You started. You stopped. You started again...

I notice that a lot of folks who introduce themselves started homebrewing a while back. Stopped. Then picked it back up again. (I meet this criteria as well)

Why?

I'm STILL stutter-stepping getting going a year + later after finding HBT... I blame my SWMBO and the offspring, but that's neither here nor there. I WILL get going. I've learned more here in the last year than I EVER knew before, other crap keeps getting in the way tho...

But I'm curious as to why others brewed then took time off, then got the bug again...

Ize

Started brewing.
Got job(s) that required lots of travel -- stopped brewing.
Got job where I rarely travel and often work from home (I can sometimes brew while working ) -- started brewing again.
Having kids has actually increased my brewing, as it has cut down (temporarily) on a lot of other stuff we used to do. Lots more nights at home, everyone else is in bed by 9, I'm a night owl...might as well mash in!

Poor planning on a recent brew day made me not want to brew ever again. Took for freaking ever, was doing it late into the night.


Didnt brew for a month and a half and then only brewed because it is for a contest in which they gave me grains and hops to use so i felt i owed it to them.

Planned this brew day with equipment that was cleaned ahead of time and grains milled the day before.

Perfect brewday!!

Will brew again soon!

I know, not a real long absence from brewing but long enough for me.

Haven't run into the problem with brewing, but I purchased a RV six years and spend a fair amount of time and money working on it. Did a lot of traveling with some friends. Moved to Oregon & have a better situation out the front door than 99% of campgrounds. Don't use the RV much, except for Brew fests, and will probably get rid of it.

If my back started being a problem again, as it was in my 40's, I'd probably have to stop brewing. I wouldn't be able to move five gallons of anything around. Hope it doesn't happen.

Lives change.

I just kind of fell out of doing it when I graduated from college. Then I got married and my wife had been encouraging me to start again (she was interested in it or wanted me out of the way, or something). So I started again.

I fell out when things with the ex fiance and work started getting in the way. One way that I solved this problem was getting rid of the fiance:rockin: That and my keggerator was yelling at me from the lack of attention. Now, I am on a brewing marathon and plan on keeping it that way. The new girl seems to be ok with it!!

I feel like I go in spurts for similar reasons to Reverend JC... Right now I haven't brewed in 3 months but I'm getting the fever again. But I know that in another 6 weeks after washing 100 bomber bottles I will start to lose it again.

Of course, it also helps if the beer is good. My last three batches were all decent brews but they were all experimental attempts at styles I don't usually drink. End result is that I don't really enjoy drinking them as much as other brews I've made.

I guess you just have to have a balance, like in all things... balance the cleaning and santizing with the tasting , balance the wild and crazy recipes with your house brews that you know you love, etc.

Then again, I've known this for a year and here I am!

Probation?

TxBrew said:

Probation?

Click to expand...

LMAO... was that Probation or Prohibition?

Ize

My hiatus was brought on by moving. Gave away and sold most of my equipment when I moved from the east to the west coast.

I brewed a few batches back in the early 90's and had no clue WTF I was doing. And then a couple of years ago, for one reason or another, I decided to look into the beer making thing again...and lo and behold this Internet thingy has a TON of information...

I think that the lack of access to information is what drove a lot of people off...hell, that might even apply to today for those that don't know where to look.

I got interested in brewing when I was in college. A local grocery store carried the ingredients and sold the equipment. I brewed a few 5 gal batches and enjoyed it. After I graduated, I had a job that kept me busy and traveling and I had no LHBS so I never really got back into it. Several years ago, I ran across a Mr. Beer kit. That got me interested in it again and after brewing a few different batches in the Mr. Beer system, I recently geared back up to do 5 gal batches again. I'll be brewing a Belgian wit this weekend and will be doing an Irish red after that.

Dunno, I brewed on through moves, having kids, basement remodels, what-have-you. When my beer gets low, it's time to brew.....

I'm with Bernie. I brewed my first batch back in November/December 1991 and never stopped. I've been steadily increasing the amount of batches every year since then. I now brew most every weekend and sometimes during the week. (By the way Bernie, the last batch brewed on Sunday was your Red Baron Bock. I'll let you know how it turns out) There are some things in the works right now that may see me brewing daily! :rockin: I'll let you all know if/when that works out.

I can only obsess about one hobby at a time Also once I reach a certain level of "mastery" at something, I lose interest in it and move on to something else.

Mostly using Papazian's "Complete Joy" and whatever his 2nd book was called (but really mostly CJHB) I made a few extract beers, then started partial mashing. I never progressed to all-grain just for lack of space, and the size limits of my lautering tun. About the time I got good at partial mashing, I got hooked on pistol shooting and reloading... That one hobby at a time thing...

I'm not sure what got me interested again, but for whatever reason it's time to pick it up again. I see a lot has changed in 10 years.

I thought this would be about bad handjobs.

Zuljin said:

I thought this would be about bad handjobs.

Click to expand...

Patience. It'll get there.


Sent from my flip phone using Morse Code.

I brew until it gets too hot in the summer, Then when the beer runs out I say Oh! s#*t and brew until winter comes and it is too cold, then when the beer runs out.......

No real stop for me.

I took most of last year off because of a combination of back problems, sleep problems, and the associated medical bills. It's tough to brew when you can't do a lot of lifting and even if you could, most of your money is going somewhere else.

So instead I focused on some cheap builds. Got a used fridge for free. Made a temp controller. Made a stir plate. Made an IC. Picked up a keg for converting to a keggle (which is still in process).

Since I picked back up, I'm brewing 10 gallons every three months.

Back is better and brews are better.

Started, stopped, and started again just like this thread.

I don't consider myself stopped, only on pause. My wife and I moved into her mother's house in the spring while our house is being built. No room over there for my brewing stuff, so I sold most of it off. I've been gathering components for a new single tier stand, when we move in. Only have a month and a half to wait.

As I believe John Lennon once said, life is what happens when you're busy planning your next batch of beer.

Big crunch time on the startup gig. Then another crunch. Then the realization that it would be years of crunches before the startup was paying a decent salary, and I'd have to get a real job. Then, two months into the real job, they get bought, and the buyers lay off everybody who's been there less than a year. Then planning a wedding, being in a wedding, and off on the honeymoon.

Brewed my first weekend back in town (IPA heavy on SWMBO's favorite hop, citra – yeah, I know, a girl who has a favorite hop, I lucked out), it had been exactly a year and a week since I'd last visited my virtual 50-pound bag of two-row at the LHBS. But, hey, my bathroom's full of airlock bubbly noises and hop aroma, all is again right with the world.

I just got back into it a few months ago after a 3 year hiatus. I was just getting into all grain brewing. I'm very much still a rookie. Funds were tight anyways and had a couple bad batches that took the wind out of my sails. I was also working with limited equipment that frustrated me. I got a job towards the beggining of the year that is perfect for a brewing schedule plus its decent money. Its the same schedule every 4 weeks and the way it works out I get 7 days off in a row every 4th week. One shift was short handed for a little while and got a bunch of OT. With the extra money I decided to get some equipment to make my life easier. On the week off I brew 2 5 gallon batches and bottle 2 5 gallon batches. I decided to get back into it to give me something to do. I get a little stir crazy on those weeks and it gives me "work" that pays in beer. I will work for beer! Lol

Started with a Mr. Beer kit 2 years ago, which I received as an awesome Christmas gift. Had no idea what I was doing and fermented a pilsner at 75F with little help from the instructions. The beer came out "meh" and got a bit discouraged about the learning curve. My job took most of my time. Got a puppy and that took even more time and money.

This year I realized the craft industry was my calling so I hit the books and bottles hard (in a good responsible way). I jumped straight into all-grain brewing a couple months ago and its been great.

I started brewing on Dec 25, 1999 with an "Advanced Starter Kit" (read: ale pail + carboy) my GF, now wife, purchased as a gift from the LHBS. I brewed 14 E/SG batches in 10 months. I stopped because I was living in apartments at the time and moving about once a year. I just didn't have the space most of the time. By 2007 I had bought a house and had plenty of storage space in my unfinished basement. I started brewing again and brewed 26 E/SG and 2 PM batches over the course of about two years. I felt like I had gotten pretty good with my methods and techniques. People always liked my brew. Then a new position at work took over and brewing was put on hold.

This past spring I ran into an old work buddy who told me he was now brewing. This got my gears going and this summer I decided that I wanted to start again, and I still had all my gear. But now I was going to make the jump to all-grain. I bought a 16 gallon boil kettle, converted some coolers, and continue to upgrade my gear. I have loved brewing all grain, and wonder why I didn't make the jump sooner. In some ways I feel like an experienced brewer, but in reality I'm still fairly new to AG (only 4 batches in) so this forum has been a big help.

BTW This thread seems to have started. Then stopped. Then started again.

I startd brewing and then was too drunk to brew for about 5 years. back again.

Bunch of slackers...

I brewed 20 yrs ago then was assigned to Italy. Just never got back into it when assigned back in the US three yrs later. Then, AL made brewing legal. So, I decided to start up again last Aug.


Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew

I started brewing 5 or so years ago after I got some of my dads equipment when he moved. I loved everything about it, and my friends loved my beer. Then I got a new job that required a total of 3 hours worth of driving a day, so I just kind of stopped. My time was always taken by other things that I would have usually done after work but now has to be done on weekends.

I ended up being away from the craft for about 2 long years. Then I got the itch and made 3 batches in a matter of 2 weeks. And since I have been making at least 1 a month. I don't plan on letting that happen again.