What do you guys do when you hit a wall?

[petep1980]

I've been home brewing for about 4 years now, and I have completely hit the wall.

How do you guys keep it exciting and interesting? I just bottled an IPA tonight and the thought of the rigors of another batch of beer just does not excite me.

What do you gentlemen do when you hit the wall?

 

[Phunhog]

Well if you still bottle that is enough to make any of us quit!! Time to get into kegging! As I am sure you know it is sooooo much easier and faster than bottling. Besides that...start brewing for others. Ask what they would like to drink. One of the joys of homebrewing for me is sharing it with friends and family. How about brewing styles that you have never tried before? On my "to brew list" are a Scottish 80/, Biere de Garde, and a California Common.

 

[petep1980]

Well if you still bottle that is enough to make any of us quit!! Time to get into kegging! As I am sure you know it is sooooo much easier and faster than bottling. Besides that...start brewing for others. Ask what they would like to drink. One of the joys of homebrewing for me is sharing it with friends and family. How about brewing styles that you have never tried before? On my "to brew list" are a Scottish 80/, Biere de Garde, and a California Common.

No one I know is into craft beer. It's pathetic. My friends all drink either Bud Light Lime, Bud Light, or Keystone Light.

 

[Bricks41]

Getting people to realize there is beer out there beyond the mass produced watery beer is the most difficult part in my opinion.... is everyone resistant to taste your HB?

Sharing your creations with those around you is probably one of the best part.... 2nd to making your own beer that tastes better than most commercially distributed product.

 

[Mongrel]

I've been home brewing for about 4 years now, and I have completely hit the wall.

How do you guys keep it exciting and interesting? I just bottled an IPA tonight and the thought of the rigors of another batch of beer just does not excite me.

What do you gentlemen do when you hit the wall?

I'll have to agree with the other poster who suggested kegging. I surprised a lot of my friends by making it through 23 batches before I made the switch.

But if you've really hit the wall, take a break. The best motivator I've had was having my pipeline run dry.

 

[MattHollingsworth]

Find new stuff to perk your interest. Dunno if you've read it already, but perhaps try Radical Brewing, Randy Mosher's book. Lot of fun ideas in there. Make some weird beers. You have nothing to lose and might stumble upon something interesting. Don't bother with making stuff that you can already buy, make something unusual instead.

 

[Mongrel]

but perhaps try Radical Brewing, Randy Mosher's book.

Even if you don't brew a single recipe in this book, it will inspire you.

 

[Leadgolem]

Say ouch, and look around to see who pushed me.

You could try making some wine/mead/cider instead. The typical process is somewhat different for each one, and each is interesting in it's own way.

 

[MattHollingsworth]

Even if you don't brew a single recipe in this book, it will inspire you.

Yup. I don't follow other people's recipes at all, just read them for information. This book is FULL of information on all sorts of alternative brewing.

 

[dannyhawkins]

No one I know is into craft beer. It's pathetic. My friends all drink either Bud Light Lime, Bud Light, or Keystone Light.

You should make it a point to brew a beer they like. I would make some weak ass cream ale but load the mash tun with midnight wheat or de-bittered black at the end so it's really dark SRM and little to no flavor contribution. Then force them to taste it blind, thus tricking them into liking it. Then have them taste one of their favorites blind along side other BMC to really mess with them. They most likely cant pick out their own favorite. So when their minds are blown you offer to educate them in the ways of real beer.

Or just get more friends find a brewing club or something to keep you going, some like to do competitions.

 

[Leadgolem]

You know, it is possible they straight up can't pick out the subtleties. Some people just don't have a particularly sensitive palate. That's like being color blind, only way more common. It doesn't make then bad, or stupid. It just means they are literally unable to taste what you are talking about.

I'll be honest, I'm a bit of a gourmet. When I run across somebody with an insensitive palate it just makes me sad.

Sorry for the soap box, I just read a whole bunch of beer snobbishness that gave me a headache.

 

[SnupDave]

Get in touch with a local brew club and see if there's anybody that's new to brewing that would like to learn from your experience. Maybe teaching somebody will give you that spark that's missing right now.

 

[hercher]

+1 on joining a brew club and brewing styles you haven't tried before. Try to brew a version of beer your friends like, teaching them that freshness matters. Find someone who wants to learn to brew and teach them.

Or, take a break. I've been brewing for nearly 20 years, but there was a stretch after my kids were born when I brewed very little. When I did brew, I found I didn't enjoy it as much because it was harder to schedule the day, supervise my kids, squeeze in all my chores (new house, too). Now, I greatly enjoy doing it again. There are times when I don't feel like spending a day brewing, so I just let it slide.

 

[bioguy]

Try parti-gyle brewing
http://morebeer.com/brewingtechniques/library/backissues/issue2.2/mosher.html

Should be enough complexity there to keep you interested for a while.

 

[barleyboy]

Say ouch, and look around to see who pushed me.

You could try making some wine/mead/cider instead. The typical process is somewhat different for each one, and each is interesting in it's own way.

+1. Go for some wine.

 

[Xpertskir]

No one I know is into craft beer. It's pathetic. My friends all drink either Bud Light Lime, Bud Light, or Keystone Light.

Other than my girlfriend and people in my brew club, I can relate to this and it does suck. Besides wanting them to enjoy it, I could brew more if they drank it.

 

[petep1980]

You guys are right about the bottling. It sucks. I just hate spending more money to get back into kegging. Maybe I'll take a break and clean out some bottles and work on kegging.

 

[petep1980]

Ohh and my wife doesn't even drink my beer.

 

[Slowfro]

No one I know is into craft beer. It's pathetic. My friends all drink either Bud Light Lime, Bud Light, or Keystone Light.

You need new friends.

I'm just kidding...everyone has their own taste. I was also going to joke that when I hit the wall I know it's time to stop drinking for the night. If you're burned out on brewing take a break, but don't sell your stuff! After a little sabbatical you might find yourself thirsty and get the itch again.

 

[unionrdr]

My elec stove burners were going south,& a boil just wouldn't happen. So I took a few months off till I could find parts I could afford. Finished my stock of home brews though. New burners installed & tested,I did my 1st partial mash ale last week Tuesday. Felt like a noob again. Def renewed my interest in brewing.

 

[JohnnyO]

If you're still brewing 5 gallon batches, step it up to 10 gallon. If you are an all grain brewer, it's not much more expensive, and it doesn't matter if you don't brew as often as you did.

 

[JLo]

I don't have a lot of drinkers where I'm at. I've started to focus in on the science and other aspects of the hobby. Here are some ideas:
- Join a homebrew club, visit others
- Start working on becoming a certified beer judge
- enter beers in competitions
- read a lot of books
- volunteer at local breweries and festivals
- steward a contest
- try small batch brewing (2L)
- try mashing in a French press
- find a way to give the beer away
- brew with some local non-traditional ingredient

Once I hooked up with a few local people bent on craft beer this hobby became a real time suck, and I love it.

 

[petep1980]

My second-to-most recent batch was a 10-gallon Belgian split into 4 different fermentations, and two even had their own bottling yeast. All 100 or so bottles came out brilliantly. They are all over 8% ABV and are some of the smoothest beers I've ever made. It was mostly all-grain too (I had to use some sugar).

It's like I achieved my brewing goal and am at peace almost with the hobby.

The one goal I never achieved was making a killer pilsner, but I don't feel like investing in refrigeration.

 

[Revvy]

Well if you still bottle that is enough to make any of us quit!! Time to get into kegging! As I am sure you know it is sooooo much easier and faster than bottling.

I do both now, and it doesn't seem any faster to keg then bottle really. I've got a batch cold crashing that I can't get motivated to put in a keg, because I know I have to clean and sanitize the kegs first, as well as flushing and sanitizing the beer lines. I have to take the kegs down to the basement laundry room of the condo, and hook up a hose to wash them. I have to break the popets down, clean them, sanitize then, and re-lube all the o-rings. Then sanitize an auto spiphon and rack the beer And even THAT doesn't sound too appealing at times. It's a chore whether it's going into a keg or bottles sometimes.

It takes be 45 minutes to bottle, including sanitizing bottles and filling them, it take about the same to prep and fill a keg...how is it any different?

 

[petep1980]

I do both now, and it doesn't seem any faster to keg then bottle really.

I've found kegging barely any quicker and much less reliable. Dealing with balancing pressure made me quit.

 

[kh54s10]

Well if you still bottle that is enough to make any of us quit!! Time to get into kegging!

This is not a solution for everyone! I brew often and now have 18 different beers to choose from. That is a lot of kegs!

I have the opposite with my friends. They like my homebrews. I share some...

Try something very different from what you have been brewing. Or for me, I should do some things that I need to (house maintenance) instead of another batch. Unless I can put it off for another brew!

 

[Revvy]

Try something very different from what you have been brewing.

This helps me get through the humps....It could be falling in love with a new beer style, then coming up with my own recipe. That involves two of my favorite things, trying new beers, AND doing research, especially for historical recipes.

I'm suddenly getting into Kolshes after the Iron Brewer competition I participated in two weekends ago. Where my teammate and I decided that making a Honey Kolsh would be the best way to highlight the secret ingredient which was ground fenugreek (which we mixed with honey and some fresh ginger and caramalized in a dutch oven, like making a bochet.) Kolsh was never a style I drank much of, now I'm curious about them and picking up what scant few commercial brands I can.

SO that's got me interested again.

Look at a style you've never done, and push yourself to research and brew it.

Another thing is to do something hobby related but not brewing related, that would make you then want to test it by brewing, i.e. Make a new brewing gadget or tool. Do you batch sparge? Make a sparge arm and try fly sparging for one....Do you always mash in a cooler? Try BIAB for a batch, see how it works for your. Haven't extract brewed in awhile? Challenge youself to make a great extract with grains recipe using all those great tips you've learned since that first cooper's kit....Never done AG before? give it a try.

Never played with water chemistry try it now.....

Do you always brew kits? Try creating your first unique recipe yourself.

Just try to change something up and see if it sparks it.

 

[JLo]

Brewing beer is only part of the hobby for me, but not for everybody. My dad likes to brew a few times a year an have at least one beer on tap. He is not so concerned about the rest of the details. Just enjoys the hobby a bit differently than I do.

He's also not so keen on cleaning carboys.....

 

[VladOfTrub]

Try decoction mashing Lager and Pils. If that doesn't knock out brewing boredom, nothing will.

 

[petep1980]

I've done double and triple decoctions. I've decided I just don't have the time.