Why do noobs make it difficult?

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nattron

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Adding spices or fruit or oak? Why try so hard? Try making a beer.... then a better beer recipe... then make a recipe. Then do something special......
 
Honestly I think a lot of people first get into this hobby specifically to try their hand at crazy beers. I definitely do see a fair amount of "First recipe help - vanilla mocha coconut porter" threads. I never went through that phase, but then again, I mostly enjoy simple, classic beers.
 
Don't get me wrong I am all about all grain brewing and new people but why make It hard? Did you start doing multiplication when you learned math? No ADDITION AND SUBTRACTION.
 
So the rule is 3 beers then you can go crazy? I thought it was 4 and then you get to add anything. I think we need to call in a brewing rules judge............
 
I'm not sure a dude with 16 posts should be throwing around the word "noobs" anymore than a guy with 216 posts. Probably should wait until you have 3000 before you start calling people out.

If new homebrewers wanna throw fruit and wood in their first beer, let 'em....
 
If that's what people want to do, big deal. They're excited about making something uniquely their own.
 
I'm not sure a dude with 16 posts should be throwing around the word "noobs" anymore than a guy with 216 posts.

While I certainly agree that calling people out for being "noobs" is pretty lame, post count should only mean something in regards to ripping the forum. After all, who says the person joined the forum when they first started brewing? I didn't join until I switched to AG, almost 4 years after I started brewing. I definitely wasn't an expert, but at post #1, I was no "noob" to brewing.
 
chumpsteak said:
I'm not sure a dude with 16 posts should be throwing around the word "noobs" anymore than a guy with 216 posts. Probably should wait until you have 3000 before you start calling people out.

If new homebrewers wanna throw fruit and wood in their first beer, let 'em....

Just because I recently fount HBT does not make me new at brewing.

I am just saying that when I started that my goal was to put the cart in front of the horse.
 
point taken....

speaking of points...what is the point of this thread again?

Oh yeah, it's so a "noob" to the forum can call out "noobs" to homebrewing and tell them they're doing it wrong.

I kind of thought that cooking up sh*t you like or think you might like was the point of homebrewing.
 
I went with fruit beers early and often because that is what I want to drink. It isn't exactly difficult to throw some frozen fruit into a grain bag and rack to a secondary on top of it.

I am not trying to win style points or reinvent the wheel so I make beers I want to drink and tweak from there.
 
chumpsteak said:
point taken....

speaking of points...what is the point of this thread again?

Oh yeah, it's so a "noob" to the forum can call out "noobs" to homebrewing and tell them they're doing it wrong.

I kind of thought that cooking up sh*t you like or think you might like was the point of homebrewing.

Never wrong ... I have learned that making beer can not be wrong as long as some one drinks it (and I did choke down my first batch) but start simple.

Also why with the 16 posts? I have been brewing for years?

So if I reply yea on every thread then I have status?
 
I say let people learn from there brewing experiences add what ever you feeling like adding to your recipe after all it is your recipe. and if taste like crap lesson learned. and if it taste good that's one for the recipe book.
 
I would counter with the argument, why brew plain "boring" beers when you can just go down the road and buy a 6-pack of the same for cheap?
 
I'm not sure a dude with 16 posts should be throwing around the word "noobs" anymore than a guy with 216 posts. Probably should wait until you have 3000 before you start calling people out.

If new homebrewers wanna throw fruit and wood in their first beer, let 'em....

I'm not sure a post count qualifies or disqualifies anyone as a beer brewing noob.

Post count here on these forums != # of batches or brewing experience.
 
Adding spices or fruit or oak? Why try so hard? Try making a beer.... then a better beer recipe... then make a recipe. Then do something special......

This is like saying you shouldn't put chocolate chips in cookie dough until you've baked cookies for years without them. Come on! You're just bashing people! I'm sure many people have started with recipies that were considered more advanced and they did just fine!
 
This forum isnt like most other forums on the interwebs, people are a lot friendlier here and the use of words such as noob isnt really used. Let people live their own lives how they like and brew/drink the same. I think its time we all RDWHAHB :mug:
 
Well said Pommy. If you've ever spent time on a forum where noobs are persecuted for asking questions and trying to learn, then this forum should be a breath of fresh air. This is by far the most tolerant and helpful forum I've ever been a member of and I think the majority of us would like to keep it that way. I'm amazed daily at the total lack of the search option by some people and then the totally helpful attitude of almost all of the members on this forum. Again, if someone wants to throw a chunk of fruit or a stick in their first homebrew then more power to 'em.
 
I am just saying that when I started that my goal was to put the cart in front of the horse.
As a noob wagooner I think you should try putting the horse up front for the first few trips. After that then you can think about doing advanced stuff like making the horse push the cart instead of pull it.

That said everyone has their own comfort level and target goals. If someone wants to come out of the gate shooting for the stars more power to them. I started out much slower but that doesn't mean I think everyone else should.
 
Mellow52 said:
I saw a post a few days ago of a brewer wanting to add tobacco and he was not a noob or was he?

Dont knock it till you try it! Cigar City Maduro is a great commercial example. Ive done a chocolate stout with tobacco and it came out damn good too.
 
I've been brewing for a couple of years (50+ brews) and I have to admit that brews with additions or adjuncts are the hardest ones to get right. Not that a beginner shouldn't try, but also realize that out of the box beer is very hard to get right. Me, I rather enjoy quaffing same Cali Common I've brewed many times and can just relax with it rather than raising my eyebrows and wondering, what is this taste and how did it get here?
To each his own.
 
Some people learn better by challenging themselves as opposed to using beginner kits. Some people learn better by taking it in steps. Lesson is its non of your concern to criticize how others enjoy the hobby.
 
I started brewing because the beer I want to drink doesn't exist in the market, despite the fact that hundreds of years ago every schmuck with a barrel and some barley could brew it. My second batch was a porter with wormwood, juniper, and anise instead of hops. By all accounts, I "made it difficult", but why not? You're not going to learn how to work with unusual ingredients by working with basic ingredients, it's a whole different ball game. I think it's vitally important to follow your muse, and if the beer ends up crappy, well, then that's how you learn restraint. It took a couple of totally awful batches for me to realize that less is more, but I could not have learned that lesson any other way. So I guess to answer your question, we noobs make it difficult because we have to. Because weird uncharted brews get us excited. I'll bet I learned more in my first four brews than someone brewing from kits or from proven recipes, and I think I'm a better brewer now because of all the mistakes I made.
 
Thank you all and very good points. I am sorry if I offended anyone with my use of noob. I my self am a noob to this sight and now realize the passion that we all share. I never intended to call people out or make any one in comfortable.
 
I'm hardly a noob, but I like to do it all. I like to brew to style, AND I like to challenge myself by brewing with different ingredients.

I probably have entered more beers in in categories 21-23 than any other I enter into. In fact most of my experiments have done the best in contests.

I mean I've used, 50+ year old honey, Jaggery, Date Syrup, Date Palm mollasses, every grade of brown sugar, mascerated dates, mexican hot chocolate disks (both in the boil and as mash liquid), ginger orange marmalde, lime marmalade, candied ginger, tortilla chips, my own chili powder, whole dried and smoked chilli, I've roasted my own grain and even soaked it in simple syrup and then roasted it, I've been experimenting with priming with things like date syrup. And I've used all the "normal" "strange" ingredients like pumpkin, spices, citrus peels, stuff like that. I've also researched historical beers to try to recreate old and regional styles as well.

And I try to expand my brewing horizon, by drinking and brewing different styles. SO when I do that I try to do as much research as possible, drinking commercial versions, reading as much as possible about the style, looking over a ton of other folk's recipes to see what ingredients/process are common to the style. So I kinda get immersed in the style for a bit.

I've done that with styles that I've never been into prior to homebrewing, like Vienna lagers, wits, tropical stouts, saisons, and now my latest "obsession" traditional bocks.

I go through cycles of immersing myself in new styles, and then brewing and drinking old favorites, and challenging myself with unique ingredients.

I don't think there's any reason to criticise folks who want to experiment, though I do believe that you should understand the brewing process, and how ingredients work together before folks start experimenting, if you don't have a firm grasp of some basics, then all you're really doing is throwing stuff against the wall or in the brew kettle to see what sticks.
 
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