Having brewed with friends for nearly a year, yesterday I decided to man-up and brew 10 gallons of O-Fest single handed.
It was no more difficult, and did not take much more time. Actually, in many ways it was less challenging.
What do you all do…brew with friends, or solo?
I brew solo. I generally brew on a day off during the week and start while making breakfast for my son. That’s not particularly conducive to a group brew. Plus, I think of my beers as my own creations, and I tend to hoard the creative process to myself (sort of like songwriting).
I usually brew starting at 4 or 5 AM. Not many of my friends are even awake at that time. I have done a few brew sessions with friends over and very much prefer to go at it solo. Just too many distractions with others around.
I do it on Friday nights while my girlfriend covers local sports events. It’s my “moment of zen”
99.9% of the time I do it solo and prefer it that way. Once in a while I have people over when I brew. On those days, the beer turns out to be whatever it wants to be and the day is about the people, not the beer. I don’t really need help. I can whip out 15 gal. in 4.5 hours, same as 5 gal.
I usually brew early in the AM so rarely do I have anyone with me when I brew.
I brew alone almost always. I enjoy it as my “me time”. I occasionally brew at club brew event and I almost always forget something and the brew turns out less than stellar. Like Denny said, I look at it as a way to socialize with club members and try not to worry about the beer.
Thanks for all the feedback. My friends and I formed a garage brewery, “Bel Air Brewing”. But after going it alone yesterday, I might offer to buy them out. It was less headache for me, and especially for my wife.
When we brew as a team (3 of us), it does work out Ok as we all do different things…such as cleaning up as we go along. Spreading the chores out is a nice thing.
Lifting 7.5 gallons of wort, and placing it in the fermentation freezer, it the big issue. My wife did assist with this. But she is 5’ 2", and weighs 112 lbs. Not extra strong!
I usually brew alone. Most of my friends don’t have much of an interest. The friends I have that do brew are usually busy with family stuff, etc.
For me brew day is much faster and easier if I get someone to come by. I brew in my garage, so there’s a lot of running back and forth to the kitchen. Brew day becomes way easier when there’s an extra set of hands just to save some trips, help with cleanup, etc. But again, I do usually brew alone, and am perfectly fine with that.
I prefer to brew alone unless I’m at some sort of club event. I tend to be busy for the entire session, either with prepping the next step or doing something useful around the house. Having a friend over slows me down a bit as well as encouraging me to start drinking earlier.
I brew solo. I don’t have as much time alone as I would like anyway. I listen to podcasts, usually political, and clean as I go.
I have found it enjoyable teaching some friends how to brew. It’s relaxing to watch them clean up.
Having time is not an issue with us, as we are all airline pilots with very flexible schedules. Can pilots make good beer? Absolutely!
Yes, an extra set of hands is nice. My wife offered to help out yesterday as she prefers that I brew solo. Makes less cleanup for her when it’s all over.
I would love one of those super hot dishwashers restaurants use in my brew room. Load it up and set it and forget it
I can’t count the number of times I’ve had glasses that smelled like barfed up Asiago cheese even in really nice restaurants. I don’t think I’d trust any dishwasher over a hot PBW soak followed by some elbow grease for my brewing equipment.
I’m more of a gouda man!
Solo for me, with help from my wife as needed. She helps with lifting, cleaning, and anything where extra hands and eyes are a plus.
Solo, but often with drop-ins from the (3 and 7 year old) kids. Brewing is my “quiet time”…I don’t mind brewing with others, but I often feel like it’s not a ton of fun for many, because half of my focus is on the timer, etc., or worrying about taking refractometer readings and cleaning and such. Now when it comes time to drink the beer, the more the merrier in my book! (although my beer social time is down to pretty much zero these days outside of time with my spouse, for all of the self-evident reasons!)
Put me down as another solo brewer.
I usually start my brew day around 6A, so not many people want to come over to my house at that time (and I’m not sure I’d want them here then either).
As others have noted, I’m pretty busy during the brew session, getting a process underway, staging for the next one, cleaning, taking notes and measurements, etc.
Learning from past mistakes is crucial for me in the learning phase, not that it ever ceases. I am a voracious reader but I learn best by observation and obviously, experience. I found out early on that “participants” are distractors and they make cause for a poor brew day.
I brew alone! No friends, neighbors or family and that means my wife too!!
Brewing is honestly therapeutic for me. I very much desire to be alone in my own thoughts and brewing is one of those rare times that allows me to be alone.
I prefer to brew solo, though I participate in group events for fun. I listen to brewing podcasts, so I never feel alone - thanks to guys like Denny and Drew!
Saturday I had three different people show up at varying times during the end of the brew day, so I was just chilling the wort. They got to see the racking into the fermenter and repitch of slurry, while enjoying the homebrew on tap. I soaked everything overnight and cleaned up Sunday morning.