Why do you hate brewing?

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BUCKNUTS said:
I hate the inflammation on the right side of my abdomen from cirrhosis of the liver due to having 100 gallons of beer in the brew room and on tap at all times.
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But you don't have taps?
 
For people complaining about scrubbing kettles, it's pretty easy to just fill them with hot water and some oxiclean free. The next morning everything wipes out easily.
 
I hate bottling. Not because I have to scrub or peel off the abnormally secure labels on new(ish) bottles. I hate that I have to smell the beer that I've been so excited for for the past couple of weeks JUST to put it in bottles and wait two MORE weeks before I can enjoy it.
 
Brewing in 800-900 sq ft is not the most ideal situation. I really don't like cleaning my mash tun. Also two other things I dislike are, being in Phoenix for the time being, a 60 min boil makes it a humid sauna in my apartment, then ground water it too warm to be useful to bring down my temp fast. The struggle is real. Can't wait for a house.
 
I hate that no matter how hard I try to not spill, squirt, or spray wort all over my garage floor and brew stand, I always manage to do it... Bees and flies everywhere. Makes me bonkers.
 
The pain in the rear that is bottling and the drop-off in hops aroma in a typical home-bottled beer. Apartment space and wifely permission prevent me from kegging so far, and I don't have the wife-approved brew budget or the handiness for a closed bottling setup to minimize oxygen contact.
 
Dirt. I understand the need for soil, but why do we need dirt? I brew in the garage. My fermentation fridge, sinks, and equipment storage are in a dirt-floor crawl space with access from the garage. I have a lot of nice space, but I do get tired of fighting the dirt. Someday I will put a floor and ceiling in that crawl space -- if only I weren't so busy brewing. And someday I will clean my garage and keep it clean -- if only...
 
Remmy said:
I think everyone hates cleaning. If there were a maid service offered just to clean my equipment and allow me to continue smashing beers on brew day, I'd sign-up in a heartbeat.

I have an aluminum kettle and use steel wool to clean it after brewing. It doesn't take any longer than 3-4 minutes. I clean it outside, usually, in the driveway because I have a hose there and the water runs into the grass/woods.

The biggest PITA for me is moving my equipment upstairs from the basement so that I can brew in the garage...then having to bring it back down after brewing is over with.

Big bonus: I have no choice but to pass by the kegerator when I am hauling equipment - whether it's upstairs or downstairs. Makes for a great brew day, every time!
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I'd have to say "this"! Except I brew in my back yard and I have to walk down another flight of steps to get to my patio! Up and down the basement...down and up the deck stairs! It's about my only exercise any more. When I first started keeping my brew equipment in the basement I wasn't very efficient and made a LOT of trips but I've since dialed that in a little better.
 
i hate the wait the most, but it has greatly improved. I used to wait 4 weeks minimum (i keg) on EVERYTHING I brewed. Now most everything gets 2 - 3 weeks max. But while I'm watching it ferment, I can't help but think that THIS is gonna be the best beer anyone ever made! And sometimes I make it even worse by coming up with a recipe for my NEXT brew and THAT will be the best one. So, I over-anticipate the crap outta myself. And sadly, I have not yet created the best beer anyone has ever made. I know of a guy that did though.....:D
 
Trying to pour DME into a pot of hot water for my yeast starter. The steam hits the bowl as I'm pouring and turns the DME into a sticky brick. Yay.
 
GrainToGlass said:
Trying to pour DME into a pot of hot water for my yeast starter. The steam hits the bowl as I'm pouring and turns the DME into a sticky brick. Yay.
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Used to do this. Now I put the DME in first, then fill with H20, the heat right on stove.

In any event, no reason you can't put DME in first even if you add boiling water to it.

-BD
 
Or, put the pot on the scale, zero out the scale, THEN add the DME, then add the water then put on the stove and start to heat.
 
My biggest gripes are me. I want to be more organized and more prepared each brewday. I want to have things have their own dedicated space and be put back when done. I want to remember to do things on their schedule (Like clean that empty keg and refill with that ESB that should have been done a few days ago.)

All of that is my fault. It's up to me to get it done. It's not impossible. I just can't seem to do it.

I'm better than I used to be. I am more prepared and I stress less when I have to wing it. I have brewsheets that I just need to remember to fill out on brewday to record the batch. I clean stuff during the brew so when I'm done I really only have to wash out the pump and hoses and the kettle and maybe a few odds and ends. Anything that was used before the chill is already cleaned and drying by the time the fermentor is full.

I wish I could get my electric rig finished. I'm currently further behind than I was last year. Stupid little things hold me back and I forget I need to buy this or that to move forward.

When the beer turns our nice it's all worth it, though.
 
Homercidal said:
My biggest gripes are me.
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This is me as well. It's not so much that I procrastinate, more so that I "think" I hate doing it. I always compare it to going to punk shows. Man, I never want to. Friends finally talk me into it, and I have a blast. Once I start making beer, I enjoy every second and cleaning isn't even an issue.

I think there are a few things I'm missing that would make it much more enjoyable. A dedicated beer fridge now that I have dedicated space, for one.
 
I hate that I keep making stupid mistakes, like using too much water, or not buying enough grain or having dme on hand.

I also hate that I don't drink my 5 gallon batches as fast as I want to brew. My wife and I just moved so I don't really have people to help me drink it either.
 
Remmy said:
The biggest PITA for me is moving my equipment upstairs from the basement so that I can brew in the garage...then having to bring it back down after brewing is over with.
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I've got you beat. Not only are my kettles and gear in the basement, the only sink big enough to wash them is the utility sink in the laundry room on the second floor. So for me it's haul the kettles up from the basement to the second floor to wash out before brewing, bring them down to the garage to brew, bring them back up to the second floor to wash again, then haul down to the basement for storage. Ugh!
 
I've only brewed 4 batches so I'm pretty inexperienced but for me it's:

1. Waiting 4 weeks to see how my beer turned out and to drink it (although I do get the warm un-carbonated sample at 2 weeks).

2. Making sure I have 48 empty bottles around before bottling day.

3. Cleaning those bottles and then to a lesser extent bottling.

Brew day is fun though and I don't even mind the cleaning afterwards.
 
Hello said:
Mine was not cleaning, it was setting up and tearing down.
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x2.

I keep all my brewing equipment in the basement so whenever I brew I have to pull out the burners, kettles, milk crate with chiller/paddle/gloves/etc, fermenter, etc. and bring them upstairs to brew outside. Maybe some day I'll create an indoor electric brewery, but then I would hate brewing inside on a sunny day! :smack:
 
JonM said:
I can't think of anything.

Lugging the equipment out of the basement? I do that on Friday evening before a Saturday morning brew session and that job is accompanied by beer and tunes. And it really doesn't take that long.

Cleanup? I hose things out and scrub the kettle and turn it upside down on the brew stand to air dry. Doesn't take long at all and it's easy with the garden hose. I suppose it is a bit of a chore in the winter when I can't use the hose, but not bad.

Putting stuff away is accompanied by beer and tunes, so that's not so bad.

I keg, and kegging is always accompanied by beer and tunes.

Making starters is a snap because I pressure can wort. The pressure canning is a snap too.

Really, I can't think of any part of the process that I "hate."
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I agree. I have my small brewday equipment in single tote. I prioritize setting up. First burner and getting mash water. While that is heating I set up the mashtun and mill grains that I forgot to do the day before.

Clean things as soon as I'm done with it. Even the break material on my brew pot comes off with water and rubbing with my hands or washrag. In the winter, everything is cleaned in the tub, like I'm bathing children.

To remove break and hops from the kettle, I sanitize a paint strainer, place it in fermenting bucket, pour the kettle in. I only have to lift the strainer bag and hold it for a minute or two.

I bottle but I find the repetitive work a relaxing change of pace. I rinse out bottles well as soon as I empty them, so no cleaning bottle on packaging day. I did purchase a wine bottle sulfiter which makes sanitizing quick and a benchtop capper to make capping quicker and easier. I those cut my bottling times to around a half hour.

For starters, I microwave the wort for 5-10 minutes in the starter jar. I have plastic mason jar lids that I set on top the jar in the microwave. http://www.amazon.com/Ball-Regular-Mouth-Storage-Caps/dp/B0000BYC4BThen I just screw tight after it sits for a few minutes. I'll make it the day or two before and store in the fridge. Since everything was exposed to the steam, it will all be pasteurized if not sterilized.
 
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Cleaning and chilling the wort.

Oh yea... and the waiting! Waiting for the beer to ferment, waiting on the yeast cleaning things up, waiting on the dry hop, waiting on the cold crash, waiting on the carbonation and conditioning. I could deal with way less waiting. lol.
 
Waking up at 4 AM to get the mash and boil done and cooling before the spawn wake up. Gets old real fast.

Use one liter plastic bottles. Think I`d go insane with normal glass beer bottles.
 
Oh man, it has to be the time it takes to do an all-grain batch. And I always go in thinking that, because it takes several hours, I'll be able to do something else like watch a basketball game. But it never works out that way. It seems like even when your waiting on the mash or the boil there is always something else that needs to be done like sanitizing the fermenter, rehydrating yeast, etc. It can be a grind.


Oh, and I hate chilling wort in the summer.
 
Scheduling and space. Now that I have a family, I just have not found time to devote a full morning to brewing. Until I get my workshop shed its all on hold anyway.
 
The constant worrying I go through.

Did I santize properly? Did I propogate and pitch enough yeast? Is my temp controller working properly? Is my fermentation already done? Am I gonna have bottle bombs? Are people going to like this beer or hate it?
 
AQUILAS said:
The constant worrying I go through.



Did I santize properly? Did I propogate and pitch enough yeast? Is my temp controller working properly? Is my fermentation already done? Am I gonna have bottle bombs? Are people going to like this beer or hate it?
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God yes! It's that little pit in your stomach during the whole process. I've been told it's a good thing to worry.
 
AQUILAS said:
The constant worrying I go through.

Did I santize properly? Did I propogate and pitch enough yeast? Is my temp controller working properly? Is my fermentation already done? Am I gonna have bottle bombs? Are people going to like this beer or hate it?
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deanrallen said:
God yes! It's that little pit in your stomach during the whole process. I've been told it's a good thing to worry.
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I stopped worrying about 15 years ago. don't stress your hobbies, stress everything else. use your hobby to relieve the stress. "If science teaches us anything, it is to to take our failures with dignity and grace."
xvnx said:
What bothers me is not a particular task, but the ever present possibility of an infection. I had one and did not enjoy the experience.
24.gif
23.gif
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start brewing sours. then you'll hope for a decent infection. hahahaa!!!
 

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