49 replies to this topic

[kbhale]

How did you learn to make beer? Did you learn on your own or were you lucky enough to have someone show you?Me. I learned on my own. My only help was forum members taking time to answer my questions. I have a lot of gratitude for those who took the time.Thanks kevin

[MetlGuy]

I started helping my brother in law 10 years ago and quit after moving away. Then a friend got me re-hooked 3 years ago.Life has been great since.

[MyaCullen]

I got myself into it, after wanting to for a couple years, I ordered some bag of beer stuff on the 'net. Didn't like the results. Went down to the LHBS, bought their deluxe 2 Carboy kit with ingredients to clone Hales Pale Ale. Hooked ever since. Learned mostly from a combination of the LHBS, and The New Complete Joy of Homebrewing. I spent a lot of time talking to the LHBS, bugging them about everything. A few years later I went AG, loved it.then eventually found th greenboard, loved that, made even better beer! Now I am here, still loving it.

[dondewey]

Read How to Brew online in '02.

[jammer]

Out of curiosity, i bought a Mr. Beer a little over a year ago. I did two batches with that. The beer sucked, but that started me to research on the intertnet and brought me to extract brewing. I think i did about 5 batches of extract and moved on to all grain. then started buiding a kegerator, now up to 3 taps. Ive done probably 15-20 all grain batches and just love the hobby and the beer.I read books and lots of forums to learn to brew.Edit to actually answer the question posted.

[realbeerguy]

Started with the MR Beer SWMBO gave me for Christmas. Got tips from the LHBS who I started to get the ingredients after reaizing the MR Beer kits sucked. Joined the Homebrew Club that was started at the store, and picked up info from that group. Brewed with one of the more experienced members a few times. Did a lot of reading about the process.

[Seagis]

I essentially learned on my own. I'm a semi-professional chef by trade (I'm co-owner of a catering company as a form of side-employment) and food is a passion of mine, and that just kind of extended into making beer. It's something I have wanted to do for years, but just never got around to involving myself in. I've made two (really, really baaaad) batches of what could only charitably be considered mead, and they both failed due to my complete ignorance of both the process itself and of proper sterilization techniques.I mentioned to my wife back in 2007 that I'd like to get a homebrewing kit, and she went in with my mom on a kit from William's Brewing Co. The only guidelines I had were the instructions on the box of extract. I was already on the GreenBoard at the time, and I got some help from people there, but more as a sideline than anything.I'm really glad to have gotten into this hobby/addiction thing.

[NWPines]

My girlfriend bought me a deluxe brewing kit right after we graduated college in 1994. We were living in Cotati, CA and she got it from The Beverage People in Santa Rosa. Brewed a couple not so great batches and kept going in and asking Byron Burch a million questions. Started reading every brewing book I could get my hands on, and my brewing really started to improve. So essentially self taught with a lot of reading and some early help from Byron.

[Recklessdeck]

Huh, so far it seems i'm the only one who sought out a teacher. I started brewing when I met a a guy through a mutual acquaintance who said he had been doing it for a while, Brewskee, who occasionally still posts over at the GB. I sat in on one of his batches, then he sat in on mine, and then I started reading the GB and bought Papaizan's book. I'm glad i had a teacher, otherwise jumping straight into all grain would have been too complex.All in all I think I've learned the most by reading brewing forums daily. So in other words, you all have taught me. Thanks.

[Kansan]

My wife and I went over to a friend of a friend's house who was brewing an all grain batch of beer back in 1991. We were hooked from the start. That week we went to the LHBS and bought Dave Miller's first book-- still one of my favorites... The following weekend we brewed our first batch of extract beer. Every week we'd buy another book and brew another batch. A wonderful 74 year old man who had been brewing since the 1930s, and is still going strong today at 92!) took me under his tutelage. I helped him brew well over 20 batches on his Brew Magic system. Non of the books were as informative as these sessions were. A group of us in town started getting together and helping each other brew, and drink beer! Within three years we had a local home brew club up and running full steam. Never have looked back and have been constantly honing my craft with the same excitement I had that first week, and sharing the excitement of home brewing with whomever I can.

[ncbeerbrewer]

I graduated college back in 1998, microbiology degree and a friend hey you can brew beer. I got papazian's book Complete Joy. Read that, Ordered a homebrew kit from Grape and Granary I lived in Ohio and did extract. Never watched or knew anyone who brewed before I started. I did that till Jan 2008. A coworker wanted to get into AG and he did a batch then showed me his method the next weekend. 40 batches here I am and no turning back.

[HVB]

Watched the Alton Brown Amber Waves episode. That got me thinking and I had found the other board. Read up for several months on the forum and then Palmre's book online. Bought a SNPA extract with steeping grains kit and never looked back. After 8 years I still have not watched anyone else brew, but I have shown a few friends how to.

[ChefLamont]

I started making hard cider years ago. That was good because it gave me my sanitation appreciation and procedures. I didnt really like beer at all (note: this was because my only reference was macro-industrial beer). Then a friend of mine gave me a New Belgium Sunshine Wheat. I liked it quite a bit. About the same time I had another friend that had brewed a few extract batches. He suggested that he and I brew together and that he wanted to go AG. So I said sure, did a little (not really a lot) reading, and then brewed my first batch with him. It was an AG hefe and it was great. Interestingly, while I was building on the experience of someone that had, I still have never brewed an extract batch.

[passlaku]

I went to a homebrew club brew session. The guy who hosted brewed two extract recipes and I thought, hey I can do this.

[ThroatwobblerMangrove]

Watched the Alton Brown Amber Waves episode. That got me thinking and I had found the other board. Read up for several months on the forum and then Palmre's book online. Bought a SNPA extract with steeping grains kit and never looked back. After 8 years I still have not watched anyone else brew, but I have shown a few friends how to.

The Amber Waves episode is 8 years old? I always thought it was more recent...Learned the basics a couple years ago from Palmer's book. After a couple of batches found the other board and the rest is history.

[Sidney Porter]

started going to a Brew on Premise (the brew kettle in strongsville OH) in 97. We would go to that 2-3 times a year splitting the 12 gallon batches with another couple. In '00 the place was going thru some remodeling/expansion and were clsed for 3mos, and had long waiting list to get kettle time. So I order a starter kit from Austin brewing. I had a good concept adding the ingredients but never experienced the fermentation steps since the BOP took care of that.Moved across country, moved into a small apt, and we had a baby beginning 04. Didn't brew for a year. When I started back up went all grain.

[beach]

I recieved a Mr Beer from the g/f last Christmas, brewed a batch with that, found the forums, brewed a couple more Mr. Beer, read more including Palmer on line. Brewed an extract with steeped grains, read more on the forums, built the AG equipment, kept reading, joined the local brew-club. I've brewed 6 AG batches and haven't looked back. I never even watched anyone else brew until Big Brew day this year, I've learned pretty much everything from forums. If it weren't for all you folks out there it would have taken much, much longer to get where I am now. Thanks VERY much! I love everything about this hobby.

[Stout_fan]

I came into this loving mead and hating beer.A friend always would always bring his HB to picnics. That was about 20 years ago.I always passed, as I hated the taste of "beer."It is important to mention beer=BM. There was no C on east coast at this time. No great loss IMHO.Eventually I tried his HB and was hooked.Wow! Beer with flavor, who would have imagined that!Another friend and I decided to start this noble hobby, splitting the cost of the gear.The guy with the HB came over and showed us how.Later we found Charlie P's book.My friend eventually got bored with it and I bought out his half.Flew solo for a decade making extract "stouts."Then I found a REAL home brew club (CRABS), not just a bunch of hopheads.Then I started making real beer!

[HVB]

The Amber Waves episode is 8 years old? I always thought it was more recent...Learned the basics a couple years ago from Palmer's book. After a couple of batches found the other board and the rest is history.

Maybe you are right .. it may be more recent .. I know I started back in 2001-2002 just from where I was working at the time and I had watched a show on the food network on brewing.edit .. found the original air date 10-09-2002, whew .. my mind is not going as much as I thougth it was!

[BuxomBrewster]

I learned from my husband and from How to Brew. I went along with him to the LHBS to look at mead and cider stuff. I saw How to Brew and decided I wanted to give it a try. I liked sneaking sips of my father's beer as a kid, but didn't really like beer as an adult. When I started making it myself, I finally got beer I liked. I'm strange. I've never followed a recipe. I'll be following my first recipe soon. And I've never brewed anything but all grain. My first batch I sparged through a pasta pot because we didn't have the all grain set-up yet.