Why Did You Start Brewing? Can You Answer These Questions?

[barabool]

1a) What inspired you to start home-brewing? 1b)Why do you continue to home-brew?
1a)To make Beer - Think about it, you get to make something that other pay for. 1b)Helps reduce the expense of having a beer
2) How did you go about finding the equipment?
was in Coles originally - then Local Homebrew store
3) Was it hard to find the necessary equipment?
No - was in Coles - this is changing now
4) Did you buy a starter kit or did you buy the equipment individually?
Starter kit.
5) What's the best part about brewing?
Refer to 1a - plus its great when you get a great beer and a mate says 'Really - home brew?'
6) At what age did you start brewing?
19
7) How would you describe the home-brewing community in Melbourne, AUS? In your local community? Do you think it is growing?
Im in Brissy, and dispite some of the worst brewing conditions its not hard to find a Homebrew shop and drop around for a quiet beer and chat.
8) How often do you brew during the year on average?
Every 8 days or every 20 days when doing a lager
9) Is there any type of equipment that you wish it would have been easier to find?
Hop flowers
10) When you have a question about brewing or beer in general, where do you go for answers?
Internet
11) Do you experiment making multiple types of beer - using a unique blend of ingredients - or just stick with the out-of-the-box recipes? How do you find out about unique recipes?
I have used some crazy ingredients - I once used Tamarind - Try and keep it under control.
12) Do you sometimes brew with other people?
Yep,had a couple of brew partners over the years.

 

[michael_aussie]

1) What inspired you to start home-brewing? Why do you continue to home-brew?
Birthday present. The results from the start were fantastic, great tasting, and cheap!
Snow-balled from there.

2) How did you go about finding the equipment?
LHBS, on-line, Cole,s Kmart, woolies, Big W.

3) Was it hard to find the necessary equipment?
It can be some times.

4) Did you buy a starter kit or did you buy the equipment individually?
Bday present was a Brigalow Starter Kit.

5) What's the best part about brewing?
Great, cheap beer. Satisfying hobby.

6) At what age did you start brewing?
45

7) How would you describe the home-brewing community in Melbourne, AUS? In your local community? Do you think it is growing?
Melb= IDK
Aus = small but growing
Local = small but growing

8) How often do you brew during the year on average?
12 times

9) Is there any type of equipment that you wish it would have been easier to find?
Keg gear

10) When you have a question about brewing or beer in general, where do you go for answers?
AHB forum, LHBS

11) Do you experiment making multiple types of beer - using a unique blend of ingredients - or just stick with the out-of-the-box recipes? How do you find out about unique recipes?
Many experiments.
LBHS and AHB forum

12) Do you sometimes brew with other people?
No, other than my kids

..
Put Fresh Wort kits (in plastic bladders in cardboard) 2x concentrated with high quality yeast for $30 (makes 20L) and the breweries are in trouble...

Coles? Woolies? You listening?

+1

 

[Bastow]

1) What inspired you to start home-brewing? Why do you continue to home-brew?
Uni- no money, dads homebrew
Better beer that i have control over and i know whats gone into it

2) How did you go about finding the equipment?
Bits and pieces off Dad and from the home brew shop, woolies.

3) Was it hard to find the necessary equipment?
No

4) Did you buy a starter kit or did you buy the equipment individually?
Individually

5) What's the best part about brewing?
Control, Taste, Resourcefulness.

6) At what age did you start brewing?
19

7) How would you describe the home-brewing community in Melbourne, AUS? In your local community? Do you think it is growing?
A friendly bunch, with some occasional bickering (on this forum). Good in my community, helpful. Yes , growing.

8) How often do you brew during the year on average?
24 times

9) Is there any type of equipment that you wish it would have been easier to find?
You can acquire anything, its the cost that is the problem.

10) When you have a question about brewing or beer in general, where do you go for answers?
AHB

11) Do you experiment making multiple types of beer - using a unique blend of ingredients - or just stick with the out-of-the-box recipes? How do you find out about unique recipes?
AHB, Beer and brewer mag, Internet, i make all sorts of beer, good and bad.

12) Do you sometimes brew with other people?
Yes

 

[Tony]

1) What inspired you to start home-brewing?
A: cartons of tooheys new went over $20!

Why do you continue to home-brew?
A: cause i got good at it... and the beer got better, and i can make and drink what ever i like, and the looks on peoples faces when they try it is great.

2) How did you go about finding the equipment?
A: most of it came from bower birding at work.

3) Was it hard to find the necessary equipment?
A: No

4) Did you buy a starter kit or did you buy the equipment individually?
A: I bought a starter kit from miter 10 with a can of goop and it was shit. I thought....mmmm it must get better than this! The rest is history.

5) What's the best part about brewing?
A: the first pour of a beer from the tap after weeks of love and care to make it.

6) At what age did you start brewing?
A: 27

7) How would you describe the home-brewing community in Melbourne, AUS? In your local community? Do you think it is growing?
A: I live near newcastle. We now have 2 world class micros within 40 min drive of my house and home brewing clubs starting to thrive. Local beer festivals with big attendances. It is definitely growing fast.

8) How often do you brew during the year on average?
A: 12 to 15 times, usually 54 liter batches and the odd 28 liter batch of something stronger

9) Is there any type of equipment that you wish it would have been easier to find?
A: its called the internet , nothing is hard to find.

10) When you have a question about brewing or beer in general, where do you go for answers?
A: Origionally the old Grumpys forum, then AHB came about and Grumpys fell in a troll hole. Also text books.

11) Do you experiment making multiple types of beer - using a unique blend of ingredients - or just stick with the out-of-the-box recipes? How do you find out about unique recipes?
A: I almost never make the same beer twice, and i love to brew outside the square. One thing i love about brewing is that its only limited by your imagination. It doesnt always work out well but when you pull off something different thats great... its very satisfying. I also pride myself on recipe formulation and can spend up to 6 months working over an idea before making the beer. I very rarely use others recipes, usually just ideas or parts of a recipe someone else has listed.

12) Do you sometimes brew with other people?
A: I have a fair number of new brewers through to see how its done. They come, they see, and they go make beer, usually saying..... Well i thought it was harder than that!

 

[michael_aussie]

.....
9) Is there any type of equipment that you wish it would have been easier to find?
Affordable conical fermenters
..........

agree... they would be nice but all the ones I've seen are far too expensive for me.

 

[michael_aussie]

1) What inspired you to start home-brewing?
A: cartons of tooheys new went over $20!
........

Before I started brewing ... my beer budget was around $38 for a slab. I found I could buy Carlton Black or Toohey's Old for less than that when Coles or Woolies had a special -- usually somewhere around $32 to $36 per slab. I'd buy 10 or even 15 slabs, to hold me out until their next discount ..... but the specials were drying up....
When I found my first batch shit all over Old or Black.. and worked out at around $10 per slab ... I was sold for life!!

 

[blublurag]

1) What inspired you to start home-brewing? Why do you continue to home-brew?
Mates bought me a kegerator and I had to put beer in it and couldn't afford 50 litre kegs. Enjoy it, can make more interesting beers than I can buy at a resonable price.

2) How did you go about finding the equipment?
Forums, Brewmaker, Beer Belly, Craftbrewer, Ebay

3) Was it hard to find the necessary equipment?
No, just expensive at times

4) Did you buy a starter kit or did you buy the equipment individually?
Yes, then upgraded up to All Grain over a year and a half or so. Could still buy more stuff but will wait for a while

5) What's the best part about brewing?
Relaxing, the beer, pride in end product

6) At what age did you start brewing?
Had a dabble when 18, but have been doing it again since I was 40. Now 42.

7) How would you describe the home-brewing community in Melbourne, AUS? In your local community? Do you think it is growing?
Don't know about MEL, but in Adelaide it seems pretty good. There are case swaps etc and for the main people seem to get on well. Would like to get more involved but am always too busy.

8) How often do you brew during the year on average?
Every 2-3 weeks.

9) Is there any type of equipment that you wish it would have been easier to find?
Everything is easy if you have the money.

10) When you have a question about brewing or beer in general, where do you go for answers?
Forum, my local shop, web.

11) Do you experiment making multiple types of beer - using a unique blend of ingredients - or just stick with the out-of-the-box recipes? How do you find out about unique recipes?
Always trying new things but will gave the same thing a go for a few, usually to reculture yeast.

12) Do you sometimes brew with other people?
Guy across the road brews and we've done a couple together, but he is more a K&K guy and can't understand why I go to so much trouble, funny thing is though he is always over for a beer!

 

[Franko]

1) What inspired you to start home-brewing? Why do you continue to home-brew?
I thought hey lets give it a go

2) How did you go about finding the equipment?
local homebrew store

3) Was it hard to find the necessary equipment?
No - all you needed back when I started was a bucket and a can of goo

4) Did you buy a starter kit or did you buy the equipment individually?
Individually

5) What's the best part about brewing?
Learning new things ( Big big thanks to one of my best mates Pumpy ) for taking time to teach me AG brewing forever in debt to you mate I wouldn't have built what I have today without your help

6) At what age did you start brewing?
20

7) How would you describe the home-brewing community in Melbourne, AUS? In your local community? Do you think it is growing?
Don't know how they roll in Melbourne but where doing fine here in NSW

8) How often do you brew during the year on average?
Please if you have to ask you're not a real brewer- how long is a piece of string

9) Is there any type of equipment that you wish it would have been easier to find?
Termimesh - yes thanks Sav from QLD for showing me the benefits of this great material

10) When you have a question about brewing or beer in general, where do you go for answers?
My local brewclub - what a great bunch of blokes cheers fellas

11) Do you experiment making multiple types of beer - using a unique blend of ingredients - or just stick with the out-of-the-box recipes? How do you find out about unique recipes?
All brewers are different whatever floats your boat I say, We all have a particular beer/style we make well its what sets us all apart

12) Do you sometimes brew with other people?
Definitely you never stop learning from others in this hobby that's what makes it so great you pickup little things all the time

Beers

Franko

 

[axertes]

Hi Everyone!
I am currently doing some research on the home-brewing business for a Consumer Behaviour class in my Graduate MBA program and need YOUR input!

Can you help me out by answering all (or some) of the following questions? Any responses would be extremely helpful and your honesty and greatly appreciated!

1) What inspired you to start home-brewing? Why do you continue to home-brew?
Originally, it was to try and replicate the delicious flat and warm bitters of the Old Country. I had a brewing hiatus, and then a friend and I started tasting all sorts of craft beers. We're getting back into it in a partnership to try and create delicious craft beer to our own taste.

2) How did you go about finding the equipment?
Went to a homebrew shop initially, now order some stuff online.

3) Was it hard to find the necessary equipment?
Equipment, no, with the internet. It would be difficult if I bought everything at my local shop.

4) Did you buy a starter kit or did you buy the equipment individually?
Starter kit.

5) What's the best part about brewing?
Creating. And Australian beer is among the shittiest (a few craft breweries excepted) and most expensive in the world, so it's good for my tastebuds and wallet.

6) At what age did you start brewing?
I think I was 17 or 18.

7) How would you describe the home-brewing community in Melbourne, AUS? In your local community? Do you think it is growing?
Here in Toowoomba: I have no idea.

8) How often do you brew during the year on average?
I've been off and on for years. A true average would be a couple of times a year. When I'm 'on' it would be a dozen batches a year?

9) Is there any type of equipment that you wish it would have been easier to find?
Decent ingredients (malt, hops) locally would be awesome. Malt's heavy to ship if I buy online.

10) When you have a question about brewing or beer in general, where do you go for answers?
Here. Or google.

11) Do you experiment making multiple types of beer - using a unique blend of ingredients - or just stick with the out-of-the-box recipes? How do you find out about unique recipes?
Multiple types. I tweak recipes I find on here or on the interwebs.

12) Do you sometimes brew with other people?
Perviously: no. Now: my best mate is now my brewing partner.