I have a background in construction. So, like brewing and cooking, I enjoy taking simple items that are meaningless on their own and putting them together to create something that I, and others, can enjoy. I get a feeling of satisfaction when I brew.
I enjoy the alchemy of taking a raw material and creating a product I can consume and in most cases better than what I can purchase. I enjoy the recipe creation process. I enjoy that it’s a hobby that does require a lot of time for my scale. Between brew day and bottling day, I spend less than 10 hours and I enjoy the social aspect of sharing my beer with friends and neighbors.
Kinda off topic, but so many people say what they brew is usually better than what they can purchase….
Does that mean the selection is limited where you are, or that you brew beer so it exceeds commercial choices? I ask because although I feel like I brew pretty good beer, around here there are so many that are so much better. I feel like my beer is as good or better than some choices, but we have so much that those choices are easy to avoid. And my beer doesn’t stand up to the best choices I have.
My sentiments exactly. Not to discount anyone’s enjoyment of the fruits of their labor, but I don’t really buy the “my homebrewed beers are better than commercial beers” thing. I have made maybe one beer in 30 years of homebrewing where this was true. I’ve tasted homebrews made by dozens of other homebrewers, and none were better than a good commercial beer.
Regardless, I enjoy the focus of the brewing process, especially the science of it. Homebrewing lets me use my science and brewing background and education to create something that gives gustatory pleasure to me and others. It’s very rewarding, even if the beers aren’t perfect.
I’m older now and my joints are creaky. And the cost of ingredients has really gone up. Factoring in time, it may now be true that the cost of a homebrewed pint is close to that of a store-bought one. Considering how amazing a lot of commercial beers are in my area, I am finding it harder and harder to justify the time I spend on this hobby
Where I live, there is not that great of variety of beer style available. My favorite styles of beer are classic European beers, English ales, Belgian trappists and saisons, and German/Czech lagers. The only fine beer importer in my town retired several years ago, so the selection of good European beers around here is very limited. And expensive! 4 pack of 11 oz. Chimay white sells for $20 here. The five craft breweries here in town brew some great beers, but they have to brew what sells, so they all have 3-4 IPAs on tap. Only one of them brews an English bitter.
Yes, my beer is not as good as the classic European beers, but its as good or better than American craft breweries attempts at the style. Plus, I brew to my taste. I still brew IPAs about twice a year as I know that won’t have any of those nasty dank hops or tropical fruity hops in them
I live in a place well known for outstanding breweries with great beer available at every turn. I derive just as much enjoyment from drinking my own beer as drinking a good commercial one. I love the process and have taken on a personal challenge to brew almost exclusively from my own hops. Given my limited financial resources, I’d much rather spend funds on brewing ingredients than purchasing commercially made beer. I only buy beer when out for a meal. These choices keep me and the family happy and within our budget.
I was spoiled in and around Austin. Lots of stellar breweries and a few world class. That let me get lazy. Now, in Downs, KS, closest good brewery is an hour and half away, so now I have to brew anything I am craving. Otherwise, Coors Banquet or Lite is in the fridge till I get the garage cleaned out and the brewery set back up.
These days I’m back to the idea of “Defensive Brewing”. When I started in 1999 I brewed to have good beer at hand because LA didn’t really have much in the way of local beer. Nowadays I brew to have beers on hand that commercial brewers can’t make because they won’t sell!
yes denny, i know you travel and taste beer from places. but if you happened to visit some rustbelt town or city not known for anything, people’s greatest culinary desires will be mac n cheese, hamburgers, deep fried junk food, nachos etc. and that’s the height of it, with the wealthiest people in the city just enjoying more expensive versions of these foods.
we are in a serious cultural decline in north america in almost every metric for the vast majority of the population. an exacerbating factor is that gen xers got a taste of both the after-effects of depression era food quality/food “choices” and ww2 rationing, BUT they still had tastings of less processed food and tradtional foods perhaps their grandparents made. zoomers are so far removed from that, they literally do not have any traditional food based on their ancestors unless they are very recent immigrants. without hyperbole, its all just a mix of shawarma/tacos/pizza/hamburgers+fries/genericised asian food etc and almost all franchise-chains.
most millenials i know literally never eat fish or seafood at all. they are severely lacking in nutrients because of this.
so point being, peoples’ taste is worse than ever, they simply don’t have the experience, maturity and breadth of understanding of flavours in food or beer to appreciate beer. they don’t want to try anything new or unique. they don’t have the sensitized appreciation of food and flavours to even care about tasting i find. everything is just a social ego-boost, a tiktok trend follow or social media show-off selfie to most people now.
my city has absolutely no “great” beer made here, some is okay. my province barely has any. its pathetic.
I started brewing because a friend talked me into it. He guided me through an extract batch on the stove over the phone.
I continued to brew because I enjoyed the process and making a drinkable product from “scratch.”
I relocated, joined a club, and met great people over the subsequent years. Even as great craft beer flooded our local shelves, I still brewed, some years more than others. Now, as store bought beer prices rise and availability in my area declines once again, I find myself brewing more. Is it better or worse than what’s sitting on shelves? That’s debatable. But, I enjoy the process, the hobby, the camaraderie, and the beer I create. Pulling a beer from a keg I filled myself is highly satisfying.
I started homebrewing after my son gave me a Mr. Beer kit for a Christmas present. My first couple of batches were pretty bad because i didn’t know all the nuances of sanitation, but I got better and eventually ventured into all grain an never looked back. I continue to homebrew to improve my recipes and processes and also enter a few competitions each year to get feedback from judges. Winning a medal in a competition is a rewarding experience for me and keeps the creative juices flowing.. I get satisfaction from making a beer that comes out great and like to try and perfect styles I have never made. I also incorporate ideas that I have learned from the
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