Why do you home brew?

Thanks for the info so far. As for myself: I got into brewing after seeing a mr. Beer in a store. It intrigued me that one could make one’s own beer. I, fortunately, did not buy Mr. Beer, and not long after this, i visited a friend of mine who had a simple, yet great beer-producing set up. He doled out samples, and I was amazed. Although I cannot remember anyone specifically saying anything negative about home brewing, I felt there was a stigma about it. Once my friend showed me the light, I realized that one could make beer, very good beer at home.

Second: I love beer, and I love tasting different beers. I have once been jokingly cajoled by a guy sitting by me in a bar for trying 5-6 different beers at the bar.

Third: I come from a family with roots in farming. My grandfather raised dairy cows, and I remember getting milk straight from the huge tank. In fact, before he retired, that’s where we got our milk. My grandmother canned vegetables that she grew, so there’s a back-to-my roots feel that comes from making my own beer.

Fourth: I like the process and science involved in making beer.

Keep them coming! Thanks again.

I enjoy the nerdy side of brewing, it gives me a chance to geek out on a hobby that provides great rewards. As Greg stated I also provide a safe place for the buds to hang out and enjoy some great beer.

I’m a teacher and am impressed by the way beer teaches. It has a lot to offer from science to philosophy. I measure OG and figure ABV. I wonder at my fermenting carboy and think I am to those yeast as god is to me. I sit in my backyard on an October night in front of a boiling pot of wort and feel in tune with the season. Patience is always rewarded. Great learning doesn’t happen overnight and the reward makes for some killer belches.

I do it for the reward. Having my friends try and tell me how great it is, and I know that I created it. Another bonus is all the gas homebrew gives me. Great ammo at work.

I wanna make my own beer.

+1 on the gas Paul … Makes great ammo for deploying dutch ovens for the wifey too. :slight_smile:

I started homebrewing because I love good beer and since they don’t sell it in Heaven gotta enjoy it while we are here. Farming is in my roots also like hekkubus. We have a winery and vineyards in my family so I’ve grown up around wine making. I do like a nice scuplin wine , but I’ve always enjoyed a tall pint (or three) of craft ale much better and I like the buzz I get from craft ale it’s much cleaner than most other alcohols. It took me awhile to take the step into homebrewing , but I am very glad I finally got around to it. Just something about tasting that first bottle ( or glass) of a 5 gallon batch and thinking “I made this” that’s so rewarding.

I thought everone knew, for the great beer! :cheers:

For pretty much all the reasons already given. But now in my own words…

It gives me a creative outlet. OK, another creative outlet.
It smells good when you are brewing, and there is satisfaction in brewing, baking, grilling or cooking and knowing that you are making something that is going to be great.
It’s so much better than what I can buy off the shelf.
And cheaper.
And if I find a beer I like but want to fool with the recipe, I can. Like Shock Top Belgian White Ale. That’s not bad, but I can make a beer like that but it’s so much better. As can anyone on this brew board.

Not to raise another thread, but after 7 years or whatever of trying to get other beer drinkers into brewing and not being successful once, I know why people don’t brew. Because they are lazy and don’t like good beer anyway.

Because I have to. I actually think it is a bit of a pain in the ass most brew days to tell you the truth. I’d rather be relaxing with a beer. Or spending time with my family But I am a slave to the brew now. It is my master. I do what it needs me to do. So I waste whatever spare time I have doing its bidding.

I started making beer at a Brew-On-Premise in Chicago. It was just a fun thing to do with buds but then the place went out of business. I started thinking about homebrewing and eventually started with just a beginners equipment kit and a couple of extract kits. As mention by the others, I enjoy craft beer and beer of many styles. With all of the ingredients we have at our disposal and new hops, grains and yeast coming out all the time, it’s so fun to just envision something in your head and make it. It’s also fun to see how various ingredients (or water, mash procedure) impact the beer in different ways. It’s also fun to tell people that you brew. I don’t brew for that reason but it’s fun to watch people comprehend it… especially people that aren’t that into beer in the first place. They look at you like you’re the Mayor of Crazyville and then they come up with, “Don’t you need a grain machine or something?” or “How do you get the alcohol into the beer?” or even, “You can’t make something carbonated like that, can you?”. Hilarious. Hey, it’s beer and we all love beer. Beer me! :cheers:

So I can sell it to my mom! Then it’s freeeeee!

Not only do i get to drink great beer cheeper than i can buy it. I get to stick it to the TAX MAN, 5 to 10 gallons at a time ( keep that part quiet).

I brew because it allows me to get creative, i could never draw or anything like that for me brewing/cooking is like art, a lot of the time i get something wonderful, on rare occasion i get something that isn’t so much. i get to take raw ingredients and bring them together in such a way that they make something great, that’s something I not only get to enjoy, but my family and friends do to.

At the end of the day i am left with something great that i can say “hey i made that” and that is why i Brew.