Have you ever been over critical of your own brew?

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

amd133mhz

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jan 15, 2012
Messages
52
Reaction score
4
Location
NE
Hello! I just would like to start out saying that I love this place.

Have you ever been over critical of your own brew?
I recently made a Irish Stout from brewers best kit,first timer, and while i was truly impressed that it tasted as good as it did,I was worried others might not like it. now two ppl have tried it and both have had great things to say about it.And i made aure they were not just trying to inflate my already huge ego. I know i can trust what these guys say and they wouldnt worry about hurting what little feelings i have left ;) (wer guys ya kno) but like i drink it and i DO like it but i keep critiquing it.

I know i fermented at too high of temps for the first 2 days and thanks to this forum i moved it to a cooler place. so I can kinda taste the esters i think. I accidentally got like a teaspoon of Germ-x hand sanitizer in the wort and like i know this might just be my imagination but i think i can faintly taste that too. its a good beer its drinkable but I am 100% positive my next one(BB robust porter ,currently in ferment at a CONSTANT 68F in bucket) will be much better simply because I know everything's being done right,or so I hope.

Ha so is it just me being crazy or do others brewers new and old over critique their own beers?

I mean i know I will improve and i am not trying to imply i really think its super awesome amazing just that it came out good and other people(one who doenst even really like stouts) thinks its good. I am shooting for "damn good" next time ha

Cheers!:mug:
 
i'm overly critical of everything I make. better brewing practices help.

I find I look for flaws in my beer, but in commercial beers I only look for what I like about it - unless it tastes like piss.
 
I'm overly forgiving of my beers. That's why I always try and get other people to critique it. I think everything I make is awesome lol
 
Every last one of them its a learning process its fun but I always think I could improve on something
 
I always pick out flaws in my beers. When I give one to someone to try, I'll wait for their reaction (almost always a good one.) Immediately after their response, I'll ask "Are you getting a ...... taste?" or "Do you think it needs ......?" Sometimes they agree after I point it out, but then reassure me that it's still good.
 
The last beer i kegged was a pecan amber and i thought it was not very good. and had a few friends over and they couldnt get enough! i also had a similar situation that i thought it was an ok beer and won a homebrew competition with it. haha
 
I am the worst enemy I have ever known. In the case of my beer, I was right to be critical. It was absolutely disgusting, and my parents and brother agreed. It went down the drain ASAP, except for the beer that geysered onto the ceiling.

My current batch had better be good. I'll know in a month.
 
I've found that the older my beers are, the less critical I am. Yes, it's possible that they improve in bottle. But, I think the main reason is that over time I forget about the small mistakes I made during brewing and stop trying to taste my mistakes. Somewhere about two to three months from bottling, I forget the specifics of a given brewing session and can finally have an objective opinion of my own beer! That's when I start tasting the things I like in my beer rather than nitpicking things I don't.
 
I have made some beers that were awesome, but I have made some beers that were HORRIBLE. I've made beers that I couldn't stand but my friends were eager to take home, and I've made beers that I just wasn't happy with but the SWMBO was all over them.

I'm sure I am VERY over critical of everything I make.
 
I am critical about my beers but as long as they are worth drinking I log my criticism for adjusting the recipe or technique and move on. I can't change what's already in the bottle.
 
Considering I am on the 12th variation of my first original recipe, I would say that my critical nature is really hurting my progress. I have brewed my IPA almost 30 times and every time I think I nail it down, I find myself saying "what if I add x" or "lets try mashing at this temp or use this yeast"

Slightly frustrating to still be on my first original recipe nearly a year in to it but at the same time, when its done, I will have exactly what I want and no lingering thoughts of what it could be. I am close as I've already started on my second recipe, and the brews have never been bad...just not perfect
 
Back
Top