All I want to do is brew...

[Michael_K]

I have malt in the basement, hops in the freezer, and yeast in the fridge. But I also have...

A full-time job, three kids 6 & under, a 7-month pregnant SWMBO, an old house that always needs something, and a honey-do list that grows longer faster than it grows shorter.

And where does "hobby" fit in all this? Good question.

All I want to do is brew...

 

[beersk]

Would you rather be like me with no kids, no wife, no house, and no honey-do list? I think it's alright but your life might be richer than mine. You obviously wanted all those things. I don't, really. A wife, yes, the rest, not particularly.

 

[SnakeRidge]

We all make choices.

 

[Biscuits]

I feel your pain brother...I brew at best once a month with a baby on the way and a 3 year old running around. This probably sounds like a lot compared to how often you brew..but this is easily a 75% increase since my first daughter was born...although it does help that I sold my house and got rid of all the "projects".

 

[bbohanon]

Whats the reason behind wanting to brew all the time?
I used to be like this until I figured out how to keep the pipeline full. I also moved to larger batches to fill the pipeline up quicker and so I was not feeling the need to brew more to keep up.
I dont drink all of my beer as I give a good bit of it away but I like to keep at least the fermenters full and 2 kegs ready to tap.
To meet this and keep that "I HAVE TO BREW NOW!" bug at bay, I brew once a month which allows me to spend the rest of my time doing honey-do stuff which makes wifey happy.
In the late summer/early fall I will brew a few extra batches for the pumpkins, holiday ales and stouts I drink over the colder months, but most of the time, its just once a month brewing for me which works well.
My 3 kids are also older so that helps as they are self sufficient
Dont let brewing (or drinking) becomes a point of contention in your life if you can help it. Remember whats really important..

 

[Homercidal]

I have malt in the basement, hops in the freezer, and yeast in the fridge. But I also have...

A full-time job, three kids 6 & under, a 7-month pregnant SWMBO, an old house that always needs something, and a honey-do list that grows longer faster than it grows shorter.

And where does "hobby" fit in all this? Good question.

All I want to do is brew...

You need to get that lazy-ass wife of yours to start helping around the house!

I suggest taking her for a nice walk outside... to the mower and telling her to get busy and don't come back in until it's time to make dinner.

And those kids! They can vacuum and do laundry! The oldest is probably ok for dishes.

And they can help with repairs. Have them hand you tools, like circular saws, utility knives, caulking guns, etc. People learn better from experience. Get them doing things young so they have time to learn more.

 

[DemonsRun]

I am a single father of two (11 and 13) and they live with me full time. I also have a full time Job and a house to take care of. For all the other parents of young kids... it gets better. As they become more independent you will find yourself getting back to your hobbies, finding new ones, or getting them to help.

I brew 10-12 Gallon batches once a month to keep the house favorites always on tap. Then I also brew small 3 gallon experimental batches about every other weekend. I have a pretty good RIMS setup w/20Gal kettles, but for the experimental batches I use the PicoBrew. It allows me to still do everything with my kids and I can monitor the batch on my phone. If it's a hit I can scale it up.

 

[bobeer]

I love brewing as well and I have a wife, a 1 year-old, a full time job, and plenty to do around the house. I also press my own longboards and do other woodworking hobbies, and I love to smoke/grill meats, cook, play guitar, read, write, build my record collection, see live music, travel, etc, etc, etc. My wife has her own hobbies too. All we can do is help each other get free time a couple times a month so we can continue to do the things that make us, us. We also have to make time for date nights too.

In the end I think back to when it was just me in my 1 bedroom apartment. I am lucky that I have always loved journalism and writing because I can go back and see how lonely I was doing all these hobbies and having no one, who actually cared, to share them with. Even though I have less time to do the hobbies now I enjoy my life more and it's richer and filled with more love than I could imagine. There's not enough beer in the world that I would trade that for.

If you really love brewing then figure out how you can get it in more often. I'm not sure what your processes are but maybe switch to extract or biab batches? Or wake up at the crack of dawn and get started? Or maybe figure out how to do a 2 day brew? Mash 1 day then boil on the next. If there's a will there's a way!

 

[dunnright00]

As they become more independent you will find yourself getting back to your hobbies, finding new ones, or getting them to help.

True.

I started this hobby before I had any kids. By the time my second son was born, I all but quit brewing. Maybe made one batch a year for about 6 years. Once my third child was about 5 or 6 I started full bore again. And the oldest ones like to help...

Like the popular saying these days goes, "It gets better" :fro:

 

[steveoatley]

I brewed 14 batches in the year before my son was born
I brewed 3 his first year. All extract recipes I could knock out in 2 hrs.

He is now 7, and I am back up to 1 a month
He helps out - he thinks he helps out - he is very good at math.

All I want to do is sleep !!!

I can't seem to get a good night sleep anymore, so if there are a couple of
extra hours - I don't brew, I nap !

S

 

[Michael_K]

Thanks for commiserating @Biscuits !

Whats the reason behind wanting to brew all the time?

I really enjoy making beer - It is fun, it's stress-relief, it satisfies the 'creative' in me.

...figured out how to keep the pipeline full. I also moved to larger batches...

I'm working towards this...

Don't let brewing (or drinking) becomes a point of contention in your life if you can help it. Remember whats really important...

@Homercidal truly these are pearls of wisdom

@DemonsRun @bobeer @dunnright00 it's nice to hear I'm not alone!

Or maybe figure out how to do a 2 day brew? Mash 1 day then boil on the next.

I like this idea!

 

[Rivenin]

My son is 1.5 years old. My newest is here the end of next month
Bigger batches here too, started doing 10 recently because of this (i get maybe once a month to brew as i moved to a bigger house, thus requires more upkeep).
I miss my single days for sure for situations like this as i love to brew as well, but i wouldn't change a thing with what i have now

 

[FuriousE]

I have 3 kids under 5, a full time job, a house, other hobbies, etc etc etc, and I manage to brew every month or so, sometimes more.

There are lots of ways to speed up a brew day. I do BIAB and use a bucket heater to pre-heat my strike water. I'll collect my water, crush my grain, etc. the night before. The day of, I'll but the bucket heater in and put it on the timer so it is to temp when I plan to start brewing. I'll mash in (30 minute mashes work well with BIAB), pull the bag, boil and chill. From mash in to everything cleaned up usually takes 2-2.5 hours, so it makes it a lot easier to fit in. A lot of that isn't active time, either, so I can multitask.

 

[Michael_K]

I do BIAB and use a bucket heater to pre-heat my strike water.

I BIAB too, but this bucket-heater is an interesting idea...

I'll mash in (30 minute mashes work well with BIAB)

So I've heard, but I've been nervous to try it yet.

From mash in to everything cleaned up usually takes 2-2.5 hours

2.5 hours would be doable. I should get some iodine and check for conversion after 30 minutes. Or else, like @bobeer suggested, split up my brewday.
Great ideas guys!

 

[FuriousE]

I use this bucket heater with this timer. I hook it up to a STC-1000 controller and set it to my mash temp, so all I have to do it remove the bucket heater, pour the grains in, stir, and wait!

 

[Billy-Klubb]

my wife did everything while she was pregnant. mowed the lawn, moved my full carboys down to the basement so I didn't have to, paved the driveway, built an addition on the house... I made our oldest get a job at the coal mines when he was 6 months old. I told him to quit being so damn lazy all day. now he (7) and our youngest (4) both work at the meat packing plant on the kill floor. all they do is complain. kids these days...

 

[dryboroughbrewing]

Cinder block + laundry basket = instant babysitter

 

[Michigan_Wolfman]

Cinder block + laundry basket = instant babysitter

Remind me never to let you watch my kids.......

 

[madscientist451]

Ok Simple answer, but first my qualifications: 3 kids, married 20+ years, former corporate rat race runner and business owner workaholic, now divorced and can brew pretty much whenever I want. Miss family life, (ex wife not so much).

So the quick answer: Set Priorities IN THIS ORDER:
1. Wife (happy wife=happy life)
2.kids (they only young once, when they gone you'll have plenty of brewing time)
3. friends and other relatives
4. Job (got to keep cash flow going)
5. Keep house together,( everything on honey do list doesn't need to get done, but just try to keep up with it and not fall behind.)
6 Hobbies like brewing

So that's it, accept it or ignore the advice, your choice. cheers!

 

[Billy-Klubb]

Remind me never to let you watch my kids.......

I'll watch 'em for ya. they ever butcher a hog? and I'll teach 'em proper berry pawnching techniques.

 

[Freddyj123]

I have malt in the basement, hops in the freezer, and yeast in the fridge. But I also have...

A full-time job, three kids 6 & under, a 7-month pregnant SWMBO, an old house that always needs something, and a honey-do list that grows longer faster than it grows shorter.

And where does "hobby" fit in all this? Good question.

All I want to do is brew...

Agreed, for many of us with young kids and busy jobs & whatnot, brewing is a great way to unplug and turn focus inward, challenging to find the time but when we do, good times!

 

[jrgtr42]

It's been about a year since my last full-size brew. I have done a one-gallon batch of beer, and a ~7gal batch of cider since.
Since last summer, I'm bought a house, sold one, with the attendant packing, unpacking, cleaning, fixing and so on that goes along with all of that.
We've had a baby, dealt with loss of my grandmother, helped other people move, helped my parents around there houses...
The good news is that someone told SWMBO that Oatmeal beers helps with breast feeding, so I found a recipe for one that I'm negotiating time to brew it...

 

[Michael_K]

Here's an update: I knocked a couple of the big items off the honey-do list, then said to my smiling SWMBO "I think it's high-time for a brew day!"
She: "Sure honey, sounds good."

The date is set for June 24th!

Cheers everyone

 

[Homercidal]

Here's an update: I knocked a couple of the big items off the honey-do list, then said to my smiling SWMBO "I think it's high-time for a brew day!"
She: "Sure honey, sounds good."

The date is set for June 24th!

Cheers everyone

 

[agrazela]

...three kids 6 & under, a 7-month pregnant SWMBO...

Sounds to me like y'all need to do more brewin' and less screwin'

 

[Toga]

Sounds to me like y'all need to do more brewin' and less screwin'

What's life without screwin? Just gotta re-aim the spewin'!

 

[Michael_K]

Alright guys, that's enough of that.

 

[chicken]

For all the other parents of young kids... it gets better. As they become more independent you will find yourself getting back to your hobbies, finding new ones, or getting them to help.

Absolutely! I'm a mom of three (21, 14, and 12). My oldest has significant disabilities. There wasn't time for brewing or a lot of other things for a number of years. But as they got older, I was able to carve out a little time for myself and my hobbies (my other obsession is aquariums, and I've just recently picked up the violin again after 30+ years and am learning Irish fiddling). Sometimes I involve the kids too.

I think my husband and I also got better at making sure to schedule "me" time and put it on the calendar. This became even more important as the kids got older --they may be more independent, but they're also busier! Funny, sometimes it seems like we have even less time than when they were little, what with lacrosse, soccer, field hockey, dive team, music lessons, concerts. . .well, you get the idea!

It's all worth it though.