Periods of abstinence

[shawn252]

Have done so in the past but it's been awhile. Did it when I thought I was drinking to much or when my body told me too. usually for a couple of weeks with no substitutes really for peace of mind or to let me know that I can stop drinking if I want to. Always feel good during the break, probably time to do it again.

 

[WesBrew]

I’m usually a two-pint drinker. I try to work in 3 days of abstinence a week. Sometimes I cheat and pour a half-pint from the tap, but that doesn’t really count

 

[moorejl57]

I enjoy the small scale brewing process and ave maybe a pint a week. Go through a bottle of top shelf Scotch in about a year. Now coffee is a whole different animal. I am a home roaster and have a big cup of strong coffee every day without fail.

 

[bailey mountain brewer]

I actually stopped drinking coffee all together, probably one of the hardest things Ive done but it was clashing with my anxiety and now my wife will occasionally make me a latte and I bounce off the walls for a little while, I used to drink at least a pot a day. As for beer, I may take a week off here and there but I typically put back 5 to 6 a day.

 

[soccerdad]

For health reasons I abstain from sodas, bottled water, bubbly water or seltzer ... Beer for my health and the environment. There are days when I skip the beer and have coffee, espresso, tap water, but other than those I just drink beer.

 

[NickTheGreat]

I generally don't drink except on Friday thru Sunday. And then its maybe 1 or 2 at the most. I can't think of the last time I was "drunk."

But I sometimes take a couple weeks off due to circumstances, like visiting family out of town.

And it does make it taste a little better if it's been several weeks or a month.

 

[Erik the Anglophile]

I usually drink beer at supper as a table beverage so I am pretty stable at 1beer/day, sometimes i don't though, and maybe one or two extra on friday and saturday so about 7-10 beers/week. don't really see any need to take breaks with that level of consumption.
Although now that wife and kids are gone for the week and the fridge has been filled etc, it's more like 7-10/day, beer is just too damn good to not drink a lot of when you know you can just drink and not give a F.

 

[JAReeves]

I shoot for 1-2 pints a day. If I drink less, I don't get to brew as often, as I also am limited by the space in the keezer. For obvious reasons, I haven't been sharing as much beer as I have in the past, so not brewing as often as I would like. 1 tap is always mineral water, so that only leaves 1 for an IPA daily drinker and 1 for something else (or carbing a keg for bottling to make room).

 

[pvpeacock]

2 years ago, I looked in the mirror and said whoaaa! Who is that fat guy? From that day to today, I stopped drinking beer or any alcohol during the week (Monday through Thursday), started working out as often as possible (walking, stand up paddling and roller blading primarily) and started watching my diet (both portions and type of food). It was tough not to reach for a beer every night when standing in front of the keezer, but I got used to it and it became routine for me. It also helped that I converted one of my 4 taps to soda water or hop water and another tap to kombucha. After a year and half, I lost 40 pounds and feel great. In addition, I have to say that first beer on a Friday after work tastes better than any beer I can remember drinking during years I drank beer every night.

 

[MaxStout]

No abstinence, though I did have some absinthe last night.

 

[grampamark]

I‘m 70. I see my doc twice a year and have blood work done both times. The doc says my BP, blood chemistry, weight, etc., is fine for someone my age and that I should just keep doing whatever I’ve been doing. So, I have my two, sometimes three, beers a day because-doctor’s orders.

 

[Erik the Anglophile]

I‘m 70. I see my doc twice a year and have blood work done both times. The doc says my BP, blood chemistry, weight, etc., is fine for someone my age and that I should just keep doing whatever I’ve been doing. So, I have my two, sometimes three, beers a day because-doctor’s orders.

Don't argue with a professional...

 

[bwible]

No abstinence, though I did have some absinthe last night.

Thats funny. My wife says abstinence when she means absinthe. We tried it awhile back. Not something we have around all the time but it was different.

 

[dirkomatic]

Recently I was experiencing pain in my fingers and toes and cramping in my feet. Just in case it is peripheral neuropathy. I don't drink alcohol on M,Tu,W,Th evenings now. Pain has gone away. Probably going to stick with this routine.

 

[Dancy]

Well... i don't got no kids myself, so take my opinion with some salt, but reading that makes me think... you got a lifetime to drink. Those memories you wrote above tend to leave in a blink...
So... sounds to me like a great reason to abstain for the time being.

Congrats!!

That’s a GREAT post, Nate.

 

[Brew_Dude41]

Holy shitsnacks, TRIPLETS ?!
Our first child was born just two weeks ago - me being her mattress at night is the reason for my current period of abstinence, and the motivation for this thread - and I know she is relatively easygoing as far as newborns go. i couldn't imagine having three of those around.
Wow, kudos!

You will quickly learn that you do what you need to do to get by. Having 3 at the same time only ramps that up a bit.
Found that I can't have as many brew days as I would like, but figured out that wine kits are relatively fast to knock out. just need a little more maintenance to rack multiple times before bottling, and that might be a hour in the evening through the week.
So now the wife is asking me to abstain from buying any more wine kits until we knock a couple of cases down.
With the boys that shouldn't take too long

 

[bwible]

I put this up before, a long time ago. It shows batch and container sizes and the number of ounces and the number of 12 oz beers, then the number of cases with each. It’s something most of us take for granted but its pretty eye opening when you see it like this.

 

[monkeymath]

Well... i don't got no kids myself, so take my opinion with some salt, but reading that makes me think... you got a lifetime to drink. Those memories you wrote above tend to leave in a blink...
So... sounds to me like a great reason to abstain for the time being.

Congrats!!

Yup, definitely. No doubts there!

I don't even miss the beer itself, only the whole ritual of "Feierabendbier" ("Feierabend" is the end of a workday): but quite simply because there is no "Feierabend" any more, you're never "done for the day". The minute I put her down to sleep, she starts plotting the rise of Cranky McCrankerson, which could come any minute and demand food with ferocious vigor.
Plus, I spend most of the time that I could use to do the things I normally like just staring at her. Perfection. At least when she's sleeping

 

[Chuckbergman]

I try to only drink on the weekends, and maybe 1 day during the work week if I go out for a beer with a buddy (at least recently post-pandemic). Only problem with this is I "sometimes" drink a little too much Friday and Saturday nights ... and Sunday afternoon!

As a practicing Catholic, I like to give up alcohol and sweets for Lent every year. I usually lose about 5-7 pounds.

 

[brewNYC]

I work a pretty demanding job, so I generally don’t drink much during the week. I usually keep it to 3 beers or so on Friday’s and Saturdays, and I try to brew with the least ABV appropriate for the style. So 6-7 beers total per week, usually around 4-6 percent ABV.

For me, the focus is on doing what makes me feel good in general, not just while I’m drinking. I like abstaining during the week because it keeps me chipper, I like having some drinks with my wife or friends on the weekends because it’s something to look forward to. I like brewing, so I gotta drink sometime!

So, I’ve never purposely “abstained”, other than my typical weekly 5-day dry period. The 3-drink weekend limit is just me not wanting to feel slow at 6am on Saturday (when my kids are up and ready for breakfast). With that said, if I ever felt like alcohol was taking too prominent a place in my life, I’d probably think about taking a break for a bit.

 

[Cloud Surfer]

I’m in the transport industry. Airline pilot usually, until your friendly pandemic comes along, so I’ve swapped over to fuel tanker driver for a while, until flying picks up again. Neither job mixes with alcohol, so I’ve been known to go a week without a drink when I get busy. But if I get a week off, I don’t beat myself up for having a drink every night, usually a 750ml of something I’ve made.

 

[SMD]

I only drink beer on the weekend. Rest of the week is diet soda and sparkling water.

 

[Barbarossa]

So, I have my two, sometimes three, beers a day because-doctor’s orders.

According to your calculations, I'm gonna live forever.

 

[mattman91]

According to your calculations, I'm gonna live forever.

Hmmm. There is a fine line between tipsy and drunk. I've had to actually ask myself that a few times lol.

 

[beersk]

I think the OP has a very good reason to abstain, at least from brewing for a while. Although, having a beer after the baby goes to sleep probably isn't out of the question.

I go through phases. Right now I'm considering why I brew. Lately, it just hasn't been fun to have beer when no one else is around (pretty much most nights since I'm single and live alone). So brewing and having a bunch of beer in kegs isn't really making a lot of sense to me right now. I don't often have people over, everyone is too busy with their families anyway. So when I drink it's usually somewhere else. Sure, I take growlers, but it's not too often. Drinking a bunch of beer by myself kind of used to be fun; I could play whatever music I liked, eat, drink and be merry. But it's lost it's lure (and that's probably a good thing). Now I'm starting to think...well, I could brew beer, have it sit around in kegs not getting drank [by me] or buy the occasion 6/12 pack or something and enjoy and just have coffee on nitro and carbonated water on tap. The reason I say that is because I really kind of haven't felt like brewing lately either...maybe it's summer/heat/whatever...who knows. I'm sure I'll come out of this on top.

 

[bwible]

I think the OP has a very good reason to abstain, at least from brewing for a while. Although, having a beer after the baby goes to sleep probably isn't out of the question.

I go through phases. Right now I'm considering why I brew. Lately, it just hasn't been fun to have beer when no one else is around (pretty much most nights since I'm single and live alone). So brewing and having a bunch of beer in kegs isn't really making a lot of sense to me right now. I don't often have people over, everyone is too busy with their families anyway. So when I drink it's usually somewhere else. Sure, I take growlers, but it's not too often. Drinking a bunch of beer by myself kind of used to be fun; I could play whatever music I liked, eat, drink and be merry. But it's lost it's lure (and that's probably a good thing). Now I'm starting to think...well, I could brew beer, have it sit around in kegs not getting drank [by me] or buy the occasion 6/12 pack or something and enjoy and just have coffee on nitro and carbonated water on tap. The reason I say that is because I really kind of haven't felt like brewing lately either...maybe it's summer/heat/whatever...who knows. I'm sure I'll come out of this on top.

There are a number of threads on “why we brew.”

Everybody is different. Some guys brew 5 gallons at a time which used to be the norm. Other guys brew 10 gallons or 20 gallons at a time. There are a new wave of brewers now doing 1 gallon batches and several threads here for that. I do 3 gallons which I settled on as being a good volume for me. Thinking about time spent brewing and cost of ingredients - particularly yeast and trying to get more than one use out of yeast.

You have to come up with what works for you. Thinking about batch sizes and number of beers. The standard 5 gallon batch is roughly (50) 12 oz beers. If you do 2 batches back to back, that’s 100 beers and little variety, having 50 each of 2 beers. Thats why I don’t do 5 gallon batches anymore.

10 gallon batch would be roughly 100 beers, 20 gallons is about 200 beers. Again when you start taking multiple batches into account you end up with a whole lot of beer in a hurry.

When I do 3 gallons, thats roughly 30 beers. I say it’s a case plus a 6 pack. It gets to be a huge difference in the number of beers vs 5 gallon batches over multiple batches.

The guys doing 1 gallon get about 10 or 11 beers. Smaller container sizes, everything is easier to handle. No fear of getting stuck with 50 bottles if you try an experiment,

There is no right or wrong - its what works for each person. I brew and I still like to buy beer too. I am buying 6 packs and mixed 6 packs much more than cases these days. I’m in PA, which used to be a case state. But they have lightened up some in recent years so we can get 6 packs and mix and match now.

 

[bwible]

As an aside, I used to bowl in leagues twice a week. And one day I ran into the “why we bowl” thread on a different forum. And reading through that, it occurred to me that I did not enjoy anything about bowling anymore and hadn’t for some time. For a number of reasons. But the bottom line is after I realized I wasn’t enjoying it anymore I stopped doing it. That was in 2012 and I haven’t missed it or looked back since.

Different kind of hobby, at least brewing produces a useful output and isn’t just a waste of time, energy, and money.

So you have to figure out what’s right for you.

 

[beersk]

As an aside, I used to bowl in leagues twice a week. And one day I ran into the “why we bowl” thread on a different forum. And reading through that, it occurred to me that I did not enjoy anything about bowling anymore and hadn’t for some time. For a number of reasons. But the bottom line is after I realized I wasn’t enjoying it anymore I stopped doing it. That was in 2012 and I haven’t missed it or looked back since.

Different kind of hobby, at least brewing produces a useful output and isn’t just a waste of time, energy, and money.

So you have to figure out what’s right for you.

Oh I'm very aware of all the things you listed in this post and your previous post. I've been brewing since 2008 and have gone through all the small batches, experimentation, etc. I like to do a mix of 2.5 gallon and 5 gallon batches. I've brewed lately, as recently as about 3 weeks ago and was planning to brew this past weekend, but found I just didn't feel like it and not sure I'll feel like it this weekend either. We'll see.

Mainly, I am wanting to brew for an oktoberfest party in a couple months and want to give beers time to lager. My kegerator is mostly full now, so I'll have to clear that out first.

I've been brewing a long time and it's been my main hobby for a decade. Maybe it's burnout, I don't know. But a break might not be a bad thing. Seems like I've said that once or three times already this year...

 

[bwible]

I got some extra inspiration recently reading about old time and throwback recipes. Stuff like Classic American Pilsener and Cream Ale. Brewing beers with 6 row and corn following old time recipes. And following that whole thread about fermenting lager recipes warm with 34/70. I am really wanting to do these beers. I did one that I need to refine the recipe a little more.

Like you, my kegerator is full and I also have about 7 or 8 cases in bottles. And I’m the only one drinking beer here. So I’m probably not going to be brewing soon but I find it helps to change up and try something different and have something to look forward to.

 

[bwible]

Oh I'm very aware of all the things you listed in this post and your previous post. I've been brewing since 2008 and have gone through all the small batches, experimentation, etc. I like to do a mix of 2.5 gallon and 5 gallon batches. I've brewed lately, as recently as about 3 weeks ago and was planning to brew this past weekend, but found I just didn't feel like it and not sure I'll feel like it this weekend either. We'll see.

Mainly, I am wanting to brew for an oktoberfest party in a couple months and want to give beers time to lager. My kegerator is mostly full now, so I'll have to clear that out first.

I've been brewing a long time and it's been my main hobby for a decade. Maybe it's burnout, I don't know. But a break might not be a bad thing. Seems like I've said that once or three times already this year...

Or go a different direction and put up a batch of mead. I’ve done that in the past when I felt less like brewing. Less time and work than a beer brew day and that will take you down a different rabbit hole and get you thinking about different things.