Seems like many are returning to home brewing....

[kh54s10]

How small? I figured out how to brew while living with my wife in a former school bus of less than 300 square feet.

My shed alone is 160 square feet, my smallest apartment was 550. I see the tiny homes, and can't figure out how anyone alone, much less two could enjoy living in such a small space. I have 1100 sq. ft. and that is too small for me.

 

[passedpawn]

How small? I figured out how to brew while living with my wife in a former school bus of less than 300 square feet.

You lived in a bus?

We have a brewery down here in FL called Brew Bus Brewing. Sounds like you thought of it first though.

 

[matt_m]

This forum peaked in 2012 from the data I could see at the the time.

I think Forums in general probably are past their peak as a lot of people have moved on to other forms of social media. And not saying that's the case here, but so many got bought up and turned into giant billboards driving people away.

 

[beernutz]

I began brewing in the 90(s). I like making stuff: smoked and cured meats, pickles, bread, etc. brewing was simply an extension to that ‘maker’ side of me. However, I was also in the Army and was reassigned to Europe. I laid off and never picked it back up until AL passed legislation making homebrew legal in 2013. I told my wife I think I’ll get back into it. I imagine others lay off for one reason or another and something triggers their return.

That's very close to my brewing history. I started in 1991 and brewed until 2007, albeit pretty infrequently in the latter years, then quit for 6 years mostly because of my kid's activities getting in the way of brew time until we legalized here in AL in 2013.

My friend, neighbor, and fellow brew club member started brewing in the late 80s and quit for more than a decade but resumed around the time of legalization.

I belong to two homebrewing clubs, one of which is mostly older guys who have brewed at least ten years while the other has some veterans along with some new blood--guys in their twenties who are just starting out.

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

.... forums in general probably are past their peak ...

And so it goes, another of my enjoyable hobbies (golf, photography, ...) apparently peaked years ago.

If I still enjoying home brewing, is the beer ruined?

 

[Gravitysucks]

While I'm extremely new to the hobby, I think the ease of transitioning from successful and simple extract kits to all grain using biab with very little extra cash (and physical space) involved is a huge part of what hooked me. I'm ignorant to when the biab concept really took off, but I can see that being a huge returning factor if it wasn't really on the table for a brewer 10-20 years ago. Again, I have little to nothing to compare it against, but was brewing software as readily available? I dredge up a lot of old posts and online articles during intense, late night, half-cocked google searches, and it seems that the process has gotten a heck of a lot simpler, with much improved, easily found equipment and ingredients. I've given samples to acquittances that brewed (and have since quit) decades ago and more than a few couldn't believe the beer they drank was a simple 15 minute extract pale ale. While there are definitely some serious advanced techniques, a guy can make a case of damn good beer with a 5G kettle, a bag, and the brew ingredients.

I had always sworn off brewing until this year when my wife randomly bought me some things and just kinda said "Try it, you'll like it. I know you." And I did. But my only other experience in making beer was helping a friend make some super sketchy counter top beer in a milk carton in about 2005. I can't recall the name or the packaging, but I imagine it was some fly by night company that no longer exists. It was the single worst beer I had drank, and that includes the 12 pack of pigs eye we found in a road ditch when I was 15.

I asked a friends dad why he had quit brewing while we ran into each other at a wedding a couple weeks back. He replied that he always brewed about once every 6 weeks. Then he skipped a brew, then the one after that. Then, suddenly, it was a year later and he still hadn't brewed. He made it sound like, for him, brewing was one of those hobbies that just fell off the map after he skipped a couple times. I find it hard to understand that feeling, but maybe I'll get there in a few years haha.



There is something to that. Weird trends follow recessions.



While craft beer has always been lacking in my rural area, and grocery stores in my state don't sell alcohol, I wish I could remember when I started to notice variety. I always scoffed at the weird cans and bottle labels when I'd walk through as I excitedly reached for a case of Busch light and a bottle of Windsor. Oh, the beers I left behind...

mongoose33, I have to admit my earlier reply was a bit facetious. It comes from living in a state with one of the highest number of craft breweries per capita and generally being disappointed with the majority of their offerings. While it's possible that some folks have decided to get back into brewing because they are tired of paying $7-10 a pint for mediocre beer I expect that the explosion of craft breweries (so many new things to try to duplicate) and the availability of equipment that simplifies the home brewing process has more to do with the return of former home brewers.

 

[mongoose33]

mongoose33, I have to admit my earlier reply was a bit facetious. It comes from living in a state with one of the highest number of craft breweries per capita and generally being disappointed with the majority of their offerings. While it's possible that some folks have decided to get back into brewing because they are tired of paying $7-10 a pint for mediocre beer I expect that the explosion of craft breweries (so many new things to try to duplicate) and the availability of equipment that simplifies the home brewing process has more to do with the return of former home brewers.

It's interesting to me that you mention this. I was talking with a friend (big beer guy, not a home brewer, but loves ratebeer) who is astounded at the number of breweries producing "meh" beer.

Me, too. It's almost always the case as I sit in a taproom sampling their wares that I wish I had one of my own homebrews in front of me.

I had a beer last night--Due East from Boulder Brewing--that was stunningly bad. Purportedly a NEIPA, almost no aroma at all (a hint of pineapple if you worked at it), and a really bad flavor. It was in a can so I couldn't be sure it simply hadn't oxidized or gone out of date, but paying $5 for a can of that....I left it half unfinished and left. It leaves me with no interest in trying anything else Boulder might produce.

I've been to three breweries whose offerings--even of styles I'm not particularly fond of--that were terrific across the board. Just three. It was as if the brewer had somehow telepathically locked into what I consider to be good beer, and then produced it. Even styles I'd not ordinarily order but I could sample in a flight were top notch, meaning they hit the style with no off flavors.

Had a beer at High Wire in Asheville a while back, a lager that was the worst beer I've ever drunk poured from a tap. Two friends sampled it as well, agreed it was crap. We could not figure how they could sell something that bad, as if nobody who worked there had actually checked to see if it was sellable or not.

I seems to me there has been an explosion of craft breweries in the US, but NOT a corresponding explosion of qualified craft brewers. People must be thinking "craft" and assuming it's good, but mostly, IMO, it's not.

At least in my little anecdotal world, I'd agree with you, facetious though the original thought may have been.

 

[MaxStout]

Too many people starting craft breweries because they were homebrewing, thought their beers were good and decided to try to make a living at it. Lots of breweries I've visited and crossed off my bucket list; no need to go back. But the ones that stand out are places I return to again and again. Very much like restaurants, it's a crowded field. There will undoubtedly be another recession, perhaps in a year or two. That will shake out some of the meh players.

My history in homebrewing: I bought some basic brew gear around 1980 and brewed two beers: some kind of pale ale and a stout. The kits were half gallon cans of hopped extract with a packet of yeast taped to the top. The beers I brewed were barely palatable, even to my Old Milwaukee-drinking taste buds. The fermentation stunk up the place, and after those two beers I gave it up. I didn't get back into brewing until 2012, but I might have gotten back into it sooner had I not had that memory of shiatty beer and yeasty house aroma. When I did get back to it, I was pleased that the ingredients and technology had improved greatly. Gear from Midwest and an Irish Red extract kit and it turned out well.

 

[Gravitysucks]

I started home brewing beer in the early 90's although I made balloon wine in the 60's before I, and my friends, discovered pot. I stopped for a while because of marital issues and again later on because of a job change. Later on, because I had friends and family of friends in the early Maine craft brewing scene I spent a lot of time checking out every new brewery that came along. There were actually some very good beers produced by Maine craft brewers in the early 2000's. Then the NEIPA fad hit. In an effort to keep up with the trend a lot of good beer went by the wayside. That's not to say NEIPA doesn't have it's place, and I admit I'm not a fan, but it seems a no brainer that you can't just sell various batches of NEIPA's with little difference other than cutesy names and expect to please anything but a limited crowd.

 

[madscientist451]

Then the kids come along and you have no time until they go to college and leave the nest and then you’re back to homebrewing again!

Or..the kids go to college and then come back and don't leave and heavy drinking is better than telling your kids to get out because they are driving you nuts....

 

[applescrap]

It's interesting to me that you mention this. I was talking with a friend (big beer guy, not a home brewer, but loves ratebeer) who is astounded at the number of breweries producing "meh" beer.

Me, too. It's almost always the case as I sit in a taproom sampling their wares that I wish I had one of my own homebrews in front of me.

I had a beer last night--Due East from Boulder Brewing--that was stunningly bad. Purportedly a NEIPA, almost no aroma at all (a hint of pineapple if you worked at it), and a really bad flavor. It was in a can so I couldn't be sure it simply hadn't oxidized or gone out of date, but paying $5 for a can of that....I left it half unfinished and left. It leaves me with no interest in trying anything else Boulder might produce.

I've been to three breweries whose offerings--even of styles I'm not particularly fond of--that were terrific across the board. Just three. It was as if the brewer had somehow telepathically locked into what I consider to be good beer, and then produced it. Even styles I'd not ordinarily order but I could sample in a flight were top notch, meaning they hit the style with no off flavors.

Had a beer at High Wire in Asheville a while back, a lager that was the worst beer I've ever drunk poured from a tap. Two friends sampled it as well, agreed it was crap. We could not figure how they could sell something that bad, as if nobody who worked there had actually checked to see if it was sellable or not.

I seems to me there has been an explosion of craft breweries in the US, but NOT a corresponding explosion of qualified craft brewers. People must be thinking "craft" and assuming it's good, but mostly, IMO, it's not.

At least in my little anecdotal world, I'd agree with you, facetious though the original thought may have been.

A little ot, I started a masters in sociology at the university of Colorado. A friend, father figure to me was a soc professor at csu. When we were in hs he always had us doing weird experiments. In college I reached out to Donald Black and was intrigued by his work. Wish I would have just stuck with that and got my PhD. I would still be where I was at, but make more and know more! Anyways pretty cool that's your expertise. Also ot, memba when I suggested to use reviews. Heres that due east and one that's really good. Shake is really good, not amazing, but really good.

More on topic, Remember give them a cup of water, not the hose.

 

[ncbrewer]

I started brewing in 1992. Started having major problems in 1996 - completely undrinkable beer no matter what I did. I checked all the resources available at the time but couldn't solve the problem, and quit. In 2011, after I retired, I decided to try again. Got some advice by starting a thread here on HBT. I never actually identified what the problem was, but the beer came out good. Problem solved, and back brewing.

 

[Steveruch]

My shed alone is 160 square feet, my smallest apartment was 550. I see the tiny homes, and can't figure out how anyone alone, much less two could enjoy living in such a small space. I have 1100 sq. ft. and that is too small for me.

Maybe you have too much stuff.

 

[Steveruch]

You lived in a bus?

We have a brewery down here in FL called Brew Bus Brewing. Sounds like you thought of it first though.

Yes, we live in a bus. If you're an AHA member check out the Last Drop piece in the current Zymurgy.

 

[kh54s10]

Maybe you have too much stuff.

Nope... Don't have enough stuff. Need a bigger place so I can have more stuff.

 

[Hwk-I-St8]

I brewed extract in the 90's, but backed off for 3 reasons (in order of impact):

1) I had kids
2) I hated sanitizing (used bleach water back then)
3) I hated bottling.

I got back into it 2.5 years ago for the following reasons:

1) Wife gave me a "brew with a pro brewday" as a gift
2) Kids were grown
3) I had a kegerator, so bottling wasn't an issue
4) I found out about Star San (what a game changer for me)
5) I wanted to try all grain brewing

I love the beer I brew and I really enjoy sharing with friends and family. I've had two serious offers to open a brewery, but I really don't want to turn it into a job. I also think the market is saturated. The city I'm moving to next week has 220K people and 5 breweries.

 

[ScrewyBrewer]

One of the biggest things I found after I came back was fermcap which allowed me to walk away from my kettle and clean during the boil so I would have to spend hours cleaning after I was done.

Most of my brewday cleanup starts once the boil is over including the boil kettle. And the pump, lines, counter flow chiller, and of course the floor. I guess cleanup time depends on your brewing system and setup.

 

[kh54s10]

One of the biggest things I found after I came back was fermcap which allowed me to walk away from my kettle and clean during the boil so I would have to spend hours cleaning after I was done.

I've recently built an electric brewery and that's made it even better. Everything is right at hand including my SS sink and no more running up and down the basement steps. I more excited than ever about brewing!

I stopped using Fermcap-s when 1) I had boil overs even when using it. 2) I had blow off even when using it. 3) I saw that the FDA? recommends filtering it out. 4) I decided I didn't want silicone in my beer, even though it is said to settle in the trub.

I dream of electricity and bringing all my brewing into one air-conditioned and heated space.

Most of my brewday cleanup starts once the boil is over including the boil kettle. And the pump, lines, counter flow chiller, and of course the floor. I guess cleanup time depends on your brewing system and setup.

I have a 3 tier gravity system with IC cooling. I clean as I go so that when the boil is done all I have is to rinse off the IC and scrub out the BK. It takes maybe 15 minutes. I rarely have a boil-over anymore since I learned that I don't like cleaning it up so I watch the start of the boil very carefully.

 

[Cavpilot2000]

Maybe one reason is the overabundance of mediocre hazy IPAs in every package store going for $16 a 4-pack. Too expensive for what it is, and 90% of what is on the shelves is completely unremarkable.
There are more breweries in the US these days than at probably any other time in the past and 75% of them are only mediocre at best.

I brew to get high quality beer in the styles I like to drink. I got away from it for a few years when living in urban apartments without the space to dedicate.

 

[ScrewyBrewer]

I rarely have a boil-over anymore since I learned that I don't like cleaning it up so I watch the start of the boil very carefully.

I stopped taking phone calls before the hot break for that very reason. A boil-over means adding another hour to a brew day.

 

[Kharnynb]

I think the fact that a lot of "cheap" electrical systems around 300 dollar/euro's for biab are now available for people with smaller living spaces, gives it a great boost.

Also, 300 sq feet is pretty normal here for single person first place to live(and in helsinki, even 2 people often don't have more than 400 sq feet), US houses always seem huge and quite wasteful in space to us.

 

[kh54s10]

I think the fact that a lot of "cheap" electrical systems around 300 dollar/euro's for biab are now available for people with smaller living spaces, gives it a great boost.

Also, 300 sq feet is pretty normal here for single person first place to live(and in helsinki, even 2 people often don't have more than 400 sq feet), US houses always seem huge and quite wasteful in space to us.

Wasteful is an opinion. The majority of homes in the US are not in big cities. In big cities the rent price keeps homes and apartments small, in the suburbs space is available, rent and mortgage is much lower etc. So the need to stay small is not there. That and the US is 29 times bigger than Finland.

 

[Kharnynb]

Wasteful is an opinion. The majority of homes in the US are not in big cities. In big cities the rent price keeps homes and apartments small, in the suburbs space is available, rent and mortgage is much lower etc. So the need to stay small is not there. That and the US is 29 times bigger than Finland.

Size is not really useful, The US has a higher population density than finland, which has a similar density to oregon.
What I mean is that most regular houses i've seen in the us(outside of big cities) tend to waste a lot of space on huge open rooms and high ceilings.

 

[lowtones84]

Size is not really useful, The US has a higher population density than finland, which has a similar density to oregon.
What I mean is that most regular houses i've seen in the us(outside of big cities) tend to waste a lot of space on huge open rooms and high ceilings.

That depends. Older homes in the US aren't built that way because we used to be more energy conscious. But as technology got better and energy became cheaper, people preferred very open floor plans and high ceilings. I agree that it's wasteful to be honest.

Our apartment is about 720 sq. ft. It's too small for my wife and I, as we are both musicians who play multiple instruments. As you can see by my profile picture, my main instrument is quite large...and easily takes up one corner of our living room, which doubles as our practice space Certainly there are things we could get rid of, but not a ton. Also prohibitive of brewing because the ventilation is not great, and 3 other neighbors on the same floor might object to the smell. One of our neighbors certainly likes to complain about everything...

 

[Andrew Hodgson]

Seems to me like this is related to Baby Boomers retiring? Our club has several members who stopped brewing when they had kids and now they are living the easy life and are back to homebrewing.

 

[kh54s10]

Size is not really useful, The US has a higher population density than finland, which has a similar density to oregon.
What I mean is that most regular houses i've seen in the us(outside of big cities) tend to waste a lot of space on huge open rooms and high ceilings.

It is still up to the individual. If you want a small space so be it. Wasteful? Depends on what you find wasteful. I would not enjoy living in a room that had only inches around furniture or had low ceilings...

That depends. Older homes in the US aren't built t
hat way because we used to be more energy conscious. But as technology got better and energy became cheaper, people preferred very open floor plans and high ceilings. I agree that it's wasteful to be honest.

Our apartment is about 720 sq. ft. It's too small for my wife and I, as we are both musicians who play multiple instruments. As you can see by my profile picture, my main instrument is quite large...and easily takes up one corner of our living room, which doubles as our practice space Certainly there are things we could get rid of, but not a ton. Also prohibitive of brewing because the ventilation is not great, and 3 other neighbors on the same floor might object to the smell. One of our neighbors certainly likes to complain about everything...

I'm not sure your description of energy consciousness or it being cheaper hold true. I had a 1950 house. It was heated by oil. In 1950 it was $.18/gal. Now it is about $2.50/gal. The house had no insulation. So energy conscious??? Modern open floor plan houses are much more efficient than small closed in houses 70 years ago. As to wasted space, what is wasted to me is different than it might be to others.

 

[passedpawn]

"I wish our house was smaller" <-- words never said, except by retirees maybe.

 

[chezhed]

"I wish our house was smaller" <-- words never said, except by retirees maybe.

Nope...never said it.....not out loud anyway Started brewing 21 years ago and never stopped but did slow down here and there....and moved twice!

 

[beernutz]

"I wish our house was smaller" <-- words never said, except by retirees maybe.

That is the equivalent of a boater saying I wish I had less horsepower.

 

[Beernik]

"I wish our house was smaller" <-- words never said, except by retirees maybe.

I didn’t like the size of our condo, but I never once complained about not doing yard work. Two weeks into my new house & I'm already fighting moles.

 

[passedpawn]

I didn’t like the size of our condo, but I never once complained about not doing yard work. Two weeks into my new house & I'm already fighting moles.

I had a little west highland white terrier that scavenged the yard for moles - she'd pull them right out of the ground. But then... you've got a dog. Reminds me of a funny quote I saw on this forum recently:

I bought ladybugs to get rid of aphids, then spiders ate the ladybugs, then some frogs ate the spiders. Long story short - now I have bears.

 

[Kharnynb]

Anyone living as far north as me and not "Mansion-owner" rich, won't like too big a house, heating is expensive....(I wouldn't mind getting a bit bigger house, but mostly to get more "cold storage spaces"

 

[Soulshine2]

....or at least it looks that way to me.

Anyone else notice an increase in the number of "new" members who gave up brewing for any number of reasons, and now are getting back into it?

There has been discussion over the last year or so about the decline in home brewing. Not sure how true that is, but it sure seems to be the case to me. And yet, I've been struck by the number of new posters--or older posters who are back--who gave up brewing for a while and are now coming back to it.

I wonder if advances in home brewing have contributed to this, i.e., things like BIAB, better equipment, better yeast choices, etc.

Thoughts on this?

I can only guess that ...
1)they had something in life come in the way of time spent brewing...wife "issues" - Some wives just dont like their husband to have an enjoyable hobby "waste of time and money" so glad I dont have that problem ,kids, job, family illness,moving, I know a couple in the past have noted they think they have a drinking problem since they started homebrewing and so quit...who knows.

2)It was a fad hobby at the time for some. "everyone" jumped on the homebrew bandwagon for a while .
I think about my own hobbies in the past . I did them for a while , stopped for whatever reason , some ive kept and will continue as long as I can . some I may get back to ,while others I'm done and over it.

3) some of the ones from #1 the kids grew up or job loads decreased ,so they have time to get back to it.
4) list #1 & #2 sold their equipment and now the #3's are jumping back into it or upgrading with with low cost used equipment.
5) you could be right about better equipment and ingredients.

 

[applescrap]

Size is not really useful, The US has a higher population density than finland, which has a similar density to oregon.
What I mean is that most regular houses i've seen in the us(outside of big cities) tend to waste a lot of space on huge open rooms and high ceilings.

I dont understand what this has to do with the topic? Curious enough I found of the 1800 homes for sale in Finland on the website I was on, 822 are above 1200 sq feet and 657 above 1500 sq feet. Furthermore I saw house after house under 75 k euros. Wow. Nice looking places for 40k, wow. Not sure how big one wants for 40k but in the city, like any big city, small apartments are more normal. Anyways there are clearly some larger homes in Finland. Not quite sure how this is on topic or what you are getting at? Those are sq meters,not sq ft for those curious.

 

[Kharnynb]

I don't know exactly what you mean @applescrap , but I meant more these kind of things in the US.

As for cost, yes houses are cheaper here than in the US, our income is generally lower too.(the 400k house on the bottom of that list would be unbuyable for me and my wife even though we both have decent jobs and good credit) and location of course, if it's in some village that has no work, you can buy really really cheap....

as for what I meant with huge houses etc, this is similar to what a friend of mine lives in:

I've always loved the Tv shows where they can't bear to live in a house that doesn't have an on-suite, a bathroom for every kid and at least 2 offices.....we grew up in a house with 1 bathroom, a downstairs toilet and had to convert the garage for my mom's homeoffice....

edit, sorry for going off-topic btw.

 

[6Tap]

This is good stuff! I have really enjoyed reading people’s posts on this thread with the many different reasons for returning back to home brewing and for many different reasons for home sizes. Thanks! [emoji482]

 

[CascadesBrewer]

as for what I meant with huge houses etc, this is similar to what a friend of mine lives in:

Where I live in the outer burbs of DC, that house looks like the norm. Well, you have to move out another 15-20 miles to get that amount of land. I live in a "small" 3 level townhome with way more footage than I need (even when my 3 boys stay with me).

"I wish our house was smaller"...said by me every time I finish cleaning my 4 bathrooms.

 

[beernutz]

I had a little west highland white terrier that scavenged the yard for moles - she'd pull them right out of the ground. But then... you've got a dog. Reminds me of a funny quote I saw on this forum recently:


FloppyKnockers said: ↑
I bought ladybugs to get rid of aphids, then spiders ate the ladybugs, then some frogs ate the spiders. Long story short - now I have bears.

 

[zacster]

Count me in as returning. I stopped about 3 years ago after brewing "Marathon Madness" for my wife's running club which as you may guess was running the NYC Marathon. The plan was to have it ready for a celebration party a week or two later. The party never happened and it just disappeared as all homebrew does. While it disappeared, my weight just kept going up. Then there was an informal weight loss contest at my office, and I came in second out of about 15. I dropped all that weight and more and during that period I also stopped drinking beer. If I'm not drinking it I'm not making it! So the keg sits on my back porch, the equipment hasn't moved from its regular storage spot, my beer fridge holds all the overflow of soft drinks and beer (I started buying again but don't drink nearly as much.)

But now retirement has me looking for inexpensive hobbies, and since I have all the equipment I need to make good beer I'm going to give it another go.

 

[Soulshine2]

It's interesting to me that you mention this. I was talking with a friend (big beer guy, not a home brewer, but loves ratebeer) who is astounded at the number of breweries producing "meh" beer.

Me, too. It's almost always the case as I sit in a taproom sampling their wares that I wish I had one of my own homebrews in front of me.

I had a beer last night--Due East from Boulder Brewing--that was stunningly bad. Purportedly a NEIPA, almost no aroma at all (a hint of pineapple if you worked at it), and a really bad flavor. It was in a can so I couldn't be sure it simply hadn't oxidized or gone out of date, but paying $5 for a can of that....I left it half unfinished and left. It leaves me with no interest in trying anything else Boulder might produce.

I've been to three breweries whose offerings--even of styles I'm not particularly fond of--that were terrific across the board. Just three. It was as if the brewer had somehow telepathically locked into what I consider to be good beer, and then produced it. Even styles I'd not ordinarily order but I could sample in a flight were top notch, meaning they hit the style with no off flavors.

Had a beer at High Wire in Asheville a while back, a lager that was the worst beer I've ever drunk poured from a tap. Two friends sampled it as well, agreed it was crap. We could not figure how they could sell something that bad, as if nobody who worked there had actually checked to see if it was sellable or not.

I seems to me there has been an explosion of craft breweries in the US, but NOT a corresponding explosion of qualified craft brewers. People must be thinking "craft" and assuming it's good, but mostly, IMO, it's not.

At least in my little anecdotal world, I'd agree with you, facetious though the original thought may have been.

kind of a side topic, theres a small hole in the wall restaurant not far from us my wife and I stopped at for breakfast , the parking lot is always full every time we go by at any time of day. we saw that as really good food right? It was barely average. We could make better at home. Dont see the draw of just average places.