Beer Myth-busting taste-test on various methods & methodology

I suppose I have always been a skeptic. There are some truths out there worth repeating and we all know they are 'fact'. One of these would be to clean your fermenters well, and create as close to a sterile environment as possible in it before placing another batch of beer in... or, you have a high risk of bacterial contamination.

However, I find that MANY of the other 'truths' that are disclosed here are simply opinion or myths worth being tested.

My objective is to list those myths out, and do a bit of beer-mythbusting if you will.

Here is a short list to test (can you add a few more to the list):
-Fermentation time and longer primary times. I have seen many myths, and yet I continually taste beer from an expert brewer that ferments for one-week max, cold-crashes, and fast charges with co2. His are excellent and I have had good results too.
-Primary to secondary or primary only. can we 'taste' the difference after a specific period of time. lets say we keep the batch in the primary for one month, or take a one week primary + three week secondary batch - and taste the difference between the two. Can we tell a difference?

Those are the two that are on my brain right now.. there are others that would be interesting such as brewing time/removal of DMS etc...but those will likely produce a plausible result due to the science alone.

List a few myths that are worth testing. I would like to conduct a few sessions this summer and produce some serious results!

Look at the thread "home brewing myths that need to die" for this argument...

-Fermentation time and longer primary times. I have seen many myths, and yet I continually taste beer from an expert brewer that ferments for one-week max, cold-crashes, and fast charges with co2. His are excellent and I have had good results too.

Click to expand...

"Expert Brewer" might be the key here. We all know that commercial breweries don't do a three week primary. They have the process down so that they can get their product out to market as soon as possible. A good home brewer, who pitches enough yeast, keeps strict control over temperature, and properly aerates, can likewise get great results in a week. A less expert brewer like myself who only is capable of shaking the carboy and placing it in a swamp cooler might brew the same beer and need three weeks to smooth out the rough edges. So even though it sometimes seems like a written in stone rule when presented in the beginner forum, I don't know that this is a myth that can be busted- it's really just a rule of thumb for beginner brewers.

This could be interesting. You will need taste testers to help you collect data points.

I would like to be the first to volunteer.

Easy answer Brew some large batches and split 'em in half. Do 5 gallons one way (7 day primary only) and 5 more with extended aging. Compare.

Brew another batch. Do 5 gallons primary only, 5 more secondary. Compare.

Beware the "Homebrewing myths that need to die" thread. All sorts of nonsense in there.