Losing the will to brew

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Beerthoven

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So, I've been brewing for over 4 years. Done almost 70 batches, most of them all-grain. The last several months I just haven't been able to muster any energy or enthusiasm for brewing at all. It took me 6 weeks to get around to kegging a wheat beer, for Pete's sake! I don't think I'm going to quit altogether, but I think I'll take this spring & summer off and pick it up again in the fall.
 
Sounds like a good plan. I go through phases. Usually depends on my schedule. I would kill for some brew time these days. No need to force it. Wait until you'll really enjoy it and pick out an exciting recipe.
 
I think this is true for most hobbies. People go through phases, especially with long-term hobbies. I often find taking a break from a hobby makes me realize how much I missed it once I return.
 
Adamb258 said:
I think this is true for most hobbies. People go through phases, especially with long-term hobbies. I often find taking a break from a hobby makes me realize how much I missed it once I return.
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Seems to be true,at least I hope so. My lil tuner has been neglected since the deer hit. I'm just starting to miss it. Just haven't worked up the gumption to go out in 32F weather to work on it. I'm going to oversee my wife doing the next batch. That may help all the way round.?
 
One thing that I've found to help stave off the brewing blues - really for me this is just the prioritization of brewing lower on the grand list of things than it should be - is to surge my brewing. Brew your @ss off for, say, two months doing as much as you can handle. For me that's a modest 2x 5 gal batches at a time. Before long, I've got a decent supply and I can get back to family time, pool time, ferreting out those pesky garden gnomes, etc..
 
Focus said:
One thing that I've found to help stave off the brewing blues - really for me this is just the prioritization of brewing lower on the grand list of things than it should be - is to surge my brewing. Brew your @ss off for, say, two months doing as much as you can handle. For me that's a modest 2x 5 gal batches at a time. Before long, I've got a decent supply and I can get back to family time, pool time, ferreting out those pesky garden gnomes, etc..
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I guess I sort of do that. Not garden gnomes (they scare me), but...........

each of us have a life that doesn't revolve around beer although here on the forum it sure seems like it! The reason I keep brewing is twofold- 1. I'm not yet bored, as I'm still learning; and 2. The commercial beer I'd have to buy is expensive and honestly not as good as my own.

Whenever you reach a point where brewing is a chore and NOT fun, then it's time to quit. At least for a while, but maybe permanently.
 
I essentially quit for about 3 months this fall. I had two batches turn out a little "off", plus I spent most of last year trying to make a business plan for a small package brewery work, and brewing mostly the same two recipes (attempting to "perfect" them). Eventually I realized that it simply wasn't feasible, and I felt defeated. I also had noticed that brewing had become a project, rather than a fun hobby. Once I got over the whole brewery idea, and accepted that if it happened it would be much later than sooner, I built a new brew stand with a friend (super-fun), and have had a blast brewing at a much slower pace so far this year. I didn't realize how obligatory I had made brewing during 2010 and doing it because I "wanted to" brought back the passion. Yet another reason I have no intention of attempting to "go pro" for a long time, if ever.

If it's not fun, if it feels obligatory, just stop. It'll come back. Or not. Doesn't matter. It's supposed to be fun, right? :mug:
 
Primevci said:
are you depressed?
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This is a fair question. You mention not working on your "tuner" either. You say you can't "muster and energy or enthusiasm" for the things you used to enjoy. I'm not a doctor, but that sounds like a text-book symptom of clinical depression. Seriously, talk to a doctor about it. It is real, and treating it could change your life for the better dramatically. :)

[/seriousness]
 
Sometimes I also find it hard to muster the energy for another batch but then I look at my dwindling beer supply and consider the alternative of spending $9+/6pk for good beer and I make myself get out there and just do it. I pour a homebrew, fire up the barbecue and get down to it. I pou another one and then the love of purpose carries me through the process. It's a beautiful thing.
 
Sure, give it a rest for a while and pay attention to something else for a few months. When you're ready again, you'll start missing the smell of your mash and wonder why you're not brewing. That's when it's time to start again, and you'll likely be brewing better beer because of the time off. Forcing things - especially hobbies, which are supposed to be fun - rarely works.
 
Well,so far as "hotrods" are concerned (tuners now),it's just getting too expensive. But I still like it. The problem being,my life is too expensive,with a house big enough for 8. That after being laid off so long in the early 80's,I lost the house I would've had paid off some 8 years ago. Damn. Just wish that deer hadn't wrecked the front of my only car's roof (my tuner,daily driver). That just made it worse. So it's really just money,& worn out joints.
But I love brewing beer,just need another micro brew fermenter (I like that one) so I can make 12 gallons at a time. That'd be 130-140 bottles! But,like Tom Petty says-the waiting is the hardest part!
 
It's not necessarily depression. Speaking only for myself, I have learned over the years that if I "hit a wall" with a pastime, I don't push it. Take some time off, or cut back, and I'll go back to it. If I force myself, I'm liable to overdose and that particular thing goes on the shelf, maybe not to return for years. Photography never did come back after that, and I'm in a 7 year hiatus and still going on amateur radio. The other pastimes persist, but I don't push any of them.
 
Agree with what everyone else has said. I tend to brew in spurts - 4 weeks straight to get enough in the pipeline and then 2-4 weeks off. I know all too well the feeling when home brewing seems to be more of a chore than something I enjoy. This is the time to step back and take some time off. I guess that if you can get your honey to assist or take the reigns on a batch you could do that. There is absolutely no way that my lovely wife would become involved and I respect that. She is already a saint with respect to her patience with my home brewing.
 
Thanks for all the suggestions, everyone. No, I'm not depressed. Feeling better than I have in a long time, actually. Work, family, and other obligations make it hard to find the time and energy. But I'm also bored and need to find some new beers to brew. Most of what I brew is in the American ale spectrum of Blonde-Pale-Amber-IPA. Need to branch out and try something new and exciting.

I like the brewing in surges idea. Brewing every weekend for a month would allow me to take a few months off with no interruption in supply. I like it.
 
I was there man. 2yr old demands attention. was not truly happy with the beer i was making, brewing sucked as i was usually by myself. Got a friend into brewing in Jan. and i got a new spark. have 4 fermenters full in various stages atm and happy as heck with how things are going. So chin up perhaps create something unusual. I took a belgian dubbel and am tweeking it with red currants. Sky is the limit.
 
Variety and Exploration is the Spice of Life. You can find yourself in a rut if you keep doing the same brew and procedure over and over again. Same can be said of any hobby.
Don't get me wrong, its nice to have a house beer or two that you always brew up to have on tap. But going out and exploring new craft beers can reignite the flames of passion.
My brother brought over this weekend 3 new craft beers that I never tried before and after sampling each one with him I am on my way to try and recreate two of them.
I also find it helpful to reignite my homebrew passion by talking shop with my fellow homebrewing neighbors, evaluating each other's creation and helping each other out with our knowledge and expertise. Heck, even getting someone new introduced to this hobby can reignite your passion for this hobby again.

just my two cents...
Redbeard5289
 
Beerthoven said:
Thanks for all the suggestions, everyone. No, I'm not depressed. Feeling better than I have in a long time, actually. Work, family, and other obligations make it hard to find the time and energy. But I'm also bored and need to find some new beers to brew. Most of what I brew is in the American ale spectrum of Blonde-Pale-Amber-IPA. Need to branch out and try something new and exciting.

I like the brewing in surges idea. Brewing every weekend for a month would allow me to take a few months off with no interruption in supply. I like it.
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I'm having a similar issue with drinking beer. Every Saturday night for as far back as I can remember, I drink beer. I can count on one hand over the last 20 years when I haven't had a beer on a Saturday night. The last couple of Saturday's I haven't been in the mood to have any. My wife was like" honey are you ok"...lol..She was worried that I wasn't drinking beer...That's kinda funny..

I try not to drink much during the week to stay in shape, so it's Friday and Saturday night. Ok, sometimes Thursdays. I had a couple on Friday, but none the last night. Maybe it's our age or something.

I better snap the hell out of it. I just kegged three fukcing kegs last week.....Hang in there man, you'll get it back, and If you don't, oh well...
 
I go in spurts. When the supply is dwindling I'll push hard and brew 2 11g batches on a Saturday and 2 more on Sunday. One weekend worth of work and I have enough brew to satisfy me for 4-6 months.

Why not try to get involved in some other aspect of the hobby? Try teaching someone to brew or get involved in judging comps. I've found that this can help break up the monotony.
 
I will absolutely second the teaching a friend or looking into other aspects of the hobby to energize yourself. Although I just started brewing and I love it, it is still hard to motivate myself with only 1 day off a week and numerous other obligations/hobbies. Having a friend there to help or learn makes brewing twice as fun, and not just for having a brew/drinking buddy.

Basically it helps me get over the opportunity cost of a brew day if that makes sense.
 
I was at this point cave diving. I have been actively cave diving and teaching for the past 10 years, I started getting bent a little to often and I was getting sick of it. I have not been since last june, and now I really miss it. But I am not sure my passion is back for it yet, or maybe if ever.
 
I find the DIY section here full of inspiration, I have not yet meet the home brewer that is 100% satisfied with the equipment they own. You build a new piece and then get excited to use it, well at least that seems to work for me.

Also, having some other things to do is a good idea, I camp, fish and hunt as well not to mention the online stuff I do. I just slowed down as well this winter because I think it is that "seasonal funk" that is associated with winter mixed with an unheated garage and I have no good way to clean keggles in sub freezing temps! :eek: I am also hoping, to shortly after the wedding, reveal a new project of mine that is brew related, we will see...wedding is obsession 1 now according to SWMBO...lol.

GL

:mug:
 
I'd take a break from it. I felt the same way last year, and so I just took a few months off and didn't think about brewing. Then one day I started reading up on some different aspects of brew science that I hadn't really known that much about before, and boom! - I was excited to brew again.

Another thing you can try is buying beer. Once I started doing that, I realized how much money I was saving by brewing - bottles of good beer are expensive!
 
So maybe try a couple of new styles? Or just take a break! I sometimes take months off of WoW. Some of my friends could never have done that a couple of years ago, but I notice they are not on nearly as much. Everyone gets bored eventually.

I plan on working on my old mustang more this summer, and I'm trying to figure out how I can do that AND still brew at least once a month! Just too many other things, especially when you have kids and darn it, they will be moving out of the house some day so it makes sense to spend quality time with them when they are still home and still like to do stuff with their dad.

My plan is to brew every other week on a weeknight, even if it's extract or BIAB half-batches, work on the Mustang other weeknights, and some weekends all day. That way I can do family stuff on the weekends. Not sure how it will work with all kinds of other things getting in the way all week, but we'll try!
 
Don't stop brewing brother. I live in a tiny NYC apartment and brew and bottle pretty religiously. (I have three 5 gallon caboys, which is a lot for my apartment.) But, I'll definitely be slowing down once it starts getting warmer out, as it becomes oppressively hot and humid in in apartment when brewing. (I don't have any A/C!)
 
I think you should spicy it up with some variety.

I have not been brewing long enough to get bored, but I do know if I keep brewing just a few set of styles over and over I will eventually get sick of it and abandon the hobby. I know many folks like to brew IPAs and APAs a lot because they love them, but I could never manage that kind of repetition. I have brewed just about 10-12 batches so far but have not repeated a style yet, so I feel like I'm just warming up. It also helps if you design your own recipes, which I do the most. I also borrow recipes from others, but I have never repeated the exactly same recipe because I always add my own touch to each one of them.
 
brew up a batch or two of sour beers. They'll tie up a couple fermenters for a year or two. while they're going, just take a break from brewing. When the time comes to bottle, it will be like discovering the hobby all over again.
 
Brewing, like most, if not all hobbies, loses its luster after awhile. You start out, and think it is the coolest thing ever. You get a few batches under your belt, do a bunch of research, get your processes down, and pretty soon the mystery is gone, along with the novelty of it. At least that is how it went for me. I still brew, and still enjoy it, but I no longer LIVE for it. But there always seems to be something that renews my interest and keeps me brewing. First was going all-grain. Then a kegging set-up. Then I learned to re-use yeast and I built a brewstand. This year I am going to plant hops- that has me stoked again. Plus there is now a homebrew club near me, so I have met lots of new brew-minded people. And my new GF completely supports my hobby, and even likes some of my beer.

I guess all I am saying is I completely understand how brewing can lose its luster and its mystery, but at the same time new things keep popping up to keep me interested, too. I have been brewing since my oldest son was born. He is almost 15 now.
 
Bernie Brewer said:
Brewing, like most, if not all hobbies, loses its luster after awhile. You start out, and think it is the coolest thing ever. You get a few batches under your belt, do a bunch of research, get your processes down, and pretty soon the mystery is gone, along with the novelty of it. At least that is how it went for me. I still brew, and still enjoy it, but I no longer LIVE for it. But there always seems to be something that renews my interest and keeps me brewing. First was going all-grain. Then a kegging set-up. Then I learned to re-use yeast and I built a brewstand. This year I am going to plant hops- that has me stoked again. Plus there is now a homebrew club near me, so I have met lots of new brew-minded people. And my new GF completely supports my hobby, and even likes some of my beer.

I guess all I am saying is I completely understand how brewing can lose its luster and its mystery, but at the same time new things keep popping up to keep me interested, too. I have been brewing since my oldest son was born. He is almost 15 now.
Click to expand...

i haven't been brewing that long, but it's a very accurate description of how the process has gone for me as well.
 
Beerthoven said:
So, I've been brewing for over 4 years. Done almost 70 batches, most of them all-grain. The last several months I just haven't been able to muster any energy or enthusiasm for brewing at all. It took me 6 weeks to get around to kegging a wheat beer, for Pete's sake! I don't think I'm going to quit altogether, but I think I'll take this spring & summer off and pick it up again in the fall.
Click to expand...

Sounds to me like you have the perfect state of mind for brewing high gravity, extended-aging beers...
 
And on that note,I was going to buy the Cooper's OS lager kit with brewing sugar my wife loves so much. But then I read the story about King Midas's tomb,filled with beer & the recipe! Just like Pharaoh Tutankhamen. They have a recipe for his beer too. So,...I thought I would instead buy her the ingredients for King Midas's beer as a present. I'm thinking of calling it "Midas's Gold",since it is said to be a dark gold color. How cool is that?
 
yeah I too came down with the brewing blues. I just get annoyed with parts of my brewing process so I decided to make changes so that I didnt dread the chilling part of the day. It happens to us all
 
I'm glad I'm not the only one who feels this way. Brewing has lost its mystery, but you all have inspired me to try some new things.

My mash tun needs an overhaul and my grain crusher needs to be taken apart and cleaned, so doing those things will help me feel better. And I really like the idea of brewing of a big, high gravity beer or two for bottling and long term storage. That is something I've never done but have always wanted to do.

:mug:
 
I was doing all-grain back in 1995 - 2000, then got hit with a flavor problem I couldn't shake. Did another all-grain batch in 2007, had the same problem, then lost interest. At the beginning of this year I was re-inspired, started with small 1-gallon extract batches until I found the problem, and I did (thank you, Star San!). Now I can't wait to get back into it full-steam ahead.

Maybe you just need a break, but maybe also you need a friend or two to "help" - make it a brew day party. Something to liven things up?
 

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