Welcome back to me?

[JoeMama]

Holy cow, its been over 16 years since I opened my account and went hard down this rabbit hole before interest waned and I sold off my stuff.
Sadly for me, this is a recurring happenstance for most ALL of my hobbies.
RC truck madness - Check.
LoS/FPV drone madness (x2) - Check.
Aircooled VW sickness - Check (I still have my 76 collecting dust in the garage and a butt-ton of model cars in an overflowing curio)
Homebrewed rabbitholeness courtesy of this place - Check.

While its been eons since I brewed last, the (rough and pseudo lazy) brew science still fascinates me, but not enough to jump back on the horse and go full balls to the wall again.

Until now (maybe)...

As a gentle nudge, my wife bought me a 'Mr. Beer' kit for the holidays.

I know that this is a seriously entry level extract kit, but I think I will humor her (and myself) and actually put it to use to see if I get bit by the bug again.
Before I got out of the hobby last, I was running all grain batches with my ice chest mash tun, making my own CF wort chillers, 3 tap kegerator, converted fridge to a ferm cabinet, several ferm buckets and carboys etc... I was pseudo serious at it back then and was even eyeballing a 3 tiered system (and the HERMS setups made we wet)

Nowdays we have technological advancements that are making the entry back into the hobby that much more appealing and I am finding myself salivating at some of the options we have.

I guess I need to take a small step back and poke around with the Mr. Beer just to see if I might want to take a dive again.

And how deep I really want to go

 

[Knightshade]

Welcome back?

Perhaps before ruining what might be a comeback via Mr Beer kit, give this vid a view first. Relevancy, those kits are mentioned.

 

[AdjunctBrewer]

Yours is not a unique story. Many people quit, sell and then come back.

Mr. Beer / Coopers aren't representative of good homebrew (in the US, the extract is generally too outdated).

A Brewers Best, Northern Brewer or MoreBeer extract kit might get you back, if you have the equipment (boil pot, fermenting bucket).

Most people like the brewing aspect (process and equipment) more than the drinking aspect. They brew more than they drink and realize they're throwing money down the drain in order to brew the latest kit or all grain recipe that they've become fascinated with at the same time dumping lots of homebrew in order to make room for the latest and greatest. The turn over time of making beer contributes to this as 3-6 weeks is a long time to taste the beer you just made already having umpteen more ideas/ingredients for beers lined up. Having a couple beers out of the 5 gallons you made only to dump the rest to start the new fascination is generally they route most folks go down, even though most won't admit to it.

 

[AdjunctBrewer]

A suggestion that's worked well for me:

1.) Get a Pinter v3
2.) Brew 1.5 gallon - BIAB stovetop, all grain batches, fermented under pressure and served in the Pinter
3.) Save the 5 gallons batches for beers you really want more of

As a bonus, the Pinter extracts are much better than the Mr Beer / Coopers (at least here in the US), if you don't want to do all grain.

 

[Scottyward]

You gotta do this. Best hobby. I say go back to all grain. Heck the way you brewed 16 years ago still works. Still the same principles. You can spend a bunch of money or go simple. Your final result will still be great if you stay clean and sanitized, use fresh ground grain, stick to the basic process that work, use the right yeast, and temp control when fermenting. Stick to kegging and a kegerator. Good luck. Beer is our friend.

 

[Yooper]

Welcome Back!
Some people come and go, some just go, and then you have a few like me who just can’t stop.

I think homebrewing in general is in decline, but those of us who are passionate about it tend to still love great beer.

 

[OakIslandBrewery]

Welcome Back!
Some people come and go, some just go, and then you have a few like me who just can’t stop.

I think homebrewing in general is in decline, but those of us who are passionate about it tend to still love great beer.

I can attest and confirm your words. I have been brewing since around 1984. I've had some dry times but not for very long.

There's so many great beers to try and loads of inspiring brewers to learn from, it just keeps the hobby going!

 

[BeerNsteadofH2O]

Welcome back to the hobby.

Everybody participates in a hobby for.particular reasons,
Each person exhibits differant degrees of enthusiasm, since this is your second "go round",there has to be an attraction, this time, go minimal until you find your level of enthusiasm, and proceed from there.

 

[Kickass]

Welcome back. EBIAB has worked well for me. A good balance between simplicity and full automation. I still feel that I’m driving the train while easy clean up and convenience are part of the brew day.

Having a couple beers out of the 5 gallons you made only to dump the rest to start the new fascination is generally the route most folks go down, even though most won't admit to it.

I’m not sure “most” homebrewers are drinking two beers then dumping the remaining five gallons. If a person does find themselves doing this I’d suggest these things, in order:
Make friends then share
Take some to work friends
Make smaller batches
Bottle and store away.

 

[JoeMama]

Thank you everyone for your suggestions and insights.


Call it kismet or whatever - I managed to find a heckuva deal on Craigslist similar to my setup when I got out the first time. It boasts a keezer, ferm cab, conical fermenter, kegs and a ton more.
The catch - its all for smaller (sub 5 gallon) batches and I honestly think I am okay with that

This person too seemed to go down the AG/BIAB rabbit hole as well. And I can appreciate that!

 

[madscientist451]

Welcome back, we need all the brewers we can get.

 

[rlrohan]

Welcome back. EBIAB has worked well for me. A good balance between simplicity and full automation. I still feel that I’m driving the train while easy clean up and convenience are part of the brew day.


I’m not sure “most” homebrewers are drinking two beers then dumping the remaining five gallons. If a person does find themselves doing this I’d suggest these things, in order:
Make friends then share
Take some to work friends
Make smaller batches
Bottle and store away.

I went to BIAB for the ease of making smaller batches. I found 5 gallon batches were getting to be too much for me and I could never toss out what I made. Even if it was "Not so good" I would still drink it and think about what I could do to make it better. I did toss one batch-Had an infection. Tried to drink it but it got so sour I couldn't take it. But that bad batch did serve a purpose though. It got me to get rid of some older stuff that could have caused the infection. Been good ever sense. (Knock on wood).

 

[Clint Yeastwood]