Sumerians made beer (or something similar enough). Just the thought that this magical beverage has been a GINORMOUS part of human existence for thousands of years...well...I just had to learn to make it.
 
I like beer, I like cooking, I like to know how things work and why they are done, I like to be self sufficient, I like history and science. I guess you could say I am just curious. So, after tasting some homebrew and doing a little research I dove right in. Now I'm hopelessly hooked. God help me and bless my girlfriend when I start making my own fishing rods and lures, learn how to weld, making my own handmade arrows for my recurve, try my hand at taxidermy, etc.......etc.....................................
 
Bell- I'm pretty much the same way. I got into brewing because of a combination of curiosity, the desire to be self sufficient and the satisfaction of making something yourself. Oh yea...i love beer too. But i'll tell you what-since i started just before Christmas, it's become my new hobby/addiction. I'm just as interested in the process as I am in the end result and I'm on a constant quest to to improve and upgrade my equipment. I didn't really know anyone that brewed before i started but you'd be amazed once you start telling people that you brew your own beer how many connections you can make!
 
For me it started when I realized I preferred better beer. I was a young Marine and our "boat" (aircraft carrier) stopped in Hong Kong for a week. I had my first Guinness at a British club (Hong Kong was still British then) and it was all down hill from there as far as beer tastes go. I travelled around since then and really came to love British, German, and Belgian beers.

I toyed with the idea of brewing a few times over the next decade, but I stood firm on wanting to brew like commercial brewers brew (all grain), so I kept putting it off because it seemed intimidating.

Then a couple years ago, it dawned on me that I had the science background (science degree), mechanical abilities (former aircraft mechanic), and financial standing to make it happen. Plus I needed a hobby to get my mind off my crappy job at the time.

So, I studied it for about 3-4 months (thanks to John Palmer and HBT), built a 3-tier brew rig over the next couple months, bought a chest freezer and temp control, and brewed my first beer... a lager. My brew day was about 10 hours, but it was one of the most rewarding days in my recent life. 11 weeks later I cracked open my first beer and, although it was an unusual recipe for a lager, it was pretty damn good.
 
When my wife gave birth to our baby girl I decided I needed to set aside the very dirty, very loud, and very expensive hobby of building loudspeakers and trade it for a quieter, less time consuming hobby. At the same time I was getting interested in quality beer and was snooping around BeerAdvocate a lot and read their Beer 101 write-ups on homebrewing. A few weeks of reading up on HBT and it was time to get started.

I also figured it might be handy to have a lot of beer handy to take the edge off an evening of screaming baby...I was right.
 
This is my story, sad but true...
After 3+ years of being homeless in Boston, I was finally back on my feet. Some acquaintances of mine had started to brew. One day while waiting outside a club to see a band, they told us they'd brought some homebrew and wanted us to try it. So we ducked down an alley and proceded to drink it. A cop caught us. When we told him it was Homebrew, he kinda gave us that "wish I was off duty" look and said we'd better be gone when he came back in 20 minutes. We were.

Fast forward to the mid 90s. I was living in DC. An acquaintance was moving and trying to have less stuff. He had a beer-in-a-bag kit and gave it to me. I never used and ended up tossing it a few years later.

Then I was dating a cook who told me their apple cider would ferment if left too long in the fridge. So I bought a gallon and left it in my room. I went away for a week. When I got back, the jug was mostly empty and my room smelled strongly of vinegar. (My first blowoff.)

Fast forward again, to '05. A friend tells me he hasn't the time to brew anymore and gives me his 5g carboy with a sling. I move a couple of times and now I'm in a house I'm sure I'll be in for a while with a garage. So I finally got off my arse and have my 3rd batch bubbling. And as of last night my first batch is pretty much ready to drink.

I'm also a chronic re-inventor of the wheel. And I've never found anything that encourages this more than homebrewing. :)
 

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