When do you stop being sad...

I just came home from work and pulled a pint of my belgin pumpkin ale I am serving on Beer Gas with a stout faucet.

Half way through the pour and the keg kicked... I wish I had those first several pints that I kept trying thinking man I screwed this up, it doesn't taste right.

So my question is when do you stop being so sad when your brew is gone?

This is only my second AG and 5th brew all together the first 3 being kits.

What will keep me going and get me very excited is my Hennipin clone that is ready to go into the keg!

Just have another tap going and another keg carbed in your pipeline to swap with the empty one.

You'll never be sad again.
J

Only sad for the 20 minutes it takes me to clean the lines and hookup another keg.

Tonight I'm drinking the last bottle of my Bell's 2 Hearted clone that I brewed in May.
The good news is I have a new batch of it sitting in the keg, waiting for me to pull the handle.

So, to answer your question..., 2 minutes after I finish the bottle.

I should have a fridge big enough for two kegs soon. Right now I only can have one on tap and there is no place for me to cool one down before hand.

Even still it is sad when a good batch is done even if I have a better on waiting for me.

I just hold a wake for the beer, with more beer, and all is well.


TL

As was already stated, only as long as it takes to hook up another keg.

wildwest450 said:

Only sad for the 20 minutes it takes me to clean the lines and hookup another keg.

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You clean the lines for each new keg?

However long it takes to drink enough to forget the one that just kicked!

TexLaw said:

I just hold a wake for the beer, with more beer, and all is well.


TL

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I like this one, and this will be my new tradition.

This time I had a Zombie wake and brought my first AG brew back from the dead for a remembrance pint. I found a growler behind the keg that just kicked.

why be sad now you have room for another brew day

DocRobinson said:

You clean the lines for each new keg?

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I clean them more frequently than that.

They say brewing is 90% cleaning, but I keep trying for 100%.

remilard said:

I clean them more frequently than that.

They say brewing is 90% cleaning, but I keep trying for 100%.

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Dat's funny right thar. Sicker n hell, but funny!

When I have a beer that I enjoy, I am sad when it is done. A new beer can take it's place but, unless it is the same recipe (and it never is) then I miss the one that is gone. If the batch is very good I'll usually fill a few bottles.

Last week I had a situation though that was particularly distressing. Last week I filled a couple bottles of my southern english brown and kicked that keg. Then I bottled two more of my IPA and kicked that one too. In the space of five minutes I went from having two beers on tap to nada. Had to quickly rack my finished pale ale into one and got right on a Lake Walk Pale Ale brew day.

This sadness is what led me to having 4 kegs on rotation and around 20 gallons or so fermenting at any given time.

Yeah, I know.....

mitch171 said:

I just came home from work and pulled a pint of my belgin pumpkin ale I am serving on Beer Gas with a stout faucet.

Half way through the pour and the keg kicked... I wish I had those first several pints that I kept trying thinking man I screwed this up, it doesn't taste right.

So my question is when do you stop being so sad when your brew is gone?

This is only my second AG and 5th brew all together the first 3 being kits.

What will keep me going and get me very excited is my Hennipin clone that is ready to go into the keg!

Click to expand...

This is funny. I like it. I run out all the time, and it is very, very sad. Glad to know I am not alone.

squeekysheep said:

why be sad now you have room for another brew day

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Yep. I wish I had room for more brew days, but I just can't drink how much I COULD produce! I have brewed more lately than I'll drink in 5 or 6 months!

mrtrav said:

This sadness is what led me to having 4 kegs on rotation and around 20 gallons or so fermenting at any given time.

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I need some more kegs! I have a lot of stuff sitting in carboys ready to go into kegs, but not enough kegs to fit all of those gallons of brew!

I feel for the OP. The strong Amber Bock I brewed in March just kicked. I have been sipping on that one for months, it was getting better with each pint.

Nothing sadder than that "SUUUUUUUH" sound coming from the tap.



(Though, having beer in nine other kegs, plus 8 gallons fermenting helps with the pain. Nothing like a working pipeline!)

I may be sad about kicking a keg, but happy because I can put something new on tap.

Confession: I have occasionally dumped the dregs, so I can tap the next one. Solo drinking == beer past its prime.

Just think of all us poor bastards still bottling. Then don't be sad.

It is nice to look at 9 vessels of fermenting beer, until you start doing "bottle math".

Seemed appropriate for this thread!

DocRobinson said:

You clean the lines for each new keg?

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Yup, and you're a filthy pig if you don't.

david_42 said:

Confession: I have occasionally dumped the dregs, so I can tap the next one. Solo drinking == beer past its prime.

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You need more kegs.

So do I.

Cpt_Kirks said:

You need more kegs.

So do I.

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Me too

I'm trying to find cheap ball lock kegs. Any of you guys know of a good place other than keg connection?

kegglebrewing.com had them a while ago for 60 for 4 + shipping (I think it came to about $85 total) that supposedly loose rubber. Yeah, the rubber was pulling away a little, but not enough for me to worry about reglueing. They are up to $75 now.

the time it takes me to hook up the second keg of that style . I have a Brown ale , IPA and Oktoberfest on tap at all times and one seasonal right now its a smoked porter with 10 gallons of a winter warmer on deck. It helps to brew 10 gallons at a time and be able to carb three or four while the others are on tap .. When the first keg runs dry I know I need to brew another batch . I also have 24 five gallon kegs and 4 three gallon kegs .

I was only sad once, when i kicked 3 kegs in one day.... now I always have 1-2 fermenting whenever one of the 6 kegs is more than half empty.

Ok I'm over her, I am now in the process of throwing my Hennepin clone in a keg. I have two brews planned. If I could find the time to do it then I would have my three kegs full. It is just hard to get your stock up and not drink it all up before you have time to do so.

I was getting sick of drinking pumpkin ale anyway. I am glad I am over her so fast...

quickerNu said:

Just think of all us poor bastards still bottling. Then don't be sad.

It is nice to look at 9 vessels of fermenting beer, until you start doing "bottle math".

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Speak for yourself.

Sometimes a packed pipeline just can't make up for that one batch you completely nailed.

I'm clinging to my last three pumpkin spice ale bottles cause it was so damn good.

I stop being sad when I have sobered up.

Until I realize I am wearing a G-string.

In all honesty, that sadness never really truly goes away completely. Sure, I get to hook up another keg, but if I dont have that exact same recipe kegged/aged/carbed/chilled the sadness remains for the last of that specimen.

I have a melt your face off bitter IPA that I am drinking right now (I actually prefer that to my uber delicious Fat Tire clone right now) and another ultra bitter IPA in the primary now. But I know that I will be crying when this beer goes *POOF*

My only saving grace is the fact that this beer is so damned bitter, even the heartiest of hop heads that come over to my house usually wont have more than a sample (or at best a whole pint) This just means more for me, and my keg will last those several pints longer.

So in essence, the sadness never really goes away completely. You just find something else to pleasure your palette and make it a bit more bearable.
-Me

springer said:

I also have 24 five gallon kegs and 4 three gallon kegs .

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Damn, now I'm sad!

JoeMama said:

(I actually prefer that to my uber delicious Fat Tire clone right now)
-Me

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Hey, do you have a recipe for that Fat Tire clone? I've been trying to find a good one for quite a while now, but the last one I brewed didn't taste anything like Fat Tire.

Thanks,
J

Bringing back my own post from the dead. I am just finishing my Hennipin Clone that I worked so hard on perfecting the recipe, tracking down ingredients, building a started from the dregs in the Ommegang bottle. I have my last half glass now. And of course I am nostalgic. I have been pretty much the only one drinking it. This keg taught me that an 8.6% abv keg takes a while to drink by yourself, and that this beer really taste good with at least a month of aging.

I also learned that it is possible to have enough Belgian style beer. I thought I would never say anything along that line. So anyway here's to you my fallen brother.

Good news I have a 10 gal batch of IPA ready to go in the keggorator!

I agree, generally it takes a little while when you first start off to get into a position where you have kegs and/or bottles waiting ... but in the big picture, if you have a couple beers that are maturing in a keg just waiting to be tapped, you won't worry so much about kicking a keg.

cheers

~rc~

True and the 40 cases of home made wine helps