You Must Earn Too Much

[manticle]

+1

I was made very humble this weekend when I tried one of Manticles AG beers. Here's a guy that was completely determined to brew an AG on a very tight shoe string budget and set up what would have to be one of the most primative AG setups I have ever seen. There a thread here somewhere? His beer I have got to say was a lovely beer, no it wasn't gob smackingly great, but it was one of first AG's, but it made me humbled and proud of what he achieved with what he had at his hands. Mind you had he sent me 2 bottles I would have immediately gone and got the second bottle for a top up.

So brewery bling doesn't equal great beer and a good brewer regardless of his tools can still brew a good beer FULL STOP!

Now having said that I love my brewing toys and my brewery bling and that won't change. How I proportion or spend my hard earned is only my concern, yeah?

Thanks Chappo for the kind words. Hopefully it was at least goblickingly tasty.

Your passion will get you to do what you can with what you have. While my gear is very primitive, it's come about through being determined. Lots of people on here have amazing looking breweries - the thing that impresses me about a lot of them is that many components are actually DIY and built from scratch with bits they found at the local tip. It's just these guys can weld and so on and so forth (I have neither the means nor the skills to do so). Even those who buy their bits and pieces probably target something, save or at least budget for it and it's still a result of passion.

Give me a guy who doshes out for a shiny mash tun from beer belly or a march pump over someone who buys expensive garden statues just to show how rich they are any day of the week. The hobby/craft has people from all walks of life, ages, backgrounds and interests which is probably what I like most about it. I'm 33, poor, studying postgrad and into dark ambient/industrial music, art and collecting children's shoes and medical instruments but I can happily talk beer with a 55 year old, self made carpenter who likes drag racing and footy.

I use a cereal mill I got from ebay because it's all I could afford but someone else using a motorised let'scrushsixtonsofgrainatoncemeister is still another person who loves making beer (and presumably drinking it).

 

[Katherine]

Whats the childrens shoes about? That is querky!

 

[chappo1970]

...Hopefully it was at least goblickingly tasty...

It most certainly was manticle as I said I wish you had sent another like the other as the first one disappeared too quickly. It was a very good clean brew well balance beer.

O/T kind of... I must admit that I was really, really trying to detect a smokey flavour because of the weber monster burner but alas there was none. :icon_cheers:

 

[manticle]

I make artwork and strange music/soundscape which deals with the discarded, forgotten and ignored (artwork is manily drawings of dead biology). My partner also writes music with me and the bent she brings to it is repressed memories (often childhood). Children are also often ignored (partly because they can be so painful but I digress).

Quite often when walking I come across little baby birds, dead insects, mummifed rats etc, which I have been drawing for years. People see something like that and often immediately think 'ew' and walk on but they had a life and are beautiful objects in the way they are formed. I take them home and draw every intricacy I can find to pay respect to that. On a less serious level, the shoes relates a little to the same concept. I also find discarded children's toys which relates.

Possibly sounds freaky when read by most. I'll post a drawing in the off topic section which might hopefully describe it alittle as expalining artwork doesn't do much for me. The music I'll leave to a different forum though.

 

[Katherine]

I make artwork and strange music/soundscape which deals with the discarded, forgotten and ignored (artwork is manily drawings of dead biology). My partner also writes music with me and the bent she brings to it is repressed memories (often childhood). Children are also often ignored (partly because they can be so painful but I digress).

Quite often when walking I come across little baby birds, dead insects, mummifed rats etc, which I have been drawing for years. People see something like that and often immediately think 'ew' and walk on but they had a life and are beautiful objects in the way they are formed. I take them home and draw every intricacy I can find to pay respect to that. On a less serious level, the shoes relates a little to the same concept. I also find discarded children's toys which relates.

Possibly sounds freaky when read by most. I'll post a drawing in the off topic section which might hopefully describe it alittle as expalining artwork doesn't do much for me. The music I'll leave to a different forum though.

love to see it!

 

[manticle]

It most certainly was manticle as I said I wish you had sent another like the other as the first one disappeared too quickly. It was a very good clean brew well balance beer.

O/T kind of... I must admit that I was really, really trying to detect a smokey flavour because of the weber monster burner but alas there was none. :icon_cheers:

There'll be more. Last few brews have been done on the stove as my partner has been out of the house on recent brewdays. I too was hoping for a smoky flavour but all I really got was more evaporation loss, a burnt hand and the opportunity to brew and make my partner happy at the same time. Still I'm slightly attached to my woodfired weber so even when I get myself a decent burner (courtesy of the tax man) I might brew the occasional one old style to remind myself of my roots.

I think now 3 AG have been done weber way and 4 on the inside electric stove.

 

[Pollux]

I've racked up all the costs of my brewing recently.

between my basic gear, urn, mill, kegging setup and all my ingredients I have purchased over the last 13 months I have probably racked up a rather large bill....

But compared to purchasing a 6pk a night (which I used to do near daily on the way home from work) I'd dare say I'm ahead......


And let's face it, everyone needs a hobby. I know guys who spend more on golf per year than I spend on brewing, and playing golf doesn't make you beer.

 

[manticle]

love to see it!

Now in off topic section.

Cheers.

 

[Thirsty Boy]

I have a mate who is a keen fisherman - he just spent $35,000 on a boat. Even buying the most shiny and expensive purpose built stainless gear I can get my hands on... its gonna take a while before my hobby costs me as much as his costs him. And all anyone had to say to him was "great boat mate"

 

[Mantis]

I have a mate who is a keen fisherman - he just spent $35,000 on a boat. Even buying the most shiny and expensive purpose built stainless gear I can get my hands on... its gonna take a while before my hobby costs me as much as his costs him. And all anyone had to say to him was "great boat mate"

Yep, been into offshore fishing with boat (not 35gs but) and was well and truley into golf and spent way to much on it.
Now dont do either but I brew, garden, keep and breed tropical fish.
Jeez , I am a greedy capitalist basted h34r:

 

[Georgedgerton]

I have a marga mill, but reckon I might just upgrade to a better mill after reading the OP
<_<

BTW, my kids want for nothing

Oh yeah, and 62 posts since April 07. Do you only post to stir the pot

I have no doubt your kids want for nothing, and as stated it is good fun (and your right) to spend your dosh on your beloved hobby.

Building brewery equipment and being proud of your product is also not in question, I am merely making the point that it seems a waste to spend a lot of money on a piece of equipment that as the perspective buyer said was "not going to get a lot of use"

As for "stirring the pot", never ----- what can I say ---- you can't get internet access in jail.