Home Brewing Longevity

[Nibbo]

Just interested in how long people believe they will be a home brewer?

There's been a few brew rig sales over the last 12 months or so due to various reasons which has just made me think of my own situation.

Can you see yourself brewing in 1,3 ,5 ,10 years time?

I've been a brewer for 5 years now and although I get hit up for time here and there, see myself brewing for a long time yet. There's too many beers and styles out there for me to experiment with to stop brewing. I enjoy the fact that there's heaps of varieties of ingredients out there just waiting to be tried. It'll take me a century to try all the things i'm interested in.

The funny thing is i grew up hating beer but i now see it as a passion i have.

There's all sorts of reasons why people got into brewing and also why they stop. Some are in your control and others are not in your control.

I'm not making a poll or anything, just interested in the thoughts of others on the subject.

 

[Truman42]

Who knows, 1-3 years probably, 5 years onwards?? ive been at it only just under 2 years now and still enjoy it but who knows how things will be in 3-5 years. I guess a lot of the younger guys stop because of new families etc and the older guys probably stop due to health issues.

But us middle aged guys (43) who knows why we stop brewing, perhaps we dont until we get older...

 

[QldKev]

I brewed using kit and kilo for nearly 20 years. I was always on again and off again. A few years back I got my first kegerator (about the time I joined this forum) and moving away from bottles made the hobby enjoyable and drove my passion to look at AG. Having since played with AG for a few years. One thing I always look at is I design all my brewing setup to make life easy. Everything from milling, brewing, fermenting and kegging. Part of the reason I have two full AG setups. My single 23L 1V so if I want to brew more often I can, and my 112L 3V so I can brew once a month or less. Same reason why I nochill, so I can stock pile when I want and have a break for up to 3 months if I want. Even my fermenting I run 3 fermenters in the fridge, so I only have to look at them once a month. I can see myself still brewing in another 10 or so years.

Cheers

QldKev

 

[fletcher]

i've had a few hobbies over the years but nothing i'm as dedicated or passionate about as brewing. i don't know, but i see it as a beautiful balance between science and art. i love learning new things about the processes and love that feeling of getting something new to improve my set up or process. not only that but there is a reward at the end of the 'work'; enjoying a hard-earned. it's win win, because i love making it as much as i love drinking it. only thing i can see for me needing to stop or slow down is my health as i'm a type 1 diabetic. apart from that, if i'm healthy anyways an keep that up, then i don't see myself quitting any time soon. hopefully 10+ years and beyond?

i think not wanting to go out and get sh!t faced as much and pick up anymore is also a reason for keeping it going. i'm now happily married so i think i've increased my passion for it due to having more time at home.

 

[professional_drunk]

The hobby goes hand in hand with enjoying drinking. When that stops, so will the brewing.

 

[philmud]

The hobby goes hand in hand with enjoying drinking. When that stops, so will the brewing.

+1 In many ways I see brewing in a similar vein to cooking/food prep. I want to expand my DIY into charcuterie and maybe other forms of alcohol production. I can't say I won't get distracted from brewing beer (I might) but this broader interest will be carried to my grave and that's a thirsty trek!
A caveat to this is health. If, for example, I met with the big C, or similar I'd do what it took to keep my little man's dad around!

 

[Screwtop]

Began at age 16 , in 1967, using extract. In those days they had drums of light and dark malt extract where I worked, no brainer I guess. On and off over 30 years, also made a lot of ginger beer during the 80's. Moved seriously into AG in 2005, and brewed around 25 batches per year until a heart attack and heart surgery slowed me down in 2009. Now I don't brew as often but still chase that elusive "best beer ever". Still tweaking recipes and processes and planning another upgrade to the brewery soon.

Some blokes change hobbies many times during their lives, and brewers stop brewing for as many reasons as there are brewers, thats life!

So after 40 plus years, maybe I will have to stop one day, but it's my hobby and passion so I don't see that happening while I'm upright :lol:

Screwy

 

[WarmBeer]

In my relatively short time on these forums (and I joined shortly after brewing batch #2), I've seen a couple of guys jump in with both feet, and go from the Coopers kit, to AG, to quitting completely, all within a couple of months.

Maybe it has something to do with their underlying personality, some obsessive compulsion to learn everything as quickly as possible. I suspect they then quit due to either boredom, as they now "know everything", or overconsumption leading to health issues.

As for me, I'm looking forward to brewing, learning and perfecting well into retirement age (which is still more than two decades away). It might be a slow, leisurely, road for me, but it's a nice one to travel.

 

[Midnight Brew]

Unless I'm physically not capable or for health reasons I don't think I'll ever stop. I love the hobby too much and brew at my own pace. I only drink maybe 3 days a week, 2 not normal sessions of one or two drinks then a session of 5+. It's all about balance really.

 

[Econwatson]

Still very new at this and have a tendency to move around hobbies a lot, but the enjoyment my hobby gives to my friends and family, but also myself, is a strong driver for me to continue.

When I move back to Scotland I'm also going to look at selling at Farmers markets since there is a big beer craze going on back home. But that's a long way away yet. A pipe-dream that I hope to realise. We farm a couple of thousand acres of a grain variety called Optic, so that particular grain variety is in plentiful supply.

 

[Kranky]

I'll brew until my health gives out, it's the greatest hobby I've ever had, nothing else comes close.

 

[Truman42]

I'll brew until my health gives out, it's the greatest hobby I've ever had, nothing else comes close.

Have to agree with that.

Its funny though, most non home brewers think we do it to save money and drink cheap piss but nothing could be further than the truth. Its not an exciting hobby like RC cars, or similar hobbys. Watching a beer ferment is about as exciting as watching paint dry, (well at least you get to see the Krausen and your airlock bubbling so maybe not as boring)

But still we are all drawn to the hobby.

For me its the satisfaction of producing a beer and when you first taste it being able to say.."Shit yehh thats great" then giving it to family and friends who also react the same way.

 

[Robbo2234]

Who knows How long, but when you look at it it's heaps of hobbies in one.
Brewing
Science
Electronics
Programming
Mental working
Carpentry.

it just keeps on giving!

 

[jyo]

I'll keep going until my back says no more. That will be the deciding factor for me. Otherwise, I hope to be the grumpy old bugger at the bowls club who complains about homebrew being better than the shit they are serving on the taps here!

 

[Nibbo]

Truman...I notice i joined AHB 4 days after you and you have roughly 11 times more posts... :lol: ...WOW...

Anyhoo...As i'm retired from footy and cricket's not far off either, one thing I'm looking forward to is teaching my young bloke all about beer and its processes when he is growing up. Perhaps he'll grow up knowing more about alcohol and beer than i did and maybe respect it a bit better than me when i were a youngster...

 

[mrTbeer]

When my local bowls/surf/golf/footy club makes and serves better (craft) beer than I can, I'll stop.

 

[zarniwoop]

It's an interesting question and for me I'd probably stop when I didn't have an interest in beer anymore, I don't really drink that much these days, I'm quite strict about limiting myself to one bottle a day (330ml) with the occasional wild splurge of 2 or 3. I do this mainly as when I went to the doctors a few years ago for my annual (read every 3 or 4 year) check-up there was a vague issue with my liver that turned out to be nothing but it reminded me that I have a liver and I'd better try and look after it (as an ex-smoker I get paranoid about this type of thing). That and having a two year old and another due any day means that hang-overs are not an option unless you're a masochist. The only time I get p*ssed these days is once a year at the annual company booze up when I'm away from home.

But as another poster mentioned it gives so many things and allows for so much experimentation and perfecting that it's hard to stop as a hobby. As I don't drink that much I'm actually thinking about doing 10L brews so that I can have a higher turnover rate and learn more quickly.

Aside from hundreds of beer styles it also gives you an easy path into other drinks (wines, meads, ciders etc) so there is a lot of ground to cover.

I just wish I'd started earlier....

 

[warra48]

I took up brewing when I retired and my kids bought me a home brewing kit.

After 6 months I moved to AG, and kept at it for the last 6 years. I love the characters of the beers I brew, and being on a retirement income, the economics of it is a bonus. I'm not a huge consumer, about 1 longneck a day, but I can see myself doing this for a long time to come.

One key to retirement is to have hobbies and activities to keep you engaged, rather than just vegetating or sadly pushing the shopping trolley around the supermarket with your better half.
Home brewing is one of my activities, among a number of others.

 

[Red Baron]

I've been going mostly strong for the last 17 years, and will most likely continue for the next 40ish. I really like beer, making stuff myself and dislike the taxman.

Cheers,
RB.

 

[djar007]

As long as I can get quality ingredients I will make my own beer. It is akin to fishing for me. relaxing and productive.