41 replies to this topic

[BrewerGeorge]

By now you guys probably know that I had about a 6 month period where I kept having infections. During that time I got out of the habit of brewing and having good beer around, but it happened kind of slowly so I didn't notice it much.Now that I've got the 4th beer in the fermentor post infections, I'm finding myself really jazzed about brewing again. I've done 3 of those batches within the last 10 days, and I'm seriously considering doing another one tomorrow night.In addition to the beer itself, I'm reminded that I really enjoy the process. I always said I brewed as a creative outlet because I don't get much of that in my job. Well, that disappeared and I didn't really notice its loss because it was gradual, but now that it's returned I can look back and see that I actually was missing it. I've been awfully stressed these last several months. I thought it was my job, and it probably was the stress causer, but I'd lost one of my big stress relievers and it shows now.Before "The Problem" I'd gotten into a rut where I only brewed a few simple beers over and over just to keep the taps flowing. I got sloppy with lots of the details, including the sanitation that bit me in the ass. Now that I've restarted, I feel like a new brewer again.What keeps you coming back to the brew kettle?

[BarelyBrews]

What keeps you coming back to the brew kettle?

George,i enjoy making good tasting beers and if they dropped the price on "quality brews" tomorrow i would continue to make beer.There is so much too learn in brewing,and a lot of styles i have not brewed yet. I made a red-ale today , and the fermentor is moving along nicely.The last bad beer i made was my Fuggle-IPA this past year,i am convinced i added an un-clean bag(filled w/hops)to my secondary.I need to try to make that one again.

[djinkc]

I've had a few that once it was rolling I wished it was done and over. Not many though. Unless it's a spur of the moment I usually am fired up about it for a day or so. I suppose some of it comes with getting older. Once in a great while it's a chore but I know I'll be unhappy with empty kegs that will be sure to show up. Those days usually end up OK because once I get started I realize............ I really, really love brewing. And the next batch, of course, will be one of my best

[gnef]

It is a time for me to be able to do whatever I want. If I want to be quiet and contemplative, I can do that. If I want to invite friends over to see the process and be sociable, I can do that as well. If I want to read, I can do that.Like you, George, it is one avenue for stress relief. When I get too busy though, I tend not to brew (it is also when I start to think about how much excess beer I have). I didn't brew for about 5 months because of how busy teaching was this past semester. Now that it is summer, I plan on catching up on all the brewing I missed, I just need to make sure I have enough kegs to keep up with how much I plan on brewing.I also garden, and am growing my own hops, and I really like the idea of using my own hops in my own beer. I've only done one beer like this so far, and I was pretty stoked about it.Brewing is just such a great hobby, and I enjoy almost all facets of it (I don't really like cleaning up, but who does?), and I like to talk to people about it. I've sorta become 'the beer and flashlight man' with my friends. One of my other hobbies is flashlights, as odd as that might seem. Haha. I do give them free beer, vegetables, fruits and flashlights though, so they can't really complain.

[jayb151]

You know, I've had a bunch of beers that I would call infected. They show the telltale rings on the necks. It's is kind of disappointing that the get like that. But the flavor...It's great! I can't help loving the beer that I make, and the beers I have been turning out over the last month are beers I have loved. I'm in the process of changing all tubing and whatnot that touches the beer. I hope to completely get rid of any trace of infection, and it has helped and in some batches removed all signs of infection...but it's not constant. I supose that what I mean to say is that even though i mess up some times, the beer I make just tastes great! And I love the experimentation. I brewed a Belgian IIPA yesterday for the first time. Can't wait to taste it!

[VolFan]

I went about 8 months without brewing. First 4 months of that spell I had tired of it and like you mentioned it was gradual. I had beer on tap and really didn't notice it. Then came the bulged disc around the Holidays. That was some serious pain.There are a couple things about brewing I don't really care for. Making starters and fooling with carboys, especially cleaning them. The horror stories of them being dropped and slicing tendons isn't very appealing either. I also ferment with carboys in a chest freezer, so after my spell with the bulged disc I was very weary of bending over and setting them down in there. It's just an awkward process. I have a friend who I brew with often. George you met both him & me at the competition in Cincy. We usually are great motivators to getting a brew session planned. So, I gave him the chest freezer as his had played out. We are fermenting a Dort in there right now, but it will soon be used for lagering chamber.He has a conical he fabricated from Toledo Spinning and I have used it over here a few times. I really enjoy using it. Fast forward to today and I just got through putting my Blichmann 14 gl together. Got the casters and tri-clamps and I really think I'm going to enjoy it. I have now alleviated one of the two things I really don't care for when it comes to brewing. There is no getting away from the starters, but we usually take turns doing it so that helps, especially when you re-pitch the yeast for another brew or two.Pardon the rambling, but I'm looking to make the process as smooth as possible and it really helps having someone over to help out. We do brew independently and I enjoy that too, but as most of us are aware brewing does require some work and I think it's just natural to tire of it every so often.

[Beejus McReejus]

I've been through an infection period and a rut. The infections, I believe, were caused by the apartment we were living in at the time. The whole time we lived there I had infected beer. Once we moved, it was all good again. Could have been the struggle of AG brewing in an apartment though.For the last year, I've just been in a rut. Things had been hectic with work, then a job change, and just a lot of stress in general. Hadn't brewed but a handful of batches in that whole time. However, this year I've slowly picked it back up, and in the last couple months it seems I've caught the fever again. Have made some of my best beers recently too.

[BrewerGeorge]

...There is no getting away from the starters, but we usually take turns doing it so that helps, especially when you re-pitch the yeast for another brew or two....

+1Starters have always bugged the crap out of me. A couple of years ago - right after US-56/S-05 came out - I started using dry yeast almost exclusively. I even bought a 1/2 kg of a good dry lager yeast and split it among some other green board members. I've never looked back, and the only thing I haven't been able to find a dry option for has been Bavarian wheats, but I'm not a huge fan of those anyway. I make one a year if I'm lucky. The recent price increase of dry has started me rethinking yeast a bit, but overall $4/pack with no starter is still better than $7/smack + starter.

[CaptRon]

I am a man, therefore it is my duty to make beer. Good beer which requires as much practice as I can get. For real though, it is my time that I get to set aside and think about nothing else except making teh beer.

[VolFan]

+1Starters have always bugged the crap out of me. A couple of years ago - right after US-56/S-05 came out - I started using dry yeast almost exclusively. I even bought a 1/2 kg of a good dry lager yeast and split it among some other green board members. I've never looked back, and the only thing I haven't been able to find a dry option for has been Bavarian wheats, but I'm not a huge fan of those anyway. I make one a year if I'm lucky. The recent price increase of dry has started me rethinking yeast a bit, but overall $4/pack with no starter is still better than $7/smack + starter.

I totally understand what you're saying, especially considering ease of use, but I can tell a difference between US-56 and WL001/WY1056. It attenuates a little too much for me. I suppose I could mash a little higher but I just feel liquid is superior. I will admit I haven't tried other strains.

[Beejus McReejus]

I'm all about the Safale 05 and whatever the Safale English strain is (04?). Only hefe's and Belgian's get Wyeast. At least for now, until I get back into trying other styles. I'm content with using those two strains and keeping it simple for the most part.

[3rd party JKor]

What keeps me brewing? The 815 lbs of barley in my basement (I just added it all up for the first time, holy crap, I didn't realize it was that much. Time to move to 20 gallon batches. )Really, I think the thing that keeps me brewing is that it's an interesting hobby that allows me to 1.) Tinker with things and build my own equipment and 2.) Make some good beer. It's a really great feeling when you try a brew and just go 'Damn!'.EDIT: 1a.) I like that the complexity is essentially limitless. IOW, now matter how much time I put into there will always be ways to improve or learn new things.

Edited by JKoravos, 18 June 2010 - 05:50 AM.

[Stout_fan]

... There is no getting away from the starters, but we usually take turns doing it so that helps, especially when you re-pitch the yeast for another brew or two. ...

Some folks here use canned wort for starters. After getting tired of the measure DME ($$$) add water, boil cool then pitch, we used some second runnings to make some 1.040 wort. I bought a large pressure cooker and we let rip on 7 quarts of the stuff.Fast forward to last night. Ironkite was over and we kegged our 2035 steam starter for a lager we're doing next. Afterwards I shared a bottle of Jenlain Noel French Christmas Ale to suggest a next attempt at cloning, as it is my favorite Biere de garde. Reading the bottle it says oranges and yeast. No spices used. This is spicy yeast. We both like it. He thinks his wife will approve of the brew and want it on tap. So all we need now is a recipe and the yeast. Turns out it was bottle conditioned. We're hoping they used the same fermenting strain as it wasn't too flocculant. I had a good inch of dregs in the 750.Let's say we were both impressed with the ease I dug out a quart of starter and a funnel. Flamed the mouth of the bottle, sanitized the funnel, #1 holed stopper and an airlock. Poured the starter in and slammed the airlock on. In less than 5 minutes an idea is now a yeast starter. Whether it is a VIABLE yeast starter remains to be seen.Conclusion: Can starters. It makes life SO much easier.

Edited by Stout_fan, 18 June 2010 - 05:59 AM.

[Stout_fan]

What keeps me brewing? The 815 lbs of barley in my basement (I just added it all up for the first time, holy crap, I didn't realize it was that much. Time to move to 20 gallon batches. ) ...

And they called me crazy for having 70 lbs of green Yergacheffe beans in my basement. Glad to know I'm not alone here.thinks about grain inventory ...Guesses about 100 to 150 lbs. :cheers:Had a friend over who looked at the two cornies of Samiclaus clone sitting in the kitchen doing a diacetyl rest. He asking why bother making it? I added there was a third cornie and we spent about $100 on grain and propane to make the brew. That's nuts he replied, why spend that kind of money? 'Cause that's five cases of MY Samiclaus and $500 worth of beer if I had to by it. Besides, I like my recipe a bit better than the commercial version.I've also improved on commercial examples. My best one was the "Better than Young's Double Chocolate Stout." Everybody went nuts over that brew when I took it to the MD Guild party.It was like drinking a chocolate bar. You never noticed the 8% ABV.

Edited by Stout_fan, 18 June 2010 - 06:08 AM.

[ThroatwobblerMangrove]

And they called me crazy for having 70 lbs of green Yergacheffe beans in my basement. Glad to know I'm not alone here.thinks about grain inventory ...Guesses about 100 to 150 lbs.

I have somewhere over 300lbs but I haven't figured it out exactly.

[KSUwildcatFAN]

I don't like the cleaning up afterward, plus I'm still getting my feet wet with AG brewing so its disappointing when something goes wrong like my efficiency has been doing.I've yet to brew what I would really call a good beer. My beers have been ok, but I want to free myself from buying beer at the liquor store and I can't do that just yet. I enjoy it to a point, the brewing process I mean, but really I enjoy having the end product much more. If good beer was dirt cheap, there's a good chance I would rarely ever brew and might stop altogether.

[CaptRon]

I don't like the cleaning up afterward, plus I'm still getting my feet wet with AG brewing so its disappointing when something goes wrong like my efficiency has been doing.I've yet to brew what I would really call a good beer. My beers have been ok, but I want to free myself from buying beer at the liquor store and I can't do that just yet. I enjoy it to a point, the brewing process I mean, but really I enjoy having the end product much more. If good beer was dirt cheap, there's a good chance I would rarely ever brew and might stop altogether.

Have you tried that Quiet Storm Oatmeal Stout yet? That should have turned out pretty good.

[KSUwildcatFAN]

Have you tried that Quiet Storm Oatmeal Stout yet? That should have turned out pretty good.

Yes, but that was before full carbonation. I was out of state this week, so in about a few hours I'll be able to give it another try. It tasted pretty darn good before carbonation and I don't expect that to change too much. I'm not a good judge of alcohol content, so I don't know how much there is in it as I forgot to take a gravity reading and the batch I did the next night had horribly bad efficiency.

[SchwanzBrewer]

I brew because I feel it is one of the noblest endeavors man can embark on. So much rejoicing, sadness, important life changing decisions, brilliant overtures, friend and lovers met, and strokes of genius have occurred while sitting over a pint that I can't think of a better thing to do with my time. To me brewing beer is almost spiritual. Brewing and drinking that fine nectar of life is my way of paying homage to the brewers that have come before me and made the world a better place. Cheers, Slainte, Prost, and Salud!Rich

[BrianBrewerKS]

Honestly, I'm currently in a 'rut'. I haven't brewed in almost a year. Work/Kid/Wife/Life has taken up a lot of time and it just hasn't happened. The past couple weeks I've been telling myself that I'mma brew something soon...and I will...it's just finding the time. The good thing is that I know once I brew next I'll get on a roll.It's not uncommon for me to take 6-7 months off brewing every other year or so. Then, when I get back into it I dive in with no pants on.