Are you a brewer?

[Orfy]

Is the art of brewing mearly pitching yeast?

Or does it have to involve more?

I personally don't consider mixing extract water and yeast brewing.
Yes it is making beer but it's a bit like putting a ready meal in the microwave and buttering a piece of bread. You can't call your self a chef.

I'm not getting into the debate about good beer coming from purely extract and I'm not saying people shouldn't do it.

So my question is;

Is every one that makes beer a brewer?

 

[RICLARK]

Is the art of brewing mearly pitching yeast?

Or does it have to involve more?

I personally don't consider mixing extract water and yeast brewing.
Yes it is making beer but it's a bit like putting a ready meal in the microwave and buttering a piece of bread. You can't call your self a chef.

I'm not getting into the debate about good beer coming from purely extract and I'm not saying people shouldn't do it.

So my question is;

Is every one that makes beer a brewer?

I went Ag because I felt That I wasn't a brewer, So I guess I agree with you.

 

[Ooompa Loompa]

Is a baker still a baker if they don't mill and process their own wheat to make flour? Is a chef still a chef if they make a dish that requires cheese and they don't make the cheese themselves? Is a tailor still a tailor if they don't make the thread and cloth that they use to make clothing? If you answered yes to these questions, then I don't see how could say that people who make beer using extract are not brewers. Extract brewing is not as simple as putting a ready meal in the microwave, or buttering a peice of bread. There is a lot of time and effort that goes into temperature control, adding hops at the right time, weighing steeping grains, monitoring fermentation temps, measuring gravities, sanitizing, etc. Buttering a peice of bread takes no thought, brewing a good beer, be it via extract, partial mash, or all grain takes thought and effort.

 

[Judd]

A brewer is anyone who loves the art and science of making beer, whether or not they practice it. A baker is still a abker, even while he is not baking. A botanist is still a botanist, even if he doens't own a greenhouse. We're all brewers.

 

[bluedragoon85]

I guess I'm not a true brewer as of yet. I merely do the 60 min boil and add yeast and so on, but.... I appreciate and adore what I do, because it's like a form of art and a waiting process in which the master peace aint done till it's done (whatever that means). I love trying new things, new styles, new recipes. I admit I am no true brewer, but I'm not cr3gtube trying to get a cheap buzz (not that that's bad, just not me), but otherwise making something that my taste buds will remember and expand on. Someday, maybe someday I will do all grain (pretty sure I will), but right now I just wanna get more experience, variety, knowledge, and understanding of this supreme art that has such a vast history and happyness. Hopefully one day I will become a true brewer, but as of now, I am way ahead from the BMC crowd and it just lightens my day because before this I was anxious of trying something different, not conforming to the masses and I found the answer. I don't know if I make much sense, I just got done drinking some APA home brews with some good friends. Good stuff!

 

[PeteOz77]

— brew·er \ˈbrü-ər, ˈbru(-&#601r\ noun
transitive verb:
1: to prepare (as beer or ale) by steeping, boiling, and fermentation or by infusion and fermentation

I consider making beer from extract to be brewing, where as there are other levels such as partial mash and all grain etc.

I see these guys in the pubs here all the time that have a guitar, an amp and a karaoke setup where they play guitar along with the music, and sing the lyrics. I consider them to be "singers", "Entertainers" and possibly even "Musicians"

Maybe after I raise my EAC level to AG, I will have a different outlook?

 

[bluedragoon85]

Is a baker still a baker if they don't mill and process their own wheat to make flour? Is a chef still a chef if they make a dish that requires cheese and they don't make the cheese themselves? Is a tailor still a tailor if they don't make the thread and cloth that they use to make clothing? If you answered yes to these questions, then I don't see how could say that people who make beer using extract are not brewers. Extract brewing is not as simple as putting a ready meal in the microwave, or buttering a peice of bread. There is a lot of time and effort that goes into temperature control, adding hops at the right time, weighing steeping grains, monitoring fermentation temps, measuring gravities, sanitizing, etc. Buttering a peice of bread takes no thought, brewing a good beer, be it via extract, partial mash, or all grain takes thought and effort.

I agree. I might not be a traditional brewer, but I enjoy what I do (as previously posted) and put my heart into it so I end up with something I will enjoy and appreciate. I have respect for does who do all grain and I hope to do it one day and as of now I don't completely feel like a real brewer, but I hope that one day I will get there.

 

[Denny's Evil Concoctions]

What about beer in a bag/box? That may make beer and I have no qualms against people who do, particularily since a good number of them step up to more advanced brewing, but is it really "brewing" if you just add a yeast packet?

 

[PeteOz77]

but is it really "brewing" if you just add a yeast packet?

seems that question has already been asked....

 

[Denny's Evil Concoctions]

seems that question has already been asked....

Yeah, but this time I asked it.

 

[PeteOz77]

Yeah, but this time I asked it.

And that changes the question HOW?

 

[kenche]

Ok, I think that orfy may have been trying to stir up some **** here.

But if you consider his question carefully he is not asking whether extract brewers are true brewers, he asked whether the act of pitching yeast is brewing.

To this, I would have to say no. In B.C., we can buy beer from a U-Brew facility. The employees of the U-Brew operation do all of the work to prepare the wort. Due to B.C. laws, the customer must come pitch the yeast themselves. They then leave, and return two weeks later to pick up there beer.

In this scenario, the act of pitching yeast does not make one a brewer.

I would agree that 'mixing extract, water, and yeast' is not brewing. To me, that means those no-boil kits where you pour a bunch of **** in a bucket, throw in some yeast and wait for your beer. That is not brewing.

 

[Danek]

If you consider his question carefully he is not asking whether extract brewers are true brewers, he asked whether the act of pitching yeast is brewing.

Another thing to consider is those Belgian dudes that let their beer ferment spontaneously. They're certainly brewers, but they don't add the yeast themselves.

I've always thought that I don't make the beer, the yeast does. I just have to look after them to make sure they're happy and well-fed. I guess I see myself more as the dairy farmer, and less like the cow.

 

[wild]

Going AG was mostly just to have more control over the end product but I became a brewer the moment I walked in my LHBS and purchased my first brewing kit.

 

[Bernie Brewer]

*goes out back to beat on the dead horse some more.*

Yes, it's still brewing. Even if you're only brewing from concentrate.
I went AG because it's more fun, not because I didn't think I was really brewing.

 

[Yooper]

I made wine before I made beer, so I was very comfortable with fermentation even though there was no boiling at all. Making beer was a natural progression, from starting with extract kits and moving on to making up my own AG recipes. I would say that as long as you feel that you're making beer, you can call yourself a brewer.

 

[zoebisch01]

I am a brewer.

 

[Evan!]

At the end of the day, it's more of a "sliding scale" thing to me. I feel like I've been a brewer since the first time I boiled up some extract in water. But after 65 batches, and going AG, and crafting all my own recipes from scratch, and striving to perfect the science and process, and making beer that I honestly prefer over commercial craft brews, I feel like I'm more of a brewer now.

 

[rdwj]

I think Extract is brewing for sure. There are still prenty of variables that you can adjust, you're just starting with stock.

 

[Dextersmom]

this is like the chicken or the egg debate. or the nature vs nurture debate. I don't think there is any one real answer. its like the people who play golf...but aren't "golfers."

my 2 cents are a brewer (which i cannot consider myself yet but i'm on my way) is someone who turns brewing into their own personal science. Someone who puts some real thought into what they're doing (note taking, planning, research etc) in an attempt to create the best results possible under their brewing conditions. A brewer can be AG or extract as long as this effort is put forward.

make any sense?

 

[the_bird]

Even among extract brewers, there's variance. I don't know the beer-in-a-box kits, so I can't speak to those, but what about the no-boil, kit-and-a-kilo kits? It's hard for me to consider that really brewing, since you're not boiling, you're not adding any specialty or character grains, you're not adding any hops....

But, someone who has light DME, steeps some crystal malt, does a couple of hop additions (basically where I started with Brewer's Best kits), I would consider that to be brewing. You're doing everything except making the extract.

But, it's a sliding scale, as I think Evan! noted... what about someone who jacks up a no-boil kit with some extra DME instread of sugar, and maybe does a quick boil with some flavor hops?

 

[Soulive]

I plead the 5th. The fizif...fiiiiif!

 

[Jesse17]

My $0.02 worth...

If I open a can of chicken noodle soup dump it in a pot and heat it up, I'm not a cook.

If I open a can of chicken broth, dump it in a pot, add some pieces of chicken, and some raw noodles, boil it and add salt and pepper, I'm a cook.

So I go with the theory that if you just warm up/ferment someone else's complete meal/beer you're not cooking/brewing, but if you use someone else's broth/extract as an ingredient in your own product, you're still a cook/brewer.

I'm not sure where this leaves the just add yeast kits, but I'm leaning to being a brewer still. You still have to control temp. take SG readings, rack it, prime and bottle it. Oh, and ask if you ruined it.

 

[maltMonkey]

I think the actual definition of "brewer" covers anyone who boils malt & water and ferments it into beer.....but I didn't "feel" like I was brewing until I went all grain.

 

[Beerthoven]

... Is every one that makes beer a brewer?

Your question is like an existence theorem in mathematics. Does a solution to this problem exist? Yes, a solution exists. That's all it says. It gives no information about the nature of a particular solution to a particular problem.

So my answer to you is: Yes, everyone that makes beer is a brewer.

If the process involved malt, hops, yeast, and water then brewing has occurred. Even those who use only no-boil, pre-hopped kits are brewers.

You can argue (and I'd tend to agree) that AG brewers are deeper into their craft than extract brewers, who in turn are deeper into the craft than Mr. Beer brewers.

But what good could come of this? Why alienate a significant proportion of our community by suggesting that they are somehow not really brewers?

Its a big tent; I think we can all fit inside.

:fro:

 

[olllllo]

Someone make a punchy Venn diagram please.

 

[PseudoChef]

At the end of the day, it's more of a "sliding scale" thing to me. I feel like I've been a brewer since the first time I boiled up some extract in water. But after 65 batches, and going AG, and crafting all my own recipes from scratch, and striving to perfect the science and process, and making beer that I honestly prefer over commercial craft brews, I feel like I'm more of a brewer now.

Quoted for truth...somewhat.

I think making your own recipes, and excellent ones at that, are as important to the process as anything. Anyone can follow directions, but making your own recipe showcases the brewer's thought and ingenuity.

Although the 3 times I've used someone else's recipe (first extract batch, the American Brown I did (Mike McDole) and the 888 (Brewpastor)) I made great beer, it still wasn't totally satisfactory because I didn't craft the thought into how the beer would turn out ingredient wise.

Guess I'm just EAC to the max.

 

[cubbies]

I personally feel that people who use extract and other adjuncts create a wort that they boil and add hops to are brewers. Adding a can of hopped extract to water and adding yeast, IMO is not brewing. It may be a first step, but it is not brewing.

As for my own personal experience, I personally did not feel like I was a brewer until i went all grain. I still think extract brewers are brewers, but for myself, I didnt feel like a brewer when I was doing extract.

 

[Soulive]

Main Entry: 1brew
Pronunciation: \ˈbrü\
Function: verb
Etymology: Middle English, from Old English brēowan; akin to Latin fervēre to boil — more at barm
Date: before 12th century
transitive verb
1: to prepare (as beer or ale) by steeping, boiling, and fermentation or by infusion and fermentation

Looks like extract brewers who steep specialty grains are covered

 

[zoebisch01]

I think making your own recipes, and excellent ones at that, are as important to the process as anything. Anyone can follow directions, but making your own recipe showcases the brewer's thought and ingenuity.

Additionally, more importantly imo, it shows that the brewer has an understanding of technique (which goes hand in hand with experience). Without a fundamental understanding, one can never progress beyond the constraints of recipes. Most 'good' recipes created from people that lack fundamental understanding are usually a matter of happenstance.