Brewing Solo vs. Brewing with a partner(s)

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I generally brew alone, but I prefer an extra set of hands at certain points. My wife usually helps me out, but the last brew I did was a big AG IIPA and she was out of town so I had a friend come over and give me a hand.
 
I always brew alone...... Nobody likes me, or maybe it's because my breath smells like fish heads.
 
Dan said:
Seems as though many of us prefer to brew alone. Like you said, it is very relaxing, Stauffbier calls it "zen". I'm the same way.

You didn't mention if you are doing extract or all grain. If you happen to be doing all-grain, if you have a crusher or plan to get one don't get all caught up in the perfect motor and pulley system or drill to do the work. Attach the hand crank and grind it yourself.

It's not always practical I suppose but if you can set away a half hour of peaceful time to weigh out the grain and grind it yourself; I think on a zen factor of 1-10, you'll find grinding by hand is around an 11, but that's just me.

One thing I truly enjoy about this hobby is DIY and patience. Great therapy when life get's to busy. I'll never use a drill again to crush grain.

Wow! Where did all that come from? :mug:
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I don't have a mill yet, but I can see myself being the hand crank type at heart. Although, since I do physical labor for a living I can also see myself tiring of that process. I actually crushed 6lbs of 2 Row with a rolling pin once. It was a great workout and it definitely had that "zen" quality to it, but I won't be doing that again! I'm sure when I get a mill I'll be trying the hand crank for the first time around to "feel it out"...
 
I agree on the familiar recipes thing. If I'm brewing something I've done before and don't have to think about it too much then I like brewing with the wife or a friend but I do enjoy a brew session alone for the peace and quiet and the grin on my face.
 
my 9 year old is my hop helper he hates the smell of the malt though so i usually brew when no one is home. he likes to help bottle the brew up though
 
I'm a lone brewer. I do all grain in my back yard and have sort of a 4-tier system going. My HLT is on a deck coming off my main floor. My yard is sloped so I have a walk-out basement. I have my mash tun on a table below the deck then my boil kettle on the patio. When it's time to drain the boil kettle I put my fermentor in one of the chest freezers just inside the basement door and gravity feed the wort straight from the kettle into the fermentor inside the chest freezer, so I don't lift very much at all.

I'm a loner in most things. I like to do things my way. Especially when I'm trying to use a new piece of equipment or change my process I don't want anyone there creating variables that I didn't plan to account for.

Brew days usually end with me secretly fist-pumping and saying to myself, "You did it again you SOB, you made beer." That would be awkward if someone else was there.
 
I brew alone, but not because I want to. My friends who want to try brewing are always busy on my brew days. I know what you all mean by the zen thing, too. It is nice to have that few hours of me time. Kyle
 
I used to prefer brewing alone. Less mistakes that way. For the last year or so though, I've had a brew partner that spits batches with me. At first it was kind of a pain, but now that he has gotten the process down better it works out great. I did have to ban cell phones on brew day though because I got tired of his phone blowing up every two seconds. It was kind of amusing watching him clean up his first boil over though. He should have been paying more attention instead of texting.
 
I typically brew alone, but sometimes I will invite friends over to see the process and help. Plus, two of my friends who I invited are now brewing, which is an added bonus as I get to drink their beer.
 
I have a few friends who will come over and help some times and when I say help I mean heckle me and drink all my beer. Why do I have friends again? I need a real brew buddy....someone who will show up at my door with 15 lbs of grain, hops and yeast and say "ya busy?"

I have been teaching a few people how to make mead however and that has been a lot of fun. Always cool to have someone just as excited to try new ingredients or methods.

Now that I am used to my brew system most of my brewing will be done while I work since I work from home so it will be solo....I need a dog :(
 
i once let my ex wife help me brew a batch. She ended up hating it because of the glass she had to pick out of my back when i fell off the top of a stepladder onto a mirror that she had laid across the toilet. Never again. i prefer to be up real early or late and i relish the solitude. i will let friends who want to learn observe and report, and i let my daughter help- but that's it. i have a wife- i don't need a partner.
 
I have to agree. Motorizing my grain mill has made brew day much more enjoyable. Watching the grain in the hopper magically disappear.....now that's zen.
 
My brew friends and I like to split the cost of our bigger recipes to cut down on cost - those days are very hectic and I wish I only brewed alone. If it's just one other person it's usually fine, but when I'm trying something new, I like to be alone for the sake of being able to focus and not distracted.
 
My first brew was an extract and I did it alone. The next brew was AG and I invited a friend and my Dad. They both came over around the boil. The next time my buddy stopped by for an hour or so but my Dad was there the entire time.

I got my Dad into good beer a few years ago. I've since turned him into a hop head and we enjoy talking beer. My brewing has bonded us even more. The last two times I brewed he was over from start to finish and I think it's going to turn into a tradition for us to brew together. He's really getting into it! Now he texts me beers that we should try and clone. He's caught the bug too:rockin: My daughter also helps me bottle so it's a family affair:ban:
 
I do extract + grains. I don't really need the help, but I would never turn help down. I think I rather enjoy brewing alone though. I'd fear losing my focus. I'm easily distracted.

I've been trying to get people interested in brewing and often offer to show them what's involved 1) to turn someone else on to a cool hobby that can share ideas and homebrew, and 2) in hopes of finding someone I know to take advantage of ordering bulk ingredients.

Now bottling is another story! My SWMBO helps me with that and I enjoy the help.
 
I brew alone. I've brewed with others in the past, but it just seems that one of the brewers dominates the process (in any group, sometimes it's me). In the end, it just feels like I (or the other guy) was along for the ride, but it wasn't really my (his) beer.

Brewing alone doesn't mean there can't be others around, BSing and drinking beer, it just means I'm the only brewer for that batch.

I will probably still brew with others occasionally, but 90% of my batches will be on my own.
 
bleme said:
I brew with a friend. We split the cost on the equipment and ingredients. We will brew on Saturday at his house. Three weeks later, we will bottle at his house, split them evenly, then move everything to my house and start the next batch. He prefers more hoppy. I prefer more malty. But we both appreciate a variety of styles and are having a great time trying stuff we can't get at Costco.

I just recently got a few 6 gallon buckets so I am going to start doing some batches on the side when the fermentor is over at his house.
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This is how I started, but then my partner quit. He wasn't as into the whole process as I am.

bchurch said:
I always brew alone...... Nobody likes me, or maybe it's because my breath smells like fish heads.
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What kind of fishhead? Dogfish?

Gameface said:
I'm a loner in most things. I like to do things my way. Especially when I'm trying to use a new piece of equipment or change my process I don't want anyone there creating variables that I didn't plan to account for.

Brew days usually end with me secretly fist-pumping and saying to myself, "You did it again you SOB, you made beer." That would be awkward if someone else was there.
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+1
 
I have a buddy that I used to brew with and share equipment with. As a result of a recent move this is not really a possibility for a regular brewing schedule, and therefore we now each have our own systems. Got to say we both like the freedom of not having to stress about the shared equipment. I have always loved the fluid nature of process for me and now I am ok with just saying WTF.. We are going 75-90 minutes on the mash because my kids want to run to the store.
 
I enjoy brewing with my friend who is also a brewer. However I do occasionally enjoy the alone brew day. All depends on what I was dealing with the week before.
 
Ive been brewing with my girlfriend or a brew buddy. Helps having the extra hands around so I can focus more on mashing/fly sparging and my boil schedule. While they help me heat water, fight boil overs, scrub/clean/sanitize equipment , bottle and cap, ... whatever it is to prep the next step of the brew session.
 
I brew alone as of now. Just sit on the front porch and drink while watching my kettle. Trying to have some buddies come down for a session. Bit in the end its all my equipment. And my neighbour feeds me bottles for some homebrew in return
 
I havnt had a chance to brew with a partner yet. I dont think my tiny apartment kitchen is big enough to fit my gear and another person (i have trouble stepping over my cat without incident!). I do love being able to turn up the music and kick back with a beer. Its my beer meditation.
 
I usually like to brew alone as well, brewing is an art form and the good vibes must be sent via the mashing. But 1 out of 3 times a friend will come over and we brew together, usually have the smoker going at the same time. It is great fun, but like others I am creative when I brew by myself. I also have yet to find a friend who will stay for a 3 step decoction mash.
 
I am a lone brewer also. I have a couple of buddies that brew alone but we swap recipes and ideas and of course samples.
 
GodsStepBrother said:
I also have yet to find a friend who will stay for a 3 step decoction mash.
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I've always found it curious that my friend never comes over to look at his fermenters until it's time to keg. How does he even know that fermentation took off? Oh, that's right. He's got me to babysit it. Occasionally I have to call him to come clean up a mess after one of his fermenters blows off.
 
I've brewed both alone and with friends and, to be honest, I'm not entirely sure which I prefer...

When I'm in the pilot's seat, it's kind of nice to be alone. That way I can focus on what's going on, not worry about missing a step because I was caught up in a conversation or whatever. But dang - if it's a 90 minute boil with only a single hop addition, that's a long time just sitting around by my lonesome. Unless you've got a good book handy...

It's also fun to make something of a social event of a brew day - but it can be a challenge to not get distracted and miss any steps along the way.
 
I brew alone. It's relaxing. I usually don't drink beer while brewing either. However, almost every Saturday, my buddy brews and 4-5 brewing friends all go to his house and have a merry time. How many drunk people does it take to successfully brew? 4. Most of the time. We did spill the boiling wort once. No one was hurt.
 
All of my batches have been alone... Easier to focus, and it's more relaxing for me!

I have been over to Zen_Brew's house for one of his brew days though! Great conversation, and he didn't skip a beat in his process!!!

:mug:
 
Spartan1979 said:
I brew alone. I've brewed with others in the past, but it just seems that one of the brewers dominates the process (in any group, sometimes it's me). In the end, it just feels like I (or the other guy) was along for the ride, but it wasn't really my (his) beer.

Brewing alone doesn't mean there can't be others around, BSing and drinking beer, it just means I'm the only brewer for that batch.

I will probably still brew with others occasionally, but 90% of my batches will be on my own.
Click to expand...

Yeah...when I do brew with people over, it's a lot of fun, but it's still always my brew. I've brewed with my cousin-in-law a few times here and there, and when it's in his brewery, he takes charge, and it's still his beer in the end. Still fun though!

I've had the opportunity to turn a few people on to the process and gotten them started on their own obsession (the C-I-L included) and that's always very cool...

As much as I enjoy brewing with other brewers, or just a good buddy who is just hanging out, there's still nothing like getting up at 5:30, firing up the coffee pot, then the brew kettle, and mashing in as the first hints of dawn start to hit my deck...
 
biochemedic said:
Yeah...when I do brew with people over, it's a lot of fun, but it's still always my brew. I've brewed with my cousin-in-law a few times here and there, and when it's in his brewery, he takes charge, and it's still his beer in the end. Still fun though!

I've had the opportunity to turn a few people on to the process and gotten them started on their own obsession (the C-I-L included) and that's always very cool...

As much as I enjoy brewing with other brewers, or just a good buddy who is just hanging out, there's still nothing like getting up at 5:30, firing up the coffee pot, then the brew kettle, and mashing in as the first hints of dawn start to hit my deck...
Click to expand...

I could have typed that. I agree 100%. In fact, one of the reasons I don't invite others to come over and brew is because I'd have to get started much later than I like.
 
I'd prefer to brew with others, but not too many around my area brew, so I'm stuck, for the most part, going at it solo. Probably better that way, more beer for me!
 
I like the convenience to brew whenever I like by my self, but defiantly a partner makes everything so much easier! If I can plan a brew day to have someone help I would rather brew with someone.
 
I have brewed alone, and I have brewed with a friend. My problem is I want to start a brewing company (small level) so I like to keep my recipes a secret. But fact of the matter is if I start a company then I will need someone who knows recipes in case of emergency that I would need to be absent. Having a second person tho might have great ideas to add to the mix.
 

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