New brewers.Stop trying to doctor your beer !
 

Adding fruit, racking to a secondary or anything outside of what the recipe calls for is not needed. it will lead to heartache . i can understand someone wanting to doctor up a pre hopped can of extract. but for sakes why try to make a recipe your own by adding a ton of fruit etc to it. <~~~~ wine making forum is that way.
Yes ill have some cheese with my whine !

Why not experiment? I have deviated from several recipes in the two years I've been brewing. I have also made several great beers by doing so. Where's the harm and why wouldn't this help new brewers learn?

I agree! But, with a but......
If one does decide to move forward and experiment it is in their best interest, as well as those that field the never enduring questions, do your homework AHEAD of time!

Post your recipe, process, fermentation abilities, etc and ask for assistance in what you want to do so you avoid the inevitable issues that arise by jumping in feet first, you and your final product will be better for it:)

I agree! In fact, I've found an even more surefire solution. Believe it or not, there are actually stores that will sell you beer already made. I've been buying this "pre-made beer" for about six months now, and I haven't had a bad batch yet. It's incredible. This is much, much easier than any of the other methods I've seen, so I'm surprised that nobody around here has ever heard of it!

I've been AG brewing for about a year and a half (never tried extract). My approach is to brew a recipe by the book the first time and then try variations on subsequent brews. I want to know what the original tastes like before I monkey with the recipe, otherwise I will never know the cause and effect of what I've done.

:D Awesome.

Well, typically I agree with this approach of leaving it alone until you know what you are doing but whatever his name is from Dogfish Head added some fruit to spice up his first ever homebrew kit. Just saying. He had no idea what he was doing at the time either and now he runs a successful brewery based on innovation. You never know until you try, still though, I think you should wait as well to play around.

(This story is in the Dogfish Head Brewing TV episode FYI)

That's the way to go. First timers always want to jump into experimentation before they get the basics down. It's better to start at the beginning and develop your skills first.

Nah, the whole reason I got into brewing was to make wacky stuff that I'd like to try. Very first batch was by the book, and started tweaking stuff immediately thereafter. Batch #5 was a dumper, and a bit of a lesson. Too much Demerara sugar, fermented too warm... Bleah. It was drinkable, but why bother? Make more! Since then I've come up with a few recipes I really like, but even those I do a little different every time. I just like to experiment. Still make plenty of very tasty beer!

Whats the point in brewing if you can't add what you want to the beer? I mean, ya, if a new brewer posts about how awe full his beer turned out because of something crazy he did, well then you can tell him "I told ya so". I consider myself an experienced brewer and still add stuff that I probably shouldn't and regret it when I taste it, but that will never stop me from trying something stupid at a later time. I just make sure I have enough "normal" recipe beers lying around to make up for them!