Why is it so hard to find a brew partner??

[steber]

Time for mindless ranting.. I'm brewing today and my friend is nearly 3 hours late to help brew. I'll first state that I wouldn't mind brewing by myself, but its always nice to show people how to brew and have someone for the having lifting since i don't have a 3 tier system or pumps.

My first partner was my friend who went in on me with our first set up. We brewed a dozen or so batches together. Every time we brewed I was constantly stuck with doing the set up, and clean up, brew days are always at my house, i foot the cost of the propane, and do a majority of the research and DIY projects. Him and I had a falling out and I feel its for the best.

So one of my other friends has done a mr beer kit or two and was supposed to be here at 9am. It's now 11:30 and I'm still waiting. I could start with out him but I wanted to be able to show him all the steps. I just feel like I'm in the same hole i was with my first partner. :smack:

Why is it so hard to find someone who has the same amount of passion about brewing as I do? They sure love to drink the beers when they're done! But nobody wants to put in the leg work.

 

[chumpsteak]

Buy a pump.

You may never find anyone with the passion for brewing you have. And that may not be a bad thing.

 

[steber]

Buy a pump.

You may never find anyone with the passion for brewing you have. And that may not be a bad thing.[/QUOTE

Maybe i should.. I can name it, and give it a hat, and it can be my new brew partner. He'll never be late, no talk back! And he'll never drink all my beer. Sounds like a great idea!

 

[Hammy71]

See, I'm lucky. Mr friend is here on time and does 90% of the cleaning. I split the brews with him (10 gallon batches), he pays for half the ingredients and the propane. I guess you need to find a friend that wants his own beer supply. Cause, if he don't help....he don't get beer.

 

[WhiteDog87]

Why is it so hard to find someone who has the same amount of passion about brewing as I do? They sure love to drink the beers when they're done! But nobody wants to put in the leg work.

Looks like you live in Pennsylvania, you should check out the National Home Brewers Conference this year, its in Philly. Your bound to find some like minded home brewers there. (I'll be there, but Im from Los Angeles)

 

[beowulf]

I have the same problem, sort of.... I almost prefer brewing by myself. However, I have had a couple of friends come over and help out and take part in the process. Fortunately, one of them helped out a lot with the cleaning and paying for half the ingredients. Reliability, however, has proven to be an issue....not sure what it is with people these days, but I've noticed that some people don't show up or are excessively late and don't bother to say "hey, I'm running behind" or "hey I can't make it today". As a result, I just brew on schedule and if they miss out on part of the process then so be it.

If there are brewing clubs in the area, you may look into that. You're probably more likely to find people with a passion for homebrewing in a club than you are just asking one of your buddies. I haven't tried this, but it seems logical. Btw...brewing today all by my lonesome...ahhhh the freedom!

Best of luck on your brew day...

 

[cheesehed007]

Time for mindless ranting.. I'm brewing today and my friend is nearly 3 hours late to help brew. I'll first state that I wouldn't mind brewing by myself, but its always nice to show people how to brew and have someone for the having lifting since i don't have a 3 tier system or pumps.

My first partner was my friend who went in on me with our first set up. We brewed a dozen or so batches together. Every time we brewed I was constantly stuck with doing the set up, and clean up, brew days are always at my house, i foot the cost of the propane, and do a majority of the research and DIY projects. Him and I had a falling out and I feel its for the best.

So one of my other friends has done a mr beer kit or two and was supposed to be here at 9am. It's now 11:30 and I'm still waiting. I could start with out him but I wanted to be able to show him all the steps. I just feel like I'm in the same hole i was with my first partner. :smack:

Why is it so hard to find someone who has the same amount of passion about brewing as I do? They sure love to drink the beers when they're done! But nobody wants to put in the leg work.

Send him a copy of "The Little Red Hen" hopefully he'll get the hint.. Cheers

 

[steber]

So.. he just texted me about 10 minutes ago to tell me he can't make it now. Somewhat furious, Gave him a good peice of my mind! My brew day would be over by now if I started at 9.. Instead I waited for the prick that never showed! Just pissed cuz it threw my whole day off, brew days are supposed to be enjoyable and relaxing. Now I feel like I wanna punch babies and kick puppies..

None the less I'm forging forward.. First brew day by myself, ever.

 

[Bulls Beers]

I brew alone...Yeah yeah, with nobody else...


No really I do...I watch football alone and I brew alone..Once in a while a friend will come by, but I start really early.....

 

[Krovitz]

The first time I brewed with my friend, I bought the ingredients, brought all my equipment to his house, cleaned up by myself, bottled with his wife(!) because he decided to fry chicken the moment I started siphoning into the bottling bucket. After 2 weeks, we split a 6 pack to see if it was ready. By the next week he had given away close to an entire batch. Not drank, given away. I'd almost feel better if he just went on a drinking binge.

Good help is hard to find.

 

[sudsmcgee]

Since day one I have always planned every batch to be made by myself. I pay for everything and plan on doing everything. If I have a helper that's great, but they don't expect more than a few beers or so per batch.

 

[steber]

My first partner and I would do our own batches, give a 6 pack to the helper. Every now and then we'd split the cost on a batch and split up the finished batch. He just isn't a home brewer.. he likes to drink and give away his share. He has dreams of opening a brewery, yet I don't think he could brew a single batch alone.. Speaking of which, I just got done finishing my first batch alone. After I settled down from being screwed over, things started coming together. I'm always the ring leader so going at it alone was actually awesome. I was able to focus on brewing and now entertaining. I mash only dropped 1 degree over the hour (first time I was able to get it that close to what i needed) my runnings came out great, ended up with ~7 gallons in the kettle. I did yoopers 60min clone, so my hop schedule kept me busy. Ended up with 5.5gallons in the carboy. Just a little more than i wanted, my tank died on me in the middle, it took me 3 mins to grab the spare off the grill, so I think the sputtering out of the old tank and transition didn't help with my boiloff.. I think the best part was I finally got a gravity reading I found exceptable. I was shooting for 1.070 can came in at 1.068!! Once again, the closest I've ever got to target. Usually I'm 10 points off. This might have been the best brew day yet, and I get to keep it all! No sharing! Unless I run into a fellow HBTer.. =oP

 

[ReverseApacheMaster]

I enjoy seeing other people's processes and helping others but I like to brew my beers by myself.

 

[ArcticBear]

i usually brew by myself. i have some friends that brew locally but our schedules never line up as far as a collaboration.

the one time i had a friend brew with me i carted all of my gear from CT to PA to brew with a friend who brews his own from time to time. He picked the recipe, I bought the ingredients (i was reimbursed) he drank the whole time and practically passed out before we had even sparged and i was left to do all the cleaning/prepping/boiling/chilling and separating into 2 buckets. months later he commented how awesome the beer was that "we" brewed, he laughed and finished the sentence by saying "and by "we" i mean, you did everything" so at least it was nice to have the recognition.

My girlfriend tries/wants to help me every time i brew but im crazy about things being cleaned and sanitized so i usually don't entrust that to anyone else.

i find it relaxing to brew solo. I have my laptop/ipad out on the table playing good music and i just don't let anything else going on in the world/my life interrupt it.

 

[steber]

i usually brew by myself. i have some friends that brew locally but our schedules never line up as far as a collaboration.

the one time i had a friend brew with me i carted all of my gear from CT to PA to brew with a friend who brews his own from time to time. He picked the recipe, I bought the ingredients (i was reimbursed) he drank the whole time and practically passed out before we had even sparged and i was left to do all the cleaning/prepping/boiling/chilling and separating into 2 buckets. months later he commented how awesome the beer was that "we" brewed, he laughed and finished the sentence by saying "and by "we" i mean, you did everything" so at least it was nice to have the recognition.

My girlfriend tries/wants to help me every time i brew but im crazy about things being cleaned and sanitized so i usually don't entrust that to anyone else.

i find it relaxing to brew solo. I have my laptop/ipad out on the table playing good music and i just don't let anything else going on in the world/my life interrupt it.

If you ever drive to PA again, I'll brew with you! Promise I won't leave ya hanging!

It'll be more like this
instead of this

By the way.. Here's my baby in primary.

 

[ArcticBear]

i will definitely let you know. it'll be highly unlikely i'll be trekking down there with my gear again though. being all grain, it was a lot to put in my wagon.

 

[Frige]

Maybe you should get a pool table? LOL just kidding. I had one for a while and there are worst things than brewing alone. I have had helpers but mostly they just sit and watch, drink my beer and comment man this is kinda boring huh?

Or you could get into drag racing. Nothing like spending 40 hours rebuilding the car by yourself just to have your buddies show up at the track and boost about how we worked so hard....

 

[Yooper]

I brew alone. It's mostly because I only know one person locally (well, not even that local) who brews.

 

[Barnzy02]

I've almost given up on even inviting/offering people to stop by on brewdays.

I brew by myself 99% of the time. I find it more relaxing and less stressful.

 

[unionrdr]

This thread makes me think of Moe. "Why can't I find amanda hugginkis?"...maybe your standards are too high!
I'm left pretty much alone on brewday since my wife found out she's a type 1 diabetic & can't drink anymore. She's bummed about it this time of year. Now I'm with Thorougood,just me & my good buddy wiser...& we drink alone.

 

[Homercidal]

I used to invite a friend over to help brew, but it turns out he doesn't ever want to brew himself (he doesn't drink beer) and just seemed to distract me from my process. I am usually scrambling to get things right due to lack of preparation.

His daughter is much easier to brew with. She is interested in the process and how beer can be applied to cooking. She is studying cooking, so understanding the process of brewing is like the process of cooking to a certain degree.

This weekend I'm working out a brew day with another friend from 3.5 hours away. He is slowly getting his AG system together. He doesn't brew much, but is wanting to get back into it. I just have to remember to be prepared well in advance, and not drink too much during.

Most of the time I brew better alone. If I had a knowledgeable partner who would step in and discuss the recipe and could help me remember when things need to be done, instead of helping me forget them, I'd probably love brewing with them more. Until then, I very much enjoy cranking tunes and just getting it done.

 

[Pappers_]

Buy a pump. . . .

Maybe i should.. I can name it, and give it a hat, and it can be my new brew partner. He'll never be late, no talk back! And he'll never drink all my beer. Sounds like a great idea!

Please please please name him Wilson

 

[Pappers_]

I brew alone. It's mostly because I only know one person locally (well, not even that local) who brews.

Mostly its because you're stand-offish and introverted . . .

 

[Pappers_]

When my son is home, I brew with him. Otherwise, if I've planned more than 3 hours ahead of time, I'll put a note on facebook or send a note out to our homebrew clubs google group and invite folks to stop by. They don't really 'help' me brew, they just stop by and shoot the breeze for a little, while occasionally throwing in a handful of hops.

 

[steber]

Yeah I enjoyed brewing by myself, even though it was my first time I felt much more relaxed and was able to be focused. Instead of entertaining I was able to clean parts or prepare the next step..

as for having high standards, if expecting someone to show up who bails at the last second is high standards, then guilty as charged. I have no problem spending time and explaining the process to any one who cares to be in my presence. I just wish sometimes I had someone to bounce ideas off of in person instead of someone who looks like deer in headlights.

 

[Krovitz]

Someone needs to start a brew partner thread. Depending on how trusting you are of forum lurkers. Ha. I partial mash in a bag, stove top brew but it would be cool to help out an AG brewer. (without getting in the way ) I can't imagine what you could learn in just one brew day with an experienced brewer.

 

[meadmazer]

Lately the ones I brew with are great at paying for stuff, helping clean up, very interested in the process etc. Bought cornys, co2, carboys, bulk DME etc right after thier first brewing lesson a few weeks ago. We got together last week, there was alot going on for them, but they still showed up and we had 5 kettles going between us. Session was a bit rushed tho.
Brewing takes PATIENCE. Plan the whole day, and if you get done early, great. If you plan like a 3 hour window and you "have to be done by then", you are probly gonna have issues.

 

[TwoDogBrew]

Just me and my two dogs.. sometime son in-law helps.. drink that is

 

[Whattawort]

I usually let my friends know when I brew but I never expect them to come. If they do, they do but if they don't, it's no sweat off my yarbles. I actually find it easier to brew solo because I don't have to stop every step of the way to explain what I'm doing. I would love to have a knowledgeable brew partner, but the only one I know lives about 45min away so that's not very feasible. I get to listen to my music and do things my way, so that's all the better to me. BUT if I do get some help, the assistant automatically gets a 6 pack, possibly more if they help with the cleanup as we go.

 

[steber]

I usually let my friends know when I brew but I never expect them to come. If they do, they do but if they don't, it's no sweat off my yarbles. I actually find it easier to brew solo because I don't have to stop every step of the way to explain what I'm doing. I would love to have a knowledgeable brew partner, but the only one I know lives about 45min away so that's not very feasible. I get to listen to my music and do things my way, so that's all the better to me. BUT if I do get some help, the assistant automatically gets a 6 pack, possibly more if they help with the cleanup as we go.

Yeah I usually hand out a 6 pack and then some. Just glad I get it all for myself this time!!!!