What made you start brewing?

[Penguin]

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.

 

[MikeG]

Early B-day present from loving wife Xmas of '07. We have enjoyed sampling beers everywhere we went. She had given her father one years ago, which he tried once and decided it wasn't for him. She was hoping I'd do the same thing. No such luck!!

Went from Coopers kit, to LHBS kits to AG lickety split. Now I'm looking for a way to get a 10gal fermenter past her.

I started the same way, except it was Xmas day I was opening these large boxes thinking WTF? Wife was running around Xmas eve and happened to notice the LHBS actually open and while I didn't technically start until a few months later I love it!

 

[mattmcl]

I was 19, and it was cheaper than buying it.

That was a long time ago though, before malt and hops skyrocketed.

 

[Bullbythehorns]

I used to be a John Deere Technician, fancy name for mechanic, and lived on Natty light by the case for years. Then I switched careers and began to travel the world and enjoyed the beers that suddenly became available. My taste buds and my friends were changing and since I live in a rural area, there are very few options outside of the BMC world. I decided a year + 1 month ago to embark on the journey of homebrewing and absolutely love it. I have yet to make the same beer twice, and I have enjoyed every one of them I have brewed. Plus an added bonus, I have introduced and converted some of my lifelong friends to beer with flavor and 3 have jumped onto the homebrewing bandwagon with me.

 

[llazy_llama]

Plus an added bonus, I have introduced and converted some of my lifelong friends to beer with flavor and 3 have jumped onto the homebrewing bandwagon with me.

That's what I like to hear. I'm looking forward to the day I can give a mug of homebrew to a friend and have them say, "Wow, you made this!?! Could I do it too?"

 

[KDM]

I'm 7th generation in a German immigrant family in Texas, and that's probably all anyone needs to know right there.

But I make most my own fun stuff, including wooden canoes and kayaks, large astronomical telescopes, fly and conventional fishing tackle, etc; I grow a lot of my own fruits, vegetables and meats. The only mystery here is how on Earth it took so long for me to get into this nutty business. Heck, I've been thinking I ought to do it for YEARS.

I was always intriqued by my father's stories from his childhood of our grandfathers back on the farm brewing their own beer and root beer, and I've always wanted to learn how they did it. I don't know that I'm getting anywhere on that score, though; the more I learn the more I wonder how in the world they managed in rural Texas during the Depression and before. Wonder if the beer they made was really good or really awful? If anyone knows anything about home brewing in "yesteryear", please PM with whatever you have!

And boy oh boy, you ought to hear old Dad talk about the BBQ's they used to have... OMG. :cross:

 

[HSM]

Somewhere between collecting pinball machines and RC Airplanes I got into HomeBrewing. It was pre-WWW.com so I had to use the yellow pages to find a LHBS. Been doing it ever since. I don't actually recall what lit the spark, probably just curiousity.

 

[Yooper]

I had tried using the BeerMachine 2000, with not-so-great results. One of my hockey teammates skated into me by accident, and broke my leg in three places. Since I was confined to a wheelchair and/or crutches for the next 18 months, I was in need of a hobby that didn't require much effort. (I was into camping, hiking, canoeing, etc). So, since they made wine, I said the least you can do is tell me how to do that to make up for breaking my leg. I learned a bit, but also learned wine takes forever! Since I had all the equipment for wine, I got online and found HBT and learned to make beer.

I started with extract and steeping grains, and it was good.

 

[impatient]

I was 22. I loved beer. Back then I hated BMC and I was driving to meet my then, new girfriend, future wife and now current ex.

I passed a home brew shop and noticed this bright light shining upon it. Some say it was the fluorescents from the "you can make your own beer" sign out front.. I think it was an epiphany.

I didn't stop that day, but it haunted my thoughts all night so bad that I had to make the trip back the next day. I swear I heard angelic music when I first stepped through the threshhold but it was an older building with a small doorframe and being a taller fellow, I banged my head on the low hanging bells that told the guy someone had just opened the door.

I walked around in a daze, partially from the mild concussion of the blow to the head, and stumbled upon my first brew kit.

I stumbled because the guy was a slob and there was crap all over the place. I came around the display of extract and tripped over a box he had in the middle of the floor.

You know those "Break it you bought it" signs? I broke it.

Not needing a sign, but wanting a kit, he talked me into everything I needed and a bunch of stuff I didn't.

I was blinded by the vast array of toys and extracts and bottles. I was also blinded by the 300 watt light bulbs this guy had in every socket. Christ he was blind!

I was more than happy to fork over part of my paycheck and most of my girlfriends for the next couple of months for books and magazines and ingredients. She never shared my love of the brew. She never shared much to be honest but that's a thing of the past and I still brew. I still love beer too.

WOW

 

[kaptain_karma]

I started brewing several years ago when a roomate's dad gave us a starter kit. I was a drunk back then (still am to some extent) and thought homebrewing would be a sweet way to have cheap beer around all the time. During the first brew session, I became completely enchanted with the process. I got some friends into the hobby, and we started brewing at least once a week. Within six months, I went all-grain.

 

[Rubberband]

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.

 

[NYbrewer]

A friend at work brought in a couple of homebrews..rest is history..

 

[caver95]

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.

 

[beds]

peer pressure

 

[reim0027]

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.

 

[schweaty]

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.

 

[petep1980]

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.

 

[beersydoesit]

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.

 

[Kungpaodog]

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.

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.

 

[Warpig75]

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.

 

[chance85]

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

 

[Heineken]

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.

 

[delarob]

this hobby isn't as expensive as... the 850 dollar ham radio i got

Yet. Give it time.

 

[OverHopped]

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.

 

[caver95]

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

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.

 

[Maveric777]

Ha Ha! No doubt Caver.....

 

[fratermus]

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.

 

[pjj2ba]

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.

 

[JLem]

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....

 

[BioBeing]

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