Decline in Hombrewing.

Craigerrr said:
Come November I will brewing regularly. I guess I could brew here, but I would have nowhere for a fermenter. I mean I have a shed, but temperature would be all over the place. Way too much gear to cart back and forth...
Good thoughts though, thanks!
Click to expand...
Totally get that.
 
Craigerrr said:
Come November I will brewing regularly. I guess I could brew here, but I would have nowhere for a fermenter. I mean I have a shed, but temperature would be all over the place. Way too much gear to cart back and forth...
Good thoughts though, thanks!
Click to expand...
Not entirely seriously, but a hole in the ground would keep a reasonably constant temperature. The RV park folks might object, at least until they get a 'sample'.
 
Trialben said:
Exactly hey and it takes away that temptation to take gravity samples ect before its done;);).
Click to expand...
I've resisted the sampling urges mostly because it just ain't convenient to do it with my fermenter without adding a valve to the side of it, or capturing one when I pull the sediment collector. Since I never got in that habit, I don't have to break it. I'm not sure the bottom(the location of the ball valve on my fermenter) is the best place for a sample, considering anything heavier than water is going to the bottom. All a fermentation cycle sample is going to tell you is that the yeast is working (or not). That's usually detectable with your favorite air-lock/off gas venting technique. If it ain't bubblin' the yeasties ain't pootin', and the only time that's an issue is if they're SUPPOSED to be pootin' at peak production after proper preparation has prevented piss poor performance. It's cool to watch and trend and may save some significant time between batches, but unless that data is useful in improving your product, I can't see that it's worth the sampling losses. I keep saying patience is the primary tool in this hobby. I get the concept of knowing when the activity has gone flatline, but again, that's usually pretty obvious with whatever vent method is used. Once the yeast is turned loose, there simply ain't much that can be done to change anything other than temperature. Obviously more yeast means a quicker peak fermentation and a longer time before the yeasties get drunk enough to go to sleep. It's a logarithmic/exponential thing. Staying within the known temperature limits of the yeast is typically a good idea to prevent making pig swill. I understood that much before I ever made my first batch. The sanitation/cleaning thing is one reason I didn't start the hobby earlier. I've since learned much more about the tolerance of beer.o_O

Is it possible that the hassles of all the labor drives some newcomers away from the hobby? It's a lot of work. Nothing hard, just a lot of it. Good equipment isn't cheap if one intends to get 'into the business'. I don't think a lot of newcomers realize a decent home brew can be made in a bucket. Then there are those like me, that have taken to the hobby and want to learn more to be more proficient and improve their skills simply to have better beer. NO ONE in my family is gonna want all the junk I'm buying to have all this fun, so I've never considered it a legacy thing. But if any of them wants to help and learn, I'm all about that. It takes longer to prep and clean for a brew day than it does to actually brew. Same goes for the packaging, especially bottling. I'm certainly guilty of putting off a brew or two because of the preparation and cleaning. I see part of the 'problem'/decline as younger generations valuing money less and being less willing to work for something that is available because someone else already did the work. The flip side of that is it's great for the ones that got into the trade because they like it. It would be interesting to see the demographics of craft brewing and homebrewing over the past 20 years. :eek:
 
Donoroto said:
Not entirely seriously, but a hole in the ground would keep a reasonably constant temperature. The RV park folks might object, at least until they get a 'sample'.
Click to expand...
My RV Park friends (actual people, not imaginary), have sampled, and do like my beer. There would be no complaints!
 
Craigerrr said:
Come November I will brewing regularly. I guess I could brew here, but I would have nowhere for a fermenter. I mean I have a shed, but temperature would be all over the place. Way too much gear to cart back and forth...
Good thoughts though, thanks!
Click to expand...

Buying a second set of gear would solve the transportation issue. However that might cause a MRS issue. The hardest thing to overcome would be the temperature fluctuations unless you also had a dedicated fridge/freezer for a fermentation chamber. That, plus the electricity to run it, would up the budget significantly. Plus there's your back to consider. So...nevermind....carry on :)
 
I will plan to have a full line up of brews kegged before next camping season. I can then fill my mini keg as needed. I almost never drink from the tap at home through the week, so 4 full 19 liter kegs would keep me going for a good while at the trailer.
 
RoadRoach said:
Is it possible that the hassles of all the labor drives some newcomers away from the hobby? It's a lot of work.
Click to expand...

Absolutely the work involved is a contributing factor...OF which there's gotta be many factors in this or any other decline in an interest or hobby. Hell, look at home gardening, canning or the perfect example in the pandemic driven rise in baking sourdough bread! You can get yeast at the grocery store now and the marketing people at King Arthur and Gold Medal are probably lamenting the decline in the demand for baking flour!
An appreciation for the rewards from hard work comes more with age and experience ....and not that a younger person doesn't understand the rewards of hard work but they may not have the time opportunity presented to their free time yet...and of course some folks just don't like hard work for something they can just pick up in the store. I think as more freedoms come to other world markets, the pendulum will swing the other way....we will just have to use Google Translate a lot more!
 
I think the 'instant gratification' expectation is probably a factor too. Too many want the rewards of their efforts NOW. NOW doesn't work for brewing. Gonna have to wait a little bit, and be patient for the rewards to make it worth the effort.
 
Trialben said:
It's always been a gradual acquisition of better more fancy equipment here but most I built myself.

Yes most people don't wanna put down some serious cash to start a hobby they don't even know is right for them.

I think of another hobby I got into Long Range Rifle shooting they held a come and try day to try and require some new members. Everything was provided 308 jacket Ear muffs the only thing I had to by was the bullets.
Then the progression was use the club equipment until I got Serious and bought my own jacket gun ect.
I bowed out when it got serious I was just there to shoot Sh$t:).

Would be cool if HBing was sorta like that Here's a loan kettle ect all ya gotta buy is the ingredients...
Click to expand...
Our club is about to build a loaner system. Just bring your own ingredients. (we can even loan you bottles and kegs, no caps or CO2 though - that's on you!) It is patterned off my own slowly built and improved system. The goal is to introduce folks to propane BIAB for simplicity. (or extract if they want, but that really is expensive these days)

Some folks jump right into the electric systems, but others watch what the rest of us are doing and choose one as an upgrade. Personally, they all have their strong points, but none of them are worth the money to me. I like what I've built and how it works. If I make any changes, it would be an upgrade to electric (in the same current kettle) as an option for brewing indoors during inclement weather as I don't have a covered area outside. My only sticking point to pulling that trigger is the cost of the controller. (which I may end up building myself as well)

Speaking of triggers, I wish we had a rifle club like that! Or maybe we do. I will now have to go looking, thanks!
 
Trialben said:
Hey we can't Judge well I can't especially we all started out drinking light mass produced international Lager at some point some party right? :D


It's a sorta progression of beer choice.
You know the older you get the wiser you get well hopefully :D.
Same with beer the older you get the wiser your choices are in regards to indulgence with liquor.
The finer stuff in life is worth sipping on not Chugging.

You can use that quote ;);)
Click to expand...
What kills me are the folks who get into homebrewing and proceed to only make light international lagers!

Yes, palates age like fine liquor. I certainly will be brewing hopefully for many years yet, but even at my young age I've determined Bourbon & Rum are as close to Heaven as one can get on this Earth...
 
Mont Y. Märzen said:
Our club is about to build a loaner system. Just bring your own ingredients. (we can even loan you bottles and kegs, no caps or CO2 though - that's on you!) It is patterned off my own slowly built and improved system. The goal is to introduce folks to propane BIAB for simplicity. (or extract if they want, but that really is expensive these days)

Some folks jump right into the electric systems, but others watch what the rest of us are doing and choose one as an upgrade. Personally, they all have their strong points, but none of them are worth the money to me. I like what I've built and how it works. If I make any changes, it would be an upgrade to electric (in the same current kettle) as an option for brewing indoors during inclement weather as I don't have a covered area outside. My only sticking point to pulling that trigger is the cost of the controller. (which I may end up building myself as well)

Speaking of triggers, I wish we had a rifle club like that! Or maybe we do. I will now have to go looking, thanks!
Click to expand...
basic controller is pretty easy. inkbird style temp controller and as many SSR as you need to control the heating elements. 2k-3k watts will boil 5 gallons pretty easy. I use my 240VAC dryer socket to power mine.
 
HighVoltageMan! said:
Northern Brewer and Midwest Supplies are owned by the same company, both are closing their retail locations. At one time Northern Brewer was the largest homebrew retailer in the US, things are changing very fast in the home brew world.
Click to expand...
I heard rumor from a pro brewer that they were bought by AB. Can anyone confirm this?
 
RoadRoach said:
Kinda what I figured. MO is pretty pricey anyway. One thing I don't see a lot of is 6-row. I'm still in the browsing/researching phases to make sure it's the route I wanna take.
Click to expand...
Great Fermentations has "Pre-Prohibition' 6-row from Sugar Creek out of Indiana. I bought some for a Kentucky Common. Sugar Creek also sells direct to home brewers.
 
Minbari said:
basic controller is pretty easy. inkbird style temp controller and as many SSR as you need to control the heating elements. 2k-3k watts will boil 5 gallons pretty easy. I use my 240VAC dryer socket to power mine.
Click to expand...
Yeah, my issue is I'm not wired for anything 240V, and that would be another huge expense. (even doing it myself - materials are through the roof right now) I found a high wattage 120V/20A element from BrewHardware that I'm interested in. But that's the rub. It can burn ≈2150 watts but everything controller related that I find is limited to 15A@1500W. (without stepping up to 240V/30A) So I'm going to have to completely build this myself. Which is fine, because I also want to design software to run it through a Pi.
 
Mont Y. Märzen said:
Yeah, my issue is I'm not wired for anything 240V, and that would be another huge expense. (even doing it myself - materials are through the roof right now) I found a high wattage 120V/20A element from BrewHardware that I'm interested in. But that's the rub. It can burn ≈2150 watts but everything controller related that I find is limited to 15A@1500W. (without stepping up to 240V/30A) So I'm going to have to completely build this myself. Which is fine, because I also want to design software to run it through a Pi.
Click to expand...
where do you live? most of the world is wired for 240.

ya 98% of outlets are 110VAC 15 A in USA. so there is little use to making anything higher wattage. but SSRs are 50-240VAC and can be had well over 15A. the ones I use are 40A
 
RoadRoach said:
Bottling makes a small difference for storage. Obviously, to store lots of different styles, it takes lots of different vessels for storage. A couple cases of bottles is a lot cheaper than a keg, and don't take up significantly more space. More risk of blow-outs, but I try to pay attention to my priming when I bottle. On the high side of 30 batches, and not a single bottle bomb yet. (I probably just jinxed myself). But yeah, I agree, it's just as much work/time to do a 2 gallon batch as it is a 5 gallon, and not much difference in cost for ingredients, making it seemingly a lot more cost effective to brew larger quantities. Maybe my math is wrong.
Click to expand...
Your math isn't wrong. An old joke is that brewing is 2 hours of work squeezed into 8 hours.

Most of the time is spent during the mash and boil. Setup is relatively fixed, and cleanup depends on the complexity of the system. (how many parts) Other than that, the only differences in batch sizes involves ramping times. And those just don't add up to enough savings to justify small batches.

Now, small batch stovetop extract? That's fast. But less fun and less control. I suppose a giant batch made just to save already boiled and reduced wort would be interesting as a way to quickly keep a good 'maintenance' beer on hand using small batches later, but it doesn't save time - just shift it. And then you can't really hasten yeast. Yes, there is Kviek, but that isn't to everyone's taste either.
 
Donoroto said:
An accountant will tell you that the brewing equipment is a "sunk cost" so you don't have to account for it anymore.

I'm only joking, but maybe brew at the trailer instead? "Fire-brewed" would be a catchy slogan. Mash on Saturday, pitch on Sunday, come back to finished beer? Drink, rinse and repeat...
Click to expand...
Equipment is also a fixed cost. Short of ditching it for a full upgrade, if you buy quality, and put it to good use, it will more than likely outlast however many batches you are going to throw at it. Once you make the leap to that great tap room in the sky, the per-batch/bottle/pint cost of that equipment will be negligible. Of course, if you keep adding on and upgrading...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Copyright © 2007-2024 Brewer's Friend, Inc. - Send Feedback - Terms - RSS Feed - Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information

Back
Top