I had my first taste of a friend’s homebrew some time around 1990. It wasn’t very good, but I found the idea interesting. A few years later I met a couple of other people who brewed and they made beer that tasted fairly good. (this was all in the beer wasteland that was Utah in the early 90’s) I bought a copy of Charlie’s book, and decided I didn’t have the space in my tiny apartment to brew. That was followed by a move for grad school to another small apartment and then the LA area. I had space but I knew enough about fermentation temperatures to know I’d need something to control it, so I put the idea on the backburner again.
Jump to 2005, when we moved to the Chicago suburbs and the basement beckoned. Within a month, I’d bought a starter kit and brewed a batch of “IPA” that tasted good enough to make me keep trying. And now I’ve got a basement full of gear 8)
I started out just really liking beer. Christmas 2010, my wife’s aunt bought me a copy of Charlie P’s book, but I was just getting ready to deploy, so I didn’t get a chance to brew. I spent the 10 months of deployment reading everything I could get my hands on about homebrewing, and listening to Basic Brewing Radio. The day I got home, I went immediately to the local homebrew shop and picked up a beginner’s kit (It was my welcome home present to myself) and designed my own recipe (Was supposed to be an American ESB, ended up more APA) which I bought the ingredients for. I brewed the next day, and never looked back. I brewed 3 batches in 3 weeks to get the beer pipeline running, Moved to all grain on New Years Day 2011, and started kegging early last year. I have made some great friends through the beer community, and I don’t know where I would be without homebrew.
Older than most, I had homebrew given to me in 1982 and said then that I wanted to try making it, but over the next 2 decades, I only rarely had homebrews and life got busy…fast forward to 2003-2004 when a neighbor was brewing and both of us were Boy Scout leaders with our same age sons. I loved his homebrew and said I wanted to brew with him…it just so happens that an older Scout had an Eagle project at a women’s shelter located down the street from our LHBS. We completed the project and I ambled down the street to check out the “basic package”. Other leaders said “you’ll never make your money back at that”. I bought the package and my first Pale Ale kit anyway. Those other guys are now begging for my beer at parties. Nuff Said. We now have 6-7 regular Brewers in my neighborhood alone. While I may not have made my money back, I have no regrets and typically tell people that I wasted most of my first 45 years not brewing. But I am making up for lost time - which reminds me…at 200 gallons per year, shouldn’t I consider those early years as a period of banking gallons for the current production period? I got plenty of cushion under that arrangement!!!
College in '95 in Cleveland. Edme beer kit from some place in Colorado. It came with a great bottle capper that I still use. Also use the fermenter from that kit although I’m about to retire it. First batch was crappy beer with the nastiest after taste. But I caught the bug improved my skills and love it.
My wife bought me a starter kit for my first Father’s Day, 1980! Started with extract beers, bottled, and worked my way up to all grain, kegged, including nitro pour.
Cheers!
I started saving bottles in the late 80’s with the idea that one day I would brew beer and need them. In 1992 we moved to a new much bigger house, my wife decided if I was going to haul crates of empty bottles I should start learning to fill them. She bought me my first kit 5 gallon setup and it was off to the races from there.
I started brewing in early 1993. My interest in brewing was sparked when a good friend and former shipmate started brewing in late 1992. I was not much of beer drinker at that point in time, but brewing had the creative and scientific elements that drew me to my profession.
Bruce’s Dogbolter was the third and last kit beer that I made before switching over to making beer from extract, specialty grains, and hops. It was also the last batch of beer that I made with dry yeast for over twenty years. I brewed my fourth batch of beer with yeast that I cultured from a bottle of Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. It was such an eye-opening experience that I dove head first into yeast culturing, which became a hobby unto itself.
For my first Father’s Day in 2011 my wife and her friend bought myself and her husband a deal at the local on premises place. We brewed there and had a lot of fun despite poor instruction. They lost our batch (a common occurrence at this place) we ended up reading a few books each and rebrewed there a few weeks later. Being a scientist (me) and an engineer (my buddy Ryan) we were not content with the recipes they had available. We put together our own recipe and went back. We were pleased with the results and decided to get setup at home. I spent the next 6 months reading like crazy and got my first equipment for Christmas 2011. I brewed my first 5 gal batch on new year’s day 2012. Just brewed batch 51 at home plus a few more at friends houses and the local brewery. Ryan started doing 1 gallon batches about the same time and just jumped to 10 gal a few weeks ago.
Our wives say it was the most expensive father’s day present ever.
I was in my first year of teaching, and I decided to make some naturally-carbonated root beer with my 7th grade science class. After that project, it occurred to me, “Hey! If I can make root beer, I can make real beer too.” Then I remembered that my friend’s dad Curt was a brewer, so I made contact with him and we made plans to brew an extract batch together.
After that, he gave me a basic set of equipment and a copy of TCJOHB. I devoured that book and brewed my first batch (Papazian’s “Elbro Nerkte Brown Ale”) on Feb 17, 2005. It was actually really good - smooth and dark with no flaws. I jumped right in, brewing once or twice a month for a couple years.
So now I’m coming up on my 10-year anniversary (better take that day off work!) and still extremely passionate about the hobby. I make sure to give Curt samples from time to time, and I also teach beginner’s brewing classes at his restaurant supply shop/LHBS. I’m really lucky to have had somebody to get me going like that, and I get a lot of satisfaction from getting new brewers started on the right path.
Like many old-timers, I learned how to brew using a copy of TCJOHB. I gave my stained and dogeared copy away years ago. My favorite recipe out of that book was “Rocky Racoon’s Crystal Honey Lager.” It’s surprising how well beer made from that recipe tests with beer drinkers. I plan to make a batch next Spring for the heck of it.
That’s funny, I swear my wife calls it “expansive”. I always assumed she was referring to my depth of knowledge on brewing having grown so much. Maybe she was referring to my credit card bill all along…