Frustrations

I brewed Reaper's / Orfy's mild last night, and although most everything went right, there always seems to be one thing I manage to F up, and I'm left kicking myself about it afterwards.

I'm pretty sure my LHBS mixed the wrong grains into my milled malt (black patent rather than chocolate), but that doesn't seem like the worst thing in the world. The wort just tastes a little more bold than I expected. Pretty yummy, really. Then, I overshot my SG, but managed to recalculate volumes, boiling time etc, so that I arrived at an OG that's true to style, if a tiny bit higher than I planned for. Good for me!

My problem is with hopping. I can't seem to get it right. In making some on-the-fly calculations to account for the slightly higher OG, I figured I'd up the Fuggles in order to maintain balance. Little did I realize that I was out of balance to begin with--the BU:GU ratio I was shooting for is based on Rager, and if calculated for Tinseth (which I use), it's a lower ratio by maybe 10 points. Out of balance already, and I had to go ahead and add MORE hops!

I was on my way to a really spectacular brew, and the result is something that's quite out of style for a mild--a low-gravity hop bomb.

For me personally, the ability to brew to style is a key goal. I'm tired of making boneheaded mistakes like this, mistakes that I'll get to correct in maybe a month's time, and then only if I choose to brew the same beer again. I hate having to offer all sorts of caveats when I give beer to friends, or serve it to my wife--"it shouldn't be this thin," or "I didn't mean to make it so hoppy." I just want to get it right!

Hopefully some of you can identify with my frustration. Thanks for allowing me to vent. Now I'll RDWHAHB.

I think we usually spend to much time telling people what's wrong with the beer we're giving them. I have several experiences similar to this and what I've learned is that even after almost five years of avid homebrewing my friends and family can't tell the difference between a bitter and an pale ale. Or maybe they don't really care to. They drink it because I made it. And that's all the info most of them need or want. The math, science, and brewing guidelines don't interest them. So just like Charlie Papazian and tonyolympia said RDWHAHB.

Double_D said:

I think we usually spend to much time telling people what's wrong with the beer we're giving them. I have several experiences similar to this and what I've learned is that even after almost five years of avid homebrewing my friends and family can't tell the difference between a bitter and an pale ale. Or maybe they don't really care to. They drink it because I made it. And that's all the info most of them need or want. The math, science, and brewing guidelines don't interest them. So just like Charlie Papazian and tonyolympia said RDWHAHB.

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Thanks for your thoughts, DD. I definitely agree. With every brew I've made (with one exception), no matter what mistakes I've made, *I* enjoy drinking it, for the same reason you mentioned--because I made it. That's gotta count for something.