Giving Up Brewing

[Owly055]

My first homebrew was in 1967, at age 12...... on the sly. I've brewed beer and wine off and on since. I've brewed close to 200 batches in the last 3 years, most 2.5 gallon.

My relationship with alcohol goes back over 50 years!! It is not doing me any good. A year or so back, I quit drinking totally for 3 months....... It was never my intention to quit longer than that at that time. I wanted to lose some weight, and to discover if I had become "dependent". I had no difficulty, but addiction does not run in my family, or my huge extended family. We have no alcoholics or drug addicted family members, for whatever reason, nor to my knowledge have we ever.

My health is suffering from alcohol, and my blood pressure is in the red zone. I've not visited a doctor for about 10 years, as I am generally healthy, and physically fit. I walk several miles a day, work outdoors much of the time, and still trek far back into the mountains in the summer on a regular basis. As part of making a number of major life changes, I'm giving up brewing, all drinking aside from the typical one beer I have when I go to the bar about twice a week. This time my intent is for it to be permanent.

Unfortunately I have about 40 pounds of two row and a freezer full of hops, I'd estimate 7 lbs. I also have several fermenters including my 7 gallon Fast Ferment, two of the Williams 1.7 gallon mini corny kegs, and quite a few of the half liter EZ Cap bottles, a copper coil chiller, one 20 qt stainless stockpot that I don't really need, a 1500 watt floating heater and misc other things. I also have the 3 gallon Fast Ferment that simply does not work, and which I was refunded for and told to do what I want with....... I can't sell it, obviously both because that would not be morally right, and because it simply does not work, but I will give it to anybody who decides to take the rest. I will not piecemeal things out.

I live north of Big Timber, Montana, which is roughly half way between Bozeman and Billings, and often go to both places, and in the fall I usually travel westward to Portland, sometimes taking the direct route through Spokane, others heading south through Idaho. I like back roads.

Anybody in the area who's interested, please PM me.... This is an all or nothing deal, and I can load the works up and bring it to the BZ or BGS area, and we can deal.

..................... I'm through!

 

[brewbama]

Don’t need your stuff... just wanted to say good on ya. Cheers!

 

[MaxStout]

Do what you need to do and take care of yourself. That's what matters.

 

[madscientist451]

Sounds like a good move for you, hope you can get your BP to a safe level and enjoy life.

 

[Owly055]

This is not a "crash program". I will consume and share what is in the pipeline, keeping my consumption rate low, and never refill it. Other lifestyle changes have already begun as of a week or so ago and are having a noticeable and measurable effect.

H.W.

 

[kh54s10]

Sorry that you have issues, I hope you stay active on HBT even if you don't brew. If I had the funds I would make an offer if I was anywhere near, but I am (probably) now farther (in Florida) than I was previously (in Rhode Island) so making a connection is unlikely.

Take care of yourself and good luck.

 

[JohnSand]

I'll miss your posts and creativity. Good luck, good health, fair winds!

 

[TwistedGray]

As others mirrored, I am sure you are a wealth of knowledge, and you shouldn't let your lack of consumption prevent you from sharing what you've learned over the last several decades. ...but you already know this

 

[Vandulus]

I've taken periods of abstinence and have noticed how much better my body feels. Good luck in your endeavor!

 

[cubalz]

I wish you the best of luck and good health.

 

[Homercidal]

Good for you.

I recommend you also post your items in the For Sale section with a price. It's a requirement of the site.

 

[Owly055]

Thanks for all the good wishes and support. It's been fun, and I'm not going anywhere..................

H.W.

 

[jcav]

Take care of you, and it's good your still sticking around!

John

 

[TasunkaWitko]

Owly - I know right were you're at, and I hope things go well. If I'm down that way this year, I might drop a note and see if you want to get together for a visit or a beverage of choice...I'm open to anything from buttermilk to White Lightning.

In the meantime, if you don't mind a suggestion: Folks like us tend to enjoy creating things and nurturing them along until they can be fully enjoyed. With that in mind, try to keep active in some way with the game. You might brew now and then for friends and family; or even if you stop brewing altogether, there are things to do. I've been fermenting my own sauerkraut, pickles and other things for a while now, with great results, and of course all of it is very healthy. Also, there are activities such as cheesemaking, sourdough baking etc.; depending on the stuff you make, there are health benefits.

I assume that you probably garden (canning) and hunt (make jerky, sausage etc.) and fish (smoked trout, pickled pike!), but there are also a lot of charcuterie projects out there to be tried. Bacon is a favourite of mine, but there are too many to count, and most are even pretty healthy.

Good luck and best wishes from the frozen north of Chinook -

Ron

 

[Owly055]

Owly - I know right were you're at, and I hope things go well. If I'm down that way this year, I might drop a note and see if you want to get together for a visit or a beverage of choice...I'm open to anything from buttermilk to White Lightning.

In the meantime, if you don't mind a suggestion: Folks like us tend to enjoy creating things and nurturing them along until they can be fully enjoyed. With that in mind, try to keep active in some way with the game. You might brew now and then for friends and family; or even if you stop brewing altogether, there are things to do. I've been fermenting my own sauerkraut, pickles and other things for a while now, with great results, and of course all of it is very healthy. Also, there are activities such as cheesemaking, sourdough baking etc.; depending on the stuff you make, there are health benefits.

I assume that you probably garden (canning) and hunt (make jerky, sausage etc.) and fish (smoked trout, pickled pike!), but there are also a lot of charcuterie projects out there to be tried. Bacon is a favourite of mine, but there are too many to count, and most are even pretty healthy.

Good luck and best wishes from the frozen north of Chinook -

Ron

Thanks Ron:
I've been active here for quite some time, but have yet to meet another member in person. The highline with it's cold winter winds, and hot muggy summers, and mosquitos the size of buzzards, is not a place I usually frequent, though I'm thoroughly familiar with it, from Williston, all the way to Chester and the Sweet Grass Hills from past forays up there. I have friends on the res south of you, others that have are a part of a large grazing association down on the Missouri. When heading north, I often take the back road from Winnifred to Big Sandy, but I've trodden the path from Stanford north to Ft Benton countless times over the past 35 years. At one point, I took the Stanford to Ft Benton road so frequently, inevitably stopping at the Square Butte Country Club (local bar), that the owner gave me a honorary membership card. The stress of driving that lonely piece of highway at night with blowing and drifting snow, facing Arrow Creek Hill, knowing that it would be iced, demanded that I stop for a beer. Like everywhere in Montana, if you've spent most of a lifetime here, I may not actually "know" anybody, but in another sense I do....... I can drop in and fall right in as if I had lived there all my life. I've lived in and loved Montana since 1973!\
You hit many of the hobbies I already have....... I make kefir, sourdough, kombucha, tempeh, cheese, sauerkraut, my own hot sauce from fermented chilies. I do my own corned beef, etc. I lost my taste for wild game long ago, so I don't hunt anymore. Ate too much of it as a child and in my early 20's. I have what most easterners would consider an "arsenal", as do virtually everybody I know, but I rarely shoot anything but raccoons, skunks, coyotes, pigeons, and other nuisance critters. Killing does not please me at all, but it's a fact of life in rural Montana. I do garden....... including hops, which I plan to transplant to the neighbor's yard across the street, as he is a brewer also........ I got him started.
At 62 and a half, I am working toward entering a new phase in my life, and I need my health. I've never been a passive sit down sort of guy. An outdoors-man, and adventurer, I have not has a "job" since 1980. I'm at the point where I don't really need my business anymore, and am allowing things to wind down, and younger people to fill in. I have other sources of income. For me it's a "sea change", and this is just a small part of it.

H.W.

 

[TasunkaWitko]

It sounds like we've chewed a lot of the same dirt as the wind blew it into our faces. That stretch between Fort Benton and Stanford is one of my favourite places in the whole state - I never cease to be fascinated with the Arrow Creek bridge, and I also love the Shonkin Gap as one of the most beautiful places in our great state. One of my goals this year is to find the "Lost Lake" that I have heard about in that area. Of course, another contender for "Most Beautiful" would be your Crazy Mountains; in October, we took that road from Big Timber to Harlowton, and I fell in love with it all - for probably the umpteenth time.... I honestly love the whole state, from West to East - but in the Central portion, I think we got the best of it, and I'd wager that you might agree.

I've been working a bit lately with Piima, which is similar to Viili; also, I tried a lacto-fermentation of beets (of all things!) that resulted in a really good-tasting drink that is - supposedly - very healthy, as well. I am enjoying these experiments but must admit that my favourite remains the home-fermented sauerkraut. For my next, I may take the real leap (for a Montanan) and try Kimchee/Kimchi.

 

[ncbrewer]

Good move. I wish you well.

 

[Owly055]

It sounds like we've chewed a lot of the same dirt as the wind blew it into our faces. That stretch between Fort Benton and Stanford is one of my favourite places in the whole state - I never cease to be fascinated with the Arrow Creek bridge, and I also love the Shonkin Gap as one of the most beautiful places in our great state. One of my goals this year is to find the "Lost Lake" that I have heard about in that area. Of course, another contender for "Most Beautiful" would be your Crazy Mountains; in October, we took that road from Big Timber to Harlowton, and I fell in love with it all - for probably the umpteenth time.... I honestly love the whole state, from West to East - but in the Central portion, I think we got the best of it, and I'd wager that you might agree.

I've been working a bit lately with Piima, which is similar to Viili; also, I tried a lacto-fermentation of beets (of all things!) that resulted in a really good-tasting drink that is - supposedly - very healthy, as well. I am enjoying these experiments but must admit that my favourite remains the home-fermented sauerkraut. For my next, I may take the real leap (for a Montanan) and try Kimchee/Kimchi.

I'd love to try the Piima. I've loved small beets for years, fresh out of the garden, not much over an inch diameter. I pluck them and eat both the beet and the top. My gardening friends claim that the huge one are just as good...... I say BS on that. Beets are at their best at the size of a very large radish. That's my story and I'm sticking to it. I'm dying to try the seed described in this NYT article:

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/27/...h_180228&nl=todaysheadlines&nlid=632877320228

I live right square in the middle of the stretch of road HWY 191 you fell in love with between Big Timber and Harlowton about mile west, and as I write, on the computer, and day trade stocks, the snow capped peaks of the Crazy Mountains are my view every day. I've lived in the Melville since 1979, and never wanted to be anywhere else. Melville is a community, as opposed to a town. That means something more like an extended family where we all have a deep connection, and everybody knows that whatever our current differences (like a family), when push comes to shove we can always depend on each other in time of need. My hometown of Enterprise Oregon had much the same view, with the Eagle Cap overlooking the Wallowa Valley on one side and the gentler slopes of the Blues to the other, and wild and rugged Hells Canyon to the East. It however was a "town", though close knit.

H.W.