Taking a break

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Cheesefood

Cheesefood

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I'm taking a break from drinking. I've been feeling like hell lately and decided to give the old liver and kidneys a rest for a month. The wife's on board with me and we've agreed to no more booze until our anniversary on 8-16.

Perfect timing too, because the 80/- I bottled will be nicely aged by then and the Franzi will be ready to drink that weekend.

I also think I need to take a break from brewing. I currently have about 5-6 cases bottled and 20 gallons of various brews at various stages. I think I'm just about set for alcohol until Fall. I'll probably brew again when in mid August.

I'll still hang out here, because I don't have a life and I'm lame. But it'll be a while before I have a brew to announce. I'm thinking about getting my AG set up going, so maybe I'll start working on that with all the money I'll save.

By the way, speaking of quitting...

TODAY IS 6 MONTHS WITHOUT A CIGARETTE!!!!!

I've had a couple (4-5) cigars and many drunken rager nights out with my smokaholic friends without urges or temptations.

I"M CURED!!!
 
Congrats on the smoking cessation. It's tough. Before quitting for good in April of 2005, I had tried to quit a half dozen times. It's all about desire.

I still have cravings all the time, but it's become so routine I can will them away. Mind over matter :)

:mug:
 
I second the congrats. I rarely smoke anything other than an occasional cigar (I've even held off on those for a while now), but I know a lot of people who have struggled with that for years.

It's also really good to know that you can take a break from drinking when you want to. The rule that I have set for myself and always lived by is that I won't have anything to drink if I'm feeling down about something or stressed or anything like that. I don't want to allow myself the opportunity for booze to become a salve or a crutch. Thankfully, I'm a pretty happy, laid-back guy, so it isn't too much of a problem!

In any case, don't be a stranger.
 
I quit smoking my first time...March 5, 1990. Never looked back.

Drinking...I quit that for 1 year back in 1977...worse year of my life...nah, just kidding.

Sex...forgetaboutit and have a smoke, a drink and a woman...;)

Congrats.:D
 
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I'm worried about you, Cheese. I don't think it's safe for you to be keeping five or six cases of beer in the house when you're trying to go dry. The first lesson is to avoid tempation. Now, I know this might be tough, but I think it's important that you pack up those six cases of beer and ship them off to other members of this board for, ahem, "safekeeping." Best to keep the tempation away from you, my friend - this is for your own good!
 
This is perfect timing, As I'm reading through the forum and seeing some of the setups I wonder how much you guys drink. I mean it sounds like most of you have a batch in primary and secondary all the time. So you're getting somewhere around 10 gallons of beer a month if not more. Do you guys sell it?

Sorry for the curiousity.





Cheesefood said:
I'm taking a break from drinking. I've been feeling like hell lately and decided to give the old liver and kidneys a rest for a month. The wife's on board with me and we've agreed to no more booze until our anniversary on 8-16.

Perfect timing too, because the 80/- I bottled will be nicely aged by then and the Franzi will be ready to drink that weekend.

I also think I need to take a break from brewing. I currently have about 5-6 cases bottled and 20 gallons of various brews at various stages. I think I'm just about set for alcohol until Fall. I'll probably brew again when in mid August.

I'll still hang out here, because I don't have a life and I'm lame. But it'll be a while before I have a brew to announce. I'm thinking about getting my AG set up going, so maybe I'll start working on that with all the money I'll save.

By the way, speaking of quitting...

TODAY IS 6 MONTHS WITHOUT A CIGARETTE!!!!!

I've had a couple (4-5) cigars and many drunken rager nights out with my smokaholic friends without urges or temptations.

I"M CURED!!!
Click to expand...
 
News flash: stocks across the board for the alcohol beverage industry are falling through the basement. Reports indicate a projection of a major drop in consumption in the greater Chicago area that will result in record loses. Who says one man has no power?
 
Todd said:
This is perfect timing, As I'm reading through the forum and seeing some of the setups I wonder how much you guys drink. I mean it sounds like most of you have a batch in primary and secondary all the time. So you're getting somewhere around 10 gallons of beer a month if not more. Do you guys sell it?

Sorry for the curiousity.
Click to expand...

I usually brew about 10 gallons a month. That's 80 pints/month. Two adults in the house, each having 1 beer with dinner every day will drain away 60 of those/month. Occasionally, I'll have a second beer late in at night or put down a couple playing cards or fishing on the weekend.

My wife and I can easily consume 10 gallons a month and never once "put a buzz on".

Not to mention, I tend to give away a 6'er (or more) of beers to friends from each batch. If I brew 15 gallons/month then I can start stock-piling it for those times when I'm so busy with work that I can't brew.

-walker

edit: in terms of quantities consumed, the beverage preference list in my house is (most to least):

iced tea (we've got a glass of this all the time)
water (when you're really thirsty)
beer (with dinner every day + other times)
milk (the kids)
juice (the kids + adults for weekend breakfast)
wine (my wife with dinner + other times)
coffee (every morning, 2 cups)
soda (me, when I want caffiene but not coffee)
 
I'm actually been a little surprised at how quickly the stash has dwindled with just two adults in the house, neither of whom ever drinks more than two beers a night except a couple times a year. We also usually only have a beer maybe three or four nights a week. I figure that one five gallon batch is probably about a months' worth of drinking, not even considering when friends come over to share.

And selling your homebrew? A very strict no-no that I honestly don't believe anyone here would even think about violating.
 
the_bird said:
I'm actually been a little surprised at how quickly the stash has dwindled with just two adults in the house, neither of whom ever drinks more than two beers a night except a couple times a year. We also usually only have a beer maybe three or four nights a week. I figure that one five gallon batch is probably about a months' worth of drinking, not even considering when friends come over to share.

And selling your homebrew? A very strict no-no that I honestly don't believe anyone here would even think about violating.
Click to expand...

I didn't mean to imply you guys are drunks. I was not considering more than one person drinking it. As for the selling, I didn't mean sell as much as getting donations to the program. I guess there are probably legal repercusions depending on the answer, just ignore that one.
 
the_bird said:
I'm actually been a little surprised at how quickly the stash has dwindled with just two adults in the house, neither of whom ever drinks more than two beers a night except a couple times a year.
Click to expand...

yup. 10 gallons seems like a lot at first, but not when you consider it on a day-to-day basis. If we (wife and I) each drank 2 beers/day (one with dinner @ 6pm and maybe one at 10pm as the day winds down) we would never feel the effects of the alcohol, but could consume 120 pints/month (15 gallons).

It all depends on your drinking habits. Example: if I ONLY drank on Friday nights and I was going through 10 gallons a month, that would be alarming. But since I have a beer (maybe two) every day, 10 gallons is not a big deal. It fact, it's considered pretty HEALTHY.

-walker
 
Walker-san said:
yup. 10 gallons seems like a lot at first, but not when you consider it on a day-to-day basis. If we (wife and I) each drank 2 beers/day (one with dinner @ 6pm and maybe one at 10pm as the day winds down) we would never feel the effects of the alcohol, but could consume 120 pints/month (15 gallons).

It all depends on your drinking habits. Example: if I ONLY drank on Friday nights and I was going through 10 gallons a month, that would be alarming. But since I have a beer (maybe two) every day, 10 gallons is not a big deal. It fact, it's considered pretty HEALTHY.

-walker
Click to expand...


cool guys, I'm still new to this so yeah 10 gallons does seem like a lot but as you noted it isn't really.
 
10 gallons only seems like alot to those who DONT homebrew! :)

i dont drink during the week but im sure every single friday sat and sun to have a homebrew..plus i buy specialty beers to try and figure out what i want to brew next.. just to get a clue..

heck before i started brewing i loved bud light.. now when i drink it im like.. well darn.. that doesnt even taste like a beer..id rather be home having my own!

needless to say.. now that im into it.. im always thinkin of what i can brew next.. im running out of room to put carboys, fermentors, bottles, kegs......
 
It also depends on what you are brewing & drinking. Two pints of most of my ales is less alcohol than a 12 oz. glass of Black Panther Stout and way less than 8 oz. of 120 IPA.

I also like to take ale to homebrew club meetings.

I freaked my new doctor when he asked how much I drank, told him a pint or two a day.

He's a GenXer and drinks the hard stuff.
 
I agree that the one or two a day is pretty harmless and it DOES cause your stock to dwindle quicker than expected. One side effect I'm battling right now - I lost 40+ pounds in 2000 and have kept it off - discovered HB in 01/06 and have gained back 12 - the beer hasn't contributed, but the calories have.......

Skol!
 
SBN said:
I agree that the one or two a day is pretty harmless and it DOES cause your stock to dwindle quicker than expected. One side effect I'm battling right now - I lost 40+ pounds in 2000 and have kept it off - discovered HB in 01/06 and have gained back 12 - the beer hasn't contributed, but the calories have.......

Skol!
Click to expand...

yeah this is where I am at, still trying to be in shape and struggling with the extra calories..
 
My consumption has been up lately, but that's about done. And the kicker is that it's the homebrew and the kegerator that will bring me back down to normal levels. A few months back I started working on the fridge, only to have this side project fill the fridge up.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=9265

Since then it's been a bit of a race to get that thing emptied so I can put kegs in it. Yesterday I took the shelves out and put two full cornies in it, and still had room for the remaining bottles.
 
i'll start to worry when I start making beer only because it breaks through 10% ABV, regardless of how it tastes. My buddy gave me an 11.2% skullsplitter and it tasted nasty cause of all the suger cane and honey. I couldnt manage to even try more than a couple sips. He says he likes to start out a night of partying by shotgunning one or two... AAACK....

my pops is an old school homebrewer and used to make 100+ gallons of wine a year (and drink it). He's quit drinking all together (for nearly 4 years now), in AA. I've learned why hes in AA and hope I dont go down that same path. He used it as an out (problems), I use it cause it tastes so damn good! HAHAHAHAH
 
I have 4 carboys, 5 primaries and 2 bottling buckets. I try to keep something in something at all times.

Right now I have about 8 cases of beer (0,5 liter bottles) and 2 in the secondary.

I made a starter earlier to night so I can brew this weekend.;)

I just picked up 7 (more) cases of bottles yesterday and am in the process of removing the labels, cleaning/scrubbing off the glue/sanitizing them now.

This acquisition brings my bottle supply up to about 30 cases of German (0,5 liter) bottles, about 150 Grolsch bottles, several cases of 22 oz., 19 mini-kegs, misc. etc.
 
Honestly, I just need to lose some weight and quit the binge drinking on the weekends. It's nothing for me to slurp down 6-10 bottles, plus a couple of bourbons. So I need to take a break and let my body recover from the damage.

Bird, you'll be (un)happy to know that I have amazing willpower (for all things except sweets) and I can easily disassociate myself from drinking, therefore the HB in my basement won't cause undue stress.
 
I have cut way back on the drinking in the last couple years. i might have a couple during the week, but that is about it, and usually not until thursday or so. Weekends, I drink a little more, maybe a 6'er or so on Saturday, and 1 or 2 on sunday. As such, I normally only have a batch or 2 going per month, and build up a stock for in case I can't get to brewing for a while.

I am going to now break my routine when I go out tonight with my cousin and brother. Stone's Public House in Ashland (http://www.stonespublichouse.com/index.asp)


BTW- Congrats on quitting smoking! I too have gotten off the darts- It has been 1 and 1/2 years for me with no going back at all.
 
Quitting smoking is one of the most satisfying things you can do. Once a month or so I am shocked to think that I used to smoke. It's been about 4 years.

As for the drinking.... I've really cut back over the last few years. I'll usually have a bottle with dinner unless the wife is out of the house then it's a bottle with dinner and a couple with dessert.
 
　鯰　 said:
Quitting smoking is one of the most satisfying things you can do.....
Click to expand...


Roger that in a big way. I feel so much better. Also, I can smell a smoker a mile away, and I am amazed that I spent a large part of my life like that. When you smoke, you can't smell how bad it stinks.
 
I teach kids (4-8 y.o.) it is even scarier that I can smell a smokers (especially if it's the mom, the dads don't usually spend enough time at home) kids a mile away; their hair, bags, clothes, even their books are soaked in cigarette juice.
 
We got stuck in a "smoking" hotel room at a conference last year. Honestly, I don't believe you could burn a carton of cigarettes an hour and drench that room in any more stench than it had. Everything felt greasy.

As far as Cheese's quitting; good deal. Anything to excess is detrimental. Moderation is the key. Papazian says somewhere that beer (like an English Milde, I believe) was a social institution and not a vehicle for drunkenness. One good thing about learning homebrewing is the ability to tamper alc. content if so desired.

I enjoy sitting outside stirring the brewpot, studying recipes, critiquing my own stuff, having others critique it, and even converting the occasional BudL*ght (the Queen of Beers) drinker over to real beer. Bottling sucks but hey, every hobby has a drawback (like cleaning guns or changing oil).

The fact that a liter at bedtime helps me sleep a little sounder is just a plus... ;)
 
Truble said:
Roger that in a big way. I feel so much better. Also, I can smell a smoker a mile away, and I am amazed that I spent a large part of my life like that. When you smoke, you can't smell how bad it stinks.
Click to expand...

I never realized that non-smokers can smell people smoking in other cars until I quit. The one downside of quitting is that the world is a stinkier place.
 
Another benefit of quitting smoking - I used to constantly get colds and have allergy problems. Since I quit 4 years ago you could count the colds I've had on one hand. My allergies are much milder too.
 

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