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BrookdaleBrew

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I am obsessed.

And when I say that, I don't mean that I just really enjoy brewing. I mean that it is pretty much all I think about. I am at work right now and I should be doing something productive but all I can think about is planning my 3-tier brew structure. At night when I lay in bed, all I think about is my next recipe. When I taste my beers, I obsess over every flavor I detect as my beer rolls across my tongue, looking for and sometimes finding off flavors that may not even be there (my friends don't taste them.)

This week I will be sending in 3 beers for my first competition. I suppose I will get a good idea if I'm being overly critical or if there truly are off flavors in my beer when my score sheets come back.

I have always been the type to over-analyze everything and I guess this hobby is no different. Sometimes I scare myself with the amount of thinking I do about beer.
 
Apparently my mind is so clouded with the thought of beer that I couldn't even manage to post this thread in the right forum!
 
I thought it was just me. During my downtime at work, which there is a considerable amount of, it is spent on this website. Unfortunately, I have other work that I could be doing right now!

It's a problem.
 
Yea yea welcome and good luck on the competition, it's a good way to get constructive feedback.
 
Yeah, I definitely have nights where I never feel like I'm quite asleep because every time I wake up I have the same thoughts going through my mind: thinking about lautering and runoff swirling around the kettle, and bubbling carboys, and beer flowing from taps, and all the crazy crap you can build for this hobby.

You know what my greatest fear is? That one day my obsession will suddenly vanish, and suddenly brewing won't be interesting anymore. Luckily brewing is one of those hobbies that changes all the time, and you can switch things up to keep your interest high. And of course, getting positive feedback from friends keeps ya going.
 
BrookdaleBrew said:
I am obsessed.

And when I say that, I don't mean that I just really enjoy brewing. I mean that it is pretty much all I think about. I am at work right now and I should be doing something productive but all I can think about is planning my 3-tier brew structure. At night when I lay in bed, all I think about is my next recipe. When I taste my beers, I obsess over every flavor I detect as my beer rolls across my tongue, looking for and sometimes finding off flavors that may not even be there (my friends don't taste them.)

This week I will be sending in 3 beers for my first competition. I suppose I will get a good idea if I'm being overly critical or if there truly are off flavors in my beer when my score sheets come back.

I have always been the type to over-analyze everything and I guess this hobby is no different. Sometimes I scare myself with the amount of thinking I do about beer.
Click to expand...


I think a lot of us go through that phase.

I know I did.

I had been brewing for 12 years at the time.

Then it occurred to me 2 years later that I hadn't been thinking about God for quite some time.

And, it was all because of brewing.

I am happy that I have found a more healthy balance.

Human labours are meant to be an artistic expression exhibiting the imprint of the Work of God.

Homebrewing properly oriented serves Man and Man properly serves the holy Mass.
 
yeah...I tried serving the holy mass once. Everyone bitched about it being too salty. Talk about a picky crowd. Next time I'll go with the low fat version.

:drunk:
 
I to have this addiction...not only does it consume all my time, but all my money as well! I have spent well over 1,000$ at my LHBS and that doesnt include the *%&^ ton of equipment I purchase. Why the Girlfriend sticks around, Im unsure of.
 
i am completely obsessed as well. all i do is read about beer, get on this message board, and brew. when i drive i use to listen to music. now i listen to brewing podcast. i have learned more about the chemistry behind brewing than any non professional ever should. i walk around work thinking about s-methy-methionine and DMT. i still make flash cards so that i can quiz myself on biochemistry at home or when i have a break.. i havent watched more than 60 mins of TV in over a year because i would rater read Farmhouse Ales for the 4th time or get on this message board. we all have it pretty bad but i overall think it is a good thing.
 
Yup...I too must admit that I think about my next brew day all the time, my ideal brewhouse and related equipment. My wife keeps reminding me that I have other projects to do around the house......"yes dear, but first I have to build my pipeline":mug:
 
Wow, sounds like the begining of the 12 step program :)
Same issue here. I went for a Cycle ride with a friend Saturday, he left me decide where to go - went to Yuengling brewery - just because I wanted to see the kettles, know the exact ingredients, and hops. Not that I want to brew the clone, just wanted to know and yes, have a free beer at the end :)
I found that I did get over my head. I had 16 gallons of wine that needed bottled, 12 gallons of beer, and dry hop 5 gallons... the list goes on. Thank goodness I have a TV in the brewery man cave for football......
 
ColonelForbin said:
i am completely obsessed as well. all i do is read about beer, get on this message board, and brew. when i drive i use to listen to music. now i listen to brewing podcast. i have learned more about the chemistry behind brewing than any non professional ever should. i walk around work thinking about s-methy-methionine and DMT. i still make flash cards so that i can quiz myself on biochemistry at home or when i have a break.. i havent watched more than 60 mins of TV in over a year because i would rater read Farmhouse Ales for the 4th time or get on this message board. we all have it pretty bad but i overall think it is a good thing.
Click to expand...

You are a bit more dedicated than me, with the flash cards...etc but I can't shake this hobby :ban:
 
my main problem is when i go to bed, and my mind gets idle, i'm "building my herms". otherwise, i have enough on my mind not related, (even though it does come into my head at times)
 
I have been brewing brew for about a year and a half, and I admit I also have a problem, Ive spent around 800 bones in the last couple month from switching to all grain to kegging, and all i can really think of is expanding and what my next recipe will be. But in the end i look at everything in a good way, I am doing what i love, and its worth every single penny :)
 
JonK331 said:
:off: Please keep the preaching to yourself.
Click to expand...

If you found THAT to be preachy, I think you're the intolerant one here. Funny how eeeeeeverybody has to be "tolerant" until someone says the "G" word. :rolleyes:


BrookdaleBrew said:
I am obsessed.

And when I say that, I don't mean that I just really enjoy brewing. I mean that it is pretty much all I think about. I am at work right now and I should be doing something productive but all I can think about is planning my 3-tier brew structure. At night when I lay in bed, all I think about is my next recipe. When I taste my beers, I obsess over every flavor I detect as my beer rolls across my tongue, looking for and sometimes finding off flavors that may not even be there (my friends don't taste them.)

This week I will be sending in 3 beers for my first competition. I suppose I will get a good idea if I'm being overly critical or if there truly are off flavors in my beer when my score sheets come back.

I have always been the type to over-analyze everything and I guess this hobby is no different. Sometimes I scare myself with the amount of thinking I do about beer.
Click to expand...

I think everyone goes through this phase... it wears off a bit and balances out. At least, it did for me. I think the reason it happens is because we're so mesmerized by the fact that brewing isn't sorcery, and we can actually DO it and make AWESOME beer in our own homes... it IS kind of overwhelming when you think about it. :)
 
MrInternet said:
If you found THAT to be preachy, I think you're the intolerant one here. Funny how eeeeeeverybody has to be "tolerant" until someone says the "G" word. :rolleyes:

I think everyone goes through this phase... it wears off a bit and balances out. At least, it did for me. I think the reason it happens is because we're so mesmerized by the fact that brewing isn't sorcery, and we can actually DO it and make AWESOME beer in our own homes... it IS kind of overwhelming when you think about it. :)
Click to expand...


I agree, the same thing happened to me when I got into knifemaking and bladesmithing, incredibly obsessed. Couldn't stop thinking about equipment, heat treating temperatures, alloy constituents, carbon migration, blade geometry, quenching oils, etc. etc. etc.. It all eventually reaches a natural balance as your brain compartmentalizes all the information overload (may take years however).

The same thing is happening to me to a degree now with homebrewing but not quite so bad (I was already obsessed with craft beer anyway!). By the way, I'm about as agnostic as you can get without being an actual atheist and I didn't find that offensive or overly preachy either.
 
ColonelForbin said:
i am completely obsessed as well. all i do is read about beer, get on this message board, and brew. when i drive i use to listen to music. now i listen to brewing podcast. i have learned more about the chemistry behind brewing than any non professional ever should. i walk around work thinking about s-methy-methionine and DMT. i still make flash cards so that i can quiz myself on biochemistry at home or when i have a break.. i havent watched more than 60 mins of TV in over a year because i would rater read Farmhouse Ales for the 4th time or get on this message board. we all have it pretty bad but i overall think it is a good thing.
Click to expand...

Trey would be upset...
 
MrInternet said:
If you found THAT to be preachy, I think you're the intolerant one here. Funny how eeeeeeverybody has to be "tolerant" until someone says the "G" word. :rolleyes:




I think everyone goes through this phase... it wears off a bit and balances out. At least, it did for me. I think the reason it happens is because we're so mesmerized by the fact that brewing isn't sorcery, and we can actually DO it and make AWESOME beer in our own homes... it IS kind of overwhelming when you think about it. :)
Click to expand...

Not really, it's just that if I want to hear the "G" word I'll go to church. We are here to talk about beer, not "G." Oh, and by the way, I am also obsessed with beer. So much so that I spend more time on here than actually doing the work I'm supposed to be doing.
 
JonK331 said:
:off: Please keep the preaching to yourself.
Click to expand...


No offence taken. I understand rejection comes with the territory of actually expressing an personal opinion. Let me first express that I do not have time for artificialities.

Regarding the original post: I understand the gentleman is not likely truly obsessed. Many of us have spent countless hours considering our brew and our brewing process. And, that is a good thing to give your entire being into created something. Men in particular have a creative drive and men in particular want to create the best things we can; so that, we can share them with other people who also make great things worth living for. Life is worth is living. If it is a human life issue. And, brewing is done by humans than it is not OFF TOPIC.

Some of us brew for our own reasons. I have brewed for many reasons and it has evolved into a work of art as I put every last ounce of my personhood into making the best beer I possibly can. With that I am not satisfied with only the best, I am driven to make it even better not for the sake of the beer but for the sake of sharing my everything with all people regardless of their class, race, language, orientation, or what have you.

If a single brewer is told that he cannot share with other brewers how he or she finds a human expression in brewing and the noble lessons that can be drawn from it then why bother brewing at all; that is, unless one only brews to become intoxicated. It seems to me that is not the primary purpose of homebrewers.

I like beer. And, I like beer because it is natural and I am a Catholic. And, I am a Catholic because I love life. I also like to give away quite a large portion of what is brewed here at our brewery. I will not apologize for my zeal, nor for having fought in two wars, and will not apologize for voting in every election, and I will not apologize in volunteering my time to build houses and chop firewood for the poor folks, and I won't apologize for holding the door for old folks, or even apologize for helping old ladies cross busy streets. Lastly, I will never cease preaching of Jesus Christ having become the Bread of Life; Eucharistic.

When you come back and tell me that you gave food to a dying AIDS patient or that you took the time to stop and hear what a poor dying woman, whose feet are rotting off her body, has to say it is then you can tell me to stop preaching.

Did I mention I think beer is delicious? And, that I like the Mystic Monk Coffee roasted by our Carmelite Monks?
 
McTarnamins said:
Watching bubbles is one thing, sticking the blow off tube up you nose is another. I love the smell of a fermenting American IPA or Dunkelweizen or Wit or ...........
Click to expand...

I'm with you on this one. I smell the airlock nearly every time I walk by the fermenter. It's one of those weird things that I guess most homebrewers do as well...I hope.
 
StAnthonyB said:
I had been brewing for 12 years at the time.

Then it occurred to me 2 years later that I hadn't been thinking about God for quite some time.

And, it was all because of brewing.
Click to expand...

I have to wonder... how many people did you murder because you were living the amoral, godless life of a heathen bereft of any moral compass? Probably quite a few. I know the only reason I don't get road rage on the morning commute is the fact that my girlfriend and I both make a point of crying out to god nightly.

Yeah, it had to be the brewing. There's no way it could have been the realization that untenable ancient myths weren't relevant to your life.

StAnthonyB said:
Homebrewing properly oriented serves Man and Man properly serves the holy Mass.
Click to expand...

I'm with you as long as you serve it out of a tap into a pint glass.
 
I think that most of the fun of brewing for me is constantly tweaking/learning about my system and making each brew better than the previous. I love every aspect of brewing: planning, mashing, boiling, cooling, pitching, anticipating, and finally being rewarded with an awesome brew for my hard work.
 
I had the same problem, especially over the winter. Summer hit, and many of my brewing goals had been achieved, and it was too hot to brew. Cooler weather is here and I'm planning to brew this week. It's been months! Luckily all that winter/spring brewing set me up for the summer.
 
Godwin's law will soon apply to this thread ... having seen all the "g" posts.
This "g" talk should be taken to the debate forum and not be discussed here in my opinion.
I am a fermentation lock sniffer, I think about building brew sculptures when I lay in bed trying to go to sleep. I have my fermenters in my bedroom so I can hear the soothing sounds of the fermentation. When I go to supermarkets buying food I look at foodstuff thinking "Will it ferment?" "Can I use this to dry hop?" "Should I add this to the mash?"

Best regards
your atheistic Icelander
 
StAnthonyB said:
...and I am a Catholic. And, I am a Catholic because I love life. I also like to give away quite a large portion of what is brewed here at our brewery. I will not apologize for my zeal, nor for having fought in two wars, and will not apologize for voting in every election, and I will not apologize in volunteering my time to build houses and chop firewood for the poor folks, and I won't apologize for holding the door for old folks, or even apologize for helping old ladies cross busy streets. Lastly, I will never cease preaching of Jesus Christ having become the Bread of Life; Eucharistic.

When you come back and tell me that you gave food to a dying AIDS patient or that you took the time to stop and hear what a poor dying woman, whose feet are rotting off her body, has to say it is then you can tell me to stop preaching.
Click to expand...

Houston, we have a problem.
 
Andri said:
This "g" talk should be taken to the debate forum and not be discussed here in my opinion.
Click to expand...

Agreed. I was almost tempted to remind the offender of Adolf Hitler's Catholicism*, but that would have been in bad taste. It always amuses me when someone of a religious persuasion assumes a position of a higher moral position (which is false, and inarguable). But I suppose that's what you get when you have a belief system based upon the superstitions of illiterate goat herders.

*http://www.nobeliefs.com/hitler.htm
 
Dear God,
I'm Obsessed too... My airlock that's on the witbier smelled liked bananas last night. It was a beautiful thing.
Amen
:)

When I'm not reading informative posts....I like threads like these. They make me smile.
 

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