Beer on the brain, am i the only one?

So I love beer, brewing beer, drinking beer, designing recipes, making yeast starters, talking about beer, ..etc..etc..

So i was in a meeting today at work, I should have been engaged in the meeting, after the meeting I had written down the recipe for what should be a nice brown ale. In looking at my notebook, it appears as if I am always writing down notes about recipes and beer thoughts pretty much all day.


I think something is wrong with me.

Nope. Everything sounds about right. Cheers.

Don't feel bad I am a newbie to the hobby and I find myself always thinking about brewing, reading about brewing, reading threads on here on my Droid. I think I need an intervention........no I just need a beer.

Curtis

I spent my Sunday reading Ron Pattinson's Barclay Perkins blog http://barclayperkins.blogspot.com/ and in particular historic brews (1811 Whitbread Porter, 1928 Barclay Perkin's IPA, Whitbread Strong IPA, Fuller's 1935 Old Burton Extra Ale) and trying to think of ways to brew them over here in China with the supplies that are available.
I then sat down and made up a possible brewing schedule w/fermenter & keg holdings to bring my brew partner and I to the end of the 2010-2011 school year (ending with an Export IPA that will be dry hopped for 6 to 7 weeks in the keg).
My wife says I am obsessed with beer.
She hasn't seen the brewing schedule yet...


Possible Brew Schedule
o CA = Celebration Ale
o CIPA – Chinese IPA
o XX = ??
o XXX = ???
o EIPA = Export IPA

March 19th – Brew Day - CA
Ferm 1 – CA (until March 31st)
Ferm 2 - Open
Keg 1 – Open
Keg 2 - Open

March 31st – Rack Day
Rack CA from Ferm 1 to Ferm 2
Ferm 1 – Open
Ferm 2 – Rack CA (until April 12th)
Keg 1 – Open
Keg 2 – Open

April 12th – Rack Day
Rack CA from Ferm 2 to Keg 1
Ferm 1 – Open
Ferm 2 – Open
Keg 1 – Rack CA
Keg 2 - Open

April 16th – Brew Day - CIPA
Ferm 1 – Rack CIPA (until April 26th)
Ferm 1 – Open
Keg 1 – CA
Keg 2 – Open

April 26th – Rack Day
Rack CIPA from Ferm 1 to Ferm 2
Ferm 1 – Open
Ferm 2 – CIPA (until May 6th)
Keg 1 – CA
Keg 2 - Open

April 30th – Brew Day – XX
Ferm 1 – Rack XX (until May 10th)
Ferm 2 – CIPA (until May 6th)
Keg 1 – CA?
Keg 2 – Open

May 6th – Rack Day
Rack CIPA from Ferm 2 to Keg 2
Ferm 1 – XX (until May 10th)
Ferm 2 – Open
Keg 1 – Open?
Keg 2 - CIPA

May 10th – Rack Day
Rack XX from Ferm 1 to Ferm 2
Ferm 1 – Open
Ferm 2 – XX (until May 21st)
Keg 1 – Open
Keg 2 – CIPA

May 21st – Brew Day XXX
Rack XX to Keg 1
Ferm 1 – Rack XXX (until May 28th?)
Ferm 2 – Open
Keg 1 – XX
Keg 2 – CIPA

May 28th – Final Brew Day – Export IPA?
Ferm 1 – EIPA
Ferm 2 – XXX
Keg 1 – XX
Keg 2 – CIPA

June 6th – Rack Day
Rack EIPA from Ferm 1 to Ferm 2
Rack XXX from Ferm 2 to Keg 2
Ferm 1 – Open
Ferm 2 – EIPA
Keg 1 – XX
Keg 2 – XXX

June 12th – Rack Day
Rack EIPA to Keg 3
Ferm 1 – Open
Ferm 2 – Open
Keg 1 – XX
Keg 2 – XXX
Keg 3 - EIPA

Sounds like a pretty 'normal' home brewer to me... If I'm breathing, I'm either brewing, thinking about brewing, talking about brewing, or going to get something to help me with brewing... :rockin:

Yeah, I know the feeling. I just got into it (on my second batch) and feels like everything revolves around brewing beer. Today I called my wife to say hey, but really just wanted to ask her if she would check and see what the temperature was on the primary (I just pitched the yeast Saturday so it was in the middle of some heavy activity and I was worried about the temp getting to high). I asked her even though I knew what the answer was going to be. Oh well, I'm addicted. At least she supports my hobby, she just thinks I'm a little obsessed.

mantooth said:

Oh well, I'm addicted. At least she supports my hobby, she just thinks I'm a little obsessed.

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I was watching some "Destroyed in Seconds" show on Discovery Sunday night and they showed some guy who raced speed boats on lakes as a hobby - he had a bad crash and as they pulled him to the shore his wife ran up to him and hugged him and told him how much she loved him. Then they showed video of him racing 2 years later and he crashed again. When they got him to shore his wife ran up to him and said, "You're an A**hole and you are done with this stupid hobby! Never again! You hear me? Never again!" I looked at my wife and said, "See, I could race boats as a hobby and nearly kill myself ever other year!" All she did was glare at me and then called me a geek.

beerspitnight said:

I was watching some "Destroyed in Seconds" show on Discovery Sunday night and they showed some guy who raced speed boats on lakes as a hobby - he had a bad crash and as they pulled him to the shore his wife ran up to him and hugged him and told him how much she loved him. Then they showed video of him racing 2 years later and he crashed again. When they got him to shore his wife ran up to him and said, "You're an A**hole and you are done with this stupid hobby! Never again! You hear me? Never again!" I looked at my wife and said, "See, I could race boats as a hobby and nearly kill myself ever other year!" All she did was glare at me and then called me a geek.

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CLASSIC!!

Just remember, when the apocalypse comes, those of us who know how to make alcohol will rule the world...

This is normal. I aswell sat in a 2 hour recertification/meeting for work and was thinking about brewing most of the time. I had to cancel my last brew day due to a storm last week and now I am itching to brew as I usually stop for the winter. Tomorrow is only supposed to get up to 31 but I think I might brew anyways. Well its beer or using my meat smoker. One or the other is always on my mind. If I dont brew I going to figure out a way to convert my UDS into a cold smoker and smoke some cheddar up that I have been wanting to do.

I think about beer all the time, dream about it, do all my master figuring, check the brew log, online window shop. Before I started brewing, I would come home from work, Kiss Swmbo, pat the girls on the head blah blah blah, now its did my rhizomes come in ? how are the carboys, you didn't move anything right? lol

whats really cool is my wife is totally into it.... I let her pitch the starter the other night, and she totally had a gleam in her eye..

Arneba28 said:

This is normal. I aswell sat in a 2 hour recertification/meeting for work and was thinking about brewing most of the time. I had to cancel my last brew day due to a storm last week and now I am itching to brew as I usually stop for the winter. Tomorrow is only supposed to get up to 31 but I think I might brew anyways. Well its beer or using my meat smoker. One or the other is always on my mind. If I dont brew I going to figure out a way to convert my UDS into a cold smoker and smoke some cheddar up that I have been wanting to do.

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Wow that weather sounds familiar, I just moved to ND from the great town of Amherst. I really miss the Amherst Alehouse and there delicious selection of ever changing ales.

I looked at my wife and said, "See, I could race boats as a hobby and nearly kill myself ever other year!"



Nice one, I'll have to think of something like that to say next time she gets annoyed at me:rockin:

yeah. my wife and freinds always glaze over when i talk about beer. "oh god, here he goes..." its cool though. because if they are bugging me while i'm doing something (usually beer related) then i just start talking about it and they get all antsy and think of things they have to go do, then they leave me alone. back to my beer, YAY!

i should probably be more social.

rycov said:

yeah. my wife and freinds always glaze over when i talk about beer. "oh god, here he goes..." its cool though. because if they are bugging me while i'm doing something (usually beer related) then i just start talking about it and they get all antsy and think of things they have to go do, then they leave me alone. back to my beer, YAY!

i should probably be more social.

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That is the same type of strategy that I employ when my wife wants me to dress our son - I put the shirts on backwards, stuff both of his legs into a single leg of his pants, diaper on nice and loose. She comes in, looks at my handy-work and tells me to forget it, she'll do it herself from now on. YAY!

yeah. she asks me to fold laundry, i just wad it up all stupid. now she thinks i'm an idiot... thats kinda accurate. but i don't have to do laundry anymore

rycov said:

yeah. she asks me to fold laundry, i just wad it up all stupid. now she thinks i'm an idiot... thats kinda accurate. but i don't have to do laundry anymore

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LOL...Well, she doesn't even ask me to help with folding laundry...she doesn't think I know how to fold it right....Who am I to argue

I've been INTO homebrewing for a few years now. I'm saying the urge to brew has not diminished. In fact, it's currently vying with sex as most thought about pastime.

Last April I lost my job after 18 years. I actually felt relieved. For some reason I did even panic or get pissed. Instead of finding a new job, I started spending more time on this site. I read here every day all day. Hell, I couldn't even take time to do a resume.
I then got somewhat of a job in July that didn't even pay the bills so I burned through a lot of cash but I still managed to get into making beer (14 batches since August). In January, I was fired again but it wasn't a big deal since I could make a few stock trades and take the profits to live on. And I still found a way to make beer. But tomorrow I start back full time at the company that fired me last April. Its easy work and I'll make decent money. At least now, with more cash I can really get into making a lot more beer.
So the whole point of this is that for the last year my priorities have been on beer when they should have been on a job. What does that tell you?

Here is my routine lately...Nightshift supervisor
Leave for work, read HBT on my droid during the 45 min commute(when its not my turn to drive). Arrive at job, check email and once previous shift leaves check Youtube for latest homebrew videos. Work for a few hours then pull a random copy of BYO from desk to thumb through while eating lunch. Work for a few hours more. Clean up and read HBT again.

Beer on the brain? Hmm Mine has had so much it is now floating.

Golddiggie said:

Just remember, when the apocalypse comes, those of us who know how to make alcohol will rule the world...

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This is so true, it's not even funny

But it is funny lol

Man, I woke up this morning, and instantly thoughts of Golden Promise, Special B, Centennial Hops and WLP007 starting floating through my mind....I am not kidding. I think I woke up and thought up a great new india red ale recipe.

I bet I am thinking about recipes, flavors, techniques etc..etc...at least hourly if not more. It is a crazy fun hobby for sure.

kcold0403 said:

This is so true, it's not even funny

But it is funny lol

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It will be very funny when we start charging the other survivors for our brews/fermentations... The items traded for could get.... interesting. :rockin: