He said “In my opinion, drinking the beer is only half the fun!”
I think that’s too high for me, I’m thinking more like 25%. Another 25% is the gadgets and equipment, 25% for actually making the beer, and 50% for sharing the beer with others while talking about beer and beer making.
What is that, 125%? Oh yeah, -25% for cleaning everything. There 100%. :)
Having the ability to make beer that isn’t available to me and a lot of it. And then while drinking it, be amazed that I didn’t somehow make poison or blow myself up in the process.
The people I’ve met through homebrewing, beer judging, beer events, etc. For the most part, a really great bunch of people, many of who are now close friends.
That’s pretty much my feeling too and is what got me started so many years ago.
That, and the fact that like many things home made it’s generally better than anything available commercially, once you get the hang of it (at least as far as my go-to “styles” are concerned).
I have to say though…I do enjoy the process. It really has become my “treehouse”, and I really look forward to my brew-days. I’m not at all into fancy gadgets because you just don’t need them to make great beer and besides, I like the “hands on” feeling of doing it very simply.
Rupert can come to my house and clean my brewing gear anytime. Bathrooms too. I’ll even give him free beer when he’s done, that will help me empty kegs so he has more to clean and I have more to fill. I like this plan
i got into homebrewing to drink more good beer…at a good price but…to go a bit deeper…
my favorite part is the first gravity sample…but it kind of captures a lot of things…
i wouldn’t call myself an expert by any means, i only just started all grain last year, but i’ve been able (lucky?) to make pretty consistent beers…having an ok idea of knowing what ingredients i use will result in what…but still to this day, when i brew and pitch my yeast, there’s that sense of it’s not going to come out right or something will go wrong because murphy has his hand in everything, just like i had the first time i brewed. you wait a couple of weeks and take that first gravity sample…you hit your gravity…and then…the sip…and then ‘YES!’…knowing it came out like you wanted it to, knowing people will enjoy it, reinforcing that you’re actually doing something right in your brewing process…that to me is my favorite part, because it captures all of the enjoyable aspects of brewing, the personal liking of good beer, sharing with others, and the technical stuff.
Wow, I am humbled that something I wrote has made someone pause and ponder!
For me, beer is all about exploration and discovery… drinking beer is only part of the enjoyment.
I love the gadgets, tons of beer styles, digging into all the geeky technical details, and constantly being critical of my process/methods and figuring out what to tweak next to improve my brew or my brew day.
I love serving my beer to people and having them be surprised that not only does it not suck, it is often better then any beer they have had before.
Most of all, I enjoy exchanging knowledge and having friendly debates about what I and others have learned along their explorations of beer. I brew the beer I do today because a lot of people shared their thoughts and experiences with me, and if I can help someone else enjoy this hobby as much as I do… Cool.
Oh, and having rock-star status among the neighborhood, does has its privileges!
I’m a cook and a science geek. I love the creativity with foodstuffs and building gadgets. I didn’t really get into the hobby for the sake of making cheap beer. I can buy beer cheaper than it costs to make. However, I can make really good beer cheaper than the commercial beer I really want to drink.
The biggest part, however, are all the great folks I have met over the years because of this hobby. By and large, the homebrew community are wonderful folks. I go to beer festivals like GABF and run into folks I have “met” online but have never seen in person and it is like we have been best friends forever.
