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Retirement hobby

ditchdodger

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Mar 8, 2016
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Hi there!
Retired last year and recently decided to add home brewing to my hobby list. Years ago I used to brew from kits in 5 gallon batches but quickly grew tired of the bottle washing/bottling aspect of the hobby. This time I decided to go with small batch brewing and limit myself to 1 gallon batches. So far I'm loving it! Being somewhat handy I've also been getting a kick out of designing/building some my own equipment including an immersion chiller sized for my brew pot and a small cooler style mash tun which is proving to be extremely effective.

The BeerSmith 2 app on my iPad has helped me produce a couple of good brews already but I can do better, hopefully with the assistance of this forum's knowledgeable members. Watch for my posts requesting advice and help.
DD
 
Brewing is a very delicate job, you have to know exactly the dose of all components, temperature, time of ferment and many other aspects, to get some good beer.
 
Londor said:
Brewing is a very delicate job, you have to know exactly the dose of all components, temperature, time of ferment and many other aspects, to get some good beer.

That's funny. I have begun practicing what I call "no stress brewing". I found I was getting too wound up over precise temperatures, times and exact measurements. It's not that I ignore those things I just don't worry if things don't work out.

Welcome ditchdodger! I am retired also and love being able to brew when I want to and not when my work schedule allows. Brew the beers that make you happy. Brew with the equipment and techniques that make you happy. You've spent a lifetime working on other peoples schedules and by their rules. It is our time to enjoy and be our own bosses.
 
Welcome to to the retirement world and back to homebrewing. I've been retired coming up on 7 years. Have gone to smarter and less physical techniques over the past few years, but still brewing 5 gallon batches. Between having more time to drink and more nagging I just can't see small batch brewing in my future.
 
BeerSmith is a wonderful recipe builder. If you have used spreadsheets, it’s easy to understand. Welcome back to the hobby!
 
Just a toe in the water Bob. We can catch up later.
 
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