(another) Alton Brown/Good Eats "Amber Waves" Episode Discussion

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Let's cram all this stuff in the fermenter (and scratch the crap out of it). What an idiot. There's a lot of "starch" in this water.

Flame out hops called dry hopping.

I could not watch any more..

Alton, stick to your day job.
 
Let's cram all this stuff in the fermenter (and scratch the crap out of it). What an idiot. There's a lot of "starch" in this water.

Flame out hops called dry hopping.

I could not watch any more..

Alton, stick to your day job.

He messes up so many brewing terms. lol:drunk:
 
But I don't have any surgical gloves to stop cross contamination when I bottle! :cross:

I love "Good Eats", but yeah, Alton, stick to your day job. This episode set brewing back about 10 years.
 
While the processes and terminology may be wrong. That particular show got me interested in home brewing. Being a chef I know better than to follow an A.B. recipe and or show. So that led me to you guys. I'll never be the same. :D
 
wow im shocked!

i love Good Eats and i love the scientific side of cooking he brings to the table but good God man, leave the brewing to us lol
 
This episode set brewing back about 10 years.

I don't know, I'm willing to bet it got a lot of people interested in brewing who otherwise never would have considered it. Personally, it got me interested again after my 20 year break! My girl and I were watching the show, and I kept pointing out mistakes Alton was making. She asked how I knew, and I told her about all the beer I used to make in college. "Sounds like fun!" said she.

Next thing I knew, we were back at the old LHBS buying ingredients. A few hundred gallons and a few thousand dollars later, here I am. :cross:
 
Alton uses bleach. I'm sure it contributes some pleasant flavors to the final product.

Not in the right concentration. As long as you don't go crazy with it, bleach is fine.

And Alton Brown just gets on my nerves no matter what he is doing in the kitchen.
 
This episode too got me the bug in my ear to start brewing. I do look on in disbelief at his techniques. But he does emphasize sanitation. And I still use bleach for sanitation, and I have not had an off flavor or infection yet, and it is still cheaper than any other form of sanitzer.
 
This episode set brewing back about 10 years.

I was 21 and brewing 9 years ago, and didn't to anything this stupid.
The benefit of AG...errr...AB is that he gets the masses interested in things.
So his method sucks and his ingredients are poorly used...We always say..I'ts hard to screw up beer. He proved it.

I wish there was a way to get an accurate count of people that are now brewing or at least researching because of this episode.
 
I'm one of those guys that had never brewed until I watched that show. I was sitting home one rainy saturday and was bored out of my mind. I saw the show, went to the internet, found a homebrew shop not too far away, and went and bought the stuff to start brewing. My LHBS recommended I get started using a different process and gave me a simple recipe/directions sheet to follow. My first brew probably sucked, but I was proud. I even shared it with friends - I can't imagine why they didn't drink much? A lot of brews and a few comp medals later, I am so glad that Alton Brown was on TV making brewing look so fun (and easy)!
 
OK, OK...

I don't doubt that this episode got many people interested in brewing. No problem with that.

I watched this episode from the perspective of someone who has brewed for years, so yes, it was pretty scary to watch. I can imagine that for someone who has never brewed or watched someone brew before, this episode was pretty cool.

But if you're going to try to bring homebrewing to "the masses", at least do it without spreading bad advice. Doing it "the right way" would not have been any harder!
 
So what did food network re-broadcast it????

Mods, can you cram this thread in with the threads created LAST time it aired??? :D


Seriously, he rocks, he's the consumate cooking DIY'er....but he made a few mistakes, and at the same time did what very few things, and people did, not since Charlie Papazian and Mr Beer have so many people gotten into homebrewing....(who of course came here and we set them straight.:D)

So he deserves some props....
 
OK, OK...

I don't doubt that this episode got many people interested in brewing. No problem with that.

But if you're going to try to bring homebrewing to "the masses", at least do it without spreading bad advice. Doing it "the right way" would not have been any harder!

At least he's not picking chicken feather's out of his yeast before pitching, like SOME video brewers have done....but I won't name any names here (egiarc ebut) ;)
 
At least he's not picking chicken feather's out of his yeast before pitching, like SOME video brewers have done....but I won't name any names here (egiarc ebut) ;)

Oh man! I saw some of his videos, but not that one! Gotta check that one out.
 
SO!
Let us stop bitching about it.
I am #1 on the list of home brewer Guests to be on the next Brew Show with AB! We can make it an hour long special, we'll visit brew festivals, interview Charlie P. We'll explore extract vs. Partial Mash vs. All Grain.

We will correct the methodology of His Greatness Alton Brown, and we will spread the word of Good Beer to the Masses.
 
as previously stated, i love alton's show but it makes me wonder how accurate the info regarding his other topics has been...all that stuff stood out to us because we research this topic and are fairly knowledgable about it...do i know the proper way to cook a souffle (sp?) no...does alton? your guess is as good as mine

my favorite part was "your kit may have things like a racking cane, capper, and hydrometer but those arent really necessary so we wont use them"

LMAO
 
Say what you want about AB and even about that episode, but that episode is THE singular reason that I realized I could brew. Until I saw that episode I did not know how to homebrew and did not desire to learn.
 
I think that everyone should stop bashing AB and start thanking him, like so many have said already he brought allot of us to homebrewing. Three years ago, I wanted to try to make my own beer, like so many friend had already, but never knew how or were to start until I seen AB 's show. I even made the same brew the same way. I recorded the show with the DVR and played it back while making my first brew. It actually tasted very good. Now I make better tasting beer but for that being the first it was not bad.

Thanks AB my house will never smell the same again, you can always catch a hint of hops in the air!
 
I love good eats; its on my dvr list. That being said, he claims on his website to be the head writer :)
 
alton brown owns the show. as well as owns a couple other food network shows. the guy is a production and development genius. as for his brewing style or what ever? i can say its not too much different then what i do. and since some are in atl. hrmmm wonder if they ever see him at the brew comps. maybe someone should invite him to a club meeting.
 
Say what you want about AB and even about that episode, but that episode is THE singular reason that I realized I could brew. Until I saw that episode I did not know how to homebrew and did not desire to learn.

It's the same with me. I thought that brewing beer would be too hard until I saw AB make it. It also made me wonder what an ale would taste like (I had only had BMC beers up until then) and I went and bought some Sierra Nevada and Bass PA. My life has never been the same. :rockin: :mug:
 
I agree with everyone else because this episode of Good Eats, while not up to our standards, got me into homebrewing. I was under the impression that homebrewing was very complicated until I saw how easily it could be done on this show.

On a side note I used to work at a restaurant that AB would come into from time to time and he would always order a Terrapin Rye or Sweetwater 420... So its not like he has bad taste in beer; just bad information on the process.
 
I agree with everyone else because this episode of Good Eats, while not up to our standards, got me into homebrewing. I was under the impression that homebrewing was very complicated until I saw how easily it could be done on this show.

On a side note I used to work at a restaurant that AB would come into from time to time and he would always order a Terrapin Rye or Sweetwater 420... So its not like he has bad taste in beer; just bad information on the process.

If you ever watch the show and pay attention to his fridge when he opens it you an usually see a Sweetwater in there.
 
SWMBO can't stand AB and I could never place a finger on why I just couldn't get into this guy's show...
Because he's anal to the nth degree? :)

Cooking like him would take all the fun out of it for me .... just one man's humble opinion.
 
On Basic Brewing Radio lastweek someone wrote in mentioning that he was using AB's method of making jerky (Using a box fan, several furnace filters and a couple of bungy cords) to dry his hops crop....So his info may not be accurate in terms of the episodes on beer, but some of his other stuff can be adapted for our breweries....
 
i got that show on divx & it seems interesting. It seems to me he messed up terms but this is an informative show & not the definitive answer to all. I think the general method was down & maybe he messed up some terms, but i have seen other shows where he does cooking stuff that i dont agree with
 
as previously stated, i love alton's show but it makes me wonder how accurate the info regarding his other topics has been..

It's like reading Consumer Reports. Looks great until they review something you know about, then you get a "what planet are these people on?" feeling.
 
I like Good Eats well enough, our DVR is setup to record any new episodes, but he can be a bit too anal about some things. I'm really hoping he does another "Feasting on Asphalt". I thoroughly enjoyed both seasons of that.

:off: I just started watching Jamie Oliver's show about a month ago and I'm hooked. His style of cooking is a lot more in line with what I enjoy.
 
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