70 replies to this topic

[HVB]

I guess numbers do not lie.  Even though I have a LOT of brewery options around me I still brew.  I think for me it is the process more so than the product.  I just love the actual brewing process and drinking a fine beer after is not bad either. I do think it is funny in a way.  When I started to brew I was doing it to get away from the lagers and beers I felt were so lacking in flavor and now I find myself more drawn to lagers ( I still love a good IPA don't get me wrong) than the hot pastry/milkshake offering.  Those nuanced flavors in a lager are just wonderful.

 

https://www.themadfermentationist.com/

 

[MakeMeHoppy]

Yeah it kills me that I haven't brewed in the almost 2 years since I moved. I lost my fermentation fridge and a place to store beer and ingredients. I keep thinking I'll do some 2-3 gallon batches and when I was just about ready to do that my new LHBS closed. I can still order online, but my local would actually fill your recipe to the ounce and then bag it so I never had to worry about loose grains to store.

[HVB]

Yeah it kills me that I haven't brewed in the almost 2 years since I moved. I lost my fermentation fridge and a place to store beer and ingredients. I keep thinking I'll do some 2-3 gallon batches and when I was just about ready to do that my new LHBS closed. I can still order online, but my local would actually fill your recipe to the ounce and then bag it so I never had to worry about loose grains to store.

I brew 5g but I have a BIAB 2.5-3g setup I built and I think this will be the year I go to some smaller batches.

 

As for the grain, ritebrew sells by the ounce and ships FAST.

 

http://www.ritebrew....gory-s/1959.htm

[denny]

Mike starts that post with a misconception...that the prevalence of commercial beer is what's doing it.  That's only a part.  It has a lot more to do with lifestyle, work, family, etc.

[HVB]

 It has a lot more to do with lifestyle, work, family, etc.

I agree with that 100% and I have seen it have issues on my own brewing.  Luckily for me I do have a supporting wife and kids that think brewing is fun so this year seems to be on the right path.

[djinkc]

Mike starts that post with a misconception...that the prevalence of commercial beer is what's doing it.  That's only a part.  It has a lot more to do with lifestyle, work, family, etc.

This.  Life got in the way for me and I didn't brew for a long, long time.  The kids got more independent and I started again...............

[Poptop]

And, let's face it, brewing is work.  Procurement, preparation, process all the way to packaging.  Incessant cleaning.  Then there's the honey-do's and kids that we all have to maintain.  God forbid you lose your brewing mojo and your stuff ends up collecting dust.  I think setting realistic brewing goals and breaking up the process over a week and streamlining as many aspects of the process has helped me greatly.  All that's left is to keep it creative and entertaining.  I've humbly set my sights on 12 batches this year.  Pretty doable.

[denny]

And, let's face it, brewing is work.  Procurement, preparation, process all the way to packaging.  Incessant cleaning.  Then there's the honey-do's and kids that we all have to maintain.  God forbid you lose your brewing mojo and your stuff ends up collecting dust.  I think setting realistic brewing goals and breaking up the process over a week and streamlining as many aspects of the process has helped me greatly.  All that's left is to keep it creative and entertaining.  I've humbly set my sights on 12 batches this year.  Pretty doable.

Which is why we wrote "Simple Homebrewing".  Also the rise of the all in one and robotic systems.

[HVB]

Which is why we wrote "Simple Homebrewing". Also the rise of the all in one and robotic systems.

Would those be the Keurig brewers (insert troll emoji here)

[denny]

Would those be the Keurig brewers (insert troll emoji here)

 

 

Hey, in a completely unrelated vein, you gonna make Homebrew Con this year?  It's practically in your back yard.

[HVB]

Hey, in a completely unrelated vein, you gonna make Homebrew Con this year? It's practically in your back yard.

I hope to make it. Family vacation is around the same time but Homebrew Con may never be two hours away from me again.

[pkrone]

The prevalence of commercial brewing is what keeps me brewing.     I think the craft market is heading for a nose dive based on the garbage product so many of them are producing and that the market is flooded.   I was at the local beer store this past weekend and actually had a hard time finding a locally-brewed beer less than 6 months old!  Pitiful.   

 

Plus, my beer just tastes better...

[neddles]

The prevalence of commercial brewing is what keeps me brewing.     I think the craft market is heading for a nose dive based on the garbage product so many of them are producing and that the market is flooded.   I was at the local beer store this past weekend and actually had a hard time finding a locally-brewed beer less than 6 months old!  Pitiful.   

 

Plus, my beer just tastes better...

 

OMFG this. Exactly this. I've been out of the game since June but thats because of family and work schedules. I'll be back at it as soon as I can. The stuff off the shelf is slim pickin's most days.

[porter]

Haven't brewed for a year. Had a solid 2 year stretch of steady brewing - then a kid. Just waiting for some good weather. Maybe this weekend.

[LeftyMPfrmDE]

About a dozen breweries have popped up in my neck of the woods within the past 3 or 4 years, and I continue to brew. A couple are spectacular, most of them mediocre, and one or two are outright awful.

You have the core four beers+ four seasonal/brew pub model, and a few breweries that never made the same beers twice, or places thst do can releases often. Been to a can release, and useally its some sort of fruited/lactose sour, which is cool for a novel beer to have. I'm sorry, almost a 100 bones for a case of beer on a release is foreign to me.

I do enjoy many styles of beer; but sometimes i want something simple: a mild, well crafted pilsner; that's why i choose to brew. Of course, a lot of places around here have an IPA focus- if their is 10 taps pouring, 8 of them will be an IPA variant.

[3rd party JKor]

It's definitely been slow for me since the kids were born, particularly the second one.  When I moved into the new place 18 months ago I thought I would have something set up by now but new/old house maintenance is a bitch.  I guess the good news is I couldn't have a better space to set up the brewery, the bad news is I don't honestly see myself getting it set up again this year either.  Someday it will happen but I've gone beyond the point of trying to plan when that will be.

 

The core of home brewing will always be the people who are in it for the process.  It's not a growth business.  Homebrewing will never be something mainstream.  Like almost every hobby, it's something that appeals to a relatively small group of people.  That's not a bad thing just how it is.

 

It was really a downer to hear about the issues Smuttynose is having.  I wasn't aware they were sold.  They've haven't been keeping up with the trends but they've been brewing great beer for a long time.

Edited by JKor, 31 January 2019 - 05:15 AM.

[positiveContact]

It's definitely been slow for me since the kids were born, particularly the second one.  When I moved into the new place 18 months ago I thought I would have something set up by now but new/old house maintenance is a bitch.  I guess the good news is I couldn't have a better space to set up the brewery, the bad news is I don't honestly see myself getting it set up again this year either.  Someday it will happen but I've gone beyond the point of trying to plan when that will be.

 

The core of home brewing will always be the people who are in it for the process.  It's not a growth business.  Homebrewing will never be something mainstream.  Like almost every hobby, it's something that appeals to a relatively small group of people.  That's not a bad thing just how it is.

 

It was really a downer to hear about the issues Smuttynose is having.  I wasn't aware they were sold.  They've haven't been keeping up with the trends but they've been brewing great beer for a long time.

 

smutty is def a brewers beer.  by that I mean that I think a lot of pro brewers drink their stuff.

 

I get a fair number of people at work asking me about homebrewing but very few ever actually follow through with their interest and give it a go.  they don't realize it but with me helping them the hurdle is much lower.  I've already done most of the work (research) for them.  One guy actually took me up on it and blindly just followed what I told him to do and his beer really good.  so it turns out it's the process and not some kind of magical ability that I have

[HVB]

The prevalence of commercial brewing is what keeps me brewing.     I think the craft market is heading for a nose dive based on the garbage product so many of them are producing and that the market is flooded.   I was at the local beer store this past weekend and actually had a hard time finding a locally-brewed beer less than 6 months old!  Pitiful.   

 

Plus, my beer just tastes better...

 

6 months old!!  I feel spoiled that I can get cans from my local store that were canned the previous day.  

 

 

I do enjoy many styles of beer; but sometimes i want something simple: a mild, well crafted pilsner; that's why i choose to brew. Of course, a lot of places around here have an IPA focus- if their is 10 taps pouring, 8 of them will be an IPA variant.

 

I agree with this too.  It seems that since the IPA craze has taken over many places forgot there are other styles.  I am happy to at least have some variety at the store but not as much as I would like.

[HVB]

 

It was really a downer to hear about the issues Smuttynose is having.  I wasn't aware they were sold.  They've haven't been keeping up with the trends but they've been brewing great beer for a long time.

 

You need to get out of The Hot Spot every-now and then and come visit us over here!

 

https://brews-bros.c...o-be-auctioned/

[3rd party JKor]

You need to get out of The Hot Spot every-now and then and come visit us over here!

 

https://brews-bros.c...o-be-auctioned/

 

 

Yeah, i've been ghosting the brew forum.