When I first started college in Chico years ago ( a Budweiser man) I was introduced to home brewed beer by a classmate. He and his roommates had varying successes and failures with brewing and it was always fun to find out which it was going to be this time.
I don't brew myself but since then I hardly ever drink anything but our local "home brew" Sierra Nevada.
I'm partial to the strong hoppy ales myself.
I will add that most of the failures were likely the result of wild yeast, probably because of a breach in the sterilization procedures. If your going to brew you have to keep your work site as clean as possible, especially when bottling.