3 replies to this topic

[mikebrad]

...July of 2005 or maybe it was 2006. I probably brewed 15-20 batches a year from 2002 until then. My production rate far outpaced my consumption rate so I gave a lot of beer away and even *gasp* dumped some kegs to make room for new stuff. It was the process that I really enjoyed but as I continually added to my process to achieve perfection it got to the point where it felt more like an 8-hour chore that I had to do every other weekend. I guess I just got burned out.I moved into a new house last winter and was all amped to brew when spring came around. I built myself a new brewing structure, picked up a new pump, and bought a therminator to replace an old copper chiller. I bought some ingredients from the green place and was all ready to go. I had a nice yeast starter going, but just never got around to actually brewing.Fast forward a year. I'm ready to go again! I think I'm going to ease back in with an extract batch...a light ale of some sort. I'm going to aim for a nice morning brew session and set the mood with some good music and good coffee. I hope to fall in love with the hobby all over again!Wish me luck!

[RommelMagic]

May your kettle not boil over. Good luck! And may I offer these prayers on your renewed journeyOur lager,Which art in barrels,Hallowed be thy drink.Thy will be drunk, (I will be drunk),At home as it is in the pub.Give us this day our foamy head,And forgive us our spillage's,As we forgive those who spill against us.And lead us not to incarceration,But deliver us from hangovers.For thine is the beer, The bitter, The lager.BARMEN.Now I lay my grain in the tun,I pray the day will turn out fun:When at the end of this brew day,Give me a ferment with no delay.Now I add my water to the grain,I ask the day is not in vain;Guard the temperature at sixty-five,Convert the sugars for yeast to thrive.Now my grain is mashed to wort,I hope the sparge will not get caught;I tell you now if it does get stuck,I’ll be screaming aloud “ah fire truck”.Now I boil my wort and stare,Add hops to strip your enamel bare;Don’t forget to add some whirlock,It’s nearly brew day done, says the clock.Now I chill my wort to twenty,Crack my a beer, the first of plenty;Get the whirlpool spinning fast,Trub falls out to be left ‘til last.Now I move my wort from the kettle,Into carboy, add yeast then allow to settle;And guard my beer through its primary,It is of the wild yeasts that I am wary.Now I await the gravity to drop,Taking bets of when it will stop;1010 or 1008 how good is the yeast,Down from 1060 it’s big at least!Now I rack beer unto it’s keg,Awaiting the end of the conditioning leg;To pour a beer that I have made;And taste the complex malts and cascade.

Edited by RommelMagic, 02 June 2009 - 05:18 AM.

[LowcountryBrewer]

Good luck!I, too, have had a lot of brewing downtime in the past few years (I have a three year-old & a 2 month-old). The hardest part for me is getting the motivation to get everything set up. So, I get everything out and ready to go the night before.BELIEVE ME, after you pitch your yeast and attach the airlock, you will feel GREAT!

[ncbeerbrewer]

Welcome back to the obsession. I understand your feeling about production. I currently make way more thank I am or can drink but I don't feel burned out and thankful for that too. Good Luck hope you get back to it well and I am sure it will feel like old hat.Rommel,Nice post. I like those.