Occupying oneself while beer is fermenting

[Norwaybrewer]

I just brewed a second batch to prevent me from tampering with the other batch, but it just multiplied my impatience exponentially.

What beer-related stuff can I do to keep myself satisfied during this period?

Any preparations, like making hop tea etc, i can do in the meantime?

What is your distraction?

I know many of you will object this, but it is just too early to HAHB or whatever you call it

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[Fordmi]

Brew another!

I remember how you feel. If you stick with it you will get to the point that you let your beers ferment without thinking about them. And maybe even (god forbid!) a little longer than expected because your "pipeline" is full enough to keep you occupied. But we all start somewhere and waiting it out is tough as hell!

As far as beer related activities? Read up and drink good craft beers.

 

[cluckk]

I do a lot of research. I read brewing books, and check out recipes. I use BrewSmith to plan future brews. I watch brewing videos on Youtube. I also work on improvements to my equipment and try to figure out new ways of doing things--new techniques to try, etc.

 

[taoisilent]

If you're really looking for a distraction, than you may need to look to non-beer related activities. In my experience, making hop-tea, haunting forums, studying recipes, techniques.. nonstop and ad nauseam will only make you think about your bubbling fermenter all the more.

It's good to have other interests that can make you actually forget, for awhile, the magic that is taking place merrily in our carboys, buckets, bottles and kegs.

I hike a lot out in Duke Forrest, read, catch up on some old Doctor Who, work in the yard / garden, tinker with Legos and various other activities that keep me busy when I'm not working or actually brewing.

I went through a phase that I think we all go through when I was consumed by this wondrous art of beer making. Trust me, it's not conducive to patience. And patience is part of the art. Part of the Magic.

Cheers, and if you don't yet have any Homebrew to drink, go out and buy a sixer of your favorite craft beer, and relax, don't worry, and drink one while you do something else you also enjoy

 

[Fordmi]

You can never go wrong with old Dr. Who.

 

[unionrdr]

I like to come on here & help others with brewing problems. It's a part of the learning process to me. I watch youtube videos on beer or cooking,triple D,man vs food,etc. I putter around with beersmith 2.1 as well. I'm puting together a PM version of a red ale recipe in the recipe forum on here too. Maybe putter around in the man cave/brewery,cleaning bottles,weeding out other stuff,etc. I'm fortunate to have the computer hutch right next to an old,large printer stand I re-purposed into a fermenter stand/storage unit. So I can see & hear the bubbling while I talk to y'all.

 

[aiptasia]

BYO Magazine.

Sex.

Tv.

Pretty much in that order.

 

[masskrug]

I tend to think about what I can do to improve my process. Can I make a better immersion chiller? Can I redesign my mash tun manifold? How about a hop spider? Repackage my grains, hops and priming sugar for the next brew day. Explore and create new recipes. Read books, magazines and watch YouTube videos about brewing.

 

[RM-MN]

I just brewed a second batch to prevent me from tampering with the other batch, but it just multiplied my impatience exponentially.

What beer-related stuff can I do to keep myself satisfied during this period?

Any preparations, like making hop tea etc, i can do in the meantime?

What is your distraction?

I know many of you will object this, but it is just too early to HAHB or whatever you call it

Sent from my HUAWEI P6-U06 using Home Brew mobile app

Money and time are the only things keeping your from making more batches. I have 6 fermenters and only 4 in use now but I have 2 more in the plans. Now I just need the time.

 

[Melana]

Get into bread making?

 

[Hopinista]

I make ciders and apfelwein to keep me occupied in between brewing lol.

 

[jiMithing83]

I learned last night that patience is key. I bottled my first batch just over a month ago, and drank almost all of it within 2 weeks of bottling. It had a very medical taste, I thought for sure I had gotten a chlorine contamination from using tap water to mix cleaner and sanitizer. I knew I had chlorophenols, but I forced myself to drink the nasty stuff anyway, to teach myself a lesson.

Last night I opened one of 5 that I had decided to let sit to see if it would age out... tasted clean. Damn my impatience!

edit: I realize this doesn't answer your "what's your distraction" question, but hopefully it's enough to get you to find one rather than cracking prematurely.

 

[unionrdr]

Yup,you're right. Patience is the first thing I believe a new brewer must learn. That,& what's going on in carboys or better bottles is nerve wracking when you don't know what you're looking at. We get a lot of that on here. Cover it up to keep the light out in a cool spot & forget about it for a couple weeks. Just leave it be & try doing what we've been suggesting instead of thinking you MUST be involved in every step of the process. The yeasties know what they're doing,& don't need much help from us.

 

[Hello]

I go about my normal day/life and from time to time, I just brew more. I'm odd, I don't really think there is anything different I need to do while letting a beer ferment expect be patient and let the thing finish.

 

[fartinmartin]

The waiting is HELL.

The worst thing for me is that when the next activity becomes ready I KNOW I will be busy with other things, those yeasties just wont read my diary.

I feel great when my pipeline is filled with all that freshly bottled beer, and so awfull and anxious when its running low, I have to develope a bigger buffer store , but am not managing it, the trouble is the more I brew the more I drink.

 

[unionrdr]

Yeah,the smoker I drink,the player I get. Need to get the pipeline going again. Next weekend,hopefully...

 

[Fenduh]

I have this really weird ritual of putting on a sh*tty movie.
Amityville Horror 3 last brew. I believe Con Air the time before.

 

[Paradigm]

You take that back about Con Air being a ****ty movie.

 

[GrogNerd]

take it to the Nic Cage thread. and the crap level of his movies depend on the directors. Con Air = Simon West. also did TV, The Cape. other than casting Summer Glau, I think it proves my point

if I'm not brewing I'm thinking about brewing. or reading about brewing. or posting about brewing. watching brewing videos. or thinking about reading or posting or watching videos about brewing.

but I'm not obsessed about brewing

 

[flars]

Spend your time on the internet looking up the information to answer someones question.

 

[Texconsinite]

While my beer is fermenting I:
-Make 1 gallon batches of Mead
-Scour Resale Shops for carboys, Growlers, Gallon Jugs, and Grolsch-style bottles
-Count, Wash and scrub empty bottles to make bottling day easy
-Plan my next batch and collect ingredients for it
-Drink finished homebrew, often while doing other things on this list
-Play Disc Golf

 

[Dopeybrew]

Sniff the airlocks, buy more beer stuff, get yelled at for buying beer stuff, make up sex, repeat

 

[Jayhem]

I wish my free time was so open that I had to figure out things to do while I wait! Renovating our house pretty much occupies every moment I'm not at work or sleeping or brewing.

 

[brewerelated]

I grow my own hops, so I spend some of my time gardening and researching hop varieties and the science of growing hops. I also spend a lot of time doing recipe design and research. I read a lot of style guidelines. I read about brewing techniques and equipment as well.

 

[max384]

Ride my motorcycle, ride my dirt bike with my kids, shoot guns, reload ammo, read about brewing, brew another batch, do schoolwork, have sex, sleep, eat... lots of things. Brewing is fun, but it's far from my only hobby.

 

[beersnblues]

What is your distraction?

I take a pill for this.

I combine my other passion...music with brewing. When I don't have brew stuff to do, I listen to and catalogue music.

I agree with reading. Just finished Palmer for the 4th time. I learn something everythime I read it. Now, I know that many disagree with some of his opinions, but if it were not for Palmer and Yooper (and many others on this forum), I would not be making great beer today.

 

[SeeMont]

I have to beer in my chamber, While waiting, yesterday, I cleaned and polished my kegs, I clean my taps, research my next brew. I have my yard and my hops plants in the summer. for shop work, I also turn wooden bowls and make other articles with fire wood.

 

[evrose]

BYO Magazine.

Sex.

Tv.

Pretty much in that order.

I see no reason why those three things couldn't be done simultaneously.

 

[Paradigm]

Man I feel like I'm the only unmarried college student here. I go to parties and play video games.

 

[Fenduh]

You take that back about Con Air being a ****ty movie.

Oh I love that movie but it's no Roadhouse.

 

[Toga]

Wack it like a crazed spider monkey

 

[lowelldw]

I just started a wood beer case this afternoon. Working with wood is my other hobby so I can combine it with making beer.

Plans for the wood case was on this site...... http://www.beerclings.com/beercrateplans/

 

[kharper6]

I have good luck dampening the impatience by kegging the beer. Once fermentation is done it is no where near ready to drink in my household. Once my hydrometer reads a finished product, I keg it, cold crash it, take a 4oz sample to enjoy. 2 days later when I'm impatient again, I crack the keg open, thief about 4 more oz to enjoy, add my gelatin.

Two days later I transfer to a new keg, carbonate, and drink 24 hours later.

 

[Paradigm]

Oh I love that movie but it's no Roadhouse.

Roadhouse was my childhood. That and Beverly Hills Cop. Don't judge me.

 

[unionrdr]

Wack it like a crazed spider monkey

Whip it good! Easy shake...go for it...it's not to late! To whip it...whip it good! :rockin:

 

[uatuba]

The secondary reason I started making beer--with having good beer made by me as the primary reason--was to have an exercise in patience.

I'm by nature a very impatient person, and the mandatory patience for brewing good beer with a reward for observing a patient regimen has honestly helped me with patience in other areas of life.

Just don't drive slowly in the left lane or I'll cut you.


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[max384]

Just don't drive slowly in the left lane or I'll cut you.


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[Air_Force_FE]

Drink


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[dxbq48]

Go on vacation. When you get back it's like having a nice present waiting for you!

 

[Norwaybrewer]

Im overwhelmed, lots of good advice. I was already watchinh porn and bad movies to pass times , but now i will consider making a wooden beer case too. Thanks for all the tips!

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