Looking For Motivation To Start Again..

I'm a 1 gallon AG BIAB brewer who started out on this hobby about 2 years ago. I loved it instantly and started brewing every weekend. Thing is, approx 90% of the beers that I brewed, I didn't care for. Everyone else said they were "good," but I didn't agree. Most of the time, I was disappointed. Lots of times, I didn't think what I made was even palatable.

I originally started with spring water. Then I started using distilled water with salts added. No matter what I did, I couldn't get my finished product to something that I was happy with. In ALL cases, I'd rather drink commercially brewed beer than what I was producing.

I have since taken off about 7 months. All of my stuff sits in the closet, but I constantly think about starting again. But to what end? I really could use a pep talk. I've thought about attending some of the local homebrewer's meetings near me, but I'm not sure that anyone/anything can truly help me unless they're involved in my process to see where I may potentially be going wrong. I feel like the majority of successful brewers on here would rather drink they're beer than anything brewed by Stone, or Founders or any of the "big boy" brewers. I think Stone's IPA's are like, 150x better than any IPA I have ever made...And I've made about 10!

I don't want to let go and quit altogether, but I'm having a hard time finding the motivation again to start when I feel like I already know the results that I'm going to have.

HELP!

Jeff

Give extract brewing a try for a little while. Do partial boils so you can use a pot that can fit on the kitchen stove. Pick recipe kits that are your style drink. A few good tasting ones and your confidence may come back. Don't use someone elses' recipe that they tell you is awesome.

Try Northern Brewer of Midwest Supplies kits. Don't cut corners on yeast or pitching rates.

I think you're onto the right answer when you talk about hanging out with other brewers, but maybe you have the wrong emphasis. Rather than having them watch you, maybe you should hang out with them and watch them brew while you pick their brain and help. I've learned some solid stuff just attending my local club meetings. You'd be surprised at what simple things you would learn that may help you turn the corner.

I have also learned a ton as a groupie hanging around my LHBS and talking to the proprietors and patrons. I plan an hour in my schedule every time I shop there in order to leave open the possibility of friendship and education. I've even been invited to brew with the owner; what an awesome eye-opener that was. I learn something nearly every time I'm in there. Plus -- you might make some new friends!

And yes -- I'd rather drink my homebrew than most commercials.

I'd re-think your attitude about attending your local homebrewers meetings. Think it would be easier to adjust whatever your displeased with and acquire a bit more knowledge face to face rather than on here. Plus, have the ability to sample other's wares and get the low down on how they make them.

Brewing Beer is a tradition. When my Mother gave me my Grandfathers hydrometer I was honored. Its worth figuring out. But if all else fails, just lower your standards.

Definitely go a local homebrew club meeting. If you do have something wrong in your process, more than likely, they'll be able to taste it.

I am in the same boat as you in the sense that most family and friends really enjoy my beer. On some occasions, I agree, but I'm never truly happy. That doesn't deter me from brewing, though. It motivates me. To learn about what I'm doing, and what I can do to improve my process and my beer.

Stocktonbrew said:

But if all else fails, just lower your standards.

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I couldn't do that even if I wanted to. There's too much good beer out there to choke down something I don't care much for, let alone something I don't find at all palatable. I've seen a lot of folks online say you should never dump a beer, but life's too short to do things that don't make you happy, including drinking crappy beer. Like the OP, I'd rather just fork over the cash for another Ruination and enjoy my evening.

JeffoC6, what don't you like about your beers? Since you mention IPAs, in what ways have yours been different from the beers you do like? Do you find that yours aren't bitter enough? Too bitter? Too sweet? Not enough aroma? Too thin? Actually, since you like Stone I'll assume you don't think yours are too bitter (is there such a thing?). What yeasts have you tried, and what's the temperature situation in your house when you're fermenting?

In the meantime, I'd definitely heed the advice of everyone suggesting you take advantage of the resources and experience at the homebrew store(s) or club(s) nearby. I've seen a few suggest bringing in a bottle of your beer so they can give you a critique and pointers. They might be able to troubleshoot that way. If that doesn't work, some also have brew days where they can help you through the process. I've seen some people scoff at the idea of paying a fee for a class, but I'd be happy to if it could help me consistently brew beer that blows my wife and I away. Hell, maybe you could just bribe a local brewer with a couple 6-packs of Victory Hop Devil to come over on your brew day.

I'm pretty new to this so I don't have any solid advice to give you, but I also have very high standards and can see where you're coming from. I think it's worth giving it a few more shots after you've spent some time talking more with/working with some experienced guys who like the same beers as you. If you love big IPAs, find the guy at the store who loves those, too. Any tips you receive from someone who isn't familiar with or a big fan of that style may actually be counterproductive.

My IPAs have usually been off from what I expected, I usually have to go overboard on the hops if I want to achieve what I wanted.

My ciders, Belgian beers, porters and Oktoberfest beers are constantly rotating and coming out perfectly.

I didn't even think I liked these styles until I brewed them to MY tastes.

I'll have to second the advise to seek out a homebrewing club. See what they are doing. Taste their beer. I'm sure most any of them would be thrilled to have you try their stuff and see if it's more to your liking.

I like to drink commercial beer as well. Some of it is better than mine, and some of mine I'd rather drink than some commercial. But I also like the process of brewing and trying different things. My beer is not consistent because of it, but that's the nature of continually upgrading and trying different things I guess. I like spending less on beer and having a keg in the kegerator I can just pour a glass off of.

If the process isn't holding the same interest I'm not sure what to tell you. If the only thing disappointing you is the finished beer, I am willing to bet you can overcome this problem with a little more exposure to other homebrewers and their methods.

+1 on doing extract + grain kits. If you didn't like 90% of your beers, it's likely something in your process. Or possibly your water, extract kits should be done with distilled water (one less thing, as they say).

Kits teach cleaning, sanitation, simple equipment utilization, bottling, etc. To those who've brewed scores of beers, these things seem automatic / intuitive, but for new brewers they are skills to learn. These things could be what is causing you to be unhappy with your beer.

Also with kits, you can start with darker beers that hide minor flaws, then as you get better brew some cleaner beers, even lager a beer. If you can do a clean extract lager, you've pretty well mastered all of the "basics." Another issue could be your equipment. If you make a kit beer, it's either process or equipment, and this can be figured out by process of elimination.

I have a buddy who has done many extract kits, makes good beer, and has little interest in moving to PM or AG brewing. He'd rather experiment, and who's to criticize that? I think AG is a bit overrated, it's more time consuming, more costly equipment wise, and I am not convinced that it produces markedly better beer than PM beer.

Also, you brewed ALOT- maybe you just need / needed a break? Brewing is fun, but like anything too much of a good thing can make it a bad thing. Maybe 6 months off clears your head a bit.

I have a HB club, always love talking beer, sharing beer, brewing together. Brewing alone is fun, but it is ultimately a social hobby, beer needs to be talked about, shared, enjoyed by those of similar passion.

I hope you get re-infected with the "bug." I realized I'd overdone my brewing, I have hundreds of bottles in my pipeline, and am scaling back to 2.5G BIAB for awhile. I'm taking this opportunity to experiment with beers I wasn't sure I wanted 2 cases of- chili beers, IPA with wine juice added, Rauchbier. I expect that to be a different journey, but one no less enjoyable.

Best wishes

You put to much pressure on yourself for the moment. Quit brewing. Reflect. When you want to brew again - Do!

You said you didnt like 90% of your brews, what about 10% that you like . Do you see the pattern there, what style do you like, process? I would focus on beers you made that u like and start from there. I made a lot of different beers over last 3 yers but now i brew more than 50% belgians because its what i like

"if all else fails, just lower your standards" of course I was kidding! I agree with Polboy, brew what you like. I brew high gravity ambers because I love them and I cant buy anything like them. A club would also be a great idea. I have been considering this myself. Good luck!

So many things can cause brews not to be quite "right".

Usually something very simple like fermenting to warm, not aging long enough, low quality ingredients (old hops/bad yeast), water issues. And with AG; mash/sparge temps and Water (ph issues).

Do you use software when calculating your water needed etc?

If you can, post your recipe and technique from your last not quite right brew and tell us what wasn't right tasting about it.

I recently overheard my lhbs discussing this matter with another customer. He recommended minimum 5 gallon batch. This helps the flavors meld as they should. The problem with 1 gal batches is that most recipie s do not convert correctly.
you can't continue to do the same thing over and over while expecting different results.

EineProsit said:

I recently overheard my lhbs discussing this matter with another customer. He recommended minimum 5 gallon batch. This helps the flavors meld as they should. The problem with 1 gal batches is that most recipie s do not convert correctly.

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True. Minor variations in hop amounts etc scale dramatically when brewing small batches. Example. You add an extra gram of bittering hop at 1 gallon. That would be the equiv to 5 grams at 5 gallons and 31 grams at 1 barrels. and 310 grams at 100 barrels. Sorry for the metric/imperial mix but I usually do everything in metric and converting grams to ounces is a pain.

Essentially, the larger the batch size the less impact from minor variations.

My motivation? Going to the liquor store and paying $5-$10 for a bomber of beer I can make for a buck.

A lot of good ideas here, I agree going to home brew club meeting would be a big help some of the guys in my club have a really good palate and can figure out the off flavor and what caused it.

I use it as a resourse and I have found that we all make good beer and we all do it different in some way, I also like it when someone makes a similar beer to what I made and it has a characteristic I like I can ask how they did it and then try to replicate it the next time I make it, like adding coffee or a spice you can ask how much was added.

I hope you make another try and it works out for you.

Hello! My name is................


Sorry I couldn't resist!

I tried a few 1 gallon all grain BIAB. They are tough. they were not kits. My lhbs put them together for me. Your grain amounts have to be almost exact along with hop additions. Try a 2.5 or 5 gallon batch and see what happens. My beer immediately got better. Definately go to a hombrew club. Mine welcomed me three months ago like they had known me my whole life. I immediately brewed with one of the older guys and it was pretty clear that I was flying blind. Make sure your not over carbing as well it will give the beer a sharp bite on the tongue with a metallic taste. I just did it to my saison. Was nice and creamy last week, lowered the pressure to 2lbs from 20 but it was too late. Now I'm fighting that.

Good luck don't give up.

there is 400 thousand of us FU$%ers out here and we are all chanting " BREW BREW BREW BREW ! "

maybe give up the BIAB and try a simple kit . I have done a lot of them and the taste is sub par mostly . How ever most of them are still fairly good . The no boil kits are short on flavor most of the time . The partial mash kits are usually fairly good . Use DME not sugar for that 2.2 pounds you need to add in . Maybe dry hop with an appropriate hop . Never follow the instructions for fermenting and conditioning . leave in fermenter 3 weeks . bottle condition at least 1 month . you will be quite surprised at the change in taste .
this brings up a good point . Perhaps your beers are not tasting good because you are drinking them too early . Try one at a week in bottle and 1 at 2 weeks and 3 and then 1 month and you will find you like it I bet .

Note : do not boil a no boil kit unless you plan on adding in your own hops .

Let's get real basic.

What do you like in a beer? What commercial beers do you enjoy?

What have you brewed? And what don't you like about the beers you've brewed? Be as specific as possible.

Denny's Evil Concoctions said:

Essentially, the larger the batch size the less impact from minor variations.

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got that right . A .25 gram in a 5 gallons is never going to be detected but in a gallon could make a big difference . Especially if it is a bittering hop I would think .

Dustinj said:

I tried a few 1 gallon all grain BIAB. They are tough. they were not kits. My lhbs put them together for me. Your grain amounts have to be almost exact along with hop additions. Try a 2.5 or 5 gallon batch and see what happens. My beer immediately got better. Definately go to a hombrew club. Mine welcomed me three months ago like they had known me my whole life. I immediately brewed with one of the older guys and it was pretty clear that I was flying blind. Make sure your not over carbing as well it will give the beer a sharp bite on the tongue with a metallic taste. I just did it to my saison. Was nice and creamy last week, lowered the pressure to 2lbs from 20 but it was too late. Now I'm fighting that.

Good luck don't give up.

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I agree with that one . My 1 gallon experiments are disasters in my opinion . Too easy to screw it up .
What does work is to make a 5 gallon batch and then split it up and ferment with different yeasts . then you have some slightly different beers to try