Yes, it can have that effect, especially in a lock down. I share your experience of adjusting to no more biking to work!
If you're open to bottling that slows everyone down in my opinion. It's more "sharable" and easier to know how many pours you've made and also to "savor every sip". With several higher ABV kegs in the basement I think some people are losing count more easily! Of course moderation can be achieved with kegs around too once you're used to keeping track of what's best for you.
And as for lower ABV, I totally agree and a friend who founded a successful small brewery agrees on that point and adjusted their offerings.
Good luck and thanks for bringing up these subjects. Like with any hobby that involves risks, it should be a welcomed topic from the outset wherever you land on your personal choices.
You biked to work too? Yeah, it was a built-in workout program for me. I biked 4 days a week to work, with random other biking to places. My commute to work was 6-7 miles each way depending on the route I took. I think the 40-60 minutes a day 4 days a week really makes a difference. Then I went from doing that to essentially riding maybe once a week (when I dragged my ass out the door to go for a ride). So, THAT I believe is the sole reason. Of course, I don't miss the low grade hangovers, so going back to the previous rate of consumption I was on is not really an option. But man, do I miss going and pouring a beer. I'm not sure about bottling. It's such a pain, plus I'd have to go buy bottles or buy beer to have bottles, and I just don't buy that much beer in bottles anymore. I prefer the European bottles, they're much heavier and have a classic shape. I brew either 2.5 or 5 gallon batches. I should probably just do the 2.5 gallon batches if I'm cutting back to moderate levels and want to keep brewing regularly. It's an easier process for me anyway since I brew inside on the stove.
I think this is all true. I work from home and am definitely sitting more and getting less exercise over the last year and a half.
Spot on, as a homebrewer it is much more readily available. We have kegging setups. We bottle. And I still buy beer frequently too. At any point I might have 2 kegs on tap, 6 cases of homebrew in bottles and 3 or 4 cases of various bought beer. I do most of my drinking at home also as we’re not going out to places in general and I don’t have to worry about driving. I went to a homebrew club meeting last night and I had to keep in mind the drive home.
I drink pretty regularly as you say, 1-3 glasses after work (I work from home) and more on the weekends. I’m north of 60 and so far no health issues.
November might be a good month to break. Then Christmas and New Year’s will be here before you know it. We refer to New Year’s as “amateur night”. People who don’t drink the other 364 days of the year try to do it all in one night.
Yeah, that sounds about like my consumption rate. Anywhere from 1-5 pours a night, 10-12oz, plus unlimited on weekends; could be anywhere between 4 pints and 8 pints. So, for someone who's 5'8 and 170lbs, that's probably far too much (obviously). November would be great for a break, I never drink beer on Thanksgiving, I'm too focused on stuffing my face with turkey and mashed potatoes and get too full for beer.
But yeah, to your comment about new year's...that's why so many of those goons do dry January. But whatever, doesn't matter when you do a dry month, it's probably a good call either way. It might even be better over the winter months because of seasonal affective disorder; alcohol probably doesn't help that any.
The worst thing about consuming too much for me is I get the hangxiety. I don't know if any of you can related, but the hangover itself isn't the part that bothers me - I don't get headaches - but I get just a very uneasy feeling that is not at all enjoyable. Maybe part of that is not exercising enough too.
Anyway, the future is bright!
