I took a break for a while, too. It wasn’t lack of interest so much as other activities taking higher priority. What tends to keep me in is changing my process or equipment. It can be as simple as a good deal on a new mash tun cooler or as nutty as welding a new brewstand.
If you really want to get back into it, teach someone to brew. There’s something infectious about a newbie realizing just how simple and rewarding it can be.
I take time off for brewing occasionally (I don’t have that many fermenters -2 15 gallon and 6 or so 6.5 gallon fermenters - and only 13 kegs). Space limitations in my lager chest force me to make ales, so I keep an interest by rotating what I make. My friends drink my beer and pay me such compliments that I gladly supply as much beer as I can make for them. They also bring me craft brews, which tend to stack up until I occasionally force them to drink those before allowing any home brew to be consumed. IMO this is the best hobby a man could ever have! My only regret is living as long as I did before taking it up.
A man is never alone if he has friends; a brewer who shares his wares is never without friends.
There - that should be motivation enough.
:cheers:
If I am busy with work or other stuff or if I have had a couple of subpar batches in a row, I might lose inspiration. There might be times when I go down to the bar area in the basement or my brewing room and not even want to be in there because I have no desire. But I have to admit that this is very, very rare for me and short-lived when it happens. If I see my local homebrewers, I want to brew. If I see a show on TV about beer or brewing, I want to brew. If I see that my kegs, primaries or secondaries are getting close to empty, I want to brew. Maybe look into some different styles or read a book that may have some new brewing ideas that you want to try. I’ve actually been on a brewing blitz lately. I brewed an APA on Monday and an American Lager today. I took a break of about 3 weeks and supply started to dwindle! Something will get you back on the horse… keep us posted.
Man, I look forward to when I can brew on weekdays…pretty rare events that.
:cheers:
Man, I look forward to when I can brew on weekdays…pretty rare events that.
:cheers: [/quote]
Well, I work at home so I just try to carve out time to do it. Last night I worked until about 9:30 so maybe no one would bother me this morning. Started at around 6am today. The weekends are too busy and my wife does not care for the mess or the smell (although she does drink my beer) so I brew during the weekdays. Very, very rare that I have brewed on the weekends. 
Try taking a break and go on a vacation where you go to brewpubs and breweries. Try some beer made by the pros. Get inspired! A good piece of the fun for me is making great beer that I know patrons of these places I’ve been would love to drink. I guess it’s a competitive thing but whatever kicks you in the pants is what works. I just get a kick out of making my own beer, knowing its very good, enjoying it myself, and enjoying sharing with family and friends.
I also like to take my shot at a version of a particular beer I really like. Not so much copy it exactly or even try, but make something like it. Dead Guy ale, Bells Two Hearted, Sam Adams Noble Pils, Pilsner Urquell, or whatever beer really hits the spot and tastes great gives me inspiration to try and make it myself.
Ever since I went to AG, I find myself having to make some more side for brewing. Not sure if you do AG but if so, possibly do a quick partial mash to get yourself back on your feet and see how it goes from there.
[quote=“Braufessor”]
Sometimes you just need a break - it is a hobby, not a job. Take some time off if you need it.[/quote]
Fantastic advice right here.
[quote=“Jonny”][quote=“Braufessor”]
Sometimes you just need a break - it is a hobby, not a job. Take some time off if you need it.[/quote]
Fantastic advice right here.[/quote]
+1
And it is a lot of work!
When you’re driven and exited about it, it’s fun work, but work none the less.
You gotta be all-in, otherwise it might seem tedious and time consuming.
Also, if you’re the type that always brews the same recipes the same way every time because you want consistency, that can take some of the fun out of it. At least I think so anyway. I brew a different beer almost every single time, but I have a few favorites that I have saved and repeated.
I like what you’re into Jonny! Minus the travel.
:cheers:
[quote=“Chester3”]I like what you’re into Jonny! Minus the travel.
:cheers: [/quote]
Playing in a band sometimes allows all of that to come true. I miss my homebrew when I’m on the road.
There are a lot of aspects to the hobby - so maybe you just need to explore part of it that you haven’t yet, or haven’t for a while. If you don’t feel like brewing, how about working on your tasting skills or doing some reading? Do you subscribe to any homebrewing magazines like Zymurgy or BYO? I’ve found that an interesting article can whet my appetite for trying something new or different.
I only brew around 15-20 batches a year, but I have some sort of beer-related activity going on just about every weekend. If I’m not brewing, I usually have some racking, packaging, cleaning or other maintenance to do. I also like to tinker with improving my systems (brewing, fermenting, serving), so I almost always have something like that to do.
My son lives nearby and we often brew together. That makes brew day more fun and helps reduce how sore my back is the next morning. I also sometimes do a sort of “demo” brew day once in a while with a club member or two who are interested in trying all grain.
Last, I brew in a somewhat seasonal way. That is, I brew specific beers or styles for specific events and occasions. The beers and brewing become part of the events and the changing of the seasons. For example, I brew four German-style beers each year in preparation for our annual “OktoBEERfest!” That begins in March (Märzen) and runs through the summer. I also brew Maibock in January each year for a spring celebration, and Cream Ale and ESB for the 4th of July. My family and friends have come to associate those beers with those events and often ask what event I’m brewing for. All of that makes much of my brewing schedule for me - then I fill in the “gaps” between those brew days with styles or techniques I’d like to try out.
thanks for all the posts. I think it’s just life kicking me in the nutz right now. I was going to do a quick and easy extract Irish Stout Saturday and I got called into work because of a server crash. I was going to try again Sunday and my burner still isn’t working. I was going to run to Northern Brewer to buy a new burner and I realize my homebrew club never sent me my new membership card so I wasn’t going to get my 10% discount (and I’m cheap). Now I have personal and work obligations every weekend until April.
I’ve get both BYO and Zymergy, and have done all the studying for BJCP, I just haven’t had time to take the test. BJCP did just announced the release of the new test format where you take a true/false on line and then do the taste test to get certified. Maybe I’ll do that until life finds someone else to torment and I get time to brew again. There is talk at work of me getting a summer intern so maybe things will lighten up soon.
I’m sure my liver and beer gut can use a reprieve
Thanks again for the words of encouragement.
I can’t pretend to know you but in general, I think burnout can imply a lot about a person besides a loss of interest.
I don’t mean to get all deep on you but start asking yourself why you do thing (not just brewing). We lose sight of why we do things. If you find that you’re doing something for a reason that’s not very influential to you, perhaps you need to step away from that something or remind yourself as to why you got into that something in the first place.
Any chance of posting your winner IPA recipe? I have just started all grain again! Thanks from Canada!
Its a nice spring day, I have 3.5 liters of Cali lager spinning, and a easy extract kit sitting next to me. Lets see if that gets the brewing flowing. Smelling the starter got me in a good mood.
