Which waiting period is your least favorite?

[Torchiest]

I think my least favorite waiting period is after pitching the yeast, because that's when everything is kinda up in the air. I hate seeing an inactive airlock, and I hate the way my brain starts coming up with nightmare scenarios in which my wort will never grow up to be a beer.

 

[the_bird]

Waiting to brew... damn, Sunday can't get here soon enough

 

[Torchiest]

Damn, you replied before I'd even finished the poll! :rockin:

 

[magno]

The hardest part for me is once its in the bottles. Leaving them alone for three weeks is asking a lot.

- magno

 

[the_bird]

You need to add another option

 

[Torchiest]

Heh, maybe the actual answer is "Whatever I'm waiting for RIGHT NOW."

The hardest part for me is once its in the bottles. Leaving them alone for three weeks is asking a lot.

That is rough, true, but I figure, you can always brew more in the meantime.

 

[Whelk]

Waiting for my beer stuff to arrive in the mail!


Aside from that, waiting for my beer to condition. Don't even have a bubbling airlock to amuse me.

 

[McCall St. Brewer]

I think my least favorite waiting period is after pitching the yeast, because that's when everything is kinda up in the air. I hate seeing an inactive airlock, and I hate the way my brain starts coming up with nightmare scenarios in which my wort will never grow up to be a beer.

I tend to agree. You can always drink your beer before it's fully conditioned, but you can't have beer if it doesn't ferment. It's always a bit suspenseful to me to see if it really will ferment. It's great feeling to go downstairs to check the carboy and hear those bubbles coming out when fermentation gets underway. What a relief.

 

[Sir Humpsalot]

My least favorite time is the time between secondary and getting around to finding time to bottle. I'm surprised, but it seems I never quite have the time to bottle... a few extra days turn into a few weeks in no time at al. Of course, I suppose that's better for my beer.

 

[Cheesefood]

Waiting for the wife's period to end.

 

[the_bird]

Waiting for the wife's period to end.

Waiting for it to GET here...

 

[wild]

I think conditioning time is the worst because it takes the longest. I like the time between finding that great recipe and brewing it (waiting to brew) because I get as much of a charge as I did as a youngster waiting for Christmas morning.

Wild

 

[Torchiest]

Yeah, at times I've felt like I would go nuts if I couldn't brew soon, but on the other hand, the anticipation and excitement to try a new recipe is pretty great.

 

[Evan!]

Wort chilling is a breeze, especially since I got an immersion chiller. Plus, I use that time to clean up, so I keep myself occupado.

It's a close race between conditioning (carbonating) and yeast lag time. I gotta say, those 3 days I spent waiting for my Cranberry Dubbel to start were agonizing. But the three months I've been waiting for my Wheat Doppelbock to carbonate have been shyte, as well.

 

[Flyin' Lion]

At least while the beer is fermenting you have something to watch, but while waiting for it to condition you got nothing to entertain you.

 

[rdwj]

Waiting for the fermentation to begin always makes me a bit nervous, so I picked that.

 

[BrettMan]

I'm new to all of this, but so far, waiting while my bottles just sit there is agonizing. Seeing it in the primary was fun - watching the krausen, watching the bubbles, etc. The secondary was easy - mainly because I had filled my primary again and got to watch that. But now that it's in the bottle, I can't wait. I find myself going in the closet (where they are just sitting... in the dark) just to look at it for a few minutes. I've gazed longingly at my bottles like three times today. I even made a label becuase I HAD to do something...

It's only been 4 days!! I know I'm gonna break down and pop one open this weekend... just to see....

 

[Tony]

I voted for waiting for conditioning. The wait for the fermentation to start can be an antsy time, but with making starters for all my batches, it always begins relatively quick. I love the fermentation stage, and watching the yeast do its job. Especially with wheat beers, as they are so much more active. My wife flipped out the first time I brewed a wheat and left the carboy on top of a table with a blow off thumping away, and she could actually see it churning away. Cooling is quick with my plate chiller, so thats no problem, but I do remember when I used an entry level immersion chiller. Waiting on conditioning sucks to me, as once you get to that stage and your samples so far are awesome, I just want to have it on tap and enjoying it.

 

[KopyKat]

The hardest part for me is once its in the bottles. Leaving them alone for three weeks is asking a lot.

Ditto!

Edit: I just found out that an answer has to be at least 10 digits long.

 

[Whelk]

You know, I'm glad I'm not the only one finding excuses to go down to the cellar and watch my bottles condition. Fortunately, I've got a stout in primary, so I have the excuse of 'checking the temperature'.

 

[Cheesefood]

Make a mead. That'll teach you patience. My first mead is about 9 months old now and I stopped sampling it about 3 months ago because I want it to settle more. I plan on bottle aging my melomel at least 2 years.

 

[Torchiest]

Geez, if it really takes that long, I should get started on it right now!

 

[david_42]

Waiting for a keg to blow, so I can brew without having too big of a backlog. When I brewed with Michael, that wasn't a problem. He'd keep 4 gallons and I'd take one.

 

[ryser2k]

I hate waiting for the water to boil on my stovetop

 

[boo boo]

I hate waiting for anything. I want it NOW!

But to have great beer you have to wait, so I did learn to be patient,
weather I liked it or not.

 

[Jim Karr]

I have to agree with Cheese's first response....

But with brewing, it's waiting to drink the first bottle of a brand new recipe. I just put my second wheat into the fermenter.

Drives me nuts until I can drink the first bottle, to see if my self-designed recipe was a flop or not!

 

[BierMuncher]

At least during the open-wort process, you can sneak a taste to satisfy your curiosity. Of course, the better the sample out of your hyro tastes, the more impatient you become waiting for "the fiz" to develope.

And those bottles are just so dark, I can't see what's going on in there.