RCBIV
Well-Known Member
I've been out of the home brewing game for about nine months. The last batch I brewed came out pretty good. No complaints with the beer. My only complaint came with the process.
It's all gotten too big. I remember when I started on my kitchen stove and made a Brew in a Bag recipe. It was fantastic. I loved it. But it wasn't perfect. I wanted to go bigger and better.
So, as most of us do, I bought more equipment and upped the size of my batches. It was great ... at first. Now, after X number of batches later, I am exhausted. It's all too much. It's all too big. I don't have the time to lug around a kettle from A to B, then back to A. And do all the steps in between. It's become more work than fun.
So here's what I need help with: How do I go BACK to what I was doing before, but better? I am fine with making 3 gallon batches. That's all I need. And that's what I really want to do, so I can make more recipes and not clog up so much space. How do I keep my process small and confined without taking away the quality? Can I do that in a kitchen or even inside?
I want to brew, but I want to simplify it and cut out some of the big, bulky items (kettle, mainly, but bigger fermenters, too) that I have acquired over the past couple of years. I understand it will still likely take the same amount of brew time (if I keep doing all grain), but it will be easier.
So ... has anyone stopped feeding the monster and made it work on a smaller scale?
It's all gotten too big. I remember when I started on my kitchen stove and made a Brew in a Bag recipe. It was fantastic. I loved it. But it wasn't perfect. I wanted to go bigger and better.
So, as most of us do, I bought more equipment and upped the size of my batches. It was great ... at first. Now, after X number of batches later, I am exhausted. It's all too much. It's all too big. I don't have the time to lug around a kettle from A to B, then back to A. And do all the steps in between. It's become more work than fun.
So here's what I need help with: How do I go BACK to what I was doing before, but better? I am fine with making 3 gallon batches. That's all I need. And that's what I really want to do, so I can make more recipes and not clog up so much space. How do I keep my process small and confined without taking away the quality? Can I do that in a kitchen or even inside?
I want to brew, but I want to simplify it and cut out some of the big, bulky items (kettle, mainly, but bigger fermenters, too) that I have acquired over the past couple of years. I understand it will still likely take the same amount of brew time (if I keep doing all grain), but it will be easier.
So ... has anyone stopped feeding the monster and made it work on a smaller scale?