The worst part of homebrewing

So one month into all grain home brewing I come to realize the worst part of brewing.

Some say its bottling, others say its the clean up - I say the waiting is the hardest part.

Building the ole pipeline takes a lot of time and effort yet I believe it is an essential part if you want to stay with the hobby. I can see how one would get into brewing, make one batch, wait six weeks to drink the first one, let the pipeline run dry and become discouraged at this point and go back to store bought.

Right now I have 3 batches bottled, 1 in fermenter, and 2 going in tomorrow.

2 more weeks till I can try my first brew and I can not wait!

From there, I'll brew a batch every time I drink 2 cases. In the meantime i can set aside my fears with the other 11 stockpiled cases!

I am curious to know, those who have been brewing for years - Did you immediately build the pipeline or did it take you a while to figure this part out. My guess is that you figured this out fairly quickly.

Depends on how many "friends" you aquire because you apparently make beer for free! That depends on how quickly you can build the storage. Sometimes I feel that I have a ton of beer, then other times, I am amazed on how quickly it's gone. I guess I try to plan ahead, but just does not work out all times.

coosabrew said:

Depends on how many "friends" you aquire because you apparently make beer for free! That depends on how quickly you can build the storage. Sometimes I feel that I have a ton of beer, then other times, I am amazed on how quickly it's gone. I guess I try to plan ahead, but just does not work out all times.

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Yeah, I already have a few interested in trying my "free beer". I plan to share by brew but will have to keep this factor in mind. Hope they don't like it to much.

OrdinaryAvgGuy said:

>>>>>>
2 more weeks till I can try my first brew and I can not wait!
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>.

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It might not be the best but you can try one anytime you like.
When I bottled I usually waited 4 or 5 days before thowing one in the fridge for a taste.

Yes, in the beginning the waiting is the hardest part (cue Tom Petty please....). But after a couple of years of doing this, I can keep the pipeline up and running. Course, having 7 beers on tap will calm the urge for variety and wanting the newest thing. Have patience grasshopper, your day will come.


Oh, and cleaning up is by far the worst part of this hobby.....

The worst part of the hobby to me is not the waiting, that is not much of an issue with me. But the friends who say they want to come over and help out when really they just want to stand around and watch me work while they drink all of my beer. Been thinking about getting some cheap beer taking the label off and recapping it then putting it in the fridge when they show up.

mb82 said:

The worst part of the hobby to me is not the waiting, that is not much of an issue with me. But the friends who say they want to come over and help out when really they just want to stand around and watch me work while they drink all of my beer. Been thinking about getting some cheap beer taking the label off and recapping it then putting it in the fridge when they show up.

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See that to me is the best part, I love having people try what I have worked so hard at. Cleaning is the worst for me.

to me its the $$$.. I wish it really was free. Cleaning and all the stuff is just part of the hobby, a very important part actually.

Removing bottle labels and cleaning.

I've only been at it a year and my pipeline is not continuous but it's getting there.

At first I hated the waiting, but I've gotten better about my patience, and I feel like the quality of my beer has improved as a result. I had a few experiences where I got impatient and tried to move things along before it was ready, and I suffered for it. Once I got that down and started making consistently good stuff, I got more comfortable with getting a good pipeline going.

mb82 said:

The worst part of the hobby to me is not the waiting, that is not much of an issue with me. But the friends who say they want to come over and help out when really they just want to stand around and watch me work while they drink all of my beer.

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This is the reason bottling is my least favorite part right now. I can be pretty self-sufficient for everything else, but for bottling I try to get an assembly line system going of cleaning, filling, and capping bottles. I have a couple good friends that I can count on to help, but if they're busy, the others don't contribute much. Note to self: bribe new friends with beer.

If you think waiting for beer is hard, try making good wine or mead. I brewed, and drank, 14 batches of beer while waiting for one batch of wine to be ready to bottle. It WAS worth the wait, and eventually I forgot about it, until they were 'found' back in December. Now I have 36 bottles of good wine, and it's time to get more going.

mb82 said:

The worst part of the hobby to me is not the waiting, that is not much of an issue with me. But the friends who say they want to come over and help out when really they just want to stand around and watch me work while they drink all of my beer. Been thinking about getting some cheap beer taking the label off and recapping it then putting it in the fridge when they show up.

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Or you could charge the ungrateful ones an admission fee to tour your brewery.

I just started brewing and i love it. My uncle always made wine and he told me to immediately do a couple of brew kits right away. Not to stray from recipe or directions. He was spot on the money!!! The worst part for me is not checking the airlock and smelling the sweet smells that come from it. I can't just let it go. I'm constantly tasting it too. I now have 7 cases of love and just did a partial mash Friday night! Enjoy the hobby nectar lovers!!!!

For any of those who watch Breaking Bad, Ep.5 Season 2: Breakage... Hank Schrader is a home brewer and thinks someone is shooting and breaking into the house when he bottle with too much priming sugar and had bottle bombs in the garage.

I think the worst part is when you finally run out of a great brew. it's hard, but I can handle the wait. and all the clean up is no comparison to popping that last bottle of something special.

Cider123 said:

Removing bottle labels and cleaning.

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Soak 'em in oxyclean overnight. The labels fall right off, and a quick swipe with a green scrubbie gets rid of the glue reside.