Girlfriend of a brewer-to-be. I need your advice!

I am not actually a brewer but my boyfriend has a passion for craft beers and watches brewing shows and all that jazz. I would like to get him a starter kit from a local home brew store as a gift but I am worried about how time consuming the hobby is. He works as a CPA and tax season just started so he is working 10-12 hours a day, 6 days a week, and more than likely will be working this schedule until mid-late April. I would hate to get him a gift that he doesn't have the time for.

So my questions are simple, how time consuming is home brewing and is it something that can be done successfully in sporadic free time?

Yes and no. Technically it can be done sporadically, but once he is hooked, all his time will belong to brewing.

Ace speaks truth in one sense. For many of us, this has gone from a curiosity to an obsession. In another sense, though, brewing is a great hobby for limited spare time. Brew day should take 3 hours or so, then wait a month, then another hour or so for bottling, and wait another month. if he gets a couple batches started now, he'll have a pleasant reward waiting for him on April 16th.

I think it's a great gift!

You sound like a great girlfriend much like my wonderful wife. My wife gave me a begginers kit for christmas and we just bottled our first batch together last week and brewed our second batch on the same day. We had a lot of fun together doing it. It will be fun for you both to spend some quality time together if you get into it like my wife has with me:

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/first-batch-bottles-woohoo-220227/

Regarding the time consuming aspect... It does not have to be time consuming. I am on my second batch and I have spend a total of about 6-8 hours over the last month... A couple of hours here and there. The hardest part is all the waiting you have to do for your batches to get ready. I feel like a kid perpetually waiting for Christmas to get here.

Get him the kit. Go to the local brewing supply store with him. Help him pick out the stuff. Help him brew and bottle the stuff. You guys will be spending lots of quality time together. You will have fun, and most of all, in his eyes you will be the greatest girlfriend of all time. Do that, and I see an engagement ring with a giant rock on it in your future.

Regular extract and grain brews can take 3-4 hours for brew day. Simpler kits take less time, more advanced/all grain takes a lot longer.

I work 6 days a week usually 8-10 hours (often more) and a lot of times I need something to look forward to in order to make me through the week. Brewing is one of those things. Although, with only one day off, sometimes spending it in the kitchen isn't the most ideal thing.

However, I still recommend it!

If he will be doing extract batches at first it takes about 3-4 hours from start to finish with clean up. Not bad. I am new and have done three batches and get a little better each time.

If he gets busy and cannot find time to bottle it right away it is fine, just get to it when he can, the beer can sit for quite a while. It did not take me that long to bottle my first batch once I got going.

Read the stickeys at the top of this forum. Tons of good info there. I got some great tips by reading these forums.

Then tell him to learn what RDWHAHB means.

While I'll agree with everyone above about the time requirements for an actual brew day, and I assume similar time required for bottling day, if your boyfriend is anything like me, most of his other free time will quickly get consumed reading any websites, message boards, and literature on homebrewing he can find. I'd hazard my example is more the rule around here than the exception, but especially early on, it's easy to get a little carried away with research.

If you decide to go through with it, make sure to get him a copy of How to Brew by Palmer or The Complete Joy of Homebrewing by Papazian - both are very good primers on brewing that also include some more advanced techniques, should he choose to pursue those down the road.

Stnovak said:

I am not actually a brewer but my boyfriend has a passion for craft beers and watches brewing shows and all that jazz. I would like to get him a starter kit from a local home brew store as a gift but I am worried about how time consuming the hobby is. He works as a CPA and tax season just started so he is working 10-12 hours a day, 6 days a week, and more than likely will be working this schedule until mid-late April. I would hate to get him a gift that he doesn't have the time for.

So my questions are simple, how time consuming is home brewing and is it something that can be done successfully in sporadic free time?

Click to expand...

Wait until after tax season and give it to him as a gift for all his hard work or something like that.

I personally brew once a weekend and it doesn't take that much time.

i'd say it's perfect for sporadic free-time, brew on his one day off and he can just wait however long he needs until he gets enough time to transfer or bottle. brewing timelines aren't set in stone by any means. since the average brewday is about an hours worth of work stretched out over 4-5 hours, it doesn't totally consume his entire day-off either, it's a beautiful hobby. hook him up!

At this point I brew extract kits with specialty grain steeping / partial-mash and in my experience as a new brewer it takes me at least 5 hours to do it. This includes the time required to get everything organized, the brewing, and the cleanup at the end.

I'm sure it won't take me this long after I learn more and improve my speed and efficiency... but right now I'm at about 5 hours per batch.

I do enjoy it though even though it takes a good amount of my time. It's nice to have a hobby like this where you can enjoy the fruits of your labors at the end.

As you said you are a brewer yourself, this means you would be helping him, and I figure this wouldn't be a "he brews on his own" situation. I love brewing with my wife (and dad, and father-in-law....), makes for a good relationship builder as any shared hobby.

What I would suggest doing is get him started, get the kit to make the brew, and have you two brew together when you would be spending an evening together. Instead of going out for dinner or a movie or other activities, on one of those nights do some brewing. Then 3 weeks later you do a bottling date. And 3 weeks after that you do a tasting.

If he is a busy man then it would be indeed hard for him to find time for any hobby that takes several hours, but not if he is doing it with his girlfriend on a night meant to be spent together and away from work anyway.

A starter kit is a great gift. I delayed starting to brew for too long because I was worried I didn't have the right equipment, or didn't understand the process, etc. A kit would alleviate this worry for your boyfriend.

Another thing that would help him get started is if he could do his first batch with another homebrewer. I know this wan't your question, but there may be someone from your area on this forum who wouldn't mind having a helpng hand on a batch, and silling to show a new brewer some of the basic ropes. Not that beginning brewing is that complicated, but sometimes brewing socially helps get a guy kicked off right.



I agree with the others above that brew day can take 3-4 hours, bottling day maybe an hour or so.

One of the things that has been said explicitly, but bears mention, is that for the couple of weeks to a month or so after brew day, while the beer is fermenting., this is virtually zero time commitment.


No need to fuss or measure or adjust daily. Just take a peek at the airlock every couple of days to see if fermentation is slowing down. This takes only seconds.

As a college buddy once told me: "You don't really make beer -- you just put the ingredients together as best you can. The beer has to make itself."

So your boyfriend could brew a batch one Sunday afternoon, then let it ferment until it stops (weeks or a month, timing varies). If he doesn't have time to bottle that weekend, it's OK to let it wait for another week. No worries.

If for some reason the first batch doesn't work out, or if he cant use the starter kit right away, he can try after April 15th. Brewing doesn't care what the season is, and can be enjoyed year round. Maybe he could brew a few extra batches this Fall, so he won't run out of beer next tax season.

The downside to being busy and being a brewer is you need a few hours to brew, the upside is it's a lot easier to wait for your brew to ferment. condition/age/etc since you're so busy.

Get a good equipment kit, and get a simple recipe kit (I'd suggest Brewer's Best, very by the books extract brewing, some extract, some grains, simple instructions)

I don't have much to add in terms of time requirements (most everyone here hit the nail on the head), but I just have to say they you're awesome to recognize your boyfriend's interests and think about a gift that really appeals to him. It'll be a hobby that he'll always be able to thank you for.

Once he gets started, send him the way of this forum, and we'll make sure he knows how much of a keeper you are!

(For the record, my Wife is just as fantastic, so I'm definitely appreciative of kick-a$$ significant others!)

Stnovak said:

I am not actually a brewer but my boyfriend has a passion for craft beers and watches brewing shows and all that jazz. I would like to get him a starter kit from a local home brew store as a gift but I am worried about how time consuming the hobby is. He works as a CPA and tax season just started so he is working 10-12 hours a day, 6 days a week, and more than likely will be working this schedule until mid-late April. I would hate to get him a gift that he doesn't have the time for.

So my questions are simple, how time consuming is home brewing and is it something that can be done successfully in sporadic free time?

Click to expand...

Even if he becomes obsessed with it, it will only consumer a couple hours in intervals. If he's doing extract batches he is looking at 3 hours on the weekend, 4 if he's doing all grain. After that, you let it sit for 1-3 months then spend an hour bottling or 30 minutes kegging it. Then let it sit for another 3-4 weeks. So all in all, each batch of beer consumes less than a day. Researching batches and techniques on the other hand may take longer depending on how much he gets into it.

it appears to have been covered fairly well, but here's my input.
get him the kit
don't worry about time.
from start to final cleanup, it takes me about 5 hours on brewday and 2 hours on bottling day, although my recent addition of a keggin setup should cut that down a bit.

I'm crazy busy at times, and other times its 30-35 hour weeks, but throw in two kids at 8 and 11, and a significant other thats working 60+ hours most weeks, time is premium in many cases. so I'll make a few hours here or there and get it done.

for example, I brewed both saturday and sunday this weekend, its the first weekend we haven't had any real plans, so I just did it. Its also the first time I've brewed since Nov 11. with the holidays and such, I just didnt find the time.

not only will he need the starter kit for making beer, he will need a large 5 gallon pot as well. you can pick up turkey fryers fro around $40 and it would come with the burner and pot required for brewing beer.

-=Jason=-

All the guys have covered it pretty well. This year he can sneak a brew day in and have beer ready for when tax time slows. Next year he will brew ahead of time, so he will have beer for through the tax season.

Start saving and rinsing out your non screw cap beer bottles! He will need a couple cases worth to bottle the first batch, so start now.

BlondIrishGuy said:

My wife gave me a begginers kit for christmas and we just bottled our first batch together last week and brewed our second batch on the same day. We had a lot of fun together doing it. It will be fun for you both to spend some quality time together if you get into it like my wife has with me:

Click to expand...

I wish my wife was that supportive. She seems to complain everytime I brew. I have twin toddlers at home, so where's the time...

Buy the kit and get started making beer. He can join in when he's got time.

Seriously, can you think of a better together-time project? I'd leave 5 hours at first. You will get faster as you do it more.

Thank you for supporting (and creating) a brewer! HBT should get some SWMBO t-shirts made.......

Why does a certain Jeep related thread come to mind here?

Thanks to everyone for such a great response; I wasn't expecting all this! I've decided to go ahead and get him the kit for Valentines Day and hopefully we can start brewing that weekend. We have a local brew shop (Great Fermentations/ Indianapolis, In) that I can get the kit and he can pick out ingredients. With that said, I know he's a HUGE fan of anything Dogfish Head, so if there are any recipes for a Dogfish IPA floating around here let me know!

Real quick responses-

Flomaster said:

not only will he need the starter kit for making beer, he will need a large 5 gallon pot as well. you can pick up turkey fryers fro around $40 and it would come with the burner and pot required for brewing beer.

-=Jason=-

Click to expand...

I've got some pretty big calphalon stock pots already (3-5 gal) that we can use as brew pots. Do we have to have a stainless steel pot or will the calphalon work?

lou2row said:

All the guys have covered it pretty well. This year he can sneak a brew day in and have beer ready for when tax time slows. Next year he will brew ahead of time, so he will have beer for through the tax season.

Start saving and rinsing out your non screw cap beer bottles! He will need a couple cases worth to bottle the first batch, so start now.

Click to expand...

That's great, I thought I'd have to buy bottles, too. Good to know we can recycle old ones!

JasonInBTR said:

Thank you for supporting (and creating) a brewer! HBT should get some SWMBO t-shirts made.......

Click to expand...

SWMBO?

She who must be obeyed, that would be you

She Who Must Be Obeyed (that's you)

I personally use stainless steel, but other pots are just fine for beginners to use.

Brew day really is only about an hour worth of work and 2-3 hours of sitting around waiting for water to heat up and boil. We typically bottle and brew on the same day. We get most of the stuff set up and start bottling 10 minutes into the boil. After the chances of boil over have gone down.

edb23 said:

She who must be obeyed, that would be you

Click to expand...

NyPDFustercluck said:

She Who Must Be Obeyed (that's you)

I personally use stainless steel, but other pots are just fine for beginners to use.

Click to expand...

You guys do know you're not supposed to let someone know what that means right away? newbs

Stnovak said:

With that said, I know he's a HUGE fan of anything Dogfish Head, so if there are any recipes for a Dogfish IPA floating around here let me know!

Click to expand...

I would check out the recipe section, there are forums for each type of beer. But with your above comment I would check out this thread by the great Yooper! It has both all grain and extract with steeping grains versions!
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f69/dogfish-head-60-minute-clone-ag-extract-25709/

Seems to be a very popular recipe around here. And I would have to agree. I just brewed this a couple weeks ago, tasted the gravity reading sample last week and it is already great. Just dry hopped this weekend and will bottle next. I can not wait to taste it when I bottle.

My girlfriend got me a brew kit for x-mas as I used to brew and now I am totally back into it. It was the BEST gift any girlfriend has ever given me!

edb23 said:

She who must be obeyed, that would be you

Click to expand...

Some say this is the correct answer, but in reality the proper meaning is:

Start Wenching My Beer, Okay?

Tax CPA here...wait until 4/16. And as much as I love this site, DO NOT TELL HIM ABOUT IT UNITL POST 4/15!!! Trust me on this one!

Quite a few cpas and other tax people who brew. It's going to depend on workload. There could be a brewday chance somewhere in Feburary, and then can let it sit through march when corps are due, if he has to work with those. If it's just 1040s there may be a little more leeway time and then he can let it ferment for a month and try to sneak in a racking (if necessary) or even as some people mention, let it just sit there for a few months and bottle post 4/20 (efile rejections). Not a CPA but work in the tax fields, I'm going to see about doing one right before the 1120s start going. Hopefully that wont' be a nightmare.

sjbeerman said:

I wish my wife was that supportive. She seems to complain everytime I brew. I have twin toddlers at home, so where's the time...

Click to expand...

When you have young kids everything is different. This is both our second go around and our kids are all teenagers... Which is a whole other story.

Everybody who is not it the profession says no big deal, can brew on Sunday. Well Sunday is a day to take a nap, do laundry, take a nap, clean house, take a nap, get my drift.

Maybe it's becasue I have three kids but on Sunday I'll I want to do after working 70 hrs is sleep & relax. I have enough stress at work and home I don't need to stress about my beer. That's why I did two batches on New Years! I know RDWHAHB, but if it's your first time it may not be that easy. Plus if he gets bitten by the bug, it's hard to keep you mind off of it.

Hmmm, read the the tax code or check out HBT and see what's going on. Not really a tough choice. DAMN YOU HBT!

Plus this gives him 3 months of drinking commercial beers to build up his bottle supply.

Stnovak said:

I am not actually a brewer but my boyfriend has a passion for craft beers and watches brewing shows and all that jazz. I would like to get him a starter kit from a local home brew store as a gift but I am worried about how time consuming the hobby is. He works as a CPA and tax season just started so he is working 10-12 hours a day, 6 days a week, and more than likely will be working this schedule until mid-late April. I would hate to get him a gift that he doesn't have the time for.

So my questions are simple, how time consuming is home brewing and is it something that can be done successfully in sporadic free time?

Click to expand...

I'm a CPA with a wife and kid, and I make the time to brew. If he wants to brew, he'll find the time (i.e. wake up f'in early on sunday).

Buy local in case you want to return it. They can also answer loads of questions.

Stnovak said:

I know he's a HUGE fan of anything Dogfish Head, so if there are any recipes for a Dogfish IPA floating around here let me know!

Click to expand...

I recommend Sam Calagione (Dogfish founder)'s book, "Extreme Brewing." It's got some great intro info, lots of pictures, and best of all, a bunch of recipes that are clones of Dogfish Head beer.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/1592532934/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

My girlfriend got me my first brewing setup for our anniversary back in September. It's a lot of fun, and as a beer enthusiast, it gives me an increased appreciation of the work and care that goes into making my favorite brews.

to all the CPAs on here. i would wait until April 19th to tell him about this sight. isn't the 18th the deadline this year due to a holiday in Washington??

Hockeyhunter99 said:

to all the CPAs on here. i would wait until April 19th to tell him about this sight. isn't the 18th the deadline this year due to a holiday in Washington??

Click to expand...

Except the vast majority of CPAs don't dopersonal income tax returns, or returns at all for that matter.that's what HR block is for

Stnovak said:

I am not actually a brewer but my boyfriend has a passion for craft beers and watches brewing shows and all that jazz. I would like to get him a starter kit from a local home brew store as a gift but I am worried about how time consuming the hobby is. He works as a CPA and tax season just started so he is working 10-12 hours a day, 6 days a week, and more than likely will be working this schedule until mid-late April. I would hate to get him a gift that he doesn't have the time for.

So my questions are simple, how time consuming is home brewing and is it something that can be done successfully in sporadic free time?

Click to expand...

im shure someone may have posted something similar but i didnt feel like scanning through the others yet. On average it takes 2 hrs to bottle from start to cleanup finish. Brewing can take me 4-6 hrs depending on steeping/mashing times. If he gets a kit he can do it once and let it go. Then do another in another month and if he likes it he can brew weekly get more vessels and roughly use about 7 hrs a week doing so.If he dosent find the time he doesnt have to brew but then that means that much longer till he can try each new brew.
Also if you though of this idea for him its going to make him all that much happier. Because doing this gives you that kind of feeling of like a kid at christmas but it doesnt go away, thats how much many of us enyoy it.

When my wife worked for a CPA, filing extension season ran to June 15th. I'm thinking that you go ahead and get what your local store suggested and your boyfriend is going to have to find the time to brew that END Of TAX YEAR, Thank You!!! Yea I made this!! special homebrew.