Gonna get back into this after 3 years...

[zacster]

I'm retiring in a month and this will be one of my retirement hobbies, at least the making if not the drinking.

Back when I was doing it I got pretty good at this, usually making lagers that were crystal clear and IPAs with homegrown hops, and the occasional summer saison. I just need to remember what it was I did to make it come out as good as it did. It'll come back to me I'm sure.

If I re-start brewing I'll have to add 50 miles/week to my cycling to keep the extra calories burnt off. I think I'll have time for both.

 

[zacster]

And one comment as I'm going through the board. There is nothing new under the sun! But this is true of all bulletin boards I find, same discussions, same arguments, same questions. The one thing that is always new are the noobs of course. I guess we've been brewing beer for a few centuries now.

 

[IslandLizard]

There is nothing new under the sun! [...]

Quite a few things have changed the past 3 years. Some are rather big advancements. To name a few:

• LoDO and associated techniques
• More choice in semi-automated brewing gear ala Grainfather
• Hopping techniques and associated research
• New, exciting hop varieties
  
• More yeast companies, as well as a larger, ever growing selection of yeast strains
• A steady rise in pro-oriented equipment for homebrewers (conicals, etc.)
• Some kit instructions have finally recognized the blunder of secondaries and now provide them as an optional step. It may well take another decade or 2 to eradicate them, if ever.

Welcome back to brewing!

 

[derekp83]

I'm retiring in a month and this will be one of my retirement hobbies, at least the making if not the drinking.

Back when I was doing it I got pretty good at this, usually making lagers that were crystal clear and IPAs with homegrown hops, and the occasional summer saison. I just need to remember what it was I did to make it come out as good as it did. It'll come back to me I'm sure.

If I re-start brewing I'll have to add 50 miles/week to my cycling to keep the extra calories burnt off. I think I'll have time for both.

Please be sure to add your insights to the forums when you get back into the swing of things. Always good to hear from experienced brewers, and glad to hear you're back in it.

 

[brewbama]

Welcome back. I took a decade off (started in the 90(s)) and have been back in the hobby ~ 6 yrs now. Less stress, more laid back approach is where I landed and brewing the best beers ever lately since my retirement.

 

[Spartan1979]

I started in the early 90's and then didn't brew for most of the for most of the 2000's. I got back into it about 9 years ago and I spent a lot of time getting my process down and doing what was needed to the equipment to make the process easier. I just finished my electric brewery and that has made things even easier.

 

[CascadesBrewer]

Quite a few things have changed the past 3 years. Some are rather big advancements.

I took a 2.5 year break before getting back in last Dec. I was surprised how much things had changed in such a short time (well, part of that was probably that I followed my same brewing process for a long time). Sites like Brulosophy have made me question a lot of what I learned about brewing. The NEIPA hopping trend (and all the new hops) has really shed a light on how little people know about hops and the impact of late hopping. Kviek yeast is a bigger topic than I want to jump into right now. The amount of ingredients and suppliers is overwhelming.

I would not be surprised if brewing in 5 years is significantly different than today...or at least our understanding of the science behind brewing.

 

[zacster]

Hey all, thanks for the replies. Now that I think about it, I started brewing about 25 years ago, after my son was born, as something to do around the house. I did it for a year or two, then stopped. I picked it up about 10 years later when my next born daughter needed a science project for school. At that point I remember now that a lot had changed. For one thing homebrewing had taken off. When I first did it you had to scrounge around, there was one store, and you used bleach to sanitize. I can't imagine that now.

But one thing that I'm also seeing on the forum here and elsewhere are all the automated systems. I'm leaning the other way though, keep it manual, control everything yourself. If all I have to do is add water, where is the fun? I'm sure there's more to the automated systems than that, but I kind of like my methods, and it is a challenge to get really good beer. And as I first said, I got pretty good at this.

 

[mongoose33]

Hey all, thanks for the replies. Now that I think about it, I started brewing about 25 years ago, after my son was born, as something to do around the house. I did it for a year or two, then stopped. I picked it up about 10 years later when my next born daughter needed a science project for school. At that point I remember now that a lot had changed. For one thing homebrewing had taken off. When I first did it you had to scrounge around, there was one store, and you used bleach to sanitize. I can't imagine that now.

But one thing that I'm also seeing on the forum here and elsewhere are all the automated systems. I'm leaning the other way though, keep it manual, control everything yourself. If all I have to do is add water, where is the fun? I'm sure there's more to the automated systems than that, but I kind of like my methods, and it is a challenge to get really good beer. And as I first said, I got pretty good at this.

I'm just getting back into brewing; it's been almost six weeks since I last brewed.

I agree about the automated systems; seems much more appropriate for a commercial operation than homebrew. I get that it's probably the case that many who are doing this are doing it just to see if they can. I've done several things in homebrewing just to see if I can, or if it will work, so I can understand the motivation.

 

[Spartan1979]

Hey all, thanks for the replies. Now that I think about it, I started brewing about 25 years ago, after my son was born, as something to do around the house. I did it for a year or two, then stopped. I picked it up about 10 years later when my next born daughter needed a science project for school. At that point I remember now that a lot had changed. For one thing homebrewing had taken off. When I first did it you had to scrounge around, there was one store, and you used bleach to sanitize. I can't imagine that now.

But one thing that I'm also seeing on the forum here and elsewhere are all the automated systems. I'm leaning the other way though, keep it manual, control everything yourself. If all I have to do is add water, where is the fun? I'm sure there's more to the automated systems than that, but I kind of like my methods, and it is a challenge to get really good beer. And as I first said, I got pretty good at this.

I just built an electric brewery but the only things I'm doing differently is that I have better control over temperature and I went from an immersion chiller to a counterflow chiller and the related pump. The temp control is nice since I was always overshooting the temps for my mash water and my sparge water. Now I don't have to worry about it. I had to change chillers since I am using a steam condenser to keep the steam down. The alternative would have been punching two six inch holes through the brick in the front of my house.

I used to brew in the garage and all my equipment, RO water, etc., was in the basement. Up and down the stairs 30 times during a brew day. Now everything is right at hand. Avoiding freezing temps in winter and heat and humidity in the summer is nice too.

 

[zacster]

I just built an electric brewery but the only things I'm doing differently is that I have better control over temperature and I went from an immersion chiller to a counterflow chiller and the related pump. The temp control is nice since I was always overshooting the temps for my mash water and my sparge water. Now I don't have to worry about it. I had to change chillers since I am using a steam condenser to keep the steam down. The alternative would have been punching two six inch holes through the brick in the front of my house.

I used to brew in the garage and all my equipment, RO water, etc., was in the basement. Up and down the stairs 30 times during a brew day. Now everything is right at hand. Avoiding freezing temps in winter and heat and humidity in the summer is nice too.

It is basically the mash temp that is still sometimes a little iffy for me, but never by more than two degrees, and I aim low. I've thought about using an immersion heater or sous vide, but I'm going to see how much I'm doing this before I invest.

I quit making this for a reason, and I don't want to get back into the bad habit of drinking beer all the time just because I have 5 gallons of it sitting in my fridge. I'd blow up like a balloon again.

 

[Lefou]

I'd be drinking if I lived in Brooklyn.
Oh, wait ... I live in Jersey. Never mind.

Hey, don't get me wrong.
Brewing is a fun hobby but there's no need to be locking yourself into 5 gallons or more at a time. Brew smaller batches and convince yourself to keep it light or conservative, or to special occasions. You can do it.

 

[zacster]

I'd be drinking if I lived in Brooklyn.
Oh, wait ... I live in Jersey. Never mind.

Hey, don't get me wrong.
Brewing is a fun hobby but there's no need to be locking yourself into 5 gallons or more at a time. Brew smaller batches and convince yourself to keep it light or conservative, or to special occasions. You can do it.

While I know it will take less time to make smaller batches, I never could get away from the fact that a lot of the work is in the cleaning up, and that won't take any less time. My rule has always been to leave the kitchen cleaner than when I started.

 

[mongoose33]

While I know it will take less time to make smaller batches, I never could get away from the fact that a lot of the work is in the cleaning up, and that won't take any less time. My rule has always been to leave the kitchen cleaner than when I started.

You'll save a little time, but only a little. If you mash for an hour, hard to speed that up. If you boil for an hour, hard to speed that up too.

Bringing wort to a boil, heating strike water--that's where you'll gain a little time.

I've seen numerous people here on HBT say that if they're going to have to spend that much time to brew a small batch, they might as well just brew 5 gallons. To each his or her own.

 

[Spartan1979]

I've seen numerous people here on HBT say that if they're going to have to spend that much time to brew a small batch, they might as well just brew 5 gallons. To each his or her own.

I used to have that attitude about brewing 10 gallons instead of 5. But I couldn't go through it fast enough so I brewed less and I had less variety available to me.

 

[zacster]

You'll save a little time, but only a little. If you mash for an hour, hard to speed that up. If you boil for an hour, hard to speed that up too.

Bringing wort to a boil, heating strike water--that's where you'll gain a little time.

I've seen numerous people here on HBT say that if they're going to have to spend that much time to brew a small batch, they might as well just brew 5 gallons. To each his or her own.

Exactly. If it takes 5 hours instead of 6, it just isn't worth having half the beer. Now if it only took 3 hours to do a half batch, maybe that would be worth doing. I've never been able to beat 6 hours with a 5 gallon batch, from the time I open the box with the kettle to the time I've put everything away. Add in the starter making and then the kegging, I wouldn't save enough time. If I wanted to save time I'd go with a more efficient heating method, either electric or outdoor gas instead of stovetop.

 

[CascadesBrewer]

I used to have that attitude about brewing 10 gallons instead of 5. But I couldn't go through it fast enough so I brewed less and I had less variety available to me.

Ever since I got equipment to support 2.5 gal batches, I almost never want to brew full 5 gal batches. If I do brew a 5 gal batch, I want to split it in the fermenter to try out different yeast or some other change. For me, a big pull of the hobby are aspects related to creativity, creation, experimentation, learning and improvement. I get 4 times that with four 2.5 gal batches over one 10 gal batch.

If I had big pool parties or my house was the hub for watching sports, I could see brewing larger batches. For the most part I am the one drinking my beers, except for the bottles/growlers I share. A 2.5 gal batch is a full case of beer, so plenty for me to drink and I don't have to feel bad about sampling a few bottles early or taking some to a party. I can show up every month at my homebrew club with a few new beers and interesting experiments.