Who brews all they drink? Who still buys beer?

[Laughing_Gnome_Invisible]

I went on a spree of trying every craft brew i could find, to see what it was I wanted to brew. Since the summer though, I think i have brought maybe only 2 or 3 six packs, and drink mainly just my own.

Hmmm I went through a stage like that too. As a consequence I am not a huge fan of craft brews. There are plenty of good ones sure, but at the risk of getting hounded down here, I found that far too many craft brews are just trying WAY too hard to be distinctive/trendy/wild, whatever.

I don't have the cash to waste on someone else's experiments. I'll buy stuff from Great Lakes because it's always good and I can use the bottles, but apart from the very occasional foray into other craft beers, I'm about done with them.

 

[shortyjacobs]

There wasn't really an option for me. I only pay for homebrew to make. I do drink other beer but never buy it. I often times bring homebrew to my friends houses, then get their craft beer in return. So I just put down "I only drink what I brew" since it was likely the closest answer for what you were going for.

Swapping is really a win, win. I get to talk about beer, which I love. I get to try great beer, which is also quite enjoyable. And, is cheap. Nothing like swapping 75 cent bottles for 3 buck bottles.

Yeah, close enough.... I mean, I checked "I only drink what I make", but I can't bring my beer to restaurants, so that's when I try new ones, and I can't bring my beer on brewery tours, (mite bit pretentious anyway), so I get to try those to

 

[hal2814]

Hmmm I went through a stage like that too. As a consequence I am not a huge fan of craft brews. There are plenty of good ones sure, but at the risk of getting hounded down here, I found that far too many craft brews are just trying WAY too hard to be distinctive/trendy/wild, whatever.

I don't have the cash to waste on someone else's experiments. I'll buy stuff from Great Lakes because it's always good and I can use the bottles, but apart from the very occasional foray into other craft beers, I'm about done with them.

You'll get no hounding from me. I still like craft brews but there's an incredibly high noise-to-signal ratio, especially in the pale ale, IPA, and stout categories. And I agree that a lot of that noise is trying to outdo the competition. For example, it's fast becoming a hophead's world in craft brewing. Not that hops are bad but I don't want to rub them on my eyeballs while I'm drinking my beer. 10 years ago what they called an IPA would today merely be a Pale Ale. That leads me to having a hard time trusting what I read on the label and that makes it tough for me to pull the trigger on an IPA purchase these days.

 

[Laughing_Gnome_Invisible]

You'll get no hounding from me. I still like craft brews but there's an incredibly high noise-to-signal ratio, especially in the pale ale, IPA, and stout categories. And I agree that a lot of that noise is trying to outdo the competition. For example, it's fast becoming a hophead's world in craft brewing. Not that hops are bad but I don't want to rub them on my eyeballs while I'm drinking my beer. 10 years ago what they called an IPA would today merely be a Pale Ale. That leads me to having a hard time trusting what I read on the label and that makes it tough for me to pull the trigger on an IPA purchase these days.

You said it better than me, and for that, sir, I thank you.

 

[wildwest450]

You'll get no hounding from me. I still like craft brews but there's an incredibly high noise-to-signal ratio, especially in the pale ale, IPA, and stout categories. And I agree that a lot of that noise is trying to outdo the competition. For example, it's fast becoming a hophead's world in craft brewing. Not that hops are bad but I don't want to rub them on my eyeballs while I'm drinking my beer. 10 years ago what they called an IPA would today merely be a Pale Ale. That leads me to having a hard time trusting what I read on the label and that makes it tough for me to pull the trigger on an IPA purchase these days.

Ball to you sir! As i'm sipping on my Pliny clone.

I do agree with you to an extent though.

 

[passedpawn]

Friday after work I pick up 2 or three loose bottles at the local craft store. I never go to bars, and rarely eat out, so other than the Friday treat, it's all Mine.

 

[Laughing_Gnome_Invisible]

Friday after work I pick up 2 or three loose bottles at the local craft store. I never go to bars, and rarely eat out

Bloody serial killers. There is one in every forum!

 

[TeufelBrew]

I will drink my homebrew exclusively when I can brew as well as the best brewers int he world...... yeah not soon.

Exactly. Yes, I make good beer. If I didn't I wouldn't keep brewing

However, (and there is always a however in life) most of those craft brewers make much better beer than I can make. So, yeah, I buy craft brew. Just not as frequently as before I started brewing 2 years ago. A few brewers will always have a home in my beer fridge, and I can suplement with my own creations any time.

 

[FxdGrMind]

I only started brewing because I couldn't stand the stuff in the store... The Good stuff was just too expensive at $10/6pack... or more!!!

So I went whole hog! Brew stuff, Kegerator, Kegs, CO2....

The only beer in bottles in my house/fridge is stuff that other people have given or put there... Some of it is 24months or more old and collecting "Dust". I just will not drink it.

I'm happy drinking my own and love the challenge! Nothing better in my opinion.:rockin:

 

[david_42]

I live in Beervana. There's 80+ professionals out there making beer and much of it is in styles I rarely or never brew because I only want one occasionally. My beers tend to be small and dark, styles that are hard to find commercially.

 

[jgln]

Bloody serial killers. There is one in every forum!

They just found one in OHIO.



...edit...adds smiley face...

 

[Gordie]

I drink my own beer, but I also I buy other people's beer and I even occasionally buy my own beer. : )

 

[BrewBrain]

I voted I only drink what I brew because I pretty much only buy beer now to get new ideas for my homebrewing. I'm 95%+ my own beer.

 

[Bsquared]

I drink mainly my home brew, but do buy a bit of commercial beers. I try to buy beers I have not had before and beers from the smaller breweries. One thing I try not to do is buy beer from the big supermarkets like Vons, safeway etc. It might cost a little bit more, but we got to keep the little guys going that can't get shelf space in the big market chains.

 

[foxtrot]

I only buy beer for camping trips, like Dale's in cans. Other than that, I only buy beers that are difficult to clone or styles I don't want a whole keg of.

 

[yummybeer]

i'm 50/50 on the poll. i usually have some store bought in case i might be waiting on a batch to finish. when i buy bottled beer from the store, i buy pry-off capped bottles 90% of the time so i can use the bottles afterwards.

 

[BA_from_GA]

right now probably won't need to buy any beer until spring... but i'll buy some of the christmas seasonals that i enjoy. Last time i bought beer was DFH punkin end of september.

 

[gxm]

I mostly drink my own (90% probably), except when out at bars. I never buy bottles anymore.
I agree with Laughing Gnome and hal2814, that many craft brewers out there are just trying too hard. Especially living in Beervana, which may need to be renamed Hopvana. I like a good hoppy beer on occasion, but not every day, and I'd like less crystal malt thank you.

I think my beer *is* better than most craft beer out there, and it's not because I'm a better brewer, it's because I'm brewing to my taste. I can brew my Golden Strong to the strength and flavor I want. I can make my Pils more interesting to me than any other Pils I've had. I can let my Barleywine age for a year before drinking it. I can brew very interesting and tasty 3.5% beers. You just can't find tasty low alcohol stuff w/o spending a fortune on imports.
These are all reasons that I probably shouldn't go into commercial brewing

 

[pdbreen]

There's enough good beer on the market these days that you have to include some store bought/pub bought beer in your diet. It's how you learn.

 

[yummybeer]

i will also add that i might buy beer from the store or pub to see if it's something i might like to try to clone.

 

[shortyjacobs]

I think my beer *is* better than most craft beer out there, and it's not because I'm a better brewer, it's because I'm brewing to my taste. I can brew my Golden Strong to the strength and flavor I want. I can make my Pils more interesting to me than any other Pils I've had. I can let my Barleywine age for a year before drinking it. I can brew very interesting and tasty 3.5% beers. You just can't find tasty low alcohol stuff w/o spending a fortune on imports.

Very well said! I love craft beers, but I ADORE my own beer, and I've only been brewing for a few months...

Thanks to this kickass site, I've avoided years of "nooby mistakes", and my beer when from crap to "OK" between batch 1 and batch 2, and from OK to GREAT!!! somewhere around batch 5. I feel sad when I'm out now, cuz I have to drink something someone "else" brewed.

Not to say I'm better than them. I am so not worthy. 99/100 times the general public would take many of the good craft brews over mine....but I brew for me. (And SWMBO, who recently remarked after coming home from a bar, "wow, I realize how great your beer is now")

 

[Palefire]

I pretty much drink only my beer, mostly because I promised SWMBO that all these purchases of brewing equipment meant that we wouldn't have to spend money on beer anymore. Works pretty good, unless I make a lousy batch, in which case, well, that's what we're drinkin' in this house.

 

[Livendadream]

I usually buy the seasonal, hard to get, once a year offerings from different breweries. I like variety and trying new brews.

 

[mattmcl]

Ditto above. Boulder is a HUGE microbrew capital, but they have been infected with the overhop virus that started out west. WAY too much hops in everything. I don't mind an IPA once in a while, but my stomach just can't handle that much consistently. So I brew all the beer I drink.

But I still buy Scotch, vodka and bourbon.

 

[slouch]

I bottle, no keg equipment yet. I am also building my cellar. So I usually buy the seasonal brews from my favorite breweries to try what they are making this season. This provides inspiration as well as bottles to build my collection. I regularly buy Grolsh for the bottles as I like to put mead and lager in them.

I also give bottles away when we go for dinner, etc... So I don't have an exact ratio. I like to keep my bottles and carboys full, and like lots of variety.

 

[Baldy_Beer_Brewery]

I don't like beer, I love beer. Why limit myself to just my own home brew?

 

[COLObrewer]

I buy some beer when my pipeline is clogged up with wine and cider like it is right now, also been hunting (hiking with a gun) for 3 weeks so it cuts into brewing time. The weather is about perfect right now for malting so I'll probably be doing some of that, that'll get the brewing juices flowing. Otherwise there is still some homebrew in "reserve" if I get desperate for something GOOD!

 

[agroff383]

I am about half and half, my pipeline is running low since I brew outside and it isn't as nice to do it, and I see a lot of brews at the store that I want to try and cannot brew, and I also buy to keep my bottle supply up.

 

[thisjrp4]

Since the Summer of 2008 I've probably only bought a case of beer to supplement my homebrew for at home drinking. I have a constant supply of homebrew on tap, and it is not too tough to maintain. Before I got my kegging set up and before I found my rhythm on brew day I brewed a lot less frequently. Now I brew 5 gallons in about 5 hours after work so I'm not cutting into the weekends. My conical saves a lot of time, and of course kegging is a great time saver as well. On top of really liking the beers I brew I hate spending $10 on a 6 pack considering I'm brewing 5 gallons for around $20.

 

[passedpawn]

Truth is, I like brewing at least as much as drinking it, so I brew at least every other weekend. I now make 10g batches because it is so easy to do so.

So, I have to keep drinking my own or else the beer will crowd me out of my house!