Who do you brew with ?

[Brew Cat]

Mostly I brew alone since I brew sper of the moment. My wife helps with the mash in if she's home and sometimes brings me a coffee or sandwich. Occasionally a friend will be around to watch and mostly drink home brew. I kind of like brewing alone though.

 

[EbonHawk]

I almost always have my son helping me (21 yrs old) and he has been helping me since he was like 5. He helps with the brewing pretty much every time, but with the clean-up less than half the time. He also helps with bottling and racking pretty regularly.

I have a friend who wants to get into homebrewing and he has been coming over for each step with beers and meads and he's been a huge help as well.

But, I know what you mean, it's always a pros/cons sort of thing, because when you get people over to help...they invariably get distracted by other things (cell phones) or start drinking previous homebrew batches and start doing more talking and playing than actually brewing. The last few times, I've been dodging around folks at the brew kettle during beers and at the kitchen island mixing up meads while they were glued to their phones and I was trying to get things done in a timely manner.

So, I know all too well the joys of solo-brewing. As much as I appreciate the help, it's not always the help it's meant to be. ;-)

 

[johow440@gmail.com]

I agree that one more set of hands would be just about all that is needed. I brewed this last weekend with my son, who has more home brew experience than me and that was great. I have pretty limited space in which to brew so I wouldn't want any more than that really.

 

[jmcnamara]

I pretty much brew solo, but the wife helps with straining the mesh bag and bottling. Easier with 4 hands.

I sometimes brew with a friend or two, but like others said it usually ends up with us getting a bit drunker than anticipated and me taking the lead on things.

Not that I just focus on the brewing when I'm alone, but I feel I'm more aware and in control of what's going on when by myself.

That being said, I am trying to get them to create some recipes and become a bit more involved

 

[Nosybear]

Brewing is my introvert's retreat, a solitary endeavor.

 

[PZ]

I'm a loner like Nosybear. I would give that up if I could find someone who liked the cleanup part of the process. Good luck on that one!

 

[EbonHawk]

I'm a loner like Nosybear. I would give that up if I could find someone who liked the cleanup part of the process. Good luck on that one!

Nobody hangs around for the cleanup process, ever.

 

[Brew Cat]

I'm a loner like Nosybear. I would give that up if I could find someone who liked the cleanup part of the process. Good luck on that one!

Nobody hangs around for the cleanup process, ever.

You know, now that you mention it I've noticed that as well

 

[Ozarks Mountain Brewery]

I find that people distract me from brewing efficient and cause me to relax too much, I choose to brew alone, at least keep a 15 foot barrier between me and my obsession lol

 

[jeffpn]

I brew alone
Yeah, with nobody else!

You know when I brew alone
I prefer to be by myself

 

[Head First]

I brew with my taste tester wife (I swear she can name every grain in a wort or hop in a beer). As we begin I prepare water boiling while she starts measuring and grinding grains then she cools all samples and enters readings while I transfer, measure and putter while brewing.
I do the heavy clean up but she helps with the lighter stuff. When I brew without her I do just fine but it takes longer.
Brewing with company to watch, there is always something you forget to do. It is distracting, but more fun. Friends do get an appreciation for the effort that goes into good beer.

 

[EbonHawk]

I brew with my taste tester wife (I swear she can name every grain in a wort or hop in a beer). As we begin I prepare water boiling while she starts measuring and grinding grains then she cools all samples and enters readings while I transfer, measure and putter while brewing.
I do the heavy clean up but she helps with the lighter stuff. When I brew without her I do just fine but it takes longer.
Brewing with company to watch, there is always something you forget to do. It is distracting, but more fun. Friends do get an appreciation for the effort that goes into good beer.

My wife will oftentimes offer to help but I know deep down she doesn't really want to, so I let her off the hook. Usually it's not a problem, since I almost always have a helper or three now.

You mean to say your wife can tell what grains are in a given wort collection? That's pretty amazing. I can't do that. I might could pick out a few hops, if I tried to memorize them, but I don't usually have more than 3 types open at any one time to do any memorizing. I think they all pretty much smell amazing, and I know what I like.

 

[Brew Cat]

I brew alone
Yeah, with nobody else!

You know when I brew alone
I prefer to be by myself

Nice ^^

 

[EbonHawk]

And again..bottled, made a mess, but do you think anyone hung around to help cleanup? Nope. Took me forever to get everything cleaned up. I'm seriously thinking about doing the whole kegging thing...SOON!! :-(