beer as good as a brewery!

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boozeboy

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i have heard it is almost impossable to match a homebrew beer with a commercial one is this true? because i think its quite easy providing you use the right teqneques (excuse my spelling)
 
I would say it is possible. Although I have never done it, there are plenty who have. Biggest problem us home brewers have is we don't have the consistency that a commercial brewer has.
 
Entirely wrong for ales, but I'd say it's basically true for lagers. Lagers are so dependent on temperature management, it's tough for a homebrewer. The Widmer Collaborator project is proof that homebrewers can match the pros and sometimes beat them.
 
The fact that my homebrew never gives me a hangover, and has 100% all natural ingredients (no additives) makes it better than every (cheap) commercial brew out there. If you are talking about cloning, give it a go...you may surprise yourself! :mug:
 
It all really depends on what you are trying to clone. If you want to brew a light flavored ale (or especially a lager) you will probably need more practice. (damn, i do)
if you're brewing a Porter or an American Pale Ale (something with stronger flavors, you'll have better luck). That Foster's will be hard to mimic.
 
true it turned out to taste like honey ale which funny enough is my favourte beer and i was going to brew that next still i will try to get that fosters spot on (i think its because i used brewing sugar and not the reccomended cane sugar)
 
Not the C word again!

Actually, I think it is very possible to produce beer that equals commercial quality at home. You simply need to understand the parameters you are working in and brew within them. If you don't have temperature control then don't brew beers that need it. If you can only do single infusion, so be it. If you brew from extract then use the best and purest and in all cases keep at least some hen scratching of what you did.

I also think if you are judging your success by how close you come to a specific commercial example (the C word fits here) then you are setting yourself up. There are just too many factors involved and it is not going to happen and more often then not maybe it shouldn't. But if you are wanting to brew a beer that is LIKE or IN THE GENERAL STYLE of a given beer, well in that case you can hit the mark dead on.
 
I don't think he's talking about matching the quality. I think he's talking about a true, indistiguishible clone that one could serve to friends and have them be amazed that it was something made in a garage.

Again, large commercial brewers have the ability to carefully and precisely control every aspect of brewing to a degree that very few, if any, home brewers can.
 
kornkob said:
I don't think he's talking about matching the quality. I think he's talking about a true, indistiguishible clone that one could serve to friends and have them be amazed that it was something made in a garage.

Again, large commercial brewers have the ability to carefully and precisely control every aspect of brewing to a degree that very few, if any, home brewers can.

I think it is very possible to brew a beer in the style of a commercial brew and offer it side by side to your friends and ask them to tell you which is best and have them pick the homebrew.

Blind tasting is an informative way to knock the commercial guys off their perches. I know I can make a better beer, more consistantly, at home then I could at the brewery and I won GABF medals at the brewery. I also have more control at home then I did at the brewery as well.

In the end I guess I don't get the pure clone thing, no slam intended on any who love it.
 
You can make beer that taste just like the big guys, all you need to do add rice and dog urine to your next batch. you'll need to make a few batch's to get the amount correct.

vanman250
 
I have a Sierra Nevada Pale Ale Clone that tastes just like the real thing. If you want to clone Budweiser it would be pretty difficult and not worth the trouble.
 
Monster Mash said:
I have a Sierra Nevada Pale Ale Clone that tastes just like the real thing. If you want to clone Budweiser it would be pretty difficult and not worth the trouble.
Why would you want to clone a beer you can buy cheaper than you can make?
 
Well it helps that I buy everything in bulk and brew 25 gallon batches. I pay $17 for a 50lb sack when I buy 300lbs. I also culture my own yeast which saves money also.

I just brewed a Belgian Dubbel that cost me $25 and I got 30 gallons so that came out to just about a dollar a six pack.

I might have exaggerated a bit @50 cents but it's still a lot cheaper then $7...
 
"As good as a brewery??" Why lower my standards! :D

Just kidding of course - if brewing clones is your thing, more power to you. The biggest single benefit to rolling my own is that I can make a beer that is perfectly suited to my own tastes. So far, no commercial brewery has quite matched that, though some brew pubs come close.
 
SteveM said:
"As good as a brewery??" Why lower my standards! :D

Just kidding of course - if brewing clones is your thing, more power to you. The biggest single benefit to rolling my own is that I can make a beer that is perfectly suited to my own tastes. So far, no commercial brewery has quite matched that, though some brew pubs come close.

PREACH IT BROTHER!
 
Without a word of a lie I find homebrew far superior to that of commercial breweries. A commercially produced beer, and for that matter a homebrew of a friends, is someone else's ideal taste/body/aroma for any given type of beer. Why the hell would you care what anyone else thinks you should like??? Brew to your taste, invent your own recipe, please your own palate, have fun and discover for yourself what you like and what you don't like!!!!

I love beer. I love brewing it almost as much as I love drinking it. The entire process allows me to create something that I REALLY enjoy. Maybe this isn't your idea of fun but nobody can brew a beer that is tailored to your tastebuds better than you.


...and certainly not Budweiser.
 
Pastor, that AV just about killed me when I saw it...

(squeegies beer off keyboard, monitor screen, phone, desk....)


:D

Ize
 
I will say that I have made beer that I think is superior than some stuff I've bought. But duplicating a clone is different. Even if you have the correct ingredients in the right proportions, the brewing process can change it dramatically. Different mash temps, fermenting temps, water differences...the minute details are almost endless. I wouldn't measure success by comparing a clone to the original. I measure it by ending up with a beer that is a great example of it's style, but most importantly, tastes really good. :mug:
 
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