Are you satisfied?

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Benny Blanco

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I've never hear of anyone being content with the equipment they have. People are always either improving or waiting to improve. Always wanting a little something extra to make better and more convenient brew.


Do you ever reach a point in your homebrewing hobby where you are actually satisfied with your equipment/setup?
 
I'm totally satisfied and happy with my situation. I'm still going to improve it, but I'm not dissatisfied.
 
Kai said:
I'm totally satisfied and happy with my situation. I'm still going to improve it, but I'm not dissatisfied.

Ya, I suppose it depends on how you look at it. I like what I can do now, but I can name a hundred things I'd like to chance. So, while I'm not dissatisfied, I'm not complaisant.
 
A large part of the hobby is constantly improving what you have. When you finish collecting equipment, you finish the hobby.
 
Kai said:
I'm totally satisfied and happy with my situation. I'm still going to improve it, but I'm not dissatisfied.

+1
I'm happy to have reliable equipment that consistently turns out the all-grain batches I am intending to brew. The lifting is not the best, but I'm happy. It will make the new/better/easier equipment that more satisfying when I get it having gone through this period of using a very basic set-up. Looking forward t it though. ;)
 
I think Ill be happy once I get a 15 gallon pot. The 7.5 gallon pot is getting old really fast.
 
Yeah, Ry..that seems to be my deal. I think I'll be happy once I get that one piece of equipment.


Then, something else comes up...
 
I figure as long as I am brewing I will be upgrading. If I could justify spending a couple of grand on brewing equipment at one time, I might be done. But I don't see that happening. I expect I will upgrade in smaller increments, eventually working to where I have 5-6 taps, a 10-gal brew sculpture and several conical fermenters.
Ofcourse when I get there I will probably want more automation in my brewery and temp controls for my conicals and ..... :D
Craig
 
I'm not complaining about my equipment but it can always get better. I have what I need but what I want is something more (like a 10bbl setup)...
 
I would say that after tinkering, modifying, upgrading for a couple of years now, I'm quite satisfied with my system. There are a few little things I may still tinker with, but if my tinkering budget suddenly fell to $0, I'd be perfectly content.
 
I'm in it for the beer, not the gear. I've picked up stuff here and there when necessary to make a particular brew but I am not looking to upgrade (and I have a pretty bare-bones set up).

I guess I went through too many lean years, I've lost the habit of spending for spending's sake, even though at this point in my life I guess I could.
 
I reached that point about a year ago. I'm consumption bound, so further improvements in equipment buy me nothing.
 
I am telling myself I will be content once I finish building/acquiring the things on my present list...

A brew stand, an 8 tap kegerator, and a couple of really big pots with spigots. I really can't think of anything else I would want.

The hitch, though, is that my goal with all of this madness is to actually stop having to brew so much and dedicate so much time to the hobby. I want to brew 4-6 batches a day, 5 or 6 times a year, and other than that, never spend more than 3 hours a week on the hobby.

In other words, my goal is weird because I am hoping to "move on", while retaining and using all the knowledge I have acquired to continue making excellent beer.

But don't worry, I'll still be posting here... :)
 
My equipment now makes beer and most of the time beer I enjoy drinking. In that respect, it's good and I'm satisfied.

There's a few more things I'd like to add to my gear collection though:

A 12 gallon (or so) kettle for strong, rolling not-as-likely-to-boilover boils.
A large freezer to put at least five kegs on tap (I currently only have 2 and I feel the lack - I like variety)
A house. Hop growing sucks in a second-floor bi-level townhouse.
A house. I don't have room for aforementioned large freezer.
A house. I'm kind of running out of room to store kegs.
 
Sir Humpsalot said:
I am telling myself I will be content once I finish building/acquiring the things on my present list...

A brew stand, an 8 tap kegerator, and a couple of really big pots with spigots. I really can't think of anything else I would want.

The hitch, though, is that my goal with all of this madness is to actually stop having to brew so much and dedicate so much time to the hobby. I want to brew 4-6 batches a day, 5 or 6 times a year, and other than that, never spend more than 3 hours a week on the hobby.

In other words, my goal is weird because I am hoping to "move on", while retaining and using all the knowledge I have acquired to continue making excellent beer.

But don't worry, I'll still be posting here... :)
This is kind of my goal also. I'm making plenty of beer right now. But I would like to spend less time, or atleast less work doing it, especially the bottling. :D

Craig
 
I'm content with where I'm right now, for the most part. I could not change anything and be able to make good AG beer for years to come.

That said, I am scheming to move up to 10 gallon AG batches so I don't need to brew as often to keep the HB pipeline full.

I love the tinkering aspect of this hobby, so in some sense I don't think I'd be happy if I ever reached the point where there were no more improvements to be made.
 
Benny Blanco said:
I've never hear of anyone being content with the equipment they have. People are always either improving or waiting to improve. Always wanting a little something extra to make better and more convenient brew.


Do you ever reach a point in your homebrewing hobby where you are actually satisfied with your equipment/setup?

Im happy with my equipment, 36qt Alu. Kettle 10 Gal Rec. MLT. The only thing I would like to have is a Wort Chiller.
 
I think a lot of people feel obligated to have better gear than what they currently have. What I have work and thats cool for me. I have added some gadgets recently like a DIY stirplate, but thats only to help cut yeast costs.
 
no. i need a new place to live with a garage for brewing. and i want a dog, damnit (not that it has anything to do with brewing, but moving!)

i need to get my 2 tap kegerator converted and i need an ice chest for lagering and kegs.

then i'll be a little more satisfied :D
 
I am, finally, satisfied with my setup.

What I am not satisfied about is the lack of supplies I have to brew with, and the current expense of said supplies (Hops, Malts, Yeast).

My last go round in upgrades I had te forsight to upgrade to the "what if I want to" level. So, I have the room to expand with the equipment I have. Now it's down to having ready stocks of materials to brew with rather than planning a trip to LHBS for this and that. Sadest part is I have a lot of supplies, just never what I need for the beer I choose to make at the time.

Time, now thats another area of dissatisfaction. I don't have it either. My brewdays are more and more becoming brew nights and that is hard on an old man (35 aged to 90 by an 18 month old and 10 years of marriage). Mash in by 10 or 12, in bed by dawn.:drunk:
 
Depends on how you want to define "satisfied."

I'm pretty happy with my setup. Ideally, I'd have a pump, but really I just need a cheap submersible pump (like one of the ones used in water features) so I can push ice water through the immersion chiller. But, I'm in no rush to buy one, I'm just keeping my eyes open.

I'd like to have a pH meter, but again... I feel no sense of urgency.

Ultimately, I'd love to have a sculpture, but I'm not really jonesing for one right now, it's just something that I think would be a fun project as much as anything else.

So, I guess.... I'm satisfied.... but I could be *more* satisfied, you know? ;)
 
Ryanh1801 said:
I think Ill be happy once I get a 15 gallon pot. The 7.5 gallon pot is getting old really fast.

Amen to that. A bigger kettle for me. Maybe kegging at some point, but counting empties helps me from over indulging.
 
Well, it seems pretty much split down the middle.

What I meant by satisfied is that you are fine with your equipment and feel no need to purchase anymore.

I just have to relax when it comes to buying homebrewing gear. Who knows. Maybe I'm just bad with money? :eek:

It does seem like a lot of you have the "I'll be happy once i get" attitude, though.
 
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