Brewing happiness is...

[Hoppy2bmerry]

Happiness is... Enjoying the nectar of our labor, or to put it another way feeling satisfied that I’ve brewed a good very drinkable beer. That is something I think we generally have in common, but what are the day to day events that cause you to feel happy?
For me this morning it was seeing my starter of year old yeast saved from a batch thriving.

 

[GHBWNY]

Watching my airlock bubble intensely for 48 straight hours.

 

[str1p3s]

Having someone try my beer and saying it's good but then proving it by going back for more.

 

[ListerH]

Many to mention... but here's a couple of little but really satisfying ones (and maybe a bit strange too!)
- Sniffing the airlock
- The hiss from the first bottle of a new batch and knowing you primed it right
- Sniffing a freshly opened packet of hops
- The first bubbles of a new fermentation

But yeah, mainly, when someone else tries your beer for the first time and you see their face go from "this is going to be sh*t" to "wow, that's actually pretty good!"

 

[wepeeler]

Smelling the change in the boil after adding hops.
Hitting your expected numbers.
Sharing with people and having them ask if you distribute.

 

[rburrelli]

Pulling a gravity sample a week into fermentation, and giving it a taste and saying to yourself...This is gonna be a good one .

 

[Hoppy2bmerry]

Sharing with people and having them ask if you distribute.

This has happened at every Homebrew club event I have been to. (not a direct question about my beers) Where is the brewery located? Where is the beer made? Then someone answers in my backyard, and more questions are asked.

 

[jcav]

Seeing my family and friends enjoying my beers and actually excited about what the next batch on deck is going to be....... Great hobby this is!

John

 

[Big Monk]

For me it’s the planning and the calculations. It’s taking the numbers and turning that into a finished product that hit all the right milestones for gravity, volume, pH, etc.

I could take or leave the actual brewing part as it’s merely a means to an end but the planning is what I love.

 

[Homergah]

Having someone try my beer and saying it's good but then proving it by going back for more.

Wish I could like this twice.

 

[seatazzz]

Sitting at work doing what I do, and dreaming of getting home and pulling a pint of deliciousness that I brewed myself. And brewdays. And planning recipes. And just today, tasting the grain I roasted last weekend and imagining what it will turn in to once I get to brew it next weekend. And....just sitting here in my garage/brewery, looking around at my currently idle equipment, thinking what I will be doing with them on next brewday. Yeah, I'm obsessed, but I don't care.

 

[Homergah]

For me it’s the planning and the calculations. It’s taking the numbers and turning that into a finished product that hit all the right milestones for gravity, volume, pH, etc.

I could take or leave the actual brewing part as it’s merely a means to an end but the planning is what I love.

I still occasionally develop recipes long hand. No spreadsheets. No apps. No software. Just pencil, paper, and calculator. I feel much more connected to the beer I'm developing.

 

[imasickboy]

I love the results. I love to drink.

However, the planning, the prep, the brewing, are all more satisfying.

I enjoy being in the brewery, doing menial things, just to be a part of eventual greatness.

 

[Big Monk]

I love the results. I love to drink.

However, the planning, the prep, the brewing, are all more satisfying.

I enjoy being in the brewery, doing menial things, just to be a part of eventual greatness.

To me, brewing is a lot like driving, i.e. the thing I have to suffer through to get from point A to point B.

 

[deadhead]

I enjoy the smell of my hands after brew day. I still can’t figure out how to get rid of that smell.

 

[MaxStout]

Cracking open and pouring that first bottle, and discovering that it turned out great.

 

[Big Monk]

Cracking open and pouring that first bottle, and discovering that it turned out great.

Dilly, dilly!

 

[ba-brewer]

happiness is a warm tun

 

[AzOr]

I still occasionally develop recipes long hand. No spreadsheets. No apps. No software. Just pencil, paper, and calculator. I feel much more connected to the beer I'm developing.

^Yes! I love getting a crazy idea then translating that into a recipe.

I also like it when I brew a clone recipe and having people do a side by side test. Then the look on their face when they realize they can’t tell the difference between the homebrew and the commercial beer.

 

[Big Monk]

happiness is a warm tun

Mash, mash, shoot, shoot

 

[Still Brewn]

Happiness is 5 gallons of joy in a metal tube waiting to be poured in a glass.

 

[Rev2010]

Having someone try my beer and saying it's good but then proving it by going back for more.

How about when you're not happy with how a beer you've brewed many times before comes out crappy and you tell everyone it's not good and what went wrong during the brew day that caused it and yet they still suck it all down like you're crazy and it's still awesome?

Kinda weird feeling. On one hand I want the acknowledgement and on the other to see them all drinking it happily with impunity kinda also gives me a warm feeling inside. We are indeed our own worst critics....

Rev.

 

[Rev2010]

I enjoy the smell of my hands after brew day. I still can’t figure out how to get rid of that smell.

Phew! Honestly wondered if I was the only one that enjoyed this no joke Question though, if you enjoy it why are you still trying to get rid of it?


Rev.

 

[seatazzz]

^Yes! I love getting a crazy idea then translating that into a recipe.

I also like it when I brew a clone recipe and having people do a side by side test. Then the look on their face when they realize they can’t tell the difference between the homebrew and the commercial beer.

I'll go one better on this. I've been trying for a couple of years to do a perfect clone of Arrogant Bastard (in the top 5 of beers we really like) and I've pretty much said the hell with it....the beer I make out of the same recipe tastes better to me than the original, which I've done several side-by-side tests with. Quite possibly because mine is fresher, has not sat on a shelf for months, and just generally tastes better to me. Current iteration of that recipe is in my glass right now; perfectly clear, color is dead spot on, but mine is a bit maltier and satisfies my palate.

In the end, for the most part we brew for ourselves; I don't know any homebrewer who will intentionally (unless for someone else) brew something they won't want to drink themselves. Yes, some of us like sours (I have no clue why, I hate them) and goses (just eeeew to me) but to each his/her own. And that is the beauty of this obsession we all have.

 

[Still Brewn]

Happiness is being told the keg of beer is gone and going to get the "empty" keg out of the fridge to clean it while brewing and finding a couple of beers still in it when you thought you had nothing to quench your thirst.

 

[Home_alone1]

Happiness is bottle conditioning a German pils even though you have kegs ! Your own caps and labels make it even more fun !

 

[Still Brewn]

Happiness is the wife letting you drive yourself to the brew store on your own for the first time in almost 5 years and saying as you walk out the door, " Get what ever you want".

 

[Hoppy2bmerry]

Happiness is... Kicking back with a Homebrew after a successful brew day.

 

[Kirkwooder]

While the whole process of turning water, grain, hops and yeast into the necter of the gods is truly one of the coolest things I have ever done, and I have done some really cool things, nothing compares to hearing my 4 year old grandson giggle.

I thank god every day for that blessing.

 

[Tobor_8thMan]

I like all the replies!

In addition having people skeptical at first (as they are BMC drinkers) have my homebrew. Then remark, "Damn, this is good!. Have you thought about selling it?".

 

[Hoppy2bmerry]

Happiness is seeing airlock activity 12 hours after pitching a vial of liquid yeast that was shipped a couple months ago... whew.

 

[small_b_brewing]

For me, the best moment is pulling my first pint from a keg. The apprehension that maybe this one suddenly didn't turn out, is it what I hoped (hopped? lol) it would be....
Yes, its great!

 

[Hoppy2bmerry]

For me, the best moment is pulling my first pint from a keg. The apprehension that maybe this one suddenly didn't turn out, is it what I hoped (hopped? lol) it would be....
Yes, its great!

True, I always taste along the way, but until it is carbonated it isn’t really done.

 

[Jako]

Sitting at work doing what I do, and dreaming of getting home and pulling a pint of deliciousness that I brewed myself. And brewdays. And planning recipes. And just today, tasting the grain I roasted last weekend and imagining what it will turn in to once I get to brew it next weekend. And....just sitting here in my garage/brewery, looking around at my currently idle equipment, thinking what I will be doing with them on next brewday. Yeah, I'm obsessed, but I don't care.

i bust ass at work so i can plan for my next brew session or read about beer.

but i will add to this thread... i love green beer the from the first day i can drink out of the keg to about week two. i also love to smell the air lock... i just finished a steam beer that i open fermented and the smell was simply amazing.

 

[NewJersey]

Happiness is when the beer is in the fermentation chamber, everything is cleaned up, and I'm about to hit the lights and go upstairs. I then look forward to seeing active fermentation happen.'
Love a job well done.

 

[catdaddy66]

Happiness is seeing airlock activity 12 hours after pitching a vial of liquid yeast that was shipped a couple months ago... whew.

I do get a bit giddy after pitching at 6am and seeing krausen at 6pm when I get home... Alas, I did not have that joy today.

 

[Jako]

Happiness is when the beer is in the fermentation chamber, everything is cleaned up, and I'm about to hit the lights and go upstairs. I then look forward to seeing active fermentation happen.'
Love a job well done.

I second this. If I ever do a double batch I can hardly move after

 

[hedge_87]

Happiness is being told the keg of beer is gone and going to get the "empty" keg out of the fridge to clean it while brewing and finding a couple of beers still in it when you thought you had nothing to quench your thirst.

I can fit three kegs in my keezer but only have taps for two. I thought 2 out of 3 were empty. Went to pull the keg that wasn't tapped out to find it is actually full. I have a magic keezer!!! Having a pint of my miracle beer now

 

[Still Brewn]

I can fit three kegs in my keezer but only have taps for two. I thought 2 out of 3 were empty. Went to pull the keg that wasn't tapped out to find it is actually full. I have a magic keezer!!! Having a pint of my miracle beer now

Wow, I'm not the only one that can't remember $#!+! Exact same thing happened to me this weekend. I thought I had 2 more brews to do to fill up my kegs and I found one completely full that I thought was empty. Guess it has been aging in the fridge for a couple of weeks and I have been getting beer out of there thinking there was nothing in it. I have 3 picnic taps but room for 5 kegs in the fridge. I have never gotten it full of beer.... maybe, someday.

 

[catdaddy66]

I do get a bit giddy after pitching at 6am and seeing krausen at 6pm when I get home... Alas, I did not have that joy today.

But after 24 hours.... Jackpot!!

Yay