Why bother?

Some of us enjoy the process and don't look at it like work. Some of us don't do it just to make cheap beer. Some of us make great beer, too.

-------->Denny

Hey,

It is cheaper for sorts of beer brewed, but mainly it's fresher. And besides, JC brewed his own.

-gcitagh

On Sat, 26 Mar 2005 17:56:10 GMT, "Steven Wagner" said in alt.beer.home-brewing:

All lagers. Maybe you and your friends just don't like ales? (I assume that, if this was your first try, you made an ale, not a lager.)

Actually, I'd rather drink my own beer that any other beer. So, if I'm going to drink a beer at all, I want it to be MINE. Besides, hobbies are not supposed too feel like work. This is not the kind of thing you do just to find a cheaper way to get wasted. Old Milwaukee is a plenty cheap way to get wasted (if that's what your goal is). I think that most of us here brew for the art and craft of it and we savor our results as some savor a fine wine. At this point, it has nothing to do with saving a few bucks but more with quality.

Pete

If a hobby is started with the purpose of "saving" money is it really even a "hobby" or just a budgetary necessity?? Only brewed 5batches of beer but really do love making something good to drink--well most of the time anyway---of course my other hobby is the "sport" of competitive bbq--the expenses of just a couple contests could buy a pretty nice all grain system and a keg set up too. Could mail order lots of edible briskets for that money!!!

Looking at retirement in a few(3-4)yrs and about the only reason I'm still going to the foundry everyday is to make money for the hobbies and pay for the last kids college!! Oh yeah maybe want another bird too

Buzz

Here in Canada it's incredibly cheaper. A dozen beer is about $18-$19 and I can make 5 dozen for about $25. Flavour comes with time and practice.

Hi

Here in the UK, the CHEAPEST pint I can buy locally over the bar costs £1.60.

I can produce homebrew as tasty as any pint of commercial real ale for around 20p per pint - a saving of £1.40 per pint.

Over the last three years or so, I have brewed around forty 5-gallon brews - 1600 pints; a gross saving of £2,240. My brewery equipment in total probably cost no more than £240 so it has paid for itself many, many times over - even allowing for the failures (around 5%) and the ancillary costs such as electricity and items such as sterilizer etc.

But there again I do not brew beer for financial gain; I brew it because I enjoy the craft of brewing and find it relaxing. I brew approximately once per month and it usually takes around 6-7 hours to get it into the fermenter. The time I devote to brewing - a few hours each month - is almost certainly far less time than people devote to other hobbies.

The main problem with homebrew of course is that by drinking at home, I do not have the new blonde barmaid in my local bar to ogle and lust after!!! 8^)

Regards KGB

I'm in agriculture. Brewing your own beer pays better than selling barley to the malting companies. If your regularly drink Old Milwaukee and Buckhorn, you probably don't know what real beer tastes like, anyway (Those breweries get their raw material in liquid form from PMU barns)! Contact your local homebrew club and, perhaps, someone can "edumacate" you on the finer points of home brewing. Tom

You are premature to condemn the whole hobby because your first attempt didn't please you. Can't even make root beer? Hard to believe.

It will save you money if your taste runs to real beer. None of us are trying to produce Bud at home - no point in it. Give some input on your equipment and procedures and results and chances are someone will be able to tell you what you did wrong.

My first brew was pretty rough. I sanitized with bleach and used a plastic bucket for fermentation and bottled it directly from there . . . it tasted like phenolic varnish smells. I've had 300+ batches of great to outstanding beer since then.

You're just going to have to stick to it long enough to learn how to do it. If you think Old Milwaukee, or Schaeffer is beer, don't waste your time or money.

Drink at home then go out and ogle. sorted

On Tue, 29 Mar 2005 15:40:08 GMT, "KGB"

Invite her home to taste your offerings. (as a professional courtesy, of course) :-)

Steve

Hi

I rather think my wife may have something to say about that!!!!!

Regards

KGB

Hey, No Guts, No Glory.

Dick

Why? She afraid there won't be enough to go around? ;-)

Steve

free beer always tastes best. if you are drinking it. if you are getting freebees to get you to buy the cheap product, then consider you get what you pay for. don't sweat it most of us have bought expired brew kits, and wondered why we not put into insane asylums while we smiled and drank it. cheap is cheap. we settle for cheap floor wax. if it goes into my body, should i think cheap is good? fill in the blanks _ _

I guess to answer the question of why bother...

Its just something to do.. and something i enjoy. my girlfriend also enjoys making hers as well .. ciders and ginger beer so it is a bit of a family hobby.

With my bad batches my mates still drink them with me.. of course they also feel sorry for me on those so they will buy a case of beer from down the shop...at their expense...

I dont actually drink my bad batches on my own.

I share a few of my good ones now and then but i often bring out my bad batches... ( have a look at the scenario, if i bring out a bad batch and they buy a case of beer from the shop in sympathy I am saving alot of money here!!) sneeky i know.

Also to follow up my bad batches arnt totally bad.. conscidering it only costs $7 Aus for a beer kit at the local shop with yeast as home brand it isnt too bad if you want to make something really really cheap. It is really nice to have around an open fire. adds to that rustic feel.

Outside of the fact that you can brew good beer cheaper than you can buy it, the whole feeling of having worked to get that pint is a great feeling.

The home made aspect adds that extra special taste and appreciation that you will never get from a store/bar bought pint!