Newcomer to craft

Parched · 01-25-2009, 01:42 PM

Great site...even better with a pint. Just another guy interested in better beer. Fell in love with dark beer during a trip to Germany, and now searching for info about craft beer from people in the know. Some crafts taste really bad to me, like the brewer forgot something in the recipe. Others just taste perfect from the first sip to the last. Been to beer tastings and usually have too many options (not really a bad thing I guess), and sometimes regretted wasting time on the bad selections and wished I was better informed beforehand. What makes a craft beer taste better? Any advice?

mbird · 01-25-2009, 01:49 PM

"What makes a craft beer taste better?"
Books are written about that.
As far as tasting beer, it doesn't hurt to find out first hand which ones you don't enjoy. It goes towards developing your appreciation and knowledge.
cheers!
mark
Beer Diary...

menschmaschine · 01-25-2009, 03:47 PM

Welcome, Parched! My advice is to learn how to brew and brew. By seeing (and smelling) how beer is produced from brew-day to bottling day and understanding malt, hops, and yeast, you'll be able to better identify what goes into those commercial beers you're drinking. You'll better understand why you don't like certain beers and might be surprised by gaining a new appreciation for beers you didn't think you liked.

StoutFan · 01-25-2009, 03:55 PM

Brewing your own beer gives you better understanding of the whole flavor profile. This might help you slim down your style choice.

http://www.bjcp.org/docs/2008_stylebook.pdf

Buna_Bere · 01-25-2009, 05:51 PM

Hey thanks for that link StoutFan, that beer judge certification program pdf has some great info I was looking for

Bob

StoutFan · 01-26-2009, 02:39 AM

No problémo

Parched · 02-01-2009, 01:27 PM

Hey Stoutfan...I second the comments from Buna. The BJCP is really good reading and makes it more fun to try detect certain flavors when trying different beers. Thanks for posting.

Not sure if I'm up to the brewing challenge yet, but definitely appreciate the perspectives of those that do. I really like the smoke flavored beers (Otter Creek Stovepipe Porter's my favorite to date), and a beer diary linked to an earlier post mentioned the smoke flavoring in a Cerveca. Sounded fantastic. How does one locate a distributor for uncommon brews? The local offerings are good but I've never seen that one on the shelf. When browsing the craft selections in a store, what drives your choice? Do you usually look for stuff from the same brewers or just buy what looks interesting? I'd imagine the long-time home brewers out there check the ingredients, but as a non-homebrewer (so far anyway) I could use some guidance to make better selections and avoid paying premium prices for stuff that doesn't really taste good.

Same beer diary described the fermentation process in Pulque la Lucha. Think I'll pass on that one, considering the "doll" used in the process. Pretty funny though.

Mark

Bigsnake · 02-01-2009, 01:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by menschmaschine

Welcome, Parched! My advice is to learn how to brew and brew. By seeing (and smelling) how beer is produced from brew-day to bottling day and understanding malt, hops, and yeast, you'll be able to better identify what goes into those commercial beers you're drinking. You'll better understand why you don't like certain beers and might be surprised by gaining a new appreciation for beers you didn't think you liked.

I agree, learning to brew adds a new level of appreciation of beer and a better understanding of the tastes in beer. Even if you don't want to home brew yourself, learn about the process. If there is a local home brew store, club, or someone you know who does it, then ask them to show you the process.

Maybe you'll find a new hobby of brewing or maybe you'll just learn more about something you already love, Beer!

Bigsnake · 02-01-2009, 01:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Parched

Hey Stoutfan...I second the comments from Buna. The BJCP is really good reading and makes it more fun to try detect certain flavors when trying different beers. Thanks for posting.

Not sure if I'm up to the brewing challenge yet, but definitely appreciate the perspectives of those that do. I really like the smoke flavored beers (Otter Creek Stovepipe Porter's my favorite to date), and a beer diary linked to an earlier post mentioned the smoke flavoring in a Cerveca. Sounded fantastic. How does one locate a distributor for uncommon brews? The local offerings are good but I've never seen that one on the shelf. When browsing the craft selections in a store, what drives your choice? Do you usually look for stuff from the same brewers or just buy what looks interesting? I'd imagine the long-time home brewers out there check the ingredients, but as a non-homebrewer (so far anyway) I could use some guidance to make better selections and avoid paying premium prices for stuff that doesn't really taste good.

Same beer diary described the fermentation process in Pulque la Lucha. Think I'll pass on that one, considering the "doll" used in the process. Pretty funny though.

Mark

In the store looking at craft brews I'll usually grab something that catches my eye or something from a brewery I've heard about but in a style I like. Another thing I like doing is learning about a style, then going out and hunting down different beers of that style to try out. See what different brewers have done with the style. Do they follow the guidelines or just go way out there?

You'll also start to hear about certain beers and read about them. When you finally see one in the store, it's an exciting event.