What do you do with all your beer?

[beerkench]

A dumb question I hear you say as the obvious answer is to drink the stuff, but really what do you do with yours? I am a noob and have a 20L (5.3 gallon) Braumeister. I want to get experience and brews under my belt but I am finding that 5 gallons is quite a lot of beer to get through, especially brewing once every 1-2 weeks. I guess I could give some away but it feels like I've worked hard and invested time and money into my precious first brews so I don't just want to dish them all out to everybody for free. Or maybe I am being frugal by keeping it all?

 

[B2Barleywine]

I like to drink and share mine. I suppose you could make smaller batches though.

 

[AmandaK]

Several things:

1. Drink it
2. Have friends over to drink it
3. Give it away
4. Enter it in competitions

 

[Halbrust]

I give away (including to competitions) more of what I brew than I drink.

 

[Rockn_M]

A few things that I do besides drinking it, is give it away as gifts or have friends over to help drink it. To help with cost I'll put a tip jar out and my friends will put a couple of dollars in. It doesn't offset what I spend but it helps.

 

[cluckk]

I have a case of 1 gallon brown growlers that I use to give to neighbors, take to the LHBS to share with other brewers and to take to dinners. I also have a tap-a-draft system and will fill one of the large jugs and take that over to someone's house for a dinner party or celebration.

Don't forget that one of the reasons to brew is that you can share your creation with others. You'll get the BMC-only guy who will try to sound like a beer expert as he shreds your beer for not tasting like his fuzzy yellow water. Just take him off the list.

I even use beer for gifts. I make a Christmas stout that I age for a year and then give away as a gift to friends and relatives. I give bottles of mead and wine away at parties and for anniversaries. I give sixers of beer away. No use hording it.

 

[EtchyLives]

Invite people over to try out your new brew and watch a game or something. My dad came out over this last week and even though he's not a beer drinker he and I managed to decimate my ready supply of homebrew. I went from about 4.5 gallons to just over 2 gallons left in the house over the course of 4 days. About a week after my Winter Ale will be ready for drinking I'm having a party after which I'm quite sure that I'll be tapped of homebrews.

Homebrewing: yet another reason to throw a party.

 

[glick]

I drink mine!

 

[Nightshade]

I give it to my neighbors, drink it, have friends over for beer and BBQ or hand it out on "nerd poker" night (D&D).

I don't drink much so most goes to others for further evaluation.

 

[mattd2]

-Get others to drink it for feedback - comps, homebrew club, LHBS, freinds that like good beer, freinds that don't like good beer (yet)...
-Stash a dozen away of each batch for 6/12/... months and see how it ages.
-use it as an offer of thanks for favours... just don't barter with it because that would be illegal

 

[Yellowirenut]

I have a minimum of one pint a day..
You will be surprised how quickly it goes if you have one a day along with sharing with others.

I brew on average once a month. I do not think I could go threw it if I was brewing every 2 weeks.

 

[duboman]

I think that part of the fun of this hobby is sharing with friends and family because the reality is I cannot consume it all myself.

I'm sure you will find that as you brew more you will find friends you never had interested in trying your beer and it's a simple way to get feedback on what you are doing.

i have also found that I don't brew nearly as frequently as I did when I started so while the pipeline is still there it is more consistent and regularly scheduled then almost every week! I'm pretty good with once a month or so, maybe twice.

I also give quite a bit out as gifts and regularly bring growlers to people's homes for get togethers and such.

 

[sfrisby]

Find a brewing partner who pays for half the ingredients and takes half the beer.

 

[Kolsch_Meister]

I give about half of my brews away to friends.

 

[smccarter]

Drink about 70%, share the rest.

 

[feinbera]

Offer it to friends when they're over, bring it to barbecues and social gatherings where you would've brought a sixer of commercial beer, offload it on any slave labor, er, brewing buddies you can convince to help you out on brew days... I find my friends and family are interested in tasting what I've made, and are generally far less critical than I am, so, I get an ego boost and get to make room for the next batch all in one fell swoop...

 

[pmcint01]

Interesting thread because I had wondered the same thing.

 

[unionrdr]

My friends have scattered to th efour winds,siblings & family in law have other adgendas. Wife had gestational diabeties wait 14 years to come back,so no more drinkin & brewin for her. Neighbors think they're too good. No homebrewrs around my neighborhood. I'm all alone here. They do seem to dissapear though. Older son needs to come over more often. I honestly don't know which is worse-empty nest syndrome or empty beer fridge anomolies?...

 

[KIAKillerXJ]

I think I give away more than I drink myself.

Can't complain. I have a very busy social life. Dinner with different friends constantly. Have a large group of friends that all like to cook. By now we all know the routine. They cook and I bring something I brewed. Works out well for a single male

 

[b-boy]

I brew in spurts. I usually brew a lot in the spring and Fall. Not so much during the summer. Maybe 1-2 times during the Winter. I do double batches too, so I make enough to last 3-4 months.

I throw a big beer bash during the summer. Last time I had about 45 people show up. I usually have at least 5 different beers there. I'll go through 25 gallons. I enjoy seeing people drink my beer.

Parties are the best way to get rid of your beer. Usually people will bring wine or bottled beer when they show up, so I break even. I give the BMC to my brother-in-law, so even he's happy.

 

[Phunhog]

I give away much more beer than I drink. Gave away almost 5 kegs worth this past weekend to different events. I do this for a couple of reasons...someday I want to own a brewery and what better way to get people interested in your beer than to have them drink it...for free. Second...it lets me brew more which in turn makes me a better brewer. Third....it's a lot of fun.

 

[DrunkleJon]

I try to keep a keg or two in reserve (over my 2 on tap) and then when I use one of those try to brew up another batch. I tend to have a pint or two a night, but do not really worry about it. People will drink with me or not. It disappears. At times not as fast as I would like, but oh well.

If my goal was to brew many different styles/different beers I would make 2.5-3 gallons at a time. or even 1 gal batches.