does being a good cook make you a better brewer?

[winzerz]

just want to ask

if you are a good cook do you learn/brew/make a better beer because of this?

:rockin:

 

[avaserfi]

I hope so . I have been cooking for years now and am very comfortable in the kitchen, but I just started brewing.

I would think the biggest advantage is perhaps being comfortable creating edible goods and perhaps an better understanding of how flavors work together. Of course, such things could easily be learned if interest is had.

 

[McKBrew]

Another good thing that can carry over from cooking is sanitation practices.

When I cook, I usually don't use a recipe and just wing it. I haven't tried that with a beer yet.

 

[Revvy]

I don't know if it's imperative, but it helps.

I came into the hobby from my love of cooking, to me making beer was a natural extensive of my love of cooking, and my love of food, and great beer.

 

[Yuri_Rage]

It doesn't make you a better brewer, but it makes me want to brew at your house.

 

[olllllo]

If you are a saucier then you might have an appreciation for mash temps.

I don't think there is a good corollary for rapidly cooling wort or for fermentation control.

 

[Gonefishing]

I don't know if being a good cook helps or not, but I can certainly see where an interest in cooking would. For me it's that as well as the "science" .. it's like playing with a chemistry set with some pretty tasty results.

 

[Sastrugi]

I've worked as both a cook and a baker, and brewing reminds me more of baking. You're dealing with yeast and fermentation, for one thing, and you've also got to keep a close eye on measurements, time and temperature to get a desired result. I don't know how much being good at one translates to the other, but it can't hurt.

 

[Edcculus]

A lot of food science crosses over to brewing. Also, if you understand food science, brewing science is a very easy step (it was for me at least).

I usually cook by "winging" it. I know what ingredients taste like, and I'm very good at picking flavors that go well together. I am also good at picking out individual ingredients from food. This has really helped me be able to formulate recipes. Although the descriptions of different malts help, tasting commercial brews with that profile help me figure out what they taste like.

 

[Sean]

I like Yuri's post^^

I think if you were a good baker, you probably would have an easier time with the first couple of batches. Baking is very technical, (not talking cookies and brownies) cooking involves more taste and try winging it.

I am a good cook, but not a great brewer, primarily because I like to fiddle with stuff.

 

[winzerz]

good points all around keep em coming

 

[Sastrugi]

I am a good cook, but not a great brewer, primarily because I like to fiddle with stuff.

+1 to this. I should have added that I'm a much better cook than I ever was a baker, and my brewing has suffered accordingly.

 

[user 574]

I will say that after 4+ years of brewing I am more intrigued with surfing for recipes and cooking a gourmet type of meal. Prior to brewing I didn't care for cooking at all unless it was something on the grill.

 

[Dr_Deathweed]

I love to cook, and I love to brew, but what I think made my intro to brewing so easy was my chemistry background. Maintaining temperatures for optimum conversion, accurate weighing and measuring, distillation practices...


erm I mean... Cooking is awesome!:cross:






(for the record, I do not distill, beer is too good to waste it by getting drunk... often....)

 

[stevea1210]

I used to be a chef, and I think that has definitely helped in brewing. I was comfortable with the processes from the get go. I love that I am going back to the restaurant supply store all the time again. Man I missed that place . I did prefer the wing it method of recipe formulation, but like others, haven't tried that with brewing yet.

I have had many people say, I knew you would make great beer, I haven't had anything you've cooked be anything but great. Sorry, wasn't trying to sound pompous there.

I feel I have a way to go to be a great brewer, but I feel I was able to skip forward in the early learnings due to my background.

 

[Sean]

From reading the responses, it looks like being a good brewer sometimes develops into making a good cook.

 

[thataintchicken]

I have never been a professional brewer. I have been a professional chef.
I currently am an operations/kitchen manager. my thought are this:

Does being a good cook make you a better brewer?
no.

Passion makes you better.
Passion makes you want to learn, to experiment to practice and to fail.
Passion drives you to the beer store and makes you try that weird craft brew from Oregon that you never tried before.

Passion prompts you to read Death Brewer's posts and not be afraid of the stovetop.

Passion allows you to love your beer.

Without passion brewing is just a hobby. Like leatherworking or tumbling gems.
Yeah. it's fun for a while and you can get a cool necklace or wallet out of it...
you'll make some okay beer...

Passion allows you to grow beyond the pre-fab kit... to toss caution to the wind and throw grains and hops together in a careless manner until you find the beer that tastes perfect to you.

anyone can throw X amount of this and Y amount of that in a pot and get beer, or bread or Corn and Potato chowder with Gorganzola Dolce.

Passion.... makes it yours.

 

[mev]

From reading the responses, it looks like being a good brewer sometimes develops into making a good cook.

That's my story, I've haven't cooked much since I got married, my wife is a much better cook than me. I've only brewed a few batches so far, but now I am looking at different soups and stews that I can make to help even out the cooking situation.

 

[Kilgore_Trout]

Passion.... makes it yours.

Ding!

I'm not sure of it will make you any more skilled off the bat, but the attitudes and the mindset that draw people to cooking also draw people to brewing. I don't think it makes you any better, just more interested.

 

[McNasty]

I was a cook in a fast pace restaurant for 7 years. I think the constant multitasking helps with brewing. Continuously cleaning and setting up the next step.

 

[pjj2ba]

I think an educated palate helps whether you cook or not. Particularly when it comes to knowing, first that a recipe needs a tweak, and then the ability to figure out the correct tweak it needs.

 

[winzerz]

Thanks so much for the great posts so far keep em going

 

[pedalmedic]

Yes, i think it would. I enjoy cooking, but do the brewing for the science or chemistry of it. Dont get me wrong, the final product is what we are all after, but I enjoy the patience and the progress of brewing

 

[Beerbeque]

I cook on a daily basis and I believe that the cooking "Zen" thing definitely transfers over to brewing.I concoct and design all recipes both in brewing and cooking.Adding more of what you like and leaving out what you don't like applies to cooking and brewing alike. Tasting your creation along every step of the way is so important in both brewing and cooking.

 

[Scotty_g]

I'm a chemical engineer by education and do process engineering for a living, with a little controls work thrown in. I think this helps me as a brewer, at least when it comes to procedure--no worries about brewing math, heating requirements, equipment design, etc. It's going to be *real* handy when we build our all-grain brew rig...after one too many homebrews I got on Ebay and bought a PLC, so we *have* to automate the brewing now.

As far as cooking, I'm a no-recipe kind of guy. I make a lot of soup, which qualifies me as being an adept boiler of water. I need to start experimenting more with my own recipes (the first one we made up is...interesting), though.

The biggest problem I have with beer and brewing is I want to try everything, but can't muster the persistence to perfect anything. That also carries through in my cooking (see also--recipe? bah!)

 

[winzerz]

what no one has prosted this thread lol

J/K

 

[RayInUT]

I have never been a professional brewer. I have been a professional chef.
I currently am an operations/kitchen manager. my thought are this:

Does being a good cook make you a better brewer?
no.

Passion makes you better.
Passion makes you want to learn, to experiment to practice and to fail.
Passion drives you to the beer store and makes you try that weird craft brew from Oregon that you never tried before.

Passion prompts you to read Death Brewer's posts and not be afraid of the stovetop.

Passion allows you to love your beer.

Without passion brewing is just a hobby. Like leatherworking or tumbling gems.
Yeah. it's fun for a while and you can get a cool necklace or wallet out of it...
you'll make some okay beer...

Passion allows you to grow beyond the pre-fab kit... to toss caution to the wind and throw grains and hops together in a careless manner until you find the beer that tastes perfect to you.

anyone can throw X amount of this and Y amount of that in a pot and get beer, or bread or Corn and Potato chowder with Gorganzola Dolce.

Passion.... makes it yours.

You hit the nail on the head a passion for cooking probably translates into a passion for brewing or a passion for gardening. It's the creative passion that puts it over the top.

Okay, now I'm going to go pour a glass of mead I made I while back! The only thing better than the taste is the amazing amber color...that is passion!

 

[Marko73]

+1 to That Ain't Chicken.

It was an early passion for cooking that led to a crazy passion for brewing. To watch something amazing come together and know that I played a small part in it, makes me appreciate things on a much higher level.

Does it make me a better brewer? I think so. THe ability to time, plan, multitask, be patient, and expirement are the things that are taking my brewing to the next level.

 

[Chad]

I don't think there is a good corollary for rapidly cooling wort or for fermentation control.

Actually, there is. Making beer is very much like making stock, especially the sanitation and rapid cooling requirements. Stock, like wort, is an ideal growth medium. You have to be nearly as anal about sanitation as you do with beer making and more anal about cooling. You've got to get the stock below 40°F as quickly as possible. The ice paddle that I use to cool batches of stock was ideal for the stovetop batches of beer I've done. And the next time I make a multi-gallon batch of stock I think I'm going to try using ice water pumped through my immersion chiller to get it down to fridge temps.

I do believe that being a comfortable and capable cook eases the transition to brewing. A good cook will make good beer more quickly than a non-cook will. I think there is a level of comfort with the process that comes from cooking, and there is a better understanding of where you can, and more importantly can't, take shortcuts.

I do know that brewing has made me more aware and appreciative of the baking, pickle making and cheesemaking process.

Chad

 

[olllllo]

Actually, there is. Making beer is very much like making stock, especially the sanitation and rapid cooling requirements. Stock, like wort, is an ideal growth medium. You have to be nearly as anal about sanitation as you do with beer making and more anal about cooling. You've got to get the stock below 40°F as quickly as possible. The ice paddle that I use to cool batches of stock was ideal for the stovetop batches of beer I've done. And the next time I make a multi-gallon batch of stock I think I'm going to try using ice water pumped through my immersion chiller to get it down to fridge temps.

I do believe that being a comfortable and capable cook eases the transition to brewing. A good cook will make good beer more quickly than a non-cook will. I think there is a level of comfort with the process that comes from cooking, and there is a better understanding of where you can, and more importantly can't, take shortcuts.

I do know that brewing has made me more aware and appreciative of the baking, pickle making and cheesemaking process.

Chad

Thanks for opening my eyes on that.

Question for the chefs... Is there cooking software too?
ChefSmith?
ProCook?
FoodTools?

 

[david_42]

I'd say yes. If nothing else, you would know up front that you can't just throw stuff in the batch and expect to have great beer (it will still be beer, however) and too much of one ingredient (2 pounds of black patent in a stout for example) is a bad idea.

 

[Tonedef131]

absolutely.