You know you're a homebrewer....when?

Every now and again, the editors at BYO like to test the wort and see just what homebrewers are up to. So we asked you to finish this sentence on Facebook: “You know you are a homebrewer when . . .” This is what we found:

Some answers were brutally honest:
• it’s more important to brew than buy Christmas presents.
• your four-year-old is on a first name basis with the owner of the homebrew shop.
• every vacation, road trip or errand turns into a quest for breweries, beer and beer equipment.
• you enjoy smelling bunghole emissions.
• you realize the most organized part of your life is your brewing records.
• new kegging equipment makes you squeal a like Girl Scout on a roller coaster.

Some answers addressed matters of space:
• you have 100 lbs. of eight different types of malt in your 500-sq-foot, one-bedroom apartment.
• you have 30 gallons of beer in your living room and you didn’t buy an ounce of it.
• you’re looking at a new house and the first thing you’re looking for is the best place to brew.
• in order to get the Christmas decorations out of the closet you have to first move bottles, fermenters, a stainless steel kettle and a wort chiller.
• there are more refrigerators/freezers in your garage than cars.
• there is more brewing equipment in your garage than lawn mowing equipment!

There were practical responses:
• you correct the waiter on a style of beer.
• you have yeast slurries in the fridge.
• every time you’re in the grocery store you look at the recycle codes on the bottom of every plastic bottle larger than 16 oz.
• you’re making beer for everything from the fantasy football draft to the company holiday party.

And then there were the sentimental responses:
• you dream of brewing.
• you interpret the bubbling on the airlock as a manifestation of emotion from the yeasties (and also when you call yeast “yeasties”).
• my husband comes home and the kitchen is a sticky mess, I smell like an alfalfa field, and my glasses are steamed up from putting my face into the wort steam to get a quick smell; but then he sees the HUGE smile on my face and suddenly it all makes sense to him!

Finally, there are the responses that indicated there is no turning back:
• you measure manhood by how many taps you have on your kegerator.
• you have more refrigerators and freezers devoted to beer than food.
• you’ve actually had to mop the ceiling after opening a beer.
• your friends come over for a bonfire, and sit in front of your kegs in the cellar all night.
• you hear a scream in the other room from your girlfriend and find out it’s because the keg of IPA just blew.
• even your father decides your beer is better than commercial brews.
    
    Thank you to all of our Facebook friends for having some fun with us and letting us know the signs of a true homebrewer. Join us next time by becoming a fan of Brew Your Own. Go to www.facebook.com/BrewYourOwn and click on the “like” icon.