I started brewing a couple years back when my friends pushed me to give it a shot and I fell into it…hard. From extract brewing to all grain to kegging I went all in and built up pretty quick. Brewing is a ton of fun and a great experience for a lot of reasons, but here’s a short list to get you started.

Community
Beer is a communal drink. It is in our DNA to gather at the pubs and socialize. Sharing beer with friends is one of the best aspects of brewing. You can also join or create a brew club in your area, and make new friends. There is a great community in forums, events, and locally we have a great beer community brewing.

Learning
Brewing is a great learning experience for any age. For those constant learners like myself, it gives you a great insight into where this wonderful brew comes from. If you can make Mac n cheese in the kitchen, you can brew beer. You can choose your level of interest. Kit brewing is pretty straightforward. For a deeper dive, you can dig into all grain brewing. You can go even deeper and get into the organic chemistry behind beer. Then of course there is the experience of kegging, bottling, etc…

Creativity
Once you get the ropes down you can start getting creative with process, ingredients, and styles to make your own beers. Find a style you like, make your own, and refine it as you go. Ask you brew pals to help you refine the recipe until you have something that is truly your very own beer.

Beer
Of course, the best outcome is having beer on hand at all times. Here in the land of Blue Laws (MN) it comes in pretty handy on a Sunday. With 5 taps I have anywhere from 20-25 gallons in the basement. You can also find LOTs of kits online for your favorite beers that you may not be able to find in stores (such as Pliney the Elder).

Fulfillment
Brewing includes many aspects including relaxation, pride, purpose, passion, the ones mentioned above and many others. The best word I can find is that to me brewing is a fulfilling experience. Even though it can be tough at times, frustrating, a lot of work and expensive (if you really dive into it), I’m proud of my beers, happy to share good beer with good people and practice my interests in such a dynamic and interesting medium.

Whatever your interests, there are lots of reasons that brewing can be a fun experience. Getting started is pretty easy. Places like Northern Brewer, Morebeer.com and others offer quick start kits and the initial cost is really not bad. How to Brew by John Palmer is an excellent book for the starter all the way into expert.

If brewing seems interesting to you, go check out a store, talk with friends and get a starter kit. Before you brew it seems like it might be complicated, but after a couple brews the process gets pretty straightforward and you will be brewing great beers in no time.

Cheers!