Its crazy what has changed in the past 10 years...

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Chuck_Swillery

Chuck_Swillery

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Seriously...

From when I first brewed, got out of the hobby, and now back in I'm amazed at the differences. I was still (still am now) a beginner and hadn't ventured out much but seems like the yeast varieties are much greater, auto syphions didn't exist that I'm aware of (LOVE that thing), even the philosophies have shifted (such as more toward using secondaries minimally). More hop varieties, more malts, MANY more on-line sources. Maybe I just hadn't busted out of the brew-closet back then but seems easier to find info (good and bad) as well as supplies. Glad I got back in when I did. LOL
 
I imagine the internets had a lot to do with expanding the hobby. Once forums like this got organized the amount of experimental data that could be analyzed increased tremendously.

Granted, the internet was around and very established in 2000. But, change takes time :)
 
Chuck_Swillery said:
Seriously...

From when I first brewed, got out of the hobby, and now back in I'm amazed at the differences. I was still (still am now) a beginner and hadn't ventured out much but seems like the yeast varieties are much greater, auto syphions didn't exist that I'm aware of (LOVE that thing), even the philosophies have shifted (such as more toward using secondaries minimally). More hop varieties, more malts, MANY more on-line sources. Maybe I just hadn't busted out of the brew-closet back then but seems easier to find info (good and bad) as well as supplies. Glad I got back in when I did. LOL
Click to expand...


That auto-syphon thing.... I use it as a beer pump for my real ales for great big get togethers.

:rockin:
 
Chuck_Swillery said:
Seriously...

From when I first brewed, got out of the hobby, and now back in I'm amazed at the differences. I was still (still am now) a beginner and hadn't ventured out much but seems like the yeast varieties are much greater, auto syphions didn't exist that I'm aware of (LOVE that thing), even the philosophies have shifted (such as more toward using secondaries minimally). More hop varieties, more malts, MANY more on-line sources. Maybe I just hadn't busted out of the brew-closet back then but seems easier to find info (good and bad) as well as supplies. Glad I got back in when I did. LOL
Click to expand...

Right there with you Chuck I was out of the hobby for the same amount of time. When I first started over 10 years ago my LHBS was in the back of a convenience store. Today my LHBS sells nothing but supplies for beer, wine and cheese making. The difference in the equipment is also amazing.
 
Heck, I don't know what it was like back in the day, but just getting into the hobby for the first time I was floored. I mean, I've known homebrewing existed for a long time, but never realized how organized it was. I was amazed that, if I wanted, I could actually make a tripel or a Scottish ale. I always figured people who made beer all just kind of made a handful of very basic styles.
 
I started about 2000 and have enjoyed all the changes. The only bad part is all the choices now.:ban:
 
Newbs. ;)

Man I remember when it was pretty much just liquid extracts and specialty grains, and being wowed when dry malt extract came out.

The hot thing in all-grain was the Zapap (sp?) lauter tun made of two buckets stacked together with a spigot on the lower one and hundreds of little holes driled in the bottom of the other one. Man, that was the cat's meow.

A siphon was just some tubing, manually started. I thought a wort chiller was a sink full of ice water.

This was starting back in '86
 
I too started long ago (mid 1980s), brewed about 10 batches, skunked the last two and gave up. Back then I had to travel into Philly (Home Sweet Homebrew) to buy my starter kits and my ingredients. All Grain was for crazy people who could build weird contraptions, and yeast was defined as that packet on the lid of the 5 or 6 available varieties of LME, unless you were one of the aforementioned crazy people who raised their own cultures.

Much better now.
 

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