Are you a perfector or an explorer?

[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.