Official Noob Q&A Thread - Dumb Questions Welcome

This subforum needs a thread that we all can visit daily, post 1 liner type questions, and get good answers from other beginners and advanced brewers who are supportive enough to lend a hand. I want a thread we can pop into, ask a quick question, get a quick response, or just read what others are asking and learn from the responses posted. Making it a beginners forum sticky would be even better.

In my opinion, there are too many threads asking the same questions over and over and many times the responses are, "use the search function, this has been asked a million times...geez!"

I hope to create a place where posting without doing homework isn't frowned upon...a place where we can be dumb noobs.

Well considering that every new brewer question is answered about 10 times a day every day, usually by me because people won't look at stickys or use the search...what meake you think this thread won't be any less ignored by first time posters?

Seriously, I bet you there is no beginner question that hasn't already been answered really effectively on here already. Not just by me, but by a lot of people......

The thing to me about searching is two fold, and I really hate coming off as a search nazi, BUT

1) There is a huuuge amount of state of the art brewing info on here...info that is even more current than palmer (only becasue it takes 2-3 years to get a book out.) Some of us have spent hours writing stuff up, like blogs or long answers to basic questions, including searching for links like audio and video casts to answer those basic questions...And we want you to know it exists, and we want you to utilize it to be the best damn brewer's you can be.

SO when I say it's been covered before, I'm not saying "hey a$$hat, use the search."

I'm saying "Hey, there's some kick ass info on that very topic, put together from some amazing brewers, and it's free, right here, you don't need to buy a book....all you need to do is click "search" and maybe play with the words a couple times...


2) A lot of the "kick ass brewers" who are here, and were here before I got here have stopped answering the same noob questions over and over. Most of those people get tired of it after a couple months, and just ignore these threads...From what people tell me, for doing it constantly for a year, I'm an anomoly....maybe because of my 'calling" (yes I am a minister for the 10,000th time ) I have an almost pathological need to help people...whether it's in a church or in a brewery.

Which means that the people who might be best able to answer your basic question are NOT going to because they did it 6 months ago, and feel that that's enough. Or they are no longer here...but their info is still here and still valuable...

So that really means that if you just start a thread, especially if you are asking about "Stainless vs Aluminum" or Plastic waterbottles or "is my beer ruined," or "what;s your opinion on...?" You may not GET THE BEST INFORMATION YOU COULD BE GETTING You could be getting the same outdated "party line" out of Palmer or Papazian, (which are actually several years of in the case of Charlie over a decade old) when there was some new discovery a few weeks back that we all talked to death and learned from...and we want you to know about it too...

I also have found, as someone that answers a lot of questions everyday, that if a person reads a thread on their "basic question" first and maybe bumps that thread up, that their question has a lot more depth than it might have been...because maybe they zeroed in on an issue from one or more of the posts in a thread...and then rather than,

"What's that fuzzy stuff on top of my beer?" To "Oh I thought my beer was infected, now I know it's a krauzen, it's normal, and it has proteins and other things in it, so what kinda proteins are there, do they come from the yeasts, the wort or both, and should I skim it or not?"

Which is more fun for me to answer because it may lead me to search, or to google or to recall some fuzzy bit of info I heard on a podcast and go search for it for you...and for me...

Besides, probably every tip ever thought of for the new brewer can also be found HERE...which you may have found if you searched for it.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/stone-cold-lead-pipe-lockd-n00b-advice-54362/?highlight=stone+cold

I brewed a German Style Pilsner using extract. My LHBS doesn't carry extra light extract, only light. I ran the numbers in Beer Smith using both light & extra light. The results were exactly the same regarding OG, FG, and IBUs. The only thing different was the SRM. Using extra light or light will create the exact same beer right? Just a different color?

You are copy & pasting jerk Revvy.

How about making advanced search available to non-premium members. The google one sucks

I just want a Tap Room in the brew section. I am tempted to just ask my questions there because I know they will be answered by experienced brewers right away, but Revvy scolds me if I do.

DocRobinson said:

You are copy & pasting jerk Revvy.

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No, I am someone who actually spends time coming up with detailed answers for the same questions that get asked over and over...and because I want to help people become better brewers..

And this place is friendly place...we don't resort to name calling here...

Parker36 said:

How about making advanced search available to non-premium members. The google one sucks

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That I thoroughly agree with...and have campaigned for, especially since I wrote a detailed primer to help people get some of those answers on here.

It's in the stone cold thread as well...

I spend quite a bit of time here lurking and reading (hours per day). But, every once in a while I have a question that I can't seem to find a definitive answer to. <shrug>

Revvy said:

No, I am someone who actually spends time coming up with detailed answers for the same questions that get asked over and over...and because I want to help people become better brewers..

And this place is friendly place...we don't resort to name calling here...

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Somebody is very sensitive! That was meant to be joke actually. However, I forgot that I read somewhere that if we are going to do that, use a smiley to show it. I should have searched for that thread. No offense meant.

The Beginners Forum already fills the need you perceive. A single thread will get muddled and confusing.

What *might* help a *little* would be a one-page set of links to the common questions as well as a primer on how to use the search function that automatically gets sent to any new user when they register. But like I said... *might*... *little*...

Yuri_Rage said:

The Beginners Forum already fills the need you perceive. A single thread will get muddled and confusing.

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My attempt to be an innovator is crashing and burning. So embarrasing.

Yuri_Rage said:

The Beginners Forum already fills the need you perceive. A single thread will get muddled and confusing.

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Agreed. However, nothing is stopping you from creating such a thread and if it takes off, it takes off.

Most forums have a thread like this: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/faq-please-read-before-asking-question-7909/

Except ours needs some updating. I think that is the only thing other than getting the advanced search function going that could help cut down on the same old, same old

DocRobinson said:

My attempt to be an innovator is crashing and burning. So embarrasing.

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not nearly as bad as Brownie trying to organize a tap room homebrew swap which soon turned into a secret santa commercial swap

Ugh...could a mod just delete this? I'd rather wake up without the existence of evidence of failure.

Sometimes as a new brewer, there's a sense of panic when things don't look right and the questions are driven by a need for reassurance. Searching out the information doesn't always satisfy the emotional need although it obviously satisfies the informational need.

Haha....I had to vote "stupid idea", although the wording there is a bit harsh.

IMHO, "noob epic threads" just turn into chit chat disasters, and don't allow anything to be searchable becuase you have 500 pages of the same questions and no way to sift through them....

If you want to ask a question, just do it....the worst that can happen is you get slapped with the "search noob!" pimp glove, but this is the internet...just shrug it off....sometimes you really can't find something with the search, and someone else will point the way...

Glad for all the input. Maybe if we could get some questions posted in here we could see how it turns out...and chit chat isn't bad either.

It's better to have 100 ideas that crash...the complacency and a lack of innovation is a terrible thing.

As a noob myself, I've tried to make diligent use of the Google search function; but yes like 90% of the people out here I've been called out by Revvy for asking a question that's been answered 1000 times. I only have a few posts because almost every question I've had has been answered by searching.

Keeping the above in mind, one thing everyone needs to recognize is the simple fact that noobs are looking for excuses to post and become part of the community. It's fun to lurk and get very knowledgeable answers, but most noobs are excited and want engage the group in some way. We can't yet start a debate on the right mix of specialty grains for an imperial stout or what yeast strain is our favorite, so we ask questions we know have probably been answered just to be part of something. Those who don't like answering the same basic questions every day need to take a break and stop hitting the new posts button.

The idea of having a sticky with links to good answers to common questions would be great. There's something there now but it could be owned and updated by a passionate person.

Ok, I want to brew bud lite. So I bought the 30 pack of bud lite, what do I do next?

Brew it dog!

DocRobinson said:

Somebody is very sensitive! That was meant to be joke actually. However, I forgot that I read somewhere that if we are going to do that, use a smiley to show it. I should have searched for that thread. No offense meant.

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It took it as an offensive comment too. I have been here a while and seen Revvy here many, many times but I don't remember you at all. He is well known and respected. I think you need to be known and better yet known as a kidder before you can pull off a comment like that. I have been here longer than you and no way would I have made that comment, don't think he knows me well enough either.

Smiley face=

jgln said:

It took it as an offensive comment too. I have been here a while and seen Revvy here many, many times but I don't remember you at all. He is well known and respected. I think you need to be known and better yet known as a kidder before you can pull off a comment like that. I have been here longer than you and no way would I have made that comment, don't think he knows me well enough either.

Smiley face=

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In fact you just joined this month!

jgln said:

It took it as an offensive comment too. I have been here a while and seen Revvy here many, many times but I don't remember you at all. He is well known and respected. I think you need to be known and better yet known as a kidder before you can pull off a comment like that. I have been here longer than you and no way would I have made that comment, don't think he knows me well enough either.

Smiley face=

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I would say it to his face so I would say it on the internet. That's my rule. Revvy is an awesome poster and an encyclopedia of knowledge...he doesn't strike me as the type to have his feelings hurt by a no-name poster's jab, or a well respected posters slam for that matter.

jgln said:

Ok, I want to brew bud lite. So I bought the 30 pack of bud lite, what do I do next?

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Dump it into a corny, hit it with gas, and serve.

DocRobinson said:

I would say it to his face so I would say it on the internet. That's my rule. Revvy is an awesome poster and an encyclopedia of knowledge...he doesn't strike me as the type to have his feelings hurt by a no-name poster's jab, or a well respected posters slam for that matter.

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I guess I feel differently then. Like making jokes about people the first week on the job with people you just met. I tell you, 99.9% (more like 100%) of the time they will just think you are a jerk. Not saying you are, just telling you. It is true. Do as you please though, just trying to give you advice, take care.

I am a noob with a ton of questions 99% of which have been anwered by the search function. You just have to not be too lazy to look through a thread or two.
Like Revvy and others say, at the end of the day you are going to make beer. If more people had the adventurous spirit like our "founding homebrew fathers" there would be a whole lot less "Question-What did I doooooooo????!?!? Although much more tiresome than people automatically assuming a person is being offensive in their posts. Revvy's a big boy. How about we let him take care of his own feelings?