I'm a husband and a father of three young'uns... As such, I'm very cognizant of the time investment in my hobbies that take me away from my family. And if I weren't cognizant, I'm certainly not allowed to forget the time investment in brewing. SWMBO makes sure of it.
And it seems like a lot. My typical brewday is ~5 hours start-to-finish, to make 10 gallons.
That said, while I was doing one of the first daytime brews I've done in a LONG time yesterday, and my wife was waiting on me so that she could go take care of grocery shopping, I started running the mental math.
I brew about 10-12 batches per year, 10 gallons each.
Each batch takes 5 hours start to finish.
I don't count time spent kegging, as that's either done while brewing a new batch, or done at night after the family goes to bed.
So let's say I do 12 batches, which is on the high end. That's 60 hours.
That averages out to 1 hour and 10 minutes per week. 10 minutes per day. Certainly doesn't seem like much, does it? Especially since I'm more likely to only do 10-11 batches (12 is my target), so I'm probably barely over an hour per week.
Now, I know that there are extenuating factors. 5 hours on a weekend is a lot different than 5 hours on a Tuesday. As a result, I typically brew on weekday evenings after work rather than on the weekends. And when I do that, the math gets even better, as some of my brewing time occurs after the kids are in bed.
Assuming I start around 6:30, after dinner.
Kids are in bed by 9.
Thus, the *effective* length of my brew day as it relates to taking me away from family is only 2 1/2 hours, as half of it occurs after bedtime.
The same 12 batches per year now only take 30 hours, or 35 minutes per week, 5 minutes per day.
As far as I'm concerned, there's nothing about being a dutiful husband or loving father that would interfere with something that only takes 5-10 minutes per day. Thus, my impression as a father of young children is that no, it does *not* take too long.
And it seems like a lot. My typical brewday is ~5 hours start-to-finish, to make 10 gallons.
That said, while I was doing one of the first daytime brews I've done in a LONG time yesterday, and my wife was waiting on me so that she could go take care of grocery shopping, I started running the mental math.
I brew about 10-12 batches per year, 10 gallons each.
Each batch takes 5 hours start to finish.
I don't count time spent kegging, as that's either done while brewing a new batch, or done at night after the family goes to bed.
So let's say I do 12 batches, which is on the high end. That's 60 hours.
That averages out to 1 hour and 10 minutes per week. 10 minutes per day. Certainly doesn't seem like much, does it? Especially since I'm more likely to only do 10-11 batches (12 is my target), so I'm probably barely over an hour per week.
Now, I know that there are extenuating factors. 5 hours on a weekend is a lot different than 5 hours on a Tuesday. As a result, I typically brew on weekday evenings after work rather than on the weekends. And when I do that, the math gets even better, as some of my brewing time occurs after the kids are in bed.
Assuming I start around 6:30, after dinner.
Kids are in bed by 9.
Thus, the *effective* length of my brew day as it relates to taking me away from family is only 2 1/2 hours, as half of it occurs after bedtime.
The same 12 batches per year now only take 30 hours, or 35 minutes per week, 5 minutes per day.
As far as I'm concerned, there's nothing about being a dutiful husband or loving father that would interfere with something that only takes 5-10 minutes per day. Thus, my impression as a father of young children is that no, it does *not* take too long.