Losing interest, what to do... Help!

[decr]

Fellow brewers,

Brewing has been a downward spiral of interest for me lately and I'm lost. I mostly do kits and ciders due to time constraints and love it, but lately even putting down a kit seems like an overwhelming exercise. I have one ferm with cider going but the other one is sitting there empty and ... hasn't been cleaned. It has been staring at me for a week if not more. In the morning I think hell yeah do it tonight, by the time the day is over (daycare/school/work) and kids are in bed I can't be stuffed. The SWMBO left 6 months ago without explanation and left me with the kids, which is fine as I would not have had it any other way.

Lack of time, interest and other things I mentally kick myself every time I see that fermenter and/or walk in the bottle shop. Has anyone gone through a similar phase and how did you regain interest? With the newly acquired freedom I could brew wherever, make a mess and no-one would complain, buy whatever kit etc... Meh.

I think I need help.

 

[pcqypcqy]

Mate, I wouldn't worry about it. You might come back to it, you might not, but it sounds like you've got bigger issues going on in your life that you need to deal with.

I was in a sort-of-similar position a few years ago, and totally lost interest in everything I was into at the time, so you're not alone in that.

Rinse out the fermenter, fill it with hot water and sodium percarbonate (or whatever you use to clean), and forget about it for a while. At lest if you're not cleaning it, it's soaking which should make eventual cleaning easier.

 

[Grott]

I think hell yeah do it tonight, by the time the day is over (daycare/school/work) and kids are in bed I can't be stuffed.

Can understand that. Kit preparation is fairly simply and doesn't take that long however its when you do it is the key. Can you do it early in the morning before the kids get up? on a weekend? I find its the best time, no distractions, feeling fresh and later in the day you think "great that's done".

Now get motivated and just remember how good your own brew was.

Cheers

 

[droid]

not a huge Woody Allen fan but I like one of his sayings that has stuck for many a year (in regards to getting things done)

"80% of everything is achieved in just showing up"

I take that to mean, if you can just get out there you're 80% of the way there because getting around to doing things is the hard part not the actual doing. I would try to keep going with your brewing, it is a familiar place for you and familiar faces and places are good when there's change going on in our lives

good luck
just my 2c

 

[damoninja]

If I didn't have as much time as I do, I'd feel ya...

Find a mate who double batches and pay him 50 plus tips to split the batch. I can easy get triple batches out on average gravity beers eg 1.050 (mash tun would struggle with much more) thinking of doing this every now and then for a mate who works as a tour guide so rarely has time to brew.

one is sitting there empty and ... hasn't been cleaned. It has been staring at me for a week if not more.

Rinse / clean stuff as soon as you're done with it. The longer you leave it the harder it gets and longer it will take.

 

[n87]

Hook up with a brew club if you have one in your area.
I find that when I am part of something bigger, I am 'compelled' to 'show up' (as droid puts it).

Personally I go through phases with this and all my other hobbies (music, games, building shit etc). I go for months without fermenting, all it takes is a brew meet, a really good beer that's not yours, or procrastinating over something else.

Pending on the age of your little ones, get them involved. It will no doubt take 1.5-3 times longer, but it makes it less of a chore if you have someone else there.
They can also keep some enthusiasm for it 'daddy can we put the goop in the bucket'

 

[decr]

Thanks for the amazingly quick replies. I suppose it all boils down to one thing: time. Brew clubs are out of the question as I'm newish to the area with no family/friends backup to look after the kids. I like the idea of getting the kids involved, I can just see how my 2yo could help out... She's good at emptying the dishwasher though (remove sharp things first) which is good entertainment for both of us and then the older one feels left out and does the rest. If only I could get them to clean the ferm.....

But yeah, the 80% thing, that's kinda spot on. Just do it and feel better afterwards as with a lot of things.

 

[n87]

2yo? perfect for enthusiasm!
Get her to get the can opener and make sure the fermenter doesnt move!

 

[pcqypcqy]

Thanks for the amazingly quick replies. I suppose it all boils down to one thing: time. Brew clubs are out of the question as I'm newish to the area with no family/friends backup to look after the kids. I like the idea of getting the kids involved, I can just see how my 2yo could help out... She's good at emptying the dishwasher though (remove sharp things first) which is good entertainment for both of us and then the older one feels left out and does the rest. If only I could get them to clean the ferm.....

But yeah, the 80% thing, that's kinda spot on. Just do it and feel better afterwards as with a lot of things.

2yo can probably get in and scrub the fermenter thoroughly from the inside.

Say, I have a 1yo........

 

[damoninja]

Balancing time, cost and space is something most of us face usually constrained by one or more...

If time's your main constraint but money and space less so, where can you cut out time in your brewery?

• Get yourself a 60L fermenter and brew double batches, basically the same amount of work for double the output.
• Start kegging (if you don't already) costs a little at the beginning but immensely quicker than bottling especially when talking double batches.
• Find a regular time that you can start and finish batches eg brew on Sunday, keg 2 Sundays later.

Lot of guys run with kits n kegs because they don't have time to do all grain (which IMO is the best reason to brew kits) nor have the time to sanitise and fill a bunch of bottles.

Bottling used to take me the best part of an evening, kegging a double batch takes half as long as bottling a single batch.

 

[Feldon]

Fellow brewers,

Brewing has been a downward spiral of interest for me lately and I'm lost. I mostly do kits and ciders due to time constraints and love it, but lately even putting down a kit seems like an overwhelming exercise. I have one ferm with cider going but the other one is sitting there empty and ... hasn't been cleaned. It has been staring at me for a week if not more. In the morning I think hell yeah do it tonight, by the time the day is over (daycare/school/work) and kids are in bed I can't be stuffed. The SWMBO left 6 months ago without explanation and left me with the kids, which is fine as I would not have had it any other way.

Lack of time, interest and other things I mentally kick myself every time I see that fermenter and/or walk in the bottle shop. Has anyone gone through a similar phase and how did you regain interest? With the newly acquired freedom I could brew wherever, make a mess and no-one would complain, buy whatever kit etc... Meh.

I think I need help.

You all right, decr. You obviously like the hobby and it has been part of your enjoyment of life for a while. So is your lack of interest in brewing a reflection of a lack of interest in yourself? Whatever personal trouble life has thrown at you its important to be kind to yourself. You'll be better for the kids if you don't start giving up the things that you like doing. So cut yourself some slack and find some time to brew. It will also keep you out of the bottleshop. Beer is expensive there and its easy to glance over to the spirit shelves and think that its better value buying that stuff. Possibly slippery slope stuff for the unhappy and and unaware.

Put a brew on soon mate. And when its ready, raise a glass to the sky and toast yourself and the good things you have in life. You'll do OK.

 

[Cosh]

What about buying Fresh Wort Kits? You can keep them for months and then just tip into the fermenter and add yeast when you have spare time.

I did this for about 6 months after my second child was born and it was quick and way too easy. I also keg, so it makes it even quicker as you only have to wash and fill one vessel..

 

[HBHB]

Fellow brewers,

Brewing has been a downward spiral of interest for me lately and I'm lost. I mostly do kits and ciders due to time constraints and love it, but lately even putting down a kit seems like an overwhelming exercise. I have one ferm with cider going but the other one is sitting there empty and ... hasn't been cleaned. It has been staring at me for a week if not more. In the morning I think hell yeah do it tonight, by the time the day is over (daycare/school/work) and kids are in bed I can't be stuffed. The SWMBO left 6 months ago without explanation and left me with the kids, which is fine as I would not have had it any other way.

Lack of time, interest and other things I mentally kick myself every time I see that fermenter and/or walk in the bottle shop. Has anyone gone through a similar phase and how did you regain interest? With the newly acquired freedom I could brew wherever, make a mess and no-one would complain, buy whatever kit etc... Meh.

I think I need help.

I found myself as a sole parent of a 3 year old with 100% custody too. It can be a life changing experience. More important than beer is the fantastic opportunity to jump in and be a Dad while you grow up with your kids. That's what I found anyway. In hindsight, it was probably the best thing for myself and certainly the best thing for my son and i'd do it all again the same in the blink of an eye knowing now what a great opportunity it was for us.

At some stage when the opportunity arises and you can sit back with a couple of beers, go buy a handful of commercial crafty beers that sound different, unique or unusual. When you crack the top of one of those and it makes you go "**** that's outstanding", then you've just found your motivation. Have a crack at making something that excites you. you see, it's beers with a bit of wow factor that will make you take your mind off all the bullshit and drag yourself up to the shed to do a bottling run.

All the best with the future. Invest heavily in quality time with the kids mate, coz in the blink of an eye they'll be grown up and gone off into the world to make their own lives.

Martin

 

[sp0rk]

What about buying Fresh Wort Kits? You can keep them for months and then just tip into the fermenter and add yeast when you have spare time.

I did this for about 6 months after my second child was born and it was quick and way too easy. I also keg, so it makes it even quicker as you only have to wash and fill one vessel..

I plan on doing this when we finally decide to have a kid
Only I'll stock up on a shitload of cubes, and a month or 2 before the birth, brew maybe 3 x 60L batches (say an ESB, a Saison and a Pale Ale) and randomly hop each one differently in cube

 

[n87]

I plan on doing this when we finally decide to have a kid
Only I'll stock up on a shitload of cubes, and a month or 2 before the birth, brew maybe 3 x 60L batches (say an ESB, a Saison and a Pale Ale) and randomly hop each one differently in cube

I planned on doing that... D day came and I had 2 cubes.... (the same 2 cubes of RIS i have been meaning to ferment for months now)
However, I managed to fill 5 cubes in the month after.... go figure

 

[Lord Raja Goomba I]

I built a stockpile of beers up before bub came. Now he's here, I'm not in the mood (I think it's the lack of sleep) for beer, but it's here in bottles and a couple of kegs.

 

[Devhay]

I hit a bit of a lull last week.. a newborn and a two year in the house means minimal time and my last two brews being failures left me a bit over it all

So I cruised down to my favourite bottle shop, stocked up on a big box of assorted crafties some old favourites and some new and drank my way through them until I found one that inspired me to make something tasty of my own!


Fresh wort kits would definitely be a good way to go too

 

[Mardoo]

What to do? Buy more equipment, of course!

Seriously though, lulls happen. For me, regaining interest when it seemed like too much work was a matter of making the bits I hated simpler. I absolutely hated bottling. Got kegs and there you go, the interest came back whole hog.

You have a lot on your plate though. Maybe just let it go for awhile. Letting go isn't the same as throwing it away. It's just loosening your grip.

Edit: God damn I love the variety of suggestions/opinions laid out here!

 

[Droopy Brew]

Mate it isnt surprising. You have had a life changing experience and probably one that on some level kicks your ego in the balls. It isnt unusual for things like that to manifest themselves as dwindling interest in hobbies etc. Plus getting around to doing that stuff after work when you are a sole parent is tough once dinner, baths and bed are done you probably just want to sit down for a bit.

As others have said, there is no rush, you can let it go for a bit but if you think it is indicative of the way you are feeling about life in general, then you may be seeing signs of depression and you should definitely get onto that shit early.

You last question might be your answer- go and talk to a doctor and see if you do need further help.

Best of luck mate.

 

[Dave70]

This might be treating the symptom rather than the cause, but freshening up your brewhouse can spark a new burst enthusiasm. Buy or make some new / better shit.
For ages I got by with the old esky / keg setup and doing boils on my outside BBQ. Lugging a beer keg with 35 + liters of 70 deg liquor up onto the burners was getting old, fast, to the point where I couldn't be fucked with it. Plus I was alfresco at the time and subject to the elements. Starts pissing down halfway through the boil? Tough shit. (see pic) So I bit the bullet, retired the esky, cobbled together some stands, get a proper three ring burner and converted another keg to a mash tun ( with super extras like a thermometer!!)
These days I rock a state of the art 2V system powered by gravity. Plus various bits and pieces that simply make life easier and more efficient.

That said, a brew day to me has to mean just that. Sure you can get the lawns or washing done whilst the mash is ticking over or waiting for the boil, but if I have to rush, if I cant blast some music and be half cut by mashout time, I'd rather leave it until I can. Its supposed to be fun above all else, otherwise whats the point?


The olden days.