I was doing some thinking on my reasons for paring down my process to where it is now. I have been brewing for nearly 10 years now, started doing extract batches, bottling, went to all-grain, built a chiller, grain mill, etc. I've enjoyed aspects of incorporating all those sub-processes. There is a lot of personal satisfaction in being able to execute every element of the brewing process. Someday I'd even like to grow and malt my own barley. But not now.
Now I have 3 kids, and I just can't focus on all those little processes. And for as often as I brew, I can't perfect them. Every additional element added to brewing is also source of error. If you don't frequently brew, like many who evangelize for the hobby, the simplest tasks can ruin your day.
I don't think you can appreciate this simplification until you have brewed all-grain, ground the grain, chilled the wort and pitched the yeast, then hand washed all the bottles and bottled, and waited. And some people are able to continue all these tasks regardless of other changes in their life.
But I'm not, and I know this is what keeps others from brewing or knocks them out of the hobby all together. I'm now enjoying brewing beer in a way that flies in the face of the way I learned from Charlie Papazian. I take pride in having learned enough about brewing science to tell me that it's ok, and I can still make great beer.
So think of your brewing process this way: every time you can simplify a process, you remove the chance for something to go wrong. Your chiller can't clog if you hot-pack your wort. And you won't take silly chances with kicking off your fermentation if you aren't starting it at the end of a 6 hour brewing session at 1am.
