What makes a home brewer

[schatzke]

So a friend of mine who was some of the reason I got into brewing(he brews also) came over last weekend as I was finishing up my brew day. It was my 1st 10 gal batch and my 2nd batch on my AG setup. He always talked about how much better AG beer was than extract. After a few home brews he say, "Well now you can call yourself a home brewer since you are making AG and doing larger batches". So I wasn't a home brewer before doing extracts? What exactly was I making then? Also according to him if you aren't making your own recipes its not "real" brewing.
Personally after the 1st bottle of my own brew(that tasted damn fine btw) I thought of my self as a home brewer.
So, what makes a home brewer?

 

[Auger]

It is pretentiousness like that which has turned me off from group brew days, brewing clubs, etc. Most people you meet are totally cool, but there seems to always been one person who, unknowingly or not, will make someone else feel inferior or bad. I was a homebrewer as of the minute I dumped a can of hopped malt extract into a pot and foamed it all over the stove. That beer sucked, but I still brewed it at home. When I first started the first 1 or 2 batches, I sort of thought, man I really need to brew a lot so I can step up my game, start doing all-grain and creating my own stuff. After about a year of doing extract and partial mash kits, I realized, hey you know what, these really work fine. I took a lot of time working on my process steps (yeast management, fermentation process, etc) before I went over to all-grain brewing.

 

[slym2none]

Even using Mr. Beer kits is actual home-brewing. It might be the easiest way ever, but it's still homebrewing.

That said, I personally didn't feel like I was a home-brewer until I was steeping grains & boiling hops. Still, that was with extracts, so your friend might be up on a bit of a high horse there.

 

[BrewerBrad82]

A homebrewer is a person who makes beer at home. Cut and dry. I dont care how much you make or how you make it. Its beer.

As in any walk of life there will be pretentious, pompous windbags. Just have to brush it off and brew on.

 

[Mackster]

I think home brewers should grow their own barley. Wait, did I say home brewers? I meant farmers.

 

[beergolf]

So brewers that do not make 10 gallon batches and do all grain are not homebrewers?

Wow. What a pompous ass. So the brewers that have won awards with mere 5 gallon batches and that did it using partial mash or extract with steeping grains must not have been homebrewers, so take away their awards.

 

[Sailingeric]

I am still doing extracts for over a year so maybe this summer I will be come a real brewer. In the meantime I will just have to apologize to all my friends who love to drink my "amateur attempt at beer."

 

[cyanmonkey]

[ame]https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=M9BEQ7WpyC4[/ame]

This man has brewed over 1,000 batches of beer. Every single one extract/partial mash.

That means he's not a home brewer?

 

[Mismost]

A homebrewer is a person who makes beer at home. Cut and dry. I dont care how much you make or how you make it. Its beer.

As in any walk of life there will be pretentious, pompous windbags. Just have to brush it off and brew on.

That last part is so true! Be it beer, shotguns, sailboats, dirt bikes, fishing, sales, or Easter Egg hunting there will be pretentious, pompous, windbags!

What I really, really hate....is sometimes, they are actually right....just hate that part!

You're doing 10 gallon batches, I'd say that is really home brewing!

 

[lumpher]

i do extract, pm's, and 10 gallon ag, but i don't really feel like a MAN or a HOMEBREWER!!!!!! unless i'm doing the ag 10 gallons. the other stuff doesn't remotely taste like beer or get me drunk... :rockin:

 

[Todd820]

If you turned malt derived sugars into alcohol using yeast in your home you are a home brewer. Hopped extract, extract + specialty grains, BIAB, 10 gallon HERMS, whatever.

 

[JonW]

I do 15 gallon all grain batches and I sometimes get snarky remarks from people that I'm not really brewing since I've incorporated so much automation.

 

[1977Brewer]

I do 15 gallon all grain batches and I sometimes get snarky remarks from people that I'm not really brewing since I've incorporated so much automation.

What the.