When you know you "made it" as a brewer

Laughing_Gnome_Invisible said:

I don't consider that I've made it at all as a brewer yet. However, I was very pleased recently to find that in a side by side comparison (Not really a comparison, I was just drinking everything around me at the time) I preferred my flat 3 week hydro sample to a can of Boddington's The Boddy was not my choice, SWMBO bought it for me, bless her.

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Ahh Boddingtons. One of my first "cool" beers, Now I think, How did I think this was special? I think it was just neat drinking something besides guiness on nitro.

IrregularPulse said:

Ahh Boddingtons. One of my first "cool" beers, Now I think, How did I think this was special? I think it was just neat drinking something besides guiness on nitro.

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Haha. Yeah Them cans are not representative of what it used to be. I still get a four pack or two every Xmas from my in-laws. I don't have the heart to tell them.

Laughing_Gnome_Invisible said:

Haha. Yeah Them cans are not representative of what it used to be. I still get a four pack or two every Xmas from my in-laws. I don't have the heart to tell them.

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It's beer, right? Good enough.

Homercidal said:

It's beer, right? Good enough.

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Yeah, but it costs 7 times what I can brew a better beer for. I see that as wasted potential for a brew equipment gift.

I have been a home brewer for over 10 years (partial boil - extract), and I have never really made a beer I felt comfortable giving out. I now have my first all grain batch (Kolsch) in a keg and last weekend I had a birthday party for my wife. People started seeing pints I was handing out to people who know I brew and just said "I'll have one of those". My wife was talking to a friend of hers and he said he really liked the beer, when she told him it was homebrew he was shocked. Said it was one of the better beers he has had.

All grain and full boils make a HUGE difference - I think I have FINALLY made it - after 10 years brewing.

Dan

I got lucky - the friend who lent me a bucket (his dad's (RIP) old one) which I brewed a few batches in according to advice hereabouts and his girlfriend said 'best homebrew
I've been subjected to'. Made me go all grain on effort number 4 with father-in-law's 1970's (proper Good Life used to be on a Scottish self sufficiency trip) advice and produce pretty f*cking good ales...

But even then, can't fault the advice here frankly...

I know there's always room for improvement, and haven't had that "made it" feel yet, but I gotta say that my SIL asking me to brew 60 Gallons for her wedding came pretty close. Only after saying "yes" did I realize what a feat it was. Felt good to be done, and even better to be known as the "Beer Guy" at the wedding!

When a friend who is a pro brewer comment positively on my beer. Though at the same time I had three pros sit down and talk about all of the faults another time. That was enough to send me back to the drawing board and work on my process in order to get better at what I was doing.

I had a south Texan tell me he couldn't tell the difference between my Shiner Bock clone and the real thing.

I have by no means "Made it" as a brewer, but having friends say that the beer I have brewed (even the ESB that I don't like) is really good beer. I gather they are trying to be nice, but when they come over and pull the tap again and again without touching any beer in the fridge.... well I guess that says something.

But I'll never tire of trying to make it better.

Today's creation... OMG the smell is just spectacular! Fingers crossed it turns out as good as it smells right now... and I've just pitched the yeast! I'm waiting for the test to chill in the fridge so I can taste it around 40 deg, just to get a glimpse of the future for this little beer.

I don't know if I would consider this "making it" as a brewer, or just a great start, but my first recipe (not based off anything) and 3rd batch (2nd AG, 2nd batch was a Gluten Free extract) won 3rd place in a BJCP Competition. My Imperial IPA turned out awesome and I just entered that in a comp. Looking forward to my beers that I have in primary, and brewing my other recipes.

I have only been brewing a few months. I have two six packs of Miller lite in the frig which I have not touched since I drank my first home brew. I don't plan on going back to the skunk juice. So far I have only brewed extract but plan on making that next move. If I say so myself and I do, as long as I like my beer I'm a happy camper.

On deck IPA
Primary: APA
Secondary:
Drinking: Pale Ale, Oatmeal Stout, Orange Honey Wheat, IPA

De`ja`-Brew
We have all been beer before

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.

I had a buddy this week call me while I was on vacation. He said "Is your door unlocked? I need a six pack and I don't see anything in the liquor store that I want to drink. I want a couple of your porters"

Made me feel good. Too bad we had finished them all off a couple weeks earlier

The Pol said:

It is like when I fly with a NEW FO... and he asks how he did on the trip. Well, I am usually pretty easy on them, but when I am talking to my buddies my opinion of how poorly they performed becomes much stronger.

It is hard to be encouraging if you tell someone that they need to go back to school and learn basic arithmatic. To be a teacher or a friend you have to much more diplomatic. This is why I prefer the opinions of strangers, they get to the heart of the matter.

Id enter some competitions and get some good, unbiased and educated feedback.

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Agreed on the competitions, a few awards and you know if you homebrew is up to snuffl

Just avoid spelling-bees!

Sigafoos said:

. My palate is improving and while my beer isn't amazing neither does it taste like goat piss.

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are we talking miller lite or actual goat piss? i would prefer a freshly "pulled" pint of the ladder.

I don't think I have made it yet, but this week I had a coworker who I shared my Black Cherry Wheat with tell a complete stranger that I made "really good beer", better than store bought. That took me up a notch.