Brewing, how often is too often?

[Pyg]

I know this question is relative , but I am just neurotic enough that I think I am over planning.
I took an inventory this morning and with summertime coming & the pool opening I'm going to be drinking a lot of beer.
However I tend to be the only person that drinks my beer.
I have an ipa to bottle next weekend and I'm considering cooking another batch the next day. So I will be carrying a three-week ferment schedule followed by bottling and immediately making another batch to carry me through the summer.
The two issues I have with this:
1-it just seems like an endless cycle of constantly bottling than cooking fermention.....

2-it seems the more beer I brew the more I have to drink to keep the bottles empty to make sure I'm on schedule

However somehow no matter how busy I feel on this 3 week schedule , I keep telling SWMBO that I am an absolute Noob!

So how much is too much?
Any hardcore Brewers out there to tell me I should be brewing weekly?

 

[Pour_Man]

Running out of bottles sounds like a perfect reason to start kegging!

 

[govner1]

I avg. a 6 gal AG batch every two weeks. I keg, so I don't have the time issues w/ bottling.
It's all about keeping the pipeline full.

 

[Murph2002]

I try to brew weekly, as my schedule and pocketbook allow. Occasionally it's every two weeks, but those are long two weeks.

I keg, and have three corny's available, so with my brewing schedule (and drinking schedule) I keep them pretty full.

I figure the worst case scenario is, I get to age a beer for a little while before I keg it. If I know I'm brewing something that needs to be drunk fresh, I'll plan for it.

I've got too many ideas and recipes I want to try to slow down!

 

[brewshki]

i don't think it is possible to brew too often. If I could get moved into my new place and finish my finals, I would be brewing as often as I had an open fermenter.

As long as your aren't putting yourself into a stupid financial situation or doing something bad, keep on brewing. get some kegs! we all need a reason to buy more equipment haha.

Next time you think you are brewing too much, just remember you are making up for the rest of us who wish we could! Keep on keepin' on.

 

[masskrug]

I brew every 2-3 weeks because of my fermentation freezer limitations (2 buckets). I can turn around a simple blonde in a couple of weeks, but the darker, more complex girls take a bit more time.

 

[SnakeRidge]

Brew as much as you want to. Don't sacrifice family time for a hobby.

Having said that, realize you're still in "Bottle Aquisition Stage 1." If you run out of home brew, buy yourself a few sixers of something that comes in reusable bottles. Add these to your collection.

One day, you'll be looking at all these extra bottles thinking, "What am I ever going to do with all of these?" You won't let your wife throw any of them out and you'll bitterly resent every one that doesn't come back to you.

My point is, never let bottles be a limiting reagent. You are a homebrewer and you have to research.

 

[flars]

You're brewing to often when you forget to eat and can't remember when you last went to work.

 

[Cyclman]

Go small batch, you can brew more often with less beer and less work. And, you can get crazier with experiments. I love 2.5G, a case of a batch is perfect.

 

[popgunandy]

Two cases of 22 ounce bottles is less than $25 - get more bottles.

If the bottling is overwhelming, brew less and put the $$ you save to a keg system. I got my keg system a piece at a time over a couple months grabbing each piece as a deal came along. It was surprisingly easy to afford once I broke it down like that.

The other thing I do is brew stuff that takes a LONG time to sit in a bucket...like sours. You get your brew on, but no pressure to bottle for months.

 

[sudbuddy]

What a silly question. Brew whenever you can! If you run out of fermenters, buy more fermenters!

 

[Pyg]

What a silly question. Brew whenever you can! If you run out of fermenters, buy more fermenters!

I am actually only using 1 fermenting bucket.
I have 2 empty carboys (5 & 6.5) just sitting there.
I have never fermented in a carboy and I think it is almost time to break that cherry!

 

[Qhrumphf]

I brew approximately 2-3 batches a month, usually 5.5 but sometimes 10 gallons. It usually ends up being ~150 gallons a year.

I'm also normally the only one drinking my beer. I share a bit with clubmates, but my wife doesn't drink beer (or at least almost never, occasionally half a can/bottle of light lager when we're out), so for the most part it's me. My solution is brewing a combination of session beers and moderate gravity beers, and then very high gravity beers and sours. While the high gravity or sour beers age, I have plenty of ready-quick session beers. I can knock back a gallon a night of my house 2.7% Mild while my 12% English Barleywine ages.

You'll need more fermenters though. I currently have 11 fermenters full, 10 of which are sours. At my peak, I'll have 18 sours and 5 clean beers fermenting at once.

 

[bigdaddybrew]

You're fine right up until you walk in the door and your family has organized an intervention. I would match my brewing to my drinking not my drinking to my brewing...at least that's what my sponsor recommends.

 

[actech]

Since I'm new I'm trying weekly right now to get a stock to see how consumption goes.
Kegged: cerveza
Kegged and aging : Chocolate milk stout
secondary:cream ale
Primary:English brown ale
Brew Tomorrow: American Pale ale
Gone: Robust porter ,American Pale ale
Seems like alot for starting hobby this mid March

 

[1977Brewer]

I brew when j get the chance and drink constantly. I don't brew enough.

 

[VegasBrew1]

You're fine right up until you walk in the door and your family has organized an intervention. I would match my brewing to my drinking not my drinking to my brewing...at least that's what my sponsor recommends.

I gotta say, that is a pretty cool sponsor. :rockin:

 

[cannman]

Because of this cycle of yours, I went to 10 gal batches. Today, I plan on brewing 20 gallons. One batch in the morning, one in the evening!

Once those clear out, its 20 gallons of lager! But then again, I'm brewing this often in an effort to get better...

I also moved to 22oz bottles. Your local home brew store should have them in stock. This cuts down the number of bottles on hand needed and make bottling quicker.

Of course there is kegging but that's another investment. Buying bigger bottles is easier

Brew more beer in bigger batches!

 

[actionjackson905]

I brew about every 3 weeks. With summer coming I might go every two for a few sessions. That said I also keg, and can have 3 on tap at once, but try to bottle some from each keg to go back and compare it to a same beer later on. I'll also bottle from the keg when I need to free up a keg for a new batch. 5 gal batches always as I can only accommodate 5 gal cornies.

Brew as much as you need!

 

[soccerdad]

Once a day is too much. Or maybe not.

 

[beergolf]

I brew almost every week. If I miss one I still get in 3 per month. I have brewing a lot of sours and brett beers so those take a long time to finish out. I currently have 7 fermenters full, in various stages of aging.