Sometimes I get so sad

[icantbejon]

I look down and the last 6 pack of a beer of mine....and I want to drink them. But then I realize that there is only 6 left and then I'll never have it again. That makes me sad. They inevitably find their way down the hatch...but that last six pack lingers for so long.

 

[Jayhem]

haha. I know the feeling. This is why it's important to keep the pipeline going to always have a new one ready to drink!

I have kept a beer or two from each batch I've made this year...I plan to drink 12 different beers one per night for the 12 days of Christmas this year.

 

[PistolsAtDawn]

I feel ya. I remember the overwhelming sense of joy that I felt when I found one more 12 oz bottle of a Pliny clone around Christmas last year as I was cleaning out the beer closet. I had already consumed what I thought was my last one with a sniffle. That was from the second batch of beer that I'd brewed and it had aged almost a year at that point. It was smooth and delicious!

But I still have a problem opening the last couple from any batch. I got into kegging not long ago, and for some reason I wasn't as upset about kicking the keg (and it went a lot faster that way).

 

[ktblunden]

I made a Bourbon Stout that turned out really good and I'm rationing those pretty severely. I've already set 6 aside to age for a year and I think I have another 8 or so that I'm taking my time on finishing.

 

[Jayhem]

I made a Bourbon Stout that turned out really good and I'm rationing those pretty severely. I've already set 6 aside to age for a year and I think I have another 8 or so that I'm taking my time on finishing.

Good luck aging a known "really good" beer for a year without drinking it.

 

[ktblunden]

Good luck aging a known "really good" beer for a year without drinking it.

Yeah, I need to find a non-beer drinking friend and have them hide it for a year.

 

[PistolsAtDawn]

Yeah, I need to find a non-beer drinking friend and have them hide it for a year.

I never touch the stuff. Send them to me. They'll be safe. Trust me.

 

[captwalt]

I go through this with just about every batch. The 7th from last beer always seems taste better than the prvious 40 or and then I freak out about only having 6 left and talk about how great this beer is but wont let anyone have one.

 

[biochemedic]

You know what they say: "When is homebrew at it's best? Right as as you open the last bottle/pour the last pint..."

 

[AmandaK]

I used to get sad... now I have so much piling up that I'm thankful when I make it through a batch because then I have more room for the next batch coming in!

 

[ktblunden]

I used to get sad... now I have so much piling up that I'm thankful when I make it through a batch because then I have more room for the next batch coming in!

Other than my Bourbon Stout, this is the situation I'm in currently. I'm running out of room and empty bottles. And I just got grains for my next three brews.

 

[SkipperNC]

I look down and the last 6 pack of a beer of mine....and I want to drink them. But then I realize that there is only 6 left and then I'll never have it again. That makes me sad. They inevitably find their way down the hatch...but that last six pack lingers for so long.

I used to feel that way. I still bottle and keep a few, but I'm doing it mostly for saving to age or enter for a competition, etc.

Once you switch to kegging, this whole thought process kind of goes away. You drink off the keg until suddenly, sputter, it's gone. It's harder to see the end and thus, worry about it.

Keep some beers in the brewing pipeline to help down your sorrows, sir.

 

[icantbejon]

Once you switch to kegging, this whole thought process kind of goes away. You drink off the keg until suddenly, sputter, it's gone. It's harder to see the end and thus, worry about it.

Ain't this the truth! I actually did swap to kegging not too long ago. It's really enjoyable, and definitely preferred. However, I just kicked my first keg Tues night, which sucked, but I was ok because I had two in the kegerator. I leave for the evening and my wife texts me that the second keg was kicked as well!!!! I can't win!!! Luckily, I had one more keg waiting in the wings and I'm brewing again this Sun.

 

[AmandaK]

Other than my Bourbon Stout, this is the situation I'm in currently. I'm running out of room and empty bottles. And I just got grains for my next three brews.

Same here with my sours. And I have the grains for my next 5 brews... :facepalm:

I've outsourced my drinking to the boyfriend, coworkers, friends, but I must just make WAY too much beer!

 

[Cpt_Kirks]

I look down and the last 6 pack of a beer of mine....and I want to drink them. But then I realize that there is only 6 left and then I'll never have it again. That makes me sad. They inevitably find their way down the hatch...but that last six pack lingers for so long.

I know the feeling. I'm down to (let me check the spreadsheet)...uh, about 48 gallons, not counting the 10 gallons of All Wheat Hefe I'm kegging Saturday.

Crap, that 10 gallons we ran through at the family reunion last weekend put a dent in my stash.

 

[Joe13]

I have the same problem. I brew 4 two gallon batches at a time. i then tell myself I'm gonna set aside one bottle from each to age and taste later. I haven't made it past 3 months from brewing.

 

[SkipperNC]

Same here with my sours. And I have the grains for my next 5 brews... :facepalm:

I've outsourced my drinking to the boyfriend, coworkers, friends, but I must just make WAY too much beer!

I don't brew on nearly the same scale that you do, Amanda but I'll make a recommendation. Get some cheap growlers. Any time you go drink with friends or have a neighbor that stops by, or relatives that live close, take them some beer. Keep a rule of, "you bring me back a growler and I pick the next beer you get." You don't have to do many, maybe 3-5 friends you want to make happy.

They will love you. You will get some awesome feedback on your beer. They will owe you favors that you can cash in whenever needed. You will get rid of some crappy beer (don't tell them that, obviously.)

I haven't been a brewer long but I jumped into it pretty heavy and perhaps that's why I look at beer as a thing to drink and enjoy (for me or others) than something I should hoard and cellar. Maybe I'm crazy, but that's how I approach the hobby. I can't brew more if I don't have room to put it somewhere.

 

[SkipperNC]

Ain't this the truth! I actually did swap to kegging not too long ago. It's really enjoyable, and definitely preferred. However, I just kicked my first keg Tues night, which sucked, but I was ok because I had two in the kegerator. I leave for the evening and my wife texts me that the second keg was kicked as well!!!! I can't win!!! Luckily, I had one more keg waiting in the wings and I'm brewing again this Sun.

I see an opportunity to get her to help with brewing or ordering ingredients!

 

[icantbejon]

I know the feeling. I'm down to (let me check the spreadsheet)...uh, about 48 gallons, not counting the 10 gallons of All Wheat Hefe I'm kegging Saturday.

Crap, that 10 gallons we ran through at the family reunion last weekend put a dent in my stash.

Damn dude....that's a lot of beer on hand. I wish I could support that capacity. I can run about 10 gls at any given time.

 

[FiddleTilDeath]

Good luck aging a known "really good" beer for a year without drinking it.

Sometimes I write on the labels:
Do not open until x/x/2013

then when you take it out, you see you are not allowed to drink it! and you can ration when you label how many are going to be left at what time. works for me!

 

[PistolsAtDawn]

Sometimes I write on the labels:
Do not open until x/x/2013

then when you take it out, you see you are not allowed to drink it! and you can ration when you label how many are going to be left at what time. works for me!

That wouldn't work for me. Out comes the sharpie... Oh! Today! Really!?

 

[ktblunden]

Luckily I have a lot of craft and homebrew on hand so if I am tempted to dip into the reserved ones I can divert myself with something else good.

 

[Cpt_Kirks]

Damn dude....that's a lot of beer on hand. I wish I could support that capacity. I can run about 10 gls at any given time.

Kegs are where it's at!

I have 19 kegs now, so I can maintain a good pipeline.

If I was stuck using bottles, I probably wouldn't brew.

 

[ghpeel]

Had the pleasure of finding an 18 month old bottle of what I now know was an "Irish Mild" I made a while back (supposed to be an Irish Red, clocked in at about 1.035OG). I figured since it was a partial mash that it would have extract twang, but no. It was smooth and delicious. Its really amazing how products like beer, wine, cheese, etc all can be made at home with NO preservatives and can last ages like that. I suppose that's part of the reason humans started making them in the first place.

 

[icantbejon]

Kegs are where it's at!

I have 19 kegs now, so I can maintain a good pipeline.

If I was stuck using bottles, I probably wouldn't brew.

19 kegs???? Where do you put them all? I have four and can't hardly keep tabs on them.

 

[Susurro]

I recently came across a bottle of my first brew from a year and a half ago hiding in my fridge. It was ok, but it really showed how much my technique improved over that first year.

 

[icantbejon]

I recently came across a bottle of my first brew from a year and a half ago hiding in my fridge. It was ok, but it really showed how much my technique improved over that first year.

I can only agree with this. I have some beers from right before I made the jump to all grain and I actually can't drink them. Flavor is ok, but the quality is sooooooooooooooooooooo poor, I can't believe I made them.

 

[Cpt_Kirks]

19 kegs???? Where do you put them all? I have four and can't hardly keep tabs on them.

I keep track of them with a spreadsheet.

Empties are in the garage, kegs with beer in them are either sitting in my office, or in the kegerator or keezer.