How Long Have You Been Brewing? And How Many Have Your Done?
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i bought my first kit in 98 as a pimply face, always broke apprentice, trying to find the cheapest way to get drunk! as the wages increased and i could afford to buy beer, i gave up brewing, then spent the best part of 5 years in the uk, and 1 in canada, visiting every brewery, brew pub and sampling as many different beers as possible from around the globe. i returned home ruined, unable to appreciate the local sa brews any more, so had to invest in a new kit, and a new meaning to life...
kits and partials since 09, then i started lurking around on this forum, and found beer belly, now i biab about once a month, and the wife brews a partial every 1 - 2 weeks for me, all kegged as im too lazy to worry about bottles. 3 varieties of hops in the back yard, and getting ready for another 7 varieties this year if i can find them, with barley crops planned in a couple of years (i have a little land) to create beer from scratch with only mother nature to help...pretty well hooked!
kits and partials since 09, then i started lurking around on this forum, and found beer belly, now i biab about once a month, and the wife brews a partial every 1 - 2 weeks for me, all kegged as im too lazy to worry about bottles. 3 varieties of hops in the back yard, and getting ready for another 7 varieties this year if i can find them, with barley crops planned in a couple of years (i have a little land) to create beer from scratch with only mother nature to help...pretty well hooked!
BobtheBrewer
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And I thought I was a long time brewer. Started in 1973, can't remember a lot about it but hop flowers in panty hose rings a bell. Kept at it and in 1980 moved to Cairns. Discovered kits in plastic bags (malt etc). Still worked OK. AG now and beer has never been so good!
Tony
Quality over Quantity
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troopa
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Started kits in 2000 .. think between mate and myself we did about 400 long necks
Gave it up for a few years and got back into it about 2007 (ill know when i post and look at my joining date
)
Since then its been about 2 a month BIAB
Gave it up for a few years and got back into it about 2007 (ill know when i post and look at my joining date
)Since then its been about 2 a month BIAB
Aleosaurus cervisiae
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Seem to me that no-one on the forum has been brewing for more than 12 years. Is this how long the liver lasts under the harsh conditions we impose on it? I am now in my year 3. Have I got 9 years to go? How much have you got?
SJW
As you must brew, so you must drink
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Or maybe historically home brewing wasn't around.. popular... able to do easily.. prior to that time?
Many reasons. Liver function might be one of them. Though craft breers make me appreciate quality, not quantity. I actually believe my liver is going to be much better off having taken this step in life. Basically, I now drink very little because I'm a snooty connoisseur.
Many reasons. Liver function might be one of them. Though craft breers make me appreciate quality, not quantity. I actually believe my liver is going to be much better off having taken this step in life. Basically, I now drink very little because I'm a snooty connoisseur.
ianh
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Started brewing in the late sixties, gave up when came to Australia (1973) brewed in plastic dustbins and served from a plastic keg at room temperature.
Started brewing again in 2009, done 90 by 23 litre batches mainly extract and 42 BIAB batches.
Still learning heaps.
Started brewing again in 2009, done 90 by 23 litre batches mainly extract and 42 BIAB batches.
Still learning heaps.
That first of mine was brewed in Warwick Bob, not far from you in those days!
closer to 24000 i think mate
can you imagine if they were all active
Holy shit, numbers grow fast ey Tone
Can't find membership numbers on the site anymore thought they used to be at the bottom of the forums page along with birthdays etc.
Screwy
Wolfman
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Brewed kits for a couple of years about 12 years ago. Had a half a shed full of long necks. Moved around abit after that so I gave up brewing. Started 12 moths ago and went straight into kegging, not washing bottles anymore! Thought I would just do kits and bits and every now and then do a extract. Stumbled across this place. Found the extract beers were 10 times better than kits, so dumped the kits. Started ag (BIAG) found this was better than extract. Now doing a ag via a 3v system. Not sure how many brews I have done. But I bottle beers as well now.
Obsessed? Who me no! This is the most rewarding hobby in the world.
Obsessed? Who me no! This is the most rewarding hobby in the world.
Truman42
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Im still a brewing baby. Did my first extract last August, and it turned out crap, no temp control in the middle of winter.
Then switched to BIAB and have done around 12 brews. Yesterday I bottled my fist brew on my new 3V herms, so I suppose that makes me a toddler now whos just learned to walk...
Looking forward to trying this one out. A chocolate smoked porter.
Then switched to BIAB and have done around 12 brews. Yesterday I bottled my fist brew on my new 3V herms, so I suppose that makes me a toddler now whos just learned to walk...
Looking forward to trying this one out. A chocolate smoked porter.
Goose
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get to know you thread ? great idea
Interest started when we brewed up a batch for "educational" purposes while studying chemical engineering at Sydney University in 1983. From there on and off but stopped for 20 odd years while my career and family took me interstate then across the globe. In Singapore where I am now, it was illegal to homebrew before 2004 when some entreprenuereal lobbying persuaded the government to allow it under monitored conditions, ie you needed a licence. That was removed in 2008 when they figured that it was more hassle to administer than the license revenue it was providing.
So I got back into it in 2004 and started doing KnK's with a passion, must have done 20 or 30 of these before I realised that no process was going to get rid of that kit "twang", so graduated to making my own all extract recipes by using DME and hops. That was the first big improvement. I then went to AG, my first 5 or 6 mashes were simply poured through a kitchen strainer into my fermenter because I never had a spigot from which to vorlaurf. Surprisingly these turned out ok, did this for 20 or so batches before I invested in some ball valves and borrowed the right drillbit to cut through my stainless mashtun and boiler. From there I did 120 or so AG batches up and till mid last year but got tired of the lifting and decided to up the ante a little and go for a full turnkey system. I narrowed it down to 2, the Sabco Brewmagic setup or the Beerbelly from South Australia. At the time of decision the Aussie dollar was so damn strong vs the greenback and I could land the Sabco here significantly cheaper than the Beerbelly, so I ordered it in complete with their fermenter, 2 x 15 gallon kegs and their plate chiller setup with inline oxygenation capability.
Took me a while to get with the intricacies of the new process, and have now completed 11 batches each around 12 gals each. Have it set up now such that the wort from boiler to fementer and fermenter to keg is totally closed system, with no lifting involved at all (except for cleaning). I love this system and the only thing that stops me from brewing more is my storage capacity. The wife is kinda a but anti having 7 fridges scattered around the place and permission for more could get very expensive... :lol:
Interest started when we brewed up a batch for "educational" purposes
while studying chemical engineering at Sydney University in 1983. From there on and off but stopped for 20 odd years while my career and family took me interstate then across the globe. In Singapore where I am now, it was illegal to homebrew before 2004 when some entreprenuereal lobbying persuaded the government to allow it under monitored conditions, ie you needed a licence. That was removed in 2008 when they figured that it was more hassle to administer than the license revenue it was providing.So I got back into it in 2004 and started doing KnK's with a passion, must have done 20 or 30 of these before I realised that no process was going to get rid of that kit "twang", so graduated to making my own all extract recipes by using DME and hops. That was the first big improvement. I then went to AG, my first 5 or 6 mashes were simply poured through a kitchen strainer into my fermenter because I never had a spigot from which to vorlaurf. Surprisingly these turned out ok, did this for 20 or so batches before I invested in some ball valves and borrowed the right drillbit to cut through my stainless mashtun and boiler. From there I did 120 or so AG batches up and till mid last year but got tired of the lifting and decided to up the ante a little and go for a full turnkey system. I narrowed it down to 2, the Sabco Brewmagic setup or the Beerbelly from South Australia. At the time of decision the Aussie dollar was so damn strong vs the greenback and I could land the Sabco here significantly cheaper than the Beerbelly, so I ordered it in complete with their fermenter, 2 x 15 gallon kegs and their plate chiller setup with inline oxygenation capability.
Took me a while to get with the intricacies of the new process, and have now completed 11 batches each around 12 gals each. Have it set up now such that the wort from boiler to fementer and fermenter to keg is totally closed system, with no lifting involved at all (except for cleaning). I love this system and the only thing that stops me from brewing more is my storage capacity. The wife is kinda a but anti having 7 fridges scattered around the place and permission for more could get very expensive... :lol:
joshuahardie
Beer, so much more than a breakfast drink
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I have been brewing for about 10 years.
I think I started all grain around about 2008.
I seem to average 12-15 brews a year.
My story is very familiar to many. Bought a Tooheys kit as a thing for my father and me to dabble in. Did the series of kit beers trying to replicate whatever macro lager at the time I thought tasted good.
My first taste of LCPA hit me and I had to brew something similar, which quickly sent me down a slippery slope into FWK and then AG. I never cloned Little Creatures, because I hit this forum, and discovered there was at least 80 beer styles that I had not tried, and so I branched out into all beer types quickly.
Apart from the brewing, I would have to say that finding new and interesting commercial craft beer is also a passion. I would have to try at least 150 new beers a year.
I think I started all grain around about 2008.
I seem to average 12-15 brews a year.
My story is very familiar to many. Bought a Tooheys kit as a thing for my father and me to dabble in. Did the series of kit beers trying to replicate whatever macro lager at the time I thought tasted good.
My first taste of LCPA hit me and I had to brew something similar, which quickly sent me down a slippery slope into FWK and then AG. I never cloned Little Creatures, because I hit this forum, and discovered there was at least 80 beer styles that I had not tried, and so I branched out into all beer types quickly.
Apart from the brewing, I would have to say that finding new and interesting commercial craft beer is also a passion. I would have to try at least 150 new beers a year.
I started brewing almost 2 years ago.
Still primarily using kits, and steeping grains and adding hops. I purchased a keg setup roughly 12 months ago which the small fridge allows me to have one 9L one and a 19L (I think its 19 but it could be 18) in the fridge at the same time.
With that I made my first AG not long ago (a small batch for the 9L keg), still waiting to try it but I am as excited as anything. I brew roughly once a week to once a fortnight. The beer mustn't be too bad as everyone comes back to drink it.
I also have the daughter (2 year old) help me as well, she really enjoys spending time with daddy.
Favorite recipe at the moment is A can of Coopers Real Ale, A Can of Coopers Australian Pale Ale, 1kg of Dextrose (I know I should use a whole kilo) some Nelson Sauvin (I believe last batch was 40g) mixed in 23 L of water. A very simple brew that has great head retention and tastes great.
Still primarily using kits, and steeping grains and adding hops. I purchased a keg setup roughly 12 months ago which the small fridge allows me to have one 9L one and a 19L (I think its 19 but it could be 18) in the fridge at the same time.
With that I made my first AG not long ago (a small batch for the 9L keg), still waiting to try it but I am as excited as anything. I brew roughly once a week to once a fortnight. The beer mustn't be too bad as everyone comes back to drink it.
I also have the daughter (2 year old) help me as well, she really enjoys spending time with daddy.
Favorite recipe at the moment is A can of Coopers Real Ale, A Can of Coopers Australian Pale Ale, 1kg of Dextrose (I know I should use a whole kilo) some Nelson Sauvin (I believe last batch was 40g) mixed in 23 L of water. A very simple brew that has great head retention and tastes great.
Gar
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Been brewing a bit under 18 months now and I'm loving every minute
Jumped in the deep end with the first brew and went all-grain, rather than mess around with K&K and partials.... the first batch was pretty bad, second was awesome & after that I've been pretty sweet.... with the exception of one infection (still drank it though heh heh :icon_drunk: :icon_vomit: )
Only brewed 16 beers and 2 ciders so far so I've still got plenty to learn.
Love the forum though, such an amazing wealth of knowledge and funny fuggers to boot.
Jumped in the deep end with the first brew and went all-grain, rather than mess around with K&K and partials.... the first batch was pretty bad, second was awesome & after that I've been pretty sweet.... with the exception of one infection (still drank it though heh heh :icon_drunk: :icon_vomit: )
Only brewed 16 beers and 2 ciders so far so I've still got plenty to learn.
Love the forum though, such an amazing wealth of knowledge and funny fuggers to boot.
sponge
Dungeon O' Sponge Brewery
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Was given a coopers kit for xmas in 06 off my uncle and brewed 1 K&K, 1 cider and 1 GB.
Moved to extract & partials after that for about 5 brews, did a couple of FWK's then stopped for a couple of years right after purchasing everything I needed to go AG as I didn't have an area to AG brew at my parents place.
Bought a place with my GF last year and was granted permission to use the storage room at the back of the garage as a brewing and music room so began AG brewing after 3 years off.
Have done about 15 brews on my 3V gravity setup and have purchased (but not drilled/wired/etc) everything to make it a single level HERMS setup.
Sponge
Note to self: Really need to pull the finger out and get the HERMS setup finished ASAP!
Moved to extract & partials after that for about 5 brews, did a couple of FWK's then stopped for a couple of years right after purchasing everything I needed to go AG as I didn't have an area to AG brew at my parents place.
Bought a place with my GF last year and was granted permission to use the storage room at the back of the garage as a brewing and music room so began AG brewing after 3 years off.
Have done about 15 brews on my 3V gravity setup and have purchased (but not drilled/wired/etc) everything to make it a single level HERMS setup.
Sponge
Note to self: Really need to pull the finger out and get the HERMS setup finished ASAP!
Rowy
Drinker of Kegs, Slayer of Fish & Ruiner of Good F
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Started September last year doing K&K and one Kits and bits. Kept reading on this site and thought I can do this. Found NickJD's thread for AG for under $30 and I was a goner. I love cooking so the rooting around suits me. Started AG in early December 11 and have only missed 3 or 4 weekends when I haven't brewed. So probably churned out in excess of 20 brews. Only one infection so far. I BIAB with a couple of tweaks such as a bucket in a bucker to drain and sparge a little. Living not far from Craftbrewer is the killer for me. The place is a magnet.............
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