Brewing and drinking? Yes Please!

[jro238]

Hey all,

I have seen and heard plenty of people speak out against drinking and brewing. They all say that you end up with crappy beer and a poor process. I'm here to say that you can indeed brew great beer while enjoying your efforts at the same time!


I brew all grain with my (admittedly) un-hightech process. I have a homemade cooler mash tun, I do a split boil between 2 pots on my electric stove, I cool in the bathtub, and I ferment in an icebath in that same bathtub. I do have a keezer in which I store my kegged beer. I also always pitch a heathly yeast starter, treat my water properly, aerate the wort, and temp control in my bathtub.

I want to start out by saying that I am a relatively detail oriented person (at least in brewing). I have a history in science and lab work so I appreciate creating protocols, sanitary process, and brewing methodically. I write everything down.

I like to brew at night. I am currently in med school and brew in the unlikely occasion that I have a night off. This means that I start my brew at about 9pm and finish sometime around 5am, usually while enjoying quite a bit of my previous batches. How do I do this? I do all of my thinking and math ahead of time! (or at least before I hit beer #4). This is, in my opinion, the key to brewing while imbibing. As long as you write everything down, your water additions, your hop additions, your boil time, EVERYTHING, there is no way you will screw up as long as you remain conscious .

I don't count on remembering my O.G., I don't count on remembering my exact mash temp, I don't count on remembering any specific details of my brew so I write them all down! This lets me keep track of my process and adjust anything that I need to on my next brew.

I wish I had more to say but I don't. Just figure out everything early in the evening and write it down. If you've brewed a few successful batches on your system, you shouldn't have any troubles.

to brewing while *sampling* commercial examples of your final product!

 

[Beerbeque]

I always drink while I brew. They are part of many perfect days. I have brewed many dozens of batches and they all turn out fine. Some I wait till I have the boil under control before I pour my first one but sometimes not. I usually will drink 5-6 throughout the process. I usually BBQ dinner while I'm brewing and drinking as well.

 

[thaymond]

I enjoy my previous brew per the suggestion of the great Charlie Papazian. Just enough to be happy, not enough to get sloppy. The idea of boiling wort on me deters me from "just one more" before pitching yeast. After the yeast is in and it is airlocked, I can enjoy additional libations. I try and stick it to one per step. One at crush, mash, and boil (I do 90 minute mash and boils).

 

[Hello]

I drink while I brew but I don't get drunk. OP, if your brew day is 8 hours then I bet drinking has a little something to do with the lag. I drank too much once while brewing and what should have taken me 4-5 hours did take me 8. Talking and drinking resulted on just lagging in my process.

I don't know if I ever read that drinking resulted in crappy beer. I read that drinking can result in accidents that aren't worth it. I typically drink while I wait for the mash, 1 or 2 beers there. 1 or 2 while boiling depending upon size and ABV. and one while chilling. ABV plays a role. I try to keep things balanced.

 

[skw]

I always brew too early in the day to be drinking. So there's only coffee in my cup.

 

[masskrug]

Everything is calculated, weighed out and portioned into containers before I begin (drinking). All I have to do is watch my timing, and temperatures.

 

[Calichusetts]

I'm usually pretty toasty by the end of a brew session (if its at night) but I agree with several posters, slow and steady and I don't really "celebrate" until the I've pitched my yeast or at least until the whirlpool. Clean up = have fun and know that I've done everything I've needed to to make great beer.

For me, its not usually the drinking but having buddies over that leads to mistakes. Just hanging out and talking distracts me in a way that usually leads to small mistakes but ones I don't like making: forgetting irish moss, forgetting to zest oranges, etc. And of course, I'm probably enjoying a few more if I'm with friends than alone.

 

[kombat]

I start my brew at about 9pm and finish sometime around 5am

Good Lord! Why does it take you 8 hours to brew a batch of beer? It takes me 4 hours from starting to heat the strike water to putting away the last piece of clean and sparkling equipment.

Like many others, I do most of my brewing on weekend mornings, so there's not a lot of consumption going on at 8:00 am as I'm standing over my boil. But occasionally, my schedule dictates that I must brew on a weeknight. I actually just did a batch of Centennial Blonde last night. I lit my burner to start heating strike water at 4:30, and I had everything all put away and notes updated by 8:30. But even then, I didn't partake in any beer while brewing. Frankly, I find I don't really have much free time while brewing. I'm constantly cleaning something, getting a chiller ready, hooking up pumps, sanitizing something, rehydrating some yeast, going up and down stairs bringing up equipment, sanitizing a carboy, and so on. Once I was done, however, I did have a couple homebrews to toast a job well done.

 

[Teromous]

As long as you write everything down, your water additions, your hop additions, your boil time, EVERYTHING, there is no way you will screw up as long as you remain conscious .

Famous last words.

 

[Rotgut]

I use Beersmith to design my recipe ahead of time, then I print it out. Everything is there... ingredients, amounts, times, water amount, mash temp, sparge temp, etc.

 

[Hello]

I was actually thinking about this and the only time I did not drink while I brewed I completely screwed up the batch. It was not a cheap recipe either in terms of the grain bill. I told someone at a brewery about the failed batch and actually said I wasn't drinking at all. We decided that was the problem.

 

[jro238]

Good Lord! Why does it take you 8 hours to brew a batch of beer? It takes me 4 hours from starting to heat the strike water to putting away the last piece of clean and sparkling equipment.

I meant more of a range than an exact time with that 8 hour range (unclear by my post, I know). Probably takes me a little closer to 6 hours and a lot of that is probably due to the fact that I'm using my stove so it takes a little while to get 7 gal up to a boil.

 

[deflagratio]

I haul all my stuff from the laundry room outside before I start messing with water. I pour my 1st beer while waiting for strike water. I'll have 1-2 during mash and then another 1-2 while boiling. I also normally start around 10 am so I have lunch during the boil as well. Tasty sammich with tasty beer while making beer is a wonderful experience.

 

[BWE]

I'm all about prepping. If you prep good, then you'll have an easy session. If I brew early, I lay everything out the night before. Matter of fact, I always lay everything out the night before. I myself have had 6 hour brew days... and they are fine. But Drinking, are you kidding? I have to be drinking. Not very lightly either. There have been times that I've had trouble carrying the fermenter to its special spot. And you know what... when your drinking you don't worry as much if you leave everything out. Say, the hell with it, I'll get it tomorrow. That being said, I work offshore on a 4 weeks on and 4 weeks off schedule. So I'm really never in a hurry to do much. DRUNKBREWRELAXIN.

 

[jrgtr42]

I personally don't drink while the brew is in process. To me, dealing with gallons of hot water, open flames, and then 5 gallons of boiling wort demands the I pay as much sober attention as I can give it. Once the beer-to-be is in the fermenter, I pop the celebratory one while cleaning up.
I have drank while brewing, and at times things are fine, but I've messed up enough batches that I don't want to risk the cost in time, money and patience of SWMBO to do so again if I can help it.

 

[mgortel]

Not drinking beer while brewing is like playing baseball without a baseball!

I always have my step by step process laid out (which I work up sober).....so my brew day is usually drunk-proof!

 

[CorwinGraves]

Mashing in at 6 a.m. means coffee and some calm music. That said, I just brewed a Founder's Breakfast Stout clone, so maybe it's time for some experimentation.

 

[myelo]

I've developed a scientifically-based algorithm I utilize for these type situations. Based on extensive field testing I've found it is 100% accurate at providing the best possible outcome. It's a little complicated but I will attempt to diagram it below:


Should I drink a beer? --------> Yes

 

[thaymond]

Please submit a flow chart to explain further. What if the answer is no (for work or something)?