I think it sounds like it could be fun. Does it actually save money, or is it just one of those "Just for Fun" hobbies?

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Several of dh's friends brew their own. I think it is mostly for fun. One of them actually is starting to market to local bars and stuff so it could turn into something eventually who knows. Another one of his friends also makes their own wine. I think it sounds like fun!

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My husband brews beer all the time. He's even growing (or trying to) his own hops in the backyard. He saves bottles so he can refill them but you do need some equipment to get started. He says it saves money but he says that with every hobby he starts!

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My brother has done it. I think it is one of those things that has a high set up cost but if you keep doing it that eventually it will pay for itself. Of course it probably also depends on high much beer you drink. Of course my brother's big problem was he prefers keep crappy beer and he was producing more micro-beer favors. He's now on to making wine.

It does save money on the beer if you drink a relitively high volume of beer and/or like most stock up items have the room to store it.

My hubby just started brewing a few months ago. The start up equipment was his xmas present. The basics were about $100-$150, if I recall right. since then, there have been extras, like "kegs" (repurposed soda canisters, like the ones in resturants) gear for making yeast and soon I'm sure hops seedlings.

The kind of beer he brews is the kind that costs $5.99-9.99 per six pack. When he brews, it's a couple gallons at a time. He's even done some hard cider and root beer.....neither turned out well, which means more experiments in the future.

Since he got all the stuff, he's brewed 3 or 4 batches. We have tons of it. BTW, old hops smell nasty. Your whole house will be sticky. If you hubby is anything like mine, he'll leave it all over the basement and kitchen for days.

Agravation - occupied hubby + sticky mess = ALMOST worth it

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Sarah

No but I make my own wine using Welches, a milk jug, sugar, yeast, water and a balloon. Not fine wine at all, more like hooch! But it will get the job done!

We have in Busch Gardens Williamsburg!!
LOL
Not here at home though...it does sound cool though

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Hubby used to brew his own beer. Frankly, it isn't an expensive hobby which is about the only good thing I can say about it.

It stinks! After hubby was done working in the kitchen to get a batch started I'd wake up the next morning to that awful smell. It isn't even the smell of stale beer - it is a yeasty, hoppy, sticky smell that absolutely turns my stomach. Hubby is into wood working now I love the smell of wood, now if I could just increase my stockpile of band-aids. ~ sigh ~ Every hobby has a downside, I guess.

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I used to love making homemade beer and wine all the time. First couple batches of each wasn't the greatest but after that a person just learned from the notes that I took and it got a lot better. The start up cost does make the first couple of batches to be pretty pricey but for the rest, the beer bottles I saved or bought empties off of friends ( I would give them their deposit back), and for the wine I used 2L plastic pop bottles that everyone seemed to have. My dishwasher was a great place to clean and sterilized most of these items. By the end I was also making sure that I was capping the beer bottles with twist of lids, instead of the pry caps. It seemed like a person couldn't ever find a bottle opener when it was wanted. They were slightly more expensive, but worth it for the conveinence.

It's a date night idea I'm throwing around for our turn to plan it. The place here offers a "class" first and then you can brew your own.

Sounds fun.

My brother and SIL did it before they got married. They used the wine they bottled as wedding favors at the wedding. I don't like wine but those who do, said it was pretty good.

I have heard, however, that the beer isn't as good when you "brew it yourself" . That's the only feedback I've heard.

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