Why do people Quit brewing?

[Orpheus]

What really irks me is that I'm sure we lose lots of brewers to bad product because of bad kits. I remember my first brew was a kit that told me to add a few pounds of table sugar and ferment in a sanitized trash can. I'm sure these still exist and result in substandard products which cause many people to give it up as a waste of time which results in a poor beer.

 

[Klainmeister]

If my first beer hadn't been one of the best damn things i've ever drank, i probably would have told my grandpa - "this is too much damn work!"

 

[Ize]

if i lost both my arms in a horrible accident, i'd probably quit brewing. but i'd still make someone do it for me

Isn't that why we have kids?



IMHO, I tend to think most people get sidetracked... life, in its' infinite insanity, gets in the way.

I personally think life needs to take a flying leap sometimes and let me do what the hell I want to do.




Until the bills are due of course.

Ize

 

[KopyKat]

I think there are two big reasons that most people quit. The first is time. That's the one that keeps me from brewing more often than I do. The second one is boredom. Some people are interested in learning how to make beer or building a system, then lose interest once they get to a point where they are comfortable.

I think rdwi has it right for the majority of brewers that have been sucessful. However I think most people that start never get good and decide it is not for them. We never hear about them most of the time so it may seem like that would not be a great number. I would bet it is the greatest number.

Peoples lives change and sometimes something must give and hobbies are a lot easer to give up than kids, wives and work.

Boredom with a hobby is common enough especially if there is not a lot of local activity that helps keep it going such as a club, contests and the like to keep it interesting.

And of course, the homebrewer may have died. I am not sure that is a good excuse though.....

 

[Fingers]

Drunkenness. I'll quit when I have to save my marriage. Or I'll quit being married when I have to save my brewing. One or the other. Hasn't come up yet.

 

[Sea]

I can see how the cleaning/sanitizing preocess could drive someone out. When I'm rinsing and repeating, I sometimes feel that a Frontal Labotamy would be better. Course, I'm that way with all maintinance, teethbrushing, haircut, showers, it's gotta be done but,....... somebody shoot me.

Seriously though, can't ever see quitting despite the boring parts.

 

[somecallmetim]

I brewed extract for a couple of years, quit for 5 years or so and am currently drinking my first AG, (edworts haus) brewed with my brother. Why did I quit? I cant really say, a number of factors I guess, First and formost I bought a motorcycle and for a while all my freetime got consumed exploring backroads & traveling, also the LHBS shut down, making it sort of a PITA. My brother missed my beer and brewed every once in a while... I always meant to get back into it. Recently I bought a new house with more space & bought some cornies, hope to never live without homebrew again.

 

[dibby33]

Death. The only exit clause.

 

[ameadrat]

I just read the posts. I'm sitting here finishing my Traquar house ale clone and thinking if I had bought this it would have cost me about $7.25 for my 16 oz.
That was really only about 50 cents.

Reaons we quit:
Rook likes the process but is trying to make commercial beers. I'll commit sucide.
Bud does what they do well. I would never try to do what they do. I cant make it cheaper or worse(sorry I mean better) and still be bud.

Time- that is proirities and nobody bother to tell them that AG is the only way to go an its a six hour day or worse.

I've had great teachers and got lucky early in that I started with AG and my first beers were good ales.

So how do we get them past that stage. Those who like it take breaks, I call that letting it age which is not a bad thing with stouts and scottish ales. If you have a kid, your running them all the time so you take a break. That's time or priorities.

I think most quit because of lack of success(as defined in their terms) and it runs its course and they decide its not for me. Some quit because some of us(not me), are gadget junkies and the money starts to fly out the door. My 10 year old 40 quart picnic cooler($18.) is finished and I'm in sticker shock.

So now how do we take the Rook's and help them love it like we do? This is not a theortical discussion. A friend of mine has asked me to lead a discussion on getting started in how brew, to a bunch of people who are already into scratch cooking. Its kinda of a uppie back to earth type group.

 

[ameadrat]

dang am I wordy and I even double post

 

[Butchv12]

Boredom with a hobby is common enough especially if there is not a lot of local activity that helps keep it going such as a club, contests and the like to keep it interesting.

I live in a small town and don't know another home brewer within 100 miles --- oh I am sure there are some, but how do you find 'em?

I would love to have a brew day here or there - but 99% of the drinkers around here want rice and corn in their beer, if you know what I mean.

ButchV12

 

[Hyperion]

With great sadness, I sold my mash tun and fermentation chamber today. Both were projects, especially the chiller, which took my father and I two weekends to complete. It was a glorious chamber and the guy who bought it got it for less than the cost of materials. Surely he will pass it on to another aspiring brewer some day. My reasons have been multifactorial:

1. Moving to a small apt and all my gear takes up half a garage

2. Pretty hard on my back

3. Led to too much drinking

4. Takes a ton of time

5. The output:investment is decent, but when you factor in the time, it's not frugal by any means

6. For some reason, despite having 3-4 years of experience and many amazing beers, both in esoteric and common recipes, I had a series of really oxidized batches that puzzled me and stunted my ambition

7. Fridge space, conditioning space, brewing space

8. Nowadays, there is SO much good beer on the market, with new brewpubs opening constantly

9. Other interests to pursue. While I tried to keep things simple, ultimately I found pressure to pitch on this day or bottle on that day, or rotate this and that and the other, and it just became too consuming. I think I can explore 2 or 3 new hobbies with the time freed up from no longer brewing.

My biggest downsides and bummer-inducers about quitting:

1. I doubt I'll ever see a brewery large or small making Mosher's Maple Buckwheat beer, which was fantastic and fun to produce

2. Grabbing beers before heading to a party and impressing everybody with no preplanned effort

3. The satisfaction of the process

4. Not making ALL those recipes I'd wanted to make


Whenever I finally buy a house, I suspect I will make a return, or at least think really really hard about it. For now, I can look back happily knowing that brewing opened a whole new world to me that led to club participation, endless chatting with other brewers and beer nerds, awesome inspiring books, visits to London, Belgium, Portland, and 19 breweries on a recent CA/OR road trip, a true love for sours, an excitement when I see a new small brewery opening up and fulfilling a brewer's dream and benefitting the community, an understanding of different grains I would never think about (spelt? kasha?) using in brewing or cooking, and the satisfaction of finally popping a top or cap and having a first taste of a new batch and thinking "Wow! This is so good! And I made it."

Happy brewing out there guys, and thanks for all the knowledge.

 

[Malty_Dog]

Good luck Hyperion!

*Edit - "blah blah blah blah"....I don't plan on quitting.

 

[25518]

I'm confused in this thread.

 

[betarhoalphadelta]

I've had two co-brewers quit. One was because I moved away, and the other because I moved my gear from his house to mine. Neither was *really* all that into it, though, once they didn't have me to make the recipes and run the process. They were more into it for the end product than the process.

I had one coworker quit brewing... He determined that he was gluten-intolerant (possibly even celiac, I'm not sure how severe his issue is), and had to cut out beer entirely. It's not entirely a lost cause, though -- I did convince him to start making apfelwein ;-)

 

[Spartan1979]

With great sadness, I sold my mash tun and fermentation chamber today. Both were projects, especially the chiller, which took my father and I two weekends to complete. It was a glorious chamber and the guy who bought it got it for less than the cost of materials. Surely he will pass it on to another aspiring brewer some day. My reasons have been multifactorial:

1. Moving to a small apt and all my gear takes up half a garage

2. Pretty hard on my back

3. Led to too much drinking

4. Takes a ton of time

5. The output:investment is decent, but when you factor in the time, it's not frugal by any means

6. For some reason, despite having 3-4 years of experience and many amazing beers, both in esoteric and common recipes, I had a series of really oxidized batches that puzzled me and stunted my ambition

7. Fridge space, conditioning space, brewing space

8. Nowadays, there is SO much good beer on the market, with new brewpubs opening constantly

9. Other interests to pursue. While I tried to keep things simple, ultimately I found pressure to pitch on this day or bottle on that day, or rotate this and that and the other, and it just became too consuming. I think I can explore 2 or 3 new hobbies with the time freed up from no longer brewing.

My biggest downsides and bummer-inducers about quitting:

1. I doubt I'll ever see a brewery large or small making Mosher's Maple Buckwheat beer, which was fantastic and fun to produce

2. Grabbing beers before heading to a party and impressing everybody with no preplanned effort

3. The satisfaction of the process

4. Not making ALL those recipes I'd wanted to make


Whenever I finally buy a house, I suspect I will make a return, or at least think really really hard about it. For now, I can look back happily knowing that brewing opened a whole new world to me that led to club participation, endless chatting with other brewers and beer nerds, awesome inspiring books, visits to London, Belgium, Portland, and 19 breweries on a recent CA/OR road trip, a true love for sours, an excitement when I see a new small brewery opening up and fulfilling a brewer's dream and benefitting the community, an understanding of different grains I would never think about (spelt? kasha?) using in brewing or cooking, and the satisfaction of finally popping a top or cap and having a first taste of a new batch and thinking "Wow! This is so good! And I made it."

Happy brewing out there guys, and thanks for all the knowledge.

So, you're first post in this forum is to tell us you are no longer a homebrewer?

 

[BBL_Brewer]

I hit a rut about 4 years ago and almost gave up on brewing. Well, more like burned out I guess. I made it a goal to stop buying beer and become self sufficient. I did that for almost a year brewing 5 gallon batches and the time I investing was just unreal. Brewing became a chore instead of a joy. Since I really enjoy the hobby (and I knew I wasn't going to stop drinking beer) I put together a barebones 1 bbl brew rig. Problem solved. Now I can brew 3 or 4 times per year and always have beer to drink. If I want to brew more often than that, I invite a brewbuddy over and split a batch or just brew a 5 gallon batch once in a while. I actually find myself wanting to brew more often than I need to most of the time. Long story short, If I was still cranking out 5 gallon batches and bottling all of them, I probably would have given up a long time ago.

 

[xjmox14x]

I hit a rut about 4 years ago and almost gave up on brewing. Well, more like burned out I guess. I made it a goal to stop buying beer and become self sufficient. I did that for almost a year brewing 5 gallon batches and the time I investing was just unreal. Brewing became a chore instead of a joy. Since I really enjoy the hobby (and I knew I wasn't going to stop drinking beer) I put together a barebones 1 bbl brew rig. Problem solved. Now I can brew 3 or 4 times per year and always have beer to drink. If I want to brew more often than that, I invite a brewbuddy over and split a batch or just brew a 5 gallon batch once in a while. I actually find myself wanting to brew more often than I need to most of the time. Long story short, If I was still cranking out 5 gallon batches and bottling all of them, I probably would have given up a long time ago.

I noticed the same thing. I was getting burned out with moving equipment everywhere to make it work on my stove top, swamp cooler, absolutely dreading bottling, etc. Now that I've made it relatively easy on myself with a new setup and kegging, I love it again. It's so much easier now, so I can concentrate more on enjoying the recipe and what goes into it. The process is simple enough now to where it doesn't take up a whole afternoon and I can do other things while it's moving along.

 

[DrunkleJon]

Most people that quit seem to have some life event causing it. Be it financial, infant, marriage (some SWMBO's say no), medical (gluten, liver problems, alcoholism), legal, time, etc. Some probably just lose the bug.

I feel for those that are forced to quit for whatever the reason may be. I understand with those who just aren't feeling it anymore. Hobbies should be fun and are for using your disposable income and spare time and should not be a burden of any sort. If they were a burden why would you be doing it?

Lets lift a glass of homebrew to all those homebrewers we have lost for whichever reasons, and wish them the best with whatever they do.

 

[nickelmcgee]

I started brewing with 2 other guys. We each bought 1/3 of the equipment and split the batches (12 gallon) 3 ways. 1 of the guys couldn’t keep up when I wanted to brew more often. It’s not that I drank more; I just had a larger group of friends and family to share with. The second guy quit because he just didn’t enjoy the hobby. He loved the results but didn’t have a passion for the process or the work. I ended up buying them both out. Now I brew as often as I like and keep all the beer for myself. As far as I know neither of them brews.

 

[Rhumbline]

With all endeavors, when the level of aggravation exceeds the level of compensation, I'm out.

So far, what I get out of this hobby is more than I put into it, so I'm staying in.

Pete

 

[25518]

I enjoy it. Due to the chaos I deal woth all week. I like to chill in me kitchen. Drink a few brews, smoke a few. Er. And relax. It's relaxing to me. I wanted to do it ten years ago. When I was 24. I'm glad I'm doing it. I've made several mistakes. Only to make several more. But, I'm learning something I've always wanted to do. It's soothing to me. I'm around & have always beem around heavy machines, nail guns, jackhammers. Constant yelling. So, for me to chill in my kitchen with out all of that is very soothing. I don't have to rush. Not getting yelled at to rush. I'm me own boss. And love it.

 

[Jmarsh544]

Did anyone else notice that most of the comments at the beginning of this thread were from people who use to contribute a ton to this forum and post all the time and now they are not really around? Kinda ironic...

 

[Pilgarlic]

When my son introduced me to the hobby I cared little and knew little about beer. It wasn't beer that attracted my interest, but brewing. I'm a serial hobbyist and I've come to recognize what makes, for me, a "perfect" hobby: first, there must be a relatively low threshold for initial success (homebrewing has this, golf doesn't, for example), and, second, the perfect hobby isn't easily "mastered", that is, the learning curve seems never to stop climbing. Home brewing is a great hobby from this standpoint. Two more books came in the mail today and I can't wait to get as much as I can from each of them. The hobby is enhanced by people who share the hobby. I have a "team" of brewers I meet with monthly and we challenge each other in every way. We formally judge one another's beers and examine one another's processes to track down sources of flaws or shortcomings. This keeps the hobby engaging and challenging. And, of course, after the judging and critiquing, we share pizza and beer and bs. I'll quit the hobby if and when I feel like the excitement of learning something new is no longer there... and I really don't expect that to happen because homebrewing really is the perfect hobby.

 

[BBBF]

Did anyone else notice that most of the comments at the beginning of this thread were from people who use to contribute a ton to this forum and post all the time and now they are not really around? Kinda ironic...

I had to check when the OP was last active. It was last December, so not too long ago.

 

[DPBISME]

I agree with the Been there done that group... they are off to a new challange

 

[ShootsNRoots]

Really never "quit", just stopped brewing for long periods of time (several years), until one day I see my mash tun sitting there and realize I haven't used it in a long time. Then I say to myself, maybe next weekend... eventually I just get it out and make a beer. It's really that simple. Never had a need to sell stuff. A mash tun, cooling coil, two fermenters and a box of siphons, air locks etc... don't really take up much space.

Now if you're going to the extreme of selling, then you're probably bordering on the, "I'm drinking too much" or "I need the money" side of things.

 

[Hyperion]

Spartan, yup. I used HBT for 5 years and surely spent hundreds of hours reading threads. Since I have the patience to search, I never found a need to start a new topic, and all the threads I read had covered the topic in question quite thoroughly (often too much so...apfelwein thread?!). *Shrug* When I posted it was a really unexpectedly emotional day after getting rid of my brewing-specific pieces, and this was a place to release, positively. After finding this thread (through a search, fancy that) I decided to contribute a few different reasons from what was listed in other people's decision to stop brewing. Surely there are many people who brew and then move on without making a single post on HBT. I appreciate the community here, but I didn't feel the need to be a participant. My farewell to brewing, I thought, could help other people rationalize a difficult decision if they found themselves on the fence.
And BBL, I was doing the same thing as you. I moved from the SF Bay Area to a BMC zone in the Mojave Desert and I needed to "beer homestead" in order to survive. It got to be a drag. In the past 3 years, good craft beer became available, and eased the burden. If and when I return to brewing (could be many years away), I will focus on recipes like those from Radical Brewing, use a keg, and just buy common styles at the brewpub. I think one or two batches a month would keep it fun. My last big year, I made 17 5-gal batches, and bottled all of them. Obviously it's a passion, but there is a line between it being fun and it being work.

 

[Hyperion]

And Shoots, the tiny Bay Area apartment I'm moving into really can't accommodate all the kit I acquired since having a garage in SoCal. If I'm not going to brew for at least several years, it makes more sense to let go of some things than to drag them around. I'm still keeping all my small tools (refractometer, mash paddle, etc), but it just would be an eyesore/pain to have a huge 3-carboy fermentation chamber with mini fridge, tun, HLT, grain mill, bags of grain, a freezer full of hops, 13 cases of swing top bottles, 4 big carboys, 2 small carboys, 150ish crown cap bottles...in my living room. I certainly don't need the money from the items, and quitting homebrewing doesn't impact my consumption choices since there is so much creativity and accessibility to great beer nowadays. I know you qualified your statement with "probably" so I'm just responding with a "not necessarily."

 

[Manholebrewhause]

I noticed that the reason I quit recently has not even been mentioned! I reside in Richmond Virginia where recently it was said there are 30 new homebrewers every week in this area. Mostly people trying to keep the hipster moement alive, or college students/grads still spending daddy's money. Because of this surge, we now have 3 homebrew shops, all of which are below par. Either the owner won't sell to you unless he likes you (or you offer to pay more than the sticker price), or the owner is more focused on opening his own brewery than dealing with you. At all of them you have to wait in line just to get inside and find out the supplies you need are long gone. There are various brew clubs with memberships at capacity. Mostly people looking for free beer. Every time I tried to bring a batch in for input, 99% of responses I got were "Its good. Can I drink some more?"
Maybe I will try it again one day after the "homebrew fad" dies down, or when people leave this forsaken city. But for now I'm going to enjoy throwing my equipment and surplus beer in the bonfire this weekend...