You know you're a home brewer when?

[Amadeo38]

When you’re hand-washing pots, pans, and dishes and give an extra good scrub to the “cold side” items like forks and spoons.

 

[JAReeves]

When you realize you need to buy a couple of cases of beer (and do a marathon drinking session) because you don't have enough bottles to empty out the keezer of the specialty/seasonal beers; so you can make room for the clone of the beer you are buying.

 

[porterguy]

When you feel you've let down yourself and SWIMBO when you realize that you waited too long and the pipeline will dry up before the next homebrew is ready to drink. And you feel you HAVE to go out and actually purchase beer to maintain balance in the universe (and peace in the household).

 

[seatazzz]

When you feel you've let down yourself and SWIMBO when you realize that you waited too long and the pipeline will dry up before the next homebrew is ready to drink. And you feel you HAVE to go out and actually purchase beer to maintain balance in the universe (and peace in the household).

I track my success in brewing each batch by how long it's been since I had to buy commercial beer, other than the occasional bomber for either comparison to one I've cloned, or trying something new that I might WANT to clone. And those rare instances when the pipeline completely runs out.

 

[seatazzz]

You know you're a really stupid homebrewer when...you're sick as a dog with a bad cold (or perhaps something worse, gonna go get tested tomorrow) and you decide that you have to brew a 10g batch just to make sure the pipeline is full. And then realize; if I do have the 'rona (oh please not) I will have 14 days to brew whatever the hell I want. Now I have a monstrous mash bag full of cold wet grain that I still have to dump, but two beautiful fermonsters in the ferment fridge.

 

[Dancy]

When you feel you've let down yourself and SWIMBO when you realize that you waited too long and the pipeline will dry up before the next homebrew is ready to drink. And you feel you HAVE to go out and actually purchase beer to maintain balance in the universe (and peace in the household).

I also use it as an excuse to buy some bourbon

 

[corkybstewart]

You know you're a really stupid homebrewer when...you're sick as a dog with a bad cold (or perhaps something worse, gonna go get tested tomorrow) and you decide that you have to brew a 10g batch just to make sure the pipeline is full. And then realize; if I do have the 'rona (oh please not) I will have 14 days to brew whatever the hell I want. Now I have a monstrous mash bag full of cold wet grain that I still have to dump, but two beautiful fermonsters in the ferment fridge.

Back in 1996 I was about to have double hernia surgery and I knew I'd be down for a while so I brewed 2 batches. The night before the surgery I was up until 3 am bottling so I'd have something to drink while I recovered. Wifey was not happy that I wasn't resting.

 

[porterguy]

When you help your daughter "prepare" for college by letting her try the different styles of beer you make so that she is "educated" prior to getting to college. And she later confesses that her first two beers at college were a PBR and a Guiness. She had already developed a preference for dark beers.

 

[mcmeador]

When your wife is about to boil water to sanitize a bunch of small bottles to make vanilla extract, and you say, “Why don’t you just drop them all in this bucket of Star San?”

 

[Snark_Wolf_Brewing]

When you really want to get into kegging, but can't justify the cost of an extra fridge, lack the space for an extra fridge, know from taking careful measurements that you can't fit a 5 pound CO2 tank in your current fridge, already tried the 5 liter mini kegs with the Party Tap and @#$ing hate them....so you spend hours online scouring forums for viable alternatives.

 

[dnr]

When you go shopping and you start looking at snack food as possible additions to a brew day.
Canned pumpkin and graham crackers a few days before Thanksgiving. Not for a pie. It's for my latest ale.

Same goes for foods my wife doesn't like. I freeze it and throw it in a beer now.
Added Trader Joe's cold brew concentrate to half my pumpkin ale, added pumpkin spice and brown sugar.
I have a pumpkin spice latte ale.
Thanks, hon'.

And when you happily go to Bed Bath and Beyond with your wife because you can find stuff that might make brew day easier.

 

[Erik the Anglophile]

When you can count the number of batches you have made on your hands, but after 2 or 3 realised you need a reliable way of controlling ferm temps, so now you have a fridge in your garden shed that ABSOLUTELY NOT is for storing food.
Yet you are already trying to convince your significant better that you need another one, and it definitely won't take up THAT much space in the laundry room, because you have no cellar and want to age your beer in a cellar like enviroment.
When you own doubles of many kitchen items(strainers, wooden spoons etc), that you would never dream of using for cooking.

 

[Jayjay1976]

This sounds totally nuts, even to me. Been a cat daddy to some sweet feline friends for 20+ years. Started brewing maybe 3~ish years ago, and noticed at some point that certain hops had a "catty" aroma. Years go by, several dozen batches of IPA's, etc. Fast forward to now. Our recent rescue cat, Milo, a prodigious peepee factory, his litterbox disgustingly but not altogether unpleasantly reminds me of galaxy, mosaic, and el dorado hops, if you take my meaning. Am I weird, are those hops weird, or is my cat a beer God?

Guess you know you're a homebrewer when scooping the litterbox makes you think about brewing an IPA.

 

[mcmeador]

This sounds totally nuts, even to me. Been a cat daddy to some sweet feline friends for 20+ years. Started brewing maybe 3~ish years ago, and noticed at some point that certain hops had a "catty" aroma. Years go by, several dozen batches of IPA's, etc. Fast forward to now. Our recent rescue cat, Milo, a prodigious peepee factory, his litterbox disgustingly but not altogether unpleasantly reminds me of galaxy, mosaic, and el dorado hops, if you take my meaning. Am I weird, are those hops weird, or is my cat a beer God?

Ever used Sorachi Ace?

 

[catdaddy66]

This sounds totally nuts, even to me. Been a cat daddy to some sweet feline friends for 20+ years. Started brewing maybe 3~ish years ago, and noticed at some point that certain hops had a "catty" aroma. Years go by, several dozen batches of IPA's, etc. Fast forward to now. Our recent rescue cat, Milo, a prodigious peepee factory, his litterbox disgustingly but not altogether unpleasantly reminds me of galaxy, mosaic, and el dorado hops, if you take my meaning. Am I weird, are those hops weird, or is my cat a beer God?

Guess you know you're a homebrewer when scooping the litterbox makes you think about brewing an IPA.

Dude! Thanks for the compliment...

 

[Snark_Wolf_Brewing]

Ever used Sorachi Ace?

Going to be brewing the Japanese Rice Lager from the recipe forum soon. Sorachi is one of the hop additions. How catty do they smell?

 

[mcmeador]

Going to be brewing the Japanese Rice Lager from the recipe forum soon. Sorachi is one of the hop additions. How catty do they smell?

Very. I brewed a pale ale with that hop several years ago because I won some bags of it at a local homebrewers meeting. It is definitely weird how something can remind you of cat pee but still be enjoyable.

 

[GrogNerd]

simcoe

 

[Reneauj62]

When you have 10 kegs and 4 fermenter filled and you are still shopping Black Friday sales on ingredients...

 

[GrogNerd]

you have 17 bottle openers within arms' reach & you're at your desk at work.

 

[Dgallo]

When your entire garage smells like cereal and bread....and when things like this happen lol

 

[OG-wan Kenobi]

When your entire garage smells like cereal and bread....and when things like this happen lol View attachment 719241

Hose popped off during transfer?

 

[Dgallo]

Hose popped off during transfer?

Table collapsed. The leg gave out and sent the mashtun to the floor

 

[OG-wan Kenobi]

Table collapsed. The leg gave out and sent the mash run to the floor

That's way worse

damn, sorry bro

 

[GrogNerd]

It's like losing a friend, isn't it?

Very sorry about your friend

 

[OakIslandBrewery]

Good thing it's the garage and not somewhere in your home - still sucks though.

 

[ajm163]

when you are seriously contemplating tossing a whole apple pie into your mash tun

 

[Dgallo]

That's way worse

damn, sorry bro

Worst part about it is that it fell on the ball valve and the weight of the water and grain cracked the mashtun and it wouldnt hold a seal any longer. Lol a headache and $80 loss in total. But On the bright side, my son was with me in the garage when it happened and didn’t get hurt or burnt so tht was a blessing

 

[firerat]

When your entire garage smells like cereal and bread....and when things like this happen lol View attachment 719241

Dude...... glad no one was hurt..... but damn......my sypathies....

When your house fridge dies and you don't sweat it. You have 3 more and 2 freezer on temperature controllers. I'm not thrilled to have to buy a "new" fridge though istead of looking for something used on craigslist. LOL
Oh and when you refer to the refrigerator the family uses as the "house" fridge.

 

[GrogNerd]

UPDATE:

you have 17 bottle openers within arms' reach & you're at your desk at work.

... when you have 17 bottle openers at your desk at work, but only 11 in the kitchen (4 on the fridge, 7 in the drawer)

ooh! 12! bluetooth speaker has one!