I'm never truly happy with my homebrew

Anyone else feel this way? Even when I'm initially thrilled with a brew, eventually I think there are balance issues or something that could make it better. "Needs more pine flavor, needs to be more complex, I wish it was a little sweeter, could have better head retention...."

I always nitpick my brews.

I have been happy with my creations but constantly in the back of my head I am thinking of how I will tweak it next time to make it that much better.

All I can say is keep at it and welcome to the obsession. Now you just have to decide if you want to put in the time and research to make your beer better or if you're happy drinking mediocre homebrew. Chances are you may never be totally content but you can probably improve every part of the process if you work at it and that will in turn improve your beer.

You will always be your worst critic. I am the same way.

I started giving myself some slack one time when some friends were hanging out at my house and one of them headed in from the garage to get a beer. I asked him to pour me something, anything. There were tons of bottles (homebrew and commercial), growlers of homebrew, and kegs of homebrew from various people to chose from.

He returned with my beer and I kept chit chatting. At one point I stopped and said, "This is really good. What is it?"

He responsed, "I don't know. Whatever is on the left tap of your kegerator."

So, at that point I decided my beer was f*cking fine, and I only knit-picked it because it was mine. When presented with my own beer not knowing what it was, I thought it was great.

I am the same way. I do the same thing with cooking though, so I have written it off to my nature. Constantly thinking 'I bet I would like it better with a pinch of this or that'. ' i think it needs more x'.

chumpsteak said:

All I can say is keep at it and welcome to the obsession. Now you just have to decide if you want to put in the time and research to make your beer better or if you're happy drinking mediocre homebrew. Chances are you may never be totally content but you can probably improve every part of the process if you work at it and that will in turn improve your beer.

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I've noticed a big improvement from when I first started and I've gone as far as building a ferm chamber, keezer, and doing water correction. I really think I just overly critical of myself. I never notice off flavors, just preferences in tastes or appearances.

I wish there were more competitions in the area so I could get unbiased feedback more often. You ever really can trust fiends and family.

I have a long way to go.
I've had a couple of really good beers... those went fast, but I've also had a couple that either I just got tired of and poured out, or were so bad (to me) that they were un-drinkable.
I think I'm about ready to pour out the Pumpkin Ale.

gmcapone said:

Anyone else feel this way?..."

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Yep. Always. My beers are well received, even by pro brewers and people whose opinions I respect. But none of my beers are perfect. There's always room for improvement.

My dad was a wild life artist. He was artist of the year for Ducks Unlimited and a runner up for a duck stamp the one time he submitted. He was never satisfied. He could point to what he perceived as flaws in every one of his works.

I've learned that its a sign of passion and a trait of most good artists.

Relax. Have a homebrew. Enjoy the fact that your friends like what you brew. Plan the next brew based on YOUR ideas.

It's a common malady around here, 'Not bitter enough, increase 60 min 10%', 'Needs more roast flavor' 'Why do I ever put C60 in anything?' 'Not enough honey malt character' Just looking at my comments from my last 4 beers.

Story about nit-picking your beers. My first brew was a porter. After 3 weeks in the bottles it was ok but there was a flavor I thought was really a flaw. I have been letting it sit and the flavor has mellowed but has not gone away. It is not a bad flavor, just something that I thought was due to an error on my part. I decided it was never going to fully go away and that I'd just deal with it.

Over this past weekend, I was at the store and saw Edmund Fitzgerald porter by Great Lakes Brewing. This is my favorite porter but I haven't had it in a long time. I bought a six and brought it home. When I tasted the first sip, I'll be damned if that "off flavor" from my beer wasn't in there...I just had never noticed before because I wasn't closely analyzing the Fitz when I drank it before.

Now, my porter is nowhere near as good as the Fitz...but I learned a little something about being overly critical of my own beers from this experience.

For me, an in-depth look and troubleshooting of my process helped immensely for brewing better beer. One of those things to come out of that was temp control....makes a HUGE difference in quality and consistency. Being able to decrease the time from grain to glass is an added bonus!

The other aspect is ingredients. If you aren't getting the best/freshest/high quality stuff out there then its GIGO.

Enter your beer in a homebrew competition. Let the judges decide. More often than not, you'll be treated to more compliments than critiques, and it will give you more confidence in your beer.

Same here, But I'm getting better with each brew day, watching my temps, rehydrating yeast, soon will try a starter, etc. Just little adjustments on each brew day. Recently did an AG BIAB. Looking forward to how that one turns out.

sometimes I want to perfect a beer that I want to be unique, other times I just am content brewing a 3% bitter with 2 grains and 1 hop and just relaxing with my handmade beer and I feel great about it.

Mostly I'm content with what I made - I never enter comps but have judged a bunch

I'm still relatively new to this hobby, with 16 batches under my belt. I've had a couple "home runs" that keep me driving forward (a couple amazing Irish Reds, a great IPA and an awesome Pilsener lager), but even my "could-be-better" batches have been perfectly drinkable. I'm still perfecting my house pale ale recipe, and I have high hopes for the batch currently sitting in a fermenter.

I find the "mistake" batches far more educational than my successes. How else would I have learned that I really don't like Galena hops, or that you really CAN taste the vodka used to soak vanilla beans for my vanilla porter (I was sure 100 mL of vodka would just disappear in 5 gallons of beer, but there it is). This is all part of the fun, for me.

I hate to sound like a braggard but I love my brews. I brew about twice a month, mostly 5 gallon all grain and I sometimes come home from work and pull the tap and am in awe. Really! I have some I like better than others but I get a beeretion sometimes when drinking them.

I found that when I only have one batch to drink I am much more harsh than when I have two or more. I think part of it is palate fatigue to be honest.

I'm super critical of my beers. Everyone always tells me how good they are, and most are pretty good. But I always feel they can be improved upon. I think it's natural to be overly critical of your own beers.

Beer-lord said:

I hate to sound like a braggard but I love my brews. I brew about twice a month, mostly 5 gallon all grain and I sometimes come home from work and pull the tap and am in awe. Really! I have some I like better than others but I get a beeretion sometimes when drinking them.

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Nice to hear - I feel the same way coming home from work or when someone says that this is better than some craft beer I've had.

I'm very critical as well. My brews have been getting consistently better as I dialed in temp control, pitching rate, etc. But overall I am happy with my last 6 or so batches. On the other side of the spectrum, a friend of mine describes his beer as "phenomenal". Every beer he has ever made is the best beer he's ever had. I don't come right out and tell him some are under attenuated or oxidized. I try to ask him about different aspects of his process, and give him tips. It's like talking to a wall. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Overall, i like my beer, but am overly critical of it...

I definitely know my beers can be improved upon, no doubt about that. I am quite critical of my beers while I drink them, usually taking the time to taste it like you would a fine wine. I try to take down notes from first pours, around half a keg left and then when it gets towards the bottom, always looking for ways to improve or tweak the recipe.

That being said though, there has only been one beer I brewed that I didn't like and that was from a misjudgement of fermentation temp. Everything else I would put in at least the "enjoyable" category. Is it the best beer I've ever tasted? No, for sure it's not, but when I compare my beers to what else is out there for purchase, I feel I'm doing a pretty good job of making beer. I'm not trying to say that I am at a commercial level of quality and taste by any means, only that, for brewing at home, with a pretty make shift system, I brew a pretty enjoyable beer. I always look forward to filling a glass up and having a drink.

Now, I'm generally a glass half full kind of guy and well, I really like beer. I understand being critical of your brew, but to honestly not really like it? I just don't see the purpose of brewing. Yeah, I really enjoy the process, I like the fact that I am making a beverage, but if I didn't care for the final product, I'd really have to reconsider spending the time I do brewing.

Clonefan94 said:

if I didn't care for the final product, I'd really have to reconsider spending the time I do brewing.

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It's not that I don't like my beer. As you suggest, I wouldn't brew if I didn't like my product. However, I think it can always be improved and I have always been suspicious of the rave reviews thinking they were just being polite. Apparently the BJCP judges don't agree with me as attested to by my First Round Blue Ribbon for my Scottish Ale a few years ago.

I think my beers are really good. During parties most people grab one of mine instead of a commercial, a brewer at NOLA said he really liked my red, and when I compare them to commercial beers I often like mine better.

It seems like I can never be satisfied with it though. I am at first, then the critiquing starts in my mind after a few glasses. I think as someone said, it may very well be palate fatigue.

I am my own worst critic, though sometimes I get overly optimistic about the beer. I've won some awards and made some complete flops, the best part is the process and satisfaction that I brewed it.

Look into my eyes.....You must learn to relax....or never truly enjoy it you will