What got you into home brewing and why do you continue.

[Somnophore]

I read a lot or posts about how people are obviously brewing far more than they can drink so they are obviously doing it for the enjoyment of the hobby now rather than the simple cheaper alcohol, although I suspect that's what draws people in initially. I've always liked the idea of brewing something myself, having made sloe gin etc
For a few years I've always been fascinated bt the idea you can turn fruit juices etc into alcohol with just yeast and some simple equipment, and I must admit I am enjoying Watching the DJ bubble away checking on it now and then.

So what brought you to the hobby and why do you still do it. I know a lot of people give it up as evidenced by the stuff I see at car boot sales.

 

[Titch]

i got into it as a new hobby
and the thought of creating something from scratch

like most hobbies they can get expensive or can be cheat depends on the person

but i think people start thinking great cheap ale and realise it is cheaper and takes time like any hobby to perfect
they have no patience

 

[brews-brothers]

I got into it because there is lots of free fruit and hedgerow berries around here. I liked the idea of making it as natural as possible. Commercial wines always give me a headache so I use as few chemicals as I can get away with and never once have I had a headache from my homebrew wine.

I continue because I like the wine but also love the hobby, its an amazing process which I love to watch.
It has also made extremely cheap and very much liked christmas presents!
I am taking a break because I cant drink as fast as I can make!
Oh and there are so many more types I am still wanting to try so need to get drinking some of my produce quickly!

 

[Moley]

I came back to winemaking and brewing just under 3 years ago, driven entirely by price having worked out just how much my wife and I were spending on wine and beer per week / month / year.

With the benefit of this and another forum I quickly improved my techniques, until I realised my results were turning out vastly superior to anything I was making in the 70s and 80s.

The reason for making it faster than you can drink it is to allow proper time for maturation. Because I have done that, I now have a choice of wines which are 1-2 years old, and it really does make a difference.

On the brewing side, thanks entirely to this forum I quickly made the move to All Grain brewing, so now I could never go back to drinking the mass marketed commercial offerings, even if I could afford to.

 

[spangles]

I initially started up about 20 years ago with beer & wine kits and crude attempts at fruit juice wines during my student years to save cash. I continued on and off for a few years but gave it up about 10 years ago as I just didn't have the time. To be honest, don't think the quality was up to much.

A few guys at work have recently started up for the first time and it's been good talking to them about the does and don'ts, which has let me reminisce. So I've just got the bug back and am enjoying dabbling again. Not much volume, just trying to brew that perfect wine. I'm doing my own labels and even building a wine rack at the moment (to hold 96 bottles ). Having a lot of fun.

 

[screamlead]

I too used to make a few wines and lagers years ago after sampling some well aged Elderberry found in a cupboard as a nipper.
But as i was in the forces for a long time - mostly it was illegal to home brew in the houses we had.
Once i moved here to my own place i found an abundance of real fruit going to waste in my garden and in general all over but very cheap to buy on the markets etc.

Then i found this forum and quickly got into all grain too after sussing out how to make my gear from all the 'how to's' on here and never looked back.

Even now i am still experimenting with different fruits and stuff to make some wierd and wonderfull wines and beers - only drawback on my part is i have to malt my own barley and get my hops and yeasts from UK. :

 

[Springer]

The satisfaction of producing a good pint at a very reasonable price, 25p ish. I don't like a lot of commercial stuff, and the price does have a bearing.
Also I like the actual brewing and the planning and making of the kit
:hmm: Think that does it for me.
Have a go, sounds like you can get some kit at a reasonable price
Depending on your thing try,
Turbo cider
wurzels orange wine
or a quality, as ever you get what you pay for, beer kit.
If you don't like brewing you can re boot your kit.
S

 

[Moley]

I'm even building a wine rack at the moment (to hold 96 bottles )

Don't worry, that will do for starters, you can expand it or make a bigger one later

 

[Runwell-Steve]

I think I started for the same reason as a lot of people. I worked out how much I was spending on beer, and thought I could probably make it cheaper.

The first brew I did was an extract I did on the hob in the kitchen, and fortunately for me my wife hated the smell so I was relegated to the garage for brewing, this of course enabled me to get loads of kit and make loads of All Grain beer.

I now brew because I enjoy the experimentation and the brewing itself, the fact it is saving me money each time I drink a pint is even better.

I have been brewing beer for about 18 months now, but think I might start having a go at some wine soon.

 

[oldbloke]

My wife was diagnosed as coeliac, so had to give up normal beer. Googling for gluten-free beer one night I found a kit. I'd had a brief go decades earlier so thought it could be worth trying, as commercial gf beers are very expensive. Then found the kit had gone off the market, so decided to do wine instead - lots of free fruit from hedgerows round here, we always did various flavoured spirits each year. Found Duncan Incapable's gf pseudo-beer recipes and had a go at those. Got into the joy of turbociders. Have had one trial run at making beer from millet (naturally gluten-free): effectively all-grain, as I even had to malt it.
Apart from keeping going with wines and TC, which are every bit as good as the commercial stuff, the big project for 2012 is millet beer. It'll be a gallon at a time due to the space/time/equipment requirements for the malting. And it's great fun. Cost isn't really an issue but it is cheaper, if I don't charge myself for my time.

 

[BeerEagle]

There's a interesting article about pre-colonisation American Indians making beer from corn kernels. I guess that would be GF too?

http://www.livescience.com/4770-beer-br ... icans.html

 

[BeerEagle]

My ex was a cider drinker, but current GF is a real ale lover (glutton?) so it seemed the cost effective thing to do.

Unfortunately, we're still spending as much at the pub and seem to be getting through 80 pints of HB a month.

Still, beer does count 3 against my 5-a-day doesn't it?

(I do label up quite a few and they seem to be very popular as presents)

 

[cumbrian brewer]

My Dad used to do it and I always wanted a go so I started about 6 months ago, my first larger was rubbish but now i am getting better.

Love the wine making side of things and the money it saves, and the fact we pay enought tax on every thing else gives me a every time I take a sip.

Love the checking and tasting I will continue now, my next project is a keg fridge so will need some help on this, would love to do AG but dont have the time or space so will keep to kits until i get a brew buddy or the kids move out but there only 7 and 10 :pray:

My mrs enjoys it we are de toxing from tomorrow for 2-3 months we do it every year i normally last 6-8 weeks and the mrs until my birthday in april so should get some stocks built up and it will be nice to sample some of my brews in a more matture state :party:

 

[dennisking]

I became addicted to real ale in the mid 1970's and realised getting married and starting a home in 1977 I would not be able to afford my consumption as I went out most evenings.Two friends Dad's knew Ken Shales, a local man who had died a few years earlier and had written 2 books on homebrewing, mainly extract, and told me some great stories of his shed. After buying the 1st book I did my 1st extract beer within 2 weeks of moving into our 1st house and was AG after about 6 month's. Never looked back.

 

[carl_saint]

Got into it about 3 months ago. We used to spend quite a lot on beer and wine each month and needed to cut the expenditure. I also wanted to create my own stuff for the sheer satisfaction. Started off with a complete Wherry kit. Since then I've got 2 pressure barrels, 2 Cornys, 2 FV's and loads of spares. I'm on about my 8th kit and have done a few WOW's as well. It's totally addictive and satisfying. My FV's are now never empty and haven't spent a penny in the supermarkets!!

 

[Cussword]

I'm surprised, I'm in my 3rd year, Ignoring the 70s. It was all about trying to make wine & beer cheaper than the supermarkets were charging.
After a while it was about making it better than they were selling.
Now I'm enjoying both, & with a backlog of wines & beers to keep me (& SWMBO) going :thumb:

Have a great New Years Eve all :thumb:

 

[31bb3]

Think i was born into it watched my grandparents make wine for years then years on started on the odd kit then found the forum and found the dark side lol been here ever since and wont ever go back

 

[mcatamney21]

cheap beer thats about it dont like paying tax for the beer in the shops :drink:

 

[BrewDan]

For fun really, I like havig science experiments all over the place. Plus I don't really like many of the shop bought beers.

So I started through a random search on YouTube to see how wine was made, then thought is give it a go. Now I want to go all grain and make some quality drinks

 

[oldbloke]

There's a interesting article about pre-colonisation American Indians making beer from corn kernels. I guess that would be GF too?

http://www.livescience.com/4770-beer-br ... icans.html

Yeh, it's something I'll probably look at sometime.
I did millet coz I knew it's been used to make beer in Africa for millennia and I happened to find some in a local Asian grocery.
It worked so well I'll stick with it for a while before trying other stuff.
...and basing something on corn makes me think of Bud, which is a beer I don't like.