Are you a perfector or an explorer?

[d3EP]

I started out with exploration, naturally, all I knew is what I had read. My very first all grain brew turned out amazing, although it had almost no hop bitter at all it didn't really need it being a brown ale. I experimented with mashing techniques, changing the temp, and using slight variations of the same recipe. Number 1 and 4 turned out great so I took what I learned from exploring ingredients and mash temps and went from there. It was time to do what I did well; with new more straight forwards malt recipes. I made a few darker beers, changing only the dark malts amount. then once I found the level I liked it wasnt really about xploring more than refining a recipe. I have 1 solid malt recipe. Now I have brewing a lighter IPA style ale and using 1 type of hops in each, but the same grain recipe that was a standard IPA. long story short I say exploring always comes first unless you go by the book.

 

[MikeRoBrew1]

I brew lots of different recipes and styles. I try to stay away from novelty beers and really expensive beers like those with fruit additions.

I keep a log of everything I tried and I also keep a list of my favorites. Once you find some favorites, brew those more often.

Once you have established your, say, top 8-10 favorites, it's easier to keep grains and hops at home because you know what you need most of the time. Much cheaper than kits.

 

[jbakajust1]

Explorer. Lots of sours, quite a few Saisons, hoppy goodness, and ESBs, but a dif recipe each time. I tried to rebrew my last Saison and soured some of the extra, ended up blending it all at bottling for a sour saison. Lots of SmAsH beers right now as well to get a better feel for hops or yeasts.

 

[zodiak3000]

Perfecter for competition brewing or nailing a style. Explorer for personal brewing and experimentation.

 

[jeepinjeepin]

Explorer for now, perfecter to come. I have started a 50 some odd gallon sour project. If I don't learn something about sours over the next few years I have a problem. I also look to "perfect" a pale ale. Other than that it's all fair game. Brew them all, enjoy most of them.

 

[bizarrojosh]

I'm both. I have a hefe that I brew every other batch because it's so cheep and soooo good. For the price and the quality it's my Go to brew when I just want to have a beer and relax.

The other batch is anything that I want to try. So right now it's an IPA and next will probably be a 420 clone. Who knows!

Also, I've only been brewing since February (3 months) so I've got lots of time to explore and find new things.

 

[A4J]

I'm a little of both. I'm perfecting my recipes for kolsch, brown and IPA. I'm starting to explore sours. And, I'm starting on the automation route which involves exploration.

 

[gotsumbeers]

Explorer. For all my good intentions of perfecting a recipe, I have never brewed the same one twice. ADD maybe?

 

[Golddiggie]

I'm a bit of both too. I have a few recipes that I like how they came out the first time, so I'm brewing them again to see if I can make them even better. I am experimenting some, but not as much as others I'm sure. I am working to perfect my process so that I can brew just about anything without even thinking about that aspect.

I've brewed several different recipes at least twice. I have my mocha porter (second brewing) on deck for this weekend. Plan on making it bigger/stronger and with more of the flavors I wanted in the first batch. This time, ALL of it goes into keg. Of course, there's not even a trace of chocolate or coffee in the brew. Only using grains to get the flavors. For me, that's part of the fun/challenge.

Once I have the room for a fermentation chamber, I might start playing around with making lagers. Until then, I'll continue forward with using ale yeast. I don't like sour brews nor do I like high IBU brews. About 50 IBU or a IBU/SG ratio of no more than .700 seems to be my limit.

I have come across a recipe, or two, that I won't brew again. Or ingredients that I'll not use again. That's all part of brewing though. You find what you like, or (especially) what you don't like and you adjust accordingly.

 

[deggenbe]

well now you have to share the recipe

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f68/eggys-chocolate-coffee-stout-328873/#post4089215

never posted a recipe before, mainly because i dont rebrew the same thing everytime, but this one calls for it.

 

[stbnj]

I think I am too new to be a perfecter. I will be rebrewing my pale ale soon as that is a style/recipe I want to dial in. This winter I will definitely rebrew my breakfast stout. I guess I explore but when you find a winner that you and everyone who tries it loves I think you should go back to it.

 

[jtakacs]

Explorer. Lots of sours, quite a few Saisons, hoppy goodness, and ESBs, but a dif recipe each time. I tried to rebrew my last Saison and soured some of the extra, ended up blending it all at bottling for a sour saison. Lots of SmAsH beers right now as well to get a better feel for hops or yeasts.

the above defines homebrewing imo.

 

[nightcelt]

A bit of both.I'll brew variations of the same style five times, then move on to another style. There's too many intriguing styles out there to get stuck on one too long. Eventually I think I'll home in on five or six beers until I nail versions I like.

 

[BuddyWeiser]

Consistency is greatness, but improvement is betterness! I explore other much more experienced brewer's recipes that I "improve" to match my taste.

 

[Darkness]

Explorer mainly but have a few brews that are repeted. If every one used the same grain bill or base malt for every style and only changed Hops we all might as well be drinking Old Mill, or some other crap beer. So if you change any grain, hop, or make an addition of oak, fruit,change yeast, EXPLORER'S we are.
I didn't start brewing my own beer cause the same stuff was in the frige all the time. There are no standard beers in the frig that I or the wife buy's. I love beer and all that great beautiful yeast can do to it.

 

[Bradinator]

Explorer. I think with almost 30 beers under my belt I have yet to re-brew one. Several similar but never the same recipe.

I have considered brewing a few that turned out really well again, but honestly there are too many recipes out there to try first!

 

[PapsD]

I'm definitely both.

I made it a point to brew all the beers I did with extract again with all grain. I also like to perfect a recipe and really get it dialed in. Can't beat a favorite beer.

But.....

I also like new recipes especially if it's a style I haven't brewed before or if they include ingredients I haven't tried.

I think it's easy to get stuck in a rut and brew the same style 2 or 3 times. I personally think new recipes are a fun way to break out of a rut and try out new ingredients and techniques.

I'd like to get 6 or 7 recipes perfected and do more experimental brews for the time of year a beer will be ready.

 

[VTDuffman]

I don't brew enough unfortunately to be afforded the luxury of perfecting things yet, I have spent almost the last year brewing my way through "Brewing Classic Styles" and I'm not even 1/4 of the way through (Although I lack equipment for lagering right now, and 90 minute boils for pilsner based recipes are tough for me). I'm having a lot of fun doing this, and I've moved into traditional All Grain, so I've been changing up my process, too.

Once I have nailed my process and been satisfied with my handle on styles, I'll start working on "perfection." That said, I had a pumpkin ale this fall that was a big hit and I brewed that three times, and perfected it a little bit each time.

 

[pjj2ba]

Both here. I have a few recipes I'm working on perfecting but I'll often try something new and different when the mood strikes.

 

[cheezydemon3]

I get down principals that I like, but I don't ever look at a recipe.

I visualize what I want, write down the ingredients, buy them, brew.

I experimented a lot with the different Lovibonds of crystals, which has really helped me get what I want from crystals.

I think most brewers have a vague understanding of them and can't formulate recipes with a specific crystal in mind (unless it is an extreme like 10 or 120) in most cases.

 

[borloff]

I'm still in the explorer phase. Once I have tried everything, I might go back and repeat. I'm the same way at restaurants, always ordering something I haven't tried yet.

I second this emotion. Also, i live in a fairly remote part of the world and i have to brew a style to try a style. :rockin:

 

[jerryteague]

I'm an explorer that brews the same style every 2 or 3 batches to get the process down. I'm brewing an amber ale, and a Hefeweizen next week for the second time. The week after will be a Pliny clone, or maybe a Stone Ruination clone.

 

[rjwhite41]

I just have to ask. What are you exploring when you're cloning commercial beers or using someone else's recipe? There seems to be a lot of explorers here that don't write their own recipes.

 

[bleme]

I just have to ask. What are you exploring when you're cloning commercial beers or using someone else's recipe? There seems to be a lot of explorers here that don't write their own recipes.

Just because somebody wrote a recipe doesn't mean that I know what it tastes like. Millions of people have been to Yosemite National Park. That doesn't make me want to see it for myself any less.

 

[KraphtBier]

Explorer. I've brewed two recipes I haven't written myself and even with those I felt the need to change a few things. I would like to repeat some of my "greatest hits" and I'm sure that I will, but I seem to easily distracted by new ideas.

 

[jonmohno]

This is why i started brewing smaller batches,partially.I have brewed a ton,but still have not brewed every style,so many options for each style also.The best thing to do to gain experience is to brew small batches/frequently of all styles and then some.Unless you can afford or put down/share that much beer for full batches.
I still use recipes.I seldom brew my own,but i do subb alot in recipes.The more i use them the more second nature my own will become, id rather brew someting tried and true(to who?) than to guess this and that with that style.
I wont brew something over and over unless im mulling over something about it.(Never have-yet) In general you can find a pattern of what works.Sometimes its just luck it seems.Its a waste of time(not really) for me to brew something over when i can try something else,although i have recently brewed a bunch of ipa's and have a few my favorite.NOthing over and over yet,i havent even made a double ipa yet!!! I find you can trial and error with different styles other than brew something over and over but like with hops or sometimes even differnt water profile for a similar style of beer you can revise what you like about a beer.Ramble smamble. You can still gain perfection(no such thing-unless your Jesus?)through exploring. Without repeating the same batch.Im not against it,more power to thow.

 

[BrewKnurd]

Just because somebody wrote a recipe doesn't mean that I know what it tastes like. Millions of people have been to Yosemite National Park. That doesn't make me want to see it for myself any less.

but wouldn't you be a visitor, not an explorer, of yosemite?

as for me, i perfect some, i explore more. The balance seems to be shifting in the direction of perfection as i brew more.

 

[EndlessPurple]

With my chocolates, I have been more perfectionist, but I will explore until I find a recipe to perfect. I expect I will be the same with beer. I prefer to find some styles that I really like to drink and there are a lot of different styles I want to try but many I don't.

I think what exploration I do is more to define the types of styles I like to drink as opposed to the different styles I can brew.

 

[Zuljin]

Given there is no such thing as perfection, explorer.