I also have been brewing for about 14 months, having done 8 or so 5 gal extract batches... basically whenever I can scrape the money together.
Lets see- some benefits I've discovered since I started homebrewing:
-Before homebrewing I never knew the joy of thinking I was out of beer, and going on to discover a forgotten case of beer under the basement steps. Non-homebrewers get a kick out of hearing when this happens.
-That first time I tasted a real-life craft-brewed porter and thought to myself "huh, I actually like my porter better!"
-The smell of wort boiling on the burner!
-The countless awesome times had brewing with friends (and hazing newcomers by making them eat a piece of a hop pellet).
-Researching equipment, styles, and techniques.
-Discovering the brewing network and the re-god-damned-diculous amount of information and entertainment it has provided me, and the extra push the brewcasters have given me to strive for standards above my abilities.
That's all I got. Cheers!





