Brew Day Buzz Brewing

[bbohanon]

Ok..I have been wanting to start up a thread on this as I know its a cardinal sin for some here but has lead to some of my bigger mistakes on brew day. Thankfully no batches were lost to these mistakes of mine.

How many of you have gotten smashed during brew day only to have things so south with your batches?

Some things I have done while brewing with a buzz:
- Been lacking in proper sanitation procedures(licking the spatula between mashing stirs..lol)
- Put the wrong hops into the brew at the wrong times(Williamette goes in BEFORE Fuggle and for 60 minutes..lol)
- Fell asleep(or passed out if you want to view it that way) for 30 minutes longer than I was supposed to while waiting on my initial mash. Beer was a bit dryer than I liked at the end of the day, but drinkable.
- Fell asleep(or passed out if you want to again view it that way) while boiling wort and spilled half my beer into the wort when I was startled by the dog drinking the beer out of my glass.:rockin:
- Put 2lb of honey into the wort at flameout instead of 1lb. I was at the point where I was like F-ck it, and dumped the entire container of honey in. ABV was stout on that one.
-Had the dog drinking the wort after I was chilling it(again I was asleep(or passed out if you view it that way) and awoke to sounds of drinking.


For the last year or so, I have been able to practice great restraint on brew days(as well as most days as I have cut back on drinking in general) which has resulted in much better consistent batches, but in my earlier days when this was all new to me, I loved drinking my beer while brewing..which is not recommended!

 

[flars]

I'll enjoy one or two of my home brews while preparing another. I've been cooking and driving for a long time. Nothing can be done well or safely drunk. The last three lines of your post show that you have accumulated some knowledge.

Brew on.

 

[NewWestBrewer]

Never more than 2-3 home brews on brew day. Why take the risk of screwing something up. Glad things turned out ok for you.

 

[roastquake]

- Been lacking in proper sanitation procedures(licking the spatula between mashing stirs..lol) No biggie, it's gonna boil anyway!

- Put the wrong hops into the brew at the wrong times(Williamette goes in BEFORE Fuggle and for 60 minutes..lol) Those are so similar, don't sweat it

- Fell asleep(or passed out if you want to view it that way) for 30 minutes longer than I was supposed to while waiting on my initial mash. Beer was a bit dryer than I liked at the end of the day, but drinkable. More alcohol, no worries

- Fell asleep(or passed out if you want to again view it that way) while boiling wort and spilled half my beer into the wort when I was startled by the dog drinking the beer out of my glass.:rockin: ok, now it's getting bad

- Put 2lb of honey into the wort at flameout instead of 1lb. I was at the point where I was like F-ck it, and dumped the entire container of honey in. ABV was stout on that one. again, the more the merrier

-Had the dog drinking the wort after I was chilling it(again I was asleep(or passed out if you view it that way) and awoke to sounds of drinking. dude you need some coffee, isn't dog saliva supposed to be sterile? he's just helping you out :cross:

 

[prohl84]

I almost always drink on brewday. I learned that having one too many results in a severe decline in post-brew hygiene... SWMBO will not tolerate a half clean tun in the kitchen the next morning.

 

[Clef051]

Haven't actually fallen asleep while brewing. I have lost track of time cause of drinking and screwed up additions.

I usually start early enough that I am drinking coffee through the mash. After that I generally only have one or two while brewing. I usually try to clean up as I go so that keeps me from knocking too many back. I also get everything measured out and prepared ahead of time, then just set the timer on my phone to beep when I need to add something

 

[Colorowdy]

I normally brew early in the morning, so I rarely drink and brew.

 

[brew_ny]

I wait until after the pitch

 

[Hello]

I drank the last time I brewed but I wasn't drunk. Not even really buzzed as I was only three craft beers in. I can't see getting drunk though because it seems like a lot of work to take a chance on the final product.

 

[bbohanon]

I'll enjoy one or two of my home brews while preparing another. I've been cooking and driving for a long time. Nothing can be done well or safely drunk. The last three lines of your post show that you have accumulated some knowledge.

Brew on.

Yea I have learned quite a bit. Restraint most of all. I could get into my grilling while drinking topic too from this same time period but I don't remember half of what I was cooking that got burned, mutilated, or otherwise.
Beer is great....in moderation on most days. Especially on brew days.

 

[Jokenring]

I typically enjoy a couple while brewing. I did however impose a time frame of no drinking until the boil for my brother. Seems he would not really clean things before putting them away, only for me to find the next time we brewed. :cross:

 

[bigbeergeek]

I've had a few "bless it" moments while brewing after a beer too many, but generally brew days are nearly cold sober operations for me (1-2 beers across the whole afternoon).

 

[tracyk]

Brew day for me starts early in the morning usually around 6:00 am, so it is usually coffee followed by sweet tea. I am wrapping things up by mid-morning and have everything cleaned and ready to go for the next batch by noon. By brewing that early I am usually not drinking any beer, just making it.

 

[sieglere]

Ok..I have been wanting to start up a thread on this as I know its a cardinal sin for some here but has lead to some of my bigger mistakes on brew day. Thankfully no batches were lost to these mistakes of mine.

How many of you have gotten smashed during brew day only to have things so south with your batches?

Some things I have done while brewing with a buzz:
- Been lacking in proper sanitation procedures(licking the spatula between mashing stirs..lol)
- Put the wrong hops into the brew at the wrong times(Williamette goes in BEFORE Fuggle and for 60 minutes..lol)
- Fell asleep(or passed out if you want to view it that way) for 30 minutes longer than I was supposed to while waiting on my initial mash. Beer was a bit dryer than I liked at the end of the day, but drinkable.
- Fell asleep(or passed out if you want to again view it that way) while boiling wort and spilled half my beer into the wort when I was startled by the dog drinking the beer out of my glass.:rockin:
- Put 2lb of honey into the wort at flameout instead of 1lb. I was at the point where I was like F-ck it, and dumped the entire container of honey in. ABV was stout on that one.
-Had the dog drinking the wort after I was chilling it(again I was asleep(or passed out if you view it that way) and awoke to sounds of drinking.

For the last year or so, I have been able to practice great restraint on brew days(as well as most days as I have cut back on drinking in general) which has resulted in much better consistent batches, but in my earlier days when this was all new to me, I loved drinking my beer while brewing..which is not recommended!

I believe is is a condition called narcolepsy...or needing 3 more livers.

 

[nvious23]

Brew day for me starts early in the morning usually around 6:00 am, so it is usually coffee followed by sweet tea. I am wrapping things up by mid-morning and have everything cleaned and ready to go for the next batch by noon. By brewing that early I am usually not drinking any beer, just making it.

I do this also but add a few shots of baileys irish cream to the coffee, have never gotten smashed but a teaser buzz has been present on a few occasions. Worse i did was drop my hygrometer and smash it on my garage floor with no shoes, at least i didn't cut myself.

 

[shawnstr71]

I usually start in the mid to late morning. Granted...brewing takes half of a day or a little more, so I start off early and use moderation. By the time I'm cleaning up I'm probably 6 or 7 in.....but not drunk. Just a nice buzz.

 

[Cathedral]

I will not let myself drink while brewing. I know once I have that first sip, I'm going to start feeling all happy and loopy and start screwing things up. For me, the first thing alcohol does is start screwing up the way my brain can process both what I'm doing now and what I need to do next, and they get fuzzed. That's why I never have a beer at lunch on a workday.

Even though beer brewing is a hobby for me--and I have a great time doing it--I'm really only in it for the end product and not the actual act of brewing. If I eff up the beer because I wasn't paying attention during brewing, I'd be damn pissed.

And being pissed at yourself is the worst. I mean, you can't just punch yourself in the face and forget about it.

 

[linerndunch110]

For me, you need a beer when you brew beer. It's perfectly fine to taste, sample, have a pint etc. I generally start earlish, so ill do coffee breakfast pre mash or during, and by the 30 min addition in ready for a beer.

However, DO NOT get sloppy. It's just so frustrating. If you brew by yourself that's fine and you can work your own way, but I have a buddy who just can't handle it. We start at ~10 and by noon he's passed out from sampling this and that, and what if we made an ale a wheat or whatever crazy crap goes on in his head haha. Then he wakes up and has those "bless it" moments, and I have to say, "yo calm down everything's under control just go back to sleep"



The article on here "brew like jazz" was very much how to be imaginative, and use your improvisational skills( ie buzzed brewing haha), but can also be interpreted a bit more intellectually.


So yes there's absolutely no problem in drinking and brewing, just don't be THAT guy.

 

[chocotaco]

I say having a pint or two, or three is an important part of the "creative" process

But if you're working with hot liquid and glass, it's important to know your limit. If you wouldn't drive, you shouldn't be handling hot wort and you shouldn't be carrying heavy glass carboys around, empty or full. All it takes is tripping face-forward while carrying a glass carboy and if you're unlucky enough you could seriously die (see recent thread about guy whose brother was killed by falling on a glass carboy - freak accident, sure - but you owe it to yourself and your family to prevent that kind of thing). Ditto for boiling sugar solution - stuff is like napalm if you get it on yourself or someone else.

Needless to say, I am also guilty of over-indulging on brew days early on, but these days I have family responsibilities to attend to while I'm waiting for mash or boil timers so I limit myself to one or two beers. The beer turns out better when you don't over-do it with the drinking, IMHO.

 

[TomRep]

my buddies and i started a new thing recently where we get different craft brews we never had. we have a nice bottle shop locally that has a LOT of different stuff to try. it all started by each of us contributing a couple bottles. that first session we didnt finish everything, but everyone brought more bottles to the next session. i have quite a stash in my brewery fridge now and it keeps growing! it is typically 3-4 guys and we try to split all the bottles equally. helps us to come up with ideas for future brews. a couple weeks ago i was feeling really good while brewing, but never over the top. i also plan to never go that far in the future either!