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zoebisch01

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Anyone listened to this yet?

New Belgium

At first the traditionalist in me was like "what the", then the artistic side of me was like "right on". I am sure this will encourage controversy, so mods keep an eye :D (I am not trying to create a crap thread here, please not trolls or flames....let's keep it as reasonable as we can please)
 
I like what he has to say. I don't really like the guidlines personally, I tend to use them as starting off point, but usually don't end up with what would really be considered that style of beer. That is the beauty of homebrewing I think, you get to creat anything you want, taylor it to your taste buds, and not what the style guidlines say. I disagree a little with the balance thing he was talking about, sounded like he was trashing IIPA's to me, but hey to each their own, he had some interesting things to say.
 
One of the hardest thing for people I think in general is to allow others their opinion and not take it personally. I'd say the majority of folks struggle with this. He did mention, if I recall correctly, something along the lines of "hey if you want to do it that is fine and what it is all about" (complete paraphrasing there :D). I agree with you too. Funny thing is he kind of verbalized what I have been grasping at lately. I have based lots of my beers off a particular style following the bjcp guidelines as a framework. I think if you are trying to mimic something or "shooting for a style" you should really make your best efforts to follow the framework.

On the other hand, if you really want to be a pioneer I think you should cut the anchor loose and adventure. Who cares what happens! It's all about adventure for me lately. Following the guidelines (framework) is a good crutch until the level of experience gets strong enough that you don't need that (unless of course, you are trying to make a textbook style). It is easy to make good beer, even great beer and be safe. I like the thrill of heading into new territory, sounds exciting :D

I keep saying "Brew what you like. Do this and you will find your inner brewer". :fro:
 
I can appreciate what he's saying, but it seems to me that in order to brew well without consideration for style, you have to understand what the styles are and why they work. Then you can begin to adapt your recipes based on your knowledge. Just randomly throwing stuff together isn't going to make great beer.
 
I think I agree with him. Especially on the BCJB (what ever it is) style rules.

An IPA is an IPA any thing else is not. The style are given to allow judging of a kind of beer and to group beer together. It's got nothing to do with the Original styles of beer.

As for just chucking stuff together rather than following style guide lines then yes you can. It's like cooking.

I understand how ingredients taste, how they will work with other ingredients, how the will compliment each other and what they will do within the completed dish. This allows me to create recipes and meals with the outcome I'm looking for even if the dish does not already exist or has a name. I don't usually follow a recipe and often invent dishes.
Dinner Guests often say "What is that called" or "what's the recipe, where's it from" I have to make a name up and give them a rough recipe. I never weigh or measure stuff.

If this guy is doing the same with his beer then I agree with him. He'll just have to make notes so he can repeat his best beers.

I've always said If you make IPA it's IPA, if you change it then it's something else, you can't just call it American IPA. Well you can if you want but it doesn't make it IPA. It's a Pale Ale made with American Ingredients with IPA methods. BUt the JUdges need a category so they call it AIPA.

I know none of you guys agree with me so it's good to have a "Master brewer" go public and support my views.
 
I think it is all tied together by the three items he declared as the 'Beligian Reinheitsgebot": Knowedge, experience, and creativity.

If you have the knowledge and experience you are not limited to following the rules so to speak. In other words take in cooking for example, I always tell people to learn technique instead of learning how to cook. Once they have the basics of those techniques and have a good database of ingredients in their brains (both of these are the knowledge and experience parts), then they can turn loose their creativity. The greater the first two are the greater your ability to really dive into the depths of creativity. Of course one is not dominated by another, you could easily gain knowledge and experience by being creative....but you may make more mistakes along the way.

I guess what I am getting at is anybody can throw stuff in a mash tun and depending on their background and ability it may or may not turn out. But I really do think I agree with the idea behind using the brew as an artistic outlet. Some folks are content to stick to recipes and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that at all. But if you are looking to really make a statement with your beer, to really express yourself I feel at one point or another you'd need to just step out in your own direction.
 

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