Introduce Yourself.

[OzBeer_MD]

Just joined the other day, 35 year old Australian... I am a recent addict to homebrewing, I tried it 15 years ago gave up did not like the taste or the effort to get the bad taste. Since then I have been a part time commercial beer drinker just Mr Joe Average, and much more of a red wine drinker. Then several months ago went to a mates place had one of his home brews and almost fell of my chair with the great taste, and the keg set up was very simple...


Worst BBQ of my life since then under the banner of "cheap" beer to the wife I purchased a few kegs and a ebay fridge to try a few brews.. Did the standard brew that came with my starter kit and not bad (not that good either but a clear pass), I then tried a Wet Pack from TCB an oaked Ale average at first but over time became just unbelievable good !! In between a few other brews all fairly good as well, and I am addicted and just purchased a fermenting fridge of ebay..

Saving money on beer is the most expensive thing I have ever done, the upside is my red wine expenditure has almost sunk to zero I now have the 2 fridges, 6 kegs, several books on order and a taste for beer like never before, I had no idea how good beer could be. I was on holidays last week and really found the bottle shop beer very average.

I have a heavy stout in primary right now, in the fridge a Wheat Beer (TCB Wet Pack), Pal Ale quite bland for the wife (she likes it but it is average to me) and my second Oaked Ale.

I think I want to avoid the AG option for a while as it sounds like it will feed my addiction


Stephen

Crikey, like reading my own story! 35 y/o Australian living in Hornsby ...... 3 kegs, 2 fermenters, really need a fermenting chest with these temps. done about 6 brews, some fresh worts, a 'toucan' larger/bock was by far the best (first time I cooled the fermenter).

The missus is looking at a red wine fridge and I'm thinking 'could my fermenter fit in that' On a serious note, how big does a chest freezer have to be to fit 2 pail fermenters side by side?


MD

 

[Bootsie]

Soo, hello all you brewers...

Im Mrs HKS..aka HKS's wife ( der ) We started brewing 20 years ago the old method way, bottling, sterlising, rinsing ...tedious stuffs. Did that for around 10 years and finally got sick of the bottling factor. We both agreed that if we were going to brew another brew we werent going to be washing ANOTHER bottle out. The days of bottling really sucked but its been a learning curve for us both, but brought us to where we are now....10 years later... We both decided it was time to get serious and keg it, of course HKS took this to extremes as he does with every hobby he has, but so far I know its a step in the right direction.

But what actually got me to signing up to AHB was our convo tonight. Got talking to HKS tonight about brewing stuff ( surprise surprise ) and we got into a discussion about the good old term SWMBO. I felt compelled to share with you all my thoughts on that. HKS struggled to hear me out as I validated my cause for the SWMBO, I argued intensively to get my point across and in the end he had to admit to me I was right ( haha..was that to just shut me up =)) To me the term SWMBO is insulting, not in a truely offensive manner but really..WTH is that about!. I guess my main arguement here was the OBEY!...umm.. we are in this together, there is no obey. I grant him the freedom to do as he pleases and he returns it. So to all you SWMBO lovers out there, HTFU... try equality =) it rocks!

All that said, I just have to say thanks for all the advice and comments that have inspired HKS to make and build the best homebrew/ keg/ serving system this side of mars =) Not only have you kept him amused and outta my hair your've encourage him to create the free flowing amber liqiour I know Ill be loving once his done.

Three cheers to you all *high fives*

<3 Mrs HKS

Just noticed the amateur brewer wtf is that..sob over my last 20 yrs worth....

 

[schooey]

I guess my main arguement here was the OBEY! ...umm.. we are in this together, there is no obey. I grant him the freedom to do as he pleases and he returns it. So to all you SWMBO lovers out there, HTFU... try equality =) it rocks!

umm... at the risk of entering the eye of Mordor and attracting the wrath of a woman scorned upon me...

Isn't that a little contradictory?

 

[beernography]

Watch out HKS sounds like you have a lot of people's dream lady here! Pleased to make your acquaintance Mrs HKS. The amateur brewer is just your byline for how many posts you've made and so are the kegs. As you post more frequently, the kegs go up and so does your title.

 

[HKS]

Watch out HKS sounds like you have a lot of people's dream lady here!

Too right mate. Not only does she like beer and homebrew especially, and has helped me brew "every" homebrew we have ever put down she also is no light weight. Now I'm not saying she is fat, oh my I'm not, although she could lose some weight, "I'm out of arms reach as I type this and when I hit add reply I will run", what I mean is she goes 1 for 1 beers with me. We can, and regularly do polish off a carton between us of megaswill 1 for 1 as well as HB's of course in a night. Now you know what I mean by she is no light weight when it comes to drinking beer. In fact I think she could drink a lot of guys here under the table.

I told her tonight too about me using "reverse women's logic" on her ie to purchase brewing gear. She never realised I had and had a good laugh when I explained how it worked and she agreed it did work.

Yes I'm a lucky man. Next time I'll make sure she goes into MHB's and sits on the comfy lounge. I forgive her up until now because she broke her leg. But now she's hobbling around without any crutches or walking sticks she has no excuse if I pull up out front.

Cheers

 

[PistolPatch]

Soo, hello all you brewers...

Im Mrs HKS. To me the term SWMBO is insulting, not in a truely offensive manner but really..WTH is that about!. I guess my main arguement here was the OBEY!...umm.. we are in this together, there is no obey. I grant him the freedom to do as he pleases and he returns it. So to all you SWMBO lovers out there, HTFU... try equality =) it rocks!

Evening Mrs HKS!

This is probably the first time I have written in this thread and, as others will tell you, I will write essays anywhere!

Don't worry about SWMBO comments. I haven't met a brewer yet here who does not love and value their spouse. On forums, we can all run amock a litttle without getting into too much trouble. Also as brewers, we spend a little bit more on our hobby than perhaps we should. Because most brewers here are male, the easiest targets are the brewer's spouse.

The forum is very unbalanced male/female wise and this leads to us males making comments that we would feel comfortable doing on a building site.

I'm not saying this is a good thing but there are opportunities in this.

There are several female brewers on this forum, some who you do not even realise are female until they give you the honour of letting you know.

The female brewers I know on AHB put up with the idiotic comments that us males consistently make (though a lot of this is funny!) Look, I've had a long day, I'm not too sure what the solution is here, I know several female brewers here on AHB, you are all well-respected, we love you, we love your comments and we respect them far more than most male's comments.

I've had it. I'm listening to Midnight Oil after a long day. The song says. "Who's running the world today?"

On AHB, it isn't a male and it isn't a female. It is just who says hello and says what they have found.

Oh! But grab that keyboard Mrs HKS as females will obviously get a better start on AHB than males do - we can't help but love you!

If you want, PM me and I will forward you one of the newer AHB female names on AHB.

Hope that helps but I am forummining slights under the influence.

Let me know please,
Pat

 

[Lobsta]

hi all, i have been posting here for a while, but i never really introduced myself.

My name is Michael Thorp, no, im not related to the swimmer.
I am an 18 year old student in my second year of studying pharmacy at QUT gardens point in Brisbane, Queensland.
I play and coach Water Polo at a club level, the U14 girls team that i co-coach came 6th at the recent state championships.
I currently work at a pharmacy in Brisbane.
I got into homebrew thanks to an uncle who was in the process of getting into it himself thanks to a mate of his, and the ides of 40c beers was too much to resist.
I havent had a brew finish yet, i am about 6 days into my first one atm.
Any fellow cane toads hit me up and we can go for a quiet one some time.

Cheers fellas


Lobsta

 

[brewgirl]

Hey... I only just found out this thread exsisted. I'm pretty new here, only posted a couple of times. Just put down my 2nd batch tonight. The first one hasn't turned out real good, looks pretty... shame about the taste. I think thats due to temp issues (doing the bucket and ice bottles thingie with this new batch).

We'll I'm 24, currently live out at Forest Lake in Brisbane, am moving into the city in 2 weeks (can't wait), have been in Brissy for 2 years and loving it, was in Townsville before that.

I'm a total beer noob, won't even pretend to know anything about it... but I'm sure my love of beer will grow like my love of coffee, I started out drinking instant about 10 years ago, now you couldn't pay me to drink that shite... fresh ground esspresso all the way (my esspresso machine is the single most used appliance in my kitchen... acutally I think its about the only appliance I use).
I pretty much just drink Coopers Pale Ale... and sometimes Tooheys New. I started drinking beer at uni coz I couldn't afford anything else (and refuse to drink goon), now I quite enjoy it.

I've got a spare fridge I want to make into a brewing fridge and I'd love to try BIAB at some point, but one step at a time, right now I'm trying to combat QLD heat until I get my fridge set up. I'm loving the world of info this site provides I'm learning a lot...

Well cross fingers this next batch turns out drinkable, and cross fingers the first batch gets drinkable in time. *grin*

Ciao for now

Sharon

 

[NickB]

Welcome to the forum BrewGirl!

I'm sure you've started reading the endless resources available here! These guys have helped me no end in my quest to brew really awesome beer! I'm sure you'd be more than welcome to come along to the next gathering in the Brisbane area (the July Case Swap), and meet some of the amazing brewers, and taste some truly world-class beers!

And remember, we were all new at this once, so feel free to ask any question, no matter how basic you think it may be, and you'll get not only good answers, but good and varied opinions! That's what makes AHB such an amazing resource!

Welcome again!

Cheers and Beers!

 

[bonj]

Welcome to the new members!

Re the SWMBO issue. I wouldn't take too much offence to this... I know of at least one female brewer that refers to her partner as HWMBO. :lol: It's really just a fun way of acknowledging that most of us can't just go feral, and there is actually someone else in our lives whom we value highly enough to accept their input and ensure that their needs are also met... not just our own. My wife thinks it's funny and reckons that's how it should be... hehe.

It's also alot easier to just write SWMBO, rather than "my wife" or "my girlfriend".

And watch out for Pat, HKS! He's putting the word on your wife already! He'll say that he can't make the caseswap, but we know where he'll be.

 

[HKS]

Welcome to the new members!

Re the SWMBO issue. I wouldn't take too much offence to this... I know of at least one female brewer that refers to her partner as HWMBO. :lol: It's really just a fun way of acknowledging that most of us can't just go feral, and there is actually someone else in our lives whom we value highly enough to accept their input and ensure that their needs are also met... not just our own. My wife thinks it's funny and reckons that's how it should be... hehe.

It's also alot easier to just write SWMBO, rather than "my wife" or "my girlfriend".

And watch out for Pat, HKS! He's putting the word on your wife already! He'll say that he can't make the caseswap, but we know where he'll be.

Haha, yeah she was just joking around about the term SWMBO. As you may have noticed we both had had quite a few last night, well past the 3/4 carton mark by then. Son is away at the grandparents and we were kicking back enjoying a good beer drinking session. That's when I started talking about brewing and mentioned that most of the blokes refer to their better halves as SWMBO's. Her comment was, WTF are they all a bunch of soft cocks? I told her nah where I would say the Mrs, around here they say SWMBO instead or the Minister of Finance. She had a good laugh over it and felt inclined to take the piss.

So she certainly didn't take any offence, no probs there. She just wasn't sure if they were serious or not.

She's obviously not as obsessed about HB as I am or ever will be. I also earbash her constantly after getting back into it again. I think she forgot what I was like last time. But she always enjoyed helping to brew. Hated the bottling like I did as well. But she sure did enjoy drinking them.

She broke her leg at work so I've being doing all the SWMBO work, haha, I'll probably cop it for that but that has cut into brewing time and was the main reason I didn't make the HAG case swap. I guess I had a few years banked up and owing her anyway and there will always be more case swaps.

I got to hand it to her. She sat in the car one day, broken leg resting on the door, for about an hour and a half whilst I was in earbashing Mark @ MHB and I didn't cop it too much even though it was like 35C outside. Next time she came prepared with a book but I was only in there a mere hour or so. Time after that 40 minutes. She never said boo. I said to her she shoulda hobbled in and sat on his comfy lounge in A/C comfort. I get away with spending $100's each visit with not even a raised eyebrow. OK she sometimes rolls her eyes but that's about the extent of it. She knows by now through me modifying cars, building PC's or anything I do, I never do it by halves and never on the cheap. I also hate to do anything twice so I research like crazy and then go and spend the big bucks once only.

She's a bit worried about my recent stainless fetish and concerned that the only porn I look at now is brew porn :lol:

Hmm I'm starting to wonder if I'm like Pat. I can't seem to make a post under a page either mate. Maybe I do have something to be concerned about

To end this long winded post showing off my beer drinking, home brewing Mrs and rubbing it in to all those whose SWMBO doesn't even drink beer, haha, welcome to some of the other members like Brewgirl. Whilst the women maybe few and far between on here, its good to see others out there with similar interests and also have a passion for beer and brewing.

Cheers

 

[bugwan]

The thing I find interesting about SWMBOs (mine at least!) is that we seem to have to ask permission for everything (new taps, new fridge, time to brew etc), whereas they just do what they want...!
Does anyone else find this? Maybe us male brewers really do need to HTFU and either require that either all of SWMBO's future requests go through us, or that we just do as we please...just like her.

I can't see either happening frankly!

 

[HKS]

Its funny because that's exactly what we were talking about last night. We indentified 3 types. The type who just goes and buys whatever they please without telling you. The 2nd type who tells you they are going to buy something but doesn't ask, they just tell you. The 3rd type who tells you they want to buy something, then annoys the hell out of you till you are sick of hearing about it and to shut them up you say "Whatever go and buy it, just as long as I don't have to hear about it any longer"

My Mrs would be the 2nd type. I'm probably a combo of the 2nd and 3rd type. Sometimes I just tell her I'm off to buy something. Other times I'll use reverse women's pyschology and bug her about something till she's so sick of hearing it and says "Go and buy it, just as long as you STFU about it"

But yeah she got the impression that it didn't work the same both ways. The guys seem to have to ask permission where that doesn't necessarily happen the other way around.

Cheers

 

[AUHEAMIC]

The thing I find interesting about SWMBOs (mine at least!) is that we seem to have to ask permission for everything (new taps, new fridge, time to brew etc), whereas they just do what they want...!
Does anyone else find this? Maybe us male brewers really do need to HTFU and either require that either all of SWMBO's future requests go through us, or that we just do as we please...just like her.

I can't see either happening frankly!

Dont upset the natural order of the universe.

Its our job to earn it and their job to spend it.

 

[brewgirl]

Its funny because that's exactly what we were talking about last night. We indentified 3 types. The type who just goes and buys whatever they please without telling you. The 2nd type who tells you they are going to buy something but doesn't ask, they just tell you. The 3rd type who tells you they want to buy something, then annoys the hell out of you till you are sick of hearing about it and to shut them up you say "Whatever go and buy it, just as long as I don't have to hear about it any longer"

But yeah she got the impression that it didn't work the same both ways. The guys seem to have to ask permission where that doesn't necessarily happen the other way around.

Cheers

HA HA HA ... that is so true... I'm a combo of the 1st and 2nd type. In saying that though, I'm alot more controled with money than my other half, I say no to myself alot. He always has to ask if there is something he wants to buy, coz I keep all the money. I usally let him get what ever he wants though, aslong as all the bills are payed, and I say yes to him alot more than I do to myself.

Btw... I have no idea what SWMBO means.... can someone pls enlighten me.

 

[bonj]

SWMBO == She Who Must Be Obeyed

 

[geoff_tewierik]

Btw... I have no idea what SWMBO means.... can someone pls enlighten me.

She Who Must Be Obeyed.

 

[browndog]

Welcome Lobsta and Brewgirl,
Up here in SE QLD we have a very social bunch of ABH Brewers, there is always a get together every few months or so. SWMBO is She who must be obeyed Newgirl. Keep an eye on the AHB meetings section of the forum, this is where we post details of our get togethers, you will be most welcome to attend.

cheers

Browndog

Dang, beaten to the punch by Bonj.

 

[staggalee]

HA HA HA ... that is so true... I'm a combo of the 1st and 2nd type. In saying that though, I'm alot more controled with money than my other half, I say no to myself alot. He always has to ask if there is something he wants to buy, coz I keep all the money. I usally let him get what ever he wants though, aslong as all the bills are payed, and I say yes to him alot more than I do to myself.

Btw... I have no idea what SWMBO means.... can someone pls enlighten me.

Slack Women Make Bad `Ousewives

stagga.

 

[bonj]

...
Dang, beaten to the punch by Bonj.

:lol: As my Dad says, "There's no prize for second".