Not often enough! When I first started out, I was brewing at least twice a month doing all grain. Then it dropped down to once a month. Now, 12-13 years later, it's down to maybe 4 times a year. But I'm also doing 3-5 meads per year now in betwixt and between too.
One thing I'm certain of though is that I'm not brewing/meading often enough. I have to BUY the commercial stuff way too often! I hate that. Tonight (New Year's Eve) was a great night for tasting some older home brews and some even older commercial offerings.
The list for tonight (New Year's Eve):
- 98 JW Lee's Harvest Ale (11.0%abv). More Molasses than what I remember from three months ago. Still awesome though.There's some depth and complexity here.
- '06 Thomas Hardy's (11.7%abv). No where near the depth of the '94's and '96's I've had but it's still young yet. And it is a new brewery too. It used to be made by Eldridge-Pope. Now it's brewed by o' Hanlons. Time will tell... Samichlaus made the transition quite well between Hurliman in '97 and Eggenberg in '00. Can the new brewers make it 25+ years like the original Eldridge-Pope? I'll reserve judgement but I have faith! Eggenberg has done well on the Sami...
- '06 Old Snaggletooth (homebrewed barleywine aimed at the Hardy's, 11.2%abv. Pretty damned close if I do say so myself!) Not quite as hoppy as the '06 Hardy's but heavily reminiscent of the '96 and '97. Do we have enough hop to make the distance or did we shoot for an ideal without thinking for the ages? Is that a good thing? Time, again, will tell. Regardless, this one is mighty fine now.
- '07 "The Bitch" (see below, started as an Orange Harlot but has been a bitch to ferment. Started at 1.140, got down to 1.040, added active must from Ginger Meth, got it down to 1.028. Added a culture from a bottle of Jolly Pumpkin Oro Del Calabaza (basically a lambic) and is now down to 1.023 We're only three months into the bug/funk fermentation but I think this one will end up at 1.010 in about a year. The "Funk" is really starting to take hold, this may be the best one we've done yet based on this early taste. The funk rides really well against the orange and spices and it's only just begun!) Started on my birthday: March 31, 2007. I really want to test it again on my b-day and then again at least 6 months after that. THEN we might think about bottling it. The Brett bugs are definitely making a difference.
- '05 Orange Harlot (homebrewed Belgian Golden with heavy spices, 12.3%abv. Oh my! That licorice, cardamom and coriander still stands out and rides so well against the orange zest.)
- '98 Alaskan Smoked Porter (perfect with the burgers!) Damn, that oily smokiness kicked ass! For a beer at only 6.1% abv, this one has held up extremely well! How did they get that oiliness in the smoke? And make it hang on for almost 10 years? Yummm!
- '99 Fish Tale Old Leviathan Barrel Aged Barleywine 10.0% abv (Batch #1 750ml). So woody I'm still pulling splinters from my tongue! This one was the highlight of the evening and was definitely worth waiting for. Wish I had a few more bottles of it. There's still a MAGNUM of the 2000 left but I think I'll wait to open it in 2010. It's got the legs to go that far.
We didn't get into the meads tonight but there are some four year olds that need to be re-explored.
Anyway, back to your initial point.
I don't brew as often as I used to. But when I do, it's for larger stakes. I don't do 6% beers anymore. Patience is the hard part though. But the beers are usually drinkable before the meads are though (uh HEM! except for the Ginger Meth!)
It's always either a matter of time or a money issue that stops me from doing it more often. I used to have more money. And at other times I used to have more time. If I could just get those two factors to work together again, I'd be a happy guy! Anybody want to fund a brewery/meadery? I'm taking applications for funders...
