Why do you brew?

[MashBag]

Why do you brew?

"It's a hobby" doesn't work for me.

Definition: an activity done regularly in one's leisure time for pleasure.

I read that as referring to the actual brewing process, 'cos washing up isn't a pleasure

Which got me thinking.

The process and the stainless are just 'things'. Like a fry pan is too an egg butty.

We all "endure" the parts we don't like - washing up and bottling spring to mind. But I am sure different parts of brewing motivate different people... maybe the chemistry, the hardware, cost saving, even time to yourself, parties, career change.....

I brew, because I want to drink nice beer.

Why do you brew?

 

[Tess Tickle's Brewery]

I brew because I love to create something. It's the same with doing gel and and acrylic nails. And with both hobbies there's endless choices so you never get bored.

Not so bothered about drinking what I make, just like to make them

 

[sifty]

It's a hobby...

 

[Sadfield]

To learn more about beer, to be creative and physically produce something to be enjoyed. I like the mindfulness of the process, it's nice and relaxing. I only brew when I want to, an activity to do in my leisure time for pleasure.

 

[The Baron]

I brew so that I can experiment with styles I like and to be honest I never stick fully to a style or recipe. Infact some of the beers I make would struggle to be entered in competitions as the recipe can go off at a tangent.
I am aware of the saving but to be honest I can throw 200g plus of hops in a brew so it is only a thought sometimes and not critical to me, if I wanted to save money I would brew bitters with about 50g of hops and basic grain recipes(I do like a good bitter/ale though) but I usually end up using some strange grains in my ales at times.

 

[Leon103]

Because I am an alcoholic and my local pub banned me and the shop won't serve me anymore.

 

[nickjdavis]

I brew because it gives me the opportunity to explore and taste different styles of beer that would otherwise be unavailable to me on a commercial basis.

I can neither draw, paint, dance or sing but the creation of a beer recipe, tweaking and refining the recipe composition to achieve a different result until I get what I am looking for, is as close to being an artist that I will ever be.

 

[Tess Tickle's Brewery]

Eloquently put Nick.

 

[Agentgonzo]

I enjoy the creation of something wonderful from simple ingredients. It's very much like cookery. I enjoy the chemistry and understanding (and experiencing first hand) why doing something specific results in a specific outcome. I enjoy the satisfaction of when it succeeds and I make something delicious that other people enjoy. At the start I used to get a lot of satisfaction in the money I was saving over buying beer, but that's not an important factor to me anymore

 

[tigertim]

I love to know how everything works - I'm not happy with going out and drinking beer without knowing how it's brewed and being able to do it myself. Just as, whilst I do some plumbing myself, I am also happy to pay somebody to do plumbing for me as long as I know how it's done.

It's why I also became a part-time refrigeration engineer - because others in the industry make out it's a black art and an exclusive industry for special people. It isn't; it's just physics, knowledge, following process and attention to detail.

I brew because it's a skill; I gain pleasure from developing skills and what is life for, if not gaining pleasure?

But I think brewing for me ticks every box I could possibly want in a skill - physics, chemistry, biology and art and we all have so much we can learn about all of them.

At the age of 20 or so, I used to sit at Birmingham Moor Street Station for hours waiting for the train home and the waiting room had all sorts of trite inspirational quotes etched on to the glass, but the one which always stuck in my mind and has stayed with me throughout my life was a Charles Kingsley quote :

“We act as though comfort and luxury were the chief requirements of life, when all that we need to make us really happy is something to be enthusiastic about.”​

― Charles Kingsley

 

[Hazelwood Brewery]

I brew because I like the creativity of it, I like the science behind it, I really really like drinking it, and I like sharing it with friends - much like when I cook.

On the subject of quotes I always liked “If you think things are going well you’re not in possession of the facts.”

 

[RoboBrewBot5000]

Good thread! I like the 'alchemy' of it. Something about knowing the brew is chugging away in the garage being turned into liquid gold, and the anticipation that comes with eventually cracking that first bottle and finding out whether you have made something incredible - I don't think it will ever get old.

Of course, as I tend to err on the side of the more experimental, I've made my fair share of sub-par brews. But what I've gained from this over the last almost 3 years, is a really good grounding in process. I am excited to see what next year will bring.

 

[Clint]

I like beer! I also seem to latch on to pastimes that are a conundrum, that need unravelling,that,if you like ,are a jigsaw of pieces that you can gradually put together....brewing,metal detecting, fishing.
As for acrylic nails...I'm up in York next weekend....I'll give you a call Tess Tickles Brewery.

 

[Tess Tickle's Brewery]

I like beer! I also seem to latch on to pastimes that are a conundrum, that need unravelling,that,if you like ,are a jigsaw of pieces that you can gradually put together....brewing,metal detecting, fishing.
As for acrylic nails...I'm up in York next weekend....I'll give you a call Tess Tickles Brewery.

I reckon you'd suit black stilettos

 

[Old Fart At Play]

Must confess I mainly brew because I like drinking the beer that I make, and so does the missus.

Beyond that, I prefer doing something when I have a good tool for it. Re mashbag's comment about a frying pan - I have one particular frying pan that I love to use, because it is just so - er - nice to use. I don't get quite the same satisfaction from using any of the other frying pans.

With photography, which I also enjoy, my pleasure is really heightened by using a camera that feels right to me, that I enjoy handling. I don't take photos with my phone because I get no pleasure from it.

And so it is with brewing. I enjoy brewing with my shiny G40 more than I did with previous equipment.

But I don't brew in order to enjoy using my G40, I brew to enjoy the beer.

Cheers!

 

[Clint]

Sounds very kinky.

 

[klaus]

I brew .... therefore I am .....

 

[MashBag]

A man and his frying pan should not be messed with. I too have a brilliant one and I didn't realise this point with brewing [nice tools] when I started this thread. I applies to other things I do. Thank you.

Samuel groves carbon steel

 

[pilgrimhudd]

I like experimenting with different recipes, I like the brewing bit, the smell of the mash and the boil, trying out different hops etc. I also like to ferment in glass demijohns so I can see it all bubbling about in there.

I'm not at all interested in chemistry, hate washing up and only tolerate bottling as I can get an hour to myself with a good podcast or audio book.

 

[Rodcx500z]

Why do i brew. i worked in a craft bakery for 30 year brewing is a lot like baking it's alchemy i love the magic, i only mainly brew bitters and pale ale as you all know, the magic for me is in the hops the combinations is mind boggling. my next brew will be a pale with the NZ PUNCH mix from cml, and like many on here i hated bottling so went the corny route