Taking a break from brewing

[supermutantbrewmaster]

I decided this weekend to take a break from brewing. I've brewed between 2 and 5 gallons every weekend since the beginning of January only missing one weekend due to illness. I love brewing and have been making enough beer to supply my wedding when all my friends and family are in town. Brewing has started feeling like a second job, although one that pays in beer. Has anyone else had minor burnout from brewing too much?

I'm planning on brewing a double batch next weekend to complete my set of beers for the wedding. I'm proud of all I've accomplished, I have over 100 bottles and 2 kegs using nothing but Mr. Beer LBK'S and all grain recipes. But it's time to dick around this weekend. Thanks for reading my post.

 

[Rotor_Head]

I decided this weekend to take a break from brewing. I've brewed between 2 and 5 gallons every weekend since the beginning of January only missing one weekend due to illness. I love brewing and have been making enough beer to supply my wedding when all my friends and family are in town. Brewing has started feeling like a second job, although one that pays in beer. Has anyone else had minor burnout from brewing too much?

I'm planning on brewing a double batch next weekend to complete my set of beers for the wedding. I'm proud of all I've accomplished, I have over 100 bottles and 2 kegs using nothing but Mr. Beer LBK'S and all grain recipes. But it's time to dick around this weekend. Thanks for reading my post.

Well yeah if you brew that much that fast it's easy to see it could get to be too much. Brewing is a hobby and that's it. Unless you're the Peyton Manning of brewing, it will never make you a dime and the reward in brewing is the beer you get that you yourself hand crafted. If you need a break from your hobby, take it. No one is blast you for missing a weekend to do something else. I may brew tomorrow but I've been so busy writing a major paper for grad skool that I may just take my ass to the damn store, wave a credit card around, and make the beer appear in my fridge. No Harm, no foul.

 

[Pappers_]

Yes, brewing every week for months on end is too much for me, too. No brewing this weekend, for example - am heading out to judge at a local competition this morning, bottled a hoppy brown ale last night.

 

[Snowden]

Haha, pretty sure my wife would be filing for divorce if I brewed that much. Once every month or two seems to have become our happy medium. Enjoy your break!

 

[Clarke]

I'll be honest, I am burned out right now, I brewed every other weekend for 5 years, I just moved so I haven't brewed in a few months due to moving. Now I am here, I brewed my first batch last Tuesday and found it less than exciting. It took me 3 weeks to get motivated to brew this batch. I am finding it was more the crowd I hung with than the beer that excited me. Brewing is/was a social event for me and a bit of friendly competition among friends who weren't really competing. I have lost my drive, I guess this is why I have been more active on this forum as of late, trying to get my drive back. Not sure it's working.

 

[Thedutchtouch]

There seems to be a balance, too often and the fun decreases, but not often enough the skills get rusty and your next brew session can have... Issues. Enjoy the break, and congrats on the upcoming nuptials.

 

[BlueHouseBrewhaus]

I brew about every 3 weeks or so. This seems to be my sweet spot where I keep up my skills, don't get burned out and, most importantly, keep the pipeline stocked.

 

[Beernik]

I don't think I've brewed since October. Between the holidays and traveling for work, I just haven't had the time or been wanting to put forth the effort.

But I do 10 gallons at a time and I haven't been drinking much lately. So I still have roughly 5 gallons of beer in bottles plus some mead and some wine.

Next month in going to get back on my grain mill build and putting on a dip tub for my keggle. Hopefully I'll be brewing again by the end of April.

 

[oogaboogachiefwalkingdeer]

Have not missed a week end since Oct.

 

[IDoBleedBrew]

Sometimes our hobbies go from a labor of love to just simply labor if we aren't careful. I used to go to the gun range every single weekend for the longest time and I loved it. Then at some point, life just got so busy and ammo got so expensive that I had to take a break. I'll go every couple of months now because it is good to get live-fire practice, but I definitely don't have the desire (nor can I afford) to go every weekend like I used to. Brewing beer is a little more affordable of a hobby for me, but I don't want to do it to the point where I get burnt out on it.

 

[masskrug]

Every 3 weeks here as well. That is all my fermentation chamber can handle.

 

[dkevinb]

I've had a million hobbies in my life. They come and go. Some last. Very few do I do all the time. I tend to be OCD about these things. I'll go through phases where I'll play guitar for hours every day, then not pick one up for weeks. For the last year+ it's been brewing. I average 2 batches a month. I don't let it bother me if I skip a month. It does bother me when I run out of homebrew and have to actually buy beer, though.

 

[Onescalerguy]

My solution was bigger batches,fewer brew days(two 15 gal sculptures).

 

[Homercidal]

I kind of had the same thing happen to me. It wasn't that I didn't WANT to brew, but being so busy it always felt rushed, and I was never prepared, and things weren't "just right" on brewday. It was more stressful than a fun hobby is supposed to be.

Since then I've done more to prepare ahead of time and if I'm not ready, I don't brew. I tried to get my other demands out of the way, or simply put them off if possible so my brewday would be my main focus.

I'm still building my electric upgrade. That's part of the stress; not having a completed system. Brewing on a system that is constantly changing. Once I get my system together and tweaked to run consistently I can be more consistent and tweak recipes to finish out better-tasting.

I'm pretty well set for beer right now, but I'm planning a Pliny clone (half batch cause I want to get the recipe right and hops are EXPENSIVE!) and an Oberon Clone. I'm also interested in perfecting my lager brewing.

The only way to get better is to keep brewing.

 

[MrHopScotch]

There's no shame in scaling back or taking a break. What's the point of a hobby that you're only doing at a certain level to prove that you like it to other people? Brew as much as you want and you'll enjoy it a lot more when you want to do a batch.

 

[Blue_State]

Happens all the time. It is easy to pick up a six pack and have beer.

I brew when I want something that isn't on the shelf. That is the reason I have backed off making IPAs. There are a ton out there, and a couple meet my tastes.

My longest break was for about a year. But when time came back so I could have a hobby, I am back in, 100%.

 

[Grannyknot]

I completely understand where you are coming from. My issue is that I have overcomplicated things to the point that it is no longer fun. The end product is usually good, but I have introduced so many gadgets, gear, & plumbing that something is bound to cause a problem every single time. I'm usually happy with the end result, but the task is so daunting, and I am constantly monitoring some hunk of metal for issues or signs of a future issue.

 

[Hello]

I can see how you're burned out. You're using Mr. Beer kits and you're brewing for an event. I would have scaled up to 5 gallons for my event and brewed a couple of times.

I have not been burnt out yet. I guess if I needed to brew versus wanted to brew then I could see getting burnt out.

 

[Clarke]

One of these days, I want one of these:

http://www.picobrew.com/

Out of my price range but I like the idea.

 

[joehoppy]

I can totally relate. Starting to get burned out a bit myself. Brewing around 3-4 times a month through the winter. I think I've just got to up the brewing to 10 gallon batches instead of 5.

 

[blackbeer]

i took a break too. for 17 years. it turned into a full time job and at times was more frustrating than golf. when i began to really not enjoy it anymore, i gave it up. i got back into it last year and am determined to not go overboard like i did before. i brew about every 3 weeks from jan-mar and take the whole spring, summer and fall off. i will have 5 batches kegged/bottled and that will last me pretty well into next winter. like i always tell my kids, "quit while you're still having fun"

 

[Zepth]

I went a few months when I'd brew every single weekend. Then it turned into every 2nd or 3rd. Now I brew based on keg availability. Getting more kegs would only be a temporary solution, since the speed at which they empty wouldn't change. Little point in stockpiling 12 kegged batches, while some would benefit from extended aging, others may suffer.

Scaling up to a 10g electric setup was a major step in the "not brew every weekend" direction. Doubling the output while taking 2-3 hours off the brew session compared to stove top. Not a huge surprise as to what the outcome was. Only problem I have with the reduced brew calendar is that there is still more recipes I've found that I want to try, but just don't have the willpower to whip up a 5g batch when 10g capabilities are in my possession.

 

[catdaddy66]

I have a similar mindset. Luckily my bottle supply runs out quickly which keeps me alternating drinking for two weeks and then brewing every two or three weeks.

One stretch last summer I made 6 batches of 5-6 gallons each over 8 weeks. Whew! That's a lot of brewing, drinking and spending!

 

[MotorcycleMatt]

I took a year off last year. Life just got in the way, was renovating my house, still working on my engineering degree and very free time, and what free time i had i was exhausted. I was happy to be brewing last weekend. I have stuff to brew a good amount more and i was going to brew again this easter but i might push it back a week or two. Jjst go every 3 weeks. I want to build my pipeline back up but dont want to burn myself out again

 

[jrgtr42]

It's been close to a year since I brewed a full, 5-gallon batch. Between moving (prepping, the move, unpacking, plus upgrades to the house which often are involving packing and moving then unpacking varying amounts of stuff) selling the old hous, holidays and so forth, I just haven't had the time. I've done a batch of cider, plus a couple 1-gallon batches since then, but life...
I now have a little one on the way, so I hope I'll be able to get a batch or two in this summer, but not holding my breath.
I also want to upgrade my brew rig with induction burners and related, so that's another reason...
I've never been the sort to brew every week, or even every month. I think the most is 5 or 6 batches in a year.

 

[HarborTownBrewing]

Just reading some of these posts...I don't know how you all do it.

I'll brew a few batches in the late Winter, quite a few in Spring, and a few in the Fall, but take the Summer off because there is so much stuff going on. I'm content with it. I really dislike bottling, so that's a big turn-off for the whole process.

To me the fun is creating the recipes and preeeetttty much everything up until flameout.

 

[LandoLincoln]

I'll be honest, I am burned out right now, I brewed every other weekend for 5 years, I just moved so I haven't brewed in a few months due to moving. Now I am here, I brewed my first batch last Tuesday and found it less than exciting. It took me 3 weeks to get motivated to brew this batch. I am finding it was more the crowd I hung with than the beer that excited me. Brewing is/was a social event for me and a bit of friendly competition among friends who weren't really competing. I have lost my drive, I guess this is why I have been more active on this forum as of late, trying to get my drive back. Not sure it's working.

Join a homebrew club. Find new friends that enjoy brewing and trying to one-up each other.

 

[Clarke]

Join a homebrew club. Find new friends that enjoy brewing and trying to one-up each other.

yes, I have looked into this already, the next meeting is next Saturday and I'll be there

but not to sound like a depressed jackwagon, I just miss my friends(extended family)

 

[messiah]

I tend to burn myself out in the winter/early spring. Basically when my cellar temps are better for brewing. With the snow every week this year and the cold, I didn't brew much. These next few weekends will be busy. I brewed 2 different 5 gallon batches this past weekend.

 

[Spartan1979]

I stopped brewing for about 8 years. I wasn't enjoying the brewing itself all that much. When I got back into it, I streamlined and organized things a bit and I enjoy it a lot more. But I've never brewed as much as the OP. It's a batch about every four weeks or so for me.

 

[TheMattTrain]

I tend to go overboard with hobbies. I'm an all or nothing kind of guy. My wife put me on a brew budget and it makes me hold back on "over brewing." I can really only afford to do 2 batches a month, and that's if I'm not buying any other alcohol. Usually I just do 1 batch per month. I'd admit that brewing isn't my favorite part of the hobby, though. I enjoy drinking and sharing my product, building new equipment, researching, etc. It is nice to have an excuse once a month to start drinking at 9am, though... BREAKFAST BEER! I stopped doing double brew days because they're more work than fun.

 

[divrguy]

I took a break from brewing for all my friends and family. Found myself brewing for family get togethers and parties and not brewing for me. That meant work and it kind of burnt me out. Now I'm back to brewing for my pipeline and the beers I drink and I feel much more relaxed.

 

[dokken5]

I decided this weekend to take a break from brewing. I've brewed between 2 and 5 gallons every weekend since the beginning of January only missing one weekend due to illness. I love brewing and have been making enough beer to supply my wedding when all my friends and family are in town. Brewing has started feeling like a second job, although one that pays in beer. Has anyone else had minor burnout from brewing too much?

I'm planning on brewing a double batch next weekend to complete my set of beers for the wedding. I'm proud of all I've accomplished, I have over 100 bottles and 2 kegs using nothing but Mr. Beer LBK'S and all grain recipes. But it's time to dick around this weekend. Thanks for reading my post.

100 bottles?? That's one batch dude!!

 

[supermutantbrewmaster]

100 bottles?? That's one batch dude!!

My batches only make between 14 and 20 bottles. The downside of small batches.

 

[electrolight]

I decided this weekend to take a break from brewing. I've brewed between 2 and 5 gallons every weekend since the beginning of January only missing one weekend due to illness. I love brewing and have been making enough beer to supply my wedding when all my friends and family are in town. Brewing has started feeling like a second job, although one that pays in beer. Has anyone else had minor burnout from brewing too much?

I'm planning on brewing a double batch next weekend to complete my set of beers for the wedding. I'm proud of all I've accomplished, I have over 100 bottles and 2 kegs using nothing but Mr. Beer LBK'S and all grain recipes. But it's time to dick around this weekend. Thanks for reading my post.

I think the biggest problem is you brewed every weekend and have 4 batches worth to show for it. If you upgraded to a 5 gallon setup ithe would be the same time/eeffort but you'd have that amount of beer in 4 batches. Go all the way to 10 gallons and you'll be done in 2 weekends... just a thought.

 

[supermutantbrewmaster]

I think the biggest problem is you brewed every weekend and have 4 batches worth to show for it. If you upgraded to a 5 gallon setup ithe would be the same time/eeffort but you'd have that amount of beer in 4 batches. Go all the way to 10 gallons and you'll be done in 2 weekends... just a thought.

Almost every batch is a different style so I have a lot of variety. Sadly I can't upgrade to 5 gallon batches due to the size of my apartment. I have a 3/4th size stove which can really only boil about 4 gallons max. I've resolved to brew less frequently so that I have more free time for other activities.