Why do you brew?

[Brewshed]

I brew because I get satisfaction from it in all sorts of ways. As a biochemist I still wonder at the scientific magic of fermentation (I was teaching fermentation to 1st year students this morning). I like producing beers which suit my palate and mostly I beleive are better than what is available in the shops (I still love a pint of good real ale in a pub though). I love the creativity and the sense of achievement at producing good beer. I also like the cost savings. It looks like win win to me.

 

[matt.]

I brew because I get satisfaction from it in all sorts of ways. As a biochemist I still wonder at the scientific magic of fermentation (I was teaching fermentation to 1st year students this morning). I like producing beers which suit my palate and mostly I beleive are better than what is available in the shops (I still love a pint of good real ale in a pub though). I love the creativity and the sense of achievement at producing good beer. I also like the cost savings. It looks like win win to me.

Exactly my sentiments.
I love the ' scientific ' side. Can be amazingly complex or pretty simple.

 

[Rwilts]

Taking the question literally, I brew because the wife bought me a naff beer kit ( you know "great beer in ten days" for Christmas 15+ years ago...and I got hooked.

I continue to brew because I enjoy the process and the solitude of a brew day in the shed!

The product is ok as well , and has only proved to me or like Neo in the matrix taking the pill, that the majority of beer bought commercially isn't upto much and I can do better . ( I know there are obviously some exceptions).

 

[Wigglebutts Brewery]

For all the reasons mentioned and…. I like the kind of people that brew beer!!

 

[Nicks90]

I like drinking beer and this keeps the costs down and hides my rather large drinking habit from swmbo.
Seeing 20+ beers on the weekly shopping would get me in trouble. A quarterly purchase of grains (whilst a big initial outlay) soon recedes to the nether world of her mind and I can drink in peace without her really knowing what or how much I'm ploughing through.
I am sure one day it will catch up with me, but for now bring it on!

Plus I love the chemistry and the huge range of styles I can brew from such a small range of constituent ingredients

 

[dad_of_jon]

Why do you brew?



I brew, because I want to drink nice beer.

Why do you brew?

what u said.

 

[Druss]

I think I enjoy the learning experience, gradually improving with each subsequent batch and being able to chart my own progress as a brewer.

I think I've perhaps followed a recipe twice, ever, just going by trial and error has been so much more satisfying for me.

Finally perfecting a process, at least to my own standards, and being able to have that confidence that I'm able to create something so enjoyable again and again is what it's all about.

 

[MashBag]

Repeatable is also im

I think I enjoy the learning experience, gradually improving with each subsequent batch and being able to chart my own progress as a brewer.

That got me hooked, I think. As a winemaker you only get one go per year (@ harvest) so learning and progress is very slow. Beer keeps on asking to be made (the all-in-one nags at me like a caravan parked on the drive).

 

[Rodcx500z]

I like drinking beer and this keeps the costs down and hides my rather large drinking habit from swmbo.
Seeing 20+ beers on the weekly shopping would get me in trouble. A quarterly purchase of grains (whilst a big initial outlay) soon recedes to the nether world of her mind and I can drink in peace without her really knowing what or how much I'm ploughing through.
I am sure one day it will catch up with me, but for now bring it on!

Plus I love the chemistry and the huge range of styles I can brew from such a small range of constituent ingredients

A very honest post , liking beer is not a crime

 

[Bzee]

I started to brew to save the planet and reduce co2 and glass bottles etc. Also because I'm tight as tight and wanted to save money.plus I drink a fair bit of beer. So I was banging out kits and feeling proud of my self when the Mrs sent me on an all grain course. Which changed me because that first guzzle of my own AG tasted so much better than anything from a kit, can or bottle. So now I brew because I make better hop forward beers than I can buy. Anything that's been pasteurised isn't worth the calories. I pretty much make the same beer again and again so I'm into finessing the recipe and my techniques not going out to explore new beer and civilisations

 

[Twostage]

Taking the question literally, I brew because the wife bought me a naff beer kit ( you know "great beer in ten days" for Christmas 15+ years ago...and I got hooked.

Now you mention it, same here only it wasn't naff. It was a starter kit with a pressure barrel etc. and it turned out surprisingly OK and that was it.

Going to spend the rest of the day trying to remember what kit it was

 

[Cwrw666]

I brew for the same reason the Mrs makes sauerkraut, jam etc. To use basic ingredients and make stuff that is usually nicer than the factory made stuff.
Plus it lets me drink far more than I would otherwise as I'm a tight git.
I also enjoy it which helps.

 

[Twostage]

Now you mention it, same here only it wasn't naff. It was a starter kit with a pressure barrel etc. and it turned out surprisingly OK and that was it.

Going to spend the rest of the day trying to remember what kit it was

I think it was the Blackwater Bitter beer kit from The Home Brew Shop.

 

[MrJay83]

I originally just tried it out for the craic. Got a Muntons WCIPA and thought to myself "this is alright and cost me peanuts"... Now it's a bit better than alright and costing me as much as a golf club membership. I do enjoy doing it though.

 

[jambop]

Have you tasted French beer ? I brew because I want to drink decent UK style beers. For me that is bitters, pale ales , milds,porters etc. I am totally uninterested in new wave US style tripe and for godknows why this sort of crap is the beers most French craft brewers are trying to turn out, as as far as I can see. I make good English style beers and my French friends love to drink them. But another facet of brewing is enjoying the day. Having worked in science research for my whole working life I get a buzz out of scribbling down all the relevant details of the brew for reference. Even cleaning up can be interesting also there must be summat wrong with me as I do not find bottling beer a drudge I bottle with the knowledge that in a few weeks what went into the bottle will be coming out again when enjoying a beer with my pals and getting their take on the beer.

 

[MrRook]

It's cheaper than buying beer.
5 pounds of Crisp #19 maris otter: $6
1 ounce hops: $2
1 pack yeast: $5
Total for 24 pints: $13

 

[prog99]

It's cheaper than buying beer.
5 pounds of Crisp #19 maris otter: $6
1 ounce hops: $2
1 pack yeast: $5
Total for 24 pints: $13

Free power then?

 

[prog99]

I’ve never done it to save money…
Dad brewed kits in the 80s and 90s I’d help occasionally.
Roll forward to 1996 and I was temporarily out of work and bored (but not skint) so wandered down to boots and came back with enough kit to do their European lager kit.
A surprisingly good end result led to more kits and discovering the 2 homebrew shops we had in Edinburgh. One of them told me about malt extract brews so I moved onto recipes.
Meanwhile my other half met folk at uni who brewed full mash, I got to help out one day and taste the end results. Out went the malt extract and more kit purchased for the full mash experience.

So why do I brew. It’s for some variety on tap for my favourite beers which tend to be strong ones that tend to be expensive. A slow down in drinking means I am scaling back but still aim to have two kegs on the go.

Still probably buy just as much commercial beer.

 

[damienair]

I started as a lockdown hobby. I’d made a beer with a friend when I just started working. It was awful. So I thought I’d try to make a good batch of beer and see if it was drinkable. It was very drinkable. I became very popular with my next door neighbour.
3 years later I’m still brewing. Kits and full extract kits. I’ve taken a break from drinking my beer, but have continued to brew. I’ve lost 1 stone in weight and I’ve one more to go. I’m looking forward to Christmas. I’ve 8 batches of different beers out in my garage. Latest is bottled.
I love the simplicity of kits, I’m still using my basic equipment. And I love that the quality is so good. Some are better than others. But all are very drinkable.

 

[Jim Brewster]

I brew 1 gallon AG batches in the most low-tech fashion possible, with around 1 brew every 2 weeks over the past 3 years, and the occasional bucket kit brew, which I always find disappointing.

This is roughly how I have viewed brewing since starting in 2020 in semi-chronological order:

1. Lockdown boredom,
2. Curiosity about the process,
3. Learning all about malting, brewing, fermentation
4. Rewarding to make drinkable beer
5. Self-sufficiency of being able to make my own beer
6. Cost savings, not a main motivation but surprising that it doesn't cost the earth and much less than supermarket beer
7. Supplementing bought beers as I like to drink a good amount.
8. Brew the beers I like, which aren't always available at the local quickie-mart
9. Experimentation.... also realising that it needs to be kept under control and less is often more in the world of beer
10. Adds to my appreciation of good beer by knowing what is involved, what isn't necessarily so hard (eg adding a ton of dry hops) and is hard, which can often be subtlety (crisp lagers)
11. Enjoyment of the process of brewing and recipe creation, similar to cooking
12. A love of beer above all other drinks