I'm Through Brewing Sober

[drayman86]

Never fails....every time I brew sober, my efficiency sucks and the beer winds up being sub-par.

Example: two weeks ago I did a double-batch. The first was an IPA, the second an oatmeal stout. I didn't start quaffing beer until about mid-way through the mash on the IPA. By the time I got to the end of the oatmeal stout, I was so tanked I forgot to take an OG and woke up in the middle of the night trying to remember if I even pitched the starter to the second batch. Both beers turned out marvelously.

Yesterday I tried a simple Hefeweizen. Missed my OG by at least 6 points, all while sober.

No more sober brewing for me.

 

[Desert_Sky]

No more sober brewing for me.

welcome to the club

 

[Evan!]

Brewing sober? Hmmm...that never even occurred to me. Interesting concept. Not for me, but interesting...

 

[DeathBrewer]

what is this "sober"?

 

[david_42]

I tend to rush things if I don't run the tap gauntlet while brewing.

 

[drayman86]

what is this "sober"?

verb
–adjective
1. not intoxicated or drunk.
2. habitually temperate, esp. in the use of liquor.

Strange state of being, indeed.

 

[Schlenkerla]

what is this "sober"?

Its what you say to the cops when you get pulled over.

"But Ossifer I'm serfectly pober!"

 

[EdWort]

Its what you say to the cops when you get pulled over.

"But Ossifer I'm serfectly pober!"

But you are not supposed to say ANYTHING to cops.

 

[PseudoChef]

Man, I'm the exact opposite. I can't brew while drunk.

 

[Evan!]

Man, I'm the exact opposite. I can't brew while drunk.

Such a relative term! I can't brew if I'm 8 brews deep, but I usually polish off 4-6 bottles worth over the course of a brewday.

 

[Schlenkerla]

Such a relative term! I can't brew if I'm 8 brews deep, but I usually polish off 4-6 bottles worth over the course of a brewday.

Ditto - I usually try to hold off starting until the mash is done and the wort is on its way to a boil. Less likely of screwing up. Once the boil is going you've got plenty of free time between hop additions and what not to drink, make head calls maybe snack on some beerfood.

 

[PseudoChef]

True. I've just noticed the times when I haven't touched a drop during brewday, those are my easiest and smoothest brews.

 

[Hoosierbrewer]

1 during the mash and 1 during the boil. Then however many I want afterwards.

 

[Sea]

You have to drink during brewdays, it's state law! Swear to god man, look it up!

 

[Nate]

Brewing sober? Hmmm...that never even occurred to me. Interesting concept. Not for me, but interesting...

+1 Have to agree completely...

 

[DeathBrewer]

i find heroin makes for a nice, smooth brew day.

...until the next day when you wake up in vomit and wort, your arms running blood into the shards of glass that remain from the carboy.

i usually have some nice light beer until the boil starts going...my small beers have come in handy for that.

if i'm on top of my game, cleaning/sanitizing/preparing, i really don't have time to drink much until i'm cooling the wort.

 

[tdavisii]

i find heroin makes for a nice, smooth brew day.

...until the next day when you wake up in vomit and wort, your arms running blood into the shards of glass that remain from the carboy.

i usually have some nice light beer until the boil starts going...my small beers have come in handy for that.

if i'm on top of my game, cleaning/sanitizing/preparing, i really don't have time to drink much until i'm cooling the wort.

I second that. However i think crack mixed with LSD is the allstar combo. I finish a AG in 4 hours and i come up with the best ideas for my next batch. The smurfs help improve my brewing ability:fro: Actually as much as i drink i dont think ive ever brewed drunk. Im paranoid im going to scald myself.

 

[eddie]

verb
–adjective
1. not intoxicated or drunk.
2. habitually temperate, esp. in the use of liquor.

Strange state of being, indeed.

Sounds awful. It gives me the shivers just thinking of it.

 

[Focus]

+1 Have to agree completely...

+1 as well... actually, +2 b/c SWMBO drinks a fair amount while helping me out.

 

[dirtymike1]

I second that. However i think crack mixed with LSD is the allstar combo. I finish a AG in 4 hours and i come up with the best ideas for my next batch. The smurfs help improve my brewing ability:fro: Actually as much as i drink i dont think ive ever brewed drunk. Im paranoid im going to scald myself.

MAN I totally agree!!!! The smurfs were kicking ass with all their help, that was.....until the rice crispy's got a hold of them....it was a sad day, and day which will live in infamy....

OK I'm putting the pipe down for a while....:fro:

 

[menschmaschine]

I'm going to go against convention here and say that I've never drank while brewing. The thought of wanting to do so never really crossed my mind. I brew 10-12 gallon batches and my brew days are 6 to 8 hours (single infusion vs. decoction) and only once every 4-6 weeks. I like to be on my game and put a lot of concentration and focus into brewing. I drink in moderacy anyway. A good, full brewday gives me a great sense of accomplishment... especially later that night when I see the fermenter airlock start to bubble. I guess I consider brewing and enjoying beer two separate things and each has its place. But, hey, that's just me. Each of us enjoys brewing and beer in our own ways!

 

[NWernBrewer]

I've brewed both tanked and sober and most places in between and I have to say a nice couple beer buzz keeps me from getting too not-RDWHAHB.

 

[Desert_Sky]

ill drink a few while brewing but Ive learned to not smoke anything until Ive started cleaning up.

 

[dblvsn]

We don't need no stinking soberness on brew day. Drinking beer while brewing beer only seems like the right thing to do. It pleases the beer gods.

 

[BrewWench]

I don't know about you fellas, but 2 beers during the brew session doesn't get me tanked enough to start making bad choices or scald myself.

 

[McKBrew]

Anyone else like to play "Drain a Keg" while brewing? Start with a full as soon as you start breaking out equipment with the goal of having it dry by the time you pitch, it's a blast!!!

 

[Alamo_Beer]

I brew in the mornings so it's hard to really get a good buzz on. I'll MAYBE have A beer through the whole process but more times than not I just drink coffee.

If I was to brew in the afternoon/evening though it would be a different matter

 

[Pedro-]

If I was to brew in the afternoon/evening though it would be a different matter

it's 5 o'clock somewhere

 

[CBBaron]

I usually brew early morning and I prefer coffee to beer with my breakfast cereal.
I do usually manage to pop one open the end of the brew session but that is a far cry from drunk.

Actually I very seldom get impaired enough from drinking where I would have trouble brewing. I much prefer to enjoy my beer rather than just get drunk on it. The worst is probably during bottling, especially when bottling big beers. I usually have a beer or 2 with dinner just before bottling, then I have to sample the beer before bottling, plus I can't let that last partial bottle go to waste. It all adds up to

No problems yet though.

Craig

 

[c.n.budz]

I didn't know that brewing sober was an option... Even at the brewpub that I've been brewing at lately we start pouring pints as soon as we're mashed in, and that's usually 8:30-9:00am...