[John M]

Hey all, I've posted a few times lately. Brewing regularly again (in other words, main focus of my life) after a 3 year hiatus! Man, when I say I hung it up, I didn't even hang it up.. I just walked away completely, like Chernobyl. Fermenters left with trub in them, 5 gal bucket with PBW that had dried up back to its powder form, etc. My keezer completely abandoned, lots of mold..

So whenever my cousin motivated me to get back in the saddle, we spent days cleaning the basement brewery, including the keezer (fully stripped down, new lines (beer and gas), dismantled and deep cleaned the Perlicks).

Fast forward to 5th brew into re-entering the hobby, and I've cleaned 3 (empty) kegs so far to fill with my first 3 brews. Have one more ready to keg, and one boiling as I type this. Back when I emptied my keezer to clean it, there were several kegs that still had considerable volume in them. Didn't know for sure what they were, and just assumed they were not worth saving.

As we're doing this 2 1/2 hour boil today, my cousin suggested that we pour some from each of the six kegs that still had beer in them. So we sprayed every post with star stan, wiped them with a paper towel, and proceed to pour a bit of each one, one at at time. I knew a few of them were homebrew club project collabs gone wrong, that I intended to pour out 3 years ago. But boy oh boy!! I had an Octoberfest that was still very nice and clean, and best of all was a tart cherry mead that I still have approx. 3 gallons of, that has only gotten better with age!

I was already prepared to empty all of them and start fresh, but I have two lovely kegs that are going back in my freshly reconditioned keezer.

Cheers all!
John M

[hopfenundmalz]

It is a hobby that you can pick up again.

I've had a few breaks from brewing over the years. Once when working in Germany. Once when I had Prostate Cancer and was recovering. The last beer I brewed was in the late Summer, then some Travel to Germany any  England got in the way.

I've got the ingredients laid out to brew 5 gallons of something like Harvey's Sussex Ale, that was so tasty. If I get 80% there in the finished beer I'm a happy guy.

[neuse]

Welcome back to brewing!

[BrewBama]

Welcome back.

I took a few yrs off when stationed in Italy and then finish raising kids. Picked it back up a decade ago when AL decided to make homebrewing legal.

Lately, I had to cut down on consumption due to a minor altercation with the bathroom scale. I downsized batch sizes, drink beers on weekends, and look for ways to give away beer so I can keep the brewing schedule on track.

[jherzjherz]

WELCOME back John. How is it going? I take breaks too but feel much more grounded in my home when something is bubbling away as it ferments, is carbonating and in the fridge on the ready. Cheers.

[John M]

WELCOME back John. How is it going? I take breaks too but feel much more grounded in my home when something is bubbling away as it ferments, is carbonating and in the fridge on the ready. Cheers.

Thanks guys! jherz, absolutely! It is something to always be looking forward to, something to tend to. I love going down to the basement, morning and evening to check on my fermentation/temps/airlock sniffing etc.    Cheers

[Clint Yeastwood]

Welcome back. Resistance was futile, as I myself learned.

Sounds like Cuz wanted some free brew.

I don't think you should listen to the people who say old beer is bad beer. It's pretty clearly a myth. Maybe it's true for some beers, but not all.

I was just posting about my experiences over at HBT. I quit brewing, and I left a keg of strong wheat ale in the keezer for a coon's age. I tried it before pouring the keg out, and it was better than ever. I also left some Sierra Nevada Torpedo in a hot workshop for a year or so, and now I like it better that way. When I buy it, I leave it outside the fridge. If I had the willpower, I would leave it in the workshop for a year again.

You may want to look into EVAbarrier and Duotight for the keezer. They have made my life a lot easier.

[John M]

Welcome back. Resistance was futile, as I myself learned.

Sounds like Cuz wanted some free brew.

I don't think you should listen to the people who say old beer is bad beer. It's pretty clearly a myth. Maybe it's true for some beers, but not all.

I was just posting about my experiences over at HBT. I quit brewing, and I left a keg of strong wheat ale in the keezer for a coon's age. I tried it before pouring the keg out, and it was better than ever. I also left some Sierra Nevada Torpedo in a hot workshop for a year or so, and now I like it better that way. When I buy it, I leave it outside the fridge. If I had the willpower, I would leave it in the workshop for a year again.

You may want to look into EVAbarrier and Duotight for the keezer. They have made my life a lot easier.

Thanks, Mr. Yeastwood    Awesome name!

Yes, I am very interested in the Evabarrier/Duotight! I'm sure I will migrate in that direction going forward. Cheers