A great realization about homebrewing

Well, tonight im sitting here with my first brew sitting in the fermenter on its 3rd day. I cracked open a sam adams summer ale. I only bought this beer because its supposed to have been brewed with lemon zest, and grains of paradise. I poured up a glass, and the taste? entirely disheartening, i just sampled my homebrew, a wheat beer, and i have to say that my homebrew, being warm and flat, tastes 100% better than this swill.

well anyhoo i realized that being a homebrewer gives me the right to say truthfully, "I can make this better myself":fro:

That's why we all do it! Most of us can make it better.

I also do it to make a difference to my friends, coworkers, and neighbors tastes buds. So they know what real beer should taste like.

good i thought i was being vain lol

I get that same feeling every time I drink a Sam Adams brew.

and this was my first sam adams ever, and im sorry i ever thought it could be good

on the plus side, sam adams has pry off tops, those will be getting a real beer in them soon

You are not being vain at all. I was just thinking the same thing myself. I'm currently outside having a pint of homebrew bitter. I was tasting it, being critical, wondering what tweaks I can make.......Then I suddenly realised, hey this beer is frickin awesome! What am I being so over critical about? If I were sat in an English pub and had this served from the cask I would be very pleased indeed with it and stick with it for the rest of the night! I had fun brewing it, it is way cheaper......Where is the downside to this hobby!?

Gildog said:

good i thought i was being vain lol

Click to expand...

You may be a little bit, sometimes a brewery does not have the same taste as you. I like many Sam Adams products and some I cant stand but that is generally because of style.

It would be more apt for you to compare a wheat of theirs unless you are saying you are comparing it to your already fermenting beer.

Lastly not trying to rain on your parade just saying Sam Adams generally does a fairly good job, I know you can kick the ass of Bud and such.

this is one of the few hobbies that are actually more cost effective to do than not do

Gildog said:

on the plus side, sam adams has pry off tops, those will be getting a real beer in them soon

Click to expand...

That's the only reason I keep the Sammys around...they're one of the best bottles for bottling your own! If I didn't give so many away I wouldn't have to keep replacing the bottles but what can I say? I'm a sharing kind of guy!

-Tripod

bubbachunk said:

You may be a little bit, sometimes a brewery does not have the same taste as you. I like many Sam Adams products and some I cant stand but that is generally because of style.

It would be more apt for you to compare a wheat of theirs unless you are saying you are comparing it to your already fermenting beer.

Lastly not trying to rain on your parade just saying Sam Adams generally does a fairly good job, I know you can kick the ass of Bud and such.

Click to expand...

its a wheat ale with lemon zest and grains of paradise (an african spice similar to pepper FYI), im brewing an american wheat ale, and it tastes better than the sam adams, you cant even taste the lemon, or the grains of paradise i think at least since i dont know how they taste.

bubbachunk said:

You may be a little bit, sometimes a brewery does not have the same taste as you. I like many Sam Adams products and some I cant stand but that is generally because of style.

It would be more apt for you to compare a wheat of theirs unless you are saying you are comparing it to your already fermenting beer.

Lastly not trying to rain on your parade just saying Sam Adams generally does a fairly good job, I know you can kick the ass of Bud and such.

Click to expand...

While I agree with what you are saying there, I have to add that I find a good many commercial brews disappointing, even the better ones. Especially for the price. Then again I am not a fan of the heavier high gravity beers. I'm in this hobby just so I can have a supply of the session ales I grew up with.

Gildog said:

this is one of the few hobbies that are actually more cost effective to do than not do

Click to expand...

Wrong (IMO). The beer ingredients themselves are cheaper (especially if you culture your own yeast) but let me think of the things that it have/will cost as I progress along.

More buckets and carboys, propane burner, wort chiller, flask for yeast starters, magnetic stir plate, keggle, coolers etc for all grain, refrigerators, kegs, kegerator conversion supplies, more and more and more bottles, hydrometers, hydrometers (I've broken a few), sanitizer, brewing water, storage space, TIME, a new liver, friends who drink bad beer, etc......

Did I mention that it's fun?

JumboBlimpJumbo said:

Wrong (IMO). The beer ingredients themselves are cheaper (especially if you culture your own yeast) but let me think of the things that it have/will cost as I progress along.

More buckets and carboys, propane burner, wort chiller, flask for yeast starters, magnetic stir plate, keggle, coolers etc for all grain, refrigerators, kegs, kegerator conversion supplies, more and more and more bottles, hydrometers, hydrometers (I've broken a few), sanitizer, brewing water, storage space, TIME, a new liver, friends who drink bad beer, etc......

Did I mention that it's fun?

Click to expand...

Equipment costs get low once you got the set up. After that, the more you drink the more you save.....The perfect hobby!!

Laughing_Gnome_Invisible said:

Equipment costs get low once you got the set up. After that, the more you drink the more you save.....The perfect hobby!!

Click to expand...

And I know I'll finally have that set up after I brew another year or two....
But I'm not complaining, I enjoy it. I study brewing WAAAAAY more than I study my stupid chemical engineering classes. They're not what really matters, right??

Gildog said:

its a wheat ale with lemon zest and grains of paradise (an african spice similar to pepper FYI), im brewing an american wheat ale, and it tastes better than the sam adams, you cant even taste the lemon, or the grains of paradise i think at least since i dont know how they taste.

Click to expand...

Fair enough, I have found that American microbrewing companies general are awful at doing wheats in general.

Ever since I have started home brewing, SA have tasted really nasty to me, all of their varieties have this weird after taste, kinda sour. I can't explain it. I still have some white ale in the fridge, that I just can't take down.

JesseRC said:

Ever since I have started home brewing, SA have tasted really nasty to me, all of their varieties have this weird after taste, kinda sour. I can't explain it. I still have some white ale in the fridge, that I just can't take down.

Click to expand...

I think we are often so critical of our own beer that we lose track on how much better it is than a lot of the commercial alternatives.

Laughing_Gnome_Invisible said:

I think we are often so critical of our own beer that we lose track on how much better it is than a lot of the commercial alternatives.

Click to expand...

Your not kidding. I almost started a " I hate all of you mofo's" thread. ... This weekend in San Antonio, the swmbo, kids and I were all over town pariticipating in these Fiesta events and parades. Every event we went to, it was only BMC. I couldnt stomach but maybe 2 beers , and that was with food. I couldn't wait to get home to drink a brew. If they'd had American Ale, well it may have been ok, but nope just plain BMC.

LGI, you're right. We learn to critique are beers so well, that when we do drink something else, we are very critical of them, and learn to appreciate our own brews even more.

I know that there are good brewpubs out there because you guys talk about them, and I trust your judgement. Myself? I don't get out much from this small town. I've only had a few in brewpubs. I've had one oatmeal stout in some place in Put-In-Bay on lake erie, that sucked....no surprises there it is a tourist trap....But it still sucked...... I had a pleasant enough pint of IPA in a Martha's Vineyard brewpub. It was nice enough, but nothing better than an average pint in any pub in the UK.....I've tried quite a few bottled beers that I've heard about on this forum, but only a few have been good IMO.

Maybe I'm just being picky. Maybe I'm looking for something that is not really there. I do realise that I have to get out more and try some better places, but I am not awe-struck with what i have seen so far.

I just don't see all this awesomeness with what I have tried that many people rave about............But then again, I think my problem is not that I want awesomeness......Maybe my problem is that I just want a good honest no bullcrap pint......And that is where my homebrew comes in.

you can brew it...

but can you sell it

Gildog said:

this is one of the few hobbies that are actually more cost effective to do than not do

Click to expand...

I think you're not trying hard enough.

Actually, I own some stock in Sam Adams, so let me take back badmouthing them. They're great, make dozens of wonderful beers, and I encourage you to try them all!