Drew and I have started an Experimental Brewing YouTube channel. Here’s the first upload…
I clicked it and within 10 seconds my wife said “What, the hell?”
Guess we need to put a ukulele warning on it!
Song is totally stuck in my head, Denny. I’m still waiting for a screaming uke solo, though. ;D
I’m working on the head banger version…
To answer the topic question “Why Do You Homebrew?”. Because I live in beer lovers BFE.
Because … beer
Because if I fool around with the hard stuff I end up doing crazy crap like play the ukulele. 
I brew because it’s just more fun than relying on buying beer. I enjoy eating at good restaurants, but I still cook. Why not do the same with beer?
GREAT answer Phil M. Same here. I like beer and the ability to create my own and tinker with the flavors etc. I think I like the PROCESS of brewing as much as I like the end result. Much like why I do competitive BBQ. I LOVE the PROCESS of creating delicious briskets and pork butts and ribs and chicken etc. I can go to a BBQ restaurant and order that stuff any day of the week, WITH a beer. But I still like to do it by myself at home. There is something about the creative process that lures me in to both of the hobbies.
Troy
I agree, Phil. Also, with all the mediocre beer out there I like the satisfaction that I can do better.
This!!
I also do BBQ/Smoking (not competitively) and make my own bacon, jerky, and sausage. I get as much enjoyment out of learning how to do things on my own as I do eating/drinking the results. I also love having my young children involved so they can learn more skills and appreciation of the world. Respect the pig, he died for your bacon! It’s also a great excuse to get the kids to spend more time with Dad
When people think that’s weird I also say it’s because I can control what I put in my body and I know it’s safe and quality.
I homebrew as a creative outlet as well as to satisfy my neverending nerdy need to generate Excel spreadsheets about stuff. It bridges my loves for cooking, science, and beer in such a perfect manner. I can get as nerdy as I want, and as creative as I want, and in the end, well, it’s BEER, so you know you’ll want to drink it.
I have plans for going wild with data logging in my home brewery. Feed everything (mash temps/times, boil length/evaporation, fermentation temps/times, etc) into a database, then be able to chart/mine that data. Completely unnecessary, but it would be a blast.
Because commercial beer is absurdly expensive. $10-15 six packs and $7-10 bombers! Sours are even worse. I don’t mind putting in the work and time in honing my ability to make good beers.
I drink commercial when I am out to eat, but I only buy a six pack or two per month.
It’s also why I make my own pizza dough. Pizza restaurants are expensive and I can make 8 pizzas worth of dough for the price of one premade dough. Mine is better too.
I couldn’t agree more. I joke with my wife and tell her I cant afford to drink the stuff i like and would not drink if i had to go back to lite! Care to share your pizza dough recipe? I make mine with pre made crusts from mama tischs. They are good and I save money over the local pizza house but know I could do better.
I use various modified Reinhardt doughs. I recommend his pizza book, but bear in mind it is more of a text than it is a recipe book. I like his basic four ingredient dough which a modified version is below for 8 thin crust small pizzas.
30oz bread flour (add a bit more if dough is too sticky)
4 tsp of kosher salt
1.5 tsp instant yeast
2.25 cups cool water (add bit more if dough is stiff)
Mix and knead until you can stretch a snippet without tearing.
Divide into 8 balls
rub with light coat of olive oil
put in sandwich bags, leave open
Let rest 30 minutes
Close bags and Fridge for 12-16 hours
Warm for 2 hours
Freeze any not using that day (thaw frozen dough for 8-12 hours before warming)
I brew because
Tastes better than most s*** on the shelf
It is manlier than Knitting
More fun than Ham Radio
I cut myself while woodworking/widdling
I like to say “I made this drink” while I play pool
Neuroplasticity
aaand because I am to broke to fly.
My Favorite Pizza Dough (Sicilian Style)
hydrate the yeast
10g of Dry Yeast
1/4 c. of 107F water
Pinch of Sugar
combine and rest 2 minutes stir to dissolve
Dough
4 c. bread flour (I like King Arthur Unbleached Flour)
1 1/4 c. 107F water
2 1/2 tsp Coarse Salt
1/4 c. Olive Oil
combine flour, water, salt, and olive oil and hydrated yeast. Mix until all combined, then knead for 10 mins. Adding more flour if necessary. Cover and let it rise until it doubles, away from a window, I put mine on top of my refrigerator. ~1.25hrs for me. Pull from the bowl onto floured surface softly push out to relatively even. Then split into 2 (if you want to make breadsticks that’s another story) and either toss or roll into the shape you want. If you want to press into a pan, grease (not oiled) the pan and pinch into the edge. score the dough (not the crust) and par bake at 375F for 8 mins then add toppings. If you are throwing onto a pizza stone - preheat the oven to 475F with the pizza stone in the oven. After it has come to temp for 5 mins. pull the pizza stone from the oven and place your dough on the stone. I sometimes like to add salt cracked pepper before placing my dough down on the stone, if I wanna get fancy with it. However, top your pizza while the bottom starts to crust while it is on the hot stone and away it goes in the oven, bake for about 8-12mins and check for doneness. You should be able to lift the edge with a knife, it should be evenly browned, and sturdy enough that if you were to tap it with a fork it should sound like a crisp French loaf. Cheers! oh and always add herbs AFTER it bakes… Brew on!
Homebrewing allows me to embrace my geekiness and have beer available all the time. And it also allowed me to join my homebrew club, which is a great bunch of friends that also have beer available all the time. About 75% of my social life is homebrew-related, so either I’m a loser or I have a great social life. 8)
Excellent points! I’m in the same boat. Were it not for homebrewing, my social life would be… ???