I finally brewed a batch of beer today. Its been over 4 months without a brew day. Damn kids, summer, and work kept me too busy. But today, I brewed an all-grain batch of Surly Bender and everything went perfect without any problems.
It feels good to be back in a brew cycle. Next up? A big-ass barleywine i think.
Would it not be better to continue to fill the pipeline with some beers that will be ready sooner? That way you have something to drink while you are waiting for the BW to mature. Also you can build a buffer for when life-duty calls again.
I brewed a couple weeks ago. First time since early February. Felt real good too!! But, I always go into the summer with 13-16 full kegs so there’s never a lack of beer. I just hate standing over a boiling kettle in 100 degree heat, so I took measures to insure against it… YMMV. Cheers!!!
Welcome back. I know the feeling, although in my case it was a couple of years – lots of life intervening. Brewed the weekend before last (my house APA) and it felt good, right and so overdue. I am anxious to brew more, but life circumstances dictate I must now wait until around Thanksgiving before I can brew another. I want to get a couple lagers going, but like fightdman suggests above, I am going to brew a few more quick ales to build up some supply first. First a holiday red ale, then a brown, then either a stout or one of my lagers (munich dunkel, most likely). Can hardly wait. Cheers. :cheers:
I have done a lot of Milds and Pales lately to fill in with quaffable brew while waiting on lagers to finish. I am down to 3 open kegs out of 13, so next up will be lagers again! A little planning does go a long way. Welcome back to the best hobby I ever found.
I’m right there with you. I recently had a kid myself and just brewed my first two batches in about a year and I can’t wait til they’re ready - I’ll be drinking Denny’s BVIP in about three more weeks. I’m gonna try to brew one every other weekend for the next couple of months and stockpile for winter.
I go by the motto - “It’s never a wrong time to brew a Barleywine.”
Welcome back! I myself have just gone through the same thing. Haven’t brewed since April and now I got 6 batches in last 3 weeks. All session brews and slowly moving towards heavier stuff to have something to sip on while waiting for bigger beers to mature when I brew them 
We spent a few years building a house, and inevitably every summer I would get too busy with house projects and run out of beer in August. That’s a really bad position to be in! When you’re using to drinking only homebrew, buying beer is kind of a shock. I actually gave up drinking for a month and a half while my batches matured, and lost about 10-15 pounds.
So welcome back! I’ve been there. Gotta keep brewing so it becomes automatic - brewdays go a lot smoother when you’re brewing once or twice a month.
I haven;t brewed since May. sigh
However I have promised to myself that will throw some yeast on the stir-plate tonight for a Sunday brew! I really need to break out of this funk I am in.
[quote=“brrman”]I haven;t brewed since May. sigh
However I have promised to myself that will throw some yeast on the stir-plate tonight for a Sunday brew! I really need to break out of this funk I am in.[/quote]
DO IT MAN DO IT!! sorry had to do that! i have had times in my life where it just didnt seem like I was ever going to brew again Thank god those are over.
