Solitary brewer ?

[BrewMan13]

I can go either way, but it usually ends up being a solo endeavor. Almost none of my close friends are into good beer, but a couple co-workers are. I'll extend the offer when I plan a brewday, but make it clear not to feel bad if they can't make it. Sometimes it's nice to have someone to talk to, sometimes better to just be one with my thoughts, lol.

 

[Hopsimus]

Solitary brewer here. Tried to get my wife to help, but she just isn't interested. For the most part brewing alone isn't that bad. I usually do 3 gallon batches and, at that amount, I can generally handle pouring the grains and moving the carboys and such by myself.

The only part I don't like is the cleanup. It would be nice to have someone help with that!

 

[SEndorf]

Friends have asked. They're welcome to attend brew day.
It's funny......when I tell them to bring a sudoku for the 60 minute mash and a crossword puzzle for the 90 minute boil, they never show up. What's with that?

 

[kevin58]

I've had friends over... I've been in a club. I prefer to brew alone to eliminate distractions. I can encounter enough mishaps on my own without having someone yapping at me or telling me I'm doing it wrong.

 

[6midgets]

I've never met another home brewer in my area. I've always brewed by myself, it's a great time to reflect and have a cigar.

 

[Numsquat]

In 25ish years i have brewed with: wife 1x, adult sons 3x, friends (non-brewers) 2x on my own beers. Most years I'm brewing every two weeks (10 gal batches beer or mead, 25 gal ciders) so 20-26 sessions per year, so pretty much brew alone. Don't have an issue brewing with others but like many others it's my stress relief time and I will stretch it out to 10-12 hours just for the alone time. I do the same with my bbq, love watching my pit when doing a pork or beef shoulder, pork butts or briskets, stretch it out. I don't drink brewing until I start the boil kettle and stick to very sessionable beers until conical all set, then going to higher alcohol for cleaning up which can *cough* take some time to do correctly *cough*. Also like others my wife will schedule girlfriend time days on my brew days. With no kids in the home anymore we do so much together but have to have some us time so it all works out.

Before I moved early this year the brew club I started where I lived before did four club brews a year: one for a region club contest, one for a club brew for members to do 1 gal batches for a club contest and twice at community events where the club did a extract brewing demonstration/tasting/community education booth. Those were fun brew days and a good time to brew with others. But different from my own brew days alone.

 

[brewgar]

@Numsquat Thank you for revealing your 10-12 hour brew days. I enjoy that as well. Brew, chill. get the fermenter in refrigerator chamber, clean, put away cleaned and dry gear, and do a load of laundry with waste water. So I would say solitary brewer, except for 2 well behaved brew dogs who love being pals on brew day.

 

[FloppyKnockers]

Me and me alone. The standing rule is nobody in the kitchen while it's a brewery.

 

[Numsquat]

@Numsquat Thank you for revealing your 10-12 hour brew days. I enjoy that as well. Brew, chill. get the fermenter in refrigerator chamber, clean, put away cleaned and dry gear, and do a load of laundry with waste water. So I would say solitary brewer, except for 2 well behaved brew dogs who love being pals on brew day.

Don't do the laundry on brew day but will through almost anything on the bbq pits to smoke when brewing. My wife knows after her day out with her friends she will get a nice meal when she gets home. I also tend to brew on sports days (i.e. Saturdays for college football, Sundays once NFL starts, baseball and college basketball games otherwise) so I can watch what I want without interruption. I have even been known to do 8-10 hour 5 gal extract batches each day of the first weekend of March Madness (Thu-Sun) just not to be bothered watching games and to have plenty of beer for the final four, when i will also brew my next batches. First round/Second round NFL playoffs = brew days for Super Bowl.

I will say brew day length is also based on weather. I lived in NW Iowa for 12 years, summer=10-12 hours but winter=maybe 6 hours, less if I extracted. Now I live in Florida, pretty much sure the opposite will be true. To darn hot in summer for long brew days but fall/winter (football season) will be my longer days.

 

[Derp]

I just experienced that rarest of miracles: a friend asked if I would teach her how to brew and she actually stayed involved for the entire session. Most times people poop out after a couple of hours and leave before the cleaning begins, but she was there every step of the way. She even wanted to pitch the yeast and dry hops. In a few days she's going to help keg the beer we brewed last week.

 

[50calshooter]

Just wondering, how many are solitary brewers and how many like to brew with friends or as a group.
I personally prefer to be a solitary brewer. It's my "me time". My wonderful wife understands and usually plans a girls day for brew day. Brew day for me is a stress reliever where I can forget about everything for a while.
How do you brew?

I’m a solitary brewer. I don’t like to get sidetracked when I brew and just because I love to brew beer doesn’t mean I want to stand around for five hours talking about it. A lot of the time I’m brewing an order some one placed so I have to be on my game every brew.

 

[GPP33]

I wish I had a helper today. This damn oatmeal stout won’t stop trying to boil over. I’m currently doing a constant stir to break up the foam. Standing over a burner on a 95 degree kinda sucks.

 

[ba-brewer]

I wish I had a helper today. This damn oatmeal stout won’t stop trying to boil over. I’m currently doing a constant stir to break up the foam. Standing over a burner on a 95 degree kinda sucks.

spritzing with cold water works pretty well, you can get a bit further from the pot too.

 

[GPP33]

spritzing with cold water works pretty well, you can get a bit further from the pot too.

I used to always have a squirt bottle on hand but when I started using fremcap boilovers completly subsided, I’ve since lost track of where that bottle is and didn’t have enough time to run around trying to find it. I had 2x the recommended dosage of ferm cap, my boil turned down and only had 6 gal in a 15 gal keg and it still raised to boil over height between stirrings in about 30 seconds. On the bright side I got my monies worth out of my grains, overshot OG by 8 points. She’ll have a little more kick I guess.

 

[jimdkc]

I just experienced that rarest of miracles: a friend asked if I would teach her how to brew and she actually stayed involved for the entire session. Most times people poop out after a couple of hours and leave before the cleaning begins, but she was there every step of the way. She even wanted to pitch the yeast and dry hops. In a few days she's going to help keg the beer we brewed last week.

It can be a joy if the other person is really into it and wants to learn... and a real drag if they are not.

 

[cloudybrewer]

I brew alone too. Usually it’s at night after everyone else in the house is asleep, so it’s very quiet. But I enjoy that.

Me, too. Just a one man wolf pack, burnin the midnight hop oil.

 

[shadowpaige64507]

I mainly brew alone. I used to let everyone know I when I was brewing but after several batches I realized I prefer to just brew alone. It is relaxing therapy to brew alone, seems to crazy and unorganized when people come over. I can't focus on what I need to be doing while something else is going on. So going forward I don't mind if someone comes over but not sure I'm going to push for someone to join.

 

[Zealous61]

I love getting through most of the brew day solo and then having friends show up during the boil to help clean up and finish. That is my usual. Though my 8yo daughter always helps weigh all the ingredients, fills the hopper as I crack grains, and stirs out the dough balls as I mash in.

 

[Rob2010SS]

My wife and I brew together. We initially kind of bonded over the craft beer scene when we first met. When I decided last year that I wanted to get into brewing, she originally said she wanted nothing to do with it. But alas, here we are 17 batches in and she helps every time. She doesn't stick around for the whole thing but she helps with certain steps and hangs out with me while I do the rest.

I gotta say, we have a pretty nice system. She comes up with stuff that she would like to have on tap and I figure out how to make it! "Oh, you want me to brew this weekend because you want a nice sour on tap? FIIIIINNNNNEEE! I suppose I can make that work." Hahaha.

 

[Dland]

I mostly brew alone, I have one friend who is a pro brewer, and once in a while he drops in if he is in town. He is helpful and I learn stuff, a few other times people have watched, but their talk and questions slows me down some. I find the best time for me is a morning start on a day off, with everything put away and clean before I drink any.

In the old days, (early 90's) I had a good friend who brewed with me, it was great, as we were both into it and split the chores. We also did fairly large batches of all grain with limited gear, no pumps, and it took two of us to lift the brew pots around. We used to drink while we were working and make some food too. Carefree bachelor days...

 

[BrewsnBass]

I can't brew with anyone around. I have to concentrate on so many things it's easy to forget something. Sometimes i'm so focused i have no clue what they said.

 

[PlexVector]

Brew alone--no evidence...

 

[Home_alone1]

I usually brew alone unless someone stops by. I do have a botteling buddy though .

 

[Biscuits]

I typically brew alone as well. As you say, it my"me time"...but occassionally I will do a group or collaboration brew.

 

[divrack]

I'm a solitary long in the tooth maverick type brewer and only brewed alone until I was given a new rookie partner that is a young zany ethnically diverse madcap character. Despite early tensions and setbacks in the end we both grow as characters and learn to appreciate our differences solving many brewing crimes together, and are going to be appearing in a series of exponentially deteriorating future projects together...

 

[muledogus]

I used to brew with two other guys and that was just fine because we were all into it, every step of the way. Occasionally I get the bright idea to try to get someone into brewing or just have someone around while I do and I always end up very annoyed.

 

[Velnerj]

Brewing beer was the first hobby I had in which I started completely alone. All my other hobbies were either learning along someone else or learning from someone else. But with brewing I was completely "self taught." of course I read books and forums and the like so I wasn't completely on an island. But I Jimmie rigged my equipment alone and started brewing (all grain right away) all by myself.

I'd welcome the chance to brew with someone more experienced than me but I literally have never met another home brewer...

I have brewed with friends who know nothing about brewing and I enjoy teaching them (I'm a teacher by trade) but there's something really nice about brewing alone.

 

[thepicklebrewer]

It's usually just me and the dog. The wife helps on occasion, but she is mainly annoyed because I won't stop talking about it. The alone time is pretty nice, but I need a friend with a better system to brew with haha

 

[user 30639]

It depends. There are brew days where I like having a friend over for an extra set of hands. And there are days where I like to do it alone. I can just sit in the garage while it's boiling, have a beer, listen to some music, and just have some time to myself.

 

[MultumInParvo]

Beersmith always asks for an assistant brewer. I put in my dog.

Not sure if you'd count that as solitary or not!

 

[fourfarthing]

Straight up solo brewer. Wife is really supportive, but lets me do my 'crazy' on my own. I also normally start at 4AM #kids

 

[Bilsch]

Brewing solo since 85' and like it that way.

 

[burntchef]

My first brew experience was watching a group brew and got nice and hammered watching them. I struck out solo after that, have invited people but no takers at 7am Sunday start time. lol So it is me time. I have been looking for a local club but have been getting the Seatle chil in my locale.
Eric

 

[DU99]

Least you can hide your mistakes when solo brewing

 

[radwizard]

I brew in the company of my two feline friends.

 

[Pappers_]

My oldest, who just turned 27, brews with me about half the time. Also, I brew at an urban homebrew club brewhouse, the only club in this country whose members have built out and maintain a brewhouse for members. We have four brew bays, so it can be busy, with many others brewing while I'm also brewing.

 

[BeerTooth]

Just started brewing. My first one, a stout, was solo. My second, in secondary now, is an IPA that my 22 year old son helped me with. My third will be an amber, that my wife wants to help out with.

Life is good.

 

[jonny24]

I brew on my own, but there's usually someone around - my brothers when I used to live at home, and now my girlfriend. So essentially by myself but extra hands when I need them.

I also live and brew in a one bedroom apartment, so it's tough for her to be anywhere else. We usually watch TV together and I pop into the kitchen for each step.

 

[Hwk-I-St8]

I generally prefer to brew alone.

The main reason for that is that when others join they generally want to drink beer and are a distraction. I usually don't have a beer when I'm brewing until near the end of the boil, if at all. I like to take frequent measurements and detailed notes and I like to do a lot of the work while I'm in the process of brewing. For example, I mill my grains while the strike water is heating. I measure hops while the mash is going on and I clean my cooler mash tun during the boil. If I have "guests", I feel obligated to entertain them which keeps me from doing the stuff I need to be doing.

That being said, I'd like to try brewing with one or more other people who are knowledgeable and interested in seriously helping. Especially if they know the process with my rig. Someone like that would be genuinely helpful and inclined to help with the process rather than just sit, drink beer and distract me.

 

[davidabcd]

I generally prefer to brew alone.

I'm the same way though I only do extract. Still, I have my routine. I've never had anyone over during brew day (more "Brew Two to Three Hours" than "Brew Day"). I actually never considered people being around until this thread. My main thought is, there's too much business, albeit fun business, to take care of without adding in being a host.
I can imagine, "Hey, let me put that yeast in for you! Was I supposed to sanitize that before I touched it? Oh, dude, I'm sorry! That won't wreck your batch, right?"
As with golf, I personally abstain from drink during what I consider the most critical time.
I have a nephew, semi-new to brewing, that I would consider brewing with. It would be fun, easy because it's extract, and I think a good learning experience for both of us.