Treating Homebrewing Seriously

[kevin58]

I seem to recall reading an article once-upon-a-time that advocated treating your homebrew routine with more seriousness... more like a job. I may be using the wrong descriptors here but the one thing I remember about this vaguely remembered article saying was to schedule a regular brew day. Whether you were actually brewing or just setting aside that day (or days) for brew related chores...cleaning, organizing, etc. Does anyone recall this article and where was it? a

 

[shoengine]

Like a job? And seriously? One it feels like a job, I'm out!

 

[passedpawn]

I seem to recall reading an article once-upon-a-time that advocated treating your homebrew routine with more seriousness... more like a job. I may be using the wrong descriptors here but the one thing I remember about this vaguely remembered article saying was to schedule a regular brew day. Whether you were actually brewing or just setting aside that day (or days) for brew related chores...cleaning, organizing, etc. Does anyone recall this article and where was it? a

Yes and no.

I do like approaching all my endeavors with seriousness. I like attention to detail, the planning, and methodically and slowly rolling into it. However, I do not take the result seriously. If it doesn't work out, I record the effort, then dump and forget.

 

[Jonakr]

Yes and no.

I do like approaching all my endeavors with seriousness. I like attention to detail, the planning, and methodically and slowly rolling into it. However, I do not take the result seriously. If it doesn't work out, I record the effort, then dump and forget.

Hmmm, most of that I agree with, but if the results aren't stellar, I pout, complain, fester, then have another brew and should stop worrying, but don't.

 

[MaxStout]

I put serious effort into my brewing. Whether people who drink my beer think it's to be taken seriously is another matter. I try to do the best I can with the knowledge, equipment and ingredients I have, and strive to do better. Sometimes it's a hit, sometimes not. I'm just glad my livelihood isn't dependent on it.

 

[jdauria]

I treat brewing like a job, in the sense I will not drink until I am at the end of brew day. I have found in the past, drinking during brewing just leads to mistakes. Just as those "real job" brewers are not drinking all day in the brewery like my friends think working in a brewery is like.

 

[SFC Rudy]

It’s a hobby. I brew beer because I like to drink beer and I can brew whatever I like to drink.

When it becomes work I know where the liquor store is at.

 

[kevin58]

Like a job? And seriously? One it feels like a job, I'm out!

Like I said, I have probably used the wrong descriptors. Perhaps instead of "serious" or "like a job" I should have said "with purpose" or something along those lines.

I know the words "like a job" are going to elicit a knee-jerk reaction... as illustrated in the comments so far. That's why I asked the question in the first place so that I can talk about it with others without the negative responses. The question was - Does anyone recall this article and where was it?

 

[CascadesBrewer]

I don't recall such an article, but on the topic...

I think it depends on where you get joy from such a hobby. One can occasionally enjoy a nice day on the golf course hitting the ball with your buddies as you drink Miller Lites, or one can invest in equipment upgrades, pay for lessons, and squeeze in practice rounds a few times a week. Depending on who you are, one of these approaches might bring you more joy or satisfaction.

For me, the continual learning and improvement are core motivators and sources of satisfaction (and frustrations) from homebrewing. Enjoying homebrewing requires I approach it with a bit of "work ethic". I invest time into learning about brewing (books, forums, podcasts, magazines, blogs, etc.) and I put some level of focus into my recipes and brewing. I enjoy trying out new ingredients and trying out new processes. I have put some effort into creating a core set of recipes across a range of styles. I have been getting more into competitions, which can be rewarding or frustrating.

I was not always like this. I started brewing over 30 years ago. Many years I just brewed a batch or two of Pale Ale, then brewed some batches from a purchased kit or from a recipe that looked good. If my club had a competition for a style, I would brew a batch of Scottish Ale, German Alt, or whatever fit that month. I enjoyed the hobby and my connections with my local homebrew club. At some point I got burned out. My beers were not bad, but they often did not measure up to the commercial beers that I could now get from all the local breweries or at the local grocery store.

 

[shoengine]

Like I said, I have probably used the wrong descriptors. Perhaps instead of "serious" or "like a job" I should have said "with purpose" or something along those lines.

I know the words "like a job" are going to elicit a knee-jerk reaction... as illustrated in the comments so far. That's why I asked the question in the first place so that I can talk about it with others without the negative responses. The question was - Does anyone recall this article and where was it?

My answer was a bit flippant, but honest. If I'm not having fun, I don't brew. That is my metric.

 

[MaxStout]

I brew beer and do woodworking. I enjoy both. I've heard people say things like, "you should sell your stuff!"

The best way to ruin a perfectly good hobby is to try to make money at it.

 

[HBT_Admin]

I seem to recall reading an article once-upon-a-time that advocated treating your homebrew routine with more seriousness... more like a job. I may be using the wrong descriptors here but the one thing I remember about this vaguely remembered article saying was to schedule a regular brew day. Whether you were actually brewing or just setting aside that day (or days) for brew related chores...cleaning, organizing, etc. Does anyone recall this article and where was it? a

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/articles/

All our old articles are here if you think you saw it here.

Edit: Wrong link.. Link should work now.

 

[jerrylotto]

Being retired, I treat brewing like a challenge. Plenty serious but not a lot of income

 

[DavidWood2115]

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/threads/out-of-office-10-22-10-30.734376/

All our old articles are here if you think you saw it here.

Not sure what this was supposed to link to, but I get a permissions violation.

 

[lumpher]

It’s a hobby. I brew beer because I like to drink beer and I can brew whatever I like to drink.

When it becomes work I know where the liquor store is at.

Exactly my thought on the subject. Once it's no longer fun and becomes serious, I'm putting the fermenters away.

 

[Skeeter686]

My answer was a bit flippant, but honest. If I'm not having fun, I don't brew. That is my metric.

If I want to treat brewing like a job, it'd be easy enough.

I could have my wife micromanage me and demand reports that aren't really reflective of how successful I am at my work. Then I could schedule a series of project status meetings with her. And it would positively influence me as much as it does at work.

 

[hottpeper13]

I watched a BBQ grand master answer the question; how do you win? Answer; I make BBQ every day and treat it like I was going to enter it in a competition. I think that's a good way to make great beer, so I've adopted that mentality, not a job but serious.

 

[kevin58]

My answer was a bit flippant, but honest. If I'm not having fun, I don't brew. That is my metric.

The article I'm looking for had nothing to do with not having fun. No one said you can't treat your regimen seriously or with purpose and not have fun. Again, I didn't ask for a debate all I wanted to know was Does anyone recall this article and where was it?

 

[kevin58]

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/threads/out-of-office-10-22-10-30.734376/

All our old articles are here if you think you saw it here.

That link goes nowhere. I don't believe it was here anyway. I'm pretty sure it was in Zymurgy, BYO or some other magazine. I'm hoping someone else also read that article and remembers where it was. It looks like that's not the case however.

 

[Broken Crow]

Was it online or in print?
Was it this:?
https://simpleinspiredblog.com/how-to-treat-homemaking-like-a-job/

 

[kevin58]

Was it online or in print?
Was it this:?
https://simpleinspiredblog.com/how-to-treat-homemaking-like-a-job/

Well, that is an article on homemaking... not homebrewing. So, no. Thanks though.

 

[mac_1103]

Does anyone recall this article and where was it?

Do you recall how long ago you saw it? I assume you've searched for it - what terms did you use?

 

[Willy]

Is this it @kevin58 ???
https://www.33books.com/blogs/news/...xGV29zVudxozHTYgPTu5jesX3fCvRENaf50WMGzuATWjr

 

[HBT_Admin]

Not sure what this was supposed to link to, but I get a permissions violation.

My C&P failed me on this one. Sorry guys. Edit made.

 

[Steveruch]

RDWHAHB

 

[kevin58]

Is this it @kevin58 ???
https://www.33books.com/blogs/news/...xGV29zVudxozHTYgPTu5jesX3fCvRENaf50WMGzuATWjr

No that wasn't it but it's on the right track... Taking the haphazard way many homebrewers approach their brew day and giving it some structure. Thank you.

 

[BeerNsteadofH2O]

I'm a little late to this party(I've been away for awhile)
I look at brewing like I do my other hobbies( fishing,fish keeping, wood working) if your going to invest time in it, its worth doing well, but it should never be like a job, when /if that happens it's time to get out of that hobby.
When I was a young lad, I wanted to be a comercial fisherman,my father had a take on it, he strongly advised me not to enter the field because the joy of fishing would be lost, so I turned to my second love, working on
Cars, as it turned out, Dad was right,50 odd years later, I hate working on cars( hates a strong word, but you get the gist)
So, I guess what I'm conveying is, enjoy your hobby with the amount of zeal required to make it enjoyable and exciting, and when it no longer brings you joy, it's time to move on..Grrrrr .Time to go change the oil in my truck.

 

[Clint Yeastwood]

I try to treat brewing like working in a laboratory. I try to record absolutely everything. Sadly, I sometimes forget to jot things down, and it causes problems later.

I treat reloading the same way. Brand of primers, cartridge length measurements, average velocities of sample rounds...I label the boxes of rounds with dates, bullet types, and so on.

If you want to improve, or you just want repeatable results, data is essential.

 

[fluketamer]

i used to treat it more like a lab wiping everything down with alcohol first , wearing latex gloves etc.
now i just star san the hell out of everything and it seems to prevent infections just the same.

in terms of repeatability , i was never a great note taker even when i worked in the lab and my beers suffer from it. i never can repeat a batch the way i would like to when they come out really great.

the real problem with this is that it is hard to improve when you cant repeat. IMO you need to be able to do exactly what you did last time in order to change one variable at a time to get the best product.

 

[Clint Yeastwood]

I could not agree more.

I used to be one of those foolish people who cooked things without recipes, relying on the force or something to get it right every time. So many cooks brag about not using recipes. It's really dumb and arrogant. If you want to repeat your successes and improve your dishes, you really need to write things down. And you can't share dishes with other people if you don't have records. A friend of mine was telling me how to make pizza dough, and he said the dough had to be about the color of a manila envelope. That was about as useful as it sounds.