Buying Beer As A Homebrewer

[bwible]

I got to do one of those. It sounds really, really good. Honestly, for someone who has been brewing for a long time, I don't technically know what a barley wine is...or an English bitter.

Two opposite ends of the gravity range.

Bitter is 1.040ish amber beer of British origin owing to wartime material shortages. Hopped with British hops, usually Kent Golding or Fuggle or similar. Maris Otter malt and some crystal malt at its simplest, can include things like biscuit malt. British ale yeast. We can usually find Boddingtons here in a nitro can. Otherwise not too well known here in the US.

Barleywine is a strong beer all about excess. American versions are usually in excess of 1.100 starting gravity and hopped with a whole bunch of high alpha American hops, American ale yeast. 12%ish. British versions are usually not as strong, 9-10%ish, British hops, British yeast. American examples are things like Sierra Nevada Bigfoot or we can usually find Wyerbacher Blithering Idiot here. Britsh Versions are things like Youngs Old Nick (not sure if they still make that) or Fuller’s Golden Pride.

 

[Broothru]

And the over 65, sometimes over 70 crowd. It’s physical activity, lifting, etc. We can only do it for so long. I know a couple long time brewers who had to retire. Just age and inability. The one guy only gets to brew a couple times a year now when his son comes home to help.

Sadly, I can identify. One by one my leisure pastimes have been fading: skiing, golf, racket sports, strenuous trail hikes; you get the idea. Repetitive stress takes its toll, but as Jimmy Buffet says, "I ain't done yet!" Long walks and occasional bedroom encounters are still on the menu, so there's that. And I'm still able to brew, though more care and forethought is given to the "heavy lifting" aspects of the hobby.

As one pundit put it, "If I'd known I was gonna' live this long, I'd have taken better care of myself in my youth."

 

[Gorm]

I brew the badass burton ale which can also be called a barley wine.
20 lb marris otter
1 lb L10
4 oz goldings and fuggles, home grown, @ 60
4 oz goldings and fuggles @ 10
Usually pour finished wort over a Nottingham yeast cake that made a Irish stout splitting into 2 fermenters to prevent beer loss due to very active fermention.
Bottle in a month, start drinking at 6 months. Dam good!!!
Not hard at all.

 

[bwible]

Sadly, I can identify. One by one my leisure pastimes have been fading: skiing, golf, racket sports, strenuous trail hikes; you get the idea. Repetitive stress takes its toll, but as Jimmy Buffet says, "I ain't done yet!" Long walks and occasional bedroom encounters are still on the menu, so there's that. And I'm still able to brew, though more care and forethought is given to the "heavy lifting" aspects of the hobby.

As one pundit put it, "If I'd known I was gonna' live this long, I'd have taken better care of myself in my youth."

I took to brewing 3 gallon batches years ago and that helps too. All the containers are smaller and lighter and its all around easier. Same effort for less beer, but at least I can manage it.

 

[Gorm]

I think I’ll be able to Handel 5 gal fermenters by mid June if all goes well. If not , #1 son has been threatening to set up a pump and line system to the cellar where the ferment takes place so we will see.

 

[JAReeves]

Great thread! I buy representative samples of the style to know what it is that people are jazzed about before I embark on making a beer I have not tried making yet. SoCal also has so many great breweries that when I am traveling by car, I bring a cooler to fill with crowlers and such as well from various breweries. Day trips to Stone or Pizza Port happen a couple times a year, for example. I try to brew 5G 2x a month, plus cider or wine or mead. I could live off what I make, but going somewhere new and tasting what they love to make is always an adventure.

 

[Broothru]

I took to brewing 3 gallon batches years ago and that helps too. All the containers are smaller and lighter and its all around easier. Same effort for less beer, but at least I can manage it.

I've built rolling platforms for my all-in-one Braumeister, my conical, unitank, and 7 gallon kegmenter, and have CIP incorporated into everything but the kegmenter (no low point drain), so most of the heavy lifting has been mitigated if not totally eliminated. Still, there's lots of bending, lifting, twisting, reaching involved in a typical brew day.

Fortunately at the end of a day-long brew session (assuming I haven't wrenched my back too badly [again]), there's a whirlpooling hot tub and a cold home brew to ease my weary body.

 

[Blazinlow86]

I've noticed on several threads people mentioning buying beer. This surprised me because one huge reason I got back into homebrewing was so that I would not ever have to buy beer again. Since I can make it cheaper and at least as good (and many times better) as store bought, I see no need to purchase beer. In fact, when people bring me 6 packs of this or that, I find myself annoyed that I have to drink a few inferior beers because it is against the law to throw drinkable beer away (as we all know).

Some people prefer variety, drinking the same few beers gets boring after awhile. Give it some time and you will see the same

 

[Ren06]

I went to the city the other day and picked up several four packs, and left a C-note behind.
St Bernardus Abt 12
Trois Pistoles
Celebrator
Gluden Drak - White bottle
Gluden Drak - Black bottle

I have a Belgian Quad on tap, as well as numerous bottles from over the years of my Quads, but just wanted something a bit different and as for the Celebrator, I have yet to brew a Dopplebock, but need to soon.

All of those you picked up are EXCELLENT Belgians and right up my alley