Big Plans vs. Motivation

I have always been a planner and a schemer. The plan has always been the most fun part of any activity for me, and the newer the activity, the more excited I am about the planning! This is especially true for interests that turn into hobbies. (Actually, my wife says that hobbies would be OK, but I don't have hobbies - I have "obsessions".)

This pattern holds true, even for brewing. But the homebrewing hobby is one that is more likely than some of the others to stick, since there is a worthwhile end product every single time.

Circumstances conspired against me when I finally committed to becoming a homebrewer... I was in Afghanistan on a ridgeline in the Korengal Valley. An Army buddy had several years of brewing under his belt, and when I brought up my interest in making my own beer - he convinced me. There was not a lot to talk about up there to take our mind off of the reality; most of the younger guys talked about hot women, movies, or cars - we talked about beer. He explained the process, the equipment needs, and pointed me to Charlie Papazian's classic, 'The Complete Joy of Homebrewing'.

As soon as I got back to the base and got access to the internet, I ordered that book, along with 'The Homebrewer's Companion' from Amazon. As soon as the books arrived in Afghanistan, I read them cover-to-cover. More than once. I sent 'The Homebrewer's Companion' to Robert in a LOGPACK up on his OP (Outpost/Observation Post) in the middle of nowhere. And then I read 'The Complete Joy of Home Brewing' again. By the time I shipped home, the book looked like I had been brewing for years!

In the mean time, in one of my calls home, my wife asked what I wanted for Christmas, which we'd be celebrating when I returned in February. I answered decisively, "A beginner homebrew setup." And I gave her all the info for the local homebrew shop. Bill, the owner, got her all set up, including an awesome Best Bitter kit and great instructions.

I brewed my first batch of beer my first week back home. The planning began as soon as I finished reading the books the first time... Recipes, equipment, recipes. Once I had a few beers under my belt, I was interested in some electronic record-keeping and recipe formulation. I hit the internet, looking for tools. I tested out a variety, from simple spreadsheets to full-blown brewing software. There were several excellent solutions, including the super-popular ProMash.

I ended up choosing BeerTools for a couple of reasons... First, even though I do have Linux and Windows machines at my home, my platform of choice is Mac. BeerTools was the most robust brewing software available for Mac. Plus, I liked their online presence: forum, shared recipes, and recipe storage, among other things.

With the ease of recipe formulation afforded by BrewTools, and the availability of quality recipes from books like Jamil Zainasheff & John Palmer's 'Brewing Classic Styles,' formulating beers almost became a hobby in itself! Too many beers, not enough brewing time... Many of my beers never even make it into a carboy.

The more compelling recipes actually get me to the local homebrew shop (or to place an online order). I would like to say that I bring these home and immediately brew them up, resulting in an endless stream of good beer. Unfortunately, they usually get stored 'for a few days,' which has recently actually become weeks.

It's not a preparation issue; it's a motivation issue. Time to get motivated!