Attend any homebrewing gathering and you will find that homebrewers have much to debate, and a whole lot of opinions. We all agree on one thing, however — we all love to homebrew! BYO recently asked our Facebook fans to finish a simple phrase, “I homebrew because...”
    
We heard from the ardent:
“I like ‘living under the influence!’ The influence of limitless creativity that homebrewing affords me. Homebrewers are always pushing the envelope in terms of recipes and techniques. Without homebrewers there would be no craft revolution! We ROCK!”

“To refine my craft and someday quit my day job to create liquid happiness. Oh, and nobody brews the beers that I make and I like it that way.”

“Because I can truly call it MINE!”

There were the scientists and logisticians:
“It lets my artistic side come out, while still satisfying my scientific side.”

“Because I’m married to a mad scientist and enjoy conducting experiments as much as he does.”

“Because studying beer actually makes beer more enjoyable.”

There were budget and ingredient-conscious brewers:
“It’s cheaper, it’s better tasting, I enjoy it, and when the world’s economies collapse I will have something to barter with.”

“I know exactly what’s in it, how it was treated, how much effort was put into creating it, enjoy drinking it, and love the response, ‘you make your own what!?!?’”

“Because I’ve worked in a lot of big commercial keg breweries and I know how they make it. So I don’t want to drink it . . . I’ll make my own thank you very much.”

Mostly, though, homebrewers find satisfaction in the brewing process:
“I enjoy the sense of accomplishment when making something that tastes as good or better than microbrews I’ve had other places.”

“I homebrew because creating something by hand is much more satisfying than drinking something made in a factory.”

“I homebrew because I work in a job where I cannot point to something I have created, and through homebrewing I can.”

“I can do it for the rest of my life and not even make the same one twice if I so choose.”

Of course, some folks are just plain pragmatic:
“I can brew whatever I want and it is better than most of the stuff at the liquor store.”

“Nobody else makes what I want
to drink.”

“Because I am German. I can’t help it. I am biologically incapable of NOT brewing.”

“It’s more fun than working on my ‘honey do’ list”

And then there’s our favorite reply:
“You can buy beer?”

Thank you to all of our Facebook friends for having some fun with us.  Join us next time by becoming a fan of BYO! Go to www.facebook.comBrewYourOwn