Where/How did you learn?

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
brewmaster89

brewmaster89

Well-Known Member
Joined
Oct 3, 2011
Messages
154
Reaction score
2
Location
San Diego
Just curious where and how you guys got all your info on brewing. This site has tons of knowledgeable people and resources I find myself on it all the time.

Did you guys take classes or just read books or read here? How did you learn?

I have always wanted a brewery and am glad to finally start doing it. (5 batches in so far in 2 months)

Anyway awesome site and thanks for the info and help!!:rockin:
 
Books:
Designing Great Beers
How to Brew
Brewing Classic Styles
Radical Brewing
Yeast
Joy of Homebrewing

Brewnetwork podcasts

Lots and lots of trial and error
 
By brewing and experimenting. Simply just by doing it. Books like Brew like a Monk, various recipe clone books.

beerloaf
 
I learned many ways:

Instructions from kit
Talking with owner of LHBS
A class at the LHBS
Palmer's Book: How to Brew
Papazian's Book: Joy of Homebrewing,

and of course, this forum.
 
Books and more books - then brew with someone above you - so if you are looking to go all grain find an all grain brewer you can hang around in brew day
 
Read some books and what doesn't make sense you can figure that out here on HBT. A lot of books are a bit old and things have changed since they were written. Just read up here on hbt and you could learn a lot. You have the best resources here, thousands of brewers with first hand experience.
 
Sitting on the internet and reading everything I could. Palmer and Papazian-the two bibles of the craft.
Two true stories:
Once saw the sun come up through the window in my office because I lost track of time.
Wife made me move to the quest room because I was still reading at some ungodly hour.

You'll be fine - these things are all "normal."
 
There is a lot of fantastic info on this site. There is some dangerous info from the crowd who says "Meh, I don't bother doing (something most serious brewers do) and my beer still turns out great!". Overall, I learn a great deal here. Part of it that after awhile here, you get to know whose opinion you should listen to.

You can't beat reading. There are great books out there and even Brew Your Own has some great info. I should become an AHA member and subscribe to Zymurgy as well. In fact...I'm gonna do that as soon as I'm done writing this post.

Designing Great Beers might be my favourite brewing book; I have found it incredibly helpful when it comes to putting together a recipe. However, different books are appropriate at different brewing skill levels, so you have to find what's right for where you are now. If I were very serious about brewing, I'd pick up a chemistry or food science degree (is it funny that I'm an Adjunct Professor of Food Science when I'm an economist by training?) and get into the super-technical side of things--but I don't think I have to go that far to get to where I want to be as a brewer. Having said that I might let some of my Food Science colleagues (one of whom has consulted for every major brewing company in North America, according to him) help me out from time to time ;)
 
Scored an unopened newbie equipment kit at a thrift store. Read the instructions that came with it (basic but not terrible in hindsight) for my first batch, then read Papazian and Palmer, and dove in full force. A few other books (BCS, Designing Great Beers, etc), all the Basic Brewing Radio and Brewing Network podcasts, and of course HBT keep me always learning new stuff.
 
Read Palmer's book and a few others. Forgot about it for a while. Picked up a couple other books, brewed a partial grain and then an all grain batch with a friend. Started building my own system and have been brewing ever since. I keep reading everything I can get my hands on, review this board and others, have a subscription to BYO, am an AHA member and get Zymurgy as well. This forum and others have been helpful in what to do or try and what not to do. Most importantly, look for good information and then give it a shot and see what makes a difference for you and your results. Overall, brewing is a great experience... you get to be creative and an opportunity to learn some science and then enjoy what you produce (most of the time). :ban:
 
JonK331 said:
Books:
Designing Great Beers
How to Brew
Brewing Classic Styles
Radical Brewing
Yeast
Joy of Homebrewing

Brewnetwork podcasts

Lots and lots of trial and error
Click to expand...

Yep, plus this forum, plus online research, plus the knowledge of the good folks working at the couple of LHBS's in our area.... and trial and error. Trial and error is the one I seem to best glean info from. :)
 
Fellow home brewer, 13 years ago, showed me the ropes, gave me pointers, good and honest critique - if I had made bad beer, he'd tell me and we'd discuss why, etc. Thankfully I never made undrinkable beer, but some of those early batches were swill at best. LOL I also studied several different books and amped up the book knowledge in practice. All of that combined with just getting my hands dirty has made me the kind of brewer I am. Then, the magic of the internet led to the creation of this site and on-line radio programs... it all works together.
 
Saw a story in the newspaper in '88. Bought Charlie P's Complete Joy of Home brewing, got a kit and saved my bottles. This hobby is WAY different, and in most cases better, than back in the day. I found this forum after having taken a few yr hiatus from brewing except for the occasional batch - reading here got me fired up again.

Cheers!
 
Papazian was my first book, I read it and got hooked. I've read several books BYO Magazine and this site. Someone here will help you with just about anything you can think of. Oh, and i practiced...a lot, and still am practicing.
 
Palmer's book is a great resource. This site is very helpful to read both sides of arguments though. The 'to secondary or not' discussion, for example. It gives you a chance to get an understanding of both sides. Plus, people on this site are respectful enough so things do not devolve into a flame war. HBT also is a good way to help customize and maximize your process by learning from others' mistakes and successes.
 
I made an abortive attempt to homebrew in 1970. Unfortunately, I was a bit ahead of the curve.....NO decent supplies / ingredients were available, and I abandoned the idea. Five years ago, our eldest son got me involved again. I read Palmer's How to Brew online and bought an equipment kit and some extract kits from Midwest. I stuck with extract for 18 months, then went AG and never looked back.
 
Swmbo gave me a MrB kit for christmas, made the included beer according to direction. After drinking one I looked around online and found this site then read Palmer. I'm still a FNG but my beers have improved.
 
I started because I can't get some of my favorite beers locally. So I got on the Internet and read a lot of info including Palmer's "How to Brew". But I get the majority of my info off of this forum and others. These boards are great for sparking ideas that you can research more, or just go crazy and experiment with!
 
I built a still in Jr High for a science project. Man I got in loads of trouble for that even in the 70's. Got plenty drunk off that still but dang that stuff was nasty

But that got me interested and I made some beer....well alleged beer for awhile after that. Stopped doing it for a good long while and then got back into it a few months ago.

Read tons of books.
 
Started back in 1995 before we had all the Internet resources we have now. Started by using hopped extracts and soon trying to make big beers like everyone does.

Took 8 years off and I am now back and making some of my best beers. I keg, brew AG, and I see a brew sculpture in my future.
 
Helped a friend brew several years ago, stayed in the back of my mind that it was something I would enjoy doing so picked up the stuff a little over a year ago.
 
1st batch was AHA extract kit w/ instructions. 2nd batch was extract recipe of my design. Then specifically Death Brewer's PM stove top to DB's Easy All grain stovetop. After that it was a heavy dive into the DIY section to start building outdoor full boil stuff. Now I can brew 1 - 13.5 gallon batch and 1 - 6.5 gallon batch all at the same time.

My breakdown of learning was 1% LHBS, 3% AHA kit and 96% HBT. ;)
 
I made some prison hooch as an experiment, and then I decided I needed to try making something more "serious". Beer was the logical answer. So, I ordered a Brewer's Best kit and Black Dog Amber extract kit from Midwest that came with their instructional DVD. Between that and youtube I managed my first batch. I didn't find this forum until I was on my 3rd or 4th batch. Now I'm head over heals!
 

Similar threads

hilljack13
Where to learn about grains?
Replies
30
Views
1K
Protos
Protos
kbelliveau09
New member introduction
Replies
2
Views
379
ncbrewer
N
kev211
Another "Did I ruin my Mead" Thread
Replies
0
Views
264
kev211
kev211
Kornssj
Concept of a Beer Centrifuge
Replies
12
Views
797
MaxStout
MaxStout
C
Growing Pains/Mistakes and Consequences
Replies
5
Views
742
Corey22
C
Williams Brewing 300

Latest posts

Back
Top