Why and when did you start brewing?

[sportscrazed2]

I am taking a college course on brewing science. Figured it would be worth trying out. Only cost me around $100 to get started. Now I already spent another $50 on a turkey fryer and am going to get a mash tun and immersion chiller soon

 

[HumanGarbage]

For me it started in 2006. A old buddy of mine from the neighbourhood happened to be in a college class with one of my housemates. He invited the guy over to reconnect and reminisce.

Buddy shows up with a pile of beer with no labels. As background, this man can drink... Him polishing a case off by himself a night was not unheard of. Needless to say, when you drink that much economics come into play. Additionally his brand was John Labatt Classic, one of the 'premium' lagers up here at the time. He had long before started brewing a clone of JLC at a 'brew on premises' place in our hometown. For what he was paying, and the quality of the brew, it was a no-brainer that I start. At the time I was drinking McEwan Scotch exclusively (@ 13.60 for a 6'er) so it really helped motivate me to give homebrewing it a try.

I went to the 'homebrew' place that my friend went to. It is the sort of place they brew it up and all the patron does is pitch the yeast (making it homebrew under our liquor laws). Choose your recipe and come back in a few hours to pitch, a few weeks later to bottle. That is all there was to it.

Being a very curious person, I wanted to see how it was all done first hand. This must have been unusual, because the girl on the counter had to go back and make sure it was OK. After some negotiation, I was allowed back to see my brew being made. I couldn't believe what I saw... This place had pallets of boxed brew kits (pale ale flavour) and were simply adding steeped adjuncts and hops to create one of the recipes in their book. I was disgusted to put it mildly. Hell I though, if that is all they do I might as well cut out the middleman. That was my first and last batch with them.

I checked the interwebz and found a LHBS. I went in and got a starter kit and bulk extract, adjunct grain, and hops. The rest has just been a progression. I now do all grain, have 4 primaries, 4 secondaries, 9 corneys and a four keg kegorator. Building a electric RIMS currently.

One of the best hobbies going. I'm glad that my buddy introduced me to it... All by chance. I can't image life without brewing. I've since lost touch with the guy who got me going (again). On the off chance he is a member here, thanks Earl!

 

[JBrady]

I started brewing because I just straight up love beer. I was 22 when I first started researching about home brewing once I found out that the BMC crap that I had been drinking since I was 16 wasn't even in the same league as awesome craft beer. I've always been a hobby oriented person so home brewing seemed like the best way to get the most out of my recreational dollars. After that first brew I was hooked.

 

[MoonUnitAlpha]

I love to do it myself when it comes to food (smoking BBQ, baking bread, whipping mayonnaise, making wine, etc.) Basically, I try to remove as many middlemen between me and my vices. Beer was an obvious next step, but I have been intimidated by the equipment I would need and all the amazing craft beer all around me here in Asheville, NC.

A friend of mine who taught with me at my school moved overseas last year and sold off lots of his stuff cheap beforehand. I snagged a $125 brewing starter kit for $25 and was thus out of excuses.

My first batch two months ago was a super-simple all extract pale ale with a packet of dry yeast I pitched straight in. I found out later I made lots of noob mistakes, but the beer was awesome! Tomorrow I'm brewing that recipe again a little smoother, and it will be my sixth batch.

My fermenter always sits on my bathroom counter--the only place in my apartment that is cool, dark, and safe from my children. When I'm between batches I feel a little lonely when I'm brushing my teeth (or whatever) because I don't have my little yeast farm bubbling away keeping me company farting CO2 and pissing alcohol.

Fortunately, my wife also loves good beer and can do the math to compare $8 six-packs from the store vs. $30 worth of hops, grain, and extract to make 50 bottles. When I'm out of this apartment and my kids grow a little older I'm looking forward to all-grain, full-batch, and kegging.

 

[Ryush806]

I started brewing about two years ago when I moved to a tiny town in SE Arkansas. I have to drive an hour to even think about getting some craft beer so I decided to make some for myself. Now I'm hooked!

 

[Dawnhulio]

A) I've always enjoyed beer, and wanted to know the 'why' and 'how' beer gets to be... beer.
B) As echoed before, I like doing stuff for myself. And honestly, the handbag I carry, made out of an old handyman's book, says so ... 'Do It Yourself'... I like canning, gardening, home repair, hate preparing meals from boxes, and love McGyvering stuff.
C) Got into it about a year and a half ago with a Groupon for a starter kit from Midwest. Haven't looked back. Enjoy the process and truly enjoy the tasty beers. Wonder why I didn't start sooner.

My dad would be so proud.

 

[Saxomophone]

My Dad brewed when I was a kid. All I remember was a big glass jug with a glass curvy thing sticking out the top in the basement though.

When I got older I found his home brew book and read it. I wish I knew what happened to it but by the time I got to college I knew it could be done so I went out and bought "The Complete Joy of Home Brewing". All I had was the book and a local home brew store located at the Montgomeryville Mart and that's how I got started in about 1995.

I wish I had all the resources available to new brewers today. It would have saved many bad batches, siphoning, bottling, and sanitation issues, and I probably wouldn't have quit for several years out of frustration at ruined batches.

 

[Brulosopher]

I was almost 22 y/o (2002), living in the Pacific Northwest (Bellingham, WA), and drinking a ton of commercial and brewpub (Boundary Bay) beer. One of my colleagues at a group home I worked at mentioned he brewed his own beer. This intrigued me. The next weekend, I purchased an Irish Red kit from North Corner Brew Supply. My roommate and I brewed 8 batches (extract) the following 8 months.

Then I got married and moved to Fresno, CA... and started grad school. I was broke and it was hot. I helped some friends brew, but my gear gathered dust. Then...

I graduated and started working... income! After a few months, I brought up the fact I used to brew with the dude I carpool'd with. This intrigued him. That weekend (January 2011), we bought ingredients for an old IPA recipe I designed back in 2002. After that batch, I've yet to turn back. I now brew 11 gal batches every other week on a single tier system, all grain, pumps, plate chiller, etc, etc. My pal, krispy3d on HBT, has since moved (lame) and brews smaller batches often. It is a priority in my life... just after my family

 

[KuntzBrewing]

I love beer, cooking and math. I'm surprised it took me so long to discover the hobby.

For some reason I read this and thought it said "I love beer and cooking meth" lol

 

[ahaley]

For some reason I read this and thought it said "I love beer and cooking meth" lol

I thought the same thing....

 

[JiBiru8]

Love all the stories on here so far.

My parents bought me a Mr. Beer kit when I was in high school, and the beer I made was disgusting. Well, it may not have been disgusting, but being a dumb high school kid I thought everything was disgusting, even Sierra Nevada (the crème de la crème back then). Years later, I was working a desk job that had a lot of down time. I spent a lot of that time on the Internet, and John Palmer's How to Brew website was a site I quickly got interested in. Not having really brewed before, a lot of the information was over my head, but I understood that it was possible to make beer at home, and "real" beer, not just dumping powder in a plastic tub like Mr. Beer.

After quitting that job and having some time, I went to my LHBS, picked up a kit, and have been loving home brewing ever since! I can't remember the last time I drank a commercial beer at home. Also, I recently made the first beer that my wife truly liked, EdWort's Robust Porter (though not as robust as his recipe). Thanks Ed!

 

[Zabuza]

Did a morebeer kit my Junior year of college, can't remember how I discovered that. Thought it would be pretty cool to "make beer." I was all like, "I can do whatever I WANT, man!" Had ideas for hopbursted stouts, lager malt profiles being fermented with ale yeasts, making fruit beers for chicks...

Then I found out how the morebeer kits worked and I was PISSED. There had to be a more customizable way of doing this, I thought. Did a bunch of research online, got a summer job, saved up a bunch of money....

And way overspent myself on a 27 gal Blichmann fermenator and associated equipment. Huge ass brew kettle, burner, hosing, pump to move the wort, counter-flow chiller, etc. Thought I could make a lot of my money back by selling quality beer at a slight profit that would still be cheap enough for undergrads to buy. Needless to say, people didn't want to pay $50 for 50 beer corny kegs, they wanted to pay $15 for a 30-stone. Made a few batches that were way too large for myself and my friends, then gave up.

Didn't brew for the 4 years between senior year and now (grad school's a bitch), but started up again in April after tons of reading and whatnot (one good thing about being in philosophy is you get used to reading and researching topics). Downsized to 5 gal batches and couldn't be happier. I've made 17 batches so far (one each week). Huzzah! I've finally found my stride.

 

[PapsD]

I'd always been into beer other than the typical light lager crap. I'm a lifelong hunter and fisherman and also enjoyed cooking. I always bought something different when buying beer. After I graduated highschool I joined the Navy and was stationed in Japan and tried all the beer NEX mini mart and base club had to offer and got hooked on Heineken and Stella Artois. When I was deployed to SE Asia at the time of the world cup in 2006 and discovered Carlsburg thanks to all the bars in Singapore with Carlsburg specials. I also got into wine for a brief period. After I got out and came back to the Chicago area I discovered binny's beverage depot and tried a lot more craft beers when I was going to community college. I was about to graduate in May of 2010 and I had a job got a few good paychecks. Was drinking some beer and surfing amazon.com and bought a homebrew kit from 7 bridges cooperative. It was an awesome west coast red ale. And I've been brewing and trying every craft beer I can find ever since. I bought a house later in 2010 and have been brewing all grain since 2011. I did a few BIAB batches without even knowing what is was. It's an awesome hobby that really complements my other hobbies of hunting and cooking. I've been brewing less frequently lately because I'm also trying to restore my landcruiser. a 1984 fj60 to aid me in my hobbies and owning a home.

 

[November]

I took up brewing about 5 years ago. I was in an accident that had severed my hand, the doctors reattached it, but I was left unable to work for about 8 months. A friend recommended that I take up brewing as a hobby. It helped pass the time between operations and probably made me more tolerable to my wife. I've been brewing more or less non-stop ever since.

 

[Genuine]

Started for me last year when I helped a friend brew a milk chocolate stout. I've been hooked ever since. I got all the gear I needed for all grain and haven't looked back. I have a simple set up, but it works and works well. Just got into kegging and it's a great experience. I've met a lot of great friends through beer and brewing!

 

[Jakeintoledo]

My wife got me a homebrew kit as a gift for Christmas last year. After opening it, I told her I'd either "Hate it or turn the basement into a brewery".

Guess which end of the spectrum I"m at? lol.

I've only been doing it for 8-1/2 months. I've obviously got a ****LOAD to learn, but so far, it's been a blast. I average about 5 gallons a week, and give half of it away. It's made me a somewhat popular guy in my circle of friends.

 

[KraphtBier]

I got a phone call in the middle of the night three and a half years ago. My friends wife had left him and he was incrediably upset. I sent a mutual friend to get him (a 6 hour round trip). A week later he shows up at my house after work and has all the equipment needed to produce beer. I indulged him because he said it would help him heal and I thought it would be cool to make my own beer. That was several hundred gallons of beer ago.

 

[bottlebomber]

I started sitting in on extract brews with a friend in about 2008. It quickly dawned on me that he didn't know what the heck he was doing, even after being at it for years. He would buy and hang on to ingredients for eons, and then direct pitch a vial that was expired for many months. He had no passion for brewing. Once I had him order me a kit, used his equipment, and it blew away anything he had made ever. After that, he had me do the brewing. Finally I broke away from his scene, and took up all grain brewing at the beginning of last year. I have a strong background in cooking, so making recipes and trying new techniques is what I'm all about.

 

[Jim1234]

I was lucky enough to have my inlaws (sister's husband's parents) own the local homebrew shop, and I got a beginner brew kit for my 21st birthday!!!

 

[BrewinHooligan]

For Christmas last year my wife gave me a Mr Beer kit thinking it would be something I would play with a little and move on. She obviously doesn't know me too well because after 4 Mr Beer brews, I jumped head first into all grain brewing with the encouragement of our friend who has been brewing for 6 years and now 1/4 of the garage is filled with bottles, kettles, buckets, and a newly acquired propane burner. She has started complaining some about all the stuff, but she got me started so she can only blame herself and I'm paying less for beer(apart from equipment but am in for less than $200 right now) than I used to and drinking better beer too.

 

[BrewingRugger]

It was about three years ago me and swmbo were talking about getting into a hobby together to spend time together that did not involve our kids. We came across homebrewing on the internet, found out there was a lhbs near our house and went in to check it out. We did not buy anything that first time or the even the third. We got as much information for the owner and the employees as we could about making beer and wine. We got a tax refund check went to the LHBS got a starter kit and an IPA better brewers kit and took off. After a couple kits found out swmbo was pregnet and our hobby quickly became my hobby. Now there is no looking back doing all-grain, want to do competitions, and I am starting my own homebrew club.

 

[HeavyHandedBrewing]

Two years after starting this thread it continues to amaze me at the multitude of ways people find out and start this hobby. Homebrewing is my mistress and my wife is okay with it, which is awesome.